Game Photo Gallery: Mercury vs Mystics

Game photo gallery. All photos by Ryan Malone, SB Nation Arizona.

Game Notes

Phoenix Mercury vs. Washington Mystics 07.01.10

Q1

• Good idea from Dupree to take it in hard, but a terrible shot
• Dupree getting it done on the boards though
• Terrible interior defense...maybe it's an Arizona thing?
• Aaand a traveling violation. Awesome.
• Good to see a shot go down for Tangela, then a steal and an and one from Penny. She's playing great lately
• Suns rookies Gani Lawal and Dwayne "Mr. Irrelevant" Collins showed up at the game. Nice gesture from the guys
  
• Penny Taylor in the zone again...she's on fire lately
• Temeka is really short. Drove in the lane and had a nice pump fake, but still couldn't get the shot off. I guess being 5' 3" has its disadvantages at times
• Mercury getting out and running, the way it should be
• Katie Smith has hit 2/3 threes and doesn't show signs of slowing down. I guess that's what happens when you leave a shooter wide open
• Temeka on the floor, diving for a loose ball - that's the kind of scrappiness this team needs
• Great up and under move (plus the foul) from DB. Also of note, Candace has got great rebounding tendencies
• Penny missed, got her own rebound, dished to Ketia and Mercury scored. Run the team through her right now
• End of quarter, Mercury up 25-24.

Q2

• Poor offensive possession to start the quarter off for the Mercury
• I don't know why Nicole Ohlde doesn't get more minutes...good move to draw the foul
• Nice block from Ohlde leads to quick bucket from Penny. And that's the way the cookie crumbles
• Nice pick and roll between Ohlde and Ketia...liking these minutes from Nicole
• Temeka is all over the place. She is singlehandedly keeping the Mercury fired up with her effort and heart
• Mystic in the penalty with 6 minutes left in the quarter - Mercury need to take advantage of this
• Mercury starting to drive the ball and having success...hopefully this leads to more open threes
• Diana not looking like herself, only 2 points on 1/5 shooting. Injury must be affecting her more than it appeared to be
• Good move from Bonner, nice drive and finish in traffic - Mercury on top 43 to 40
• Tangela Smith hitting the big three to close out the half, Mercury up 46 to 42

Q3

• Good move from Currie in the paint, and it was actually well defended - just a better shot
• The Mystics looking like they want it more than the Mercury do at this point
• Mercury taking ill advised shots and starting to complain about ticky tack fouls - game tied at 46
• Good defense leads to a shot clock violation. Well, either good defense from PHX or really bad offense from WAS
• Mercury defense turning from bodying up to slapping at the ball...now I'm not a professional ball player, but that just doesn't seem like the right technique
• Mercury timeout...not sure why they didn't take it earlier - Mystics on top, 55 to 48
• Temeka taking it straight to the cup and not wasting any time. Get her fired up
• Refs starting to get a bit chippy with their foul calling - not that they're not fouls, just that they're calling a lot of them
• Mercury in the penalty and still 6 minutes left. What do the Mystic do? Attack right away.
• Game completely turned in Washington's favor, but Mercury still hanging around...
• Great move from Dupree for the bucket and the foul
• Seems to be more effort on rebounding the ball from the Mercury...good sign
• Penny Taylor with the bucket and the foul - exactly what needs to be happening
• Dupree lighting it up right now...get her the ball - Mercury closing the gap, down by 3
• Washington getting sucked into the running game, usually a good sign...we'll see how this goes
• End of quarter, Mystic up 73 - 68

Q4

• US Airways Center isn't even half filled, and it's louder than some Suns games
• Tangela Smith for three again...I take back all the things I said about her taking less shots
• Taurasi has been largely a nonfactor in this game, only playing 18 minutes so far - I'll blame the injury
• Diana wincing after some shots...she's in significant pain, but is muscling through it
• Timeout Mystics...Mystics still on top 83 to 76 with 6:46 remaining
• Temeka missing both free throws that could have closed the lead to one...not the time to miss free throws
• Horrible interior D leads to easy bucket. When will they learn?
• DeWanna Bonner with a three, Mystics only lead by 3 (90 to 87)
• Mercury still attacking the basket, yet with limited success. Mystics still on top by 5
• Wide open lane for Taurasi and the Mystics lead is cut to 1
• Sanford is an angry looking person...just a commentary
• Penny Taylor with the strong drive and picks up the foul, but can't finish. Mercury down by three with Taylor shooting two
• Taylor hits both, 1 point game with 32.4 seconds left. Mystics timeout
• Free throw shooting contest, with Smith at the line. Hits all of them
• Late three made by DT, but ultimately not enough...almost makes a three quarter court shot to tie the game...that would have been insane
• Mystics win, 107-104

Mercury Suffer Heartbreaking Loss, Losing Streak Extended to Six

For the Mercury, things seem to be going from bad to worse. After returning home from a three-game Eastern Conference road swing with no wins to their name, the Mercury were just happy to be home. However, after a spirited first half against the Washington Mystics, the happiness soon faded into disappointment.

The Mercury seemed to have put its stamp on the game throughout the first half, running and making plays on the break like the championship squads we've grown accustomed to. The Mystics, however, didn't just keel over and go away. Monique Currie of the Mystics came out and really got the Mystics back into the game, forcing Mercury head coach Corey Gaines to use an early timeout.

