2008 Phoenix Mercury season
Encyclopedia
The 2008 WNBA season
was the 12th for the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury were not able to win their second consecutive WNBA Championship
and became the first defending champion to not qualify for the playoffs.
resigned and took a job as an assistant coach under P.J. Carlesimo for the Seattle Supersonics. Assistant coach Corey Gaines was named the team's new head coach on November 7 of that year.
Phoenix Mercury Regular Season Stats
2008 WNBA season
-Season Highlights:*Candace Parker becomes the second and third player in WNBA history to dunk in a regular season game.*A fight breaks out between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock resulting in four ejections and ten suspensions....
was the 12th for the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury were not able to win their second consecutive WNBA Championship
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....
and became the first defending champion to not qualify for the playoffs.
Offseason
On September 27, 2007, head coach Paul WestheadPaul Westhead
Paul Westhead is a basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Oregon women's team...
resigned and took a job as an assistant coach under P.J. Carlesimo for the Seattle Supersonics. Assistant coach Corey Gaines was named the team's new head coach on November 7 of that year.
Expansion Draft
- Jennifer LacyJennifer LacyJennifer Lacy is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA.Lacy graduated from Agoura Hills High School in Agoura Hills, California in 2001. She played college basketball at Pepperdine, although she was recruited by Arizona, California, UC Santa Barbara, and Washington. She joined the...
was selected in the 2008 Expansion Draft for the Atlanta DreamAtlanta DreamThe Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...
.
WNBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | LaToya Pringle LaToya Pringle LaToya Pringle is an American professional basketball player. She was recently forward for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.-Personal life:... |
North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball The North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I women's basketball.- Home Arenas :... |
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| 2 | 25 (from SA San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio... ) |
Leilani Mitchell Leilani Mitchell Leilani Mitchell is an American basketball player in the WNBA for the New York Liberty.Mitchell was born to an American father, Dennis Mitchell, and an Australian mother of Asian descent , Eleanor Majid... |
Utah Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the... |
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| 3 | 41 | Marscilla Packer | Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball The Ohio State women's basketball team represents The Ohio State University and plays its home games in the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, which they moved into in 1998. Prior to 1998, they played at St. John Arena. They have won 12 Big Ten titles, which is the most in the... |
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Trades
| April 22, 2008 | To Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises... New York's third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft 2009 WNBA Draft The 2009 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2009. The first round was shown on ESPN2 at 3:00pm ET, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV at... |
To New York Liberty New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league... Leilani Mitchell Leilani Mitchell Leilani Mitchell is an American basketball player in the WNBA for the New York Liberty.Mitchell was born to an American father, Dennis Mitchell, and an Australian mother of Asian descent , Eleanor Majid... |
Free agents
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Season schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Leading Scorer | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17 | vs. Los Angeles | 94-99 | Cappie Pondexter (32) | 13,749 | 0-1 |
