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Mercury legit title contenders after another statement win over defending champs

Courtesy: Mercury

In the first round of this Mercury vs Liberty regular season bout, Phoenix beat New York on the road without Kahleah Copper. They won by eight.

Could’ve been a fluke against the defending champions, so the league was locked in on the second round of this heavyweight matchup (this time sans Liberty’s Jonquel Jones). Phoenix landed another big left hook in this round, cruising to a 15-point win.

The Mercury have shown that this squad is not only a tough out every night, not only a threat…but that Phoenix is a legitimate title contender, with now only the 13-2 Lynx ahead in the standings…and that’s before they make any more roster additions.

“It started in training camp,” Alyssa Thomas said. “Everyone buying into what we want do this season. No one has been talking about us but we don’t care. We’re gonna do what we do each and every day. That’s what’s so special about us, that everyone’s on board. We go out there each and every day and compete.”

The X-Factor brought the energy, giving the players and coaches alike a taste of a true playoff atmosphere. They’ve seemingly gotten louder every home game, representing the growing trust & belief the fans have in their new-look franchise following Brittney Griner’s departure & Diana Taurasi’s retirement.

They got the win in historic fashion as well…

First WNBA team ever with back-to-back games 17+ three-pointers.

Broke franchise record with 18 three-pointers (the game after setting it at 17).

Tied franchise record with 30 assists.

Second time Alyssa Thomas ties single-game franchise assist record with 15.

Longest active win streak in the league with six.

 

It was also Kahleah Copper’s first home game of the year, Natasha Cloud’s return to Arizona, and the Sabally sisters squared off again.

Offensively, making those cuts and moving off ball is one thing, consistently making the defense pay by finding that extra pass has been the difference.

“We’re just paying attention to what the coaches present us,” Thomas said. “Just knowing the scout. Knowing what’s gonna be open against them and how they defend so credit to our team. We’re growing in that area.”

Mercury’s defense forced Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart to shoot a combined 9 of 22 from the field, while on the other end, PHX was able to establish the inside to open up three-point range.

“It’s a big part of what fuels our offense in general,” Sami Whitcomb said. “We know we’re gonna generate really good three’s. Obviously, it’s good when they’re going in but for us, like AT said, it’s about getting really good open looks, the best shot, and not always focus on the result…we know they’re gonna drop eventually…that’s been our biggest focus, getting stops so we can run.”

The roster’s depth continues to astonish with 38 bench points in this one and consistent production all year thus far.

Feels like everyone who touches the court is productive one way or another: hustle, passing, shot-making, even doing their part in facilitating when it isn’t Thomas running the rock.

“That’s a luxury we have.” Satou Sabally said. “We have a really stacked team. We’re somewhat healthy…everyone can play…that’s not the case for every single team so we’re definitely not taking that for granted.”

 

From the team’s leaders to the back of the bench, everyone’s comfortable in the roles they’ve naturally developed since training camp.

As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, and when your leaders are producing like Thomas (17 pts, 15 ast, 9 reb) and Sabally (25 pts, 7/10 3FG, 6 reb), everyone benefits.

Sabally’s growth over the course of the year has stood out to her teammates as well.

“It’s really exciting to see her thrive here,” Whitcomb said. “She takes on the sort of critical feedback we give her…she wants to be the best version of herself…every single game, I think she takes steps forward for us and it’s really fun to play with her.”

With the Aces and Lynx coming to town in the next couple weeks, head coach Nate Tibbetts and co. will use his team’s performances against these elite opponents as a barometer for where they’re at in their championship-building process.

As it stands, they’re ahead of schedule.

More sights and sounds from Mercury vs Liberty, round two:

 

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