Shock-Mercury Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Sep 07 2011 8:42PM

The biggest game of the regular season for the Phoenix Mercury might be Friday night, but they can't afford to slip up on Thursday.

Considering the ease with which they've handled the Tulsa Shock, that shouldn't be a problem.

Battling for home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Mercury play what should be the far easier end of a back-to-back Thursday night when they try to complete a four-game season sweep of the visiting Shock.

Phoenix (18-13) can clinch at least the West's third seed with a win over Tulsa, but it's gunning for the second spot - which would provide home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason.

The Mercury's competition is Seattle, which is sitting back waiting for Phoenix to arrive for a game that could ultimately decide the No. 2 seed on Friday. The Storm are 19-13, and would wrap up the second spot by beating Phoenix due to a head-to-head edge.

But the Mercury can take the No. 2 seed from Seattle by winning their final three games, and there's plenty of emphasis being placed on getting it.

"We need to focus on home-court advantage," Candice Dupree told the team's official website after Phoenix wrapped up a playoff spot with a 93-77 win over Los Angeles on Saturday. "We have to go out these next three games with the same mindset we had tonight and get three more wins."

The Mercury appear to already be looking ahead to Friday - guard Diana Taurasi said after Saturday's victory "you have to really focus on that game" - but they might be able to get away with overlooking Tulsa (3-28).

Phoenix has won all three meetings with the WNBA's worst team by an average of 23.0 points, including a 102-63 thrashing on July 10 in the Shock's only trip to US Airways Center.

DeWanna Bonner tied a season high with 25 points and Taurasi added 23 in the Mercury's 96-74 win at Tulsa on Aug. 30.

Taurasi, who's tied with Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry for the scoring lead (21.2 points per game), has scored at least 21 in Phoenix's last six wins.

The loss to the Mercury snapped the Shock's stunning two-game winning streak, and they've dropped two more since then, shooting a woeful 28.1 percent in a 73-52 loss at Atlanta on Sunday.

Tulsa needs one win to avoid finishing with the worst record in WNBA history, but it got a vote of confidence from its owners Wednesday after rumors were swirling that the franchise would fold.

"I don't know who those people are talking to because I feel pretty confident with where we are," owner Bill Cameron said.

Winning again won't be easy without Ivory Latta, who last played in the Aug. 30 loss to Phoenix. The team's leading scorer with 12.2 points per game, Latta suffered a torn meniscus and won't return this season.

Taurasi scores 21, Mercury beat Shock 91-76

Posted Sep 09 2011 1:33AM

PHOENIX (AP) Diana Taurasi scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, to lead the Phoenix Mercury to a 91-76 victory over the Tulsa Shock on Thursday night.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris added 14 points, DeWanna Bonner had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Candice Dupree scored 13 as Phoenix (19-13) won for the fourth time in five games and clinched at least the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

The victory also set up a first-round matchup against defending champion Seattle, with home-court for the series still to be decided. The Mercury and Storm are tied for second place with two games remaining and meet in Seattle on Friday.

``We will just treat it like every other game, we will play the same way we have been all year,'' Taurasi said. ``If you have to change things for a big game, than you aren't preparing the right way. So we will go to the airport early and go to Seattle and see what we can do.''

The regular season ends Sunday and the playoffs start Sept. 15. The Storm beat the Mercury 2-0 in the conference finals last year.

Liz Cambage had 22 points and five rebounds to lead Tulsa (3-29), which has lost four in a row. Tiffany Jackson had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Andrea Riley added 14 points and five assists.

Neither team scored for the first 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter until Taurasi hit a 3.

``At the beginning of the fourth both teams were stuck, there were great defensive possessions left and right,'' said Taurasi, who finished with five 3s. ``I think it was a hard game, they are a tough team because they play some weird line-ups and they switch everything, so they make it tough.''

Cambage's jumper pulled Tulsa to 73-64 with 6:05 left, but Taurasi hit another 3 just 8 seconds later to push the lead to 12 and the Shock never got closer.

Dupree also had three rebounds to become the 19th player in WNBA history to have 3,000 points and 1,500 rebounds in her career.

The Mercury's reserves - led by Ferdinand-Harris - totaled 37 points on 17-for-32 shooting, the fourth-most points the backups have scored this season.

``Our bench really came through tonight,'' Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. ``We wanted to use them a little bit more, and they really came through. The key for the game tomorrow are a turnover, that's it. Don't get big turnovers where the other team can score easy.''

The Mercury played without second-leading scorer Penny Taylor, who averages 16.7 points a game, who sat out her third game with back spasms. She missed two games before returning on Sunday to play 15 minutes against Los Angeles.

Ferdinand-Harris scored 10 points in the first quarter, making all four of her shots and two free throws, as Phoenix grabbed a 29-24 lead.

Phoenix shot 59 percent from the field in the first half but Tulsa took 10 more shots and trailed 48-45 at the break.

``I thought we executed quite well,'' Shock coach Teresa Edwards said. ``I thought we played well, especially against a team like this. I don't want to be too presumptuous and say we set the pace, but having Phoenix play a half-court game is an advantage for us because they like to run and like to get out. They're a high scoring team and that's how they do, so I thought we did a great job in that first half.''

Taurasi hit a 3 and converted a three-point play to help Phoenix get out to a 62-50 lead halfway through the third quarter. The Mercury led 70-62 going into the final period.

• Shock: --
• Mercury: --

• Shock: Jackson
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #9 Denise Brooks, #7 Clarke Stevens, #44 Felicia Grinter
• Attendance: 8189
• Duration: 1:48