Diana Taurasi propels Mercury past Storm

Diana Taurasi made six 3-pointers to highlight her 24-point performance Saturday, lifting the visiting Phoenix Mercury to a 69-64 win over the 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, longtime 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 protocol.

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 2:07 to go until halftime that gave the Mercury a 34-30 lead.

–Field Level Media

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