Sutton posts team’s 1st triple-double
The Phoenix Mercury remain one of the founding franchises of the WNBA’s 28-year history, but yet point guard Sug Sutton did what no other Mercury player has done.
Sutton grinded her way from a training camp contract into the Mercury’s lineup and became a mainstay on an injury-plagued team. Sutton scored all 18 of her points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Her hard-working nature was rewarded with a triple-double in Friday’s home finale and 94-73 loss to the Aces.
“It’s unbelievable because I didn’t know it was the first one in history. I’m pretty shocked right now and I’m really honored to be a part of this franchise and be able to do that. To have teammates support me and everybody support me, it just feels amazing to be able to do that.”
One game remains in the season for the Mercury, but the year’s fate had been decided weeks ago as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
“We knew from training camp how special of a player that Sug was,” interim head coach Nikki Blue said. “It’s taken all season for her to really start believing in herself and really show what she can do. For her to go out and get a triple-double is extremely special and this is in front of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and the people that have been in this organization for so long. For them to embrace her the way that they did is a really special thing.”
Keeping up
Known as a powerhouse in the league, the Aces are an intimidating challenge for all opponents. However, the shorthanded Mercury stayed with the defending champions.
A Moriah Jefferson-led Mercury bobbed and weaved through the Aces in the first quarter. Jefferson got the Mercury rolling with six of the team’s first eight points to take an 8-4 lead. The Aces responded with an 8-0 run midway through the quarter and nearly put the game out of reach until Megan Gustafson sparked the Mercury off the bench with four points in her first minute on the floor.
From there the Mercury banded together and eventually were set in position to tie the game when Griner sunk a buzzer-beater.
Turning point
With eight players available for the Mercury and Diana Taurasi, Sophie Cunningham, Shey Peddy, and Christyn Williams all out, the last thing the team needed was seeing Griner hop off the court early in the second quarter.
Griner took an awkward fall, but was only out for five minutes before coming back and scoring on her first possession.
“The injury that she had and her tweaking her ankle, any other player probably would’ve sat out the rest of the game,” Blue said. “I was told by our trainers that she could sit out, but she said, No, I want to come out and play. We’re talking about someone who is a huge part of our team, but we were down by 20 by that point, but she wants to come out there and be with her teammates.”
The layoff didn’t help the Mercury as the team struggled answering a surging Aces team that held the Mercury to single-digit scoring through eight minutes.
A key driver in the first quarter’s success was the clean start with just one turnover, but that didn’t continue throughout the game as the Mercury finished with 10 turnovers.