PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — DeWanna Bonner scored a season-high 19 points, Natasha Mack added 16 points and the short-handed Phoenix Mercury beat the Portland Fire 78-72 on Friday night.
Phoenix (4-8) was without usual starters Alyssa Thomas (left calf) and Kahleah Copper (left hip) due to injuries.
Bonner sank a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down to give Phoenix a 64-62 lead. Jovana Nogic made the Mercury's final field goal with 2:46 remaining for a 68-67 lead and they never trailed again.
Five Phoenix players combined to make 10 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes, with Bonner going 4 for 4. The Mercury finished 19 of 22 from the line.
Noemie Brochant and Monique Akoa Makani each added 11 points for Phoenix. Nogic had a team-high six assists.
Sarah Ashlee Barker led Portland (6-6) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Karlie Samuelson made her first four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Teja Oblak added 11 points. The Fire were undone by 20 turnovers.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.