Seattle Storm 83 vs. Phoenix Mercury 77 - WNBA Game Second Half Analysis
Third Quarter
Trailing by three points at halftime, Seattle Storm opened the third quarter with a 9-5 burst and snatched a one-point lead at 49-48. Diana Taurasi responded with a jumper and Candice Dupree then successfully drove to the rim to
put Phoenix Mercury ahead again by three points, 52-49. Seattle however held the hosts scoreless for the next 3:36 and scored 14 consecutive points to take an 11-point lead, 63-52.
Kara Braxton scored a lay-up with 01:08 to go in the third period to cut the deficit to nine points but Lecoe Willingham hit a jumper to stretch Seattle’s lead back to 11. Taurasi then nailed a three-pointer to trim Storm’s lead
to eight points but Katie Smith hit a pair of free throws at the buzzer to put Storm ahead by ten-point, 67-57, heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Seattle widened their lead to 12 points, 71-59, early in the fourth quarter, before Phoenix scored two consecutive 2’s to cut the margin to eight points. Willingham’s turnaround jumper however once again made it a ten-point contest.
In the passage that followed, Alexis Gray-Lawson knocked down a dagger from down town and Marie Ferdinand-Harris slipped two free throws to cut the deficit to five, 73-68. Sue Bird hit a jumper on the next possession though to
make it 75-68 for Storm.
Mercury continued to mount their furious comeback and responded with an 8-1 flurry, cutting the deficit to single digit, 77-76, with one minute left in the contest. Camille Little nailed an important layup at that point and stretched
Storm’s lead to three points, but Taurasi hit a free throw to make it a two point game again.
Tanisha Wright however pinned 4 free throws in the last 14 seconds of the game to seal the second consecutive victory for Mercury.
Sue Bird led Seattle with 18 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Camille Little contributed 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the victory. Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi topped all the scorers
of the night with 26 points.
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