# 2011 Phoenix Mercury season

The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

The following are the Mercury's selections in the 2011 WNBA draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 2 | 19 | Brittany Spears | United States | Colorado |
| 3 | 31 | Tahnee Robinson | United States | Nevada |

### Transaction log

* February 9: The Mercury signed Brooke Smith, Sequoia Holmes, and Taylor Lilley to training camp contracts.
* February 22: The Mercury signed Lauren Ervin to a training camp contract.
* February 24: The Mercury signed Marie Ferdinand-Harris and Nakia Sanford.
* February 25: The Mercury signed Alexis Gray-Lawson and Amanda Thompson.
* March 14: The Mercury waived Sequoia Holmes and Brooke Smith.
* April 10: The Mercury signed Erlana Larkins to a training camp contract.
* April 11: The Mercury traded draft rights to Tahnee Robinson to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2012 draft.
* April 15: The Mercury waived Amanda Thompson.
* April 22: The Mercury signed Yuko Oga and Olayinka Sanni to training camp contracts.
* April 28: The Mercury waived Lauren Ervin.
* May 19: The Mercury waived Erlana Larkins.
* May 30: The Mercury waived Taylor Lilley and Brittany Spears.
* June 2: The Mercury waived Yuko Oga.
* August 4: The Mercury traded Kara Braxton to the New York Liberty in exchange for Sidney Spencer.
* August 12: The Mercury signed Krystal Thomas and waived Olayinka Sanni.

### Trades

| Date | Trade | Trade |
| April 11, 2011 | To Phoenix Mercury | To Connecticut Sun |
| April 11, 2011 | third-round pick in 2012 draft | Tahnee Robinson |
| August 4, 2011 | To Phoenix Mercury | To New York Liberty |
| August 4, 2011 | Sidney Spencer | Kara Braxton |

### Personnel changes
## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Nakia Sanford | Krystal Thomas |
| PF | Candice Dupree | DeWanna Bonner |
| SF | Penny Taylor | Marie Ferdinand-Harris Sidney Spencer |
| SG | Diana Taurasi | Alexis Gray-Lawson |
| PG | Temeka Johnson | Ketia Swanier |

## Season standings

| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Minnesota Lynx $^x$ | 27 | 7 | .794 | – | 14–3 | 13–4 | 18–4 |
| Seattle Storm $^x$ | 21 | 13 | .618 | 6.0 | 15–2 | 6–11 | 15–7 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^x$ | 19 | 15 | .559 | 8.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 11–11 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 9.0 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 11–11 |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^o$ | 15 | 19 | .441 | 12.0 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 10–12 |
| Tulsa Shock $^o$ | 3 | 31 | .088 | 24.0 | 2–15 | 1–16 | 1–21 |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2011 Game Log: Preseason
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 2410:00pmJapan96–52Gray-Lawson (16)Dupree (8)Gray Lawson (6)US Airways Center 2,9691–0
2May 2810:00pm@ Los Angeles72–833 players (12)Braxton (6)5 players (2)The Pit N/A1–1 :

### Regular season

2011 Game Log: Regular Season :
June
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1June 43:00pm@ SeattleABC71–78Taurasi (31)Dupree Braxton (9)Taylor (5)KeyArena 11,5480–1
2June 1010:30pm@ Los Angeles85–98Taylor (18)Dupree (11)Johnson (6)Staples Center 10,6160–2
3June 1710:00pmSan AntonioFS-A99–101Taurasi (20)Dupree (12)Taylor (10)US Airways Center 12,2740–3
4June 196:00pmIndiana93–89 (OT)Taurasi (32)Dupree (18)Taylor (6)US Airways Center 7,7011–3
5June 218:00pm@ San AntonioESPN2105–98Taylor (30)Dupree (13)Johnson (6)AT&T Center 7,0722–3
6June 247:30pm@ AtlantaFS-A FS-S92–83Taurasi (20)Taylor (10)Taylor (8)Philips Arena 5,4923–3
7June 258:00pm@ ChicagoCN10086–78Tauarsi (23)Braxton Taylor (9)Taylor (7)Allstate Arena 5,5474–3
8June 287:00pm@ Indiana86–91Bonner Taurasi (15)Braxton (7)Gray-Lawson Taylor (5)Conseco Fieldhouse 6,6254–4 :
July
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
9July 110:00pmChicagoNBATV CN10097–84Taurasi (24)Dupree (9)Taurasi (6)US Airways Center 9,5175–4
10July 59:00pmLos AngelesESPN2101–82Dupree Taurasi (20)Braxton (5)Taurasi (7)US Airways Center 9,8266–4
11July 88:00pm@ Tulsa86–78Taurasi (17)Bonner (13)Taylor (7)BOK Center 4,0817–4
12July 106:00pmTulsaNBATV COX102–63Taylor (18)Sanford (7)Taurasi (6)US Airways Center 7,6968–4
13July 131:00pm@ MinnesotaNBATV FS-A FS-N112–105Taurasi (27)Dupree Taylor (8)Johnson Taurasi Taylor (8)Target Center 11,8209–4
14July 1510:00pmWashingtonNBATV FS-A78–64Dupree (20)Taylor (8)Taylor (7)US Airways Center 9,07510–4
15July 203:30pmMinnesotaNBATV FS-A98–106Taurasi (24)Bonner Dupree (7)Taurasi (6)US Airways Center 12,11810–5
All-Star break
16July 269:00pmSeattleNBATV77–83Taurasi (26)Bonner Braxton (7)Johnson (5)US Airways Center 6,10810–6
17July 2812:30pm@ San AntonioNBATV FS-A FS-SW91–102Taurasi (27)Dupree (14)Johnson Taylor (5)AT&T Center 14,79710–7
18July 307:00pm@ New YorkNBATV MSG+91–84Taylor (29)Bonner (9)Swanier (7)Prudential Center 7,21411–7 :
August
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
19August 28:00pm@ MinnesotaESPN273–90Taurasi (20)Bonner (8)Johnson (4)Target Center 7,12611–8
20August 76:00pmConnecticutNBATV FS-A95–96 (OT)Taurasi (29)Dupree (12)Taurasi (6)US Airways Center 8,51411–9
21August 910:00pmMinnesota85–80Taurasi (26)Dupree (11)Johnson (5)US Airways Center 6,72612–9
22August 1110:00pmAtlanta109–95Bonner (25)Bonner (13)Taylor (6)US Airways Center 7,94013–9
23August 1210:30pm@ Los Angeles90–93 (OT)Taylor (29)Bonner (10)Johnson (12)Staples Center 10,51213–10
24August 1610:00pmSeattle81–79Taurasi (24)Bonner Sanford Taurasi (5)Johnson Taurasi (4)US Airways Center 8,87014–10
25August 2010:00pmSan AntonioNBATV FS-A FS-SW87–81Taylor (28)Bonner (11)Taylor (5)US Airways Center 10,13415–10
26August 2310:00pmNew YorkESPN270–74Dupree (17)Taylor (9)Johnson Taylor (4)US Airways Center 8,87115–11
27August 267:30pm@ ConnecticutCSN-NE92–95Taurasi Taylor (26)Dupree Sanford (11)Johnson (7)Mohegan Sun Arena 9,00715–12
28August 284:00pm@ WashingtonNBATV CSN-MA86–79Dupree (27)Sanford (9)Johnson (8)Verizon Center 11,61416–12
29August 308:00pm@ Tulsa96–74Bonner (25)Bonner Sanford (9)Bonner Taurasi (3)BOK Center 3,59017–12 :
September
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30September 18:00pm@ San Antonio68–86Bonner (23)Dupree (13)Swanier Taurasi (3)AT&T Center 6,50217–13
31September 310:00pmLos AngelesNBATV93–77Taurasi (24)Dupree (19)Johnson (9)US Airways Center 9,62018–13
32September 810:00pmTulsaNBATV COX91–76Taurasi (21)Bonner (10)Swanier (9)US Airways Center 8,18919–13
33September 910:00pm@ SeattleKONG70–85Taurasi (36)Bonner (14)Johnson (3)KeyArena 9,68619–14
34September 116:00pmMinnesotaFS-A90–96Taurasi (19)Dupree (6)Swanier (4)US Airways Center 12,66619–15 :
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com :

