2009 Phoenix Mercury season

The 2009 WNBA season was the 13th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Mercury won the WNBA Finals for the second time in franchise history. On June 6, the Mercury and LifeLock entered a multi-year marketing partnership to launch the first-ever branded jersey in WNBA or NBA history. A press conference was held at the NBA Store in New York City with Phoenix Mercury President and COO Jay Parry and LifeLock CEO Todd Davis to make the announcement.[1] The partnership ran through 2011, and the LifeLock name was on the front of Phoenix Mercury’s player jerseys and on warm-up suits. The Mercury and LifeLock ware the first to finalize such an agreement following the WNBA’s decision this off-season to make this opportunity available for its teams and sponsors. As part of the partnership, LifeLock offered a one-year complimentary membership to season ticket holders of all WNBA teams.[1]

2009 Phoenix Mercury season
Coach	Corey Gaines
Arena	US Airways Center
Attendance	8,523 per game
Results
Record	23–11 (.676)
Place	1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Won WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Taurasi (20.4)
Rebounds	Bonner (5.8)
Assists	Pondexter (5.0)
Media
Television	FSN Arizona
← 2008 season 2010 season →

Off-season

Dispersal draft

Based on the Mercury's 2008 record, they picked 5th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Mercury picked Sequoia Holmes.[2]

WNBA draft

The following are the Mercury's selections in the 2009 WNBA draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	5	DeWanna Bonner	United States	Auburn
3	31	Sha Brooks	United States	Florida
3	34 (from N.Y.)	Jessica Adair	United States	George Washington

[3]

Transactions

• July 17: The Mercury re-signed Penny Taylor.
• July 14: The Mercury waived Allie Quigley.
• June 3: The Mercury waived Alison Bales, Sha Brooks, and Laurie Koehn and claimed Ketia Swanier off waivers.
• June 2: The Mercury waived Yuko Oga.
• May 31: The Mercury waived Murriel Page.
• May 18: The Mercury signed Murriel Page.
• May 13: The Mercury waived Jessica Adair.
• April 30: The Mercury signed Laurie Koehn.
• April 20: The Mercury waived Kim Smith and A'Quonesia Franklin.
• March 26: The Mercury acquired Temeka Johnson from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for a first-round 2010 WNBA draft pick.
• March 20: The Mercury traded Barbara Farris to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for A'Quonesia Franklin and Kim Smith.
• March 16: The Mercury has withdrawn its qualifying offer to Belinda Snell.
• February 11: The Mercury signed Yuko Oga to a training camp contract.
• January 30: The Mercury traded Kelly Miller and LaToya Pringle to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Nicole Ohlde.
• January 21: The Mercury acquired Alison Bales from the Atlanta Dream in exchange for a second-round 2009 WNBA draft pick.
• January 7: The Mercury signed Brooke Smith to a training-camp contract.
• May 7, 2008: The Mercury acquired a third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft from the New York Liberty as part of the Leilani Mitchell transaction.

[4]

Date	Trade
March 7, 2008	To Phoenix Mercury	To New York Liberty
	third-round pick in 2009 WNBA Draft	Leilani Mitchell
January 21, 2009	To Phoenix Mercury	To Atlanta Dream
	Alison Bales	second-round pick in 2009 WNBA Draft
January 30, 2009	To Phoenix Mercury	To Minnesota Lynx
	Nicole Ohlde	Kelly Miller and LaToya Pringle
March 20, 2009	To Phoenix Mercury	To Sacramento Monarchs
	A'Quonesia Franklin and Kim Smith	Barbara Farris
March 26, 2009	To Phoenix Mercury	To Los Angeles Sparks
	Temeka Johnson	first-round pick in 2010 WNBA Draft

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Sequoia Holmes December 8, 2008 Houston Comets Brooke Smith January 7, 2009 re-signed Nicole Ohlde January 30, 2009 Minnesota Lynx Temeka Johnson March 26, 2009 Los Angeles Sparks Ketia Swanier June 3, 2009 Connecticut Sun Penny Taylor July 17, 2009 re-signed

Subtractions Player Left New team Kelly Miller January 30, 2009 Minnesota Lynx LaToya Pringle January 30, 2009 Minnesota Lynx Barbara Farris March 20, 2009 Detroit Shock Yuko Oga June 2, 2009 free agent Sha Brooks June 3, 2009 free agent Allie Quigley July 14, 2009 free agent Jennifer Derevjanik 2009 free agent Olympia Scott 2009 free agent

Roster

Phoenix Mercury roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From G 24 Bonner, DeWanna 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Auburn PG 2 Johnson, Temeka 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 132 lb (60 kg) LSU SG 33 Mazzante, Kelly 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Penn State F/C 30 Ohlde, Nicole 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas State SG 23 Pondexter, Cappie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Rutgers F/C 21 Smith, Brooke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Stanford C 50 Smith, Tangela 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Iowa PG 11 Swanier, Ketia 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Connecticut F 13 Taylor, Penny 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Australia G/F 3 Taurasi, Diana 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Connecticut PF 43 Willingham, Le'Coe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn	Head coach Corey Gaines (Loyola Marymount) Assistant coaches Bridget Pettis (Florida) Julie Hairgrove (Arizona) Athletic trainer Tanara Oiike (California State University) Strength and conditioning coach Tanara Oiike (California State University) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Season standings

Western Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Phoenix Mercury ^x	23	11	.676	–	12–5	11–6	13–7
Seattle Storm ^x	20	14	.588	3.0	13–4	7–10	13–7
Los Angeles Sparks ^x	18	16	.529	5.0	11–6	7–10	11–9
San Antonio Silver Stars ^x	15	19	.441	8.0	10–7	5–12	10–10
Minnesota Lynx ^o	14	20	.412	9.0	9–8	5–12	7–13
Sacramento Monarchs ^o	12	22	.353	11.0	7–10	5–12	6–14

Schedule

Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 27 2:00pm @ Sacramento 74-70 Quigley (15) Bonner, B. Smith (6) Quigley (4) ARCO Arena 6,339 1–0 2 May 30 10:00pm Seattle 61-58 Johnson (13) Brooke Smith (6) Pondexter (6) US Airways Center 2,421 2-0

Regular season

2009 Game log: Regular season
Watch all games live on WNBA LiveAccess
June Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 June 6 10:00pm San Antonio NBA TV KMYS 90-79 Taurasi (25) Bonner (11) Johnson (9) US Airways Center 13,582 1-0 2 June 10 10:00pm New York 91-84 Pondexter (26) 5 players (5) Johnson, Taurasi (5) US Airways Center 5,080 2-0 3 June 12 10:00pm @ Sacramento 71-90 Bonner (14) Bonner (5) Pondexter (4) ARCO Arena 6,438 2-1 4 June 13 10:00pm Sacramento 115-104 (OT) Taurasi (31) T. Smith (7) Johnson (8) US Airways Center 7,173 3-1 5 June 17 10:00pm Minnesota 104-80 Taurasi (38) Bonner (10) Pondexter (9) US Airways Center 6,524 4-1 6 June 19 10:00pm Los Angeles 89-81 Pondexter (21) T. Smith (8) Johnson (7) US Airways Center 8,255 5-1 7 June 21 7:00pm Seattle NBA TV FSNA 84-93 Taurasi (25) Pondexter (5) Pondexter (6) US Airways Center 6,181 5-2 8 June 23 7:30pm @ San Antonio ESPN2 87-91 Pondexter (26) Taurasi (8) Johnson (5) AT&T Center 6,692 5-3 9 June 25 7:00pm @ Washington 93-87 Pondexter (24) Bonner, T. Smith, Taurasi (8) Johnson (6) Verizon Center 9,808 6-3 10 June 27 8:00pm @ Minnesota NBA TV FSNA FSN-N 80-109 Bonner, Pondexter (19) Taurasi (8) Pondexter, Swanier (3) Target Center 5,911 6-4
July Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 11 July 1 10:00pm Seattle 91-83 Pondexter, Taurasi (22) Pondexter (11) Pondexter (8) US Airways Center 6,341 7-4 12 July 5 9:30pm @ Los Angeles NBA TV FSNA FSNW 104-89 Pondexter (21) Bonner (10) Taurasi (6) STAPLES Center 9,872 8-4 13 July 8 10:00pm Chicago 90-70 Taurasi (22) T. Smith (13) Pondexter (6) US Airways Center 5,597 9-4 14 July 11 10:00pm @ Sacramento 107-105 Pondexter (23) Bonner, Taurasi (8) Pondexter (8) ARCO Arena 7,798 10-4 15 July 15 3:30pm Sacramento NBA TV FSNA 100-81 Taurasi (22) Johnson (6) Pondexter (15) US Airways Center 11,590 11-4 16 July 18 10:00pm Detroit 97-90 Pondexter (26) Pondexter, Willingham (7) Pondexter (8) US Airways Center 8,288 12-4 17 July 22 10:00pm Minnesota 86-99 Pondexter (28) Bonner (10) Johnson (6) US Airways Center 7,360 12-5 18 July 26 4:00pm @ New York 94-88 Taurasi (34) Taurasi (13) Johnson (7) Madison Square Garden 11,211 13-5 19 July 28 7:30pm @ Connecticut ESPN2 95-80 Pondexter (29) T. Smith, Taurasi (9) Johnson (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,739 14-5 20 July 30 7:30pm @ Atlanta 76-106 T. Smith (15) Taurasi (7) Swanier (5) Philips Arena 7,827 14-6
August Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 21 August 1 8:00pm @ Minnesota 87-74 Taurasi (20) T. Smith (7) Willingham (5) Target Center 6,631 15-6 22 August 4 10:00pm @ Seattle 101-90 (OT) Taurasi (19) Pondexter, T. Smith (8) Johnson (7) KeyArena 6,728 16-6 23 August 8 10:00pm Indiana 83-90 Taurasi (15) Bonner, Taurasi (5) Swanier (6) US Airways Center 9,867 16-7 24 August 13 10:00pm San Antonio 95-83 Taurasi (29) Bonner, Taurasi (6) Taurasi (6) US Airways Center 6,522 17-7 25 August 15 8:00pm @ San Antonio NBA TV FSNA KMYS 89-106 Taurasi (21) Bonner (5) Johnson, Pondexter (5) AT&T Center 8,933 17-8 26 August 18 8:00pm @ Chicago 106-99 Taurasi (27) Bonner (10) Taurasi (7) UIC Pavilion TBA 18-8 27 August 21 10:00pm Washington 81-91 Taurasi (16) Bonner (7) Pondexter (6) US Airways Center 9,155 18-9 28 August 27 10:30pm @ Los Angeles NBA TV FSNW 98-90 Pondexter (26) Bonner (9) Johnson, Pondexter (6) STAPLES Center 9,586 19-9 29 August 29 10:00pm Connecticut NBA TV WCTX 95-84 Taurasi (21) Taurasi (9) Taurasi (5) US Airways Center 9,977 20-9
September Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 30 September 1 7:30pm @ Detroit 99-101 Pondexter (25) T. Smith, Willingham (7) Taurasi (6) Palace of Auburn Hills 5,239 20-10 31 September 2 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV FSI 106-90 Pondexter (25) Ohlde (7) Johnson (6) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,446 21-10 32 September 5 10:00pm Atlanta 100-82 Bonner (20) Bonner (7) Taurasi (7) US Airways Center 10,424 22-10 33 September 10 10:00pm @ Seattle 92-84 (OT) Taurasi (24) Taurasi (8) Pondexter (8) KeyArena 9,089 23-10 34 September 13 3:00pm Los Angeles ESPN2 78-81 Johnson (14) Willingham (7) Taylor (4) US Airways Center 12,968 23-11

