Penny Taylor shines as Phoenix Mercury rout Tulsa Shock, 102-63 - WNBA Recap
On Sunday night, Penny Taylor scored a team-high 18 points; including 16 in a blow out first half, as Phoenix Mercury romped to a 102-63 win over the league-worst Tulsa Shock at US Airways Center. With this victory, Phoenix moved
into first position in the Western Conference in terms of percentage points.
It was Teresa Edwards' debut as interim coach for Tulsa. However, the 46-year-old could not help Shock from being trounced for sixth time in a row.
“It is tough, but you can't use that as an excuse," said Edwards after the game, "I really thought we made a stepping stone today just trying to adjust and come in here and making a few adjustments and carrying it over to the game."
Seven Phoenix players reached double figures. DeWanna Bonner came off the bench with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals in the fourth consecutive victory of Mercury. Diana Taurasi had 12 points, six assists and two steals
for Mercury, who have won eight of their previous nine games. Candice Dupree and Nakia Sanford also contributed 12 points apiece in the victory. Sanford also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Kara Braxton scored 10 points, shooting 5 for 5 from the field,
pulled down four rebounds and blocked four shots while Marie Ferdinand-Harris also punctuated 10 points along with five rebounds.
Tiffany Jackson led Tulsa with 19 points and two steals. Jackson went 7 for 12 from the floor and 5 for 6 from free throw line. Liz Cambage ended with 15 points, on a 7 for 10 shooting from the field, and four rebounds. However,
she also committed a game-high six turnovers. Kayla Pedersen also had 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in the loss.
Shock, the worst shooting team in the league, failed to improve on the night. Rather, they ended with one their worse game of the season, shooting 37.5 percent from the field. Mercury, on the other hand, shot 59.7 percent from
the floor.
Phoenix got off to a record start in the history of WNBA, making their first 11 shots. Tulsa on the contrary, missed 15 of their 19 shots in the opening period as Phoenix carried a huge 36-9 lead into the second. Mercury stretched
their lead to 32 points, 60-28, at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
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