Rookie’s career night helps Aces end Mercury’s winning streak

Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and rookie Aaliyah Nye, by leading the Aces to a stunning win over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday at PHX Arena, offered their team a reminder of what they have the potential to be.

The Aces entered the third quarter with a nine-point lead, but that disappeared when the Mercury opened the final frame on a 15-3 run.

Guard Sami Whitcomb’s 3-pointer gave Phoenix a 65-62 advantage with 6:35 to go. That led one of the Mercury’s broadcasters to poke fun at the Aces’ back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023, asking which club on the floor was the championship team.

The visitors responded with an answer. The Aces battled for an 84-81 victory and snapped Phoenix’s six-game winning streak.

Nye, the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s draft, hit two 3-pointers and guard Jewell Loyd made one to push the Aces in front 75-74 with 3:15 remaining. There were five lead changes after that. The Aces still finished on top.

“I have to give all the respect to Phoenix for sure, for making it hard on us,” Wilson said. “But I just love that we weathered the storm. I feel like the old Aces a couple of weeks ago would have probably crumbled.”

Wilson led the Aces (8-8) with 26 points and 18 rebounds. Her gritty rebound gave her team a two-point lead with 22.6 seconds left. Nye finished with a career-high 16 points off the bench.

Forward Alyssa Thomas had 16 points for the Mercury (12-5), who are still second in the WNBA standings.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Steady Wilson

Wilson arrived at Sunday’s game in a familiar outfit: A plain white T-shirt and gray sweatpants.

She stuck to that look during a rough stretch for the Aces last season, saying she felt she “didn’t deserve to put on clothes.” In a twist this year, Loyd, point guard Chelsea Gray and guard Jackie Young also showed up to PHX Arena in white T-shirts.

It seemed like the Aces, who were 2-4 their last six games before Sunday, were uniting to make another statement. Wilson said it was just a coincidence, however. She’s looking to set a steady tone in different ways.

“I have to remain calm so my teammates can understand that we’re good,” Wilson said. “We’ve spoiled a lot of people with our greatness, and right now, we’re just not great, and that’s OK. It’s not the end of the world. We still have the full potential to be our best, but I can’t be rattled because then the other 11 will be.”

Wilson said part of her responsibility is letting her teammates put their worries on her shoulders.

“That’s what I’m going to continue to do, so I can get the best out of my teammates,” she said. “So this is going to be a learning season for us, and we’re gonna continue to strive for our best and see where it goes.”

2. Rookie high

Nye was the last player to speak at the Aces postgame news conference, and for good reason. The guard out of Alabama needed time to dry off after her teammates doused her with water to celebrate her performance.

“She was good tonight. You know, every time she shoots, I think it’s going in,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “She just gives us the necessary space to operate.”

Nye shot 5-of-7 from 3-point range Sunday. Her strong shooting helped take some of the defensive attention off the Aces’ stars.

“It feels good, but it feels better to get a win,” Nye said. “I feel like every single day and every single game we’re getting better. We do have those times where we’re not our best, but I do feel like this team is going to take a turn going forward.”

3. Small ball

Hammon stuck with a smaller lineup Sunday even when the Mercury put their taller post players on the floor. That meant starting center Kiah Stokes only played nine minutes, while Nye played 20 and reserve guard Tiffany Mitchell played almost 21. Mitchell finished with six points.

“I just thought our offense was so stagnant and cluttered,” Hammon said. “So I just wanted to go small, to get another shooter out there for more space.”

Stokes has started every game this season and is averaging 2.3 points. Hammon was vague when asked if Sunday’s game encouraged her to keep trying new lineups.

“I mean, it could be anybody on any given night,” Hammon said. “I thought (the Mercury) were just completely disrespecting Kiah a little bit tonight. So that’s all it was.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.