Turnovers, Fouls Doom Mercury in Loss to Fever

The Phoenix Mercury struggled with turnovers and fouls in a 107-101 loss to an Indiana Fever team playing without Caitlin Clark.

Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald (2) shoots the ball for a three-point basket on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury got out to a hot start but were plagued by sloppy play in a 107-101 road loss to the Indiana Fever. Phoenix coughed up 17 turnovers and allowed a season-high 38 free throw attempts as the Fever took advantage of the visitors' mistakes en route to their third consecutive win, all without star guard Caitlin Clark. The Fever are now just a game and a half behind the Mercury for third place in the WNBA standings.

1st quarter

Phoenix entered the game with a full squad and zero players listed on the injury report and came out the gates hot. The Mercury were aggressive from the start, looking to attack the basket as Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally drove to the paint repeatedly. After Copper drew a foul on a post-up, Phoenix found themselves in the bonus halfway through the quarter, but Indiana trailed just two.

Phoenix broke the game open with an 8-0 run as Alyssa Thomas found Kathryn Westbeld for an open three, then Westbeld set up Copper for a corner three to push the lead to 10. The Mercury's aggressiveness in passing lanes was paying dividends on defense, as the Fever, who lead the league in turnovers per game, gave the ball up six times in the first. The Mercury led 30-20 at the end of the first, with eight made free throws, a result of their constant interior attacks. Thomas led the team with eight points, with Copper right behind her with seven of her own.

Jul 27, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) prepares to shoot the ball in the second half against the Washington Mystics at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images / Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

2nd quarter

The game flipped on its head in the second quarter, which was completely dominated by the Fever. The Mecury lead started to melt away early under a mountain of foul calls. Phoenix was in the penalty already with more than 7:45 left in the quarter and turned it over for the fourth time immediately after. The Fever built a 12-0 run on those Phoenix turnovers, three of which came on consecutive possessions.

Indiana started to find a rhythm offensively, especially in transition, where the Mercury frequently struggled to get matched up. After shooting just 40% from the field in the first quarter, Indiana was up to 52.9% for the game by halftime and were shooting 8-for-17 (a scorching 47%) from three. Many of them came on wide open looks. Indiana led by as many as eight and threatened to push it to double digits, but a late Chloe Bibby miss and a buzzer-beating Sami Whitcomb three cut it to five.

The Mercury wound up with eight turnovers in the second quarter alone, and Thomas had an uncharacteristic six all by herself. She and her teammates seemed to not be on the same page multiple times.

Aari Mcdonald led the Fever with 17 points on just one missed shot. Thomas and Copper had 14 and 12 points, respectively, but Satou Sabally had struggled, cashing in on just two of her nine attempts. The Fever held a 55-50 lead going into the halftime break.

Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald (2) yells in excitement Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

3rd quarter

The third quarter didn't start much better. The Mercury fouled twice on the Fever's first possession alone and they quickly wound up facing a nine-point deficit after an incredibly tough one-handed putback by Natasha Howard.

A contested corner three by Copper gave Phoenix their first points of the second half, but bad news soon followed. Monique Akoa Makani hit the locker room with apparent stomach discomfort. She returned to the bench eventually but sat out the rest of the game.

Phoenix managed to get Indiana's leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell, in foul trouble, but Damiris Dantas got to cooking off the bench. She hit a shimmy shot in the post to push the lead to eight, then scored again to give the Fever a double-digit edge. The Mercury found themselves in the penalty again.

With three-pointers not falling for the Mercury all game, Sami Whitcomb took it upon herself to attack the rim and a bench-heavy lineup got the Mercury back in the game. Natasha Mack collected an offensive rebound and fed Lexi Held for a midranger to cut it to two. The Mercury trailed just 74-72 after three quarters. Dantas had 12 points in just 10 minutes off the bench for Indiana, but 12 from Whitcomb helped Phoenix stay in it.

Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald (2) rushes up the court Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

4th quarter

The Mercury pulled to within one on a tough Copper and-one down the middle of the lane but things quickly fell apart. Aliyah Boston had been quiet up until that point, but went on a personal 10-0 run, absolutely feasting at the free throw line. She took 11 free throw attempts in the foruth quarter alone to fuel a 22-point performance. Bad foul after bad foul dug the Mercury a 12-point hole but there was hope for a moment.

Thomas pump faked her way to an and-one, then the Mercury forced a turnover in the backcourt and fed Whitcomb for a corner three. Down six, the Mercs appeared to have forced yet another turnover but Sabally dropped the loose ball and Sophie Cunningham got a wide open layup that effectively iced the game. The Fever held on to win 107-101.

The Fever shot 55% from the second quarter onward and were led by 27 points from McDonald on just 11 shot attempts and 22 from Boston. Thomas had a career-high 32 points, along with 15 boards and seven assists, but had eight turnovers. Copper was 6-for-10 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line and Whitcomb added 18 off the bench, but the team was let down by their defense and turnovers all night.

The Mercury will be looking to right the ship on Friday in Atlanta against the Dream, who beat them in Phoenix last Wednesday.

Check our Facebook and X pages for all things Mercury.

feed