2009 Phoenix Mercury season

2009 Phoenix Mercury season
Head 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
Phoenix Mercury seasons
< 2008	2010 >

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. 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.

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.

WNBA draft

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

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• March 16: The Mercury has withdrawn its qualifying offer to Belinda Snell.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.

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

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 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

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.