Tonight,
probably off of most people’s radar, was Game 3 of the 2014 WNBA Finals between
the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky.
Games
1 & 2 in Phoenix were Mercury blowouts winning 83-62 and 97-68
(respectively). Both games were completely under control by Phoenix from the
opening seconds with the team hitting 58% in Game 1 and 56% in Game 2 not to
mention that between both games Chicago led for a total of 18 seconds. Unfortunately Mercury center Brittney Griner
was beaten up in a very physical Game 2 taking a shot to the eye that required
surgery and a broken tooth which left her sitting on the bench for Game 3 in
Chicago.
Tonight’s
game was much closer with the teams going back and forth through the entire
game. With 30 seconds left in the game the score was tied at 82-82 so it
literally went down to the buzzer to determine the winner. In the end it came
down to Diana Tuarasi who nailed a jumper (and follow up free throw) with 14 seconds
and grabbed the rebound with 9 seconds left. The game closed out with the final
score of 87-82 and Phoenix winning the series 3-0 games. Tuarasi won the WNBA Finals MVP trophy to go with the Championship Trophy.
This
is Phoenix’s third title in 7 years, the other two in 2007 and 2009.
Considering that Phoenix went a record setting 29-5 this season and is made up
of a solid core of seasoned players (Taurasi and Dupree) and young players
(Griner and Bonner) it is quite possible that they may add a couple more
trophies to their case over the next 6-8 years.
It is nice to see that a Phoenix basketball team can shut down a Chicago basketball team (sly dig on the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns).
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