Sue Bird leads as Seattle Storm hold off Phoenix Mercury 83-77 – WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night, Sue Bird pounded a team-high 18 points as the Seattle Storm cruised past Phoenix Mercury 83-77 at the US Airways Center for their second consecutive victory. It was the second straight defeat of Phoenix, but they
are still ahead of Seattle in the Western Conference by one game.
Bird also dished out a game high seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals in on the night. Camille Little had 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals for Storm, who have won two of their previous
five games.
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with a game-high 26 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds. DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree racked up 10 points each in the losing effort. Forward Penny Taylor, who is averaging 16.3 points,
5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game in this season, was held to just seven points, four assists and two boards.
Storm shot 44.4 percent from the field and limited the hosts to 40 percent. In addition to that, Seattle outscored them 44-30 in points in the paint.
In a closely contested opening period, Seattle held a 16-15 lead with 02:48 to go in the quarter. Phoenix responded swiftly and outscored Storm 12-2 in the last two and half minute of the first quarter, taking a 27-18 lead into
the second.
Trailing by nine points, Storm made a great comeback early in the second quarter and tied the game at 29. Mercury however scored the next six points to gain a 35-29 lead with 05:07 to go in the first half. Seattle remained within
striking in the period that followed and trimmed Mercury’s lead to three, 41-38. Bonner hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to five points, but Wright drove to the rim right at the buzzer to cut the margin to three at halftime.
Seattle turned the game around after the first half and outscored Phoenix 27-14 in the third quarter, converting a three point halftime deficit into a ten-point lead, 67-57, at the end of the quarter.
Mercury didn’t give up though and Taurasi’s free throw brought Mercury within 79-77 with 20 seconds left on the clock. However, Phoenix committed some crucial fouls in the defining seconds of the game and Tanisha Wright responded
four consecutive free throws as Seattle walked away with season’s third victory on the road.
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