Kahleah Copper scored a game-high 25 points and Alyssa Thomas registered a triple-double of 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds to lift the visiting Phoenix Mercury to an 83-67 win against the skidding Chicago Sky on Sunday.
Phoenix (17-11) salvaged the finale of a five-game road trip in which it finished 2-3. The Mercury led by as many as 26 points after trailing by nine in the first half.
Phoenix regained the advantage to stay on Monique Akoa Makani’s pullup jumper with 4:31 left in the second quarter. The Mercury led 42-34 at the break before limiting the Sky to 33 second-half points. The Sky committed eight of their 12 turnovers after halftime.
Short-handed Chicago lost its eighth straight game to fall to 7-21. Angel Reese, the team leader in points, rebounds and assists, remained out with a leg injury while second-leading scorer Ariel Atkins (calf) also was sidelined.
The Sky shot 37.1 percent compared to 45.2 percent for the Mercury, who shot just 7-for-25 from beyond the arc.
Copper shined against her former team, finishing 8-for-14 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 effort from long range.
Sami Whitcomb chipped in 11 points for Phoenix while Kalani Brown grabbed nine boards. Thomas notched her second triple-double of the season and first since July 7.
The Mercury finished plus-five on the glass and outscored the Sky 30-3 on the fast break.
Elizabeth Williams paced the Sky with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double in six games while Michaela Onyenwere chipped in 13 points. Sevgi Uzun dished four assists for Chicago but also led the team with five turnovers.
The Mercury were without top scorer Satou Sabally, who missed the game due to personal reasons. Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said the absence was not related to Sabally’s benching during the season half of Friday’s loss in Atlanta.
Phoenix improved to 3-0 against Chicago this season. The teams are set to close the season series in Phoenix on Aug. 28.
–Field Level Media
