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2018 Phoenix Mercury season

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2018 Phoenix Mercury season
CoachSandy Brondello
ArenaTalking Stick Resort Arena
Attendance9,950 per game
Results
Record20–14 (.588)
Place2nd (Western)
Playoff finish5th seed; lost in Semifinals to Seattle
Team Leaders
PointsDiana Taurasi – 20.7 ppg
ReboundsBrittney Griner – 7.7 rpg
AssistsDiana Taurasi – 5.3 apg
Media
TelevisionFox Sports Arizona (FS-A)

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14.[1]

The Mercury started the season slowly, going 2–3 in May. They won the first two games, but lost the next three. All five games were against eventual playoff teams. However, the Mercury caught fire in June, posting an 11–2 record which included an 8 game winning streak. The June high turned into a July low. The team was 2–7 in July with their only wins coming against Connecticut, and league-worst Indiana. The Mercury managed to turn it around and end the season on a high, going 5–2 in August. Their regular season ended on a three game winning streak, with all games coming against playoff teams. The Mercury finished the season 20–14, with the 5th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.

As the fifth seed, the Mercury had to play an opening round game against the Dallas Wings at home. The Mercury won by 18 points, 101–83. This win saw them advance to the second round where they played the fourth seeded Connecticut Sun in Connecticut. Again, the Mercury won, this time by 10 points. With the win, the Mercury advanced to the Semifinals to face the first seeded Seattle Storm. The home team won each game in the five game series. However, the Mercury did not have home court advantage, due to being the lower seed, and lost the series 2–3 despite nearly completing a dramatic comeback after being down two games to none.

Transactions

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WNBA draft

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See also: 2018 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 12 Marie Gülich  Germany Oregon State
2 20 Tyler Scaife  United States Rutgers
2 21 Raisa Musina  Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia)
3 26 Imani Wright  United States Florida State

Trades/Roster Changes

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Date Details
February 1, 2018 Sign F Sancho Lyttle[2]
February 2, 2018 Acquired 21st pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for C Cayla George.[3]
February 2, 2018 Acquired 26th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and a 3nd round pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for C Kelsey Bone.[4]
February 2, 2018 Re-signed G Yvonne Turner and G Emma Cannon[5]
February 5, 2018 Re-signed F Camille Little[6]
February 13, 2018 Re-signed G/F DeWanna Bonner[7]
March 6, 2018 Acquired G Briann January in exchange for the 8th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft.[8]
March 6, 2018 Acquired the 12th pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for G Danielle Robinson and a second round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft.[9]

Roster

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2018 Phoenix Mercury roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
F 24 United States Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 143 lb (65kg) 08-21-1987 Auburn 8
C 42 United States Griner, Brittney 6' 9" (2.06m) 205 lb (93kg) 10-18-1990 Baylor 5
C 21 Germany Gülich, Marie 6' 5" (1.96m) 199 lb (90kg) 05-28-1994 Oregon State R
G 12 United States January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m) 144 lb (65kg) 01-11-1987 Arizona State 9
F 20 United States Little, Camille 6' 2" (1.88m) 180 lb (82kg) 01-18-1985 North Carolina 11
F 31 Spain Lyttle, Sancho Injured 6' 5" (1.96m) 175 lb (79kg) 09-20-1983 Houston 13
G 5 United States Mitchell, Leilani 5' 5" (1.65m) 138 lb (63kg) 06-15-1985 Utah 9
F 14 United States Peters, Devereaux 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 10-08-1989 Notre Dame 5
C 0 United States Robinson, Angel 6' 6" (1.98m) 193 lb (88kg) 04-20-1987 Georgia 2
G 8 Australia Talbot, Stephanie 6' 2" (1.88m) 192 lb (87kg) 12-20-1990 Australia 1
G/F 3 United States Taurasi, Diana 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 06-11-1982 Connecticut 13
G 6 United States Turner, Yvonne 5' 10" (1.78m) 131 lb (59kg) 10-13-1987 Nebraska 2
Head coach
Australia Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney)
Assistant coaches
United States Julie Hairgrove (Arizona)
United States Todd Troxel (Doane)


Strength and conditioning coach
United States Jonathan Mak (Illinois State)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

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Pre-season

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2018 pre-season game log
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 8 @ Seattle L 69–73 Bonner (13) Tied (6) 3 Tied (3) KeyArena
3,502 		0–1
2 May 12 Seattle L 61–84 Griner (14) Lyttle (11) Bonner (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
4,535 		0–2
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

