Things were looking positive for the Phoenix Mercury with five minutes remaining against the Indiana Fever on Thursday, but then the mistakes started piling up.
The Mercury had dealt with error-filled stretches in the second half, but the late mistakes were especially costly and provided the Fever an opportunity to find their stride.
What was once a 10-point lead dissipated when Mercury point guard Monique Akoa Makani lost the ball to Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with one minute remaining. Cunningham raced down the court as Alyssa Thomas tracked her down, but then Thomas’ foul gave the Fever a chance to reset.
Ty Harris then hit a game-tying jumper with 44.5 seconds left.
From there, the teams traded baskets until Kahleah Copper was called for a loose-ball foul with 4.0 seconds left, sending Cunningham to the line for two successful free-throw attempts that sealed the 92-89 loss.
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“Kah had a really good game as far as getting downhill and getting in those actions,” coach Nate Tibbetts said. “I thought we had a couple of careless, silly turnovers in that second half that just hurts you. We didn’t have that many tonight, but they were big ones.”
Even with Caitlin Clark out for load management, the Mercury (8-15) couldn’t defend against Indiana’s 3-point shooting in the first quarter. The Fever made five first-quarter 3s and shot 6 of 10 (60%) overall to forge a four-point lead to end the quarter.
Copper’s 10-point performance in the second quarter brought the Mercury back into the game and gave them their first lead with 1:54 left in the first half.
The Mercury led by six at halftime, but four turnovers in the third quarter punctuated a 13-0 Fever run that sucked the air out of the Mercury.
There were good runs throughout the second half, including an 11-0 start to the fourth quarter, but the Mercury’s defense struggled to maintain the momentum and allowed the Fever to counter with significant runs. Of the Fever’s 25 points off turnovers, 14 came from the second half.
Thomas posted 22 points with six rebounds and seven assists, followed by Copper’s 22 points. Marta Suarez, who was elevated from her developmental contract to a seven-day contract, had a career game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Mercury's bench made an impact with 26 points against the Fever's 15.
Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) dribbles up the court against the Fever at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on July 9, 2026.
Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell led with 29 points and eight assists, while Aliyah Boston had 21 points with nine rebounds.
Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb made her season debut after missing the team's first 22 games with a left knee injury suffered in preseason. Whitcomb played 11 minutes and had two points with four rebounds.
Turnovers have been an issue for the Mercury over the past two games as the team has surrendered 25 points on turnovers in each game. With a quick turnaround ahead of a road game in Las Vegas on Saturday, Copper said her team needs “to slow down” to stop the mistakes.
“Sometimes, I think we’re just going too fast. Just really understanding the time and the score and what we want to do,” Copper said.
