A late-season run has helped the Phoenix Mercury pull away from the rest of the Western Conference.
Phoenix looks to clinch its first conference title when it visits the Sacramento Monarchs on Friday at Arco Arena to begin a regular-season ending home-and-home set.
The Mercury (21-11) have won three straight games and nine of 10 since July 22. They are 15-5 against the West, and own a one-game lead - and the tiebreaker - over San Antonio atop the conference.
Phoenix will clinch the top seed in the West with either a win or a Silver Stars loss at Indiana on Friday night.
San Antonio's result will also affect Sacramento (19-13), which sits one game behind the Silver Stars for the second seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Monarchs kept their quest for the second seed alive by winning their third straight home game Wednesday, beating San Antonio 81-74.
Reserve Kristin Haynie scored a career-high 14 points, while Kara Lawson and Nicole Powell each added 13 for Sacramento.
"It was important for us to defend our home court," Lawson said after Sacramento improved its conference-best home record to 12-4. "One of the things we've done in the past is protect our home court during the playoffs. That's a message we wanted to send out tonight that this is still a tough place to get a win."
On Friday night at home, the Monarchs look to contain a fast-paced Mercury offense that leads the league with 88.7 points per game and scored well above that mark in Saturday's 100-83 victory over Los Angeles.
Forward Penny Taylor led Phoenix with 28 points and is averaging 27.3 over her last three games.
Cappie Pondexter scored 21 points and Tangela Smith added 16 for the Mercury, who established a new club record for wins in a single season.
"It's nice not to rely on someone else to lose or win to get in the playoffs," said Mercury All-Star guard Diana Taurasi. "We did it on our own terms this year which is a huge credit to the coaching, the whole staff, and the players."
Taurasi, who scored 12 points against Los Angeles, had 26 in the Mercury's 74-70 victory on June 9 at Sacramento. Phoenix has won both meetings in the season series and four straight overall over the Monarchs.
The June victory ended a four-game skid at Arco Arena for the Mercury, who are just 6-12 all-time at Sacramento.
The teams meet again Sunday in Phoenix to conclude the regular season.
