PHOENIX — – Kahleah Copper hit five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, Alyssa Thomas had 14 points and nine assists, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty 80-63 on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Phoenix (25-14) has won four in a row and six of seven to move into a tie with Atlanta for third in the WNBA standings, one-half game behind second-place Las Vegas and 1 1\/2 games ahead of the Liberty.<\/p>\n
Satou Sabally also scored 14 points for the Mercury. Natasha Mack had 10 rebounds – including a career-high seven offensive boards – to go with eight points and four blocks. DeWanna Bonner added nine points and seven rebounds.<\/p>\n
There were nine lead changes and nine ties before Kathryn Westbeld and Copper hit 3-pointers 29 seconds apart to take the lead for good at 51-48 and spark a 15-1 run. Bonner stole a pass and went the other way for a layup, then hit 3 to cap the spurt and make it an 11-point lead almost a minute into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
The Mercury made 10 of 14 from the field in the fourth and scored 17 of the final 20 points. New York missed five consecutive field-goal attempts and committed three turnovers before Isabelle Harrison made a layup to cap the scoring with 16.8 seconds left.<\/p>\n
Emma Meesseman led New York (24-16) with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Breanna Stewart scored 14 points and Natasha Cloud added 13.<\/p>\n
The Liberty play Tuesday at Golden State. The Mercury host Indiana on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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