Arlington, Texas – Monique Currie’s 29 points lifted the Phoenix Mercury over the Dallas Wings in overtime Thursday, 101-100.
The intense, physical match up featured 16 lead changes and 11 ties, and Phoenix’s win gives them the tie-breaker between the two teams in league standings.
Danielle Robinson and Emma Cannon each added 17 points for the Mercury, while Diana Taurasi scored 16. They out-shot the hosts but were out-rebounded.
It was a battle that came down to an empty final possession for the Wings, who simply ran out of time and did not get a last shot up for the win. Currie said even when Dallas began to build a lead in the fourth quarter, her team stayed aggressive and kept fighting.
“We got down six, but everybody kept fighting,” Currie said. “We went to the basket, got some foul calls, but I think the biggest thing was that we didn’t give up.”
The Mercury ended a two-game skid and injured center Brittney Griner is due back for their next game on Saturday. Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said the win was a character-builder for her team.
“We got down by six, we didn’t lose our composure, we made some plays when we needed to,” Brondello said. “It’s a very tired team out there, but we needed that game as much as they needed it, and it was hard-fought. But this is a very good team, I don’t want to face them in the playoffs, I’ll put it that way, if we both get there.”
Reigning Western Conference Player of the Week Glory Johnson’s recorded her 11th double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds a bit hobbled, as she tweaked her ankle in second quarter. Allisha Gray had 19 points and tied her career high of four steals, Kayla Thornton scored 15 and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 13 points.
Dallas had 120 possessions to the Mercury’s 108, but could not capitalize on those extra opportunities. The Wings were getting good looks inside of the paint, but were having trouble finishing at times. Coach Fred Williams said he thought his team did not get physical enough in the paint.
“We fought hard. We had a lot of penetrating plays that came out empty and we had to play through it,” he said. “They got the run outs on our penetrations and the shots that didn’t go for us.”
Every game down the stretch will have playoff implications for both teams. The Wings will head east to face the Connecticut Sun Saturday night and the Mercury will host the Seattle Storm.