It took two overtime periods, but a trio of reported Olympic teammates delivered a 97-90 road victory for the Phoenix Mercury over the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
Mercury standouts Kahleah Copper, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi are all reportedly named to the U.S. Olympic team and each made significant plays to seal the victory.
Copper scored the first four points of the second overtime for the Mercury (6-6) and ended the period with eight points en route to a game-high 29.
Taurasi, just two days shy of her 42nd birthday, canned a jumper with 1:40 left in the second overtime to stretch the lead to 93-88. In the closing seconds she was fouled and then shoved to the floor by Teaira McCowan for a technical foul. Taurasi bounced up happily and finished her evening with 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
Griner, playing in just her second game back after a toe injury forced her out of the season’s first 10 games, contributed 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Griner added nine rebounds and five assists; she also hit the game-tying shot with 33 seconds left in regulation to force the first overtime.
Dallas (3-7) was led by guard Arike Ogunbowale, who finished with 25 points despite scoring just four in the first half. Ogunbowale added 10 assists and seven rebounds but shot just 9-for-27 on the game.
Dallas also got significant contribution from McCowan, who had 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting and chipped in nine rebounds. McCowan answered Griner’s 2-pointer with one of her own in the final seconds of the first overtime to keep the game tied.
Maddy Siegrist added 12 points, Sevgi Uzun tallied 11 and Monique Billings posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas.
The game featured 18 lead changes and neither team posted a double-digit lead at any point. Both teams battled with turnovers, as Dallas finished with 23 and Phoenix added 22. The Mercury were able to score 32 points off turnovers, compared to 24 for the Wings.
This was the first double-overtime game for the Mercury since a 118-107 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 12, 2022. Meanwhile, the Wings had not played a double-overtime game since a 112-106 win over the Chicago Sky on July 16, 2017.
–Field Level Media