{"id":528818,"date":"2026-03-17T13:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/528818\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T13:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:27:10","slug":"phoenix-moves-the-ball-in-respectable-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/528818\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Moves The Ball In Respectable Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Mercury <\/a>did something special in 2014. They won their third championship after finishing the season with a record of 29-5. It was an amazing year, and opposing teams did not want to cross paths with them. <\/p>\n

\"Diana<\/p>\n

Sep 12, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (left) and guard Diana Taurasi (right) celebrate with the WNBA championship trophy after defeating the Chicago Sky 87-82 in game three of the 2014 WNBA Finals at UIC Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images \/ Jerry Lai-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Phoenix was the team to beat, and after beating the Chicago Sky, Diana Taurasi and her teammates added to the franchise’s legacy. Naturally, when a team wins, people expect a repeat. Whether it is players, fans or media, people like to see a team win back-to-back titles. <\/p>\n

The Mercury did not win a championship in 2015, but they still made the playoffs. They faced the Tulsa Shock in their first matchup, and they beat them 2-0. Then, the Minnesota Lynx beat them in the next round, and they won a championship later on. <\/p>\n

\"Brittney<\/p>\n

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) returns as a starter against the Minnesota Lynx at Footprint Center on June 7, 2024, in Phoenix. \/ Nicole Mullen\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

Despite the loss, the Mercury had a good year, and some of the stars had strong seasons. They not only did their share of scoring, but they also dished to their teammates. The Mercury had a total of 552 assists that year, and DeWanna Bonner <\/a>was the leader. <\/p>\n

Bonner had 110 assists, and her season high happened in a game against the San Antonio Stars. She had seven assists, and she helped out in other areas. She had 13 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block. She played well, and with the help of the other starters, the Mercury had their fourth win of the season.<\/p>\n

Leilani Mitchell was second in assists, and she had 91. She had seven assists against the Lynx, and the Mercury beat them 81-66. Phoenix had four players who scored in double figures, and Mitchell was one of them. She scored, got teammates involved and the Mercury had their second victory. <\/p>\n

\"Leilani<\/p>\n

Jun 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen (13) passes in the third quarter against the Phoenix Mercury guard Leilani Mitchell (5) at Target Center. The Minnesota Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury 71-56. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images \/ Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Noelle Quinn was behind Mitchell, and she had 66 assists. Quinn’s season high was seven, and she had it in a game against the Stars. The Mercury won by 30, and Quinn’s playmaking was one of the highlights. <\/p>\n

Candice Dupree was after Quinn, and she had 55 assists. Dupree’s season high was six, and it happened against the Los Angeles Sparks. Then, Monique Currie was fifth<\/a>, and she had 50 assists. She had three assists against the Lynx in a game the Mercury lost. <\/p>\n

Phoenix was a strong team, and with some key players out, the Mercury played as a team. <\/p>\n

Please follow us on X to read more about the Mercury’s 2015 season and who led the team in assists when you click right here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Phoenix Mercury did something special in 2014. They won their third championship after finishing the season with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-528818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}