Mitchell, McCowan lead Fever past Mercury

Jul 30, 2020, 12:50 pm

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Tiffany Mitchell scored 24 points, Teaira McCowan recorded a double-double and the Fever held off the Mercury.

Mitchell made all 10 of her free throws, McCowan scored 20 points with 13 rebounds. Candice Dupree added 23 points and nine rebounds in the win, the first for new coach Marianne Stanley. .

Mitchell's 3 pointer broke an 86-all tie with 5:56 left and the Fever (1-1) led the rest of the way. McCowan scored seven points in a two-minute stretch to extend the lead to 101-93 with just under two minutes left. But Bria Hartley had a three-point play with 37 seconds left, a 3 with 17 seconds to go, and Skylar Diggins-Smith made 1 of 2 foul shots to bring Phoenix to within 102-100 with 13.6 seconds left. Mitchell sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Hartley scored 26 for Phoenix (0-2) and Brittany Griner added 23.