The Mercury’s week at home didn’t go as planned. As the struggling team begins a three-game road trip with a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Atlanta Dream in College Park, Ga., Phoenix can’t afford to fall any further behind.
Since opening the season with a surprising 99-66 blowout of the Las Vegas Aces, the Mercury (2-4) have dropped four of their last five, including consecutive home losses to the Toronto Tempo and Los Angeles Sparks.
Just seven months removed from a WNBA Finals appearance, head coach Nate Tibbetts is eager to see his group come to life.
“I think you have a standard that you want to keep and what you want to be about, and we’re not there yet,” Tibbetts said. “We’re going to find a group that competes. I like this group. I like where we can get to, we’re just not there yet.”
Kahleah Copper leads the Mercury with 18.5 points per game, while Alyssa Thomas adds 17.7 and Jovana Nogic averages 15.3. Phoenix’s defense has been among the team’s biggest negatives, allowing 92.2 ppg across the last five contests.
Atlanta (3-1), meanwhile, is coming off its best all-around performance of the young season. The Dream held the Dallas Wings to nine first-quarter points before smothering them for an 86-69 win on Friday.
“I thought the defensive effort was outstanding,” Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko said. “There were stretches in that game where that’s about as high-level defense as you’re going to see. I hope we can still get better.”
Fifth-year star Rhyne Howard is averaging 18 ppg, but it’s her two-way ability that’s impressed Smesko the most through two weeks of play. Howard scored 25 points on Friday while holding Dallas’ Paige Bueckers to 3-for-13 shooting from the field.
“Rhyne is locked in and she had an amazing all-around game,” Smesko said. “I’ve seen it in training camp and all year. This has been a different approach for her from the beginning. I think we’re starting to see what she’s capable of becoming. Hopefully it keeps building from here.”
Allisha Gray paces Atlanta with 22.8 points per contest, while offseason acquisition Angel Reese has compiled 11.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
