Mercury prevail in hard-fought 97-90 double OT win over Wings thanks to 29 points from Kahleah Copper

Kahleah Copper scored 29 points, with eight in double overtime, for the Phoenix Mercury as they came out victorious in a hard-fought, 97-90 battle over the Dallas Wings on Sunday afternoon.

In her home state of Texas, Brittney Griner was just a rebound shy of a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds for the Mercury (6-6). Powering through the challenges that Dallas threw at them, Phoenix willed their way to a 3-1 record in the 2024 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Arike Ogunbowale finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the Wings’ (3-7) fifth straight loss. Being a tough matchup all day for Griner, Tearica McCowan had 20 points and nine rebounds.

Both Teams Throw Everything On the Line

The Wings set the tempo early in the paint by scoring all 14 of their first quarter points and 11 defensive rebounds. Despite the momentum being in Dallas’ favor to begin, the score was tied 14-14.

Trying to match up to the Wings’ size, Phoenix found themselves fighting neck and neck with Dallas even though the halftime stats pointed not in the Mercury’s favor. Dallas led in points in the paint 24-18, outrebounded the Mercury 18-11 and shot 15-for-31 (48.4%) from the field compared to Phoenix going 14-of-34 (41.2%).

The Mercury did prevent the Wings from scoring threes in the first half, finishing the first quarter with 0-for-6 and limiting Ogunbowale to just four points. Phoenix also capitalized off of nine Dallas turnovers with eight points the other way.

Back in her home state of Texas, Griner imposed her will on the Wings by presenting a strong presence in the paint and being able to score while going up against McCowan.

In her second game of the season after missing the first 10 with a toe fracture on her left foot, Griner was proud of where she is from and her team rallying around her.

“It’s always good to be back in Texas, love being able to come back here and play,” Griner said. “Feel good, felt great out there. My teammates are super encouraging, they have been there the whole time I was out and down. They never made me feel like I wasn’t part of the team. They kept me right in the loop and encouraged me. I am glad to be on this side now and help out.”

Dallas went on an 8-0 run about midway through the third quarter before Tibbetts called a timeout, regrouping the Mercury and discussing how to not let the game get away from them.

Out of the huddle, the Mercury responded with a 9-0 run and would then outscore the Wings 16-8 before the third quarter ended 56-54. Sophie Cunningham connected on two 3-pointers during the stretch, and ended with seven points on Sunday afternoon.

But to power the Wings from trailing 61-56 to trading the lead back and forth with the Mercury, Ogunbowale scored six points in the fourth quarter. She was nearing triple-double territory throughout the game before falling just short on rebounds (7).

While Griner and McCowan had their own contested matchup against one another, Copper was tasked with defending Ogunbowale and she detailed how important it was to stay focused when guarding a superstar like her.

“Good players you got to just slow down,” Copper said. “I was making sure I was contesting every shot, she is super shifty. I just wanted to stay in front and contest shots.”

Both teams would trade buckets with 17 lead changes and 14 ties before Griner had the opportunity to make a free throw with 33.1 seconds left, but missed, sending the game to overtime.

Mercury Needed Extra Time to Settle the Score

The Mercury’s trend of turnovers caused self-inflicted damage, having the opportunity to take the lead but losing the ball and being punished by Dallas. The battle between McCowan and Griner continued as Griner scored on a lob before McCowan grabbed an offensive rebound and converted on a quick layup.

After being the hero with a game-winning 3 against the Minnesota Lynx, Copper’s dominance translated into double overtime with eight points, including a crucial layup towards the end.

When speaking on how her star-studded performances are a testament to her teammates’ trust in her, Copper believes that it is a big boost to her confidence, and therefore, translates in crucial plays in crunch time.

“It’s a testament to them because when I miss shots, they are just so encouraging,” Copper said. “It’s easy for when I turn the ball over, just trying to make the right play. I had six turnovers, and not one time did I hear my teammates like, ‘C’mon.’ Everything was like super encouraging and when you have that confidence and you know they have that belief in you, you are able to make those plays.”

This marked the first time the Mercury beat the Wings since August of 2022 as they had lost five straight games against them coming into the matinee.

“We have been super resilient all year,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We just keep fighting, we got a team full of fighters and I thought in the first half we played really well defensively. We didn’t let us missing shots affect our defense. I thought we had some great looks… Credit to our group, I have really tried to manage the minutes. Our starters really stepped up, great to have BG [Brittney Griner] back.”

Next Games

Mercury: Home vs. Las Vegas Aces (5-3) | June 13 | 7 p.m. PT

Wings: Home vs. Seattle Storm (7-3) | June 13 | 4 p.m. PT