Former Dandenong Ranger Penny Taylor led the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA championship earlier this week.– Paul Pickering
FORMER Dandenong Rangers star Penny Taylor capped a meteoric rise to basketball’s highest peak this week, leading the Phoenix Mercury to a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship in the United States.
Taylor made the hardwood of Dandenong Stadium her own between 1999 and 2002, claiming a Women’s National Basketball League MVP award as a Ranger before taking her skills to the courts of the US and Europe.
Leading all scorers with 30 points in the game-five decider against the Detroit Shock, Taylor defied a hostile 22,000-strong crowd at The Palace of Auburn Hills to steer the Mercury to a historic victory.
The determination that endeared Taylor to Dandenong fans was on full display as she overcame a consistent battering from Shock forward Plenette Pierson to nail a perfect 18 shots from 18 from the free-throw line.
Having averaged 18 points and six rebounds for the Mercury in her sixth season in the US, Taylor was last week named alongside fellow Australian Boomer Lauren Jackson in the All-WNBA First Team.
She will return home to Melbourne this week.
