Mercury Narrow Gap On Playoff Bid

By Janet Webster: SPM AZ Writer
Posted Saturday, September 6, 2008

Diana Taurasi is hacked on the arm by Adrian Williams-Strong as she drives to the basket. Photo by Jamie Hines

PHOENIX - Sitting three games out of the fourth and final position in the playoff standings, the Phoenix Mercury faced off against the team holding that spot, the Sacramento Monarchs. The result was a decisive 81-69 victory for the Mercury Friday night.

During the WNBA break for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, the Mercury focused their practices on defense. Their efforts paid off against the Monarchs as the Mercury held them to an opponent season low of 29 percent shooting from the field, 11 percentage points under the Monarch’s season average of 40.7 percent. The 69 points scored by Sacramento was more than five points under their season average of 74.9 percent.

Phoenix scored the first basket of the game and never looked back. Leading by eight at the end of the first quarter, the Mercury built their lead to 18 in the second quarter before the Monarchs went on a run to cut the lead to 11 at the half, 44-33.

In the second half, the Mercury extended their lead to 25 points in the third quarter. The Monarchs answered in the fourth with a small run but fell short at the end.

“We didn’t play great, but we played hard and made some shots. They are an aggressive team, and we matched their aggressiveness,” Mercury coach Corey Gaines observed. “We had some great community rebounding. Everybody rebounded. We got tips, and when we can get the rebound on defense, we can really get out and run. With our offense, we ran them and got them tired, and then they were unable to key on us.”

Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star guard, Diana Taurasi scored the first two baskets for the Mercury and never let up finishing with a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Her Mercury and USA Olympic teammate, guard Cappie Pondexter added 19 points. Taurasi is leading the league with a 23.8 points per game average and Pondexter is second with 21.5.

Taurasi was only four points shy of tying the WNBA record for most 30-point games in a career. When asked about the record, Taurasi -- who typically down plays any individual achievements -- joked, “You should have told me this at half time.”

“Those things come in the flow of a game,” she continued. “If they happen, they happen. Like today, it didn’t happen. It’s cool as long as we play well. It’s just nice to see everyone contribute and play as a team.”

Going seemingly unnoticed were the two steals Taurasi made to give her 206 for her career, breaking the previous franchise record for most career steals (205) held by former Mercury all-star Jennifer Gillom.

Sacramento had three players in double figures. Guard Kara Lawson, also an Olympic gold medalist, lead her team with 19 points. Forward Rebekkah Brunson added 11 points and rookie forward Crystal Kelly came off the bench to score 14 points. Kelly was 1-6 from the field but hit 12-14 from the free-throw line.

The Monarch’s starting point guard, Ticha Penicheiro, became the first WNBA player to dish out over 2,000 career assists. Her five assists in the game put her career total at 2,002.

The Mercury have four games remaining in their regular season schedule and feel they need them all in order to advance to the post season. Their next game, Sunday against the Houston Comets, is their last home game of the season. They finish the season on the road against Detroit, Minnesota, and Indiana.

Sacramento also has four games remaining on it schedule, two at home and two on the road. They can secure their playoff position with two victories. Their first chance will be at home on Sunday, against the Minnesota Lynx. They will then play Seattle on Tuesday and go on the road against Houston and San Antonio to close out the regular season.

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