Phoenix Mercury pull off upset over Connecticut Sun

The Phoenix Mercury (5-15) put the promises of a second half surge to work right away.

In Tuesday’s game, the Mercury not only earned its fifth win of the season, but topped the Connecticut Sun, the league’s third-best team, in a 72-66 victory.

Rested from the All-Star break, the Mercury came in with a renewed sense of purpose in the first half of the game. With a shorter margin of error for a playoff berth, the Mercury had to collect a win against a winning team, a feat Phoenix could not complete in the first half.

The Sun boasted a fearsome frontcourt, but were limited to less than 20 points per quarter and only allowed a deficit of two points in the game.

“No one has lost so much like we did in the first half, so I think we all needed a breather. We knew we had the pieces and the energy we had tonight on defense was what won the game for us,” Mercury wing Sophie Cunningham said.

An early start

Both teams were rusty from the start, but for the Mercury, once Cunningham made her first 3-pointer of the night, the game was rolling.

The shorter rotations for the Mercury gave bursts of energy that eventually led to more rebounds. With the Mercury finding an early rhythm, the team started seeing shots fall through and went 6-for-15 in the first six minutes.

Defensively, Brianna Turner and Brittney Griner locked down on the Sun’s stars and helped the Mercury’s ball movement.

“Our focus tonight was transition defense,” Turner said. “Making sure we get rebounding back on defense because they’re a really efficient team on transition. I think it was all in the game plan the coaches have for us is successful.”

Sophie Cunningham sparks rally

A nine-point lead heading into the second half wasn’t enough to sustain the Mercury as the team went cold for nearly five minutes in the third quarter. The Sun had momentum and cut the deficit to three points, but were stopped at the right time when Diana Taurasi connected with Cunningham for 3.

From then on, Cunningham was nearly automatic, going 3-for-4 at the 3-point line and contributing nine points in the monumental 12-5 run.

She finished the game with 17 points and shot 5-for-9 from the 3-point line.

Working through obstacles

The Mercury have dealt with Griner being double-teamed all season, but seemed to have found a way to fight back.

Griner led the team with five assists and made quick passes to teammates when she fell into a trap. She had 12 points, but wasn’t leading the team as in games past and allowed others to score. The depth then came about in players like Sug Sutton, Taurasi, and Jefferson, who all had big moments.

“She’s able to read where the double team is coming from, what windows are open, what players are diving or rotating, so we gave her the freedom to make those reads and she did a great job,” interim coach Nikki Blue said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury, Sophie Cunningham stun Connecticut Sun in 72-66 win