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In her early days in the United States, Australian basketball player Erin Phillips recalls feeling like maybe she was inadvertently getting away with something. The portions of food served here seemed ... well, out of proportion. At first she would wonder, Shouldnt I have to pay more for this?For the most part, though, Phillips acclimated well to the United States, which has been the case for a lot of the Aussies who have come here to play in the WNBA. And as the league celebrates its 20th anniversary season, we should take time to celebrate the many players who contributed to the success of the league-- even though the United States wasnt their home.The Australians, in particular, have had a significant impact on the WNBA. From the most decorated of the Aussies -- three-time MVP Lauren Jackson -- to even those who spent only a brief time in the league, the contributions from Down Under have made a difference.Twenty-seven native-born Australians have played in the WNBA, along with five others who were born elsewhere but have Aussie citizenship. This season, there are five active Australians in the league: Phillips (Dallas), Penny Taylor (Phoenix), Rebecca Allen (New York), Jenna OHea (Seattle) and Abby Bishop (Seattle). Its an Olympic year, meaning other Aussies are sitting out the WNBA season to train with their national team, the Opals. But some of them will be back in the WNBA next year.Maybe culturally we adapt because its similar, Phillips said of how successfully many of the Australians have adjusted to life in the United States. Having played in Europe, that was harder for me. I think theres probably almost a taste of home in America, a home away from home. I think its a key component of why we feel so comfortable here.There have been some exceptions, including center Liz Cambage, who was drafted No. 2 by Tulsa in 2011 but has played in only 53 WNBA games.The Tulsa Shock are now the Dallas Wings, and Phillips is in her first season with that organization. She already had a home in McKinney, Texas, so it was pretty much a perfect fit for her.But Phillips has been a good fit on all five WNBA teams that she has played on, starting with Connecticut, where she was drafted in 2005 and debuted 2006.Phillips has been on two WNBA championship teams -- Indiana in 2012 and Phoenix in 2014 -- and shell be on this years Australian Olympic team.She recalls that when the Sun first picked her, Phillips -- who is from the Melbourne suburb of Carlton -- went to the atlas to make sure exactly where Connecticut was.I didnt think I would get that kind of opportunity, Phillips said. I just thought America was too far.But like so many of her compatriots, Phillips got used to that. The Aussies in the leagues early years helped pave the way.Phoenix Mercury coach Sandy Brondello was raised on a sugarcane farm outside the coastal town of McKay in Queensland. She learned to play basketball on a grass and dirt court in her yard.Someone taught me a jump shot at the age of 14, and thats what I practiced all the time, Brondello said. I grew up living in the country, but the basketball was good in our area. We had some really talented players and coaches, and they mentored me.She made the Australian national team at 16, and went to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra when she was 17. Shes been a frequent traveler ever since.Brondello came to play in the WNBA in 1998 as part of the first real wave of Aussies. Six of them arrived in the league that year, all following the first Aussie pioneer, Michele Timms, who started with Phoenix when the WNBA launched in 1997.Brondello had been a professional basketball player for well over a decade before joining the then-Detroit Shock in 1998, including a long stay in Germany where she met her husband, fellow coach Olaf Lange.Competing in the WNBA was a new test that Timms, Brondello, and fellow Aussies like Tully Bevilaqua and Kristi Harrower were eager to face. Even if the WNBA was just getting off the ground, the Aussies still believed in it.I felt like Id proven myself over in Europe, said Brondello, who in total would play 18 years professionally. I had visited Michele in Phoenix and was amazed at the support that they had and the level of play. I wanted to challenge myself against the best.In 2001, three Australians were picked in the first round of the WNBA draft, two of whom became major stars in the league: No. 1 overall selection Jackson, and No. 11 pick Taylor.The only thing that ever stopped Jackson was injuries; the accumulation of them finally ended her career this year at age 35. Jackson had not played a full season in the WNBA since 2010, when she led Seattle to its second league championship.This week, Storm fans will get to say a proper thank you to Jackson, who is not just the best Aussie, but on the short list of best womens players in the history of basketball. Seattle will retire Jacksons No. 15 jersey on Friday as the Storm face the Mystics at KeyArena.Jackson, from Albury, Australia, is the daughter of two basketball players and was a standout almost as soon as she first picked up a ball. The 6-foot-5 Jackson played 10 full seasons and parts of two others in the WNBA, averaging 18.