Fans of college basketball are in for a treat every time these two teams meet. In the Mercury, you get Paul Westhead's "Guru of Go" up-tempo "System" as embodied by Phoenix Coach Corey Gaines. Nolan Richardson has brought his famous "40 Minutes Of Hell" pressure defense system to the Tulsa Shock and the WNBA.
When these teams hooked up in Tulsa on May 25th, the Mercury took advantage of Richardon's transition to the WNBA and won in convincing fashion, 110-96, and in the process tied or broke nine different WNBA and franchise records (mostly related to three-point shooting).
The Mercury surely are happy to see the Shock again, knowing that their zone defense and full court press will leave many opportunities for the league's best long distance shooting team.
Richardson will play his entire roster in order to keep the energy high and the Shock are led off their bench in scoring by Amber Holt and Plenette Pierson with 12 points per game each.