Bonner and Turner push Mercury to fourth game against Storm

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX - Coming off of an overtime loss in Game Two, the Phoenix Mercury staved off elimination with an 86-66 win over the Seattle Storm in Game Three of the WNBA semifinals to force a fourth game at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

DeWanna Bonner piled in 27 points, Brittney Griner scored 21, and the surprise of the game was Yvonne Turner’s 19 to make up for Diana Taurasi’s uncharacteristic night of 3-of-11 shooting. Things were out of the ordinary on the other end, as well, with Sue Bird being held scoreless and Jewell Loyd shooting 1-of-10 for two points.

“It’s just been an unbelievable year,” Bonner said. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done is come back from having twins. We have one more, we can’t settle. We know they are going to come back and make adjustments.”

A little over four minutes into the game, Turner’s three put the Mercury up 17-6, and Phoenix was poised with a 26-16 advantage after the opening quarter, despite Taurasi being held scoreless. The Storm took the lead midway through the second, but it only lasted one possession. Bonner was 7-of-11 with 18 points at halftime, as the Mercury led 42-35.

Phoenix grabbed onto its lead during the third quarter, but after Griner was called for an illegal screen on Alysha Clark on midcourt, the team lost concentration and allowed Seattle back into the game, within one. Taurasi finally scored on a finger roll with 6:16 remaining, then added two more three pointers as the Mercury outscored the Storm in the fourth 26-10.

“I thought we were good in the games in Seattle, but we weren’t great,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “We weren’t executing the scout at times. Seattle’s a great team; if you don’t execute what you want to do, they will break you down. DeWanna’s always been a special player, she just continues to impress me. She is built like Diana and has that will to win. She loves challenges. She can defend anyone when she is locked in.”

Natasha Howard, the league’s Most Improved Player and an all-defensive first team selection, (as was Griner), led the Storm with 19 points, with 10 rebounds, while league MVP Breanna Stewart collected 15 and 11. Bird dished 11 assists, which were a playoff career best for her. Bonner and Griner tied Stewart with the game-high 11 rebounds.

“I think the biggest thing was, everyone knows we were up 2-0,” Stewart added, “and Phoenix being down 2-0 on its home court, and they didn’t want their season to be over.”

The Atlanta Dream won at the Washington Mystics, 81-76, to take a 2-1 series lead in the other semifinals series on Friday. Game Four will be on Sunday in Washington.