Mercury, Taurasi look to bounce back vs. Indiana (May 16, 2017)
It's been a busy week for Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi.
She married her former Mercury teammate Penny Taylor on Saturday, opened her 13th WNBA season on Sunday and signed a multi-year contract extension with the team on Tuesday.
The one thing she would like to have back is her performance Sunday in a home loss to the Dallas Wings. She and the Mercury get another chance Wednesday against the visiting Indiana Fever, which dropped its opener 87-82 at the Seattle Storm on Sunday.
Phoenix will see a familiar face in Indiana forward Candice Dupree, who spent the past seven seasons with the Mercury. The five-time WNBA All-Star was part of a three-team trade in February.
Taurasi shot just 1 of 11 from the field, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range, in Sunday's 68-58 loss. She did move within six 3-pointers of breaking the WNBA career record, held by Katie Smith. Taurasi, 34, also needs 175 points to become the league's career scoring leader.
"As long as Diana Taurasi wants to play in the WNBA, we want her in a Mercury uniform," Phoenix general manager Jim Pitman said in announcing the contract extension through 2020. "As we've said before, she is the heart of our franchise, the first face on our Mount Rushmore, the best winner and competitor in the women's game."
Taurasi and center Brittney Griner are the only returning players from last season's Mercury, which has 10 new players. Griner had a team-high 18 points in the opener but only two rebounds, as Dallas dominated on the glass 41-17.
Dupree, in her 12th season, has a career scoring average of 14.7 points and was acquired to help replace the scoring of retired Tamika Catchings. Dupree struggled in her Fever debut, shooting 3 of 13 from the field en route to eight points.
First-year coach Pokey Chatman wasn't happy that her team committed 27 fouls and let Seattle shoot 48.3 percent on Sunday. On the positive side, the Fever forced 20 turnovers.
"We need to learn to be more disciplined on the defensive end," Chatman told WNBA.com. "We need to continue being disruptive on defense, but we have to be more disciplined."
Sixth-year guard Shenise Johnson scored a career-high 24 points in the season opener. Guard Briann January added 23 points, matching her career-best as she began her ninth season.
The Dupree trade sent forward Camille Little from the Connecticut Sun to Phoenix. Little scored 11 points in her Mercury debut.
