Diana Taurasi is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer

On a surreal afternoon in Los Angeles, Diana Taurasi became the all-time leading scorer in WNBA history, surpassing Tina Thompson atop the league’s career leaderboard.

Taurasi, who entered the game 14 points shy of the record, committed three personal fouls and a technical in the first five minutes of game action while the Los Angeles Sparks raced out to a 22-2 lead.

Only the sense of the moment kept an officiating crew from running her from the game.

Taurasi finally sank a three, a bank shot, before coach Sandy Brondello sat her midway through the first quarter.

But late in the second quarter, Taurasi set the mark, coming around a screen and sinking a layup.

The game stopped, Taurasi received a standing ovation, and a hug from her coach, Sandy Brondello.

Tina Thompson weighed in with this statement:

“Congratulations to Diana on becoming the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer. I am excited that it is Diana and it is my absolute pleasure to pass the torch on to her. She and I have shared so many amazing moments throughout our basketball careers, whether it was gold medals, championships or all-star games. Diana is one of the best players to ever play the game and definitely one of my favorites. She has done amazing things and I am so grateful that I’ve been able to share many of those with her. I am really excited for Diana and I think she is going to blow that record out of the water.”