Recap: Phoenix Mercury v. San Antonio Stars

It was not an easy win. The Phoenix Mercury were pushed around, missing shots they usually make and they were completely  run down defensively. But it was worth it.

The Phoenix Mercury beat the San Antonio Stars in overtime, 78-73. Candace Dupree was shining again as she had 20 points and 18 rebounds.

These are the kinds of games that the Mercury need, it’s good preparation. “This is not a bad game for us,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “Because, really, we haven’t had a lot of close games and it’s actually good preparation leading to the playoffs. Because that’s what playoff basketball is like — it’s a grind, it’s really physical. It was good preparation for us.”

The newly promoted NBA assistant coach, Becky Hammon, struggled immensely in last nights game. She failed to score and only had one assist and the star spent all but 5 minutes of the second half  sitting on the bench. She was watched by the Spurs GM, R.C. Buford. 

“It’s a tough loss,” San Antonio guard Jia Perkins said. “We really needed that game. We hung in there, we fought, but we just came up short.”

Perkins had 24 points and Danielle Adams and Danielle Robinson added 10 points each for San Antonio (13-17), which remains fourth in the Western Conference.

Penny Taylor ended the game with 16 points, DeWanna Bonner added 13 points and Brittney Griner had 12 for Phoenix (25-4). Dupree and Taylor combined to score 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Griner notched up five blocks, raising her season total to 117 and surpassing the WNBA’s single-season blocks record of 114 set by Margo Dydek in 1998.

“That’s probably the only one that I really care about,” Griner said. “Blocked shots are my favorite things. Now I’ve got to set it up high and try to beat it next year.”

The Stars forced overtime after Kayla McBride fought Phoenix for an offensive rebound following a missed 3-pointer from Adams’. McBride fed it to Perkins, who made a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds to tie it. With San Antonio closely guarding Diana Taurasi, Griner missed a jumper as regulation expired.

After being held to four points on 1-for-8 shooting in the second half, Dupree had 12 points in the final quarter and overtime. She was 5 for 8 in the fourth and overtime, including a layup that put Phoenix ahead to stay at 72-70 with 39.7 seconds remaining.

“Shots started to finally fall,” Dupree said. “I was taking shots in the first half that I normally make but you can’t stop shooting. It’s open in the second half baseline, trying to drive trying to shorten up the shots and make it a little easier.”

San Antonio came out of the first half shooting 2 for 12,but closed the third quarter on a 15-4 run for its first lead since the opening minutes. The Stars closed the quarter 5-for-7 shooting, forcing the Mercury out of position off defensive switches with increased ball movement.

“Defensively, it was one of our better games,” Stars coach Dan Hughes said. “I thought our activity level was good. I think we tried to work on a couple of things that I saw play out in the game today. I think that’s important this time of year that our team defense gives us a chance, and it did.”

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