Sophia Young scores 26 points as San Antonio Silver Stars beat Phoenix Mercury 101-99 - WNBA Recap
Sophia Young added a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the San Antonio Silver Stars squeaked past Phoenix Mercury 101-99 in a remarkable come-from-behind win at US Airways Center on Friday night.
Young scored 20 points in the second half of the game, shooting 10-for-18 from the field, as San Antonio overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to improve their season record to 4-0, the best start in franchise history. Becky Hammon
had 22 points, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from free throw line and nine assists while rookie Danielle Adams came off the bench with 16 points and six boards.
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Candice Dupree ended with 18 points and a game high 12 rebounds.
Penny Taylor also scored 18 points, distributed 10 assists and made three steals while DeWanna Bonner punctuated 15 points and seven rebounds for Mercury, who lost their third on a trot.
First Quarter
There was nothing to separate the two teams as the game tipped off. The first six minutes of the game proved to be dog fight as the lead changed hands time and again. However, Phoenix found managed to scratch a 17-14 lead with
four minutes to go in the opening quarter. Adams’ layup in the next few seconds cut the deficit to one-points, 17-16.
In the next two minutes, Mercury finally broke through the Silver Stars defence and erupted with nine unanswered points to take a ten-point lead, 26-16. Phoenix maintained their hold in the last two minutes of the quarter and sustained
a 32-24 lead into the second.
Second Quarter
Mercury maintained their momentum going into the second quarter and widened their lead to 43-30 around the midway mark of the frame. Hodges’ three-pointer cut San Antonio’s deficit to ten points, 43-33 but Phoenix continued to
be aggressive and stretched their lead to 51-37 at halftime.
Third Quarter
Trailing by 14 points after the first half, the Silver Stars, keyed by a 12 point early spurt by Young trimmed their deficit to seven points, 59-52 by the midway mark. Mercury forward Candice Dupree countered the Seattle onslaught
in the next few minutes but the defending champions were unstoppable and they took a one point lead on the stroke of the last minute.
Taylor responded with a jumper and then a pair of free throw by Dupree stretched the Mercury’s lead to 76-72 with six seconds to go in the quarter. Robinson however scored two free throws in the last three seconds of the quarter
to make it a two point game, 76-74, heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Bonner started the final quarter with three free throws to give Mercury a 79-74 edge. San Antonio however scored the next seven points to go ahead by 81-79 with 07:19 to go in the game. They continued to lead the Mercury after
that and Hammon driving layup with 47.3 seconds to go gave Silver Stars as 98-94 lead.
Dupree’s lay-up reduced the margin to two points, 98-96, with 38 seconds left. However, Phoenix lost its hold in the game as DaWanna Bonner and Dupree missed crucial jumpers. In addition to that, Bonner then fouled Perkins and
Hammon in the closing seconds who scored three-of-three free throws to make it 101-96 two seconds left.
Braxton hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer but the Silver Stars’ lead was a bit too huge to overcome.
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