Mercury leads by three points after one-quarter of play
The game started with Phoenix jumping out to an 8-0 lead with 8:18 left in the first quarter. The three-point shot was working for the team on this run as Kia Nurse and Diana Taurasi each hit one.
Starting at the 7:46 minute mark, Washington would score eight straight points to tie the game up with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
The duo of Tina Charles and Natasha Cloud would score all eight points on that run, which would get their team back in the game.
Seconds later, the Mercury would start on a 9-4 run, which gave them a 17-12 lead with 3:06 left in the first quarter.
The three-point shot would continue to a give a jolt in Phoenix’s offense as Skylar Diggins-Smith and Megan Walker each hit one on this run.
In the last two minutes and fifty seconds in the first quarter, the Mystics would outscore the Mercury 6-4 to cut the lead to 21-18.
Phoenix had a 31.8% (7-22) shooting percentage in the first quarter of this game.
Washington had a 36.8 % (7-19) shooting percentage in the first quarter of this game.
Phoenix leads by seven points at the end of the first half
The Mercury would start to heat up in the second quarter as the team scored six straight points out of the gate to push their lead to 27-18 with 6:59 left in the first half. Brittney Griner was the leading scorer on the run as she scored three of six points on the run.
Rebounding was a key factor on the run as Phoenix collected seven rebounds.
Starting at the 6:34 minute mark, the Mystics would climb back in this one when the team went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to three points (29-26) with 4:21 left in the second quarter.
The Mercury would outscore Washington 15-11 for the rest of the first half to take a 44-37 lead into halftime.
One of the highlights on the scoring run for Phoenix was Diana Taurasi draining a three-pointer with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Rebounding was once again a key factor on a run as the Mercury collected six rebounds.
The Mercury had a 50.0 % (7-14) shooting percentage in the second quarter of this game.
The Mystics had a 30.0 % (6-20) shooting percentage in the second quarter of this game.
Phoenix starts to pull away with a double-digit lead in the third quarter
The second half started with Washington clawing their way closer to the lead as the team outscored Phoenix 10-6 to cut the lead to three points (50-47) with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
Natasha Cloud was the leader of this run as she scored five of the ten points on the run.
At the 6:21 minute mark, the Mercury would go on an 11-5 run, which would push their lead to 61-52 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. The duo of Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner would score nine of the 11 points on the run.
In the remaining minutes of the third quarter, the Mercury would continue to extend their lead further as they scored eight more points in the quarter to take a 12 point lead (69-57) into the fourth quarter.
Phoenix had a 60.0 % (9-15) shooting percentage in the third quarter in this game.
Washington had a 38.9 % (7-18) shooting percentage in the third quarter of this game.
Mercury wins by 21
The fourth quarter would start with Phoenix continuing to drain baskets at will, with the team scoring seven straight points to push their lead to 76-57 with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter.
The three-point shot was sizzling on this run as Alanna Smith and Sophie Cunningham each made one.
The Mercury would wrap up this win by adding 15 more points to their lead as they took home a 91-70 victory.
The duo of Kia Nurse and Skylar Diggins-Smith would score seven of those 15 points, which sealed the win for their team.
Phoenix’s shooting percentage decreased in the fourth quarter, with the team shooting 46.7 % (7-15).
The Mystics struggled in the fourth quarter as the team shot 16.7 % (3-18).
Stats:
FG%: WAS 30.7% & PHX45.5
3P%: WAS 17.9%&PHX39.3
FT%: WAS90.5%&PHX80.0
Rebs: WAS34& PHX50
Ast: WAS 17&PHX22
Stl: WAS10& PHX4
TO: WAS11&PHX19
Blks: WAS4 &PHX3
Outside the First State 