Mercury’s Big Three rises to occasion in playoff-chase win over Sparks

By Scott Mammoser

Mercury wins in intense 86-78 game against the Sparks

PHOENIX- With home-court advantage on the line for the postseason, the Phoenix Mercury played some of its most-intense basketball this season in an 86-78 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.

DeWanna Bonner scored a season-high 30 points, going 5-of-11 from downtown, Brittney Griner collected a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Diana Taurasi dished a career-high 14 assists to go along with 20 points. Any time you see the words career-high after Taurasi’s name, you know it’s something major. Griner’s nine double-doubles on the season are also the most in her six-year career.

It was the Mercury’s first win over a team currently in playoff positioning since July 5 over Connecticut, a span of 12 games (3-9). The victory equalizes the Mercury (18-14) with the Sparks (18-13) in wins, along with the Sun (18-13), as the three teams occupy the fourth-through-sixth seeds going into the final week of the regular season.

“We need more scoring from more people,” Taurasi said. “It was a big game for us. We’re trying to play well and feel good going into the playoffs.”

Bonner paused and launched a half court shot to put the Mercury up by 13 at the end of the third. She had 11 in the period as the team erased a six-point deficit.

“I just really wanted to win,” Bonner said. “I really wanted to beat them, and right now, we need to find a good rhythm to get ready for the playoffs. That was my mindset.”

Sparks two-time MVP Candace Parker opened the first quarter 6-of-7 from the floor with 15 points and five rebounds and finished with 23 and eight. Maria Vadeeva, the 20-year-old Russian rookie, increased her career-high in scoring from 10 to 16 in just 15 minutes.

“This is more about us building momentum and us playing the way we are capable of playing for 40 minutes,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “The last two games have been consistent. The bench came on and made good plays. We are playing well, and that’s what it all comes down to in the playoffs, so we can come out there in any situation.”

The Mercury has two regular season games remaining, both at home, at 7 p.m. on Friday against Atlanta and at 3 p.m. on August 19 versus New York. The Sparks host the Liberty on Tuesday and close out the campaign on the road in Washington and Connecticut on August 17 and 19.

Playoff-bound Mercury gains confidence in win over Fever

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX- Playing for the first time with the knowledge that it clinched a playoff berth, the Phoenix Mercury leveled the last-place Indiana Fever, 94-74, on Friday night.

The team never trailed and went up by as many as 27 to improve to 17-14. The tight playoff race, of where the Mercury can finish anywhere between second and eighth, continues at 4 p.m. on Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks (ESPN2). The Fever (5-25) progresses its West Coast swing in Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, third and fourth in the league in scoring, paced the way with 14 and 12 points, but rested for much of the second half. It was a great chance for the likes of Yvonne Turner, Leilani Mitchell and Stephanie Talbot to take control.

Mercury clinch playoff birth berth then level Fever by 20, 94-74.

“We clinched the playoff berth, but we want to keep the momentum going into the playoffs and want to win these last four games,” said Talbot, who scored 14 points. “This is a good start. We played good team defense and worked together as a team today. Yvonne came in today and hit some big shots, Lei, as well. They were both big for us.”

Turner scored 10 points, while Mitchell was 3-of-6 from downtown for nine points. In addition, DeWanna Bonner pulled in her fifth double double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“Everybody played loose tonight and played their game,” Bonner said. “It’s been a long time coming (the win), but it’s a great opportunity for our team.”

Bonner added that it is relatively awkward to play against her wife (Candice Dupree) and sister (Erica McCall), both on the Fever, but as soon as they leave the court, their family life is restored.

“Sometimes we come out and our focus is not what it should be,” said Mercury coach Sandy Brondello, who became the first coach in franchise history with 100 wins on Friday. “The girls came out and really executed the scout. We talked about getting our bench going, so it all worked out anyways.”

Fever rookie Kelsey Mitchell, the four-time All-American from Ohio State, scored 20 points (4-of-9 from three-point range), and at 13 points per game, is having one of the finer first seasons in WNBA history, despite the losses. Tiffany Mitchell added 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Cappie Pondexter scored 10.

