Diana Taurasi sizzles as Phoenix Mercury beat Chicago Sky 86-78; Win fourth straight – WNBA Recap
After a tremulous 0-3 start to the 2011 Women National Basketball Association (WNBA) season, the Phoenix Mercury have bounced back in ferocious fashion. On Saturday night at Allstate Arena, Mercury, keyed by Diana Taurasi, won their fourth consecutive game with an impressive 86-78 victory over Chicago Sky.
The league's third leading scorer once again rocked the court and posted a team-high 23 points. The 29-year-old guard also grabbed four rebounds and pinned 5 of 5 free throws.
Penny Taylor followed suit with 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists while forward Candice Dupree scored all 13 of her points in the second half and punctuated eight rebounds in the victory.
Chicago centre Sylvia Fowles headed all scorers of the night with her breath-taking 28-point spurt. The WNBA's leading scorer also grabbed a game best 11 rebounds. Fowled hit 10 of 20 shots from the field and scored 12 of her points in the first half. Epiphanny Prince had 16 points and three steals for Sky, who have lost three of their previous four games.
Mercury shot 49 percent from the field and held the Sky to just 40 percent. However, Chicago was much worse from downtown as they pinned only 5 of 18.
First Quarter
Chicago got off to a good start and carried a 12-4 lead early in the first quarter before Taylor scored a lay-up and Taurasi hit a pair of free throw to cut the margin to four, 12-8.
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored her only point of the game with 02:31 to go in the opening period to give the Sky a 17-12 lead. However, Marie Ferdinand-Harris’ jumper and DeWanna Bonner’s pair of free throw made it a one-point contest, 17-16. Tamera Young then pinned a free throw at the buzzer to put Chicago ahead by 18-16, heading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
Phoenix erased the opening quarter deficit and took a 23-20 lead early in the second quarter. Both teams then played a close game until Courtney Vandersloot hit a three-pointer and Prince added a lay-up to give Sky a three-point lead, 37-34, with 55 seconds to go in the half.
Taurasi responded for Mercury and hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 37-37 with just two ticks to go. However, Prince bounced back with a three at the buzzer to put the Mercury ahead by three points, 40-37, at halftime.
Third Quarter
Phoenix opened third quarter with six unanswered points to take a 46-40 lead and stretched it to 13 points, 60-47, with 01:10 to go in the quarter. Chicago answered with a 6-2 run to decrease the deficit to nine, 62-53, at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Taurasi scored nine of her points in the fourth quarter and Mercury maintained their double-figure lead throughout the quarter to walk away with fourth victory of this season.
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