Phoenix Mercury sizzle from the stripe to notch a 97-84 win over Chicago Sky – WNBA Recap
On Friday night, Phoenix Mercury knocked down 42-of-45 free throws, setting a franchise record for the most free throws made in a game and cruised past the sliding Chicago Sky 97-84 at US Airways Center.
The game turned out to be a scoring extravaganza as five players from each team reached double figures in scoring. Diana Taurasi scored a game-high 24 points and dished out six assists as Mercury bounced back from their 91-86 defeat to Indiana Fever in the previous game. The 29-year-old guard was in her shooting groove on the night, hitting 11 of 12 from the line and 6 of 8 from the field.
Forward centre Kara Braxton had 15 points and five rebounds while Penny Taylor scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals for Mercury. DeWanna Bonner came off the bench with 11 points while Marie Ferdinand-Harris ended with 10 points for Phoenix, who have won five of their previous six games this season.
Chicago guard Epiphanny Prince scored a team-high 19 points, shooting 5 for 10 from the field and 8 for 8 from free throw line, and dished out six assists. Courtney Vandersloot scored 14 points, including six of them in the fourth quarter, while Michelle Snow added 12 points and seven rebounds in the third consecutive defeat for Chicago. Sylvia Fowles also scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds while Tamera Young totalled 10 points and four rebounds in the defeat.
Mercury got off to a poor start and missed their first seven shots of the first quarter. Chicago took advantage and raced onto a 13-1 lead nearly midway in the first period. After the initial slump, Shock responded. Braxton pounded six straight points and Taurasi hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to six points, 15-9.
Sky however scored eight unanswered points with 01:59 to go in the opening quarter to take a 29-16 lead into the second.
The second quarter of the game turned out to be the one where the game balance shifted. After gradually slashing Chicago’s advantage for the first nine minutes of the frame (49-41), in the last 57 seconds, Phoenix went on a 7-0 run capped by Bonner’s five-point spurt to make it a one-point contest (49-48) at halftime.
Mercury continued to burst through the Sky defences in the third and raced to a 65-61 advantage with 03:59 to go. Swords tried to start something for Chicago with a three point play on the next possession but Phoenix scored the last eight points of the third period to take a 73-64 lead into the final period.
Sky did not get any closer than eight points in the fourth quarter and Phoenix walked away with fifth victory of this season.
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