Phoenix Mercury’s underdog title run falls short, as Aces sweep WNBA Finals

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury dropped Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, 97-86, ending their championship run with a sweep at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces on Friday at Mortgage Matchup Center.

The Mercury cut a once 20-point deficit to six points during the fourth quarter in a second straight comeback attempt, but the Aces maintained a multiple-possession lead to the finish line.

The Aces won their third championship in four seasons, building a dynasty under head coach Becky Hammon and the game’s best player, A’ja Wilson.

Kahleah Copper led the comeback with a monster 30-point performance, as she was electric off the dribble to get to the basket. She fouled out with 90 seconds remaining and was issued a technical foul on her way out, a crushing blow with the Mercury down eight.

Phoenix already had to play Friday’s game without All-Star Satou Sabally due to a concussion, while head coach Nate Tibbetts received an ejection in the third quarter for getting into it with officials.

Fellow All-Star Alyssa Thomas went to the locker room at the end of the first half with trainers supporting her right shoulder, but she came back out to play the entire second half. Thomas fittingly finished her All-WNBA First Team campaign with a triple-double, producing 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

There were moments when it looked like Friday’s game would really get away, especially in the first half, but the Mercury showed resilience to continue competing even when overmatched.

“We’ve just been resilient all year,” Tibbetts said. “We competed again tonight after getting down. I think it was 20 in the first half or early in the third. We just keep playing for 40 minutes. I think when you do that, you always give yourself a chance. And that’s why we’re one of the last two teams here.

“These are opportunities for us to continue to build towards a championship. You look at that team out there and all the experiences they’ve been through together, that stuff matters, right? … They’ve been there and that’s something we’re building towards.”

After the buzzer, Copper gave a message to her teammates to hear the Aces celebrating, making sure to remember the moment.

“Feel the hurt and hear the celebrations just to let it fuel us for the future,” Copper said. “I’m proud of this group, how we just continuously responded to adversity all year.”

Wilson paced the Aces with 31 points, including 17 free throws. The Aces finished the game with 29 free throws on 35 attempts, which drew criticism from Tibbetts. Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray added 18 points each.

Las Vegas took a commanding lead with a 15-4 run between the end of the first quarter and start to the second, when it looked like the team could not miss a shot. The Aces shot 9-for-17 from deep in the opening half to take a commanding lead before the Mercury got stingier on defense and the boards.

One of the biggest differences in the game was Phoenix’s 18 turnovers (26 points) compared to Las Vegas’ seven (six points).

“Proud of the group.”

Kahleah Copper, Nate Tibbetts and Alyssa Thomas react to the end of the Mercury’s playoff run. pic.twitter.com/AM8kwo9QgX

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 11, 2025

Mercury come together to chase championship with new roster

The Mercury entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the WNBA after remaking their roster with Diana Taurasi retiring and Brittney Griner leaving in free agency after the 2024 season. Thomas and Sabally were the franchise’s marquee additions, joining Copper to build the strong core of a roster with two players left from the year before.

Tibbetts is a second-year head coach, hired by general manager Nick U’Ren, who is a second-year GM.

“For a new group to come together the way we did and competed, just says a lot about who’s in our locker room,” Tibbetts said. “Everyone bought in to the vision. …  This is a special year. You want to get to the finals and win the finals. It doesn’t always work out the way you want, but I’ve just loved what we’ve started to build here.”

They took out the defending champion New York Liberty in the opening round, 2-1. That set up a matchup with the top overall seed and 2024 runner up, the Minnesota Lynx.

Phoenix upset Minnesota in four games to reach the WNBA Finals for the second time in five years (2021).

The Mercury had their chances over the first three games of the series, particularly in Games 1 and 3. Phoenix led Game 1 by as many as nine points, Thomas missed a pair of clutch free throws in the final 24 seconds and Sabally’s potential game-tying triple at the horn missed.

Phoenix came back from down 17 points to tie Game 3 in the fourth quarter, but Wilson hit the game-winning shot with less than a second remaining.

“ I think what made the run so special in the first and second rounds was how we played together,” Thomas said. “We moved the ball, we didn’t complain or let anything bother us. The finals is hard for a reason. I’ve been saying every stage, it gets harder … Definitely a learning experience for a lot of players in our locker room that have never been on this level.”

Now begins a key offseason for the WNBA with a new collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated and two new teams joining the league (Toronto and Portland).

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