2013 Phoenix Mercury season

Last updated

2013 Phoenix Mercury season
Coach Corey Gaines (10-11)
Russ Pennell (9-4)
Arena US Airways Center
Attendance8,557 per game
Results
Record1915 (.559)
Place3rd (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals (2-0 to Minnesota Lynx)
Team Leaders
Points Taurasi 25.0
Rebounds Bonner and Griner 6.0
Assists Taurasi 6.0
Media
Television FS-A
ESPN2, NBATV

The 2013 WNBA season is the 17th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association.

Contents

There were high hopes for the Mercury after they drafted Brittney Griner first overall in the 2013 WNBA draft. However, the Mercury got off to a slow start, and ultimately fired coach Corey Gaines on August 8, 2013, replacing him with Russ Pennell. Amber Cox, the Mercury President and CEO, took over Gaines' GM duties. [1] Pennell helped turn things around, securing the third seed in the 2013 WNBA Playoffs. The Mercury earned a spot in the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Lynx.

Transactions

WNBA draft

The following are the Mercury's selections in the 2013 WNBA draft.

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/team/country
11 Brittney Griner Flag of the United States.svg  United States Baylor
326 Nikki Greene Flag of the United States.svg  United States Penn State

Transaction log

Trades

DateTrade
TBDTo Phoenix Mercury To TBD
TBDTBD

Personnel changes

Roster

2013 Phoenix Mercury roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F 24 Flag of the United States.svg Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m)137 lb (62kg)08-21-1987 Auburn 4
F 4 Flag of the United States.svg Dupree, Candice 6' 2" (1.88m)175 lb (79kg)08-16-1984 Temple 7
G 15 Flag of the United States.svg Gilbreath, Briana 6' 0" (1.83m)150 lb (68kg)08-16-1990 USC 1
C 42 Flag of the United States.svg Griner, Brittney 6' 8" (2.03m)208 lb (94kg)10-18-1990 Baylor R
G 14 Flag of the United States.svg Hornbuckle, Alexis 5' 10" (1.78m)155 lb (70kg)10-16-1985 Tennessee 5
F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Houston, Charde 6' 0" (1.83m)189 lb (86kg)04-10-1986 Connecticut 5
C 12 Flag of the United States.svg Kizer, Lynetta 6' 4" (1.93m)230 lb (104kg)04-04-1990 Maryland 1
G 10 Flag of the United States.svg James, Jasmine 5' 9" (1.75m)05-29-1991 Georgia R
G 3 Flag of the United States.svg Taurasi, Diana 6' 0" (1.83m)163 lb (74kg)06-11-1982 Connecticut 9
F 13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Taylor, Penny 6' 1" (1.85m)165 lb (75kg)05-24-1981 Australia 11
F/C 34 Flag of the United States.svg Thomas, Krystal 6' 5" (1.96m)195 lb (88kg)06-10-1989 Duke 2
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Russ Pennell (Pittsburg State)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Julie Hairgrove (Arizona)
Flag of the United States.svg Anthony Boone (Mississippi)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Tamara Poole (Cal State-DH)
Strength and conditioning coach
Pro Advantage Training

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Depth

Pos.StarterBench
C Brittney Griner Lynetta Kizer
Krystal Thomas
PF Candice Dupree Charde Houston
SF Penny Taylor Jasmine James
SG DeWanna Bonner Briana Gilbreath
PG Diana Taurasi Alexis Hornbuckle

Season standings

# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1z-Minnesota Lynx 268.765-34
2x-Los Angeles Sparks 2410.706234
3x-Phoenix Mercury 1915.559734
4x-Seattle Storm 1717.500934
5e-San Antonio Silver Stars 1222.3531434
6e-Tulsa Shock 1123.3241534

Schedule

Preseason

2013 pre-season game log
Total: 10 (Home: 10; Road: 00)
Pre-season: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1 May 19 Japan W 87–64 Brittney Griner (18) Dupree & Kizer (9) Samantha Prahalis (8) US Airways Center
4021
10
2013 season schedule

