19 Oct 2021Mechelle VoepelESPN.com CloseMechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, womens college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began reporting on women’s basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996. A day after losing a fourth-quarter lead in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury players delved into what went wrong after deciding not to speak to the media immediately after Sunday’s result . “We were so good at the end of the games that we thought we’d pull it out because that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi on Monday’s 80-74 loss to Chicago Sky, which was a game on Tuesday 5 in Phoenix. “And it didn’t work out like that. I think at some point the five of us all missed a layup. “The magic slipped out of our hands pretty quickly and the reality hit and we were a pretty devastated team.” 1 RelatedTaurasi reached out to the team that didn’t join on Sunday spoke to the media saying they had to “take just a minute”. “The Mercury was fined $ 10,000 by the WNBA on Tuesday for not attending the post-game media session. Taurasi, 39, repeated what she said on Saturday over the next several months to take to decide if she’ll return an 18th WNBA season in 2022. She was limited to 16 regular season games this year due to chest, ankle and foot injuries. “I’m probably the only person in the WNBA story of having a broken sternum, “said Taurasi hadn’t rolled an ankle since high school. So it’s a little bit of everything, isn’t it? Bad luck, age, wear and tear. So we’ll see where I go from here As much as it was fun on the pitch, it was quite a struggle off the pitch. ” Taurasi had hoped to bring her fourth WNBA title in 2021, but still found it one of her best experiences. “I’m just as proud to be on this team as I am on these championship teams,” she said. “I’ve never seen a team that really fought that hard. And I’ve obviously been on a lot of good teams. I’ve been on some OK teams, but this team had incredible courage. I really enjoyed it.” Fellow guard Skylar Diggins-Smith said of missing the championship: “It hurt like hell. It doesn’t do anything but push me. I thought the camaraderie of this group was second to none with the teams I’ve been on in the past. We have Overcomers on this team. ” Diggins-Smith said winning a gold medal in the Olympics this year meant a lot to her in terms of confidence. “It was a lifelong dream of mine,” said Diggins-Smith said, “While I couldn’t play that much, I took a lot from the experience and it really motivated me to return to the WNBA to really move forward with this team. ” This year has been a huge part of my maturation and journey in that league. Really turn the corner and get a taste of what it’s like to make a deep playoff run. “Taurasi, Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner were all Olympians, and Griner was also a candidate for MVP that season. She had 28 points at the top of the Mercury in Game 4 and averaged 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in the postseason Griner, who turned 31 on Monday, will play for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia during the WNBA off-season and plans to return even better for 2022. One of her personal goals is to win the WNBA’s MVP award in her career “That means I really fire on all the cylinders,” said Griner, who added that she was also the two defensive players from the Year Awards that she already has. “This is one area where I am a critic of myself . I can definitely get better at that. As for my leadership role, just use my voice a little more. I feel like this year I was definitely the most vocal I’ve ever played. So just do more and stay cool on the pitch. ”
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