The matchup of Mercury vs. Fever was a fun one to watch, and the game is very close too! The Fever took home its first win over the Mercury with a score of 106-100. Let’s take a look at a breakdown of how teams played throughout this game.
Indiana Fever’s First Win Over Mercury Since 2017
SPLASHHH ☔️@TiffMitch25 is up to 20 points pic.twitter.com/tPpLAltGpw
— Indiana Fever ⛹️♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) July 30, 2020
The Indiana Fever picked up the pace of the offense for the whole game in a hard-fought battle vs. the Mercury. Three of the players for the Fever scored over 20 points to win the game. Tiffany Mitchell scored 24 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Candice Dupree, who played with the Mercury from 2010-16, tallied 23 points (two 3-pt FGs made, wow!), nine rebounds, and three assists. Teaira McCowan has a double-double consisting of 20 points and 13 rebounds with a percentage field goal of 72.7. Kelsey Mitchell made four three-pointers with a total of 18 points and five assists.
This Fever team has a bright future ahead with Lauren Cox and Teaira McCowan as the frontcourt duo and the Mitchells; Tiffany and Kelsey! The team managed to win the game by not only shooting with 51.4 percent but with the rebounding too!
Fever head coach Marianne Stanley, who won her first championship with the Mystics as an assistant coach, pointed out that she wanted the team to make baskets coming into this game.
Head coach Marianne Stanley quoted:
“This is a game where we were not happy with our performance. I’m not going to offer excuses for anything. We need to be better and we will be better.”
-Fever HC Marianne Stanley on Facebook.
Mercury Needs More Rebounding And Free Throws
The Phoenix Mercury managed to play better than the last game vs. the Fever, limiting the turnovers to eight. Besides, all of the players scored for the team and saw bench production despite the loss. The actual reason why they lost is the Mercury missed ten free throws (23-33 FTM-A) and were outrebounded 38-28.
Let us repeat! 🔥
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 30, 2020
BRIA. HARTLEY. @Breezyyy14 | #4TheValley pic.twitter.com/fZ9yvzuudf
Bria Hartley, one of the five new Mercury members, led the team in scoring with a career-best tying 26 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Brittney Griner rebounded from her eight points she scored vs. the Sparks and collected 23 points and seven rebounds. Alanna Smith, selected 8th by Phoenix in the 2019 draft, stepped up loud with a career-high 14 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Skylar Diggins-Smith scored in double digits for the second time with 12 points and four assists.
Diana Taurasi led the Mercury in steals with four along with five assists but got fouled on the three-point line, and there was no call. If the referees were to call this play as a foul, then Taurasi would have made the free throws to seal the win for the Mercury. As a Mercury fan, I feel upset that there was a no-call on Taurasi.
— Vince Kozar (@MercuryCOO) July 30, 2020
Mercury Head Coach Brondello On 0-2 Start
Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello pointed out that the Mercury allowed McCowan to make baskets on second attempts before Griner has a chance to rebound the ball. She also brought up that the second unit, the bench, played better on the defense than the first unit, which is the starters. The team is also averaging 102.5 allowed points per game in the first two games of the season. She stated:
“We just over-helped when we didn’t need to, we gave them some really easy looks, baseline penetration, BG (Brittney Griner) would help and they’d pass it to (Teaira) McCowan. Our second unit was way better than our first unit. That first unit’s got to find a way to play better defense.”
-Mercury Head Coach Sandy Brondello
The Fever next play vs. the Dallas Wings in the next game this Friday while the Mercury faces the Aces, who are without Cambage and Plum.
Tune into today’s games on ESPN, starting with the Storm vs. Mystics at 3 pm PCT/ 6 pm EST, then Sun vs. Sparks at 7 pm PCT/10 pm EST. Along with Sky vs. Minnesota on league pass at 5 pm PCT/8 pm EST. If you guys want more content of the bubble season, follow @wnba_wubble on Instagram. Earlier this week, WNBA games have been expanded by 13 on nationally televised games this season.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @ayaabdeen__ for more content. Follow my Diana Taurasi fan page on Instagram @dtaurasi3_fp. And check out more WNBA articles by the Beyond Women’s Sports team.
