{"id":285149,"date":"2025-11-11T11:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/285149\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T11:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:10:08","slug":"how-the-mercury-defeated-one-of-their-oldest-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/285149\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Mercury Defeated One Of Their Oldest Rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Mercury<\/a> had a great season this year, and prior to that, they improved after a difficult season. In 2023, the Mercury finished the season with a record of 9-31, and after bringing in a new star in Kahleah Copper and a new head coach in Nate Tibbetts, they improved to 19-21. <\/p>\n

\"Nate<\/p>\n

May 21, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts reacts against the Los Angeles Sparks in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images \/ Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Phoenix’s 2024 roster was much different from this year’s, but they still had their share of success. They beat teams like the Chicago Sky and the Dallas Wings, but they struggled against the Connecticut Sun and others<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In that season, the Mercury also won their season series against one of their oldest rivals. They beat the Los Angeles Sparks 4-0, and it started with a win during the Commissioner’s Cup. <\/p>\n

The Mercury beat the Sparks 87-68<\/a>, and Diana Taurasi’s big game gave them the victory. Taurasi finished the game with 31 points, two rebounds and two steals. <\/p>\n

\"Diana<\/p>\n

Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) laughs with guard Kahleah Copper (2) after being fouled against the Los Angeles Sparks during the fourth quarter on Sunday, June 2, 2024, at Footprint Center in Phoenix. \/ Michael Chow\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

While Taurasi stood out the most, this game was a balanced effort. Natasha Cloud had 21 points, 12 assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Copper had 12 points, three rebounds and a steal. <\/p>\n

In the second meeting, the Mercury beat the Sparks 92-78. That game was another balanced effort, and Copper was the leading scorer. She had 24 points, while Taurasi had 20, Brittney Griner had 18 and Cloud had 14. <\/p>\n

The last two games between these teams were closer, and Phoenix still picked up a win. They beat the Sparks 84-78. Cloud was the star of the show this time around, as she had 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Copper was the second-leading scorer, and she had a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five assists. <\/p>\n

Then, in the final game, Phoenix beat Los Angeles 85-81. The Mercury had five players who scored in double figures. Griner and Sophie Cunningham both had 14 points. Cloud and Taurasi had 13 points each, and MiKiah Herbert Harrigan had 10. <\/p>\n

\"Kahleah<\/p>\n

Jul 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) shoots the ball against LA Sparks forward Azura Stevens (23) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images \/ Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

When it came to this year, the Mercury nearly swept the Sparks, but Los Angeles won the final game. They beat the Mercury 88-83 in a game where Satou Sabally had 24 points. <\/p>\n

The Mercury and the Sparks have history, and in the last two years, Phoenix has had the upper hand. <\/p>\n

Please follow us on X to read more about the Mercury and how they played against teams like the Los Angeles Sparks when you click right here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Phoenix Mercury had a great season this year, and prior to that, they improved after a difficult…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-285149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}