“It’s important that we attack the basketball, get some open looks and knock them down,” Fever coach Pokey Chatman said. “They had 41 points in transition. You can’t do that to any team, let alone a team that’s hungry and fighting for playoff position.”

Mercury continues sliding with loss to Seattle

BY SCOTT MAMMOSER

PHOENIX- In a league where two-games dictate the difference from second place to ninth, the first-place Seattle Storm continued to separate itself from the rest of the parity-driven WNBA with a 102-91 win at the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.

Jewell Loyd, who averages 16 points per game versus the rest of the league and what feels like 30 when she plays the Mercury, finished with 29.  Breanna Stewart, leading the league in scoring at 22.8 points per game, added 16 for the Storm (19-8).

Mercury in a slump, losing 7 of last 8 games.

Phoenix (15-12) lost for the seventh time in the past eight games, with the lone win coming at lowly Indiana (3-23). Diana Taurasi scored 14 on 4-of-9 shooting in the first quarter, twice as much as any other player, but cooled down at concluded with 20. Brittney Griner scored 25 points and tied Briann January with a game-high seven assists, plus DeWanna Bonner scored 14.

“That’s a great team out there,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said of the Storm. “They have so many weapons. They have the best point guard ever to play the game (Sue Bird). They have (Natasha) Howard impacting, Loyd always playing well against us, and players coming off the bench and doing their jobs. But don’t sympathize with us, we can’t allow teams to score 102 points. We need to get better at playing defense.”

Bird only scored five points, but watching the 37-year-old weaving through the open court and setting up the offense still feels like spotting a cheetah on safari. Howard added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Alysha Clark scored 13.

Seattle, with Loyd going 5-of-7, slaughtered the Mercury from downtown, shooting 50 percent opposed to Phoenix’s 23 percent.

The Mercury added more size upfront with the signing of former Notre Dame and Minnesota Lynx forward Devereaux Peters this week, replacing the injured Sancho Lyttle. Peters graduated a year prior to Loyd’s arrival on the campus in South Bend.

“I just missed her,” Peters said of Loyd. “That’s my girl though, I heavily recruited her because she’s from Chicago. I was always at her high school games, we always hung out. That’s my girl!”

The Mercury will play its final two regular season road games at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Las Vegas and at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Los Angeles. A 7 p.m. tip on August 7 against the Washington Mystics begins a string of five-straight to close the year. The Storm hosts Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“We have to get better if we want to go far in the playoffs,” Brondello said. “We need everyone to step up and shoot the ball with confidence. We need to stay aggressive and move the ball.”

Taurasi’s early ejection opens door for Moore to punish Mercury with 38 points in Lynx win

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX- What began as a classic shootout between Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi, turned into pure havoc on Saturday night. Taurasi was ejected with her second technical foul in the mid-second quarter, and security was required to escort her off the court. In response, the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 80-75, in a 43-foul slugfest.

Havoc and ejections led to Lynx win over Mercury 80-75.

The defending champions improved to 14-10, and the Mercury fell to 15-10, as the slimmest of margins now separates the second through seventh seeds in the playoff race. The Lynx has now won nine-consecutive regular season matchups with the Mercury.

“We had stops when we needed to and stayed poised on offense,” said Moore, whose 38 points came on 12-of-28 shooting. “I come in and do whatever I can and stay focused with whatever is needed. We needed every single play, and games are won like that.”

At the end of the first quarter, Moore (18) and Taurasi (12) were outscoring all other players 30-11 and basking in the limelight that occurs when two of the WNBA’s marquee teams collide. Following the Taurasi ejection, DeWanna Bonner responded with 13 points in the second quarter and concluded with 29 in the game. Bonner cut a once 15-point lead to three with three minutes on the clock.

Stephanie Talbot, averaging 1.5 points per game, stole an inbounds pass with 1:10 to play to bring the Mercury within one. Talbot scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the increased amount of minutes. Danielle Robinson, the Mercury’s point guard of last season, answered right back, and Minnesota closed the deal.

