Asjha Jones and Tina Charles star as Connecticut Sun defeat Phoenix Mercury 95-92 – WNBA Recap
On Friday night, Asjha Jones scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Connecticut Sun squeak out a 95-92 win over the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center. It was second consecutive victory for Connecticut and second
straight defeat for Mercury. The Sun are now just a victory away from clinching a playoff berth.
Tina Charles added a team high 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. However, Charles struggled from the field this time and ended with only 8 for 20. Renee Montgomery tallied 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out six
assists and stole the ball twice in the victory. Kalana Greene and Kara Lawson also contributed 14 points each for the Sun, who are second in the Eastern Conference with an 18-10 record. Lawson scored seven of her points in the last 43.8 seconds of the game.
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with 26 points on 10 for 22 shooting from the field, including 4 for 9 from three-point range. Penny Taylor also chipped in 26 points four steals. Taylor shot 9 for 18 from the floor, including 4 for 10
beyond the arc, and 4 for 4 from free throw line.
Phoenix’s forward centre Nakia Sanford also recorded a double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds while Candice Dupree ended the game with 11 rebounds, 10 points and six assists for Mercury.
Mercury shot 49.3 percent (36 for 73) from the field and 100 percent (10 for 10) from free throw line. Connecticut shot just 43.8 percent (35 for 80) from the floor and 79.2 percent (19 for 24) from the line. Connecticut committed
nine turnovers while the visiting team committed 14.
Phoenix hit five of their first nine shots from downtown in the first quarter and carried a 31-25 lead into the second.
Connecticut made a comeback in the second quarter and went ahead by 44-41 with 01:14 to go in the quarter. Mercury however scored six consecutive points in the last 54 seconds of the first half and carried a 47-44 lead into the
locker room.
Phoenix continued their momentum in the second half and stretched their lead to 11 points, 70-59, with 01:35 left in the third quarter. However, just like the second quarter, Sun punctuated the last six points of the frame and
trimmed their deficit to 70-65.
Trailing by five points after three, the Sun came right back into the fourth quarter and after Bonner made a layup for Phoenix, they responded with a 8-0 spurt and took a 73-72 lead on a Jones fade away jumper. Taurasi upped the
ante at the point and pinned seven points in 12-5 run to hand a 6 point lead to Phoenix with 4:32 to go. What followed was a counter from Sun that saw them outscore Mercury 14-2 to reverse the 6 point deficit into a 6 point lead with 13 seconds remaining.
Taylor and Taurasi knocked down two treys in the last 10 seconds and brought Mercury within a point, but Lawson slipped in two free throws to put the game to bed.
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