Alexa PhilippouESPN Shut up Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with additional experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer
Diana Taurasi, the three-time WNBA champion and the league’s all-time leading scorer, will miss the remainder of the regular season with a quadriceps, the Phoenix Mercury announced Monday as the team battles for a playoff spot in the final week. . Shut up
Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with additional experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer
Regarding the possibility of Taurasi returning for a potential playoff run, a Mercury representative said, “She is out for the remainder of the regular season and will provide more information if/when we make the playoffs.” The team also said Taurasi will be available to the media sometime this week. Yvonne “Vonnie” Turner signed a tough contract to fill Taurasi’s roster spot. Taurasi’s 16.7 points and 3.9 assists per game were second best on the team behind Skylar Diggins-Smith’s 19.7 and 5.5. The former three-time UConn champion and five-time Olympic gold medalist last played on Aug. 2, where she suffered the injury playing 11 minutes in a loss to Connecticut.
Taurasi was initially listed as “questionable” for the Mercury’s two most recent games, with coach Vanessa Nygaard indicating before Saturday’s game against the Liberty that Taurasi was being evaluated that day to see if she could get the floor . Phoenix is one of six teams fighting for three unclaimed playoff spots. While the Mercury would have secured the eighth and final playoff spot if the regular season ended Tuesday, the Liberty are just a half-game behind them, while the Lynx and Sparks are both a game back with seven days to go to remain for the regular season. ESPN’s BPI gave the Mercury a 67.5 percent chance to make the playoffs — the second-best of the six teams in the hunt — before the news of Taurasi’s season-ending injury. Phoenix has three games in the regular season, all at home: Wednesday against the Lynx, Friday against the Wings and Sunday against the defending champion Sky. The Mercury — who parted ways with former coach Sandy Brondello this offseason after a Finals appearance — have had a rollercoaster year. Perennial All-Star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for bringing cannabis into the country and was sentenced to nine years in prison last week. Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles — a free agent acquisition last offseason — was acquired in late June, eventually signing with the Storm in hopes of winning a championship with them. Other players have missed time due to injury at various other points this season, with Kia Nurse yet to take the floor after tearing her ACL in last season’s playoffs. On Saturday, both Taurasi and Diggins-Smith missed a must-win game against Liberty, where the Mercury eventually pulled off a 76-62 upset. Taurasi, who just turned 40 in June, has struggled this season — especially compared to her historical play — with both her shooting efficiency and on the defensive end. But she has proven to be one of the most clutch postseason players in WNBA history, most recently helping propel the fifth-seeded Mercury to the Finals last season after battling sternum, ankle and foot injuries over the summer. She is one of three players to record 500 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists this season, along with Sabrina Ionescu and teammate Diggins-Smith, and in July became the first WNBA player age 40 or older with 30 points . Although he said before the season that he “plans[s] playing for a while,” Taurasi is set to become a free agent after this season. She has played her entire career in Phoenix since being drafted there in 2004.
