The Mercury came back from a big deficit to beat the Sky and improve to 4-0 at home.
The Phoenix Mercury (4-1) rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit last night to beat the Chicago Sky (0-4), 94-89. The Mercury are 4-1 to start the season for the first time since 2014.
Trailing 58-42 with 6:46 left in the third quarter, coach Nate Tibbetts challenged forward Satou Sabally, the team’s leading scorer, to respond. The Mercury went on a 9-0 run after a timeout and out-scored the Sky 23-13 for the rest of the quarter.
Sabally, who had a game-high 20 points, made a layup to give Phoenix a 74-73 lead with 7:02 left in the fourth.
“I thought in the third quarter she wasn’t very good to start,” coach Nate Tibbetts said. “That’s probably the first time I’ve really kind of challenged her. We need her to be great.”
Video: Alyssa Thomas spoke about tying the Mercury record for assists in a game (15), and Kitija Laksa commented on her 18-point night off the bench postgame:@BrightSideSun pic.twitter.com/8SDFqOa5Ek
— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) May 28, 2025
Phoenix’s comeback effort included 15 assists from forward Alyssa Thomas, tying the most assists for a Mercury player in franchise history (Cappie Pondexter set the record in 2009). Thomas also passed Tamika Catchings and became No. 12 all-time in WNBA assists.
The first to ever do it.
With a stat line or 15 assists, 10 points, and 7 rebounds – AT becomes the first player in WNBA history to record 10/5/5 in each of her first five games of a season. pic.twitter.com/9JTXkw1gjL
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) May 28, 2025
“It’s an honor,” Thomas said. “Definitely a reason why I came here, the history and all the players. But the credit goes to my teammates.
Without Thomas, a two-time reigning All-WNBA first-team honoree, and Sabally, a first-team All-WNBA pick in 2023, the Mercury would not be the same team. The Mercury need them to produce since Kahleah Copper is out for multiple weeks.
Phoenix has played multiple first-year players, however, who have made an impact. For the first time in WNBA history, the Mercury had four rookies (Kitija Laksa, Lexi Held, Kathryn Westbeld, and Monique Akoa Makani) make three or more 3-pointers in a game.
“Credit to Phoenix, they did their research,” Thomas said. “Before coming here, they told me that they were going out to find shooters. They definitely delivered on that.”
While Phoenix forced 19 turnovers, its offense is the reason it prevailed against Chicago. The Mercury were 12-of-18 from 3-point range in the second half.
Even though the Sky had lost their first three games by an average of 24.3 points, the Mercury faced a big challenge. Forward Angel Reese finished with a double-double at 13 points and 15 rebounds. Chicago’s five starters all finished in double figures in the loss.
Up next, the Mercury face a massive challenge against the WNBA runner-ups from 2024, the Minnesota Lynx. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be televised by Arizona’s Family and Arizona’s Family Sports.
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