Mercury's Taurasi And Taylor Facilitate In 2005

The Phoenix Mercury were on the right track in 2004, as they found two new stars. They added Penny Taylor in a dispersal draft, and they added Diana Taurasi in the 2004 WNBA Draft. Both players experienced their share of success before coming to the team, and in Taylor's case she was an established WNBA player. She played for the Cleveland Rockers, and she made the All-Star Game in her second season. She averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals. Taurasi was a college star, and she was fresh off her third championship. She averaged 16.2 points, 4.9 assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals that year, and she was preparing for the start of her WNBA journey. Taurasi and Taylor helped the Mercury go 17-17 in their first season, and they kept that momentum going in 2005. Phoenix was led by the stars, and like the previous season, they got their teammates involved. Taurasi was the team's best facilitator, and she had 150 assists. She dished out eight assists against the San Antonio Silver Stars,