5 Amazing Mercury Stats From the First Half of the Season

Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 9:51 PM

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At 9-6 on the season, the Mercury currently sits at 2nd place in the Western Conference over the Tulsa Shock (10-7) by mere percentage points.

The Mercury still have two more games in July (against the Sparks on July 21 and Sky on July 28), but the month has certainly been good to the team over the past two years; Phoenix has gone 16-2 (.889) in the month of July over the last two seasons.

This year, Phoenix is 5-1 in July. In 2014, the Mercury went 11-1 (.917).

Indeed, there is no shortage of impressive stats from the first half of the season, but here are five that stood out (thanks to Communications Manager John Steinmiller):

Taking Care of the Ball

The Mercury currently average 12.07 turnovers per game – the fewest in the WNBA.

Phoenix is on pace to set a WNBA record for fewest turnovers per game in a season, topping the 2013 Minnesota Lynx team that averaged 12.12 turnovers per game (412 turnover/34 games).

DB: One of Only Two Players

Forward DeWanna Bonner is one of two WNBA players who ranks in the top 15 in points, rebounds and assists this season.

Minnesota’s Maya Moore – the reigning WNBA MVP and an 2015 All-Star starter – is the other player, putting Bonner in elite company.

Block Party

Center Brittney Griner has 34 blocked shots in just eight games this season.

Her average of 4.25 is the highest in the WNBA – 1.65 blocks per game more than Kiah Stokes of New York who ranks second with 2.60 blocks per game.

Only Griner, Stokes and Elena Delle Donne of Chicago have blocked more than 30 shots this season, and Griner has played in just eight games while Stokes has played in 15 and Delle Donne has played in 16 games.

Leilan-Three

Mercury guard Leilani Mitchell currently leads the WNBA in three-point shooting, hitting 50.9-percent of her three-pointers this season.

She is the only player in the WNBA shooting above 50-percent.

CanDu

Selected as an All-Star starter (5th overall selection, 1st as starter), Dupree has scored in double-figures in 12 of 15 games this season and ranks 6th in the league in minutes per game (33.2).

On Saturday, she became the 19th player in WNBA history to reach the 4,500-point mark with a jumper in the fourth quarter.