Sep 16, 2007, 23:27 GMT
Auburn Hills, MI - Penny Taylor scored 30 points, making all 18 of her free throws, as Phoenix captured its first WNBA title by beating Detroit, 108-92, in the decisive Game 5 of the Finals.
Cappie Pondexter, whose go-ahead layup with 21.7 seconds left provided the Mercury with a 77-76 win in Game 4 on Thursday, had 26 points and 10 assists in the clincher and was named the series MVP. Diana Taurasi ended with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Mercury, who became the fourth different champion in as many years. In fact, Phoenix didn't even make the playoffs a year ago, coming a game short.
'Ever since I woke up Friday morning, I kept saying we're due to have a good game,' Taurasi said. 'We played like crud for four games. In our opinion, after watching film after watching ourselves, and we didn't put it all together. Just looking at the stat sheet, everything that we've focused on all year kind of came into play tonight.'
However, on Sunday the Mercury raced out to an early 13-point first-quarter advantage and continued to lead right to the end.
Kelly Mazzante had 12 points, Kelly Miller 11 and Tangela Smith 10 for the Mercury, who missed just one of their 30 free throws.
Deanna Nolan had 27 points and Katie Smith added 18 for the Shock, champions last year and in 2003. Shannon Johnson tallied 13 points and Katie Feenstra 10 for Detroit, which lost despite making half of its 26 three-point tries.
'Making shots was part of it, but the whole thing was just defense,' Shock coach Bill Laimbeer said. 'I thought our defense just wasn't there tonight. And then the times we needed key rebounds when we got a stop, they'd get the offensive rebound. And times we didn't get the rebound, we didn't go down and convert on the other end.'
A Pondexter jumper moved Phoenix to a 7-2 lead early and a Taurasi bucket made it 14-6. Nolan made a pair of foul shots to get the home team within 23-17, but Phoenix scored the final seven points of the first quarter, capped by Kelly Schumacher's layup.
A Taylor layup culminated eight consecutive Phoenix points for a 48-30 lead, and it was 55-43 at the half.
Another 8-0 run extended Phoenix's lead to 65-46, effectively putting away the Shock midway through the third quarter. It was 79-64 going into the fourth, and the lead remained at double digits the rest of the way.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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