2016 Phoenix Mercury season

August 2023 March 2026 Phoenix Mercury 2016 16 18 Western T-3rd Sandy Brondello Talking Stick Resort Arena Lost Semifinal to Minnesota Lynx, 3–0 The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season began on May 14, on the road against the Minnesota Lynx.https://www.wnba.com/schedule?season=2016&month=all&team=mercury&broadcaster=all 2016 Phoenix Mercury Schedule WNBA May 20, 2025 The Mercury began the season with four straight losses. They lost their opening night game 95–76 and followed that with a four-point loss to Indiana and a one-point loss at home against Seattle. They broke the streak with a 93–77 win against Washington. They finished the month with another win to end with a 2–4 record. They began June with two road losses, which they followed with home wins against San Antonio and Chicago. They could not build momentum off those wins as they lost their next game on the road 77–71 against Los Angeles. They then lost two straight, one at home and one away, against Dallas, including a 117–111 overtime home loss. They followed that with two road wins, including an overtime victory over New York, and finished the month with a home win over Connecticut. The team finished 5–5 in June. The Mercury lost four of their first five games of July, with their only win coming on the road against Atlanta. They finished the month 2–1 with defeats of Washington and San Antonio. They went into the Olympic break with a 79–77 loss against Chicago. They went 3–5 in July and had a 10–14 record going into the Olympic break. The team came back from the break and went 3–0 in August, defeating Dallas, Los Angeles, and Indiana, with only the Los Angeles victory coming by less than double digits. They followed those three wins with three losses to start September. They turned their fortunes around to finish the month, going 3–1, with defeats of Atlanta, Seattle, and San Antonio. They finished September with a 3–4 record and a 16–18 overall record. The Mercury finished tied for third in the Western Conference. They lost the tiebreaker against Seattle, as the season series finished 2–1 in the Storm's favor. This resulted in the Mercury being the eighth, and final seed, in the 2016 WNBA playoffs. As the eighth seed, their First Round match was on the road against the fifth seed, Indiana. The Mercury prevailed 89–78 behind a twenty-point performance from Diana Taurasi. Taurasi turned in a thirty-point performance in the Second Round against the New York Liberty. The game was within two points in the fourth quarter, but a late surge saw the Mercury pull away and win 101–94. The Mercury advanced to the semifinals to face the top seed Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx would go on to sweep the Mercury three games to zero. Game two was the closest of the three games, with the Mercury losing 96–86. Brittney Griner lead the league in blocks, and she was selected to the all-defensive second team. Taurasi was selected to the All-WNBA Second Team. Transactions WNBA draft 2016 WNBA draft Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 8 Courtney Williams South Florida 2 20 Jillian Alleyne Oregon 3 32 Nirra Fields UCLA Trades/Roster Changes Date Details February 29, 2016 Signed F Sonja Petrovićhttps://mercury.wnba.com/news/4275 Mercury Signs Forward Sonja Petrovic mercury.wnba.com WNBA February 29, 2016 May 19, 2025 May 6, 2016 The Mercury traded Monique Currie to the San Antonio Stars in exchange for the thirteenth pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.Stars Acquire Monique Currie from Mercury for 2017 Second-Round Pick https://www.wnba.com/news/san-antonio-stars-trade-monique-currie-phoenix-mercury WNBA May 7, 2016 April 23, 2025 June 23, 2016 Signed G Lindsey Hardinghttps://mercury.wnba.com/news/mercury-sign-former-no-1-overall-pick-lindsey-harding/ Mercury Sign Former No. 1 Overall Pick Lindsey Harding Phoenix Mercury WNBA June 23, 2016 May 19, 2025 June 25, 2016 The Mercury traded Courtney Williams, the rights to Jillian Alleyne and the thirteenth pick in the 2017 draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Kelsey Bone.Sun Trade Bone To Phoenix For Williams, Alleyne And 2017 Draft Pick https://sun.wnba.com/news/sun-trade-bone-phoenix-williams-alleyne-2017-draft-pick Connecticut Sun WNBA June 25, 