By Bob
Phillips
 |
| Diana Taurasi drives past Connecticut's Skekinna Stricklen for two of her 27 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury to victory over the Sun. |
UNCASVILLE—Let me just begin
this with a statement: A one-and-done series beyond the first round—which essentially
amounts to a play-in round, is bogus. That said, for the second straight year,
the Connecticut Sun qualified for postseason play. And for the second straight
year, they were matched with UConn legend Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury
in the second round which, in the WNBA, is also a one-and-done round. And so it
was that, led by Taurasi and Britney Griner with 27 points apiece, the Mercury
dashed the Sun’s dreams for the second straight year, this time by the score of
96-86, before 7,858 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday night.
Taurasi finished 10-for-16 from the floor,
while Griner was 10-for-15. In addition, Taurasi improved to 13-0 in win-or-go-home
playoff games throughout her Hall of Fame career.
DeWanna Bonner chipped in with a big-time
double-double—a 23-point, 18-rebound performance for Phoenix. Indeed, the 6-4 forward
from Auburn broke an 86-86 tie with a layup with 2:10 remaining in regulation, igniting
a game-ending 10-0 run by the visitors that included six free throws by Bonner,
Taurasi and Griner.
A fiercely fought contest until that final
blitz by the Mercury, the game featured 18 lead changes. The led by a single
point at the first turn, 25-24, and went into the locker room leading 44-40 at
intermission. The Mercury gained steam in the third period, outscoring the home
team by a 32-27 margin, and took a 72-71 lead rounding the third pole. The
teams remained neck-and-neck until the final 10-point Phoenix run that sealed
the Sun’s fate.
Courtney Williams had 27 points and eight
rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Sun. Alyssa Thomas
chipped in with 17 points while Jasmine Thomas added 14 points and five
rebounds, and Jonquel Jones had a patented solid all-around game with 13
points, seven boards, and seven assists.
With 35 made field
goals, the Sun established a franchise record for most made field goals in
regulation in a playoff game. They also dished out 20 assists.
But Connecticut never
led by more than seven points, and each time the Sun appeared ready to break
the game open, Phoenix would rally.
The Sun looked like
they would begin to pull away late in the third period when they led 67-61, but
a trey by Stephanie Talbot sparked an 11-4 Phoenix run to close out the period.
The Mercury trailed just once in the fourth quarter when a four-point play by
Williams put the Sun up 82-81. Williams scored again to make it 84-81 with 3:55
left, but Talbot hit another three to knot the score at 84-84.
The game was tied again at 86 when Bonner
made her layup, sparking the final push by Phoenix.
The Mercury now
advance to the semifinals where they will face the WNBA’s No. 1 seed, Sue Bird,
Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm, in a best-of-five series starting
Sunday. Tip-off at the Key Arena is at 5 p.m. ET, and the game will be
televised live on ESPN2. The Washington Mystics will face the Atlanta Dream in
the other semifinal series, which will tip-off on Sunday in Atlanta. That game
starts at 3 p.m. ET and will also be televised on The Deuce.
The Sun finish their season with a 21-14
record.
—with Colleen White and staff reports
No comments:
Post a Comment