Mercury’s dominant 3rd quarter, defense powers 92-78 victory over Sparks

In a Western Conference clash, Kahleah Copper scored 24 points and Brittney Griner recorded a double-double as the Phoenix Mercury took over in the second half, winning 92-78 over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday.

Griner had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Diana Taurasi netted 20 points and Natasha Cloud ended with 14 for the Mercury (9-8). With the win, Phoenix improved to 7-2 overall at Footprint Center this season, embracing the home-court advantage every time they play in front of its fans.

Sparks (4-14) star Dearica Hamby finished with 29 points, with 21 coming in the first half alone. University of Arizona product Aari McDonald had a double-double of her own, 12 points and 10 assists.

Defense the cornerstone of Mercury second half takeover

Back in the state that she went to college in, McDonald did not have a point in the first quarter but dished out six assists. Taurasi started off the ballgame going 3-for-3 from three and collected nine points.

Even though they were missing four players going into the matchup, the Sparks came out hot as they shot 17-for-31 (51.5%) from the field and 8-for-13 (66.7%) from three. Hamby was dominant in the first half with her presence in the paint and firing at a 4-for-5 (80%) clip from deep.

The Mercury and Sparks traded buckets back-and-forth and while Los Angeles were scorching, Phoenix were just behind by one at the end of the second quarter, 45-44. For the majority of the game, the stats between the two teams were nearly identical.

“I think we came out super lackadaisical to start the [first] half, so I was disappointed in how we started mostly,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Challenging them at halftime about turning our defense up, they scored 33 points in the second half. I really believe in our group, we’re going to score but defensively we have to come with it and we didn’t do it at a good enough level in the first half.”

Creating some separation room, Phoenix went on a 9-2 run in the third quarter to go up 72-62. Copper went off for 11 points in the quarter after nine in the first half as the Mercury locked down on defense and limited Hamby to just five points.

“She’s the prototype player of the future, and today she did it again, “Taurasi said. “Threes, transitions, post-ups off the dribble. She is really playing phenomenal basketball.”