Noemie Brochant capped a career night helping lead the Phoenix Mercury on a late-game, 8-0 run to surge past the host Los Angeles Sparks, 94-87, on Tuesday.
The rookie Brochant posted career highs of 24 points and five steals, with the last of her swipes putting an exclamation point on the decisive surge for Phoenix (13-22).
Trailing 81-78 with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mercury flipped the script by forcing Los Angeles (12-20) into five crucial turnovers.
Brochant’s interception of a Rae Burrell pass attempt led to a transition basket for Alyssa Thomas, opening up an 86-81 Phoenix lead. The Sparks ended their 3:49 drought on the ensuing possession when Nneka Ogwumike knocked a 3-pointer, but another bucket from Thomas for two of her 16 points and Kahleah Copper’s steal of an Erica Wheeler pass effectively ended any hope of a Los Angeles comeback.
With All-Star Kelsey Plum sidelined in Tuesday’s finale of a five-game road trip, unable to face her former team, Phoenix relied on a balanced offensive attack. Four Mercury scorers reached double-figures, including Copper with 18 and DeWanna Bonner with 11.
Phoenix also got nine points from a perfect 4-of-4 shooting performance from Natasha Mack off the bench. Brochant’s 10-of-13 field-goal shooting led the way, which included connecting on 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
While Los Angeles won the turnover battle, forcing Phoenix into 24 to the Sparks’ 17 and scoring 24 points off takeaways to the Mercury’s 22, the timing of Los Angeles’ giveaways proved costly on a night the team struggled to shoot.
The Sparks finished 7-of-32 from beyond the arc, including a combined 1-of-15 from the perimeter duo of Burrell and Wheeler. Burrell matched Dearica Hamby’s team high of 19 points, but Burrell shot just 6-of-21 from the floor overall.
–Field Level Media
