The Phoenix Mercury began a two-game road trip against the two best teams in the WNBA by nearly making history — but not the kind of history that anyone associated with the team might choose to remember.
The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Mercury 106-58 on Saturday, a 48-point loss that was the third-worst in WNBA history. A’ja Wilson led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. And in her WNBA debut, Justine Pissott added 19 points off the bench, shooting 5-for-6 on 3-pointers.
Believe it or not, this was a rematch of the WNBA Finals, which the Aces won in a four-game sweep for their third championship in four seasons. The Mercury also defeated the Aces 99-66 in their 2026 season opener.
The Aces took a 29-9 lead after the first quarter and had a 57-22 edge at halftime. With nearly seven minutes remaining in the game, Las Vegas led by 54 points, 92-38.
The largest blowout in WNBA history is a 59-point win by the Minnesota Lynx over the Indiana Fever, 111-52, in 2017. The Lynx put together a 37-0 run in that game.
Monique Akoa Makani scored 13 points to lead the Mercury and Lexi Held added 11 points. They were the only Mercury players to score in double figures, as the team shot 35% from the floor. Phoenix lost its third consecutive game to drop to 8-16, the fourth-worst record in the WNBA.
“The reality is, we can’t have any more of these,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said afterward. “It’s time for us to make a move if we’re going to make a move. You don’t want to come out and play like that.”
“Extremely disappointed for everyone involved — the players, the staff, the organization, the fans, everybody,” he added. “That was completely unacceptable.”
“The reality is, we can’t have any more of these,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said afterward. “It’s time for us to make a move if we’re going to make a move. You don’t want to come out and play like that.”
“Extremely disappointed for everyone involved — the players, the staff, the organization, the fans, everybody,” he added. “That was completely unacceptable.”
Pissott scored her 19 points in just 10 minutes. Her five 3-pointers were the most ever for a player making her WNBA debut.
A second-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 25 overall) by the Indiana Fever out of Vanderbilt, the 22-year-old played through training camp on a player development contract. After being waived this week, she quickly signed with the Aces.
Up next for the Aces is a prime-time matchup with the Fever scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Caitlin Clark is expected to play for Indiana, but will be on a restriction of 20-25 minutes as she continues to recover from a back injury, according to head coach Stephanie White.
The Mercury play the Lynx — tied for the WNBA’s top record with the Aces at 17-6 — on Monday in Minnesota.
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