08.08Olympic Schedule
The Associated Press caught up with Penny Taylor at the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. She says that she will not be returning to the Phoenix Mercury after the Olympics.
“I did make it clear to the team that I wouldn’t be coming back this season after the Olympics,” Taylor said. “I want them to be able to get a team together and didn’t want to leave any doors open.”
Instead Taylor will be returning to Australia to rest and spend time with her family.
“I wanted to make sure they had their opportunity to get a full strength team and not wait for anyone,” Taylor said. “It’s disappointing, but it gave me the opportunity to prepare for this major event.”
Taylor’s decision comes as a surprise to Diana Taurasi.
“Whoa, that’s the first I’m hearing of it,” said Taurasi over breakfast. “It just means the same thing it’s meant the last two months. We’ll go with what we have. We just got to keep playing and fighting. We’re good enough if we get rolling as we’ve beaten the good teams. We’ve just been too average. This league is very good, and we’re just not playing at a good level.”
The surprise is also felt by the Mercury Fans. Taylor was a key player in the Championship win last season averaging 17.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. She lead the team with 30 points in the deciding game 5 of the finals against Detroit.
“Taylor was a key player in the championship win last season,” says one Mercury Fan, “it’s a disappointment that she will not be returning this season. It would be nice to see the 3 [Taylor, Pondexter, and Taurasi] play together again.”
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Cappie Pondexter led the Mercury to a win over Los Angeles Sparks Thursday night with 27 points. Their 2nd win in the last 7 games, ouch!
Diana Taurasi contributed 23 points, including 4 straight free throws to secure the win in the final seconds. Taurasi also hit a 3 at the buzzer going into halftime.
Kelly Miller and the Mercury played great defense, forcing 3 shot clock violations and 23 L.A. turnovers, resulting in 25 points for Phoenix.
DeLisha Milton-Jones was a force for the Sparks hitting her first 6 shots, including 4 3’s. She led Los Angeles to a 30-17 lead with just under 1 minute left in the 1st quarter. Milton-Jones finished with a career high 38 points, 19 of those 38 in the 1st quarter.
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Diana Taurasi hit a 3 with just 42 seconds left in regulation.
Then Taurasi blocks a shot, grabs the loose ball and sends it down court to Pondexter to seal the win over the Houston Comets, 99-94 in front of a sold out crowd of 15,499 fans.
Taurasi led Phoenix with 30 points and set a WNBA record reaching 3,000 career points and fewer games than any other player. Taurasi did it in just 151 games. The previous record holder was Seattle Storm’s Lauren Jackson at 162 games.
Phoenix came back from a 14 point deficit in the first half.
Tina Thompson scored 23 points and Sancho Lyttle added 18 points and 9 rebounds for the Comets.
Michelle Snow made a shot in the lane with 54 seconds remaining to give Houston a 90-89 lead but Tamecka Dixon fouled Cappie Pondexter on the next possession. Pondexter, the league’s second-leading scorer, made a free throw but missed the second and Mercury forward LeCoe Willingham grabbed the rebound.
Willingham got the ball to Tangela Smith, who found Taurasi open on the perimeter for a big 3.
Snow went up for a layup on the other end but Taurasi knocked it away, got the loose ball and found Pondexter for a layup. Another Comets’ turnover led to a pair of free throws by Kelly Miller with 18 seconds left to give Phoenix a 97-90 lead.
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