Phoenix failed to score in the last 4:48 of their first loss of the season.
The Phoenix Mercury suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Seattle Storm, 77-70. The Mercury, who beat the Storm by 22 points on May 17, shot 3-of-18 in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we got good shots,” coach Nate Tibbetts said, via Desert Wave Media. “I thought the turnovers (the Mercury committed 20) maybe got us on our heels a little bit.”
Phoenix struggled to take care of the basketball and committed nine turnovers in the third quarter alone. After leading 61-54 with 3:37 to go in the third, Phoenix surrendered an 8-0 run and gave away the ball six times.
In the fourth quarter, rookie guard Monique Akoa Makani, who finished with 14 points and made three 3-pointers, made all three of the team’s field goals. Her 3-pointer tied the game at 70 with 4:48 left, but the Storm scored the final seven points in their win.
MO! MO! MO!
HUGE THREE POINTER FROM OUR ROOK pic.twitter.com/nqxuzE7EM8
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) May 24, 2025
“These are experiences that she needs,” Tibbetts said, via Desert Wave Media. “I think physically, from a defensive standpoint, she does a lot of good things.”
Added Akoa Makani, “I was just trying to get through the flow of the game. It was just the right thing to do at every moment.”
The Mercury were led in scoring by Alyssa Thomas, who had 16 points. She added 11 rebounds and seven assists, but she turned the ball over six times.
“A lot of self-inflicted,” Thomas said, via Desert Wave Media. “Lid on the basket. Just not playing our basketball, but we got a lot of first-year players. To be expected. After what we did the first game to them, we expected them to come out differently.”
Mercury forward Satou Sabally, the second-leading scorer in the WNBA entering Friday’s game, had 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Mercury return to play on Sunday at PHX Arena against the Washington Mystics. The game tips off at 3 p.m. MST and will be televised by Arizona’s Family and Arizona’s Family Sports.
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