Satou Sabally poured in 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the visiting Phoenix Mercury defeated the Las Vegas Aces by a 76-70 count Sunday afternoon.
Alyssa Thomas chipped in 14 points and 13 assists for a double-double while Sami Whitcomb made four 3-pointers on her way to scoring 18 for Phoenix (8-4), which opened a four-game road swing on a high note.
Whitcomb helped ice the game with a trey from up top with 1:25 left, pushing the Phoenix lead to 76-70.
Kahleah Copper also played a key role in the win. The team’s leading scorer last year, Copper returned to the lineup from a knee injury and finished with 11 points in her regular-season debut.
The Aces (5-5) had three in double figures, including Chelsea Gray, who finished with 20 points while Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively.
Las Vegas was once again without reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, who has been in concussion protocol since leaving Thursday’s game against Los Angeles with a head injury.
Phoenix led the entire second quarter and was up 43-39 at halftime in this Commissioner’s Cup matchup.
Lexi Held gave the Mercury their first double-digit lead of the day at 60-49 when she buried a 3-pointer with 3:29 remaining in the third. Kierstan Bell answered with a long-range shot as the Aces pulled within eight at the 3:12 mark. The Mercury led 60-54 heading to the fourth.
Bell hit two free throws to trim the Mercury lead to 60-58 with 8:34 to play and later knocked down a 3-pointer that got Las Vegas within 67-65 two minutes later.
The Aces had two chances to capture the lead, but Gray and Dana Evans misfired from long range and Whitcomb and Copper hit field goals in a 29-second span to restore the lead to 71-65 with 5:16 remaining.
Sunday’s game marked the first of the regular season between the two Western Conference foes.
It proved to be a tightly contested opening quarter, featuring six ties and five lead changes. Sabally scored inside with 45.6 to play in the period for a 20-18 Phoenix lead but Gray answered with a jumper in the lane with 1.6 seconds left as the Aces and Mercury ended the first quarter tied at 20-20.
Copper scored her first points of the night on two free throws with 9:47 to play in the half, putting the Mercury up 22-20. Sabally pushed the Phoenix lead to 30-24 with 7:41 left as she hit two free throws to cap a 6-0 run.
Phoenix scored 22 points off turnovers and got 28 points from its bench. The Mercury are now 4-2 in Commissioner’s Cup play. The Aces are 2-3.
–Field Level Media
