Svetlana Abrosimova wasn't planning to play in the WNBA this season.
She was focused on playing for Russia in the Olympics and then resting for the Russian league in the winter. However, the former UConn star who spent seven seasons with the Minnesota Lynx changed her mind in Beijing.
``During the Olympics, I was like 'Why not?''' she said. ``I had two months before my Russian season would start. I was in good shape, feeling good.''
And though several teams expressed interest in the 6-foot-2 forward, she liked the opportunity with the Connecticut Sun.
``Why not go to a team that's in first place right now, has a chance to go to the finals,'' Abrosimova said. ``That's something I wasn't able to do in the last seven years (with the Lynx).''
Although Sun coach Mike Thibault might have had an advantage in recruiting Abrosimova since he was also in Beijing as an assistant on the gold medal-winning U.S. team, he and general manager Chris Sienko had also tried to lure her to Connecticut during the offseason.
``They made it sound like they really wanted me to come to them, but I didn't want to make any plans before the Olympics,'' Abrosimova said. ``I wanted to take a year off. I didn't want to think about it, I didn't want to play in the league at all.''
Although Abrosimova acknowledged that it would probably be better for her to rest by staying in Europe, she said she likes to play in the WNBA and wants to win a title here.
``I haven't won here, in terms of winning a WNBA championship,'' she said. ``I won everywhere else, been to a lot of finals, Olympics, world championships. ... That would be a good thing for me to finish up with.''
Abrosimova's transition to the Sun is helped by several familiar faces, including former UConn teammates Asjha Jones and Tamika Raymond. She spent three years with each in college and the last six with Raymond in Minnesota.
``Add another veteran, another leader to the court,'' Jones said. ``Going down the home stretch, it'll certainly help us out, teach our young guys a little bit and bring a little more intensity to our game.''
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PLAYING THROUGH PAIN: It's no secret that Swin Cash is playing with back pain. Just how bad is it?
``It's like having a knife in your back and pins and needles crawling down your hamstring and in your foot whenever you step,'' the Seattle forward said, adding her treatment includes keeping heat on it and taking painkillers.
``You try to do the best you can, and when it gets to the point where you can't play anymore, you have to do what's next,'' she said. ``It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't pounding so much. ... Once I get in there, I just focus on what I'm going to be doing. And if I'm going to play 40 minutes, I have to be prepared to do that until my body tells me otherwise.''
Cash, who missed out on practices with the team during the Olympic break because she was working for NBC, has averaged 10.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in four games since the league resumed play. She had a rough first game, finishing with six points on 1-for-5 shooting in 18 minutes during Seattle's win over Houston.
However, she was solid last Sunday, scoring 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting while playing 28 minutes in an 80-76 loss at Connecticut.
``Swin's been dealing with this injury for a while now,'' teammate Sue Bird said. ``At this point, she knows what she has to do to be ready. She's very professional about it and she does get herself ready.''
Storm coach Brian Agler credited Cash for playing through the pain.
``Swin's a competitor,'' he said. ``She's battled that all year long. On game night, she's going to really compete and play hard. Now, we have to do some things to get her ready for game nights.''
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Chicago's Jia Perkins and Los Angeles' Candace Parker were selected the league's latest players of the week for the Eastern and Western conferences, respectively.
Parker, the first overall pick in this year's draft, earned the honor for the first time after averaging 18.0 points, a league-best 12.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the Sparks' wins against Sacramento and San Antonio. She also shot 54 percent (14-for-26) from the floor.
Perkins was selected for her second weekly honor, the first this season, after averaging 20.7 points while shooting 53 percent (24-for-45) in the Sky's wins against New York, Washington and Detroit. Perkins had 28 points, five rebounds and three steals in Chicago's 79-75 victory at Washington on Aug. 29.
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PROMOTING CANCER AWARENESS: Pink will be prominently visible in the nationally televised games this week as part of the WNBA's ongoing effort to promote awareness about breast cancer and raise funds to help fight the disease.
During the Silver Stars-Sun game on Sunday and the Mercury-Shock contest on Tuesday night, the home teams will wear white uniforms with pink trim, coaches will wear pink ties or scarves and the referees will be using pink whistles. The teams will donate autographed pink-and-white basketballs and the uniforms will later be auctioned off for charity.
Also, the league's Web site (www.wnba.com) will feature the WNBA Breast Health Auction to benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Items available during the auction will include game-worn apparel and autographed memorabilia.
``Through this auction, in-arena awareness nights, nationally televised games and other events throughout the week, the WNBA and its players are bringing attention to this important cause and raising funds that are needed for research and education efforts,'' WNBA president Donna Orender said in a statement.
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SCOREBOARD WATCH: Phoenix at Detroit, Tuesday, 7 p.m. The defending champion Mercury return to Detroit for the first time since beating the Shock in Game 5 of the WNBA finals last year. Phoenix entered the weekend in last place in the West, three games behind fourth-place Sacramento. ... San Antonio at New York, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT. Becky Hammon, Vickie Johnson and Ann Wauters face their former team as they lead the Silver Stars against the Liberty. Wauters, who returned to the WNBA after a two-year absence, will be making her first trip to Madison Square Garden since leaving the Liberty after the 2005 season.
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STATS: Phoenix's Diana Taurasi entered the weekend as the league's top scorer at 23.8 points per game, followed by teammate Cappie Pondexter (21.5). Seattle's Lauren Jackson, who is out for the rest of the season, was third at 20.2. ... Sparks rookie Candace Parker (9.8) and veteran teammate Lisa Leslie (9.3) were tops in rebounding. ... Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen and Seattle's Sue Bird were tied for the league lead in assists (5.4). ... Sky guard Jia Perkins is averaging 21.0 points on 58 percent (33-for-57) shooting from the field in her last four games. ... Sacramento's Ticha Penicheiro, the league's career assists leader, is three away from becoming the first player to reach 2,000.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: ``I enjoy playing against much taller players. I do whatever it takes to win games. I started out playing outside when I was younger, and I was just fortunate enough that my coaches didn't try to limit me.'' - Connecticut forward Tamika Whitmore.
