Diana Taurasi led thePhoenix Mercury 's epic road comeback to clinch a spot in theWNBA Finals.- After the win, the star told her very pregnant wife to "Hold it in, babe - I'm coming!" on TV.
If you thought you had a whirlwind weekend, just wait until you hear about Diana Taurasi's.
The WNBA GOAT started her Friday in Sin City, where she and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were set to take on A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces in a winner-takes-all Game 5 semifinals matchup with a trip to the 2021 WNBA Finals on the line. With her very pregnant wife - WNBA great
During her postgame interview, the league's all-time leading scorer looked into the camera on national television and instructed Taylor to "Hold it in, babe - I'm coming!"
-Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 9, 2021
Eight hours later, Taurasi was on hand in Phoenix to witness the arrival of her daughter. She took a private jet immediately following the game to expedite her trip back to The Valley and made it to the hospital with five hours to spare.
Isla Taurasi-Taylor was born Saturday at 4:24 a.m. local time measuring 8.7 pounds and 20.5 inches.
-Phoenix Mercury - X (@PhoenixMercury) October 9, 2021
Taurasi stayed at the hospital with her wife and baby girl - the couple's second child - until 7:30 on Sunday morning, at which point she returned home to shower and headed over to the Mercury's home arena to prepare for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals later that afternoon.
When asked how much sleep she got ahead of the series' opening contest, Taurasi quipped "enough."
"It's been a pretty eventful last two days," Taurasi said after the first game of the Finals, per ESPN's Mechelle Voepel. "I'm just really proud of this group. What we got done in Vegas was no easy feat. And then obviously flying home and getting the best win ever: a healthy daughter and a healthy wife."
But when Phoenix dropped the Finals opener 91-77 to Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky, Taurasi was reluctant to blame the losing effort - and her season-high six turnovers - on fatigue.
"We're not tired," Taurasi told ESPN's Ros Gold-Onwude before the fourth quarter of Sunday's contest. "We're just getting our ass kicked right now."
"I was pretty pathetic with the basketball today - that's on me," Taurasi added during her postgame media availability. "We can't turn the ball over like that, especially not in the Finals. That's just me being a bad basketball player. We'll adjust some things and hopefully will be in better position to get out of those traps."
Taurasi and the Mercury will have a chance to redeem themselves at home Wednesday night for Game 2 of the best-of-five series, which will air on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. The newly-minted mother of two is "really focused on what's next" because she knows "it's a really, really good team we're playing" in the Sky.
"We know we have to play better," Taurasi said. "We know we have to be better individually and collectively."