WNBA Phoenix Mercury

Pondexter Three Sinks Lynx 81-78

by Andrew Nordmeier
Published on June 28, 2006 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury


When the Phoenix Mercury took to the floor Wednesday afternoon at the US Airways Center to battle the Minnesota Lynx, the game was a matinee and the stands were filled with kids from area day camps. As much as the kids in the stands gave the Mercury a boost, it was the kid on the floor who won it for Phoenix.

Rookie Cappie Pondexter's three-point shot with 5.9 seconds left lifted the Mercury an 81-78 win over the Lynx and gave Phoenix its second straight win.

"We had a couple options on the play D(iana Taurasi) was the first option," Phoenix Head Coach Paul Westhead said, "They took that away by switching and Kelly Miller was the second."

So what was Pondexter to do when she inbounded the ball?

"They kind of overplayed her (Taurasi) and I didn't want to make the turnover," Pondexter said, "I knew that when (Phoenix forward Kristin) Rasmussen got it, it would be coming back to me."

Pondexter got the ball back and fired from 22 feet away sending it through the hoop with a swish. Rasmussen threw a critical screen on the play to keep two Lynx defenders from getting their hands in Pondexter's face.

"We have a play where Rasmussen stepped to the ball and we kick back to Cappie stepping in," Westhead said, "She took what was given to her. It was a big, big, big shot by Cappie."

Minnesota had a chance to tie the game but Seimone Augustus' inbound pass to Svetlana Abrosimova couldn't be handled by the Russian forward. Pondexter seized the loose ball and dribbled out the final two seconds to raise Phoenix to 6-7 on the season. Minnesota fell to 5-9 and took residence in the Western Conference cellar following the loss.

"We didn't call that play but we work on it every day and it ended up winning the game for us," Taurasi said.

Everyone agreed that the enthusiasm of the kids helped a fatigued Mercury team in the last few minutes.

"I think we should find a way to bring them back every game," Westhead said. Taurasi joked she would buy their tickets if they could cheer like that every game.

Phoenix has posted a 6-3 mark since dropping its first four games of the season to get back within a game of .500. They get the chance to break even Friday night when they battle the Los Angeles Sparks Friday night at the Staples Center.

Augustus led all scorers with 24 in the losing effort. Pondexter paced Phoenix with 19 including four three-point bombs.

And as if that wasn't the proverbial carrot to dangle in front of the rabbits known as Phoenix's offense, they got more good news. Penny Taylor is coming back and is expected to play in the Mercury's next home game, Sunday afternoon against the Washington Mystics. Taylor missed the first 13 games of the season due to international commitments.

"I'd take that Aussie any day," Taurasi said, "That kid is a winner and she is only going to make this team better."

Notes: Phoenix leads the WNBA averaging 84.1 points per game...They have scored 80 points or more for a franchise-record 10th time this season in just 13 games. The old mark was nine times set in 2000 over the course of a 32-game season...Taurasi leads the league in scoring with 23.2 points per game despite being held to 14 in this game...Attendance was 11,661.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 28, 2006


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