What a game!

I think I’ll start by once again stating that this team is special and there’s a belief from each player that they are never out of a game, no matter how much it might seem out of reach to others.  A while back I had wrote about how resilient the Mercury are.

Well, if you didn’t think they were then…there isn’t much denying it now.

The Mercury got off to a slow start and were down by 15 at one point in the 2nd quarter, and trailed by 12 at the half. The energy level wasn’t necessarily missing, it was just that Sacramento was more of an aggressive team collectively on both ends of the floor.

Then, the Mercury exploded for a 36 point third quarter (the 2nd 36 point third quarter in 3 games) to cut the Monarchs lead to just 1 heading into the 4th quarter. Though Courtney Paris will undoubtedly, and deservedly, get a lot of credit for her 16 points and 7 rebounds in 16 minutes, the 4th quarter (and game) belonged to Temeka Johnson - Meek just wouldn’t let the Mercury lose.

Meek scored 12 of her 17 points in the 4th, hit 2 three-pointers when the team needed it, and hit a running jumper with 1 second left on the clock to give the Mercury the win and their 4th straight victory. Unbelievable. Folks, Meek is a special player…and she proved it tonight.

This was after DeWanna Bonner hit an acrobatic shot from her hip to put the Mercury up 2 points with just 8 seconds left, only to see Sacramento tie the game by giving the ball to fellow rookie Courtney Paris in the low post.  Just over 1 second left on the clock isn’t a lot of time to get a solid shot up, but Meek somehow did.

How important and beneficial is Temeka Johnson to this team? As if there were any question before, she solidified how valuable and vital she is to the Mercury’s success tonight.

More specifically,

• She brings a calming and confident presence to the entire squad,
• She’s another playmaker that can not only score, but create shots,
• She’s a leader, and one that leads by example.

Meek’s 17 points and 6 assists tonight on 7-12 shooting led to a game-high +/- of +14.

All 5 starters for the Mercury scored at least 13 points and kept the rebounding battle close with the league’s best rebounding team, Sacramento.  Even though Sacramento (namely Nicole Powell) shot well from beyond the arc, Phoenix was even better drilling 11 three-pointers.

Perhaps a bit more quietly, but equally as amazing, Diana Taurasi flirted with a triple-double despite not having her best all-around shooting night. Dee had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in her 29 minutes of action. Not to be forgotten, Cappie had 23 points on 13-13 free-throws to go along with her 8 assists. Tangela had a nice game before fouling out hitting 7-11 shots scoring 20 points. Allie Quigley even played some back-up point guard for the Mercury due to Ketia being hampered by an injury (she’s fine).

Phoenix hosts Sacramento again on Wednesday at 12:30. Phoenix is now a full game ahead of Seattle for 1st place in the Western Conference.

July 11th, 2009 9:56 PM