The Phoenix Mercury will look to build on a two-game winning streak in the third game of a four-game road trip during a Commissioner’s Cup contest against the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday in San Francisco.
The Mercury (4-8, 2-1 Commissioner’s Cup) broke a six-game losing streak in Seattle on Wednesday and then won at Portland on Friday, when DeWanna Bonner stepped up in the absence of leading scorers Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper in a 78-72 victory.
“It’s been a tough start for us,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “I don’t think any of us are ducking that or hiding that. Momentum and belief are real. You have to have it to be a good team, and you need these kinds of wins to be a good team.
“We’re going to continue to get better. We’re going to continue to work.”
Bonner, a 17-year veteran, seemed to be everywhere in Portland. She had a season-high 19 points and added five rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocked shots.
In the absence of frontcourt presence Thomas (left calf), Tibbetts was able to play the 6-foot-4 Bonner at the four, where her length and quickness were disruptive. Jovana Nogic had nine points and six assists while starting in place of Copper (left hip).
“It was a good opportunity for everybody else to get confidence and get some reps in,” Bonner said. “We knew we had to step up.”
Thomas is listed as probable to play against Golden State, while Copper is questionable.
The Valkyries (6-5, 1-2 Commissioner’s Cup) have dropped two in a row and three of four to the league’s elite, falling twice to defending league champion Las Vegas and once to first-place Minnesota. They fell 84-79 at Las Vegas on Saturday.
Valkyries forward Gabby Williams scored a career-high 27 points against the Aces on Saturday, adding six rebounds and two steals.
“It was just mental mistakes,” Williams said of the last-minute loss. “We had great momentum in the last two, three minutes. In the fourth quarter, we just allowed little things to kind of distract us. We have to be better at that.”
Veronica Burton, who scored 15 points, put the Valkyries ahead 78-77 on a layup with 38.3 seconds left. However, after Jackie Young’s 3-pointer gave the Aces an 80-78 lead, Burton missed a potential game-tying free throw on the next possession.
“We’re facing great talent, great experience and teams that have a lot of heavy minutes in the playoffs,” Golden State coach Natalie Nakase said. “We’re building a great outlook in terms of our minutes and understanding the importance of every possession.”
–Field Level Media
