Kahleah Copper scored 28 points and the visiting Phoenix Mercury outlasted the host Indiana Fever for a 111-109 victory Wednesday night in Indianapolis.
Copper made 6 of 10 shots and also made 15 of 16 free throws attempts en route to her third highest-scoring game of the season. Copper’s biggest play was a layup with 50.6 seconds left that gave the Mercury a 109-105 lead following her technical free throw.
Copper also drew a critical offensive foul on Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell with 22 seconds left and scored the game’s final point at the line with 5.5 seconds left after Sophie Cunnigham’s drive to the hoop made it 110-109 with 6.2 seconds left.
Alyssa Thomas added 24 points as Phoenix (6-13) won for the second time in 12 games this season when trailing after three quarters. Reserve Valeriane Ayayi contributed 19, DeWanna Bonner chipped in 13 and Noemie Brochant finished with 12 as the Mercury shot 59.1% and hit 26 of 33 free throws.
Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points before fouling out in the final minute as Indiana (10-8) played the fourth quarter without Caitlin Clark. Clark scored 19 points before exiting after the third due to a back injury.
Aliyah Boston contributed 23 as the Fever shot 59.1% and lost despite hitting 13 of 27 3-point tries. Indiana also allowed 23 points off 16 turnovers in a game that featured 13 lead changes.
The Fever cooled off after taking an eight-point lead on Boston’s layup a little over two minutes into the second and Bonner’s 3-pointer put Phoenix up 51-46 with 3:20 left. Indiana ended the half with a 9-2 spurt and Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 53.6 seconds left sent the Fever into halftime with a 55-53 lead.
Indiana took a pair of six-point leads in the final two-plus minutes of the third and settled for an 85-82 lead going into the fourth before Phoenix took the lead down the stretch.
Thomas’ layup put the Mercury ahead 106-100 with 1:40 remaining but Mitchell hit an open 3 seven seconds later, and following a missed 3 by Brochant, Boston’s layup made it 106-105 with 56.9 seconds left before Copper’s plays helped secure things.
–Field Level Media
