Mystics-Mercury Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jul 14 2011 10:30PM

The surging Phoenix Mercury are showing no signs of slowing down since their poor start, which could make it difficult for the injury-depleted Washington Mystics to keep up.

The Mercury look to win their sixth straight when they host the struggling Mystics on Friday night.

After losing its first three games, Phoenix (9-4) now leads the Western Conference and is coming off a win over one of its closest pursuers after defeating Minnesota 112-105 on Wednesday.

"After an 0-3 start, we didn't panic," said Diana Taurasi, who scored 27 points. "We didn't get too low. We knew we had to fix some things to get on a roll. You can't get too low. You can't get too high."

It was the third time in four games the Mercury have topped 100 points. DeWanna Bonner scored a season-high 24 points and Phoenix went 14 of 27 from 3-point range, outscoring the Lynx 39-29 in the fourth quarter while rallying from an 11-point deficit.

Phoenix averaged 84.7 points over its first three games, but is now leading the league in scoring (93.4 points per game) and field-goal percentage (48.1). The Mercury have five players averaging double figures in scoring - led by 19.8 from Taurasi, a perennial All-Star who was named as a starter for the Western Conference on Thursday.

Phoenix is in the midst of its longest winning streak since a six-game run in July 2009, while Washington is trying to avoid its first five-game skid since losing its final nine games in 2008.

The Mystics (2-9) are 0-3 during a stretch of five straight road games, losing 79-71 at Seattle on Tuesday.

Washington, among the league's lowest-scoring teams at 72.5 points per game, was held scoreless for the final 2:08. The Mystics have averaged 64.0 points during their losing streak.

"We had our opportunities to take the lead, and we settled on some jump shots and missed some shots down the stretch," coach Trudi Lacey said. "That made the difference."

Even the return of leading scorer Crystal Langhorne wasn't enough to stop the slide. Langhorne, who is averaging 17.1 points and had missed the previous three games with a back sprain, was held to 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting Tuesday.

Although the Mystics were hoping to get Alana Beard back for the game, she remained out with a foot sprain and still has yet to play this season.

While Washington doesn't have a lot of offensive weapons, Marissa Coleman continues to pose a threat from outside. She scored a season-high 16 points in Tuesday's loss, reaching double figures for the fifth straight game. She is 7 of 11 from 3-point range in the last two.

The Mystics' road trip ends Sunday against Los Angeles. They are 1-5 away from home, but have won their last two visits to Phoenix.

Washington won both games against the Mercury last year, with Langhorne averaging 26.0 points.

Dupree, Taurasi lead Mercury over Mystics 78-65

Posted Jul 16 2011 1:22AM

PHOENIX (AP) Candice Dupree had 20 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 78-65 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday night.

Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's second-leading scorer, was limited to 13 points and added five assists for the Mercury, who won their sixth straight and 10th in the last 11 games.

Crystal Langhorne had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mystics, who have lost five straight and nine of 10. Matee Ajavon added 14 points for Washington.

Washington made six of its first seven shots in the second half to pull to 49-45 with 4:29 left after trailing the entire opening half. But Phoenix outscored the Mystics 15-4 over the next 4 minutes to pull away.

Kara Braxton had 17 points, and Penny Taylor added eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals for Phoenix, which leads the Western Conference by a game over San Antonio.

Dupree scored 12 points to help Phoenix to a 36-27 lead at the break after the teams combined to shoot 37 percent.

The last-place Mystics (2-10) shot just 23 of 66 (35 percent) from the field.

Langhorne scored 11 of the Mystics' 12 first-quarter points but was held to 3-of-10 shooting from the field the rest of the night.

Taurasi hit a free throw with 3:45 left in the third quarter to become the fastest WNBA player to reach 5,000 points. She did it in her 243rd game, 16 faster than Lauren Jackson of Seattle. She is the fifth player to reach that mark and was named to her fifth All-Star game Thursday.

• Mystics: --
• Mercury: --

• Mystics: --
• Mercury: Braxton

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #39 Michael Price, #7 Clarke Stevens, #62 Jeff Wooten
• Attendance: 9075
• Duration: 1:54