Sabally scores 20, Kitija Laksa adds 18 to help Mercury beat winless Sky 94-89
PHOENIX (AP) — Satou Sabally scored 20 points, rookie Kitija Laksa added a season-high 18 points and the Phoenix Mercury rallied from a 16-pointdeficit in the second half and beat the winless Chicago Sky 94-89 on Tuesday night.
Alyssa Thomas had 10 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the Mercury. Thomas moved past Tamika Catchings (1,488) into 12th place in WNBA history with 1,503 career assists. The five-time All-Star became the first player in WNBA history with at least 10 points, five assists and five rebounds in each of the first five games of a season.
Kathryn Westbeld and Monique Akoa Makani — who was a game-time decision due to illness — scored 13 points apiece and combined to hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Mercury.
Angel Reese had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Sky. Ariel Atkins added a season-high 21 points, Kamilla Cardoso had 16 points and nine rebounds and Courtney Vandersloot finished with 15 points and 11 assists. Kia Nurse, who went into the game shooting 6.6% (1 of 15) from beyond the arc this season, scored 14 points, including four 3s.
Vandersloot made a layup about four minutes into the third quarter that gave the Sky a 16-point lead, but Laksa hit a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in the period to cap a 12-2 run before Chicago took a 71-67 lead into the fourth.
Sabally made a driving layup with about seven minutes to play that gave the Mercury its first lead since the opening minutes at 74-73. Akoa Makani and Laksa hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Mercury the lead for good at 80-75 with five minutes to go.
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