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2018 game log
Total: 20–14 (Home: 9–8; Road: 11–6)
May: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 18 Dallas W 86–78 Taurasi (26) Bonner (12) Mitchell (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,210 		1–0
2 May 20 @ Seattle W 87–82 Griner (29) Griner (10) Bonner (7) KeyArena
8,602 		2–0
3 May 23 Seattle L 71–87 Taurasi (23) Bonner (9) Lyttle (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,068 		2–1
4 May 27 @ Los Angeles L 72–80 Lyttle (20) Tied (5) January (7) Staples Center
11,201 		2–2
5 May 30 Washington L 95–103 Griner (27) Lyttle (7) Taurasi (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,188 		2–3
June : 11–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 8–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
6 June 1 @ Minnesota W 95–85 Taurasi (29) Griner (9) Taurasi (6) Target Center
8,830 		3–3
7 June 3 @ Atlanta W 78–71 Tied (20) Tied (7) Taurasi (8) McCamish Pavilion
3,796 		4–3
8 June 5 @ New York W 80–74 Griner (26) Griner (6) Taurasi (8) Madison Square Garden
7,215 		5–3
9 June 8 Chicago W 96–79 Griner (24) Griner (8) Taurasi (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,834 		6–3
10 June 10 Las Vegas W 72–66 Taurasi (25) Griner (15) January (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,471 		7–3
11 June 12 @ Dallas W 75–72 Taurasi (21) Lyttle (10) January (6) College Park Center
4,026 		8–3
12 June 16 Connecticut W 89–72 Taurasi (19) Tied (9) January (8) Talking Stick Resort Arena
12,497 		9–3
13 June 17 @ Las Vegas W 92–80 Taurasi (28) Bonner (9) Taurasi (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center
4,432 		10–3
14 June 22 Minnesota L 72–83 Taurasi (23) Griner (13) Taurasi (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,349 		10–4
15 June 24 @ Chicago L 88–97 Griner (19) Griner (10) Taurasi (8) Wintrust Arena
4,741 		10–5
16 June 26 @ New York W 83–69 Taurasi (27) Griner (9) Taurasi (7) Westchester County Center
1,839 		11–5
17 June 29 @ Indiana W 95–77 Taurasi (25) Bonner (9) Turner (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7,241 		12–5
18 June 30 @ Washington W 84–74 Griner (24) Turner (9) Taurasi (9) Capital One Arena
6,218 		13–5
July : 2–7 (Home: 1–4; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
19 July 5 Connecticut W 84–77 Taurasi (25) Bonner (13) Turner (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,599 		14–5
20 July 8 @ Atlanta L 70–76 Taurasi (19) Robinson (10) 3 Tied (3) McCamish Pavilion
3,952 		14–6
21 July 10 @ Dallas L 72–101 Griner (21) Tied (4) Mitchell (8) College Park Center
4,034 		14–7
22 July 13 @ Connecticut L 87–91 Taurasi (28) Tied (7) Tied (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,696 		14–8
23 July 15 @ Indiana W 101–82 Griner (36) Griner (12) Taurasi (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,302 		15–8
24 July 19 Las Vegas L 82–85 Taurasi (33) Robinson (11) Taurasi (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,587 		15–9
25 July 21 Minnesota L 75–80 Bonner (29) Little (6) Talbot (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,473 		15–10
26 July 25 Chicago L 87–101 Bonner (30) Bonner (13) January (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,338 		15–11
27 July 31 Seattle L 91–102 Griner (25) Griner (6) Tied (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,005 		15–12
August : 5–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
28 August 1 @ Las Vegas W 104–93 Taurasi (37) Bonner (14) Taurasi (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center
5,129 		16–12
29 August 5 @ Los Angeles L 75–78 Griner (22) Bonner (9) January (9) Staples Center
19,076 		16–13
30 August 7 Washington L 98–103 Griner (35) Griner (11) Talbot (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
7,769 		16–14
31 August 10 Indiana W 94–74 Tied (14) Bonner (10) Griner (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,860 		17–14
32 August 12 Los Angeles W 86–78 Bonner (31) Griner (13) Taurasi (14) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,618 		18–14
33 August 17 Atlanta W 104–95 Griner (33) Griner (18) Taurasi (14) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,177 		19–14
34 August 19 New York W 96–85 Bonner (23) Bonner (10) Tied (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
13,106 		20–14
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

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2018 playoff game log
Total: 4–3 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–3)
First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 21 Dallas W 101–83 Bonner (29) Tied (11) Taurasi (12) Wells Fargo Arena
4,976 		1–0
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 23 @ Connecticut W 96–86 Tied (27) Bonner (18) 3 Tied (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,858 		1–0
WNBA Semifinals: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 26 @ Seattle L 87–91 Bonner (27) Bonner (13) Taurasi (6) KeyArena
9,686 		0–1
2 August 28 @ Seattle L 87–91 (OT) Taurasi (28) Griner (10) Taurasi (8) KeyArena
9,686 		0–2
3 August 31 Seattle W 86–66 Bonner (27) Bonner (11) Turner (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
15,185 		1–2
4 September 2 Seattle W 86–84 Griner (29) Griner (12) Taurasi (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,137 		2–2
5 September 4 @ Seattle 84–94 Griner (21) Griner (9) Griner (6) KeyArena
8,992 		2–3
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

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# Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Seattle Storm (1) 26 8 .765 – 13–4 13–4 11–5
2 Phoenix Mercury (5) 20 14 .588 6 9–8 11–6 8–8
3 Los Angeles Sparks (6) 19 15 .559 7 11–6 8–9 9–7
4 Minnesota Lynx (7) 18 16 .529 8 9–8 9–8 9–7
5 Dallas Wings (8) 15 19 .441 11 10–7 5–12 7–9
6 e –Las Vegas Aces 14 20 .412 12 8–9 6–11 4–12

Playoffs

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Main article: 2018 WNBA Playoffs
First round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
1Seattle Storm9191668494
4Connecticut Sun865Phoenix Mercury8787868684
5Phoenix Mercury1015Phoenix Mercury961Seattle Storm897598
8Dallas Wings833Washington Mystics767382
2Atlanta Dream8478817681
3Washington Mystics963Washington Mystics8775769786
6Los Angeles Sparks756Los Angeles Sparks64
7Minnesota Lynx68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Diana Taurasi 33 33 30.0 .446 .383 .925 3.5 5.3 0.9 0.2 20.7
Brittney Griner 34 34 32.6 .544 .250 .800 7.7 2.1 0.5 2.6 20.5
DeWanna Bonner 34 34 32.9 .452 .313 .867 7.2 3.2 1.3 0.4 17.3
Sancho Lyttle 18 18 23.3 .540 .000 .875 5.3 1.4 0.9 0.4 7.9
Briann January 33 33 27.1 .423 .470 .806 2.1 3.3 0.6 0.1 7.0
Leilani Mitchell 31 0 14.9 .351 .341 .857 1.4 2.3 0.5 0.2 4.4
Yvonne Turner 32 3 13.3 .376 .324 .682 1.8 1.3 0.7 0.1 4.1
Stephanie Talbot 31 8 14.6 .464 .386 .905 1.9 1.3 0.5 0.3 3.7
Camille Little 33 7 16.2 .330 .258 .774 1.8 1.2 0.5 0.3 3.0
Angel Robinson 24 0 9.9 .452 .000 .850 3.0 0.5 0.2 0.3 2.3
Devereaux Peters 5 0 7.6 .333 .000 .000 1.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 1.6
Marie Gülich 23 0 5.0 .483 .000 .750 1.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 1.5

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Brittney Griner WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week June 11, 2018 [10]
Diana Taurasi WNBA Cares Community Assist Award – May June 20, 2018 [11]
WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – June July 3, 2018 [12]
Sandy Brondello WNBA Coach of the Month Award – June July 2, 2018 [13]
Diana Taurasi WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [14]
DeWanna Bonner
Brittney Griner
DeWanna Bonner WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week August 20, 2018 [15]
Diana Taurasi WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – August August 20, 2018 [16]

References

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  1. ^ "2018 Phoenix Mercury Schedule". mercury.wnba.com. Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "Mercury Signs All-Star Forward Sancho Lyttle". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mercury Acquires Second-Round Pick". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mercury Acquires Two Draft Picks in Sign-And-Trade Deal". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "Turner, Cannon Re-Sign with Mercury". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "Mercury Re-Signs Camille Little". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 5, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Mercury Re-Signs Two-Time WNBA Champion DeWanna Bonner". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 13, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mercury Acquires Former Sun Devil Great Briann January". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Mercury Acquires 2018 First-Round Pick from Lynx". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "Phoenix's Griner, Atlanta's Hayes Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Phoenix's Diana Taurasi Receives May WNBA Cares Community Assist Award Presented By State Farm". wnba.com. WNBA. June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "Washington's Delle Donne, Phoenix's Taurasi Named WNBA Players of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  13. ^ "Phoenix's Sandy Brondello Named WNBA Coach of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  14. ^ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Jones, Bonner Named Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "Elena Delle Donne And Diana Taurasi Named Players Of Month For August". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
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