Kahleah Copper and the Phoenix Mercury are coming off a strong 87-86 victory over Jose Fernandez and the Dallas Wings on Monday night. Star guard Paige Bueckers led Dallas with team highs, scoring 30 points while going 4-for-5 from behind the arc and dishing out seven assists. Forward Jessica Shepard hauled in a game-high 19 rebounds for the Wings in a game-high 36 minutes played.
Forward Alyssa Thomas contributed her 30th triple-double of her career, extending her all-time WNBA record. Thomas finished with a game-high 12 assists, secured a team-high 11 rebounds and scored 15 points. Guard Copper was the star of the show, finishing with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Copper was clutch in the matchup, scoring 16 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead score with 2.4 seconds left.
Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Following the game, in a postgame interview with the USA Network national broadcast crew, Copper spoke with Carlan Gay and Amy Audibert. While the focus was on the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP’s tremendous play, the 6-foot-1 guard made a candid reveal during the broadcast.
Gay asked the 32-year-old how she felt about getting back out on the court after missing the game with a groin injury. The former No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the 2016 WNBA Draft revealed that she was also dealing with a mysterious sickness, believing it to be the flu and noting her travels to Berlin as a potential reason for the unknown ailment.
“It felt good. I was also down with a sickness,” Copper said. “I caught a little flu, whatever it was, getting back from Berlin. So, just feeling much better…”
Despite the groin injury and the sickness, Copper was instrumental in the Mercury’s defeat of the Wings.
Phoenix will host A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.
