NEW YORK -- Diana Taurasi tends to play her best when the most is on the line. Yordan Alvarez Astros Jersey .The star guard scored 30 points and Brittney Griner added 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to help the eighth-seeded Phoenix Mercury beat the No. 3 New York Liberty 101-94 on Saturday night. Taurasi is 13-3 in WNBA elimination games in her storied career, including a 6-0 mark on the road.Im not afraid of it. Its a challenge. Its fun, she said. When you go on the road, especially here at the Garden. These fans are so thirsty they want a championship so bad. We came in the underdog. Today was a whole lot of fun.The Mercury will head to Minnesota for the semifinals, which is a five-game series as opposed to the single elimination games that Phoenix won in the opening two rounds of the postseason.Its going to be hard. They are the best in the league right now, Taurasi said. They are the defending champs. We know what they do. They know what we do. Its going to be a battle of wills more than anything. Right now were finding our groove. Finding who we are.Just as they did during their first-round playoff game, Phoenix players Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone kneeled during the playing of the national anthem . Liberty guard Brittany Boyd sat on the bench with her head bowed. She also said she did that in the final few games of the regular season.I dont want to stand up. I choose not to stand up and I sit down and pray, said Boyd, who wore a Colin Kaepernick jersey into the arena and had it hanging in her locker. Colin (Kaepernick) and his message about social injustice going on in this country today is something I believe needs change. This wasnt the first game I sat down for the national anthem. I dont agree with some of the stuff thats going on. This is me using my platform.With Phoenix clinging to a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter Taurasi scored five straight points in a 10-2 run that gave them an 84-76 advantage. New York refused to quit, hitting back-to-back 3s to get within 84-82. But thats as close as the Liberty could get as they came up empty on the next few possessions. New York trailed 90-86 with 1:29 left before Taurasi hit a 3-pointer from the wing, pumping her fists at midcourt after it swished through the net that virtually sealed the victory.Phoenix was in control in the first half as the Mercury led by 15 points in the second quarter thanks to the play of Penny Taylor, who finished with 20 points. Trailing 52-41 at the break, the Liberty opened the second half on a 13-2 run capped by Tina Charles 3-pointer to tie it at 54. They trailed 68-67 after three quarters and the game was tied at 74 after Epiphanny Princes 3-pointer with 7:23 left in the final period.Tanisha Wright scored 21 points and Tina Charles added 19 to lead New York. The loss also marked the end of Swin Cashs career. The 15-year WNBA player announced during the season that she would retire after the Libertys season ended.Its tough to completely reflect right now, but Im really proud of this team, Cash said. Took some bumps along the way, injuries. We set a really solid foundation on how hard you have to work and what it takes to get to that next level.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg Jeff Kent Astros Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Dean Deetz Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. https://www.cheapastros.com/2483o-george...sey-astros.html .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- No. 3 South Carolina finished off three cruise-control wins on its home court. Things wont be so easy next time against No. 4 Louisville.The Gamecocks (4-0) routed St. Peters 93-38 on Tuesday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Womens Challenge. Alaina Coates has 16 points as all five South Carolina starters finished in double figures and handed the Peacocks (0-4) their 19th straight loss.Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley believes her program is ready for the step up in competition.Its a great way to put our identity on the line, Staley said. Its a good way to see where we match up with other great teams across the country.The tests wont stop for the Gamecocks after Louisville. Theyll travel to No. 14 Texas on Dec. 1, then close the road stretch at typically dangerous Duke. Theres also a home game Dec. 18 against No. 9 UCLA.Kaela Davis, the Georgia Tech transfer, scored 14 points, going 4-of-4 on three pointers. She said the teams runaway wins over the past three days -- the Gamecocks topped Hampton 92-38 on Sunday and Maine 79-42 on Monday night -- have helped the team develop flow and revealed deficiencies to work on at practice.Obviously, with our three-game stretch weve got coming up, we need to fine tune a lot of things, Davis said.Davis got the Gamecocks off quickly with a 3-pointer from the right corner. Allisha Gray and Bianca Cuevas-Moore also had early 3s and the Gamecocks led 13-2 four minutes in. Things trended South Carolinas way the rest of the game.The Gamecocks were up 64-21 at the break, tied for third most points in a half in program history.Aja Wilson had 14 points, Gray 13 and Cuevas-Moore 11 as the starter spent most of the final two quarters on the bench cheering their younger teammates.St. Peters coach Pat Coyle said the Gamecocks are hard for a team like hers to stop. We talk about the peaks and the vvalleys. Jose Cruz Jr. Astros Jersey. If youve got good kids, you get out of the valleys quickly, which we do, she said. After Thanksgiving, well regroup.Talah Hughes led St. Peters with 11 points, its only double-figure scorer.THE BIG PICTURESt. Peters: The Peacocks had a terrible time in Columbia, losing all three games by awful margins: to Maine, 59-43; to Hampton, 71-42; and to the Gamecocks. St. Peters was out-rebounded by South Carolina 27-7 in the first two quarters and committed 12 turnovers. They let the Gamecocks shoot better than 68 percent in the first half. It looks like another long season for the Peacocks.South Carolina: The Gamecocks showed they be dangerous from the outside, too, to go along with their post success. Davis hit all four of her first-half 3-pointers. All seven Gamecocks who took shots in the first two quarters had a shooting percentage over .500. If South Carolina can knock down outside shots, it will add to the effectiveness of 6-5 Wilson and 6-4 Coates down low.POLL IMPLICATIONSFor South Carolina, its simple: Beat Louisville and stay No. 3 or higher. Lose to the Cardinals on Sunday and expect to slide down a few notches.HOT SHOOTINGThe Gamecocks finished with season highs in field goal shooting and three-point shooting. South Carolina hit 37 of 66 shots (56.1 percent) from the field while making 10 of 24 shots (41.7 percent) from behind the arc.SHE SAID ITFor me, its about bringing these kids to experience this environment. Were a mid-major and were not kidding anybody, Coyle said.UP NEXTSt. Peters takes on Bowling Green on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts.South Carolina faces No. 4 Louisville on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '