WNBA Star Thinks the Mercury Weren’t Ready Against the Aces on Sunday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Phoenix Mercury were hoping to continue their six-game win streak on Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces. However, the Aces were too much and handed the Mercury an 84-81 loss. The WNBA’s reigning MVP, A’ja Wilson, led the Aces with her 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists. Wilson also had a steal and a block against Phoenix.
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While Wilson was the only player for the Aces who had at least 20 points, the Mercury couldn’t contain her. The best the team could do was to hope that she missed.
The frontcourt tandem of Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally proved insufficient. Thomas had 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists on 50% shooting from the field. Sabally had 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Phoenix Mercury, coached by Nate Tibbetts, suffered a loss after six straight wins.© Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Following the contest, Thomas had a blunt reaction to their tough loss. According to her, the Mercury weren’t ready to face the Wilson-led team.
“I don’t think we came out ready to play tonight, there’s a different type of mentality you have to come out with and I don’t think we had it from the beginning. I think we kinda woke up in the fourth quarter,” Thomas said.
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However, the five-time All-Star wasn’t discouraged by the loss. According to the veteran star, she thinks the team, especially the young players, could learn from their loss against Las Vegas.
“We have a lot of rookies. This is a great test, a learning process. We’re still feeling each other out, learning our rotations as well. You definitely can learn from these games.”
The Mercury will have a long break before their next game, which is on Thursday. They’ll face the 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings, a team they’ve defeated at the start of their recent win streak.
Related: WNBA Star Declines Comment on Trade Rumors About Longtime Partner
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
