Phoenix police: Mercury's Taurasi cited for DUI

Jul 3, 2009 - 11:05 PM PHOENIX(AP) -- Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi said Friday that she's embarrassed after being cited for drunken driving a few hours after she helped lead her team to victory over the Seattle Storm.

An officer stopped Taurasi early Thursday for speeding, police spokesman Luis Samudio said. The officer smelled alcohol and gave the player several field sobriety tests, according to a police statement.

Taurasi, the WNBA's leading fan vote-getter for the July 25 All-Star game, was then driven to a mobile DUI van, where she gave a blood sample, then was cited and released. Authorities did not know her blood alcohol content.

The team said Friday that Taurasi notified the club immediately but would not comment further until it knows more of what happened.

But after Friday's practice, Taurasi told reporters that her DUI citation was "just something that's embarrassing and unfortunate for my family and the organization."

Taurasi said she couldn't comment on the specifics of the incident because it was a legal matter "but personally, I'm going to have to do some things to make it straight."

The former Connecticut star said she plans on playing in the Mercury's next game Sunday night in Los Angeles.

Taurasi scored 22 points and blocked four shots Wednesday night in the Mercury's 93-81 win over the Storm.