Hartley among WNBA scoring leaders
Coming off a 2-1 week to reach .500, the Phoenix Mercury again play three games in five days in the third week of the abbreviated eight-week WNBA regular season.
The Mercury (2-2) face Atlanta (2-2) on Tuesday then two of the league’s top four teams – Chicago and Seattle, both 3-1 – on Thursday and Saturday in Bradenton, Florida.
All three games will be nationally televised, with the Seattle game on ABC.
There are no remaining undefeated teams – Washington and Minnesota also are 3-1 – and half the league is at 2-2.
Mercury backup guard Bria Hartley is tied for second in WNBA scoring with Las Vegas forward A’ja Wilson at 19.8 ppg. Forward DeWanna Bonner, in her first season with Connecticut after playing 10 seasons in Phoenix, leads with a 27.5 average.
Hartley scored a career-high 27 points Sunday against New York.
Mercury guards Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith are fourth and sixth in league assists at 6.0 and 4.5 pg while also averaging 15.5 and 14.5 points.
Taurasi hopes to avoid missing game for rest
The Mercury have won four straight and six of the last seven over Atlanta going back to September 2017.
Phoenix acquired forwards Jessica Breland and Nia Coffey from the Dream in a three-team trade in February that included guard Briann January going to Connecticut.
Breland is medically excused this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. January has yet to play for the Sun while recovering from COVID-19. Coffey started one game for the Mercury and now is playing behind Sophie Cunningham.
• The Mercury had nine blocks in a 96-67 win over New York, six of those by 5-9 Diggins-Smith and 6-0 Taurasi. Diggins-Smith’s four blocks tied her career high.
Mercury center Brittney Griner, Diggins-Smith and forward Brianna Turner are first, sixth and eighth in league blocks. Turner and Griner are tied for 12th in rebounding (7.0 pg).
• 38-year-old Taurasi currently is not planning to take a game off for rest like her close friend Sue Bird, Seattle’s 39year-old point guard, did last week. They are the oldest players in the league, and both missed all or the majority of 2019 due to injuries.
“I’m going to look at it every single day,” Taurasi said. “If I feel good and I feel ready to play, I’m going to do the best I can. If there is a situation where it makes sense to get an extra day of rest for whatever games we have coming up then I’ll talk to Sandy. But for now I’m going to try to play in every game possible. If I go do it, I’m going to give it a go.”
• Mercury personnel reacted to No. 1 overall draft pick Sabrina Ionescu’s ankle injury that could potentially take the New York guard out for the rest of the season.
“She’s going to come back better than ever,” Taurasi said. “All she knows how to do is fight. We all know how great of a basketball player she is. She’s got that It factor about her. A year from now we won’t even remember this, and she’s going to be just fine.”
Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said: “She brings so much to this league. Everybody knows who she is. It’s tough for her in her rookie year. That team really needs her out there because she’s such a great leader even though she’s so young. I just wish her a speedy recovery.”
“I hate that for her,” Griner said. “It changes the dynamic on the team when you have somebody like that go down. It’s part of the game. Ankle injuries suck, I did it a few years back (in 2017). You’ve just got to get in there and do your rehab, take it a day at a time and come back stronger.”
-- Washington’s Myisha Hines-Allen (East) and Seattle’s Breanna Stewart (West) were named the WNBA conference Players of the Week on Monday, the first such awards of the season.
Up next
Atlanta Dream vs. Phoenix Mercury, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida, 4 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2 -- The Mercury (2-2) are on a two-game win streak including a 96-67 victory over New York on Sunday.
The Dream (2-2) have wins over Dallas and New York and losses to Las Vegas and Indiana.
Five Atlanta players are averaging double-figure points led by G-F Betnijah Laney at 17.5 pg.