Mercury's Diana Taurasi becomes 1st WNBA player to reach 9,000 career points in win over Sparks

Diana Taurasi scored 25 points and became the first player in WNBA history to score 9,000 career points in her return from a five-week absence as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Los Angeles Sparks 88-79 on Sunday.

Taurasi, the league's all-time leading scorer, had been out with a fractured sternum. The 39-year old guard was fouled as she made a driving layup and converted the three-point play to reach the 9,000-point plateau. No other player in WNBA history has scored as many as 7,500 points and only Tina Thompson (7,488) and Tamika Catchings (7,380) have reached the 7,000-point mark.

Hamilton, Ont., native Kia Nurse added 13 points and a block while also collecting six rebounds for Phoenix.

Erica Wheeler made back-to-back baskets to cap a 7-0 run by the Sparks and tie it at 47-all early in the third quarter but Phoenix (7-7) scored 13 of the next 15 points to take the lead for good. Taurasi made two 3-pointers in the final minute of the period to push the Mercury's lead to 14 points going into the fourth.

Wheeler led the Sparks (6-8) with 21 points and Te'a Cooper added 20. Cooper, who scored a career-high 26 points in Thursday's win over the Washington Mystics, has back-to-back games of at least 20 points for the first time in her career.

The guard, who played at Tennessee and South Carolina before finishing her college career at Baylor, was a second-round pick by Phoenix in the 2020 WNBA draft but was cut by the Mercury before signing with the Sparks prior to the beginning of the season.

It was the third consecutive game between the teams and their final regular matchup of the season

Aces' Gray hits game-winning jumper to beat Storm in OT 

Chelsea Gray scored 15 of her 21 points after the third quarter, including a go-ahead jumper with 10.6 seconds left and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 95-92 in overtime on Sunday in a Commissioner's Cup game.

Gray had five points in the final seconds and finished with seven assists. A'ja Wilson led Las Vegas (11-4) with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Kelsey Plum added 15 points. Jackie Young and Riquna Williams — who made 4 of 6 from 3-point range — scored 12 points apiece.

Breanna Stewart had 35 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Seattle (12-4). Mercedes Russell tied her season highs with 12 points and 11 boards.

Russell, a career 62% foul shooter, made two free throws to give Seattle a 90-88 lead with 1:05 to play but Gray converted a three-point play to give the Aces a one-point lead about 50 seconds later. Stewart made two free throws to make it 92-91 with 21.4 seconds left before Gray's jumper put Las Vegas in the lead for good.

The WNBA-leading Storm have a half-game lead over Las Vegas — which won the regular season series 2-1 — in the league standings and, at 5-1, lead the Aces by one game in the Western Conference's Commissioner's Cup standings.

Each team plays 10 Commissioner's Cup games, finishing on July 10, with the top team from each conference playing a championship game in August for the cup title and a prize totaling approximately $500,000.

Bonner, Jones lift Sun over sky

DeWanna Bonner hit four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, Brionna Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun cruised to a 74-58 win over Chicago on Sunday in a Commissioner's Cup game, snapping the Sky's seven-game win streak.

Jasmine Thomas had 18 points and three steals and Beatrice Mompremier grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds for Connecticut (10-5).

The Sun limited Chicago to its lowest scoring output of the season on 33.3 from 3-point range. Connecticut had nine steals and forced 18 turnovers.

Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Allie Quigley each made a 3-pointer in an 11-0 run to close the second quarter and Vandersloot's pull-up jumper to open the third trimmed Chicago's deficit to 36-32. Bonner answered with a 3, Jones hit two free throws and Bonner added another from behind the arc before Jones made a layup to cap a 10-0 run, and Connecticut led by double figures the rest of the way.

Quigley and Copper scored 11 points apiece to lead Chicago.

The Sun are the third team in the WNBA to reach double digits in wins this season, joining the league-leading Seattle Storm (12-3) and the Las Vegas Aces (10-4).

Connecticut improved to an Eastern Conference-leading 5-1 in the Commissioner's Cup standings while the second-place Sky dropped to 6-3. Seattle leads the Western Conference at 5-0.

Each team plays 10 Commissioner's Cup games, finishing on July 10, with the top team from each conference playing a championship game in August for the cup title and a prize totaling approximately $500,000.

WATCH | CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis pens thank you note to LGTBQ community:

Pride 2021 — A Thank You note

3 years ago

Duration 2:12

CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis pens a thank you note to the LGTBQ community. Its allies, leaders, and everyone pushing the conversation forward.