June 24, 2007: Scoreboard | Video Play of the Day | Photo Gallery | Today in the WNBA Archive

PHOTO OF THE DAY Former WNBA star Teresa Weatherspoon enjoys the game between New York and Indiana. Led by Tamika Catchings and her 18 points, the Fever escaped with a 74-63 victory. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

Shorthanded Mercury Edge Comets Dominant Fourth Propels Phoenix: Losers of two straight and missing their top two scorers, Diana Taurasi to suspension and Cappie Pondexter to a strained groin, Mercury head coach Paul Westhead was probably unsure of what to expect from his team entering their game with the Comets. What he received was a hot start, a strong finish and a stellar performance from Penny Taylor. The Mercury came out on fire, leading by as much as 20 in the first half and holding a seemingly comfortable nine-point lead at the break. The Comets, however, would not go away quietly and outscored the Mercury by 17 in the third on their way to an eight-point lead to begin the final quarter. Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, who posted 16 points, six rebounds and seven steals, keyed the comeback for the Comets by netting six in the third. With Phoenix struggling to get anything going on offense, in stepped Taylor. The six-year pro scored 13 of her season-high 30 in the fourth and Phoenix went on a 15-0 run en route to a 90-85 win. These teams will meet again next Saturday and the Mercury, who will still be without Taurasi, hope to have Pondexter back in the lineup. ALSO MAKING HEADLINES ... Fever Heat Up Against Liberty: After beginning the season winners of their first six, the Fever hit a bit of a rough stretch and managed only three wins in its next six entering Sunday's matchup with the Liberty. Led by Tamika Catchings, who scored seven of her 18 in the first quarter, Indiana bounced back from Friday's loss to Connecticut with a convincing 74-63 victory over the Liberty. Beginning the game on a 10-0 run, the Fever never trailed and cruised to their 10th win of the season. Tamika Whitmore netted 15 points, while Tammy Sutton-Brown added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. For the Liberty, who have now dropped two straight, Loree Moore finished with 17 points, six assists and five steals. Catchings WHAT THEY'RE SAYING “We looked very timid to begin the game, which allowed them to get us in a hole. We were not getting in our offensive set and that allowed them to get after us and get easy steals. In the first half we lacked aggressiveness." -- New York's Loree Moore, after posting a team-high 17 points in the Liberty's 74-63 loss to the Fever on Sunday. Moore

WHO'S HOT Penny Taylor, Mercury 30 pts, 8-14 FG, 14-15 FT in 90-85 win vs. Comets Loree Moore, Liberty 17 pts, 7-10 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG in 74-63 loss vs. Fever Tamika Whitmore, Fever 15 pts, 7-11 FG, 1-2 3-pt FG in 74-63 win at Liberty

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WHO'S NOT Ashley Battle, Liberty 2 pts, 0-9 FG, 0-7 3-pt FG, 8 TO in 74-63 loss vs. Fever Kelly Miller, Mercury 8 pts, 3-11 FG, 0-3 3-pt FG in 90-85 win vs. Comets Tina Thompson, Comets 10 pts, 3-10 FG in 90-85 loss at Mercury

Battle

WHO'S ON TAP Tuesday's Games ... Mystics at Sun: 7 p.m. ET Silver Stars at Comets: 8:30 p.m. ET Liberty at Monarchs: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN 2 Sky at Storm: 10 p.m. ET

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Taylor

COMING UP CLUTCH With Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter as teammates, Penny Taylor usually isn't called upon to take over games single-handedly. Both stars were out of action, though, and Taylor stepped up in a big way. The six-year pro dropped a season-high 30 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor in Sundays' 90-85 victory over the Comets, including 13 in the final quarter to help Phoenix erase an eight-point deficit. Perhaps most impressive is that Taylor finished 14-of-15 from the free-throw line, with many coming in the final minutes of the game. She also posted nine rebounds and four assists.

FILLING THE BOX SCORE Coming off a less-than-stellar 6-of-15 shooting performance on Friday against Minnesota, Lauren Jackson bounced back quite nicely on Sunday. In an 83-71 win, Jackson torched the Sparks for 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the floor. The 35 points matches her career high and is the fourth time this season that Jackson, the second-leading scorer in the league, has topped the 30-point plateau. The All-Star center also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Jackson