2016 April 23, 2025 The Mercury traded Noelle Quinn to the Seattle Storm for the rights to Angelica Robinson.https://www.si.com/wnba/2016/06/26/ap-bkl-storm-mercury-trade Quinn returns to Storm, Mercury get Robinson in trade si.com Sports Illustrated June 25, 2016 May 19, 2025 July 8, 2016 Re-signed G Marta Xargayhttps://mercury.wnba.com/news/mercury-re-signs-olympian-marta-xargay Mercury Re-Signs Olympian Marta Xargay mercury.wnba.com WNBA July 8, 2016 May 19, 2025 Roster Source:https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/PHO/2016.html 2016 Phoenix Mercury Stats basketball-reference.com Sports Reference May 19, 2025https://basketball.usbasket.com/team/Phoenix-Mercury/7463?Women=1&Year=2016 Phoenix Mercury Basketball Roster 2016 basketball.usbasket.com USBasket May 19, 2025 Phoenix Mercury 2016 WNBA 8 Mistie Bass F 6 3 189 12-02-1983 9 Duke USA 45 Kelsey Bone C 6 4 220 12-31-1991 3 Texas A&M USA 24 DeWanna Bonner G/F 6 4 140 08-21-1987 7 Auburn USA 4 Candice Dupree F 6 2 178 08-16-1984 10 Temple USA 21 Nirra Fields G 5 9 158 12-03-1993 R UCLA USA 42 Brittney Griner C 6 9 205 10-18-1990 3 Baylor USA 12 Alex Harden G 6 0 173 03-27-1993 1 Wichita State USA 10 Lindsey Harding G 5 8 139 06-12-1984 8 Duke USA 20 Isabelle Harrison F 6 3 183 07-27-1993 R Tennessee USA 5 Sonja Vasić Petrović, Sonja F 6 2 169 02-18-1989 1 SRB 45 Noelle Quinn G 6 0 178 01-03-1985 9 UCLA USA 3 Diana Taurasi G 6 0 163 06-11-1982 11 Connecticut USA 13 Penny Taylor F 6 1 165 05-24-1981 12 AUS 11 Courtney Williams G 5 8 142 05-11-1994 R South Florida USA 21 Marta Xargay G 5 11 160 12-20-1990 1 ESP USA Sandy Brondello Western Sydney USA Julie Hairgrove 1 Arizona USA Todd Troxel 1 Doane USA Tamara Poole 1 California State University, Dominguez Hills USA Kristine Foltz 1 Iowa State Game log Preseason Phoenix Mercury yes 2016 Phoenix Mercury May yes 0 1 1 0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 | May 4 | @ Seattle | W 81–73 | Taylor, Williams (15) | Isabelle Harrison (8) | Monique Currie (7) | KeyArena3,721 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | May 8 | Seattle | L 70–76 | Mistie Bass (14) | Bass, Harrison, Petrović (6) | Bass, Petrović (3) | Talking Stick Resort Arena4,074 | 1–1 PHO yes 2016 Regular season Phoenix Mercury 2016 Total: 16–18 (Home: 11–6; Road: 5–12) Phoenix Mercury May yes 2 2 0 2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | May 14 | @ Minnesota | L 76–95 | Diana Taurasi (18) | Bonner, Griner, Petrović (5) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Target Center9,221 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | May 18 | @ Indiana | L 93–97 | Diana Taurasi (32) | Brittney Griner (9) | Diana Taurasi (5) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,749 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | May 20 | Seattle | L 80–81 | Diana Taurasi (23) | Penny Taylor (7) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena13,048 | 0–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | May 25 | Minnesota | L 78–85 | Penny Taylor (25) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,368 | 0–4 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 5 | May 29 | Washington | W 93–77 | Diana Taurasi (28) | DeWanna Bonner (12) | Penny Taylor (4) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,228 | 1–4 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 6 | May 31 | Connecticut | W 99–90 | Brittney Griner (21) | DeWanna Bonner (8) | Diana Taurasi (9) | Talking Stick Resort Arena8,412 | 2–4 Phoenix Mercury June 3 1 2 4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | June 3 | @ Seattle | L 81–95 | Penny Taylor (19) | Brittney Griner (6) | Penny Taylor (5) | KeyArena6,510 | 2–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 8 | June 7 | @ Minnesota | L 81–89 | Bonner, Griner (14) | Candice Dupree (8) | Penny Taylor (10) | Target Center7,207 | 2–6 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 9 | June 9 | San Antonio | W 90–75 | Diana Taurasi (31) | Brittney Griner (8) | DeWanna Bonner (4) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,048 | 3–6 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 10 | June 12 | Chicago | W 86–80 | Diana Taurasi (31) | Brittney Griner (10) | Candice Dupree (3) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,055 | 