Sky-Mercury Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jun 30 2011 2:45PM

The Phoenix Mercury continued their dominance over the Chicago Sky last weekend, but fell short of completing a perfect road trip in their next game.

The Mercury will try to bounce back from that loss with another win over the struggling Sky in their return home Friday night.

Phoenix (4-4) extended its winning streak to four by recording its 10th win in 11 all-time matchups with Chicago on Saturday, 86-78. The Mercury couldn't keep the run going Tuesday as their rally fell short in a 91-86 defeat to Indiana.

Phoenix trimmed an 18-point third-quarter deficit to one with 6:34 remaining but was shut out over the next 3:14, ending its trip with a 3-1 mark.

"We played well for stretches, but not enough to beat them," said leading scorer Diana Taurasi, who shot 5 of 14 and had 15 points.

Taurasi has fared much better against the Sky (4-5), averaging 26.1 points and 55.2 percent from the field over the past 10 meetings. The WNBA's third-leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, she has made 35 consecutive free throws against Chicago.

Nine of Taurasi's 23 points Saturday came in the fourth quarter. Penny Taylor had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Candice Dupree added 13 points and eight boards against her former team.

Sky center Sylvia Fowles, averaging a league-best 21.7 points, had a season-high 28 and 11 rebounds against the Mercury. Chicago, though, was beaten 40-29 on the glass and gave up 28 second-chance points.

"We were soft," first-year coach Pokey Chatman said. "We lost the game because we were soft. That sums up a lot."

While Phoenix has five players averaging double figures in points, Chatman's club has just two - Fowles and guard Epiphanny Prince (17.3) - and opponents may start to take advantage of the lack of scoring depth by focusing their defense on the All-Star center.

Fowles failed to reach 20 points for the first time in eight games in an 84-74 loss to San Antonio on Tuesday, taking only eight shots and finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

"We can always get her the ball more - but the thing is you can't always get the ball on the wing and throw it to Syl because it's going to be five people there," said Chatman, whose team has dropped four of five since a three-game win streak.

Phoenix might want to employ a similar strategy Friday, as Fowles has averaged 29.0 points, 11.0 boards and 59.6 percent shooting in her last three games against the Mercury.

Dupree, the first draft pick in Sky history, has averaged 15.0 points in those three matchups with her former team while making 19 of 27 shots.

The Mercury are 5-0 all-time at home against Chicago.

Mercury set team mark at stripe to beat Sky 97-84

Posted Jul 02 2011 12:29AM

PHOENIX (AP) Diana Taurasi scored 24 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury past the Chicago Sky 97-84 on Friday night.

Taurasi also had six assists and went 11 of 12 from the line to help Phoenix set a franchise record with 42 made free throws - including all but one of their 27 attempts in the second half.

The Mercury, who trailed by as many as 15 at one point, went 42 of 45 at the stripe to help offset their 31 percent shooting in the second half. Phoenix made 13 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Penny Taylor scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals for Phoenix, which has won five of six after losing the first three games of the season.

Epiphanny Prince had 19 points and six assists for Chicago, which has lost three straight.

Courtney Vandersloot scored six of her 14 points in the fourth quarter for Chicago, which led for the entire first half but never regained the lead after Ketia Swanier hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds into the third quarter.

Michelle Snow added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Sky, who pulled to 65-64 with 3:49 left in the third before the Mercury scored the last eight points of the period - making all 6 of their free throws.

Chicago went 6 for 18 from the field in the third, allowing Phoenix to build a 73-64 lead going into the final quarter.

The Mercury missed their first seven shots, while Chicago made four of its first six to grab a 13-1 lead in the first 4:43. Chicago also scored the last eight points of the period to take a 29-16 lead after the first quarter.

Prince had 11 points and Sylvia Fowles added 10 to help the Sky hold a 49-48 advantage at the half. However, DeWanna Bonner scored nine of her 11 first-half points in the final 3:08 of the second quarter to cap a 16-6 Mercury run.

The Sky has lost all six of their games played in U.S. Airways Center.

• Sky: --
• Mercury: --

• Sky: Chatman, Snow
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #7 Clarke Stevens, #11 Lauren Holtkamp, #39 Michael Price
• Attendance: 9517
• Duration: 2:5