Sami Whitcomb had 29 of her career-high 36 points in the first half, Alyssa Thomas had her 12th career regular-season triple-double, and the host Phoenix Mercury beat the Dallas Wings 102-72 Monday to break their first two-game losing streak of the season.
Thomas had 15 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds and Kiana Williams had 17 points off the bench as the Mercury avenged a 98-89 loss at the Wings on Thursday while playing without injured starters Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper.
Whitcomb, a nine-year veteran, made 12 of 19 field-goal attempts and seven of 11 3-pointers, tying a career high with seven 3-pointers.
JJ Quinerly had 18 points and five assists, Aziaha James had 15 points and Paige Bueckers had 11 points for the Wings, who had won five of seven. They played without starters Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington.
Bueckers, who was 3 of 11 from the field, had 58 points when the teams split the first two games of the season series. James had a career-high 28 points in the Wings’ victory Thursday.
Whitcomb’s previous career high was 30 with the New York Liberty on June 26, 2021, when she made seven 3-pointers. Her high this season had been 18.
The Mercury put the game away with a 19-0 run in the third quarter for a 71-42 lead in a game they never trailed. It was tied once, at 4-4.
Phoenix made 14 of 32 3-pointers. They led the league with an average of 10.3 treys per game coming in. The Mercury had 29 assists on 36 field goals while breaking 100 for the third time in five games.
Whitcomb started quickly, hitting a 3-pointer on the Mercury’s first possession and scoring 11 of their first 12 points with three 3-pointers. She had 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting in the first quarter when the Mercury took a 28-19 lead.
Her fifth trey gave the Mercury a 33-21 lead one minute in the second quarter. James’ driving layup midway through the period trimmed the deficit to 37-31, but that was as close as the Wings got. Phoenix closed the first half on a 15-8 run for a 52-39 lead.
The Wings had a 44-43 rebounding edge but committed 18 turnovers and shot 36.0 percent from the field.
Williams had eight points in the third quarter and Whitcomb and Kathryn Westbeld had seven apiece in the third quarter, when the Mercury outscored the Wings 30-17.
–Field Level Media