4–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | June 17 | @ Los Angeles | L 71–77 | Candice Dupree (16) | DeWanna Bonner (9) | Dupree, Taylor (3) | Staples Center8,964 | 4–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | June 18 | Dallas | L 111–117 (OT) | DeWanna Bonner (38) | Brittney Griner (9) | Quinn, Taurasi (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,235 | 4–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | June 21 | @ Dallas | L 90–100 | DeWanna Bonner (26) | Brittney Griner (8) | Diana Taurasi (6) | College Park Center6,819 | 4–9 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 14 | June 24 | @ Washington | W 91–79 | Diana Taurasi (27) | Griner, Taurasi (5) | Harding, Taurasi (5) | Capital One Arena5,136 | 5–9 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 15 | June 26 | @ New York | W 104–94 (OT) | Candice Dupree (26) | Candice Dupree (8) | Penny Taylor (7) | Madison Square Garden9,591 | 6–9 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 16 | June 29 | Connecticut | W 86–75 | Sonja Petrović (22) | Brittney Griner (8) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,551 | 7–9 Phoenix Mercury July 2 3 1 2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | July 1 | New York | L 88–99 | DeWanna Bonner (22) | Candice Dupree (6) | DeWanna Bonner (5) | Talking Stick Resort Arena11,606 | 7–10 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 18 | July 3 | @ Atlanta | W 95–87 | Brittney Griner (27) | Brittney Griner (10) | Diana Taurasi (8) | Philips Arena6,557 | 8–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | July 5 | @ Dallas | L 74–77 | Diana Taurasi (22) | Candice Dupree (6) | Brittney Griner (6) | College Park Center5,480 | 8–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | July 8 | Indiana | L 60–78 | Bone, Taurasi (13) | Kelsey Bone (5) | Lindsey Harding (3) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,371 | 8–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | July 10 | @ Chicago | L 95–100 | Diana Taurasi (26) | Candice Dupree (7) | Marta Xargay (6) | Allstate Arena7,021 | 8–13 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 22 | July 13 | Washington | W 78–74 | Brittney Griner (22) | Brittney Griner (8) | Diana Taurasi (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,628 | 9–13 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 23 | July 16 | San Antonio | W 83–64 | DeWanna Bonner (33) | DeWanna Bonner (8) | Harden, Harding, Xargay (3) | Talking Stick Resort Arena11,539 | 10–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | July 19 | Chicago | L 77–79 | DeWanna Bonner (20) | Bonner, Dupree (8) | Taurasi, Xargay (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,318 | 10–14 Phoenix Mercury August 2 0 1 0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 25 | August 26 | Dallas | W 98–72 | Penny Taylor (22) | DeWanna Bonner (10) | Harding, Taylor, Xargay (3) | Talking Stick Resort Arena11,396 | 11–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 26 | August 28 | Los Angeles | W 70–66 | Diana Taurasi (26) | Bone, Dupree (7) | Penny Taylor (5) | Talking Stick Resort Arena11,905 | 12–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 | August 30 | @ Indiana | W 79–65 | Brittney Griner (20) | Brittney Griner (7) | Dupree, Griner (3) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse7,250 | 13–14 Phoenix Mercury September 3 0 0 4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 28 | September 2 | @ Connecticut | L 74–87 | Brittney Griner (29) | Candice Dupree (10) | Harding, Taurasi, Taylor (3) | Mohegan Sun Arena6,709 | 13–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 29 | September 3 | @ New York | L 70–92 | Marta Xargay (16) | Candice Dupree (8) | DeWanna Bonner (4) | Madison Square Garden10,026 | 13–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 | September 6 | @ Atlanta | L 87–91 | Diana Taurasi (23) | DeWanna Bonner (7) | DeWanna Bonner (7) | Philips Arena3,625 | 13–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 31 | September 11 | Atlanta | W 86–75 | Brittney Griner (21) | Brittney Griner (9) | Bonner, Xargay (6) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,877 | 14–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 32 | September 14 | @ Los Angeles | L 85–90 | DeWanna Bonner (20) | Brittney Griner (16) | Marta Xargay (6) | Staples Center9,371 | 14–18 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 33 | September 15 | Seattle | W 86–62 | Brittney Griner (21) | DeWanna Bonner (9) | Diana Taurasi (5) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,380 | 15–18 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 34 | September 18 | San Antonio | W 81–65 | Diana Taurasi (18) | Brittney Griner (7) | Taurasi, Taylor (4) | AT&T Center6,397 | 16–18 PHO 2016 Playoffs Phoenix Mercury yes 2016 Phoenix Mercury First Roundvs. Indiana Fever yes yes |- style="background:#bbffbb" | 1 | September 21 | @ Indiana | W 89–78 | Diana Taurasi (20) | Brittney Griner (9) | Penny Taylor (4) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,282 | 1–0 Phoenix Mercury Second Round vs. New York Liberty yes |- style="background:#bbffbb" | 1 | September 24 | @ New York | W 101–94 | Diana Taurasi (30) | Brittney Griner (10) | Brittney Griner (5) | Madison Square Garden10,227 | 1–0 Phoenix Mercury Semifinals vs. Minnesota LynxLost Series 0–3 yes |- style="background:#fcc" | 1 | September 28 | @ Minnesota | L 95–113 | Diana Taurasi (25) | Penny Taylor (5) | Dupree, Harding (5) | Xcel Energy Center9,013 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 2 | September 30 | @ Minnesota | L 86–96 | Diana Taurasi (31) | Isabelle Harrison (9) | Penny Taylor (5) | Xcel Energy Center11,923 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc" | 3 | October 2 | Minnesota | L 67–82 | Bonner, Taurasi (12) | Griner, Harrison (7) | Marta Xargay (5) | Talking Stick Resort Arena9,631 | 0–3 pho yes 2016 Standings PHO Playoffs Bracket Statistics Regular season Source: Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG DeWanna Bonner 34 24 31.3 42.4% 32.9% 79.8% 5.4 2.4 1.3 0.6 14.5 Diana Taurasi 33 33 29.8 39.6% 35.0% 90.9% 3.0 3.9 0.9 0.1 17.8 Brittney Griner 34 34 29.2 54.8% — 83.1% 6.5 1.0 0.4 3.1 14.5 Candice Dupree 32 32 29.1 54.1% 0.0% 79.2% 5.3 1.9 0.8 0.2 11.3 Penny Taylor 25 25 25.7 48.8% 39.6% 90.7% 3.8 3.6 1.5 0.4 12.5 Marta Xargay 15 6 19.7 40.0% 33.3% 70.6% 1.7 2.7 1.1 0.2 5.7 Lindsey Harding 21 0 15.7 37.0% 40.0% 87.0% 1.7 2.1 0.5 0.1 3.9 Sonja Petrović 31 13 14.8 42.1% 34.4% 95.7% 2.2 0.6 0.6 0.2 5.1 Mistie Bass 33 1 13.2 46.3% — 81.5% 1.9 0.8 0.5 0.3 2.9 Noelle Quinn 13 0 9.9 24.1% 10.0% 85.7% 0.9 1.4 0.4 0.2 1.6 Kelsey Bone 20 0 9.7 38.8% 0.0% 70.0% 2.5 0.6 0.2 0.1 3.0 Alex Harden 28 1 7.5 45.0% 25.0% 50.0% 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.1 1.4 Isabelle Harrison 26 1 7.5 52.5% — 68.0% 1.8 0.0 0.4 0.1 3.1 Nirra Fields 4 0 4.3 14.3% 0.0% 50.0% — — — — 0.8 Courtney Williams 6 0 4.2 11.1% 0.0% 50.0% 1.2 0.3 — — 0.5 Playoffs Source: Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Candice Dupree 5 5 31.4 48.8% — 100.0% 3.8 1.8 0.6 0.2 9.6 Brittney Griner 5 5 31.2 64.3% — 81.3% 6.0 1.6 0.6 2.2 13.4 Diana Taurasi 5 5 30.8 51.5% 43.2% 97.0% 2.6 2.8 0.2 0.6 23.6 Penny Taylor 5 5 26.0 36.8% 31.3% 95.8% 4.4 3.0 1.6 0.8 11.2 DeWanna Bonner 5 0 24.2 42.6% 0.0% 82.4% 4.2 1.6 1.0 0.0 10.8 Marta Xargay 5 5 24.2 44.4% 27.3% 80.0% 1.8 3.8 0.4 0.0 7.8 Isabelle Harrison 3 0 13.7 61.5% — 0.0% 6.0 — — — 5.3 Sonja Petrović 2 0 12.5 44.4% 75.0% 0.0% 1.0 2.5 0.5 — 5.5 Lindsey Harding 5 0 9.2 46.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4 1.4 — 0.2 2.4 Mistie Bass 5 0 7.8 33.3% — 100.0% 1.4 0.8 0.2 — 1.6 Kelsey Bone 2 0 4.0 100.0% — — 0.5 — — — 2.0 Alex Harden 2 0 2.0 100.0% 100.0% — — — — — 2.5 Awards and honors Recipient Award Date Awarded Ref. Diana Taurasi All-WNBA Second Team October 14, 2016 https://www.wnba.com/news/2016-all-wnba-teams-official-release 2016 All-WNBA First and Second Teams Announced wnba.com WNBA October 14, 2016 May 12, 2025 Western Conference Player of the Week June 27, 2016 https://liberty.wnba.com/news/deja-vu-charles-repeats-player-week Déjà Vu: Charles Repeats as Player of the Week liberty.wnba.com WNBA June 27, 2016 May 12, 2025 Brittney Griner WNBA All-Defensive Second Team September 30, 2016 https://www.wnba.com/news/2016-wnba-all-defensive-team-official-release Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike Headline 2016 WNBA All-Defensive Team wnba.com WNBA September 30, 2016 May 12, 2025 References External links The Official Site of the Phoenix Mercury Category:Phoenix Mercury seasons Phoenix Phoenix Mercury