Up In The Air

BLOND STREAK: MICHELE TIMMS

Team: Phoenix Mercury Position: Guard Age: 32 Height: 5'7" Weight: 132 Years pro: 13 Key stat: 2.62 steals per game

MICHELE TIMMS DOESN'T just get out there and play hard--she's third in the league in assists, second in steals. The Melbourne, Australia, native doesn't just politely laud the fans for their support of the Phoenix Mercury--she spent two hours signing autographs after the season opener, then wrote a letter to The Arizona Republic apologizing for not being able to get to every last person. And Timms doesn't just like clean socks--she wears a new pair for every game, and has saved every last one in her 13-year pro career. ""It's not a hobby,'' she says with mock seriousness. ""It's a sock fetish.'' The platinum-haired guard's intensity has kept the Mercury in the running for the Western Conference Championship from day one; between her formidable outside shot and an ability to force turnovers, the standout from the '96 Australian Olympic team rocks on offense and defense. Teammate Nancy Lieberman-Cline, who has squared off against the finest players of the '70s, '80s and '90s, says simply, ""Michele is the best point guard I've ever seen.'' Not to mention the most fastidious.

COOL UNDER FIRE: RUTHIE BOLTON-HOLIFIELD

Team: Sacramento Monarchs Position: Guard Age: 30 Height: 5'9" Weight: 150 College: Auburn Years pro: 6 Key stat: 19.8 points per game

FOR RUTHIE BOLTON-HOLIFIELD, the discipline of WNBA training camp was a piece of cake. Compared, that is, with the basic training she went through in the army reserves. As for team spirit, that's not too tough to muster after growing up in a family of 20 children, where, she says, ""even just sitting around the house, we'd end up five on a couch designed for four. We had to get along.'' So, with that background, what did Bolton-Holifield do when singled out to be the offensive heart of a struggling team? She made it look easy, firing in an average of 19.8 points per game and posting top-20 stats in every category but blocked shots. ""I actually put a lot of pressure on myself,'' says the 1996 Olympic gold medalist. ""If we are behind by 10, I want to get us back in with one shot.'' The same drive led her to play her way around the world, but now she is glad to be back where her siblings--and 72 nieces and nephews--can watch her play. And no, if five of them want to go to a game, she doesn't give them four tickets.