PHOENIX — Breanna Stewart scored 21 points, Courtney Vandersloot added 16 and the New York Liberty used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Phoenix Mercury 84-70 on Monday night.
Sabrina Ionescu scored five points as the Liberty, starting with Stewart's turnaround jumper from the foul line, turned a 64-57 lead into a 17-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter. Leonie Fiebich contributed a 3-pointer, her only basket of the game.
Jonquel Jones scored 15 points for the Liberty (27-5), who hit 12 3-pointers and outscored Phoenix 14-3 at the foul line. Ionescu finished with 13 points.
Brittney Griner scored 22 to lead the Mercury (16-15), but had seven of their 20 turnovers. Natasha Cloud added 18 points, Kahleah Copper had 14 and Diana Taurasi 10. The turnovers cost Phoenix 28 points and the bench was outscored 15-4.
New York was 12 for 29 behind the arc to Phoenix's 5 for 22.
Taurasi hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to pull the Mercury into a tie at 38 at the break. The Liberty led by as many as nine but was outscored 20-12 inside and Phoenix had 15 fastbreak points.
Griner reached 800 career blocks for the Mercury and Cloud reached 200 assists for the season, passing Taurasi for the single-season franchise record. Taurasi also moved past Lindsey Whalen (2,348) for fourth on the WNBA career assists list.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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