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Phoenix Mercury stun Detroit Shock for WNBA crown

Penny Taylor scored 30 points and the Phoenix Mercury cruised to a 108-92 victory on Sunday over the defending champion Detroit Shock in the fifth and deciding game of the WNBA finals.

Cappie Pondexter added 26 and Diana Taurasi had 17 for Phoenix, the first road team to win the title away from home.

"It's been a long time coming," said Pondexter. "It's something I've been waiting for, working hard for, and it's finally here."

The Shock lost the last two games of the series, ending their bid to win back-to-back titles.

Phoenix took some steam out of the fired-up home crowd by racing to a 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter. Taurasi had eight points, including two 3-pointers, in that stretch as Phoenix came out firing against the frazzled Detroit defense.

"This is an unfamiliar position -- being up here without a bottle of champagne," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said at his postgame news conference. "We got beat by a team that was hungrier."

The Mercury led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and led 55-43 at halftime en route to their first championship.

Phoenix shot 54 percent from the floor and committed only four turnovers in the first half. The teams set a WNBA finals record for most combined points in a half.
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