Copper scores 25, Thomas has another triple double as Mercury hand Sky 8th-straight loss

CHICAGO (AP) — Kahleah Copper scored 25 points, Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double and the Phoenix Mercury beat Chicago 83-67 on Sunday night, handing the Sky their eighth straight loss.

Thomas had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her second triple-double with the Mercury and her 13th in the regular season.

Sami Whitcomb added 11 points for the Mercury (17-11), who had lost two straight and five of six. They outscored the Sky 56-32 in the middle two quarters and had 30 fastbreak points to just three for Chicago. All-Star Satou Sabally was not with the team for personal reasons.

Elizabeth Williams had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Sky (7-21), who were without Angel Reese. Michaela Onyenwere also scored 13 points and Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Chicago was outrebounded 45-40 and outscored in the paint 46-34.

Reese missed her second straight game and fourth in five games with a bad back.

After making 5 of 25 shots in the first quarter when Chicago took a 19-13 lead the Mercury made 12 of 15 in the second and raced to a 42-34 halftime advantage. Copper had 10 points and Phoenix had 10 offensive rebounds and 17 fastbreak points.

The lead ballooned to 24 points in the third quarter as the Mercury made 10 of 16 shots.

The game featured sisters Maddy and Kathryn Westbeld facing off for the second time. Maddy was a second-round draft pick of the Sky and Kathryn made the Mercury after playing nine seasons overseas. Maddy had nine points in 22 minutes and Kathryn none in six minutes. Kathryn had 13 points in a 94-89 Mercury win in the teams’ first meeting early in the season, but Maddy did not play.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball