Phoenix's International Players Help Team During Troubling Season

Phoenix's first appearance consisted of a game against the New York Liberty, and the Liberty came out victorious. Then, in 1998, the Mercury made the WNBA Finals, and they lost to the Houston Comets. Regardless of the result, the Mercury were in a good place, and they had talented players on their roster.

Some of those players attended college, and they took that next step. Jennifer Gillom attended Ole Miss, and she had some strong performances. Years later, she became one of the Mercury's first players, and she accomplished great things in her time with the team.

Mercury's familiar faces return

Phoenix also had players like Michele Timms, who came from another country. She was from Australia, and like Gillom, she joined the Mercury through the WNBA's allocation period.

The Mercury had other international players, and like Timms, they made a name for themselves. In 1999, some familiar faces were back, as Marlies Askamp entered her third season. She had her best, as she averaged 9.4 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Kristi Harrower was back, and like Timms, she was representing Australia. She averaged 4.5 points, three assists and two rebounds in what was her final season with the Mercury. She spent some years with the Minnesota Lynx, and her last stop was Los Angeles.

Andrea Kuklová was back in action, and she played five games with the Mercury that year. Maria Stepanova returned, and she averaged 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. She had a good year, and she would have even better ones in the future.

The Mercury also had another international player, as MerleLynn Lange-Harris joined the team. She attended UNLV, but she was born in Canada and she represented the country in the 1996 Olympics. She played one game with the Mercury, and she grabbed two rebounds.

International players continued to make an impact on the Mercury, and while the team did not make the playoffs, they still had talent from many different places. That talent would help them return to the playoffs, and they did it right after that season. Phoenix had a great group, and players like Timms and others helped the team get back on track.

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