| May 20 | @ San Antonio | 76-81 | Cappie Pondexter (23) | 9,103 | 0-2 |
| May 22 | vs. Seattle | 83-87 | Diana Taurasi (23) | 7,059 | 0-3 |
| May 31 | @ Minnesota | 83-94 | Cappie Pondexter (31) | 6,914 | 0-4 |
| June 3 | vs. Washington | 98-93 | Diana Taurasi (29) | 7,561 | 1-4 |
| June 6 | @ Los Angeles | 85-79 | Diana Taurasi (29) | 13,142 | 2-4 |
| June 11 | @ Seattle | 77-83 | Diana Taurasi (37) | 7,483 | 2-5 |
| June 14 | vs. Detroit | 79-89 | Cappie Pondexter (28) | 7,696 | 2-6 |
| June 18 | vs. Connecticut | 102-81 | Diana Taurasi (32) | 4,478 | 3-6 |
| June 20 | vs. Chicago | 112-105 (OT) | Diana Taurasi (33) | 7,311 | 4-6 |
| June 22 | @ New York | 72-105 | Diana Taurasi (21) | 8,688 | 4-7 |
| June 24 | @ Washington | 98-90 | Diana Taurasi (31) | 6,662 | 5-7 |
| June 26 | @ Chicago | 89-79 | Kelly Miller (17) | 3,103 | 6-7 |
| June 29 | @ Connecticut | 87-80 | Diana Taurasi (25) | 9,518 | 7-7 |
| July 1 | @ Atlanta | 97-79 | Diana Taurasi (28) | 9,795 | 8-7 |
| July 5 | vs. New York | 83-93 | Diana Taurasi (25) | 6,481 | 8-8 |
| July 6 | @ Los Angeles | 80-91 | Kelly Miller (14) Cappie Pondexter (14) |
10,004 | 8-9 |
| July 8 | vs. Houston | 99-94 | Diana Taurasi (30) | 15,499 | 9-9 |
| July 10 | @ Seattle | 78-89 | Cappie Pondexter (20) | 10,454 | 9-10 |
| July 12 | @ Sacramento | 97-105 | Cappie Pondexter (33) | 7,044 | 9-11 |
| July 15 | vs. San Antonio | 87-97 | Diana Taurasi (23) Cappie Pondexter (23) |
6,451 | 9-12 |
| July 17 | vs. Los Angeles | 99-92 | Cappie Pondexter (27) | 7,981 | 10-12 |
| July 19 | vs. Atlanta | 110-84 | Diana Taurasi (21) | 7,913 | 11-12 |
| July 22 | @ Houston | 92-94 | Diana Taurasi (31) | 6,134 | 11-13 |
| July 24 | @ Sacramento | 74-83 | Cappie Pondexter (23) | 11,946 | 11-14 |
| July 25 | vs. Seattle | 94-80 | Diana Taurasi (31) | 8,323 | 12-14 |
| July 27 | vs. Indiana | 84-88 | Diana Taurassi (25) | 7,924 | 12-15 |
| August 28 | vs. San Antonio | 55-77 | Diana Taurasi (13) | 7,931 | 12-16 |
| September 3 | vs. Minnesota | 103-96 | Diana Taurasi (32) | 7,722 | 13-16 |
| September 5 | vs. Sacramento | 81-69 | Diana Taurasi (26) | 10,527 | 14-16 |
| September 7 | vs. Houston | 99-74 | Diana Taurasi (33) | 10,261 | 15-16 |
| September 9 | @ Detroit | 78-89 | Cappie Pondexter (23) | 7,495 | 15-17 |
| September 12 | @ Minnesota | 96-87 | Diana Taurasi (31) | 8,343 | 16-17 |
| September 14 | @ Indiana | 89-103 | Cappie Pondexter (23) | 8,776 | 16-18 |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 34 | 31.9 | .446 | .360 | .870 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 24.1 | |
| 32 | 32 | 31.3 | .413 | .313 | .846 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 21.2 | |
| 25 | 25 | 28.9 | .417 | .348 | .867 | 7.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 11.1 | |
| 34 | 27 | 24.5 | .570 | .185 | .741 | 5.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10.1 | |
| 34 | 34 | 27.8 | .408 | .385 | .845 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.3 | |
| 34 | 2 | 18.9 | .332 | .331 | .833 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.8 | |
| 29 | 7 | 13.0 | .448 | .000 | .824 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 4.4 | |
| 34 | 8 | 16.3 | .463 | .000 | .698 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 3.5 | |
| 6 | 0 | 11.5 | .364 | .000 | .000 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.7 | |
| 23 | 0 | 7.3 | .351 | .000 | .941 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.4 | |
| 14 | 0 | 7.1 | .333 | .182 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.1 | |
| 5 | 1 | 8.2 | .375 | .000 | .600 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.8 | |
| 17 | 0 | 8.5 | .263 | .125 | .750 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
Phoenix Mercury Regular Season Stats
Roster
Awards and honors
- Diana Taurasi, WNBA Player of the Week (June 2–8, June 16–22, June 23–29, and September 1–7)
- Cappie Pondexter, WNBA Player of the Week (July 14–20)
- Diana Taurasi, WNBA Peak Performers (Points)
- Diana Taurasi, All-WNBA First Team