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Silver Stars hold off Mercury 108-105

Jun 19, 2010 - 4:45 AM PHOENIX(AP) -- Sophia Young scored 25 points - including four free throws in the final 1:24, and grabbed 10 rebounds while Becky Hammon also had a double-double for San Antonio as the lowest-scoring team in the WNBA set a franchise mark in a 108-105 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.

San Antonio (4-6), which had lost five of its past six games and came into the night averaging 73.7 points, took the lead for good with 3:36 left but had to survive a pair of late Mercury possessions to beat the reigning league champions.

Diana Taurasi scored 39 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists for the Mercury (5-6), but missed a jumper with 26 seconds left and her team trailing by one.

Phoenix's Tangela Smith missed a baseline shot with 10.9 seconds remaining, but Taurasi fouled Young on the rebound and Young made the two free throws.

Taurasi missed a 3-pointer in the waning seconds and the Mercury did not get off another shot.

Hammon had 21 points and 10 assists for San Antonio, which trailed by 15 in the third quarter.

The Silver Stars scored 106 points on Aug. 15, 2009, against Phoenix for the previous franchise mark.

Taurasi, who made 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists in the first half as the Mercury took a 59-49 lead at the break.

Penny Taylor added 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting for Phoenix in 19 minutes before leaving with 28 seconds left in the third quarter with a right ankle sprain.

Candice Dupree had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Mercury.

San Antonios Chamique Holdsclaw had 18 points and Michelle Snow added 16 points and seven rebounds as all five starters finished in double figures.

San Antonio became more aggressive, drawing fouls during an 18-3 run over four minutes of the third quarter to take a 78-77 lead with 1:14 left. The Silver Stars made seven free throws during the run.

The Mercury opened up a 68-53 lead in the first 2:10 of the second half after having a 59-49 lead at the half, tying their franchise record for most points in the first half, set June 12 against Tulsa.

Phoenix ran off 15 straight points in a 3 1/2-minute span and had a 26-6 run to take a 56-42 lead with 2:56 left in the first half, with Taurasi hitting three straight 3-pointers and a free throw to cap the run.

Dupree missed a tip-in with 7:18 left in the first quarter, ending a streak of 14 consecutive field-goal attempts over the past two games that was one shot short of the WNBA record set by Tammy Sutton-Brown in 2002 with Charlotte. Dupree made her next three shots on her way to 11 first-half points.