Mercury Hold On To Win Nailbiter Against Storm

Phoenix surpassed last season's win total with 11 games left in the season, thanks to a dramatic road win over the Seattle Storm

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Kathryn Westbeld (24) shoots the ball over Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga (14) during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury bounced back from two consecutive losses and pulled out a close road win against a Seattle Storm team that was celebrating the unveiling of a new Sue Bird statue. Phoenix led for nearly the entire game, but it was always close, and a few huge plays in the final minute wound up making the difference.

The win kept the Mercury in their fourth-place spot in the standings and knocked the Storm to below .500. The season series between the two teams will end even at 2-2. Alyssa Thomas had a massive performance, leading the team in scoring while picking up her fifth triple-double of the season.

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) is fouled by Seattle Storm guard Brittney Sykes (20) during the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

1st quarter

Monique Akoa Makani wasn't able to play because of a knee issue, so Sami Whitcomb took over her place in the starting lineup, as expected. The Mercury got off to a great start, taking an early 10-2 lead despite a few sloppy passes, thanks to some strong defensive play. The Storm were scoreless for nearly two minutes before Skylar Diggins hit a tough shot in traffic and Gabby Williams followed up with a three.

Despite sticking to an eight-player rotation as of late, Kathryn Westbeld, DeWanna Bonner, Lexi Held, and Kitija Laksa had all come off the bench before the end of the first quarter, an adjustment made to provide extra depth with the team's starting point guard out.

Held found Westbeld for the an open three, before hitting one of her own, giving Phoenix back-to-back makes from deep after missing their first five. The Storm were just 4-for-14 from the field to start the game, but stayed in it with some solid defense of their own, especially from ultra-athletic rookie Dominique Malonga. Phoenix led 20-17 after the first quarter.

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) throws the ball back inbounds during the first half against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

2nd quarter

The Mercury had to deal with a scoreless streak of their own to open the second quarter. They hadn't scored in nearly three minutes before Satou Sabally earned a trip to the line to get them back on the board and they went five minutes without a made field goal (a three by Kahleah Copper was called off for a shot clock violation) until Alyssa Thomas hit a spinning layup to five them a three-point lead.

Phoenix gave the ball away for the eights time with just under four minutes remaining in the first half, and their turnover issues kept them from building their lead.

After a skillful step-through bucket by Nneka Ogwumike, two quick threes from Whitcomb gave Phoenix their biggest lead since the opening minutes, but Ogwumike struck back with a three of her own. Phoenix headed into the halftime break up 43-37.

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams (5) shoots the ball while guarded by Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner (14) during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

3rd quarter

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading buckets. Seattle started to threaten Phoenix on the fast break but Phoenix managed to keep the lead throughout. A gorgeous give-and-go between Copper and Thomas, followed by a Copper three from the wing pushed the Mercury's lead to seven, but Gabby Williams answered with two fast break layups to cut Seattle's deficit to two.

Deep into the third quarter, the Mercury still had zero points off Seattle turnovers, due in large part to the Storm's hustle in getting back and contesting shots on the break. Williams, Brittney Sykes, and Malonga all used their speedn and length to keep the Mercury from converting easy buckets in transition. A Westbeld corner three over a Malonga closeout gave Phoenix a 67-60 edge heading into the final quarter.

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) shoots the ball against the Seattle Storm during the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

4th quarter

The Seattle offense kicked into high gear to open up the court. They were still having very little success shooting from the outside, but Williams continued to wreak havoc on the break and Erica Wheeler hit a couple of tough jumpers off the bench, including the three that put Seattle up 78-77, giving them their first (and only) lead of the game.

Momentum seemed to have swung in Seattle's favor and the home crowd was on their feat. Another Phoenix turnover gave the Storm a chance to build up a lead, but Bonner came through with a big defensive stop and Copper caught a bounce pass on the break from Thomas to retake the lead. She scored again on the next possession with a baseline drive and a finish between two defenders.

A push shot from Thomas put Phoenix up by six with 21.2 remaining, but Phoenix errors nearly gave the game away. Sabally rebounded a miss on a spinning shot from Ogwumike but was stripped before the Mercury could call timeout and Seattle scored on a putback. Phoenix got the ball back up by three with 12.5 seconds left.

Thomas threw an inbounds pass meant for Copper well behind her and Sykes raced down the court for the easy layup, cutting the lead to one. The Mercury barely inbounded the ball on the following play, but they got it to Whitcomb, who calmly buried two free throws.

The Mercury forced Wheeler to take an awkward shot that landed nowhere near the rim as time expired and they held on to win, 85-82.

Aug 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) shoots the ball over Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Phoenix held the Storm to 4-for-22 shooting from three and just three offensive rebounds, but let the Storm stay in the game by turning it over 17 times. Ogwumike led the Storm with 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting, while Diggins and Williams added 14 and 13, respectively.

Thomas led Phoenix with 19 points, along with 10 boards, 11 assists, and three steals, while Copper put up a 17-5-4 stat line on 50% shooting. Whitcomb added 15 on three made threes and six free throws, while Bonner had 10 off the bench.

Phoenix is now 20-13, beating last season's win total. Their next game will be on Tuesday night, against the Golden State Valkyries.

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