Mercury Aim To Rebound Against Dallas

The Phoenix Mercury met the Las Vegas Aces at home on and lost 81-84. They struggled on defense but Coach Nate Tibbets believes that they are not worried on if they will or will not keep their hot season going.

Jun 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) looks to shoot over Phoenix Mercury forward Kathryn Westbeld (24) in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Coming off a seven game win-streak Nate Tibbets and the Phoenix Mercury got ready to play the Las Vegas Aces in a scrappy rematch. After winning their first battle 76-70 with stunning defense, the Aces flipped the script, slipping past the Mercury defense that had been faltering as of late, to narrowly win by three with a final score of 81-84.

The Mercury began the game fired up, attempting five shots for three and landing four of them for an astounding 80% team three-point percentage. Their offense rarely slowed down, averaging 20 points a quarter and finishing with five more points compared to their last showdown with the Aces.

On pace to win offensively, all the Mercury needed was to hold the fort down on defense. They did so very well in the first 10 minutes, allowing a shallow 15 points to the Aces. Had they kept the pace up they would have won roughly 80-60; however, they began slipping the moment the second quarter began.

They allowed eight wide open shots from within the arc, and three more wide open shots from outside the arc, gifting the Aces a relatively easy 25 points in the second quarter. After a solid start the Mercury headed into halftime not in the lead, but instead tied with the Aces at 40 points apiece.

The third quarter looked as though the Mercury had sacrificed offensive power for defensive sanctuary, holding the Aces down to 19 points but only scoring a solemn 10 points themselves. Satou Sabally carried the load on offense after doing relatively little, scoring 60% of the Mercury's points in the third.

Down nine going into the fourth quarter, Head Coach Nate Tibbets needed to wake up his team offensively if they wanted a chance at extending their win-streak to eight games. His team certainly woke up, scoring 31 points in the final ten minutes, but in the opposite way of the third quarter, the Mercury sacrificed defense for offense.

They let up another 25 points in the fourth, and the Mercury were barely edged out of the victory 81-84.

When asked about what was needed moving forward, Tibbetts said that, "every team presents new challenges. We'll get a couple more days of practice and continue to try to get better."

Amidst the tough loss, the Mercury still have momentum remaining from their seven-game win streak going into the rest of the season. While sitting with the second-best record in the WNBA , they will try to fix their mistakes as they take a road trip to Arlington, Texas to face the Dallas Wings on Thursday.

Please make sure you follow along with our Facebook page when you click here!

feed