​DeWanna Bonner joined an exclusive club as one of only three WNBA players to reach 8,000 career points, but the milestone came amid a somber Mercury defeat. The Chicago Sky halted Phoenix’s three-game win streak with a 77-66 victory on Tuesday, July 7. Bonner’s 12-point effort pushed her career total to 8,000 across 17 seasons, placing her in the company of Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles. “The tough part about a loss like this tonight is not being able to feel good about something,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “You still feel good about it, but after a win, there’s more recognition to something like this.” Bonner’s achievement highlighted a night of high effort backed by a quiet celebration within a harder defeat.
In the game action, Kahleah Copper led the Sky with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting, though the rest of her teammates struggled to support the offense, finishing 11-for-35 from the field (31.4%). Sydney Taylor added 16 points for Chicago, going 3-of-7 from three-point range. The Sky connected on 11 of 27 attempts from beyond the arc (40.7%) and outscored Phoenix in the paint, 30-22, with Azura Stevens grabbing 10 rebounds.
Phoenix’s offense showed signs of stagnation, managing a single quarter with 20 or more points and dipping to as low as 13 in the third period. The Mercury opened the night by allowing 11 points off Phoenix turnovers in the first quarter, a trend that intensified as the half progressed, with the team totaling 12 turnovers before the break compared to nine made field goals. “We didn’t ever get to a point where we felt good about ourselves, which is disappointing,” Tibbetts noted. “I think we all feel like we were making a step in the right direction.”
Chicago capitalized on the miscues, turning those turnovers into 16 points and taking a six-point edge into halftime. The Sky finished with 25 points off Phoenix’s 20 turnovers, a key factor in the final margin. “The gap was growing and growing, and it’s always harder to come back into something that looks fluid,” guard Monique Akoa Makani said. “I think we struggled a little bit with that.”
Alyssa Thomas provided a spark for Phoenix, but her night took a concerning turn when she injuriously rolled her left big toe midway through the third quarter after colliding with Sky center Elizabeth Williams. She did not return until the final minutes of the fourth, entering with 3:52 left. The Mercury gathered cautious optimism over her condition, mindful that she is a crucial piece for their next game, a matchup against the Indiana Fever on July 9. Tibbetts indicated the team felt cautiously confident about Thomas’s injury status enough to reintegrate her into the action, but the scare underscored Phoenix’s ongoing concerns as they seek to stabilize their rotation and offensive flow.
As Bonner celebrated her 8,000-point milestone, the Mercury will regroup from this setback, focusing on translating individual achievements into team momentum. The afternoon offered a reminder that personal milestones can coexist with team-wide challenges, and that sustaining performance across four quarters remains essential as Phoenix looks ahead to its next test.