Mercury Zap Sparks
L.A. Blows Another Late Lead In 96-93 Phoenix Win.
As if the first-placed Diamondbacks' weekend sweep at Dodger Stadium wasn't proof enough that Arizona teams enjoy playing in I-10 cities, the Mercury likewise decided that L.A. was a good place to increase a divisional lead.
The Sparks suffered another final minute meltdown at the Staples Center, falling 96-93 to the Phoenix Mercury (19-11) Tuesday.
A San Antonio loss to Washington the same night broke the first-place log jam atop the WNBA's Western Conference, putting the Mercury ahead by a game.
Phoenix forward Penny Taylor again hit overdrive late to win, scoring 19 of her game-leading 23 points in the second half. Guard Diana Taurasi scored 21.
"It was a tough game, four quarters of hard basketball," claims Taurasi, the Glendale native who spent much of the L.A. road trip at her parents' home in Chino, where she grew up. "We didn't necessarily play well the whole game, but we found a way to win."
The Mercury found their way to a 16-point lead in the first half, only to see L.A. battle back and take a 40-39 lead into the locker room with them at intermission. The second half featured a much closer duel, with neither team leading the other by more than 5.
The Sparks (9-19) led 92-90 with just over a minute to play. Taylor hit a key lay-up with 58.1 to go, she was fouled, and hit a free throw to put Phoenix up by one. Sparks guard Temeka Johnson then was fouled trying to shoot a field goal, yet swooshed only one of her two tries from the line, which made it 93-93 with 47.5 to play. Moments later Taurasi was fouled, and sank a free throw to regain the one point advantage. As the Sparks tried to rally, a Mercury steal followed by Taylor being fouled with 11 seconds left allowed her to sink two free shots, leading to the final score of 96-93.
"L.A. smacked us at home a couple weeks ago," Taurasi adds. "They played really well again tonight."
A close, heartbreaking loss is nothing new to the Sparks. They've lost 7 straight at home, 4 of them coming down to the wire like Tuesday's affair.
"Phoenix showed you why they're the best team in the west," admits L.A. head coach Michael Cooper. "Again we played great basketball for about 37...38 minutes. Our last three possessions were bad ones."
Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin and bench guard Kiesha Brown tied for the Sparks' scoring lead with 18 apiece. Sherill Baker hit 14. TMF also came away with the most rebounds, 8.
"I thought this was a game we should have had," says Cooper. "We came and played extremely well on their floor, so we knew they were going to come and play well here."
The two teams play a rematch in Phoenix on Saturday. Thursday, both have home games, the Sparks against Washington and the Mercury against New York.
Phoenix's longest road trip of the year (four games) is now behind them. They return to the desert having won 3 of the 4, entering first place, and a healthy starting five and bench.
They've also clinched their first playoff berth since 2000. Many Mercury players will be reaching the WNBA postseason for the first time, but their level of playoff experience is not a concern to them now.
"Everyone feels that it's really getting down to crunch time, but I don't feel like I have to say much" says Phoenix center Kelly Schumacher, who reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2005, her fifth and final year with the Indiana Fever. "I just keep encouraging."
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