Phoenix Mercury secure wire-to-wire victory over the Chicago Sky
The Phoenix Mercury (6-15) secured a wire-to-wire victory over the Chicago Sky (8-13) in a team effort resulting in a 80-62 final score.
Led by Shey Peddy (20 points), Megan Gustafson (12 points) and Sug Sutton (11 points), the bench was huge in putting up 45 points on the night. Brittney Griner, while limited to 12 points, chipped in 11 rebounds and 3 assists to boost her squad. This was also Griner’s fourth double-double of the season.
“I can sleep easy tonight knowing that I was on the boards because my lovely wife here is always on me about boards. I don’t even want to go home after the game sometimes,” Griner joked. “In all seriousness, that just helps out the team when I'm able to get on the boards like that.”
Diana Taurasi missed tonight’s game with a quad contusion.
The Mercury have now won three of their last four games, including winning back-to-back games for the first time this season and are now 5-6 when at the Footprint Center.
Team effort sparks first half run
It’s no secret that the Mercury have several stars who are capable of taking over a game in a moment's notice. However, it was a collective effort from the entirety of the roster that put Phoenix ahead of the Chicago Sky early.
In the first quarter alone, eight different players scored for the Mercury with Gustafson leading with five on their way to a 22-8 lead after one. The bench posted 14 of Phoenix’s points in the quarter. The Mercury locked in on the defensive end of the floor as well, holding the Sky to 16.7% shooting (3-of-18) and forcing six turnovers.
“For BG not to have to have 25 points tonight and for everyone else to step up, this shows that we do have offensive threats out there,” Mercury Head Coach Nikki Blue said.
The Sky inched their way back into the game after trailing by as much as 17 in the second quarter. Shooting 45% from the field in the second, the Sky clawed back within nine after Alanna Smith’s bucket through contact. Gustafson and Peddy, however, continued to produce off the bench by chipping in a combined 15 points in the first half to hold a 40-30 lead.
Shey Peddy takes matters into her own hands
The Mercury took a commanding 19-point advantage in the third after back-to-back threes from Sophie Cunningham and Michaela Onyenwere. Despite trailing for a majority of the game, Chicago quickly cut the deficit to just two on the behalf of a 19-2 run. Kahleah Cooper was huge in their comeback effort, tacking on 10 points in the third period for Chicago.
Needing a spark to revive the squad, Peddy came up with an 8-0 run of her own to retake command of the ballgame. After making a three before the buzzer in the third, the former Temple guard added five points to the scoreboard to begin the fourth to take a 62-53 edge with 8:48 to go.
After rehabbing back from an achilles injury, it was hard for Peddy to refrain from smiling postgame after a job well done.
“It's amazing to be honest, I can't stop smiling,” Peddy said “I'm sure I will go home and still will smile. It was a long journey for me and just to be here and help my team out the way I did, it feels good.”
“I've seen it for the past nine months, rehabbing back from her Achilles, just being in the gym and shooting 500 to 1000 shots every single day,” Blue said. “I just knew some of those were just going in.”
The Mercury retained their double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest and coasted to a 80-62 win.
The Mercury will look to build on their only winning streak of the season on Sunday at 10 a.m. on the road against the Washington Mystics.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury secure a wire-to-wire victory over the Chicago Sky
