WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Mercury Forces Game Five with 77-76 Win

by Andrew Nordmeier
Published on September 14, 2007 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury


The Phoenix Mercury's slogan for the playoffs has been "One city, one team, one goal." Now they can add one more line to that slogan.

The line is "One game, winner-take-all." That's what Sunday afternoon's fifth and decisive game will be following Phoenix's 77-76 win Thursday night at the US Airways Center in Phoenix.

The final four minutes of the game were a back-and-forth slugfest and the game came down to the final two possessions. With Detroit leading 76-75, Phoenix forward Cappie Pondexter hit what might be her biggest shot of the playoffs, a nine-foot bank shot with 21.7 seconds left.

"I just love having the ball and making things happen," Pondexter said, "I just thank the coach for just giving me the confidence to do that and my teammates too."

Detroit took a timeout and set its final play.

"We wanted to get the ball in Deanna Nolan's hands to get to Pee Wee to get a shot," Shock Head Coach Bill Laimbeer said, "She felt she was unable to get her own shot and passed it to Tweety and it didn't go in."

When Johnson's shot missed the mark, the Mercury and crowd of more than 12,000 erupted in combination of celebration and relief.

Pondexter was the key to the win scoring four of Phoenix's final seven points and assisting on the other three, all of which came on a long-range bomb from guard Kelly Miller.

"It's the mentality that I have," Pondexter said about being so confident about taking the final shots, "I'm a winner and I love to win. And when the game's on the line, I feel like I can win every time."

Phoenix won despite an offense that has seen its production drop significantly in the last two games. After averaging 99 points per game coming into game three, the Mercury has scored just 160 points in the last two games combined.

"I got a little used to it there for a while," Phoenix Head Coach Paul Westhead said, "I'm happy that with the way we have played that we could get some inside looks. I know my players can miss shots but I know they're not going to keep missing."

Pondexter paced Phoenix with 26 points and five assists. Taurasi added 20 while Miller added 13 in the winning effort. One name conspicuously absent from this area of the article is Penny Taylor. A very steady performer through the regular season and playoffs, Taylor finished with six points on a dismal 1-of-11 shooting effort. Fellow frontcourt mate Tangela Smith went 1-of-10 from the floor and also finished with six points.

Plenette Pierson tried her best to single-handedly get the Shock its third title in five years with her 23-point night off the bench. Deanna Nolan scored 17 and Katie Smith added 14 in the loss.

"She played an outstanding game offensively," Laimbeer said about Pierson, "She turned the ball over a little too much but she was very aggressive and made her shots."

The entire WNBA season comes down to the last line of the Mercury's slogan. It's one game, winner-take-all, Sunday afternoon at 4:30pm (EDT) at the Palace at Auburn Hills on ESPN2 for the title.

"It's going to be a really hard game; we know that," Taurasi said about SUnday's showdown, "I think we have to go to Detroit and just focus. Their players are going to come out extra energize and ready to go. We're going to have find a way to match that."

Notes: Detroit forward Cheryl Ford left with 41.9 seconds left in the game due to an undisclosed injury. Her status for Sunday is uncertain...Phoenix is now 2-3 in elimination games i the playoffs...Phoenix is 22-7 in its last 29 games but four of those losses have come to Detroit...The Shock is 1-3 on the road this postseason and 5-1 at home. ..Phoenix finished the playoffs 3-1 at home and is now 3-1 on the road as well...Attendance was 12,813.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from September 14, 2007


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