Diana Taurasi leads as Phoenix Mercury cruise past Tulsa Shock 91-76 – WNBA Recap
Diana Taurasi scored a team-high 21 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 91-76 victory over the Tulsa Shock on Thursday night at US Airways Center.
It was second consecutive victory for Mercury and fourth straight loss for the Shock. Phoenix and the defending Champion Seattle Storm are now tied for second place in the Western Conference with two games remaining in the playoffs.
Both of the upcoming games are important for these teams as wins will provide them with home court advantage in the playoffs.
“We will just treat it like every other game, we will play the same way we have been all year,” Taurasi said after the game. “If you have to change things for a big game, than you are not preparing the right way. So we will go
to the airport early and go to Seattle and see what we can do.”
Five Mercury players reached double figures on the night. Taurasi, who is averaging 21.2 points per game in this season, ended the game on 7 for 15 from the field, including 5 for 9 from three-point range. Marie Ferdinand-Harris
came off the bench with 14 points on 6 for 11 shooting from the field while DeWanna Bonner recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Candice Dupree scored 13 points and Alexis Gray-Lawson finished with 12 points in the victory.
Liz Cambage led Tulsa with 22 points and five rebounds. She shot 9 for 13 from the floor and 4 for 5 from free throw line. Tiffany Jackson registered a double-double in the losing effort, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Andrea Riley also tallied 14 points and dished out five assists while Karima Christmas totalled 12 points and our rebounds for the slumping Shock.
Phoenix shot 50.7 percent (37 for 73) from the field and limited the visiting team to only 41.4 percent (29 for 70). Mercury dealt out 20 assists as compared to only 12 by Tulsa.
Ferdinand-Harris scored 10 of her points in the opening period as Mercury carried a 29-24 lead into the second. Shock fought back in the second quarter and limited Phoenix to 19 points, cutting their deficit to three, 48-45, at
halftime.
Mercury however took complete charge of the game in the second half. They never gave Shock a sniff and outscored them 43-31 to seal the game. They have now improved to a 19-13 record in the season.
Tags: