PHOENIX — Cappie Pondexter missed a game-winning tip-in at the fourth-quarter buzzer but then scored seven of her 23 points in overtime to help the Phoenix Mercury escape with a 120-116 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night in a wild opener of the WNBA Finals.
Penny Taylor scored 23 points and newly crowned league MVP Diana Taurasi added 22 for Phoenix in the highest-scoring game in WNBA history.
“Well, if you didn’t like women’s basketball,” Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said, “I think you do now.”
Katie Douglas tied it with a 3-pointer for Indiana with 7.1 seconds left in regulation, then scored eight in overtime for a career playoff high 30 points.
Ebony Hoffman had a career-high 27 on 12-of-14 shooting as the Fever set a franchise scoring record in just the second 100-point game in the club’s history.
Ex-investigator used slur in Williams case
The testimony occurred during a hearing in state Superior Court, where Williams’ defense team is attempting to show that racial bias tainted the investigation and prosecution.
Williams, who retired in 2000 after nine seasons in the NBA, was acquitted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter in the shooting of hired driver Costas “Gus” Christofi at the former player’s central New Jersey mansion.
He was convicted on four counts of attempting to cover up the 2002 crime, and a jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count for which Williams faces a January retrial. Williams has been free on bail since the shooting.
General manager Danny Ferry said West, who has been treated for bipolar disorder, was not in any harm.
Footnotes. Golfing great Arnold Palmer has been selected to receive a Congressional Gold Medal at the White House, an honor that has been around since the American Revolution and recognizes distinguished achievements and contributions.
Kyle Muncy, a spokesman for the UConn basketball program, says the two sides have been in discussions on a contract that would be “more than one year.”
