Diana Taurasi made six 3-pointers to highlight her 24-point performance Saturday, lifting the visiting Phoenix Mercury to a 69-64 win over Seattle Storm.
Taurasi’s biggest shot from 3-point range came with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter to push the Mercury (2-1) in front 62-59. Taurasi added her final 3-pointer with 1:01 left as Phoenix claimed a 67-61 advantage.
She made 8 of 16 shots overall from the floor.
Jewell Loyd scored a game-high 26 points after missing her first five shots from the floor. She had a chance to cut the lead to one with under a minute left but lost control of the ball out of bounds on a drive toward the basket.
Loyd made five 3-pointers and tied the score at 59-59 with 3:57 left in the game by splitting two free throws. She was the only player in double figures for the Storm (1-3), who have lost three in a row despite a career-best 14 rebounds from Stephanie Talbot and a career-high seven blocked shots from Ezi Magbegor.
Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diamond DeShields scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Mercury to their second win over the Storm in four days.
The game featured the 45th all-time matchup between Sue Bird and Taurasi, long-time friends who played together at UConn and have been teammates in the Olympics as well. The two got tangled up late in the fourth, forcing a jump ball situation.
The Storm again played without two-time WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart and Epiphanny Prince, who have been sidelined since Wednesday because of the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Both teams came out firing 3-pointers, combining for six in an opening quarter. It was a sign of things to come as the two teams combined for 20 in all.
No one had a hotter hand in the first half than Taurasi, who buried four shots from 3-point distance, including one from close to 34 feet away with 2:05 to go until halftime that gave the Mercury a 34-30 lead.
–Field Level Media