Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm May 23 Recap

The Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm took place in Seattle on Friday night. Phoenix came into the game with a record of 2-0 on the season, while Seattle came into the game with a record of 1-1. This was the second season meeting between these two teams, with the Mercury winning the first contest by a final score of 81-59 on May 17.

First Quarter

The first five minutes of the first quarter resulted in a 14-10 score for the Mercury. Satou Sabally led the way for Phoenix to start the game with 5 points and perfect from free throw and mid-range territory. For Seattle Skylar Diggins had a red-hot start with nine points and two assists in the first half of the quarter. There were 32 total points scored in the first six minutes of the game.

At the end of the first quarter, the Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm game was tied at 24. The Mercury saw a good distribution of their scoring, as each player recorded at least two points. For the Seattle Storm, their scoring distribution was more top heavy with Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike contributing for 17 of the Storms points.

Second Quarter

The second quarter was not as high scoring at the start as the first was, as the Storm were outscoring the Mercury 5-1 halfway through. The Storm had a five-point lead at 30-25 with six minutes left, which was their largest lead of the game up to that point. The Storm was getting some solid contributions from Malonga and Cooke.

An Alexa Held three-pointer with four minutes tied the game at 32-32 sparking a mid-quarter push for Phoenix. Nearing the end of the 2nd, Diggins led all scorers with 13 points at that point. A Skylar Diggins turnover would give the Mercury the ball and an Alyssa Thomas two-pointer and Sami Whitcomb three put the Mercury up by three.

The game would remain close going into halftime, but a late Mercury run had the Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm game at a 44-42 score. Alyssa Thomas was the leading scorer for Phoenix and Skylar Diggins was the top scorer for Seattle.

Third Quarter 

The third quarter in Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm started like the first quarter did, as both teams exchanged early buckets. Diggins hit a three-pointer for her 16th point of the night, and yet the Storm trailed 54-50 at the time. The score was a close 54-52 score halfway through the third. Alyssa Thomas made an amazing driving layup to extend the Mercury lead to 57-52. The Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm remained a close game. 

Alyssa Thomas and Alexa Held started to take over the game, and the Mercury got their biggest lead of the night at 61-54. The back and forth continued as Ogwunmike and Diggins took over the game, and the Storm took a one-point lead on a 7-0 run. The third quarter ended in the Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm game being a one-point game, 62-61. The Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm saw each player stars going head-to-head, but Diggins and Ogwunmike weren’t able to be stopped to that point 

Fourth Quarter

An Erica Wheeler two-pointer and Diggins’s successful two free throws gave Seattle a five-point lead to start the quarter. Phoenix was having trouble finding the net, as they missed four straight shots on the same possession. The Mercury continued to foul Skylar Diggins, and the Storm led by five with six minutes left. The Mercury were 0-of-9 from three-point range in the fourth. 

Akoa Makani made a clutch three-pointer to tie the game at 70 with four minutes to go, and the Phoenix Mercury vs Seattle Storm was going down to the wire. Skylar Diggins gave the Storm the lead back by two in the back-and-forth contest. The game was put away as Ogwunmike made yet another layup, to put the Storm up 76-70 with one minute and nine seconds to go. 

Final Score

The Seattle Storm defeated the Phoenix Mercury by a final score of 77-70. The Mercury had solid contributions from Thomas and Sabally, but it was no match for the attack of Diggins and Ogwuneke. The Storm moved to 2-1 with the win, and the Mercury moved to 2-1 with the loss.