PHOENIX- The Phoenix Mercury played their first game of a new era without Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi on Saturday, earning a victory over the Seattle Storm in the season opener in front of their loyal fans, known as the X-Factor.
Thomas and Sabally Lead the Charge for Phoenix
New Members of the Merucry, Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, scored a combined 47 points against the Seattle Storm in their debuts. They also became the second duo in franchise history to score 20 or more points each, making their debuts in the same game, and first since Taurasi and Penny Taylor, who scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, on May 20, 2004 (vs. Sacramento Monarchs).
In fact, the duo of Taurasi and Taylor went on to win three WNBA championships with the Mercury—in 2007, 2009, and 2014—while playing as teammates for ten seasons before Taylor retired nine years ago.
“I think where it really started was the defense setting the tone and getting those steals and those stops,” Sabally told the media postgame. “Then, Alyssa Thomas is the best at pushing it forward. I’m pretty good at it, too, and that way, it’s really hard to guard us. We kept the tempo up, and I think we dictated the game through that by setting the tone on the defensive side.”
How Sabally’s First Game with the Mercury Made History
Sabally achieved a remarkable feat by scoring 27 points in her team debut, setting a new record that surpassed the previous high of 24 points held by Charde Houston— who played for the Mercury in 2012. This performance also ranks as the fourth-highest point total for a Phoenix player in a single game, following Cappie Pondexter’s 32 points in 2008, Taurasi’s 31 points in 2011, and DeWanna Bonner’s 31 points in 2019.
Sabally also scored 17 points and made three three-pointers in the first half for the Mercury against the Storm, tying Gordana Gurbin for the most points scored in a half by a Phoenix player in their debut.
“Honestly, I was really thinking that even throughout training camp, you guys see on Instagram they post all the smiling pictures of us at practice,” Sabally said. “And they really found a great group of people and amazing women that just come together and want to work and that’s being shown through results. We have a lot of fun because we put in so much work and obviously, we like the results.”
According to Stathead, Thomas became the first player to record 20 or more points, five or more rebounds and five or more assists in their Mercury debut. She also spoke about how she and Sabally are developing team chemistry despite the absences of guard Kahleah Copper—who is expected to miss 4–6 weeks after undergoing left knee arthroscopy.
“I think it’s been natural. We just kind of feed off each other,” Thomas said. “We still have a lot to learn, but at the same time we are able to do what we do. I think it works well together.”
The Mercury achieved the largest margin of victory in franchise history for a season opener by defeating the Storm 81-59, winning by 22 points. This surpassed the previous record of 17 points, set in 1997 and 2014.
New faces, Same Goal For Phoenix
Phoenix had eight of the nine players making their team debuts, marking the second-most in franchise history, only behind the nine players who debuted for the Mercury in the league’s inaugural season.
One of the new faces, undrafted guard out of Notre Dame, Kathryn Westbeld, played 21 minutes of action and had nine points and five rebounds for the Mercury. Another rookie, guard Alexa Held, contributed to Phoenix’s bench with 11 points, two rebounds and three assists.
“It’s definitely been a long journey for me,” Westbeld said. “I was undrafted in 2018. I’ve been playing overseas the past six years, and it’s been definitely a grind. So to come out here and be able to get a start and get a great win for the first game of the season, it’s just really special. And the crowd really showed out tonight, it was electric, and it just felt so good for all of us. It was really fun.”
Westbeld and guard Monique Akoa Makani became the first pair of rookies to start a game in their debuts since 2006, when Pondexter and undrafted forward Jennifer Lacy started a season opener for the Mercury. It is also the fourth time Phoenix had multiple rookies start a season opener; the other times were in 1999 (Clarissa Davis and Edna Campbell), 2003 (Plenette Pierson and Nevirye Yilmaz), and 2006.
Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts acknowledged that the team is adjusting to the new system but expressed pride in their performance during the season opener, especially after training camp and dealing with injuries. He also highlighted Thomas’s ability to envision every coverage imaginable, as well as her toughness and intensity in the game.
“For us to come out and perform the way that we did tonight, is a credit to our group,” Tibbetts said. “I’m super proud of them. We had nine new players in Mercury uniform, and we were very organized and I just was really impressed with our approach and I want to give them a lot of credit for that.”
Storm Praises Mercury’s Strategy in Season Opener
Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike highlighted how having Thomas as a point forward, along with Sabally, who can play both guard and forward positions, puts pressure on the opposing teams and makes the Storm challenging to defend against.
“They have a point forward in AT (Alyssa Thomas), so that puts our defense in a different position,” Ogwumike said. “Having someone like Satou (Sabally) who also can play in the backcourt and the frontcourt, puts a lot of pressure on the different matchups and how they’re able to create and also score. It’s something that both are very, very capable of even without an offense. The way they’re able to organize the offense as two forwards, it’s a challenge, and that’s not something I felt we responded well to.”
Storm guard Skylar Diggins gave credit to how the Mercury executed their game plan and defense in their victory. Phoenix also won the rebounding battle 38-29 and held Seattle to a field goal percentage of 33.3 while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. It was also the Mercury’s first time holding an opponent to under 35 percent from the field since their victory at home over the Indiana Fever on June 29, 2023.
It was the Storm’s first time scoring fewer than 60 points since June 3, 2022, when they fell to the Dallas Wings at home. Coincidentally, in that game, Sabally had a double-double for her former team with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“First of all, credit to the Phoenix Mercury,” Diggins said. “Credit them. I thought they did everything better on paper than we did tonight – let’s just be honest about that. We got outrebounded, we didn’t make our free throws, we missed shots that are uncharacteristic for us from start to finish to start the game.
The Phoenix Mercury will face Kelsey Plum and the Los Angeles Sparks at home on Wednesday night while the Seattle Storm will face Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on Monday.
