# 2018 Phoenix Mercury season

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14.
The Mercury started the season slowly, going 2–3 in May. They won the first two games, but lost the next three. All five games were against eventual playoff teams. However, the Mercury caught fire in June, posting an 11–2 record which included an 8 game winning streak. The June high turned into a July low. The team was 2–7 in July with their only wins coming against Connecticut, and league-worst Indiana. The Mercury managed to turn it around and end the season on a high, going 5–2 in August. Their regular season ended on a three game winning streak, with all games coming against playoff teams. The Mercury finished the season 20–14, with the 5th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.
As the fifth seed, the Mercury had to play an opening round game against the Dallas Wings at home. The Mercury won by 18 points, 101–83. This win saw them advance to the second round where they played the fourth seeded Connecticut Sun in Connecticut. Again, the Mercury won, this time by 10 points. With the win, the Mercury advanced to the Semifinals to face the first seeded Seattle Storm. The home team won each game in the five game series. However, the Mercury did not have home court advantage, due to being the lower seed, and lost the series 2–3 despite nearly completing a dramatic comeback after being down two games to none.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 12 | Marie Gülich | Germany | Oregon State |
| 2 | 20 | Tyler Scaife | United States | Rutgers |
| 2 | 21 | Raisa Musina | Russia | UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia) |
| 3 | 26 | Imani Wright | United States | Florida State |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 1, 2018 | Sign F Sancho Lyttle |
| February 2, 2018 | Acquired 21st pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for C Cayla George. |
| February 2, 2018 | Acquired 26th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and a 3nd round pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for C Kelsey Bone. |
| February 2, 2018 | Re-signed G Yvonne Turner and G Emma Cannon |
| February 5, 2018 | Re-signed F Camille Little |
| February 13, 2018 | Re-signed G/F DeWanna Bonner |
| March 6, 2018 | Acquired G Briann January in exchange for the 8th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. |
| March 6, 2018 | Acquired the 12th pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for G Danielle Robinson and a second round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft. |

