Mercury's offense collapses in second half

The Phoenix Mercury’s recent surge hit a roadblock Tuesday night as they fell 87-81 to the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Despite battling back from a significant first-half deficit, the Mercury could not complete the comeback as Golden State held firm in the closing minutes to secure the victory. The loss dropped Phoenix to 4-9 on the season, while the expansion Valkyries improved to 7-5.

Golden State was led by a pair of standout performances from Veronica Burton and Gabby Williams, who each scored 25 points. Burton fueled the Valkyries’ fast start, pouring in 19 first-half points while also adding eight assists. Williams took over late, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter to help fend off the Mercury’s comeback bid.

Phoenix struggled early against Golden State’s aggressive defense, finding itself in a deep hole before responding with a strong third-quarter effort. The Mercury’s offense came alive after halftime, cutting into the lead and making the game competitive heading into the final period. However, the Valkyries answered every challenge down the stretch and made enough defensive stops to preserve the win.

The Mercury shot well from the field, connecting on 46 percent of their attempts and knocking down nine three-pointers. Phoenix also won the rebounding battle 34-27 and recorded 23 assists, but turnovers proved costly as Golden State capitalized on extra possessions throughout the night.

The defeat ends a stretch in which Phoenix had shown signs of improvement following road victories over Seattle and Portland. The Mercury will now look to regroup quickly as they continue their road trip and attempt to climb back into the Western Conference race.

While the final result was disappointing, Phoenix showed resilience in battling back after a difficult opening half. The challenge moving forward will be finding more consistency on both ends of the floor as the Mercury seek to build momentum during the middle portion of the WNBA season.