Rage

The Rage's futility away from home reached unprecedented lows last night. The Rage set an American Basketball League record for consecutive road losses with their worst defeat of the season, 95-71, to the Long Beach StingRays in front of a crowd of 1,008 at the Pyramid at Long Beach State. In the first stop in their four-game West Coast swing, the Rage (8-14) were outscored by 52-31 in the first half and lost their eighth straight road game. Long Beach (12-9) took control early.

The Rage had a bad case of the post-Christmas blahs last night, but they managed to overcome them and the Atlanta Glory, 75-70. The Rage rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to complete their biggest comeback of the season. "It was a sloppy game, but that was to be expected," Rage coach Lisa Boyer said. "Both teams have been off for four days. We came back and practiced yesterday afternoon, then hopped on the plane this morning. " The Glory built an 11-point lead by halftime, then expanded it to 54-40 with 3 minutes, 8 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Rage are finding winning too wonderful to let go. Not even a dismal 31 percent shooting percentage in the first half was enough to get in the way of a 76-59 victory over the expansion Chicago Condors last night at the Apollo of Temple. The triumph enabled coach Anne Donovan's team (5-1) to stay in a first-place tie in the ABL's Eastern Conference with Columbus and extend its victory streak to a franchise-record five games. The Quest maintained their share of first place with an 82-67 victory over the Colorado Xplosion - a team that has never beaten them - in Denver.

The Rage are intent on putting away all bad things for the holidays. A franchise-record six-game losing streak ended Friday with a victory over Portland. Last night, a 31-10 third quarter gave the Rage a 95-76 triumph over the New England Blizzard at the Palestra in an ABL contest between Eastern Division members before an announced crowd of 2,135. A 16-0 run during the second quarter by the winners got them back into contention when it seemed the visitors might be on the way to another triumph over them.

When the new-look Rage lost at New England in the ABL season opener earlier this month, the question arose whether the team's performances in two preseason victories - including one over the Blizzard - were mere happenstances. Perhaps it was just the season opener that was out of character. The Rage (3-1) returned to Hartford yesterday and beat New England, 80-72. It was the third straight victory under new coach Anne Donovan since the opening setback - the Rage's best run since taking the first three games of last season.

The Columbus Quest continue to be the great constant in the American Basketball League - the constant thorn in the opposition's side. Last night, the Rage were struck down by the defending league champions for the second time in less than 24 hours as Columbus took a 65-60 victory at the Palestra in front of 2,268 fans. The point production was the lowest ever by the Rage, breaking the mark set Saturday when they lost to the Quest, 77-61, in Columbus. Shannon Johnson led the winners with 15 points, while Tonya Edwards and Andrea Lloyd each scored 12. Rookie Angie Potthoff from Penn State scored 10. The Rage were led by Dawn Staley's 15 points and nine assists.

Dawn Staley hit a crucial trey, Adrienne Goodson and Taj McWilliams controlled the boards, and the Rage got a rare victory last night, beating the San Jose Lasers, 72-67, before a crowd of 1,203 at the Palestra. That should have been the norm for a squad that Gary Cavalli, the American Basketball League chief executive officer, last summer called "arguably the second-best in the world" in announcing the franchise's move here from Richmond. But the triumph by the Rage (12-23)

It wasn't hard for Rage coach Lisa Boyer to figure out why her team lost to Columbus, 80-69, in front of a season-high 6,108 fans in an American Basketball League game at the Palestra last night. "We were a different team in the first half and they were a different team in the second," Boyer said matter-of-factly. The Rage, ahead 41-30 at the half, saw the lead and the game's momentum slip away in the second half when the Quest rallied to take a 60-52 third-quarter lead. Columbus's run was sparked by Shannon Johnson, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the third quarter.

Rage assistant general manager Tammy Holder has been hired as the interim coach of the Seattle Reign, the ABL announced last night. Holder will replace Jacquie Hullah, a former Dartmouth and Arizona State coach, whom the league fired after the Reign's 74-71 loss Sunday to New England. At 6-15, Seattle has the league's worst record. The team features guard Kate Starbird, the consensus collegiate player of the year last season at Stanford. League officials Gary Cavalli and Steve Hams, as well as Seattle general manager Jim Weyermann, called the Rage late Sunday to request Holder.

The local girl playing for the new local team made good last night. Good from 10 feet away from the basket. Good with just about two ticks left on the clock. Good for a victory. Philly's own Dawn Staley lifted the Rage to a season-opening 87-86 victory over the defending ABL champion Columbus Quest last night with a shot from inside the lane with 2.2 seconds left. It was the first official game for the Rage as a Philadelphia team. Last year, they played in Richmond and concluded their one season as that city's team by losing to the Quest, 77-64, in the fifth and deciding game of the first ABL finals.