Mercury look to stay hot, catch Fever on a slide

Field Level Media|published: Thu 11th July, 18:12 2024

Jun 30, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.; Phoenix Mercury guards Kahleah Copper (2) and Diana Taurasi (3) and center Brittney Griner (42) wait for free throws during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Fever at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Chow-Arizona Republic

In search of a season-best fourth straight victory, the Phoenix Mercury begin a three-city road trip on Friday against the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis.

Winners of three in a row, Phoenix (12-10) has matched its longest win streak from May 18-23. Most recently, the Mercury rallied from an early deficit to top the Dallas Wings 100-84 on Wednesday.

After trailing the league-worst Wings by 11 in the first quarter, Kahleah Copper helped the Mercury outscore Dallas 84-57 the rest of the way. Copper, who leads the team with 23 points per game, poured in 32 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field.

"I was getting downhill early, not settling for jumpers or threes," Copper said of her performance Wednesday. "Our team challenges me. They don't let me settle on just playing offense. They challenge me to play defense, so I take pride in being one of the best two-way players in the league."

Copper leads the WNBA with seven 30-point games this year, firmly placing her in the league's MVP discussion. Following her scoring numbers for the Mercury are Brittney Griner (19.7 ppg) and Diana Taurasi (16.6).

After Friday's game in Indianapolis, the Mercury travel to play the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics before the league's hiatus for the league all-star game and the Olympics in Paris.

Fueled by rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, the Fever were riding a four-game winning streak from June 13-21, but they have since dropped four of six.

Indiana (9-14) trailed by as many as 22 against the Mystics on Wednesday, before nearly mounting a huge comeback. Behind Clark's 29 points and 13 assists, the Fever cut the deficit to just three points with a minute left, but ultimately fell 89-84.

"We definitely started slow and that's what killed us," Clark said. "Our fourth quarter was great, but you can't play one quarter of basketball and expect to win in this league. We've got to find a way to come out and have more energy."

Clark, who has registered a double-double in four straight games -- including a triple-double against the Liberty on July 6 -- leads the team with 16.7 points per game, 7.6 assists and 1.5 steals. She ranks behind only Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas (7.9 apg) atop the passing leaderboard.

--Field Level Media

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