Phoenix Mercury falls short against the Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota played without one of its top scorers, with Napheesa Collier out due to injury. Kayla McBride helped lead the Lynx on offense scoring 20 points, shooting 36.4% from the paint and 42.9% from three. She made all nine of her free throws.

Alanna Smith was just behind McBride, scoring 19 of her own, shooting 53.3% of her field goals and 33.3% from three. Courtney Williams had seven assists in the win. Jessica Shepard had the most rebounds for the Lynx with 10. However, Minnesota’s most valuable play came from Natisha Hiedeman in the final seconds of the game.

With a 71-71 tie in the fourth, Mercury’s Sami Whitcomb couldn’t get a clean pass to Satou Sabally and McBride took advantage with a steal. Hiedeman shot a go-ahead three-pointer in the last six seconds of the game from an assist by Williams, sealing the win for the Lynx.

Adjustments On the Court for Mercury

In a press release before the game, the Mercury announced Alyssa Thomas was out due to a left calf injury. This necessitated the team making adjustments during the game without their head playmaker. Head coach Nate Tibbetts was impressed with the Mercury competing against a team that made the finals just last season.

“Just a great experience for our young players to go through,” said Tibbets after the game. “… These are the games, with our effort, we gave ourselves a chance and I’m proud of that.”

With a team that needed players to step up against a tough Lynx team, forward Kalani Brown answered the call. Brown had her best game in a Mercury uniform scoring 15 points and shooting 87.5% from the field. Tibbetts credited Brown for adjusting to the team and a new system.

“[Brown] made some big plays for us tonight,” he said.

Brown said she feels more confident coming out of the game, touching on how she’s been able to find her groove in Phoenix.

“It’s been an adjustment in the system,” Brown said. “Just to feel some normalcy felt good.”

Sabally was the Mercury’s leader in scoring in the loss scoring 26 points, shooting 50% from the field but 0.0% from three. However, Sabally contributed in other areas with 11 rebounds.

Shaking Off the Loss

The Phoenix Mercury hit the road to California for its next game, facing off against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, June 1 at 3 p.m.