Taurasi Named West Player of the Week

Posted: June 23, 2008

Three-time All-Star and 2004 Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi was named Western Conference Player of the Week, the WNBA announced today. Taurasi earns the honor for the seventh time in her career, second of 2008, following a week in which she averaged a league-high 28.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 57.4 percent shooting (27-47).

Taurasi led the Mercury to a 2-1 week, including wins over Eastern Conference-leading Connecticut and Chicago. The Mercury scored over 100 points in both of those victories, including 112 points against Chicago to tie a franchise record (112, Aug. 3, 2006 vs. Charlotte).

On Friday, June 20, Taurasi (33) and Cappie Pondexter (31) combined to become the first set of teammates in WNBA history to score 30 or more points in the same game twice (June 6, 2006 vs. Sacramento). In the game, Taurasi notched season-highs in rebounds (10), assists (5) and blocked shots (4). Her 33-point performance marks the third time she�s scored 30 or more points in a game this season and it is the 14th such occasion of her career, putting her in a tie for second-place in league history (Lauren Jackson, 18; Katie Smith, 14).

Taurasi currently averages 24.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season. Her 24.9 points per game places her first in the league in scoring, narrowly ahead of Pondexter (24.8).

The Mercury takes on the Washington Mystics at the Verizon Center tomorrow night at 4 p.m. in the second game of a five-game East Coast swing.