Becky Hammon returned to action and helped her team win their fourth in a row with a 87-77 matinee game victory over the Mercury. This was the second double digit loss in a row for Phoenix after winning four in a row.

Diana Taurasi led all scorers with 27 points and Penny Taylor added 19, but the bench only scored two points. “(There's) just no juice right now,” Taurasi said. “I guess the All-Star break is coming at the right time.”

One surprising stat from the game (and a positive for the Merc) was the rebounding edge. Phoenix also did a nice job of getting to the line, but missed some critical attempts in the fourth quarter. “A missed opportunity,” Taurasi said. “But we’ll have other ones.”

A concern for the Silver Stars after getting Hammon back is the extent of the knee injury in the first minute of the game to Erin Buescher.