From there, the chippiness started to happen.

Players started complaining about calls, and the referees started calling them out on it. Temeka Johnson was called for a few reach-in fouls. Penny Taylor had a few frustration fouls. The game seemed to be slipping away of Phoenix, but the Mercury closed out the quarter hard and cut the Mystics' lead to five, 73-68.

The Mercury made a few late game runs to dig itself out of its hole, but it proved to be too little, too late. Katie Smith of the Mystics hit a huge three with Taurasi draped all over her, and from there, the game turned into a free throw shootout. The Mercury kept it interesting, hitting quick shots (including a long Diana Taurasi three to cut the lead to one) and fouling, but it was none other than Katie Smith who stepped up to the free throw line to ice the game.

Much of the focus wasn't put onto the players not trying. No one blamed the team for not playing hard or playing with spirit. The consensus seems to be that the team is just going through a rough patch and that this unlucky streak will make the team better for it. There was some blaming of the referees, however. Throughout multiple parts of the game, you could see the frustration boiling over with some of the players, and right then was about when the game fell out of reach of the Mercury.

All in all, it was a heartbreaking loss for the defending champions. There was no question that everyone seemed to be giving their all to pull out a victory, but only time will tell if this is just a rough patch or if this team just isn't what it used to be.

Diana Taurasi Injury Update

Having only played 27 minutes and shooting 5-for-12 from the field, some red flags were raised. Diana played the whole fourth quarter and muscled through the pain, but there was a grimace here or a wince there after a shot or rebound. Diana claimed after the game that her back "feels fine", but her on court body language was more telling.

QUOTABLES

Penny Taylor

On the losing streak:

We're there every game, and we're working hard and fighting hard, but it's just those extra little things. When it comes down to it, it's a couple of plays here and there that we aren't getting done and it's making the difference at the end of the game.

On the team's chemistry:

At times, we're playing great basketball and we're doing exactly what we want to do, it's just we're not doing it across the forty minutes. It's just more than anything, we're struggling in periods to get everyone on the boards and get rebounds or even loose balls. Us not getting those are really costing us. When we get ahead, we let teams back into it. We're not closing it out the way we always have. So, I think we're doing the right things, just not across the forty minutes.

Coach Gaines

On dropping another close game:

Top teams in the Eastern Conference, we've been going at them. I guess it's the little things that make the big things happen. Missed free throw here, missed layup here, missed box out. It's just one of those things that I haven't experience before. I don't know what to say. I'm a young coach too; I've been calling around asking everybody, so I don't know what to say. They're fighting. They're not quitting. They're a little tired and beat up, mangled ... They're listening. It's just a couple little things that you don't do right, and of course they don't make the big thing happen — the win.

On the losing streak:

The thing is, we're still in third. See, it's different when you have a six-game losing streak and you're in last. You're in third, you're in the playoffs still, and the way the Western Conference is looking, we'll be in the playoffs.

Diana Taurasi

On the losing streak:

We're just falling short. I don't necessarily think we got out-played. We've been playing hard. We've been doing a lot of good things. Right now, we're just getting unlucky, and certain things aren't going our way, but we have to stick with it.

Slumping Mercury Look For Redemption Against Mystics

The Phoenix Mercury have a new motto for the season: "We're fed up." Diana Taurasi, while speaking of her recovering back injury and the team's current slump, repeated the words "we're fed up" as she energetically left this morning's shootaround. She said "the sun's still going to come up," spoke of the importance of coming out and giving the same effort for every game, but then went on to say that the team needs to translate that into wins at some point or another.

Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

Diana Taurasi Injury Update

"It's feeling alright ... [in regards to being held out of game vs. ATL] I tried to warm up and give it a go, but sometimes, to go out there and not be able to be full strength hurts your team."

Taurasi seemed much more animated and lively today, and expects to play in tonight's game against the Washington Mystics.

Although the mood at shootaround was lighthearted and casual, there is no doubt that the team will be remembering the 85-75 defeat they suffered at the hands of Washington just last week. However, if the team expects to pull off a victory, some things need to change.

• Limit Crystal Langhorne and Lindsey Harding. In the last game, Langhorne went for 31 points (13-of-18 shooting) and Harding went for 24 points (9-of-12 shooting), and both got to the charity stripe six times.
• Stay out of foul trouble. When Taurasi went down in the fourth quarter with a back injury, the team turned to Penny Taylor and Candace Dupree. However, both players were in foul trouble and the team was unable to overcome the Mystics.
• Play like it's the playoffs. The Mercury are a long shot from missing the playoffs, but if the team can't turn around its recent struggles, a playoff berth may be just that: a berth. The more talented the team the better, but if a team is firing on all cylinders by the time the playoffs start, anything can happen.

All in all, expect this to be a good game. Coming into this game, the two teams have opposite records and seem to be heading in opposite directions. Phoenix sits at third place in the Western Conference at 5-10 and is slumping, while Washington also sits at third place in the East at 10-5 and is starting to click. Look for the Mercury to be coming out for redemption, not only in the eyes of the media and their fans, but for themselves.