The Phoenix Mercury (4-11) hosted the Las Vegas Aces (10-4) on Wednesday night for a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center.
The Mercury were coming off of three straight losses, while the Aces had won six out of their last seven matches.
“We all want to win,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We haven’t done that at the level that we expected, and we just got to keep our head down and keep working. There’s definitely hope for sure.”
The Aces were the defending WNBA Champions, having swept the Mercury in the WNBA Finals last year.
Even then, the Aces were without Dana Evans (leg) and Chennedy Carter (Illness), while Jewell Loyd (illness) was on Game-Time Decision.
On top of that, Las Vegas was led by A’ja Wilson, a three-time WNBA champion and four-time WNBA MVP winner, who averaged 25.6 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, and 2.2 blocks per game.
“A’ja (Wilson) is one of the elite players in our league,” Tibbetts said. “We’re going to have to make it tough on her, she’s (an) MVP candidate every year. We’re going to have to guard her one versus five and just make it tough.”
As for Phoenix, Kahleah Copper was going to be a main factor for them, as she led the team with 18.8 PPG.
Phoenix still had other notable players, such as Alyssa Thomas, who was averaging 8.1 APG, the second most in the WNBA.
Despite being eliminated from making it to the final of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Mercury had a chance to eliminate the Aces, as a loss for Las Vegas and a win from either Minnesota or Dallas would see Las Vegas be eliminated.
The two had also met previously for both teams’ season openers, in which the Mercury won 99-66.
“It was a long time ago,” Tibbetts said. “I think just the excitement of a new season, game one, us playing there again after losing to the finals are things you can take. I just love how forceful we were. Those are the things you want to continue to keep carrying over.”
Before the game began, Loyd was given the green light to play against Phoenix.
The first four minutes were even between each team, but Copper was already showing her presence for Phoenix, as she scored eight points out of Phoenix’s 10.
Las Vegas took a seven-point lead, but Mercury kept pushing, as they made two threes in a row, before taking a one-point lead, leading to an Aces timeout.
Entering the second quarter, it was a 28-24 Mercury lead.
“It’s a possession game,” Tibbetts said. “22 turnovers for 28 points or whatever it was, it’s not good. You’re not going to give yourself a realistic chance to win the game.”
Despite Copper scoring eight points, it was DeWanna Bonner with 10 points, leading the charge for Phoenix.
Thomas had also racked up five assists in the game.
As for the Aces, Wilson had eight points, as Jackie Young trailed her with seven points.
NaLyssa Smith also grabbed six points, but the biggest factor was the bench and three-point shooting.
The Mercury had 16 bench points, while the Aces only had two, and when shooting from three, Phoenix was 4-for-5 from three, while Las Vegas was 1-for-6 from deep.
“We shot 43% from three,” Tibbetts said. “I’d say that’s probably one of our better shooting nights.”
Entering the second half, the Mercury led 49-45, with Copper leading the way with 14 points, while Bonner trailed with 10 points.
As for the Aces, Wilson had 18 points, and Jackie Young followed with 12 points.
Outside of them, only Smith had more than one basket made.
Las Vegas continued to struggle from beyond the arc, going just 2-for-10 from deep, and Mercury had 27 bench points compared to the Aces four.
“I don’t really look at it as (a) bench,” Jovana Nogic said. “When you’re on the court, there’s five people on the court. You build that chemistry in practice.”
Despite having the lead for most of the game, the Aces were up 68-64 entering the fourth quarter.
“I think we were just careless at times,” Tibbetts said. “We’ll have to take a look, but you just can’t do that. It gets them out in transition and it’s deflating in the turnovers, for sure.”
Copper was leading the way for the Mercury with 21 points, while Thomas had 11 assists and eight points, as she looked for her double-double.
As for the Aces, Wilson had 26 points, while Young trailed her with 20 points, alongside having seven assists.
Despite starting strong, the Mercury went 1-for-7 from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
With eight minutes to go, the game was tied at 69 a piece.
With just over six minutes left, the Aces were able to take a 75-69 lead, and Thomas went down after she took a shot to the face, before getting back up and heading to the bench.
With three minutes left, Phoenix was still down by five.
In the end though, Vegas kept up the pace, winning 86-76.
For the Mercury, Copper finished with 26 points, while Nogic finished with 12 points.
Thomas got her double-double, with 10 points and 11 assists.
As for the Aces, Smith grabbed 21 points, and Young trailed with 20 points.
Even then, Wilson paved the way, as she finished with a double-double of 33 points and 11 rebounds.
Las Vegas’ win also confirmed their spot in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final.
The Mercury fall to 4-12 while the Aces jump to 11-4.
The Mercury will welcome the Seattle Storm on Saturday noon at Mortgage Matchup Center.
