Diana Taurasi out for season, Phoenix Mercury ink Yvonne Turner
Aug 8, 2022, 1:36 PM
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi reacts after throwing the ball out of bounds during the team's WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Uncasville, Conn. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day via AP)
(Sean D. Elliot/The Day via AP)
The Phoenix Mercury announced Monday that star Diana Taurasi will miss the rest of the season with a quad strain and with that inked Yvonne “Vonnie” Turner on a hardship contract.
Taurasi averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds this season, playing in every game through last Tuesday, a loss to the Connecticut Sun.
It was two games after she scored 30 points on July 28 against the Los Angeles Sparks, making Taurasi the first WNBA player to score 30 or more at the age of 40 or older.
The news is significant with Taurasi admitting in the past few weeks that a potential retirement will be on her mind this offseason.
Taurasi missed the past two games due to the quad injury and will miss the final three of the regular season.
Phoenix sits at 14-19 on the year and in eighth place, clinging to the WNBA’s final playoff slot. The Mercury are within one game of the 10th through 11th seeds in the league.
The Mercury play three home games against Minnesota (Wednesday), Dallas (Friday) and Chicago (Sunday) to close the regular season.
The 5-foot-10 Turner played for the Mercury from 2017-19.
Turner averaged 5.2 points, 1.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds for the Mercury in 95 games (21 starts) during that span.
Turner has appeared in six games combined on hardship contracts for the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream this year.
In four games with Minnesota that included two starts, Turner averaged 6.3 points and 2.5 assists in 22 minutes per game.
