WNBA Basketball

Diana Taurasi knew how to rile up the already raucous crowd of about 1,000, many dressed in purple and orange. "Personally, in my career, any other championship, nothing can compare, hands down," the WNBA MVP said Monday night at a rally in the entrance to U.S. Airways Center to honor the Phoenix Mercury's second WNBA championships in three years. Taurasi, the league's leading scorer during the regular season, was named MVP of the finals after scoring 26 points in Game 5, a 94-86 victory for the Mercury on Friday night over Eastern Conference champion Indiana. The Mercury also needed five games to beat Detroit ... Read Full Story

Cappie Pondexter scored 22 points and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Indiana Fever 90-77 in Game 4 of the WNBA finals on Wednesday night to avoid elimination. Penny Taylor added 17 points for the Mercury while Diana Taurasi and Tangela Smith each scored 16 to even the series 2-2 and force Game 5 Friday in Phoenix. Tamika Catchings led Indiana with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Ebony Hoffman added 17 points. All-Star Katie Douglas, who was hoping to celebrate a clinching win in her hometown, scored seven points on 2-for-14 shooting. The Fever had the homecourt, an active sellout crowd and local celebrities ... Read Full Story

Diana Taurasi scored 30 points and keyed a tiebreaking run in the fourth quarter to help the Phoenix Mercury advance to the Western Conference finals with a 100-92 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars in Game 3 of their opening round series Monday night. Taurasi and Tangela Smith each scored five points during the Mercurys 14-4 run that gave Phoenix an 86-76 lead with 5:14 remaining. Taurasi also finished with six assists. The top-seeded Mercury will open the West finals against the Los Angeles Sparks at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night. Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars with 29 points while Vickie ... Read Full Story

Amber Holt scored 11 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Connecticut Sun kept their playoffs hopes alive with an 88-85 victory over the New York Liberty on Friday night. The loss eliminated New York (12-19) from playoff contention. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota tied her career high with 23 points and had seven rebounds and four assists for the Sun (15-17). Holt added six rebounds and five assists, and Lindsay Whalen had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Shameka Christon led New York with 22 points, and Essence Carson had 16. Connecticut trailed by nine points with 4:49 left in ... Read Full Story

The Detroit Shock aren't giving up on the season quite yet. The defending WNBA champs beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 99-84 Sunday night — their second win in as many nights as they struggle to make the playoffs. "We've dug ourselves a hole, and we've got a lot of work to do if we even want to sniff the playoffs," said Katie Smith, who led Detroit with a season-high 31 points. "We're going to try to at least make it exciting." Smith also led the Shock with 17 points in Saturday's win at Chicago. Detroit (11-14) is a game behind Chicago and Washington ... Read Full Story