Mercury’s Akoa Makani helps team make history with 3-point milestone

Rookie guard Monique Akoa Makani had another standout game, scoring 18 points and shooting 66.7% from beyond the arc. Her four 3-pointers made league history, as Phoenix became the first team with four different rookies each hitting four or more 3-pointers in a game, joining Kathryn Westbeld, Lexi Held and Kitija Laksa.

“[Akoa Makani] has had a wonderful year,” Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts said after Friday’s game, according to the team’s post-game recording. “… These performances keep showing up, which is awesome. She puts a lot of pressure on herself. She’s a perfectionist, but she’s had a special year and this was one of her best performances of the year. We needed it.”

The Mercury rookie has averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds for the team this season. She ranks third among rookies this season in 3-point field goal percentage, 41.0%, and 3-point field goals per game, 1.3.

Akoa Makani wants what’s best for the team and to contribute in any way she can.

“I think we’re just simple people, you know?” she said, according to the team’s post-game recording. “We don’t think too much. We come out here to just give our best for our team, because obviously we got that opportunity and it’s just about taking it, you know?”

Akoa Makani’s career in the WNBA is only beginning, but with the rookie season she’s had up to this point, there’s no doubt she’ll continue to find more success in her professional journey.