KEY STAT

• The Aces defense was very opportunistic all evening turning 16 Mercury turnovers into 25 points, and getting out on the break en route to racking up 14 fast break points.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Mercury loss snaps a 10-game win streak over the Aces/Stars, with the last Aces/Stars coming on June 25, 2015 in San Antonio.
• With the loss The Mercury dropped to 15-3 on the season when the ‘Big 3’ of Diana Taurasi (33), Brittney Griner (19) and DeWanna Bonner (13) all score 12-plus points in a game.
• Tonight’s game was the first loss of the season for the Mercury when outrebounding its opponent after entering tonight 7-0 when the teams wins the battle of the boards
• The Mercury held the Aces to only eight assists on the evening; this is the lowest mark it has allowed an opponent on the season. The Aces entered tonight’s game ranked third in the league in assists per game with a 20.3 average.
• The Aces, who allow the most three-pointers in the league with 23.2 opponent attempts from long range per game, allowed the Mercury to attempt a season-high 29 three-pointers.
• Diana Taurasi scored a season-high 33 points while racking up six assists and five rebounds. It was Taurasi’s 45th career 30-plus point game (the most in WNBA history) and her first of the season.
• Brittney Griner recorded her sixth double-double of the season with a 19-point, 10-rebound performance. The double-double gives her 33 for her career, and moves her past Candice Dupree (32) for the most in Mercury franchise history.
• Angel Robinson played a season-high 27 minutes, posting a career-high 11 rebounds on the night while tying her career high for defensive rebounds with eight. She also dished out a season-high three assists on the evening.

• Griner’s one block on the evening brings her career total to 555 and ties her with Tammy Sutton-Brown (555) for the sixth spot on the all-time list.

• Las Vegas’ A’Ja Wilson scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to secure her 10^th double-double of the season. This ties her with Liz Cambage for the second most double-doubles in the league behind only Sylvia Fowles (14). 

• Kayla McBride scored a team-high 27 points for the aces while adding a game-high four steals.

MERCURY HEAD COACH SANDY BRONDELLO

(On the game…)

“The biggest thing for us is that we’re not ready to play. We’re not bringing the focus, the intent, or the energy to compete against anyone in the WBNA. This is a good team. We didn’t bring our energy at the start of the game, and then we had to exert so much energy to get back into the game. We lost that game because of unforced turnovers leading to easy layups. No one is feeling sorry for us, and we need to make sure we are bringing it every single game.”

(On stopping Griner…)

“They brought a trap against BG, but not all the time. BG has to get a little further into the paint, and we need more from her. Diana was fantastic but I had to run every play to her. She’s a great player, but that’s not fair to her, we need others to step up. Our post players need more consistency, but if we don’t turn the ball over I think we’re in good shape.”

(On the final play…)

“Diana had a wide open look at the three, but I suppose there was some fatigue there. Right near the end they were playing her physically. Sometimes your best plays are not going to work, but we had a decent look the first time. They were very physical with us and it took us out of what we wanted to do.”

Mercury CENTER BRITTNEY GRINER 19 points | 10 REBOUNDS

 (On the game…)

“We just have to come ready to play. I have to make shots, and other people have to make shots. They’re giving us shots and we have to take them. We can’t turn the ball over. It’s simple but we have to do it.”

(On A’ja Wilson…)

“She’s doing great. She’s feeling it, and it’s trickling down to the rest of the team. They’re playing well together, and she is playing like she’s not a rookie.”

Mercury GUARD Diana Taurasi  33 points | 6 ASSISTS

(On falling behind early…)

“We could obviously do some things a lot better. There are things we have to fix, and things we have to do more consistently. Today we had a hold of it, then we let it slip away. The ball bounced the wrong way, and it was just one of those nights for us. We clawed back in the third and the fourth, but they played well and we didn’t play well enough in stretches.”

(On turnovers…)

“We’re just not doing a very good job of securing the basketball. When you play passive and you don’t dictate what you want to do, you end up in possessions where the defense is really making it difficult for you. We have to be more aggressive, and force ourselves a little bit more on offense. We play passive, and it gives the other team an opportunity to jump on you.”

Aces HEAD COACH Bill Laimbeer

(On forcing Phoenix turnovers and low shooting percentage…)

“I think if you hold Phoenix down in shooting percentage, you’re going to have a great chance to win the basketball game. We talked about that before the game and we did it. When they turned the ball over, we were on the run and made some easy baskets. That’s what we try to do with a young team is just push the ball as much as possible.”

Aces Forward A’ja Wilson 18 points | 12 REBOUNDS

(On guarding Brittney  Griner…)

“We just kept a body on her at all times. It’s tough, of course, having someone who’s taller than pretty much everyone else on the court. At the same time, I think we maintained our body contact to her and just kind of shifted her a little bit.  It was a team thing; it wasn’t just one person guarding her.

(On Phoenix’s Big 3…)

“I mean, when you have Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, two of their three, I mean those are the best in the game, and they’ve proved it. Once you kind of get them taken care of, or just out of the game, it’s different. It’s a different rhythm for them, and when you get a team out of rhythm, it’s kind of hard to get back in it.”

(On All-Star selection…)

“I’m super-duper excited, I’m excited to get a feel for this All-Star thing. Of course I’d like to be home for the all-star break, but this is huge. Especially just my first year I was not expecting to be an all-star like this so just to come out of Team EDD (Elena Delle Donne), I’m excited.”

Aces Guard Kayla McBride  27 points | 4 steals

(On team’s defense and forcing Phoenix turnovers…)

“I think it started with our bigs. Carolyn Swords really came in and gave us a different presence against BG. We just tried to turn the pressure on them. Getting out in transition and playing with pace, that’s our game. That’s when we are at our best, and we were able to do that today and we were able to finish. That’s what really separated us tonight.”

 (On what makes Phoenix’s Big 3 hard to stop…)

“I mean they just play together. They play together so well and they’ve been together so long. They understand how to play and they understand how to win, and they’ve won championships. That’s dangerous, when you have a team that knows each other like that. They’re always in the game.”