Mercury defeats Wings as Thomas and Mack return

The Mercury and the Wings started off the game evenly paced. Phoenix took a slight lead, 21-20, after the first quarter. Although both teams struggled from beyond the arc, the defense was key to keeping each other balanced out.

Phoenix started to play more aggressive defense in the second, ending the half leading Dallas 42-36. As the third quarter started, more of the same aggressiveness kept the Wings from scoring opportunities. The Mercury’s offense was spread out, with eight different players scoring six or more points.

Things broke open in the fourth quarter when Phoenix took a 16-point lead with 5:11 left. The Mercury kept rolling and eventually sealed their seventh win of the season.

Satou Sabally led the scoring for the Mercury with 20 points, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.0% from three.

Paige Bueckers had an amazing performance for the Wings, despite the loss. She scored 35 points — a career-high — shooting 68.4% from the field and 71.4% from beyond the arc. Bueckers went on a 6-for-6 run at the beginning of the game.

Return From Injuries

Thomas immediately made an impact on her return with 11 points, 10 assists and two rebounds in the win. Mack had two rebounds and had one assist in her first game of the season.

Head coach Nate Tibbetts highlighted their productivity on the court, and how Thomas continued to get comfortable as the game progressed.

“[Thomas] does such a good job at getting to the paint and finding our shooters,” he said. “If you’re a shooter in this league, that’s a player you want to play with.”

Tibbetts believes that Mack will only continue to get better the more time she has to play.

“Some possessions didn’t go her way, but you felt her energy,” said Tibbetts. “She’s going to continue to just get more and more comfortable.”

On The Road

The Phoenix Mercury will now take a trip to Sin City to face the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, June 15 at 3 p.m.