KEY STAT

• Phoenix was dialed in from behind the arc sinking a season-high 15 three-pointers on 31 attempts (.484). Six Mercury players made three-pointers in the contest, each making at-least two. This marks the 12th time the Mercury has made 10-or-more three pointers this season, the team is 11-1 in these games.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Phoenix victory secures the fifth seed in the WNBA playoffs and locks in a first round matchup against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m. Phoenix Time at Wells Fargo Arena, home of the Arizona State Sun Devils.

• Phoenix recorded 24 assists in the contest, giving the team a franchise-record 20.6 assist per game average on the season (699 total). The Mercury surpassed the previous franchise record of 20.2 apg set in the 2010 season (686 total).

• The Mercury finished the season with 288 made three-pointers, setting a new franchise record for most three-pointers made in a season. The previous mark was 283 makes in 2007.

• The Mercury, who led at the half this afternoon, went a perfect 18-0 on the season when carrying a lead into the half.

• DeWanna Bonner led the Mercury in scoring and rebounding pouring in 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Bonner has scored 20-plus points in eight of the last 10 games for the Mercury (two 30-plus point games) and is averaging 21.3 points 10.2 rebounds since her move to power forward July 25th.

• Bonner’s double-double was her seventh of the season and the 33rd of her career, moving her past Candice Dupree (32) for sole possession of the second spot on Phoenix’s all-time double-doubles list. She trails only Brittney Griner who has posted 37 career double-doubles

• Diana Taurasi scored 16 points on 5-of-13 from the field and 4-for-9 shooting from three-point range. Her four made three-pointers bring her season total to 106, which ranks second in WNBA history behind her 121-make in 2006.

• Brittney Griner scored nine points, while adding four rebounds and four assists. Her nine points bring her season total to 697 (career high) and her season average to 20.5 points per game, making her just the ninth player in WNBA history to record back-to-back 20-plus point seasons. Griner is the first player to accomplish this feat since Elena Delle Donne in the 2015-16 seasons, and is the only true center to do so.

• Taurasi’s 2-for-2 performance from the free-throw line gives her 2,005 career made free throws and moves her past Tamika Catchings (2,004) to take the top spot on the WNBA’s all-time made free-throws list.

• Stephanie Talbot scored a career-high 18 points on 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. Talbot’s six field goals were a career high, and her three 3-pointers tied a career high despite playing with a broken nose, which came within the first two minutes of today’s game.

• Briann January shot 2-for-3 from three-point range in the contest and solidified her spot as the WNBA’s 2018 three-point leader (percentage) shooting 47-for-100 (.470) from deep this season. She edged out Jonquel Jones who shot 50-for-107 (.467) on the season. This is the second time in January’s career she has led the league in three-point shooting (2015 in Indiana). It marks the third time a Mercury player has ended the season as the league’s leader in three-point percentage (Tangela Smith – 2009 and Erin Phillips – 2014).

• New York’s Kia Nurse leads all scorers with 28 points on 9-for-16 from the field while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Nurse’s nine field goals were a career high.

Media Availability: The Mercury’s next media availability will take place tomorrow, August 20 at approximately 12:15 p.m. Phoenix Time. Contact Bryce Marsee at BMarsee@PhoenixMercury.com to confirm availability time.

Liberty Quotes:

Liberty Head Coach Katie Smith…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(On defending the Phoenix Big Three…)

“I thought we did alright with a limited line up. We only had two big kids, Tina and Stokes so we were a little limited, but I thought we did a solid job. Part of guarding them is to go at them on offense and make them guard you. Bonner will fly around and we tried to put her in a box a little bit, I thought overall we did alright on that, but again a little limited on size. One of DT’s attributes is, yeah she can score it and yeah she is a threat from all over, but she lets to ball loose so you always have to guard her. Not only can she score it, but she is a willing and very good passer.

