By Alexis Davies
The Starzz hope to extend their winning streak June 18, as they take on the Indiana Fever.
“I think it”s going to be a big game, Indiana is an improved team. They aren”t like last year,” Starzz guard Marie Ferdinand said. “They have a lot of great veterans and we”re going to have to be ready to play.”
The Starzz have won the last three games against the Fever and are coming off a big victory against Seattle.
A one-two punch from Ferdinand and Margo Dydek led the Starzz to a victory over Seattle Saturday night, June 16.
The Starzz calmed the Storm 61-54. A stronger defense helped the Utah Starzz come out on top.
Center Margo Dydek, the 7-foot-2 inch tall native of Poland, loomed large under the basket gathering 14 rebounds, four blocks and scoring 14 points.
“I took my shot, I was never scared from shooting outside. I can shoot from outside and I can shoot from the postposition. If I am open, I will shoot it,” Dydek said.
“Margo had a monster game today, she almost had a triple double,” Adrienne Goodson, Starzz forward, said. “She always has a monster game against Seattle. It was something Lynn Dunn said about her two years ago and Margo goes off on them every year.”
The Starzz took over the lead early in the first half and carried it through the second, keeping about a ten-point cushion between them and the Storm during the second half.
Rookie Storm guard, Sue Bird shot a three-pointer with about 5:18 remaining in the second half, cutting the Starzz lead to three.
The Starzz responded with six consecutive points, including two lay-ups from guard Ferdinand and a couple of free throws by forward Natalie Williams.
Despite Williams playing the worst game of her career, team members said she is still a valuable member of the team.
“She means a ton to our team, with or without points and she just needs to keep her confidence,” Jenifer Azzi, Starzz guard, said. “We all still believe in her.”
The Starzz went on to sink 6-of-10 free throws in the final 38 seconds of play.
“I am pleased defensively, I thought we played very well, 54 points, I”ll take that,” coach Candi Harvey said.
“We won, we needed to get this W. Every home game is important and we haven”t been doing our job at home like we”re supposed to and so we got a W and I am really happy about that,” Goodson said.
Goodson said practice is what improved the Starzz defense since the loss to the New York Liberty last week.
“We had a lot we needed to improve on and that is what we did the last couple of days,” Goodson said.
Ferdinand scored two points in the first half and came back huge in the second scoring 14 more points. She said going into the half she made a personal decision to increase her performance.
“I thought I was a little passive in the first half and I wanted to be more aggressive in the second half,” Ferdinand said.
The Starzz host the Indiana Fever 7 p.m., June 18 at the Delta Center.
