Diana Taurasi is officially back in action for Tuesday’s WNBA game after her initial technical foul suspension was overturned, but she’ll miss a key backcourt piece against Atlanta
Diana Taurasi will bring her two decades of nervy late-season experience to Phoenix’s key Tuesday evening matchup with Atlanta after a previous suspension was overturned.
The 42-year-old was in disbelief midway through Sunday’s decisive loss against Las Vegas after she was assessed her seventh technical foul of the season, automatically resulting in a one-game suspension. However, the WNBA announced on Monday that, after a video review, Taurasi’s technical foul had been rescinded and that she would be eligible to compete against the Dream.
I had a pretty good understanding that it might happen,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said about the WNBA’s reversal. “Throughout the game, the official said that she was gonna talk to the league that it might’ve been a mistake. So I’m glad that they did the right thing.”
Despite narrowly avoiding a significant suspension, the famously headstrong Taurasi was largely unbothered about the decision and added that she won’t change her approach in talking to officials. “I’m gonna go into every game the same way. That’s just life … If it’s a game off, it’s a game off. Whatever,” Taurasi said.
The “White Mamba” shook off the technical whistle to post a fairly productive nine-point, seven-assist stat line, but an immediate blitz from the defending champions had her Mercury trailing 29-10 after just 10 minutes of play. A’ja Wilson led this early assault with 15 first-quarter points, furthering her runaway MVP candidacy with 41 points and 17 rebounds on the game, and the Mercury fell 97-79 for their third-consecutive defeat.
Such frustrating circumstances led to a flurry of technicals assessed to Taurasi’s backcourt mates as Natasha Cloud was penalized for pleading with the refs to call a traveling violation. It was Cloud’s seventh technical of the season as well, which was upheld after video review, meaning that Phoenix’s assist leader and double-figure scorer will miss Tuesday’s matchup.
On the other side of halftime, the WNBA’s third-leading scorer Kahleah Copper picked up the Mercury’s third technical foul of the game, believing she was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Copper tacked on her sixth tech of the year, moving a step closer to suspension, and the Mercury have now set a league record with 32 technicals, a fact that produced a devious smile from Taurasi in Sunday’s presser.
Copper’s arrival this offseason, along with the return of Brittney Griner from injury, has helped transform the WNBA’s worst team in 2023, entering the final week of August with a 16-14 record after a thrilling victory over the Dream. However, a recent three-game losing streak, with a 15-point average margin of victory, has left the Mercury looking over their shoulder just a little bit, recently overtaken by Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever.
The Mercury will look to get back into the win column on Tuesday against Atlanta. Tip-off is currently scheduled for 10 p.m. ET in Phoenix and will be streamed on the WNBA League Pass.