Regular season

2013 game log
Total: 1915 (Home: 107; Road: 98)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1 May 27 Chicago L 80–102 Diana Taurasi (18) Brittney Griner (8) Samantha Prahalis (5) US Airways Center
10200
01
June : 7–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 5–2)
July : 2–5 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
12 July 2 NY Liberty W 94–87 Bonner & Dupree (20) Bonner & Dupree (7) Diana Taurasi (10) US Airways Center
7636
84
13 July 7 @ Minnesota L 59–91 Candice Dupree (12) Brittney Griner (11) Diana Taurasi (7) Target Center
9104
85
14 July 10 San Antonio L 80–88 Candice Dupree (22) Krystal Thomas (6) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
8707
86
15 July 14 Los Angeles L 76–88 Diana Taurasi (23) Candice Dupree (8) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
8233
87
16 July 18 @ Los Angeles W 90–84 Diana Taurasi (32) DeWanna Bonner (11) Diana Taurasi (6) Staples Center
11105
97
17 July 21 Minnesota L 77–82 Diana Taurasi (26) DeWanna Bonner (10) Diana Taurasi (6) US Airways Center
9806
98
18 July 24 @ Minnesota L 69–81 Candice Dupree (17) Krystal Thomas (10) Alexis Hornbuckle (4) Target Center
16404
99
August : 6–4 (Home: 5–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
All-Star Break
19 August 1 @ Seattle L 79–88 DeWanna Bonner (19) Candice Dupree (10) DeWanna Bonner (7) Key Arena
6457
910
20 August 3 Atlanta W 82–76 Diana Taurasi (28) DeWanna Bonner (6) Bonner, Dupree, & Taurasi (4) US Airways Center
8138
1010
21 August 6 Seattle L 65–80 Candice Dupree (18) Candice Dupree (8) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
6877
1011
22 August 9 Tulsa W 70–67 Diana Taurasi (23) Candice Dupree (9) Taurasi & Hornbuckle (4) US Airways Center
8547
1111
23 August 11 Tulsa W 77–56 DeWanna Bonner (21) Candice Dupree (7) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
5972
1211
24 August 14 Indiana W 75–58 Candice Dupree (16) Brittney Griner (8) Diana Taurasi (11) US Airways Center
6135
1311
25 August 17 @ San Antonio L 82–88 Diana Taurasi (23) Briana Gilbreath (6) Diana Taurasi (7) AT&T Center
10906
1312
26 August 20 @ Tulsa W 89–86 Diana Taurasi (28) Dupree & Griner (10) Diana Taurasi (10) BOK Center
4261
1412
27 August 23 Seattle L 73–81 DeWanna Bonner (20) Bonner & Griner (5) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
8026
1413
28 August 31 Connecticut W 76–68 Bonner & Dupree (22) Candice Dupree (9) Diana Taurasi (8) US Airways Center
8119
1513
September : 4–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
29 September 6 San Antonio W 83–80 Diana Taurasi (21) Brittney Griner (14) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
9006
1613
30 September 8 @ Atlanta W 79–71 Diana Taurasi (25) Brittney Griner (11) Diana Taurasi (6) Philips Arena
9740
1713
31 September 10 @ NY Liberty W 80–76 Bonner & Dupree (18) Dupree & Taurasi (6) Diana Taurasi (9) Prudential Center
8127
1813
32 September 11 @ Chicago L 68–70 Candice Dupree (15) Dupree & Gilbreath (6) Jasmine James (5) Allstate Arena
6409
1814
33 September 13 San Antonio W 82–61 Diana Taurasi (20) Krystal Thomas (8) Diana Taurasi (10) US Airways Center
8899
1914
34 September 15 @ Los Angeles L 55–89 Griner & James (9) Krystal Thomas (8) Jasmine James (4) Staples Center
12311
1915
2013 season schedule

Playoffs

2013 playoff game log
Total: 23 (Home: 02; Road: 21)
Conference Semifinals: 2–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 September 19 @ Los Angeles W 86–75 Diana Taurasi (30) Candice Dupree (7) Diana Taurasi (7) Staples Center
8500
10
2 September 21 Los Angeles L 73–82 Diana Taurasi (20) Candice Dupree (9) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
11110
11
3 September 23 @ Los Angeles W 78–77 Candice Dupree (22) Bonner & Gilbreath (6) Diana Taurasi (10) Staples Center
9321
21
Conference Finals: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 September 26 @ Minnesota L 62–85 Diana Taurasi (15) Brittney Griner (6) Bonner & Dupree (3) Target Center
9013
01
2 September 29 Minnesota L 65–72 Diana Taurasi (21) Brittney Griner (10) Diana Taurasi (6) US Airways Center
8020
02
2013 season schedule

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG

Awards and honors

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References

  1. "Mercury fire Corey Gaines". espn.go.com/. Associated Press. August 9, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. "Mercury Waive Samantha Prahalis". wnba.com. WNBA. July 18, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2015.