With postseason hopes on the line, the Phoenix Mercury needed to start the post-All-Star break stretch with a win.
And the Mercury (11-18) did so in dramatic fashion with a 13-point comeback to gut out a 91-89 win against the Golden State Valkyries (19-9) on Wednesday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
"We're trying to go get wins, and this is the time of year to do that," coach Nate Tibbetts said. "I liked our focus. We got no more time to mess around; we got to lock in every night. ...
"To get into the playoffs, it's going to be a tough journey and we got to be in it together in every possession and we did that tonight."
Kahleah Copper willed the Mercury's offense back into the game in the second half when she scored 13 of her 27 points in the third quarter. Copper's seven points on 3-of-3 shooting cut a nine-point lead to four with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
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The Mercury were dealt a tough hand when Copper fouled out with 1:45 left in the game while holding a three-point lead. Tibbetts challenged the call, but it was upheld.
After the review, Golden State's Kayla Thornton hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 1:36 left.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper drives along the baseline as Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes defends at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on July 29, 2026.
From there, the teams countered each other.
The Mercury fouled Janelle Salaun's 3-point attempts twice, but DeWanna Bonner's play helped the Mercury maintain their lead. Bonner not only scored five points off free throws, but forced a key lost-ball turnover on Tiffany Hayes' inbound pass with 14 seconds left.
Once Bonner had shot her free throws with four seconds left, the Valkyries didn't have any time or moves left.
"We haven't won at the level we wanted to start the year and to see the joy in that locker room, this is why we do this (expletive)," Tibbetts said. "This is why we want to have fun and winning is fun. We won the right way. We were competitive, we fought and battled adversity and stuck together and got it done in the end."
The Mercury benefited from the Valkyries' early shooting woes in the first quarter and used a late 11-0 run to gain some separation.
But Golden State found its rhythm near the end of the quarter and carried it into the second quarter. The Valkyries quickly erased the Mercury's lead and went up by as much as 12 in the quarter.
Led by Cecilia Zandalasini's 11 points, the Valkyries were hitting their marks in the second. The Mercury didn't counter defensively and were caught flat-footed by the Valkyries' five 3-pointers in the last three minutes of the quarter.
With Golden State forward Gabby Williams out, the Mercury faced the Valkyries without one of their top playmakers. Once the Mercury went with a bigger lineup in the second half that relied on reserve forwards Valeriane Ayayi and Natasha Mack, Phoenix started to see a difference.
Alyssa Thomas attacked the paint more, leading to her securing 20 of the Mercury's 40 paint points.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas celebrates after making a shot while being fouled by Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on July 29, 2026.
Thomas said going to the bigger lineup allowed the team to "keep body and body" and get stops on defense.
It also led to her scoring 15 of the Mercury's 31 points in the fourth quarter. Thomas finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
"We went to a big lineup, so that was a lot of point guard for me," Thomas said. "Kah had it going and DB had it going, so I just found my moments to attack and score. My job is to get everybody else involved, and I felt the fourth quarter was my time to take over a little bit."
The Mercury will have another crucial home game against the New York Liberty on Saturday, just one day before the WNBA trade deadline on Sunday.
Whether the Mercury will tinker with their roster ahead of a four-game road trip remains to be seen.
