The Phoenix Mercury returns to Footprint Center for a five-game home stand, but is starting with a tough test against the league-leading New York Liberty on Monday night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In the last matchup between these two teams, the Liberty took home a close, 81-78 win in New York on May 29. Despite a 28-point performance by Breanna Stewart, the Mercury prevailed on a historic night of shooting on June 18
During the first one, the two teams set a WNBA record for the most cumulative 3-pointers in a single game, as both teams converted a combined 33 field goals from long-range, surpassing the Liberty’s game versus Aces on July 6, 2022, with 31 scored.
The Mercury is coming off of a down-to-the-wire 82-80 victory on Friday to improve to 16-14. The trio of Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner combined for 56 points and were just able to prevent the Dream from tying the game at the buzzer.
As for the Liberty, they had a heavyweight battle against the No. 2 seeded Connecticut Sun where both teams displayed how elite they are at defense, with the Sun winning a low-scoring, 72-64 victory on Sunday.
Here are important stats and the starting lineups for both teams before tip-off at 7 p.m. PT.
Starting Lineups
Phoenix Mercury starting lineup vs. New York Liberty
Natasha Cloud
Diana Taurasi
Kahleah Copper
Sophie Cunningham
Brittney Griner#ValleyTogether #WNBA #LightItUpNYL— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 27, 2024
New York Liberty starting lineup vs. Phoenix Mercury
Courtney Vandersloot
Sabrina Ionescu
Leonie Fiebich
Breanna Stewart
Jonquel Jones#ValleyTogether #WNBA #LightItUpNYL— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 27, 2024
Game Notes
- With four blocks against the Dream last Friday, Brittney Griner is just one away from 800 in her career. She would become the third player in WNBA history to achieve the milestone, joining Margo Dydek (877) and Lisa Leslie (822).
- Taurasi needs only one assist to pass Lindsay Whalen (2,348) for fourth all-time in league history. Sue Bird (3,234), Courtney Vandersloot (2,792) and Ticha Penicheiro (2,599) are the top 3.
- With six more free throws, Taurasi will reach 2,500 in her career. The next closest is women’s basketball legend Tamika Catchings is No. 2 with 2,004.
- Ionescu is six assists behind Vickie Johnson (787) for second all-time in Liberty franchise history. Teresa Weatherspoon has the most, 1,306.
- In the last 10 games, the Mercury is 6-4 and the Liberty is 8-2. New York is 2.5 games over the Connecticut Sun for No. 1 in the league.
- The Liberty is first in 2-point percentage (53.1%), 3-pointers scored (302) and 3-pointers attempted (891).
WNBA stat watch (THREAD):
– Brittney Griner's next block is her 800th
– Nneka Ogwumike is 3 made field goals behind Sue Bird (2,479 – 6th) and 2 steals from 600
– Diana Taurasi's next assist breaks her tie with Lindsay Whalen (2,348 – 4th) and 6 made free throws from 2,500— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) August 26, 2024
– Ariel Atkins is 2 steals from 300
– Jordin Canada is 5 steals from 300
– Aliyah Boston is 19 points from 1,000
– Caitlin Clark is 4 made threes from tying the rookie record (Rhyne Howard – 85)
– Sabrina Ionescu is 6 assists behind Vickie Johnson (787 – 2nd in Liberty history)— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) August 26, 2024
Monique Billings excited to remain with Mercury after signing new contract, ‘It’s a blessing’
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