“We’re very proud of her,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said of Talbot. “She hasn’t played much all season long. She stepped up and grabbed the opportunity presented to her, with Leilani (Mitchell) not being here (personal reasons), she played the game and was aggressive in the front court. You see what she did. That’s what we need. It’s great to get her going, but we need everybody on the bench.”

In total, the entourage of future Hall of Famers was whistled endlessly. Besides Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles was ejected with six in the third quarter, Brittney Griner had five fouls, Rebekkah Brunson four and Lindsay Whalen three in eight minutes.

Robinson scored 16 for the Lynx, Seimone Augustus had 15 points, and Brunson added to her career league record with 11 rebounds.

The Mercury will face the Chicago Sky at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, while the Lynx hosts the Liberty at 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday night. Minneapolis also plays host to the All-Star Game at 12:30 p.m. PT on July 28, televised on ABC.

Aces hand Mercury fourth loss in past five games

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX- The Las Vegas Aces are continuing to grow up as the WNBA season progresses. Kayla McBride scored 27, while A’ja Wilson pulled in 18 points and 12 rebounds, as the Aces won at the Phoenix Mercury, 85-82, on Thursday night. Diana Taurasi, who won her first national title at UConn while Wilson was in kindergarten, scored a game-high 33 points for Phoenix.

Mercury's turnovers cost them in loss to Aces

“We need to compete against every team in the WNBA,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “This is a good team. We prepared and had good energy yesterday, but we didn’t bring our energy for the start of the game. You need to do it for 40 minutes. We shot ourselves in the foot. We lost that game because of turnovers (16-10, allowing 25 points opposed to nine). We would get back in, then give it right back to them for a layup.”

The Aces led by as many as 13 in the early third quarter. Taurasi’s three cut the deficit to 79-77, then 83-82 with 1:07 to play. After an offensive foul, the Mercury had a chance in the paint, but two offensive rebounds could not fall through the hoop. Wilson extended the lead for the Aces, who improved to 11-13, while Phoenix fell to 15-9.

“We need to be more aggressive,” Taurasi said. “When we are passive, it gives the other team an opportunity. They (the Aces) are getting contributions from a lot of players.”

Brittney Griner recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, DeWanna Bonner scored 13, and Angel Robinson grabbed 11 rebounds for the Mercury.

“We are just trying to win the game,” added Mercury guard Leilani Mitchell, who was 2-of-4 from downtown. “Whether it’s scoring or creating positive energy, we are just trying to win the game. It’s a tight race at the top of the ladder, so every game is important.”

Mercury dropped 3 out of 4 on road, glad to be home.

The Mercury is happy to be back in Phoenix after dropping three of four on its road trip. Plus, the players can get comfortable, with nine of the final 11 regular season games being played at Talking Stick Resort Arena, its next being at 7 p.m. on Saturday against the Lynx. The only road swing consists of the one-hour flights to Los Vegas and Los Angeles on Aug. 1 and 5.

The Aces found their stride since opening the year 1-8. The team rattled off four-consecutive wins, including one in Minnesota , before losing to the Sparks on Sunday. The next game is July 22 versus Indiana in Las Vegas.

Also announced on Thursday, the team assignments for July 28^th’s All-Star Game in Minneapolis. Taurasi, Griner and Bonner will all play for the team Elena Delle Donne is captaining. Brondello and her staff will lead the side with Candace Parker as captain.

Mercury continues hot streak with win over Sun

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Mercury showed the Connecticut Sun why it’s the hottest team in the WNBA, never trailing in an 84-77 victory on Thursday night. The Mercury won its fourth straight and for the 12^th time in its past 14 games to retain its position in first place. 

Meanwhile, the Sun fell to 10-8, but still tied with the Washington Mystics with the most wins in the Eastern Conference.

“We were a cohesive unit on both sides of the floor,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “We didn’t execute some of the plays. You have to remember, Angel (Robinson) hasn’t played with BG (Brittney Griner) much, and DB (DeWanna Bonner) hasn’t played much at the four, but we did play parts of the game where we executed well. We were locked in defensively. The last four minutes, they only scored three points, and we have done that all season long.”

