NEW YORK (WNBA) - All-Star Diana Taurasi scored 32 points as the Phoenix Mercury clinched the WNBA Western Conference with a 101-91 win over the Sacramento Monarchs.

Cappie Pondexter had 23 points and six assists and Tangela Smith added 14 and seven rebounds for Phoenix (22-11), who finished first overall in the conference for the first time since the inaugural 1997 campaign.

The Mercury will face the fourth-seeded Seattle Storm in the opening round of the play-offs next week.

Trailing 21-15 after the first quarter, Pondexter's three-pointer with 4:07 remaining in the second gave the Mercury the lead for good, 35-32.

Phoenix extended their advantage to 73-54 in the third, when Taurasi drained a shot from the arc at the 3:18 mark.

Rebekkah Brunson scored 17 points to led the way for Sacramento (19-14), who shot 50% (34-of-68) from the field and committed 23 turnovers.

In San Antonio, Tamika Whitmore scored 12 points, including a pair of late shots, to help the Indiana Fever sneak a 59-55 victory over the Silver Stars.

Whitmore was the only player in double figures for Indiana (20-13), who clinched the Eastern Conference's second seed with the win.

In a back-and-forth game, Whitmore hit a jumper to put the Fever 45-44 up with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Tully Bevilaqua hit consecutive shots from the arc to extend the advantage to 51-44 with 5:03 remaining.

Camille Little converted a three-point play to pull the Silvers Stars within 55-53 with 1:04 to go, but Whitmore answered with a 14-foot jumper and a layup to seal the victory.

In other games, Janel McCarville and Erin Thorn led an early charge as the New York Liberty cruised to a 74-66 victory over the Connecticut Sun.

McCarville and Thorn combined to score the game's first 14 points as the Liberty (15-18) opened a 23-18 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 18 points, Thorn added 13 and McCarville 12 for the Liberty, who climbed into a tie with Washington (15-18) for the fourth and final play-off berth in the Eastern Conference.

And Lauren Jackson scored 18 of her 32 points in the second half as the Seattle Storm surged to a 97-77 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.

The win closes out the regular season for the Storm (17-17), who earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference play-offs and will host top-seeded Phoenix (22-11) in Game One of the first round on August 24.

Jackson - one of the front-runners for league MVP - shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 15-for-16 from the free-throw line while pulling down 15 rebounds. 

The Storm trailed 41-37 at half-time but outscored the Sparks 60-36 in the second half to earn the win.

Ian Parker
FIBA