## Game log
### Pre-season

2018 pre-season game log :
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 8
@ Seattle
L 69–73
Bonner (13)
Tied (6)
3 Tied (3)
KeyArena 3,502
0–1
2
May 12
Seattle
L 61–84
Griner (14)
Lyttle (11)
Bonner (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 4,535
0–2 :
2018 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2018 game log Total: 20–14 (Home: 9–8; Road: 11–6) :
May: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 18
Dallas
W 86–78
Taurasi (26)
Bonner (12)
Mitchell (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,210
1–0
2
May 20
@ Seattle
W 87–82
Griner (29)
Griner (10)
Bonner (7)
KeyArena 8,602
2–0
3
May 23
Seattle
L 71–87
Taurasi (23)
Bonner (9)
Lyttle (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,068
2–1
4
May 27
@ Los Angeles
L 72–80
Lyttle (20)
Tied (5)
January (7)
Staples Center 11,201
2–2
5
May 30
Washington
L 95–103
Griner (27)
Lyttle (7)
Taurasi (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,188
2–3 :
June
: 11–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 8–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
June 1
@ Minnesota
W 95–85
Taurasi (29)
Griner (9)
Taurasi (6)
Target Center 8,830
3–3
7
June 3
@ Atlanta
W 78–71
Tied (20)
Tied (7)
Taurasi (8)
McCamish Pavilion 3,796
4–3
8
June 5
@ New York
W 80–74
Griner (26)
Griner (6)
Taurasi (8)
Madison Square Garden 7,215
5–3
9
June 8
Chicago
W 96–79
Griner (24)
Griner (8)
Taurasi (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,834
6–3
10
June 10
Las Vegas
W 72–66
Taurasi (25)
Griner (15)
January (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,471
7–3
11
June 12
@ Dallas
W 75–72
Taurasi (21)
Lyttle (10)
January (6)
College Park Center 4,026
8–3
12
June 16
Connecticut
W 89–72
Taurasi (19)
Tied (9)
January (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,497
9–3
13
June 17
@ Las Vegas
W 92–80
Taurasi (28)
Bonner (9)
Taurasi (7)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,432
10–3
14
June 22
Minnesota
L 72–83
Taurasi (23)
Griner (13)
Taurasi (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,349
10–4
15
June 24
@ Chicago
L 88–97
Griner (19)
Griner (10)
Taurasi (8)
Wintrust Arena 4,741
10–5
16
June 26
@ New York
W 83–69
Taurasi (27)
Griner (9)
Taurasi (7)
Westchester County Center 1,839
11–5
17
June 29
@ Indiana
W 95–77
Taurasi (25)
Bonner (9)
Turner (7)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,241
12–5
18
June 30
@ Washington
W 84–74
Griner (24)
Turner (9)
Taurasi (9)
Capital One Arena 6,218
13–5 :
July
: 2–7 (Home: 1–4; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
July 5
Connecticut
W 84–77
Taurasi (25)
Bonner (13)
Turner (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,599
14–5
20
July 8
@ Atlanta
L 70–76
Taurasi (19)
Robinson (10)
3 Tied (3)
McCamish Pavilion 3,952
14–6
21
July 10
@ Dallas
L 72–101
Griner (21)
Tied (4)
Mitchell (8)
College Park Center 4,034
14–7
22
July 13
@ Connecticut
L 87–91
Taurasi (28)
Tied (7)
Tied (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,696
14–8
23
July 15
@ Indiana
W 101–82
Griner (36)
Griner (12)
Taurasi (7)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,302
15–8
24
July 19
Las Vegas
L 82–85
Taurasi (33)
Robinson (11)
Taurasi (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,587
15–9
25
July 21
Minnesota
L 75–80
Bonner (29)
Little (6)
Talbot (3)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,473
15–10
26
July 25
Chicago
L 87–101
Bonner (30)
Bonner (13)
January (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,338
15–11
27
July 31
Seattle
L 91–102
Griner (25)
Griner (6)
Tied (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,005
15–12 :
August
: 5–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
28
August 1
@ Las Vegas
W 104–93
Taurasi (37)
Bonner (14)
Taurasi (9)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,129
16–12
29
August 5
@ Los Angeles
L 75–78
Griner (22)
Bonner (9)
January (9)
Staples Center 19,076
16–13
30
August 7
Washington
L 98–103
Griner (35)
Griner (11)
Talbot (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 7,769
16–14
31
August 10
Indiana
W 94–74
Tied (14)
Bonner (10)
Griner (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,860
17–14
32
August 12
Los Angeles
W 86–78
Bonner (31)
Griner (13)
Taurasi (14)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,618
18–14
33
August 17
Atlanta
W 104–95
Griner (33)
Griner (18)
Taurasi (14)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,177
19–14
34
August 19
New York
W 96–85
Bonner (23)
Bonner (10)
Tied (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 13,106
20–14 :
2018 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2018 playoff game log Total: 4–3 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–3) :
First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 21
Dallas
W 101–83
Bonner (29)
Tied (11)
Taurasi (12)
Wells Fargo Arena 4,976
1–0 :
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 23
@ Connecticut
W 96–86
Tied (27)
Bonner (18)
3 Tied (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,858
1–0 :
WNBA Semifinals: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 26
@ Seattle
L 87–91
Bonner (27)
Bonner (13)
Taurasi (6)
KeyArena 9,686
0–1
2
August 28
@ Seattle
L 87–91 (OT)
Taurasi (28)
Griner (10)
Taurasi (8)
KeyArena 9,686
0–2
3
August 31
Seattle
W 86–66
Bonner (27)
Bonner (11)
Turner (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 15,185
1–2
4
September 2
Seattle
W 86–84
Griner (29)
Griner (12)
Taurasi (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,137
2–2
5
September 4
@ Seattle
84–94
Griner (21)
Griner (9)
Griner (6)
KeyArena 8,992
2–3 :
2018 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Western Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Seattle Storm (1) | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 13–4 | 13–4 | 11–5 |
| 2 | Phoenix Mercury (5) | 20 | 14 | .588 | 6 | 9–8 | 11–6 | 8–8 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Sparks (6) | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 9–7 |
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 9–7 |
| 5 | Dallas Wings (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 11 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 7–9 |
| 6 | e –Las Vegas Aces | 14 | 20 | .412 | 12 | 8–9 | 6–11 | 4–12 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Seattle Storm | 91 | 91 | 66 | 84 | 94 | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 87 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 84 | | | | | |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 96 | | | | | | | | 1 | Seattle Storm | 89 | 75 | 98 |
| 8 | Dallas Wings | 83 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Washington Mystics | 76 | 73 | 82 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Atlanta Dream | 84 | 78 | 81 | 76 | 81 | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Washington Mystics | 96 | 3 | Washington Mystics | 87 | 75 | 76 | 97 | 86 | | | | | |
| 6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Diana Taurasi | 33 | 33 | 30.0 | .446 | .383 | .925 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 20.7 |
| Brittney Griner | 34 | 34 | 32.6 | .544 | .250 | .800 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 20.5 |
| DeWanna Bonner | 34 | 34 | 32.9 | .452 | .313 | .867 | 7.2 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 17.3 |
| Sancho Lyttle | 18 | 18 | 23.3 | .540 | .000 | .875 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 7.9 |
| Briann January | 33 | 33 | 27.1 | .423 | .470 | .806 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 7.0 |
| Leilani Mitchell | 31 | 0 | 14.9 | .351 | .341 | .857 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.4 |
| Yvonne Turner | 32 | 3 | 13.3 | .376 | .324 | .682 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 4.1 |
| Stephanie Talbot | 31 | 8 | 14.6 | .464 | .386 | .905 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 3.7 |
| Camille Little | 33 | 7 | 16.2 | .330 | .258 | .774 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 3.0 |
| Angel Robinson | 24 | 0 | 9.9 | .452 | .000 | .850 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| Devereaux Peters | 5 | 0 | 7.6 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Marie Gülich | 23 | 0 | 5.0 | .483 | .000 | .750 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | June 11, 2018 |
| Diana Taurasi | WNBA Cares Community Assist Award – May | June 20, 2018 |
| Diana Taurasi | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – June | July 3, 2018 |
| Sandy Brondello | WNBA Coach of the Month Award – June | July 2, 2018 |
| Diana Taurasi | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 17, 2018 |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 17, 2018 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 17, 2018 |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | August 20, 2018 |
| Diana Taurasi | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – August | August 20, 2018 |