Taurasi: 'Defintely a difference' in WNBA

PHOENIX, May 21 (UPI) -- Diana Taurasi scored 22 points, including three on a 50-foot shot, in her first game in the WNBA.

Her team lost though. Sacramento beat Phoenix 72-66 Thursday night in Taurasi's much-publicized debut with the Mercury.

Taurasi has not been involved in many losing games. During the all-America guard's four years at Connecticut, her team lost only eight times.

She sank her first shot in the WNBA, a three-pointer early in the game. Later, she banked in a shot from 50 feet at the halftime buzzer.

Taurasi made three three-pointers and seven of 13 shots overall. She had three assists and three rebounds.

"I wasn't nervous, it was just another basketball game when you when you throw the ball up," said Taurasi, who led Connecticut to three national championships and was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.

She said, however, that playing in the WNBA offers new challenges.

"It is different," she said. "Bigger, faster athletes and they can do a lot more things, so I think there is definitely a level of adjustment. There is definitely a difference."