Phoenix Mercury down New York Liberty 91-84; Snaps their 3-game losing streak – WNBA Recap
Phoenix Mercury returned to their winning ways Saturday night, as they defeated New York Liberty 91-84 at Prudential Center. With this victory, Mercury snapped their three-game losing streak.
Penny Taylor put in a tremendous performance for Phoenix with a game-high 29 points. She also contributed four rebounds, three steals and three assists on the night. Taylor shot 8 for 13 from the field and a perfect 11 for 11 from
free throw line.
Diana Taurasi was the second major contributor in the victory with 16 points, including a key layup, followed by a three-pointer in the last 40 seconds of the game. In addition to her 16-point spurt, Taurasi grabbed three rebounds,
dished out three assists and had two steals for Phoenix.
Candice Dupree turned in 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds for Mercury, who have won seven of their previous 10 games.
Nicole Powell led New York with 16 points, a game best six steals, four rebounds and three assists. Plenette Pierson added 15 points while Cappie Pondexter had 13 points, three assists and three rebounds in the loss. Essence Carson
came off the bench with 12 points while Kia Vaughn recoded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Liberty, who have lost three of their previous five games.
Phoenix shot 50.9 percent from the field and 92.9 percent from free throw line. New York, on the other hand, shot 42.5 percent from the floor and 57.9 percent from the line.
New York held a 13-6 lead with 05:37 to go in the first quarter, before Mercury responded with eight unanswered points and went ahead by one, 14-13. However, Liberty pulled off a 6-3 stretch in the last two minutes of the opening
period, taking a 19-17 lead into the second.
Phoenix limited New York to 17 points in the second quarter and converted their two-point deficit into a 42-36 lead at halftime. Trailing by six points at the end of first half, Liberty came out strong in the third quarter and
trimmed the margin to just one, 66-65, heading into the fourth.
Phoenix carried an 84-77 lead with 02:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Liberty scored five consecutive points to make it a two-point contest. With 38 ticks to go, Taurasi broke the game with her five point spurt to seal
the win for Mercury.
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