The Phoenix Mercury visited the Washington Mystics on Friday night with each of the teams still trying to clinch their spot in the WNBA playoffs. Phoenix was a game or so below the Mystics in the standings and managed to come into the Verizon Center and get the win. The WNBA's all-time points leader Diana Taurasi led the way for her team, with assistance from fellow All-Star Brittney Griner. Here's the latest Mercury vs. Mystics game recap including top stars, stats, a standings update, and a look at what games are next for each team.

Game recap

Diana Taurasi was the top scorer tonight in the Phoenix Mercury's win. Taurasi shot 8-for-14 from the field including a 3-for-8 rate from downtown and finished with 25 points. The WNBA All-Star scored 14 of those points in the fourth quarter to help the team's win. Teammate Brittney Griner scored 13 points and also pulled down ten boards, while Chelsea Little also chipped in 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting along with hitting 5-of-9 free throws.

On the losing side, the Washington Mystics received 21 points from Kristin Toliver. She hit 6-of-16 field goals and all nine free-throw attempts. Shania Walker-Kimbrough scored 13 points while Kristin Thomas had 12 points and eight rebounds. Emma Meesseman scored seven points and had eight rebounds in the loss.

Elena Delle Donne was out of the game as she continues recovery from her left thumb injury.

For the game, the visiting Mercury shot at an impressive rate of 53.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. The Mystics shot just 38.8 percent overall and only managed to hit 17.4 percent of the threes they attempted.

Washington won the rebounding battle 35-31, while both teams had 12 turnovers in tonight's game.

Standings, what's next

The Phoenix Mercury are now 15-13 overall and 8-6 on the road this season. Phoenix is No. 6 in the overall WNBA playoff standings and ahead of the No. 7 team, the Dallas Wings, by 2.5 games. Phoenix will take on the Sun in Connecticut this coming Sunday at 3 p.m.

Eastern Time. The last time these two teams met Connecticut won by just a point.

For the Washington Mystics, they now fall to 16-12 overall and 10-4 at home. Due to the New York Liberty's win tonight, it means New York has moved into the No. 4 spot while Washington has slid to the No. 5 spot as the teams have identical records. Next up for the Mystics will be a road game at the Indiana Fever on Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED