5:52 PM ET
Kelly CohenESPN
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi will miss her second game in a row with a left ankle injury, the team announced Friday.
Taurasi last played in the Mercury’s Sept. 6 game, finishing with 11 points and six assists. She was downgraded to out from doubtful ahead of the Mercury’s Wednesday game.
The five-time Olympic gold medalist has missed time this season with a chest injury, in addition to a hip injury. Still, she is the team’s third-leading scorer with 15.2 PPG.
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The Mercury will be without Taurasi for Saturday night’s big matchup against the Connecticut Sun, who have the best record in the league at 23-6. The Mercury, who have the fourth-best record (19-10), are riding a 10-game win streak. The Sun have won 11 games in a row.
Both teams have already secured a playoff berth. But the Mercury want to hold onto the fourth seed, which would give them a bye to the second round. In addition to Saturday’s game, the Mercury will play the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces to close out the season — both teams with better records than the Mercury.
It’s unclear if Taurasi will miss any more games beyond Saturday’s game. The playoffs begin Sept. 23.