The Phoenix Mercury only missed one shot out of 17 attempts in the first quarter, but yet nearly lost its massive lead soon after. A dominant start was the building block, but it was up to the Mercury’s offense to revive itself and hold on for the team’s 90-84 win over the Connecticut Sun at Footprint Center. Brittney Griner had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Mercury set a WNBA record for points in a quarter with 45 in the first. “It was great team basketball in the first quarter and I joked with them that we had the best first quarter in WNBA history and the worst second quarter,” interim head coach Nikki Blue said. “Essentially, that’s how our season has been. Earlier in the season, we would have lost this game.” The Associated Press has the story:
Mercury sets WNBA record 45 1Q points, holds off Sun 90-84
Newslooks- PHOENIX (AP)
Brittney Griner had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Mercury set a WNBA record for points in a quarter with 45 in the first before holding off the short-handed Connecticut Sun down the stretch for a 90-84 win on Thursday night.
Phoenix broke the record of 44 points in a quarter set earlier this season by New York to build a 21-point lead. But the Mercury only scored seven points in the second to have their lead trimmed to 52-48 at the break. The 38-point difference was the largest drop-off in points from one quarter to the next in WNBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut’s leading scorer, left with a back injury early in the first quarter and did not return.
Moriah Jefferson scored 17 points, and Diana Taurasi had 16 points and made four 3-pointers for Phoenix (9-20). Sophie Cunningham, who scored nine on three 3-pointers, reached 1,000 career points.
Rebecca Allen scored a season-high 24 points and Alyssa Thomas had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Connecticut (21-8). Tiffany Hayes added 15 points.
Hayes made a 3-pointer to get Connecticut within 82-81 but Jefferson answered with a jumper from the free-throw line. After a Sun miss, Griner hit a baseline jumper to give Phoenix a five-point lead.
Following a Phoenix miss, Allen raced the other way for a fast-break layup to cut Connecticut’s deficit to 86-84 with 30.1 seconds left. But Jefferson found an opening in the lane and scored with 19.3 seconds left for a four-point lead. Connecticut turned it over on the inbounds play and Jefferson sealed it with two free throws.
