PHOENIX — Layla Lakan scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 96-83 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night in the first of back-to-back meetings between the teams.
The Sun (7-18) won back-to-back games for just the second time this season and are 5-3 in their last eight games.
Kennedy Burke scored 13 points, Britney Greiner and Aaliyah Edwards each scored 12 and Diamond Miller added 11 points for the Sun.
Kali Copper had 21 points to lead the Mercury (8-18), who have lost five straight. Alyssa Thomas had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Valerian Ayayi scored 13 points and DeWanna Bonner grabbed 10 rebounds and scored eight points.
Lakan hit a 3-pointer, converted a 3-pointer and then hit a layup that capped an 11-0 run and gave Connecticut a 19-point lead with 4:10 remaining in the second quarter.
The Mercury went nearly four minutes without scoring, missed nearly five field goals and committed eight of their 13 turnovers in the second quarter.
Griner, who played her first 11 WNBA seasons with the Mercury, was playing in just her second game in Phoenix since she and the franchise parted ways after the 2024 season.
Sania Rivers returned from a two-game absence with a left ankle sprain and scored six points in 14 minutes off the bench for the Sun.
Monica Akoa Makani accidentally got hit in the face by Griner’s elbow in the first seconds and briefly went to the locker room. The sophomore guard finished scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting.
Anisa Morrow (recovering) missed her fifth straight game.
The teams will meet again Sunday in Phoenix.