Slumping to 33.3 percent shooting in a game typically doesn’t bode well for victory. Good thing the Phoenix Mercury feel so great about their defense.
While boosting the offense ranks atop the Mercury’s list of objectives entering Tuesday’s visit from the Chicago Sky, Phoenix also hopes to show it can win in multiple ways.
Sunday’s 68-62 home victory against Washington offered the latest example for the Mercury (3-1), who made 21 of 63 shots from the field (33.3 percent).
“Our defense won us that game,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said.
Chicago (0-3) may not like the sounds of that after the Mercury forced 29 Washington turnovers on Sunday.
Chicago has committed 57 turnovers over its first three games with its average of 19 per game ranking as the most in the WNBA. The Sky had 17 giveaways during Sunday’s 91-78 road loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
“Turnovers have been our Achilles’ heel,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. “They continue to be something we struggle with and have to work on. It’s (the third consecutive) game where we had more possessions than our opponent, and we’ve come out on the wrong side of it.
“Those possessions are valuable. … We have to be able to handle the pressure and manage the ball.”
While the Sky remain winless, they’re encouraged by a bounce-back effort from Angel Reese, who kept Chicago afloat with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double on the heels of scoring just two points during Thursday’s loss to New York.
“She was locked in, communicating, rebounding, pushing it up the floor,” Marsh said.
Phoenix has relied on offensive balance with guard Kahleah Copper (left knee) sidelined for another three to five weeks.
Monique Akoa Makani scored 13 points against the Mystics to lead three players in double figures. Held below her season scoring average of 19.8 points per game, Satou Sabally flirted with a double-double, contributing 12 points and nine boards.
The Mercury are off to a 3-0 start at home.
“Just playing in front of this crowd, it’s special. It’s special,” Tibbetts said. “It’s not like this everywhere.”
–Field Level Media
