2013 Phoenix Mercury season
CoachCorey Gaines (10-11)
Russ Pennell (9-4)
ArenaUS Airways Center
Attendance8,557 per game
Results
Record19–15 (.559)
Place3rd (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals (2-0 to Minnesota Lynx)
Team Leaders
PointsTaurasi 25.0
ReboundsBonner and Griner 6.0
AssistsTaurasi 6.0
Media
TelevisionFS-A
ESPN2, NBATV

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

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.

Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
1 1 Brittney Griner  United States Baylor
3 26 Nikki Greene  United States Penn State

Transaction log

Trades

Date Trade
TBD To Phoenix Mercury To TBD
TBD TBD

Personnel changes

Roster

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

Depth

Pos. Starter Bench
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
1 z-Minnesota Lynx 26 8 .765 - 34
2 x-Los Angeles Sparks 24 10 .706 2 34
3 x-Phoenix Mercury 19 15 .559 7 34
4 x-Seattle Storm 17 17 .500 9 34
5 e-San Antonio Silver Stars 12 22 .353 14 34
6 e-Tulsa Shock 11 23 .324 15 34

Schedule

Preseason

2013 pre-season game log
Total: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Pre-season: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 19 Japan W 87–64 Brittney Griner (18) Dupree & Kizer (9) Samantha Prahalis (8) US Airways Center
4021 		1–0
2013 season schedule

Regular season

2013 game log
Total: 19–15 (Home: 10–7; Road: 9–8)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 27 Chicago L 80–102 Diana Taurasi (18) Brittney Griner (8) Samantha Prahalis (5) US Airways Center
10200 		0–1
June : 7–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 5–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
2 June 2 @ Seattle L 72–75 Candice Dupree (18) Brittney Griner (7) Charde Houston (6) Key Arena
9686 		0–2
3 June 6 @ Minnesota L 79–99 Diana Taurasi (21) DeWanna Bonner (7) Samantha Prahalis (5) Target Center
8511 		0–3
4 June 8 @ Indiana W 82–67 Diana Taurasi (26) DeWanna Bonner (11) Bonner, Dupree, & Taurasi (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
8672 		1–3
5 June 14 Los Angeles W 97–81 Diana Taurasi (34) DeWanna Bonner (12) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
13065 		2–3
6 June 16 @ Tulsa W 108–103 (OT) Diana Taurasi (29) Candice Dupree (10) Diana Taurasi (9) BOK Center
4206 		3–3
7 June 19 Minnesota L 69–80 Diana Taurasi (28) Brittney Griner (7) DeWanna Bonner (5) US Airways Center
8464 		3–4
8 June 21 Washington W 90–82 Diana Taurasi (31) DeWanna Bonner (9) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
9636 		4–4
9 June 25 @ San Antonio W 83–77 Brittney Griner (26) Candice Dupree (12) Diana Taurasi (8) AT&T Center
9007 		5–4
10 June 27 @ Washington W 101–97 Diana Taurasi (26) Candice Dupree (11) Diana Taurasi (8) Verizon Center
7950 		6–4
11 June 29 @ Connecticut W 89–70 Bonner & Taurasi (19) DeWanna Bonner (8) Diana Taurasi (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
9110 		7–4
July : 2–5 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
12 July 2 NY Liberty W 94–87 Bonner & Dupree (20) Bonner & Dupree (7) Diana Taurasi (10) US Airways Center
7636 		8–4
13 July 7 @ Minnesota L 59–91 Candice Dupree (12) Brittney Griner (11) Diana Taurasi (7) Target Center
9104 		8–5
14 July 10 San Antonio L 80–88 Candice Dupree (22) Krystal Thomas (6) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
8707 		8–6
15 July 14 Los Angeles L 76–88 Diana Taurasi (23) Candice Dupree (8) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
8233 		8–7
16 July 18 @ Los Angeles W 90–84 Diana Taurasi (32) DeWanna Bonner (11) Diana Taurasi (6) Staples Center
11105 		9–7
17 July 21 Minnesota L 77–82 Diana Taurasi (26) DeWanna Bonner (10) Diana Taurasi (6) US Airways Center
9806 		9–8
18 July 24 @ Minnesota L 69–81 Candice Dupree (17) Krystal Thomas (10) Alexis Hornbuckle (4) Target Center
16404 		9–9
August : 6–4 (Home: 5–2; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
All-Star Break
19 August 1 @ Seattle L 79–88 DeWanna Bonner (19) Candice Dupree (10) DeWanna Bonner (7) Key Arena
6457 		9–10
20 August 3 Atlanta W 82–76 Diana Taurasi (28) DeWanna Bonner (6) Bonner, Dupree, & Taurasi (4) US Airways Center
8138 		10–10
21 August 6 Seattle L 65–80 Candice Dupree (18) Candice Dupree (8) Diana Taurasi (5) US Airways Center
6877 		10–11
22 August 9 Tulsa W 70–67 Diana Taurasi (23) Candice Dupree (9) Taurasi & Hornbuckle (4) US Airways Center
8547 		11–11
23 August 11 Tulsa W 77–56 DeWanna Bonner (21) Candice Dupree (7) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
5972 		12–11
24 August 14 Indiana W 75–58 Candice Dupree (16) Brittney Griner (8) Diana Taurasi (11) US Airways Center
6135 		13–11
25 August 17 @ San Antonio L 82–88 Diana Taurasi (23) Briana Gilbreath (6) Diana Taurasi (7) AT&T Center
10906 		13–12
26 August 20 @ Tulsa W 89–86 Diana Taurasi (28) Dupree & Griner (10) Diana Taurasi (10) BOK Center
4261 		14–12
27 August 23 Seattle L 73–81 DeWanna Bonner (20) Bonner & Griner (5) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
8026 		14–13
28 August 31 Connecticut W 76–68 Bonner & Dupree (22) Candice Dupree (9) Diana Taurasi (8) US Airways Center
8119 		15–13
September : 4–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
29 September 6 San Antonio W 83–80 Diana Taurasi (21) Brittney Griner (14) Diana Taurasi (7) US Airways Center
9006 		16–13
30 September 8 @ Atlanta W 79–71 Diana Taurasi (25) Brittney Griner (11) Diana Taurasi (6) Philips Arena
9740 		17–13
31 September 10 @ NY Liberty W 80–76 Bonner & Dupree (18) Dupree & Taurasi (6) Diana Taurasi (9) Prudential Center
8127 		18–13
32 September 11 @ Chicago L 68–70 Candice Dupree (15) Dupree & Gilbreath (6) Jasmine James (5) Allstate Arena
6409 		18–14
33 September 13 San Antonio W 82–61 Diana Taurasi (20) Krystal Thomas (8) Diana Taurasi (10) US Airways Center
8899 		19–14
34 September 15 @ Los Angeles L 55–89 Griner & James (9) Krystal Thomas (8) Jasmine James (4) Staples Center
12311 		19–15
2013 season schedule

Playoffs

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

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games 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 game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and honors

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2013)

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.

External links

Phoenix Mercury
2013 WNBA season by team
Categories