WNBA Wrap: Ex-track star Jones has quiet debut as Lynx top Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. — Marion Jones' path to stardom in the WNBA won't be a sprint. The former Olympic track star had little impact in limited playing time in her debut for Tulsa on Saturday night as the relocated Shock lost their inaugural game in their new hometown 80-74 to the Minnesota Lynx. Jones, who won a national championship for North Carolina in college, made her return to basketball after more than a decade away. In between, she was stripped of her five Olympic track medals — including three golds — and served time in prison for lying to federal investigators. "I'm learning as I go," Jones said, surrounded by reporters as she sat in her locker after the game. "I know that it's going to take time for things to kind of come together with me. But really, whatever I can do to help this ballclub win games. "If it's making sure when I'm on the bench that people get hyped, feeling motivated, then so be it." Jones played only 3 minutes and 19 seconds and watched most of the action unfold from the bench. Her statistical line was made up of a single foul, which she committed against Monica Wright just 3 seconds into her career. "I know people kind of expect great, great things. I decided to play basketball, so people think I'm going to be out there 40 minutes and doing this," Jones said. "But you've got to understand it's a process. These ladies have been playing for much longer than I have, and I'm learning from them every day." Charde Houston scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and Wright added 18 points as Minnesota won in former Shock assistant Cheryl Reeve's debut as head coach. The Lynx played without stars Candice Wiggins (knee) and Seimone Augustus (abdomen) but with Lindsay Whalen, the former University of Minnesota star picked up in an offseason trade. Whalen finished with 10 points, including two fadeaway jumpers to help hold off the Shock in the final 3 minutes, and six assists. Jones was so amped up that she couldn't settle down enough after shootaround to take a pregame nap. When she arrived at the sold-out BOK Center, video cameras were waiting to film her as she walked in, wearing a light blue shirt and a dark blue bandanna around her neck. Minutes later, she had changed into a black warmup and was fielding questions from reporters in an interview room. She spoke of having the same kind of butterflies as before she would hit the track and called it the realization of "a lifelong dream" to play pro basketball. She's adjusting to the notion of having players 10 years younger make corrections to her game, and revels in the chance to play for a coach she's heard people around town refer to as a king and a god. It takes away some of the spotlight that's been shined on her from around the globe, from people interested in the next chapter for a woman who was once among the most recognizable female athletes in the world. After playing such limited time, she said nothing to remotely question coach Nolan Richardson's decision to play her the fewest minutes of any of the Shock's 11 players. "Marion will get time as we play," Richardson said. "There are some other players that didn't get a whole of time either tonight. That's part of the game. It's part of being a rookie." But at 34, Jones is the league's oldest rookie and her debut garnered more attention than most other first-year players. Beyond the overflow crowd of 7,806, WNBA commissioner Donna Orender flew in to see Jones and Tulsa make their debuts. She offered Jones an embrace and a simple message: "Make magic." Jones started out on the bench but Richardson quickly went to a lineup of reserves as the Shock fell behind 10-2. After committing the early foul, she was pushed out of the way as Wright bullied in for a layup. "Certainly after being away from the sport for so long and how much the game has changed and improved, there are going to be some bumps in the road," Jones said before the game. "And whenever there are bumps, you kind of would like to do that quietly." Tulsa rallied back with a 14-0 run late in the second quarter to get within one at halftime. Shanna Crossley's 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half put Tulsa up 39-38, but that would end up being the only lead of the game for the Shock. Hamchetou Maiga-Ba hit a pair of jumpers as Minnesota scored the next six points to go back ahead to stay. "It's a new beginning," Jones said before the game. "Doing the sport that I love, that I'm passionate about. More than that, I mean, we can read into that as much as we want, but it's a new beginning for me." Mercury 78, Sparks 77 In Phoenix, Penny Taylor hit two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to lift the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury over the Los Angeles Sparks. Taylor caught the ensuing long inbound pass and held the ball until the buzzer. Noelle Quinn had hit a 12-foot bank shot with 4.7 seconds left to give the Sparks a 77-76 lead after Phoenix's Diana Taurasi made two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining. Taurasi scored five of her 14 points in the final five minutes, Candice Dupree had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Taylor added 16 points. Candace Parker scored 24 points for the Sparks, including a key basket in the final minute, and grabbed 12 rebounds. Sun 74, Sky 61 In Uncasville, Conn. Tina Charles had 17 points and 10 rebounds in her pro debut as the Connecticut Sun opened their season with a win over the Chicago Sky. Charles, the national player of the year at UConn and the top pick in the WNBA draft, had 15 points and nine boards at the half as the Sun built a 42-33 lead. Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, who dominated Charles while with LSU in the 2007 NCAA tournament against Connecticut, had 16 points and nine rebounds. Connecticut started four players who were not on its roster at the end of last season, including Charles and her former UConn teammate Renee Montgomery. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and led the Sun with 18 points. Kara Lawson added 10 points. Mystics 72, Fever 65 In Indianapolis, Monique Currie scored 21 points and Crystal Langhorne added 19 to help the Washington Mystics beat the Indiana Fever in the season opener for both teams. Katie Smith added 12 points in her first game for Washington after pestering Indiana for years as a member of the Detroit Shock. Tamika Catchings and Tammy Sutton-Brown each scored 12 points for the Fever. Four of Indiana's starters played in the Turkish League finals and practiced together only once before Saturday's game. The Fever raised the Eastern Conference championship banner from last season before the game, but there was little to celebrate afterward. Dream 75, Silver Stars 70 In San Antonio, Iziane Castro-Marques scored 23 points and Angel McCoughtry added 20 as the Atlanta Dream held off the San Antonio Silver Stars. McCoughtry scored seven points in an 11-1 run midway through the first quarter to put Atlanta up for good. Sancho Lyttle scored 16 points, and Erika de Souza added 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Dream. Becky Hammon scored seven of her 20 points in the fourth period for San Antonio, which cut into a 10-point deficit with a late rally. – AP