PHOENIX — Kalia Copper scored 23 of her 30 points in the first half, Valeriana Ayayi added 18 points and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 90-67 on Thursday night for their third straight win.
Copper was 9 of 12 from the field in the first half, helping Phoenix (8-13) build a 55-36 lead. Copper scored her first points of the second half with 8:39 left in the game for a 75-60 lead. She finished 12 of 21 from the field.
Lexie Held scored 17 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers for Phoenix. Alyssa Thomas had nine points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and DeWanna Bonner scored six points on 3-for-10 shooting.
Ava Pham and Natisha Hiedeman each scored 13 points for Seattle (5-16), which fell to 1-9 on the road this season. Flower’jay Johnson and Jade Melbourne each had 11 points. Seattle lost 40–29.
Ezi Magbegor made her season debut for Seattle after missing the first 20 games with a foot injury. She scored eight points in 17 minutes.
Storm: Host Portland on Saturday night.
Mercury: Host Chicago on Tuesday night.