League Pass
Tickets

Mercury Continue to Roll, Beat Mystics

By Ben York, PhoenixMercury.com
Posted: July 15, 2014

Candice Dupree was named an All-Star reserve before the game, and the superstar showed exactly why as the Mercury cruised to their 11th consecutive victory, a 90-78 win over the Washington Mystics Tuesday night.

Dupree (now a four-time All-Star) scored a team-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing four assists. For Dupree, it was her 11th game this season of 18 or more points and her eight of shooting at least 60 percent from the floor.

As a team, Phoenix scored 90 points for the second consecutive game and for the eighth time this season. The Mercury offense is now averaging 84.8 points per game and leads the league in field goal percentage with 48.9 percent.

"We [still] have to be consistent," Brondello said with conviction regarding the team's streak. "In this league, and it's happened, if you don't come focused, you will lose. And we've had that [happen this year]."

All five Mercury starters scored in double figures as the team improved to 11-0 with the starting lineup of Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor, Candice Dupree, DeWanna Bonner and Brittney Griner.

Speaking of Griner, she threw down her fourth dunk of her two-year career tonight (second this season) with just under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Griner now has four of the 10 dunks in WNBA history (according to Elias Sports Bureau) and finished tonight's game with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.'

"I knew I was going to go up," Griner said about her dunk. "I went up and I saw my hand above the rim, so I said 'Alright, might as well dunk it.' It got me pumped up. I was ready to go."

The Mercury concludes their three-game home stand before the All-Star break on Thursday, July 17 against the Connecticut Sun.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Candice Dupree seems to be solidifying her spot as the player of the game lately, because she did it again tonight.

The All-Star scored 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 34 minutes of action.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT

Brittney Griner's fourth dunk, courtesy of ESPN:

STAT(S) OF THE NIGHT

32 - the number of points scored by the Mercury in the first quarter, a season high for any quarter.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT