Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 26 points, Diana Taurasi added 18 and Phoenix beat the Dallas Wings 83-72 in Saturday’s Mercury first game without Tina Charles.
The Mercury announced earlier Saturday that they were parting ways with former MVP Tina Charles after just 18 games.
“Following discussions with Tina and her agent, it was best for both parties to go their separate ways at this point,” said Jim Pitman, Mercury general manager. “Due to circumstances both within and beyond our control, our season has not gone according to plan and we will continue to pursue any opportunities for improvement.”
Diamond DeShields came off the bench and had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix (7-12). Sophie Cunningham added 14 points.
Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas (9-10) with 25 points. Isabelle Harrison had 15 points and 10 rebounds before going out with 5:26 in the game and a Wings 66-65 deficit. Dallas fell to 4-6 at home.
Nice dreams. Good night everyone 💫 pic.twitter.com/F2qF3CJXLc
Cunningham hit two 3-pointers and Diggins-Smith capped a 13-2 run with a three-pointer to end the first half and put the Mercury within 45-44.
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Ogwumike leads Sparks past Storm
Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points to lead four players into double digits, and the Los Angeles Sparks prevailed in the fourth quarter to beat the Seattle Storm 85-77 on Saturday night.
Ogwumike hit 12 of 18 shots from the floor for Los Angeles (7-10).
Katie Lou Samuelson added 17 points for the Sparks, who beat Seattle 17-9 in the last third. Brittney Sykes finished the tournament with 15 points and eight rebounds. Kristi Toliver scored 11.
Cannot be guarded #TimeToShow | @nnekaogwumike pic.twitter.com/ovhoT39K8E
–@LASparks
Breanna Stewart had 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks to speed Seattle (11-7). Ezi Magbegor scored 16 goals and blocked three shots before fouling. Gabby Williams scored 11.
Stewart hit her first three 3-point attempts as the Storm took an early 19-7 lead.
Toliver scored the last four points in a 29-point second quarter and the Sparks led 49-43 at halftime