Phoenix (AP) The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Golden State Valkyries 81-72 on Friday night, led by Pennsylvania native Alyssa Thomas, who recorded her 17th career triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 16 assists.
With 8:59 left in the fourth quarter, Thomas, a former basketball standout at Central Dauphin High School, grabbed her sixth triple-double of the season on a rebound. She then helped Monique Akoa Makani make a 3-pointer at the other end to give the team a 71-56 lead.The 2023 mark for the most triple-doubles by a WNBA player in a single season was tied by Thomas.
Akoa Makani led Phoenix (22–14) with four 3-pointers and a team-high 18 points. In addition, DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points and nailed four of the Mercury’s 14 3-pointers. The Mercury had just lost their lowest-scoring game of the season, 83-61, against Las Vegas.
With 15 points, Janelle Salaun led Golden State (18–18), while Veronica Burton finished with 11 points and eight assists. With 7:17 remaining in the third quarter, Tiffany Hayes and Kahleah Copper collided violently, and Hayes did not come back.
The rest of her Golden State colleagues went 6 for 26 to fall behind 41-31 after Salaun scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half.
With 1:33 remaining in the third, Thomas completed a 9-1 run with a shot in the lane to give the team a 64-50 advantage. With 1.2 seconds remaining in the game, Thomas found Bonner alone in the corner for a 3-pointer, giving them a 67-54 lead.
More
sports streaming
-
How to watch #13 LSU Tigers vs. #9 Ole Miss football: Time, TV channel, FREE live streams
-
How to watch #8 Tennessee vs. Florida Gators football: Time, channel, FREE live streams
-
How to watch #14 BYU vs. Arizona Wildcats football: Time, TV channel, FREE live streams
-
How to watch #11 Notre Dame vs. Stanford football: Time, TV channel, FREE live streams