Taurasi, Mercury barely stay alive in playoff race

Sep 4, 2008 - 4:51 AM By PA SportsTicker

Diana Taurasi scored 19 of her 32 points in the second half as the Phoenix Mercury held off the the hard-charging Minnesota Lynx, 103-96, in a battle clubs on the fringe of the Western Conference playoff race on Wednesday night.

Kelly Miller scored 20 points for the Mercury (13-16), who were outscored, 70-63, in the second half but moved within three games of the Sacramento Monarchs (16-13) for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.

A gold-medalist last month with Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Taurasi shot 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from the arc, and 13-of-15 from the free-throw line on Wednesday. Her effort kept slim playoff hopes alive for Phoenix, the defending WNBA champions.

Seimone Augustus scored 27 points for Minnesota (14-15), which is two games behind Sacramento for the final ticket to the postseason.