Sun Shut Mercury Down, 75-72
Published on August 7, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release
Uncasville, CT - The Connecticut Sun (8-23) shut out the Phoenix Mercury (12-21), 75-72, Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Off the bench, Kennedy Burke and Aaliyah Edwards led the Sun in scoring, with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Edwards also pulled down eight rebounds to lead the team. Leila Lacan and Diamond Miller had nine points apiece, with Lacan tacking on four rebounds and a steal and Miller adding four rebounds and one block.
Alyssa Thomas also claimed the first points of the night with a drive to the rim. Miller caught a dime from Leila Lacan to notch the Sun's first points of the game, but Thomas answered immediately for Phoenix. DeWanna Bonner found herself under the rim and put up some points, but Charlisse Leger-Walker responded with a deep three for the Sun. Kelsey Plum added a three to the Mercury's score before Lacan grabbed her first points with a jumper in the paint. Noemie Brochant snagged back-to-back buckets to give Phoenix a six-point advantage early in the first frame. Plum added a three-point play to accelerate Phoenix's lead to nine points, but Olivia Nelson-Ododa battled to the rim to knock down two points for her first points of the game. Edwards entered the game with a second-chance point to bring the Sun within five points. Plum scored again with a shot from downtown. Leger-Walker followed with a three of her own before Kahleah Copper grabbed a basket and the and-1. Natasha Mack tacked on another basket for Phoenix to push their lead up to 12 points. Hailey Van Lith hit a mid-range pull-up shot to take the final points of the quarter to cut it down to single digits.
Nelson-Ododa found the rim to claim the first points of the frame, but Bonner and Copper helped extend Phoenix's lead. Plum added a bucket, followed by Copper. Nelson-Ododa hit from within the arc and Burke snagged the ball from Plum to rush down and grab a fastbreak basket. Burke grabbed two more from the foul line, but Plum countered with a shot from mid-range. Burke then grabbed another basket at the rim to close the deficit to single digits. Copper and Rivers exchanged points to end the first half with Phoenix ahead, 40-32.
Miller shot a dagger out of the gate, followed by Bonner claiming Phoenix's first points of the second half. Thomas scored at the rim, but Edwards knocked one down from within the arc to follow that up. Edwards then grabbed a second bucket, and Brittney Griner brought the Sun within three points with her power to the rim. Lacan hit a shot from mid-range to close the gap to one point just under halfway through the third. Brochant gave Phoenix a buffer with a quick basket at the basket and Bonner denied Connecticut points on the other end, but Griner answered with a shot from mid-range. Lacan put Connecticut ahead with a deep two and Griner swatted a basket from Bonner to give the Sun an edge. Thomas tied it up at 47 at the foul line and Mack reasserted Phoenix's lead with a grab at the rim. However, Edwards tied everything again with a deep two and Lacan forced a massive turnover on Thomas to keep the Sun close to the Mercury.
Sami Whitcomb tackled a three to open the fourth frame, but Van Lith responded with a three for the Sun. Saniya Rivers shot from mid-range to tie again. Copper hit a a shot from beyond the arc to reestablish the Mercury's lead, followed by Plum's muscle to the rim. Edwards picked up two points at the charity stripe before Burke hit a three to tie the game with five minutes remaining in play. Rivers grabbed a shot within the paint to put Connecticut ahead. Plum tacked on a bucket for Phoenix to bring the Mercury within one point, then put them ahead with two shots at the line. Miller shot down a three and Edwards rushed to the paint to give Connecticut a four-point lead, but Plum knocked that down to one-point with a three. Burke answered with a deep three to push the Sun ahead by four points. Copper surged to the rim to put up two to bring Phoenix within two points. Lacan scored at the line before Plum added a basket to keep Connecticut ahead by one point with 16.6 seconds remaining.
The Sun outshot the Mercury from three, going 7-of-20 from deep compared to Phoenix's 5-of-28. Connecticut outrebounded Phoenix, 34-29, and swatted more blocks, 5-1, with Griner accounting for two. Phoenix had more steals, 10-5, and more points in the paint, 40-32, as well as forced more turnovers (11-18) and points off turnovers (13-20), but Connecticut dominated with points off the bench, 39-9.
Game Notes:
The Sun swatted down five blocks in comparison to Phoenix's lone.
Connecticut dominated off the bench, with 39 points against the Mercury's nine.
Phoenix surged ahead in steals, 10-5.
Team Score Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 PTS REB AST
CON 75 18 14 17 26 Burke - 15 Edwards - 8 Leger-Walker - 5
PHX 72 27 13 9 23 Plum - 25 Bonner - 11 Thomas - 5
NEXT GAME: The Sun face-off against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, August 13, at 7 PM EST at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 7, 2026
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- Valkyries Set Franchise Record with 27 Assists in Win over Wings - Golden State Valkyries
- Dream Suffers a Road Loss in D.C. - Atlanta Dream
- Sun Shut Mercury Down, 75-72 - Connecticut Sun
- Sky Return to the United Center to Challenge Fever to Close out Home-Stand Slate - Chicago Sky
- Fever Head to Chicago for Saturday Showdown with Sky - Indiana Fever
- Dallas Wings Expand Front Office Senior Leadership Team - Dallas Wings
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