Pondexter and Taurasi lead Mercury over Sparks, 104-89

September 26th, 2009 Mercury reach finals by beating Leslie, SparksPHOENIX — Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury are heading to the WNBA finals, and Lisa Leslie is heading off to retirement. Taurasi scored 15 of her 21 points in the second half and added seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Mercury past the Los Angeles Sparks, 85-74 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

September 25th, 2009 Parker, Leslie help Sparks even West finalsPHOENIX — The Los Angeles Sparks played with the desperation of a team on the brink of elimination — and a player facing the end of her career. Candace Parker had 24 points and 18 rebounds, Lisa Leslie scored 20 points, and the Sparks forced a deciding third game of the Western Conference finals with an 87-76 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.

September 23rd, 2009 Phoenix beats LA 103-94 in Game 1LOS ANGELES — Diana Taurasi scored 28 points and the Phoenix Mercury hit 14 3-pointers to hold off the Los Angeles Sparks 103-94 Wednesday night in Game 1 of the WNBA Western Conference finals. Playing the fourth quarter with five fouls, Taurasi made 5 of her 6 free throws over the final 1:09 to win the game played at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on the court named for coach John Wooden and his wife Nell.

September 21st, 2009 Taurasi scores 30 as Mercury reach West finalsPHOENIX — 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 Mercury

September 13th, 2009 Sparks edge Mercury in playoff tuneup for bothPHOENIX — Candace Parker scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the Los Angeles Sparks past the Phoenix Mercury 81-78 Sunday in the regular-season finale for both playoff-bound teams. Tina Thompson had 16 points, Tameka Johnson 14 and Cappie Pondexter added 13 for the Mercury, who sat league-leading scorer Diana Taurasi in the postseason tuneup.

September 2nd, 2009 Pondexter scores 25 as Mercury beat Fever 106-90INDIANAPOLIS — Cappie Pondexter scored 25 points and the Phoenix Mercury shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in a 106 90 victory over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night in a matchup of first-place teams. DeWanna Bonner scored 15 points, Diana Taurasi had 14 and Temeka Johnson 13 as the Mercury (21-10) shot 41 for 70 from the field (59 percent), including 10 for 18 on 3-pointers.

August 28th, 2009 Mercury beats Sparks 98-90 to end LA's win streakLOS ANGELES — Cappie Pondexter looked around and didn't see Candace Parker warming up for the Los Angeles Sparks. That's when she knew something was up.

August 19th, 2009 Taurasi carries Mercury past Sky, 106-99CHICAGO — Diana Taurasi scored 27 points and led a late charge that carried the Phoenix Mercury to a 106-99 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night. Taurasi hit two 3-pointers in a 50-second span during the final two minutes as the Western Conference leaders (18-8) pulled away after a seesaw fourth quarter.

August 2nd, 2009 Taurasi scores 20 as Mercury beat LynxMINNEAPOLIS — Coming off their worst loss of the season, the Phoenix Mercury weren't feeling much better after a 13-point win. Diana Taurasi scored 20 points, Cappie Pondexter had 17 and Phoenix recovered from a 30-point loss at Atlanta on Thursday to beat the Minnesota Lynx 87-74 on Saturday night.

July 29th, 2009 Pondexter leads Mercury over Sun 95-80UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Cappie Pondexter scored 29 points and led the Phoenix Mercury to a 95-80 rout of the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.

July 16th, 2009 Taurasi scores 22 as Mercury cruise past MonarchsPHOENIX — Diana Taurasi scored 22 points and Cappie Pondexter had a franchise-record 15 assists to lead the Phoenix Mercury past the Sacramento Monarchs 100-81 on Wednesday. DeWanna Bonner had 15 points, Kelly Mazzante added 14, Le'Coe Willingham and Temeka Johnson had 13 apiece, and Pondexter 12 for Phoenix (11-4), which has won five straight — its longest streak since a six-game run in 2007.

June 26th, 2009 Pondexter, Taurasi lead Mercury past MysticsWASHINGTON — Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points and Diana Taurasi had 23 to help the Phoenix Mercury pickup their first road victory of the season with a 93-87 win over the Washington Mystics on Thursday night. Temeka Johnson added 11 points and Kelly Mazzante scored 10 for the Mercury (6-3), who had key runs to close out the first and third quarters and then held off the Mystics' late rally.

June 18th, 2009 Taurasi, Bonner lead Mercury in rout of LynxPHOENIX — Diana Taurasi scored 28 points, rookie DeWanna Bonner had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Minnesota Lynx 104-80 Wednesday night. Tangela Smith and Temeka Johnson scored 13 points each, and Cappie Pondexter added 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Mercury (4-1).

June 14th, 2009 Taurasi, Willingham lead Mercury in OTPHOENIX — Diana Taurasi scored 31 points and Le'Coe Willingham added 26 points as the Phoenix Mercury recovered after squandering a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and beat the Sacramento Monarchs 115-104 in overtime on Saturday night. The Mercury set a WNBA record for the most points in a game, topping the 114 by Minnesota against Los Angeles on May 31, 2006.

June 13th, 2009 Monarchs upend Mercury 90-71SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Monarchs' aggressive play on both ends of the floor finally paid off with their first win.