Postseason

2009 Game log: Postseason
Western Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 17 9:00pm @ San Antonio ESPN2 91-92 Taylor (18) Taurasi (7) Taylor (6) AT&T Center 5,721 0-1 2 September 19 10:00pm San Antonio NBA TV 106-78 Taurasi (24) Bonner (13) Taurasi (5) US Airways Center 7,267 1-1 3 September 21 10:00pm San Antonio ESPN2 100-92 Taurasi (30) T. Smith (8) Taurasi (5) US Airways Center 6,896 2-1
Western Conference Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 23 10:00pm @ Los Angeles ESPN2 103-94 Taurasi (28) T. Smith (6) Taurasi (6) Pauley Pavilion 6,389 1-0 2 September 25 10:00pm Los Angeles NBA TV 76-87 Taurasi (25) Pondexter (7) Taylor (5) US Airways Center 7,628 1-1 3 September 26 10:00pm Los Angeles NBA TV 85-74 Taurasi (21) Taurasi (7) Taylor (4) US Airways Center 7,226 2-1
WNBA Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 29 9:00pm Indiana ESPN2 120-116 (OT) Pondexter, Taylor (23) Taurasi (9) Taurasi (6) US Airways Center 11,617 1-0 2 October 1 9:00pm Indiana ESPN2 84-93 Taurasi (20) Taurasi (7) Johnson (5) US Airways Center 16,758 1-1 3 October 4 4:00pm @ Indiana ESPN2 85-86 Pondexter (23) T. Smith (10) Pondexter (8) Conseco Fieldhouse 18,165 1-2 4 October 7 7:30pm @ Indiana ESPN2 90-77 Pondexter (22) Willingham (8) Pondexter (7) Conseco Fieldhouse 18,165 2-2 5 October 9 9:00pm Indiana ESPN2 94-86 Taurasi (26) T. Smith (8) Taylor (5) US Airways Center 17,313 3-2

Regular season statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Player statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
DeWanna Bonner	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Temeka Johnson	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Kelly Mazzante	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Nicole Ohlde	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Cappie Pondexter	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Allie Quigley	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Brooke Smith	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Tangela Smith	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Ketia Swanier	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Diana Taurasi	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Penny Taylor	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Le'coe Willingham	0	0	00.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0

Team statistics

Team	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
Phoenix Mercury	.000	.000	.000	00.0	00.0	0.0	0.0	00.0	00.0	00.0
Opponents	.000	.000	.000	00.0	00.0	0.0	0.0	00.0	00.0	00.0

Awards and honors

• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 29, 2009.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 6, 2009.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 13, 2009.
• Diana Taurasi was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 10, 2009.
• Diana Taurasi was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as a Western Conference reserve.
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as a Western Conference reserve.
• DeWanna Bonner was named Sixth Woman of the Year.
• Diana Taurasi was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
• Diana Taurasi was named Most Valuable Player.

References

1. "MERCURY: Mercury, LifeLock Break New Ground with Partnership". wnba.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
2. "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream Select Sancho Lyttle With Top Pick in Houston Comets Dispersal Draft". wnba.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
3. "WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Draft Board". Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
4. "WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.

External links