05/27/26 08:26:00
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05/27 20:25 CDT New York Liberty beat the Phoenix Mercury 84-74 boosted by 23-0
third-quarter run
New York Liberty beat the Phoenix Mercury 84-74 boosted by 23-0 third-quarter
run
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Marine Johannes scored 21 points, Jonquel Jones added 17
points and keyed a huge run to close the third quarter as the New York Liberty
beat the Phoenix Mercury 84-74 on Wednesday night.
The game was a rematch of last season's first-round playoff series that the
Mercury won en route to reaching the WNBA Finals. Both teams are different this
season as Satou Sabally came to New York from Phoenix. Coming into the game she
was questionable to play because of an illness that forced her out of Monday's
game. She warmed up but was scratched an hour before tipoff.
While Sabally was out, along with Sabrina Ionescu (back), the Liberty did
welcome back Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Leonie Fiebich. Laney-Hamilton had
missed a few games for personal reasons. Fiebich was recovering from winning a
Spanish league title.
The Liberty (4-4) trailed 55-49 with 6:09 left in the third quarter when coach
Chris DeMarco put Laney-Hamilton into the game. New York responded with a 23-0
run to close the quarter that included 10 points from Jones. The Mercury (2-6)
had eight turnovers, including three on offensive fouls during the drought.
New York led 72-55 heading into the final quarter and Phoenix finally ended its
nearly seven-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer in the corner from Monique
Akoa Makani. The Mercury could only get within 10 in the fourth as they dropped
their fourth consecutive game. It was Akoa Makani's first game of the season as
she was finishing her overseas commitments.
Kahleah Copper scored 19 to lead Phoenix.
The Liberty ended their three-game losing streak, which was the team's longest
since 2022.
Johannes kept the Liberty in the game in the first half with her hot shooting.
She had 15 points at the break, hitting five 3-pointers, including four in the
first quarter. She finished with seven 3s.
The Liberty led 24-22 after 10 minutes. Led by Copper, Phoenix was up 43-42 at
the half.
Up next
The teams will play each other again on Friday night.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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