(On team’s overall performance to end the season …)

“For us it has been, honestly, the last stretch has been about playing hard. We’ve played harder for 40 minutes, and we didn’t do that all year, that is not going to win a lot of games especially when we don’t have people who can put the ball in the hole as easily as Phoenix and some of these other teams. We just didn’t play hard enough or consistently enough throughout the season and dug ourselves a hole. This league is too good, but we also need to find more scoring on a consistent basis night in and night out. I am really impressed with the way we finished the year even though we aren’t in the playoffs I thought they really battled.”

Liberty Forward Kia Nurse……………………………………………………………………… 28 points | 7 REBOUNDS

(On her offensive output…)

“I think my teammates set me a bunch of really great screens and coming off those and trying to make reads and plays off of that. I think that was kind of the difference-maker especially in the first half.”

(On trying to defend the Big Three…)

“I mean they are very versatile so you know you can put Bonner at the 4, you can put her at the 3, I think that is something that their skill set, all three of them individually, allows them to be extremely successful as individuals and as a core trio as well and I think that is what makes it as difficult to guard them as it is.”

(On what to look forward to next season…)

“Obviously, I think for me personally it is how do I get better as a basketball player, what do I take from my rookie year, what did I learn, what can I get better at, what can I continue to do to create strength in my game and then how can we as a team become better. I think that is something you have to take care of on your own, it is big responsibility throughout the offseason as we go our separate ways.”

Liberty Guard Rebecca Allen…………………………………………………………………… 15 points | 2 rebounds

(On defending the Mercury Big Three…)

“They are all scorers and they have got so many tricks up their sleeve I guess that is the hardest thing, but the whole team is also good distributors as well as being able to score themselves so I guess it is always a big task for any team.”

(On what to work on for the next season…)

“I just want to keep working on my defense, that is something I did last year, and I want to keep working on my offensive game instead of just being a spot-up shooter, all those sorts of things.”

Mercury Quotes: 

Mercury Head Coach SANDY BRONDELLO……………………………………………………………………………………….

(On the team’s 29-point third quarter…)

“Defensively, we didn’t bring enough fight for that first half and obviously Kia Nurse was on fire. We just needed to pick up our intensity and our focus, and that’s what this team’s capable of so it was very pleasing to see that again. We’ve done that a lot over these last few games. Obviously that gave us a big separation and allowed us to not have to play many of our starters in that fourth quarter.”

(On looking forward to playoffs…)

“I said it was all about getting that momentum at the right time. But we know in this league, particularly this year, anyone can beat anyone, it’s a knockout game. We just have to make sure we come out with good poise and execution at both ends of the floor. We are at home and that’s an advantage to us, so we have to take advantage of that. Our only focus is on Dallas. That’s a tough team and a team we’ve lost to, but we’re playing well so we have to go in with that confidence as well.

(On playoff game at Wells Fargo Arena…)

“It is what it is. WE love this arena, it’s a fantastic arena but ASU, we went there last year and beat Seattle so we’re familiar with it at least that helps. You don’t know where you’re going to end during the season with the availability of arenas. At least we’re in Phoenix and we don’t have to travel so we’re just going to take care of our business.”

Mercury Guard Diana Taurasi…………………………………………………………………….. 16 points | 5 Assists

(On heading into the playoffs…)

“I mean, you obviously want to finish as high up as you can. There was a point there when we thought we were going to be in that top two, top four, but you have to win regardless. I think we’re playing well. I think we found our groove a little bit on the things that we want to do. Getting a home game, but we still have to go out there and play hard and play really well to win.”

(On Stephanie Talbot…)

“Steph’s a competitor, she’s hard-nosed. Obviously today, she broke her nose, went in the back, cracked it back in, she came back in and played great. That just shows you what kind of person she is and how hard she works.”

Mercury Guard Leilani Mitchell……………………………………………………………………. 8 points | 2 Assists

(On playing well heading into the playoffs…)

“It feels good. We had a bit of a rough stretch there obviously but now we’re playing better. Won a few games in a row so hopefully that’ll carry over and our confidence will carry over into the playoffs.”

(On the team’s 29-point third quarter…)

“We tied them up defensively. We gave them a lot of open looks, especially Kia Nurse, in the first half, so we put our defensive stopper, Briann, on her and she locked her down, and did a good job on everyone else.”