Indiana Fever's Briann January upstages Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi's return - Examiner.com

PHOENIX- Diana Taurasi was back running the floor for the Phoenix Mercury Saturday, scoring 19 points, but the Indiana Fever (14-8) received 22 from former Arizona State guard Briann January to record an 85-72 win.

“Luckily, they were leaving me open tonight, so I just had to knock down some shots,” January said.

It was Taurasi’s first minutes since May 26, with the exception of winning the gold medal in London, but the Mercury (4-19) dropped its 10th consecutive.

“You can see the improvement, today it’s just a little step forward,” Taurasi said. “We still have a lot of games left, and we’ll see where we go from there. There were some things we do differently that I need to get used to, but I’ll be fine.”

Mercury coach Corey Gaines added Taurasi, who had a strained hip flexor, was a “little rusty,” but she gives the team a spark.

After DeWanna Bonner (14 points) opened the scoring with a trey, Taurasi nailed one from downtown to put the Mercury up 6-2. Tamika Catchings tied it at 8-8, and January gave Indiana the lead for good with a three.

Rookie Briana Gilbreath sank a trey to cut the Fever’s lead to five, 24-19, with 6:45 left in the second, and Taurasi free throws cut the lead to one with two minutes left before Katie Douglas hit a three, as the Fever would take a four-point edge into the half.

Taurasi spotted a three to open the second half and cut the deficit to one, but it was as close as the Mercury would get. She would also hit a falling jumper with two seconds left in the third to cut the once 11-point gap to 59-54. An 18-2 Fever run soon ensued with Douglas and Erin Phillips (eight of her 10 points) leading the way.

Douglas finished with 16 points, Jessica Davenport scored 12, and Catchings equaled her with 12, despite being held scoreless during the second and third quarters.

“Everybody overall came in and almost everybody scored,” said Catchings, whose six assists were twice as many as any other woman Saturday. “That’s a positive for this team, and that’s something we can continue to build off of.”

Alexis Hornbuckle, whose mother sang the national anthem, scored 12 points for the Mercury, her career-best fifth â€"straight double-digit game. Krystal Thomas and Avery Warley tied Bonner for the rebounding lead with nine each.

January was joined on the floor with former Sun Devil teammate Dymond Simon, who was inserted for the Mercury late in the fourth quarter after Samantha Prahalis fouled out.

“It was great to get in, a great atmosphere, a great group of girls and fans, it was fun,” Simon said. “Being on the opposite side (of January) is a little different, but it was a lot of fun.”

The duo played three seasons in Tempe, twice reaching the regional finals.

“It’s awesome, she’s my best friend for sure,” January said. “It’s great to see her out there playing, and she looked pretty good for the minutes she got.”

After a stop at Seattle Aug. 30, the Mercury returns home to play the San Antonio Silver Stars at 7 p.m. Sept. 1. The Fever plays the Mystics Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Catchings also commented on recently winning her third Olympic gold medal, all with Taurasi who she praised.

“It’s awesome, it’s a great feeling being able to represent your country,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to play with some great players I wouldn’t normally be able to play with in the WNBA both on and off the court. We could share a story and get to know each other, and on the court, it showed how much fun we had.”