Diana Taurasi joked that her on-court feud with an opponent dates back to their college rivalry

• WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Marina Mabrey got into an altercation on the court Thursday night.
• Mabrey picked up a foul for trying to rip the ball from Taurasi, and Taurasi got a tech for her reaction.

Diana Taurasi joked that her feud with Dallas Wings star Marina Mabrey dates all the way back to their college days.

Midway through the second quarter of the Phoenix Mercury's home game Thursday night, Mabrey interlocked her arms with Taurasi's in a heated attempt to rip the ball out of the WNBA legend's hands. After the referee stepped between the two players, Taurasi — who's known to run her mouth with opponents and officials alike during games — let a comment slip that earned her a technical foul.

Mabrey, the initial aggressor, received a personal foul.

After she dropped 31 points in Phoenix's 10-point loss, the league's all-time leading scorer was asked if there was "any significance" to the altercation with Mabrey.

"Yeah," Taurasi replied with a straight face. "That goes back to Notre Dame versus Connecticut. I think you're too young for that though."

The Huskies, with whom Taurasi won three national championships during her college days, have long shared an intense rivalry with the Fighting Irish. But the 39-year-old sported a UConn jersey in the early 2000s; Mabrey arrived at Notre Dame more than a decade later.

After sharing a laugh with members of the press, Taurasi — who enjoyed her 50th 30-point WNBA performance — further clarified that there are no hard feelings between herself and Mabrey.

"Nah, it's just two people getting into it," Taurasi said. "She's a competitor. We all are. We see each other's faces a lot, and after the game we dap up, and we move on."

Taurasi and the Mercury will head to Las Vegas for a Saturday afternoon matchup against the league-leading Aces. Mabrey's Wings, meanwhile, will head home to host the Minnesota Lynx.