The Phoenix Mercury suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in WNBA history Saturday night, falling 106-58 to the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
The 48-point margin tied the third-largest victory in league history. Only the Minnesota Lynx’s 59-point win over Indiana in 2017 and 53-point victory over Las Vegas in 2025 were larger. The New York Liberty also won by 48 points against Connecticut in 2025. For Las Vegas, Saturday’s result established a new franchise record for margin of victory.
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts described the performance as “ugly, disappointing, all the above” and said his team did not compete at an acceptable level.
“The reality is we can’t have any more of these,” Tibbetts said after the game. “It’s time for us to make a move if we’re going to make a move.”
Las Vegas controlled the game from the opening minutes. The Aces scored the first nine points and built a 29-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. Phoenix made only three of its first 17 shots and committed five turnovers during the period.
The deficit continued to grow in the second quarter. Las Vegas led by as many as 37 points before carrying a 57-22 advantage into halftime. The Aces extended their lead to 45 points during the third quarter and entered the fourth ahead 79-36. Their largest lead of the night reached 54 points.
A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three assists despite playing only 25 minutes. The four-time WNBA Most Valuable Player had already secured a double-double before halftime.
Chelsea Gray added 15 points and 11 assists, while Cheyenne Parker-Tyus scored 15 points and NaLyssa Smith finished with 14. The Aces recorded 31 assists on 39 made field goals, illustrating how easily they moved the ball against the Phoenix defense.
One of the night’s most notable performances came from rookie Justine Pissott, who scored 19 points in her first WNBA appearance. Pissott had been signed from the Indiana Fever’s development roster one day earlier. She made seven of eight shots, including five 3-pointers, while playing the entire fourth quarter. Her five 3-pointers established a league record for a player making her WNBA debut.
Phoenix was led by Monique Akoa Makani with 13 points. Lexi Held added 11, but none of the Mercury’s established veterans reached double figures. DeWanna Bonner, who recently became the third player in WNBA history to surpass 8,000 career points, was held to two points.
The team statistics reflected the size of the defeat. Phoenix shot 35 percent from the field and made seven of 31 attempts from 3-point range. Las Vegas shot 51 percent overall and converted 14 of 35 shots from beyond the arc.
The Aces also outrebounded the Mercury 47-29, held a 31-14 advantage in assists and committed only nine turnovers compared with Phoenix’s 18. Las Vegas scored 24 points following Mercury turnovers and held a 42-28 advantage in points in the paint.
The result dropped Phoenix to 8-16 and gave the Mercury their worst regular-season defeat in franchise history. Las Vegas improved to 17-6 and recorded its 13th victory in 16 games.
The loss was especially striking because Phoenix had routed Las Vegas 99-66 in the season opener on May 9. The Aces have since recovered and again emerged as one of the league’s strongest teams, while the Mercury have struggled to find consistent offense and defensive intensity.
Phoenix will have little time to recover. The Mercury are scheduled to visit the Minnesota Lynx on Monday, July 13, before returning home for two games against the Connecticut Sun.
