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Sky-Mercury Preview

Jul 31, 2010 - 5:27 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (12-14) at Phoenix (11-13), 6:00 p.m. EDT

The high-flying Phoenix Mercury set another scoring record by amassing 69 first-half points in their latest victory.

The inept Chicago Sky couldn't even hit that mark in all 40 minutes in their last game.

With an important stretch of games looming, the surging Mercury will try to avoid overlooking the league's lowest-scoring team when they meet the Sky on Sunday in Candice Dupree's first game against her former team.

Phoenix (11-13) ranks first in the WNBA in scoring with an average of 96.7 points, and has been topping that mark with regularity lately.

The Mercury, who set a league record for scoring with a 127-124 double-overtime victory in Minnesota on July 24, defeated the Lynx 110-92 on Thursday. Phoenix has scored at least 107 points in four of its last six, and has topped the 85-point mark in 11 straight games.

Chicago is 0-5 when allowing at least 85 points.

The Mercury made 11 of their first 12 shots Thursday to open up a 23-point second-quarter lead, and went into halftime setting a league record for first-half points. Penny Taylor scored a team-high 22, while Kara Braxton, playing in her first game in Phoenix since being acquired from Tulsa on July 21, had 20 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

The Mercury have won four of five, and are two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the Western Conference with 10 contests remaining. Phoenix opens a home-and-home series with the Silver Stars in San Antonio on Tuesday.

"I think the biggest goals right now are to remain in second place in the Western Conference," Dupree told the Mercury's official website. "We just need to stay together and continue to find ways to improve as a team. We're coming off a good road trip and want to keep it going."

Dupree, a four-time All-Star and the first pick of the expansion Sky in 2006, spent her first four seasons with Chicago before requesting a trade earlier this year. She's been on the losing end of every game in this series, as the Mercury are 8-0 all-time versus Chicago.

Phoenix averaged 98.0 points in last year's meetings, led by Diana Taurasi's 24.5 points.

The Sky (12-14) arrive in Phoenix after an 80-60 loss to league-leading Seattle on Friday. They've lost three of four to drop to last place in the East.

Chicago is averaging 74.6 points, but is struggling to even reach that mark, scoring 61 or fewer in four of its last nine.

Sylvia Fowles, who leads the Sky in scoring with an average of 17.8 points, didn't play in either game against the Mercury last season because of injuries.