Need another reminder of how immensely talented the Mercury roster is from top to bottom?
Just take a quick glance at the points leaders from the first week and a half of the Rio Olympics women’s basketball tournament.
The Mercury have six players representing their respective countries in Brazil, and all six of them are ranked in the top-25 in scoring through the preliminary round (five games).
Sonja Petrovic (7th) of Serbia leads the way, averaging 16.4 points per game. Closely following her is Penny Taylor of Australia (10th, 15.4 ppg), Diana Taurasi of the USA (12th, 14.2 ppg), Lindsey Harding of Belarus (15th, 13.8 ppg), Marta Xargay of Spain (20th, 12.3 ppg) and Brittney Griner of the USA (25th, 11.6 ppg).
Of Phoenix’s representation, only Harding’s squad did not advance to the knockout rounds. Belarus finished in fifth place in Group A with a 1-4 record.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, both the USA and Australia went a perfect 5-0 to clinch the top-two seeds. If chalk holds through the quarterfinals and semifinals, those two teams would meet in the gold-medal game for the fourth time in the last five Olympics.
Meanwhile, Spain delivered a 4-1 record with its only loss coming to the Americans. Serbia claimed the fourth and final qualifying spot in Group B with a 2-3 mark.
In the quarterfinals, which take place on Tuesday, Australia battles Serbia at 7:00 a.m., Spain takes on Turkey at 10:30 a.m. and the USA faces Japan at 2:45 p.m.
Below is each Mercury player’s average stat line in Rio so far:
Name | Points | Assists | Rebounds | Steals | Blocks |
Taurasi | 14.2 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0 |
Griner | 11.6 | 0.8 | 5.4 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
Taylor | 15.4 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
Petrovic | 16.4 | 4 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
Xargay | 12.2 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 3 |
Harding | 13.8 | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 0.2 |