Diana Taurasi and Griner, fourth and sixth in the league in scoring, scored 25 and 23 points to lead the Mercury, and Taurasi also passed Hall of Famer Tina Thompson with her 2,631^st career made field goal during the contest.

“We kind of have to ignore it because in this league you can drop two in a row and be in sixth really quickly,” Taurasi said of the team’s current placing. “I’ve been saying all year, you can’t be too high or too low, just roll with the punches and play your best game and be focused.”

Sun rookie guard Lexie Brown cut a lead that was once 15 to a one-possession game with a three in the mid-fourth quarter. Leilani Mitchell answered with a three, only for Brown to respond with another one on the other end. Out of a Phoenix timeout, Morgan Tuck cut the lead to 73-72. DeWanna Bonner, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds, sank a trey from the corner to open a four-point lead that was never approached afterwards.

In the first game since 6-foot-5 starting power forward Sancho Lyttle was lost to the season with a torn ACL, Yvonne Turner entered the starting lineup for the second time in 2018. The 5-foot-10 Turner scored nine points, including a deep three that gave the Mercury its largest lead of the game in the late third quarter.

“We do everything to stay ready for whoever we play,” Turner said. “We’re always ready and come into practice every day to get ready.”

Turner was coming off of career highs in minutes (31), rebounds (nine) and assists (seven) in her past two games.

“We know what Yvonne can do,” Griner said. “She’s getting into her groove.”

Camille Little was also sidelined with an ankle injury, and Coach Brondello said she would return soon. Brondello also added that the team would be in search of a replacement for Lyttle later in the month once the salary cap allows it. Three Sun players tied for the team high with 11 points - Chiney Ogwumike, Rachel Banham and Jasmine Thomas.

The Mercury hits the road for the next four games, beginning at noon PT on Sunday in Atlanta. The next home game is at 7 p.m. on July 19 versus Las Vegas and Rookie of the Year candidate A’ja Wilson. The Sun will be at Las Vegas on Saturday night.

In addition, around the league on Thursday, Rebekkah Brunson grabbed her 3,317^th rebound  to pass Tamika Catchings as the league’s career rebounding leader in the Minnesota Lynx’s 83-72 win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

Mercury’s stars shine in first meeting with Las Vegas

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX – The ‘Big Three’ of the Phoenix Mercury were in top form, as Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner combined for 58 of the team’s points in its 72-66 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday. Taurasi scored 25, Bonner 14 and Griner 19 to go along with 15 rebounds and seven blocks.

The Mercury went up by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but the Aces cut the lead to four points in the closing minutes. Kelsey Plum drove to the rim, and Griner made the play of the game with a block that prohibited the one-possession contest and swung around the momentum.

“I was just trying to keep them from scoring,” Griner said. “Blocking the shot, keeping them from scoring, and giving us another possession pumped me up to try to get another one.”

It was the sixth-consecutive win for Phoenix (7-3), its longest such streak since its 2014 championship season. In addition, it won its first-ever match-up with the newly-formed Aces (1-7) and extended a winning streak over the franchise to nine games, dating back to their time as the San Antonio Stars.

“The ball didn’t move enough between people’s hands,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “But we won the game, and that’s the important part. I wish we out-rebounded our opponents every single game (49-40), but when we need to we do.”

A’ja Wilson, the No. 1 overall draft pick and NCAA Player of the Year, led the Aces with 17 points, Kayla McBride scored 16, and Plum added 12. JiSu Park, the 19-year-old Korean rookie center, grabbed 11 rebounds for Las Vegas, as well.

“I think it went pretty well,” Wilson said of her first game against Griner. “She’s hard of course with her length. I think I did it pretty decently, but of course, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted. But I think, as a team, I give it all to JiSu Park. She’s 19 years old, and I think she held her ground with her.”

Following a game at Dallas at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the Mercury returns home at 7 p.m. on Saturday to face the first place Connecticut Sun (7-1). The Aces will be at win-less Indiana on Tuesday.