Stalley triumphant in return to Philly

In its home opener, the ABL's Phila. Rage crushed visiting Atlanta. Women's professional basketball came to Philadelphia last night courtesy of Dawn Staley, the all-world guard born and raised in Philadelphia. Staley's return to her roots and her fantastic play brought the appreciative Palestra crowd to its feet throughout the Philadelphia Rage's 107-80 victory over the Atlanta Glory. A deafening, roof-shaking ovation from the crowd of 5,312 greeted Staley as she stepped onto her home court for the first time during player introductions. The queen of Philadelphia basketball did not disappoint, ruling her court with little mercy for the opposition. As if there were any doubt that this was to be Staley's night, she scored the first two points for the Rage off a steal, and added eight more, along with five assists, by the end of the first as the Rage opened a 30-13 first quarter lead. "I wasn't nervous. I was among family," Staley said. "I hope that this gets more people to come and support us because we are well on our way to being one of the top teams in the [American Basketball League]." The enthusiastic crowd, which waved balloons and signs throughout, watched Philadelphia shoot 62 percent from the floor and 60 percent from behind the three point arc during a first quarter from which the Glory could never recover. "This place kind of shakes," Rage coach Lisa Boyer said. "It didn't shake in Richmond. When you can bring some local talent back home I think there is even more excitement because there is more of a sense of ownership [by the fans]." Teresa Edwards, a four-time Olympian and Atlanta's player-coach, did a nice coaching job in the first quarter by calling a much-needed timeout 4 1/2 minutes into the game with her team down 14-5. As a player, however, she could only muster a single rebound and an assist as part of a zero-for-four shooting, three turnover, opening 10 minutes. She finished the game with 34 points on 10-for-26 shooting, but she forced wild shots due to a lack of any offensive support from her teammates. "[Philadelphia] had major adrenaline, they couldn't miss a shot in the first quarter," Edwards said. "We didn't come out focused enough, and we paid the price for it." After what Rage coach Lisa Boyer called a "dragging" second quarter, Philadelphia reasserted its dominance with a blitz of fast breaks to open the second half. By the time the TV timeout arrived halfway through the third quarter, the Rage had gone on a 17-4 rampage featuring fast breaks controlled by Staley and punishing post play from Taj McWiliams. The resulting 67-40 lead had the crowd and the Rage bench up on its feet clamoring for more. "It was a great game to show Philly for the first time out what an ABL game was like," Boyer said. "I think you can see that there are a lot of great athletes on this team. " It was a night to be savored by Staley and co-"homegirl" -- as the Rage's media guide calls them -- Michelle Marciniak. Raised in the city of Allentown, Pa., Marciniak drained 11 points in the first half and finished with 16 on near-perfect shooting. "To play in Philadelphia is a dream come true," Marciniak said. "I got to see my parents tonight. I'm glad we worked things out so that I could be here." The Glory's night was plagued with consistently poor shooting, best highlighted by Edwards' three points airballs which both closed the first half and opened the second. Atlanta made the stat sheet look respectable with a better second half of shooting, but those numbers were meaningless window dressing after 36 percent shooting from the field, and a one-for eight implosion from behind the three point arc in the first half. The second half was a continuation of Staley's coronation, and she cooly controlled the tempo of the game and distributed the ball to Philadelphia's dominating inside duo of Taj McWilliams who grabbed 13 rebounds and Adrienne Goodson, who led the Rage with 24 points. Staley had only played inside the Palestra once before, but already seems comfortable in making it her palace. Her spins in the lane and her perimeter shooting gave her team a win, but it gave the city a new hero. Her eight-story image has graced the side of a building at Eighth and Chestnut streets since she was named to the 1996 Olympic team, but now that Staley is here in the flesh, the city may be ready to promote her to title of best player in the city. While the other Philadelphia point guard -- Allen Iverson -- is playing for a week 76ers squad, Staley is signing autographs for the hundreds of fans who stayed after.

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