### Postseason

2011 Game Log: Postseason :
Western Conference Semifinals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 1510:00pm@ SeattleESPN261–80Taylor (13)Bonner (8)Johnson Swanier Taylor (3)KeyArena 7,2790–1
2September 1710:00pmSeattleNBATV92–83Dupree (29)Dupree (13)Johnson (9)US Airways Center 9,3561–1
3September 1910:00pm@ SeattleESPN277–75Dupree (20)Taylor (17)Johnson Taurasi (3)KeyArena 8,5892–1 :
Western Conference Finals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 229:00pm@ MinnesotaESPN267–95Taurasi (22)Bonner (8)Johnson (4)Target Center 8,9120–1
2September 255:00pmMinnesotaESPN286–103Bonner Taurasi (22)Dupree (11)Johnson (6)US Airways Center 8,6170–2 :

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| DeWanna Bonner | 34 | 5 | 25.2 | .430 | .343 | .909 | 7.0 | 0.8 | 1.00 | 1.06 | 10.7 |
| Kara Braxton | 18 | 18 | 19.8 | .559 | .500 | .595 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.80 | 0.80 | 10.6 |
| Candice Dupree | 34 | 34 | 31.6 | .548 | .167 | .852 | 8.2 | 1.8 | 0.56 | 0.74 | 14.6 |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | 34 | 2 | 17.4 | .335 | .333 | .974 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.56 | 0.21 | 6.8 |
| Alexis Gray-Lawson | 27 | 0 | 11.4 | .398 | .349 | .821 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.22 | 0.00 | 3.9 |
| Temeka Johnson | 30 | 30 | 23.9 | .435 | .385 | .864 | 2.0 | 4.4 | 0.80 | 0.17 | 6.4 |
| Nakia Sanford | 33 | 16 | 14.4 | .484 | .000 | .750 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 4.2 |
| Olayinka Sanni | 14 | 0 | 5.2 | .667 | .000 | .333 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.21 | 0.07 | 1.6 |
| Sidney Spencer | 8 | 0 | 8.1 | .313 | .750 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.9 |
| Ketia Swanier | 29 | 4 | 14.8 | .342 | .286 | .688 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.79 | 0.03 | 2.7 |
| Diana Taurasi | 32 | 32 | 30.2 | .449 | .395 | .903 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 0.75 | 0.63 | 21.6 |
| Penny Taylor | 29 | 29 | 29.8 | .511 | .402 | .874 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 1.69 | 0.38 | 16.7 |
| Krystal Thomas | 8 | 0 | 12.3 | .563 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.00 | 0.63 | 2.6 |

## Awards and honors

* Candice Dupree was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 13, 2011.
* Penny Taylor was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 20, 2011.
* Diana Taurasi was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 8, 2011.
* DeWanna Bonner was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 29, 2011.
* Diana Taurasi was named to the 2011 WNBA All-Star Team as a starter.
* Penny Taylor was named to the 2011 WNBA All-Star Team as a reserve.
* Diana Taurasi finished as a Peak Performer, averaging 21.6 points per game.
* DeWanna Bonner was named Sixth Woman of the Year.
* Diana Taurasi was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
* Penny Taylor was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.