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots for her career.She raised the bar, Phillips said. And just the way she played, with so much aggression and passion. I dont think Ive ever seen anybody who just wanted to win so badly every time they stepped on the court. What shes done for basketball in Australia is unmeasurable.Taylor, though, is actually the Aussie who has the most WNBA titles, with three in her 13-season career. A Melbourne native, Taylor started in Cleveland, but is now in her 10th year in Phoenix, where she is beloved by the X-Factor, the Mercurys fan base.In some ways, Taylor best exemplifies the more difficult personal sacrifices that the Aussie players have faced in their global basketball pursuits. During her years playing in the WNBA, both of her parents have passed away. Shes had to make the most of family time back in her home country in relatively short periods.You wont hear the Australians complain about this, because they tend not to complain about much. They brought their national team spirit to the WNBA, a get-it-done-for-each-other sense of purpose that has defined Australian basketball.The Ausies take a certain satisfaction in knowing that the WNBAs 20th anniversary would not be the same story without their contributions. They all will say, as Brondello did, that they wanted to play at the highest level. But the reality is, theyve helped make the WNBA the highest level.Thats ingrained in us right from the beginning, Phillips said. If you look at the first ones in the league, those players set the standard of, This is what youre going to get from Australians in the WNBA.We have a lot of pride in that. Our reputation is something that we want to keep strong. 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Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. ST. LOUIS -- Detroits Frans Nielsen had no doubt who was the difference for the Red Wings on Thursday night: goalie Petr Mrazek.Henrik Zetterberg scored in the eighth round of a shootout to give Detroit a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Zetterbergs goal gave the Red Wings a six-game winning streak.I think the goalie stole the game for us, said Nielsen, who scored the only goal in regulation for Detroit. I dont think weve been perfect but we found a way to win.That is what Mrazek found important.This was a huge win on the road for us, Mrazek said. St. Louis is a very good team. You know in the first period we didnt play how we wanted to play but from that second half of the game, we were better.In the shootout, St. Louis first shooter, Alexander Steen, scored but then Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Perron, Nail Yakupoc, Robby Fabbri, Patrick Burgland and Dmitrjij Jaskin all came up short.I still think we could have pulled off some more moves, some better moves to give us better scoring chances, Shattenkirk said. We need to bury our chances.Gustav Nyquist scored on Detroits second attempt but Nielsen, Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheehan and Darren Helm all missed.St. Louis had the better chances in overtime. Center Jaden Schwartz missed a wide-open net early in the extra session. Jori Lehtera was stopped on a breakaway midway through the period by Mrazek.We played really well and had a lot of good stuff but we dont finish, St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. Weve got to look at whats working and whats not working. Youve got to finish at the end of the day.Were scoring one goal and getting points. Thats a hell of a feather in these guys caps but youre going to have score goals in this league.Fabbri was called for hooking with 19 seconds left but Detroit could not cash in. The Red Wings outshot the Blues 3-2 in the overtime.We found a way to grind it out, Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. We had a big short-handed goal and it was big foor us to get the two points.ddddddddddddThe Blues and Red Wings have played to overtime in four of their last five meetings. The teams split their games last season with the road team winning each time.The Blues scored first at 2:31 of the second period on a goal by Shattenkirk. The puck came to Shattenkirk after Berglund won a faceoff. Shattenkirk sent in a wrist shot and the puck deflected in off the skate of Nielsen.Nielsen got it back for Detroit on a short-handed goal, tying the game 1-1 at 13:54. Helm got a loose puck at the top of the slot. He dropped the puck to the trailing Nielsen, who got around Shattenkirk and beat goalie Jake Allen with a backhand shot.St. Louis outshot the Red Wings 14-4 in a scoreless first period. Mrazek made two standout saves in the period, thwarting the Blues, who had a 23-15 shot advantage after two periods.Weve got to find a way to get wins, Allen said. Youre not going to win every single game in a shootout but that was a tough one tonight.Game notes Detroit LW Thomas Vanek sat out the game with a lower-body injury. The Red Wings listed him as day to day. ... LW Justin Abdelkader was back for the Red Wings after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury. ... Lehtera was back in the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury sustained in a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers on Oct. 15. To make a roster spot for Lehtra, the Blues put Magnus Paajarvi on waivers. ... Former Blues D Barret Jackman dropped the ceremonial first puck. Jackman spent 14 years in the NHL, 13 with the Blues. He signed a one-day contract to retire a Blue on Oct. 4 at Scottrade Center. Jackmans first game as a Blue was in a Stanley Cup playoff game against the Detroit Red Wings on April 14, 2002.UP NEXT:Red Wings: Will play visiting Boston Bruins on Saturday.Blues: Will play visiting Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. ' ' '