Overview
- Rookie Noemie Brochant scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting and helped spark a 16-6 closing run that decided the game Tuesday night.
- Alyssa Thomas scored nine of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, hit a late layup and made key free throws to seal the Mercury’s 94-87 victory.
- Kelsey Plum did not play after being listed out with left calf/lower-left-leg tightness, a concern that follows a nearly six-week absence earlier this season.
- The Sparks committed 16 turnovers that proved costly in the fourth quarter as Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell each finished with 19 points and Nneka Ogwumike added 18.
- The result snaps Phoenix’s three-game skid but leaves both teams with slim playoff odds and keeps pressure on roster decisions following the Plum-for-Monique Akoa Makani and draft-pick trade.