Samantha Prahalis make clutch free throws as Phoenix Mercury squeak past Tulsa Shock – WNBA Recap
The Phoenix Mercury edged out a close 89-87 victory against the Tulsa Shock here in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The game was decided by two game winning free throws by Samantha Prahalis in the final seconds.
Candice Dupree missed her career best by one point as she scored 31 points for the Mercury in the win. She also had a key offensive rebound that allowed Prahalis to go for the basket and was fouled.
"At our last practice, we set up some different plays for her (Dupree) and told her to be aggressive. To get this win on the road and avoid starting 0-2 is big for us” said Mercury coach Corey Gaines.
Tulsa had a chance to tie the game with 22 seconds left in the game. Ivory Latta attempted a three pointer and missed but Scholanda Dorrell came up with the offensive board and tipped the ball in. However, the referee ruled that
the game clock had expired.
It's just unbelievable to me that it happened like that. It was a great offensive board by Sho. She did what she needed to do to get in there and try to put it back. Glory came up with the rebound and it's something we needed throughout
this whole game. It's a tough one to swallow, but we've got to regroup” said Tulsa guard Temeka Johnson.
A three pointer by DeWanna Bonner had the Mercury up 83-72 with 4:46 left in the game. Tulsa came back with a 14-2 run that stunned the Mercury, and two free throws by Johnson had Tulsa up 86-85 with 1:26 left in the game. Charde
Houston made two free throws to put Mercury back up by 1.
Dorrell then went to the foul line for Tulsa but missed a crucial free throw and scored only 1 to tie the game at 87. Prahalis then scored two free throws to seal the victory for Mercury.
DeWanna Bonner had 16 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds for Mercury, while Charde Houston came off the bench to score 13 points. Temeka Johnson had 16 points and 7 assists for Tulsa and Kayla Pedersen added 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Ivory Latta came off the bench to score 16 points for Tulsa.
Mercury shot 54.7% from the field compared to 39.4% for Tulsa, who had the better percentage from the distance, going 41.7% for the night against 30.8% from Mercury.
Mercury also had 22 turnovers compared to only 11 for Tulsa, but the Shock failed to take advantage of the poor ball handling of Mercury.
Both teams were competitive on the rebounding end, and Mercury had only 3 more assists than Tulsa at 19.
With the win, Mercury go 1-1 in their first two games to open the season. Tulsa, on the other hand, drops to a 0-2 record.
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