Diana Taurasi, 2,000 Points!
Taurasi Passes 2K Scoring Mark In 111-85 Rout of Houston
Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury scores her 2,000th career point.
If someone were to produce a highlight reel on Diana Taurasi, it might contain as much Houston red and black as it does Phoenix purple and orange.
"Dee" finishes Friday's game against the Houston Comets with 37 points, lofting her over the 2,000 point beacon in only her fourth season. Her Phoenix Mercury crushed the visiting Houston Comets 111-85.
Taurasi did it with a 3-pointer late in the opening quarter at the U.S. Airways Center in front of thousands of screaming Phoenix faithful.
"Protect the home court," she says after recording other personal bests on the road.
It was just last August that Taurasi set a WNBA record for points in a game, with 47, in Houston.
"We just stayed focused and worked hard," says Taurasi about Friday's contest. "What are you going to do, mourn a loss for a week?" She and teammates took some lingering frustration out on Houston after a 13-point loss in Seattle Wednesday.
The offensive total of 111 tied Phoenix's franchise record, set also in that affair last August 3rd with the Comets. Guard Cappie Pondexter drilled 22 points Friday, and the birthday girl, forward Penny Taylor, threw in 18.
"We were just making plays as a team," Taurasi adds. "I think when you do that, you give yourself an opportunity to win.
Personally for Taurasi though, her fourth year is already top-heavy with good fortune, much like the fourth campaign for the baseball team next door, the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001 World Series champions). One week into the 2007 WNBA season, Dee is the league leader in scoring, (23.7 PPG). She also has a field goal shooting percentage of .488, has made 95 percent of her free throws, and is averaging 31.6 minutes per game...more than both Minnesota's Seimone Augustus, and league MVP contender Tamika Catchings of Indiana.
Now Taurasi has scored 2,000 points faster than most. Becky Hammon didn't do it until her 7th season. It took Katie Douglas six years. Time will only tell how long it will take '07 first round draft picks Lindsey Harding and Ivory Latta to hit 2,000 each.
Still missing from Dee's portfolio though is a playoff appearance. Razor-thin tiebreakers with Houston and Seattle last season wrecked Phoneix's chances. Seattle and Houston did get to go - but Taurasi has her mind set on the present.
"We don't worry too much about those that make season predictions," she says. "I just love the game, so I just go out there and play...and hopefully get W's."
Dee and the Mercury host the 2006 Western Conference champion Sacramento Monarchs Tuesday May 29th, at 10p.m. EST.
