Sami

Whitcomb

Whitcomb proved to be super clutch for the Mercury in game two of the semifinals against the Lynx. After missing a three-pointer with 11.1 remaining in the fourth quarter and her team down 3 points, she got another try off an Alyssa Thomas offensive rebound. She hit her second attempt in seconds and tied the game up at 79 with just 4.3 seconds remaining in a game that eventually went to overtime. Besides during the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Whitcomb’s impact on the game came in the second, fourth and overtime periods. She had all of her points and five of her six assists during those three periods.

Whitcomb came off the bench and delivered an impactful offensive performance. The veteran sharpshooter logged 22 minutes and finished as one of the Mercury’s top scorers on the evening, despite inefficient shooting from both inside and outside the arc. One of her biggest moments came when she nailed a huge corner three-pointer in the fourth quarter to put the Mercury up by eight points and provide them with some cushion. As she did on Friday, Whitcomb will play an important role off the bench for the Mercury throughout their second-round series against the first-seeded Lynx, which begins Sunday.

Bonner is out against the Wings so that she can rest before the Mercury take on the New York Liberty in the playoffs beginning on Sunday. Without Bonner in the Mercury’s main rotation, more minutes have come from Sami Whitcomb and Kitija Laksa on the wing.

When the Mercury were searching for offense, they mostly relied upon finding Whitcomb moving off the ball for shooting pockets. That only worked 37.5% of the time as Whitcomb made three of her 10 three-point attempts mostly on passes from point forward Alyssa Thomas. Whitcomb was aggressive getting downhill and sometimes that resulted in a trip to the line, but other times the Sun played sufficient enough defense to create difficult angles for Whitcomb to score off of. And as a result, Whitcomb wasn’t very successful scoring at the rim.

Sabally was one of three Mercury players to make at least three three-pointers in Thursday’s victory, with Kahleah Copper and Sami Whitcomb (12/2/2 with four three-pointers in 24 minutes) being the others. She spent most of her time on the perimeter, with only one of her shots coming from inside the painted area. However, that isn’t a massive issue for the Mercury, as Sabally offers valuable spacing due to the lack of perimeter shooting offered by fellow starters Alyssa Thomas and Natasha Mack (8/8/2/0/3 in 22 minutes).

Whitcomb’s five three-point makes put the Mercury over the top on Tuesday night. She hit them in the even quarters, not missing any of her three attempts in the second quarter followed by hitting two more in the fourth. She helped the Mercury seal the game while the Sparks were trying to gain some ground back in the fourth. She hit two three-pointers within the first two minutes of the final frame to extend the Mercury’s lead to as many as 16 points and force the Sparks to call a timeout. Whitcomb’s five threes were the most she’s hit in a regular season game since she hit seven treys during the Mercury’s 102-72 blowout victory over the Wings on July 7.

After head coach Nate Tibbetts was tight lipped about Akoa Makani’s status during his pregame press conference, the rookie guard will play for the Mercury on Tuesday night against the Sparks. Akoa Makani’s left knee has been a recurring injury this season. With the playoffs coming soon, expect Sami Whitcomb and Lexi Held to get meaningful minutes so that Akoa Makani’s load doesn’t make her pre-existing knee pain even worse.

Akoa Makani is back on the injury report after missing the Mercury’s August 17 game in Seattle against the Storm but then returned to the floor two days later against the Valkyries. When head coach Nate Tibbets was asked about this lingering injury during shoot around on Tuesday morning, he called it day-to-day. “It’s something we’ve been dealing with all year,” he said. “There’s days when it gives her some issues and then there’s days when it’s good.” Akoa Makani was spotted going through her regular pregame warmups but Tibbetts wouldn’t elaborate on if her status has changed during his pregame presser. If Akoa Makani doesn’t take the floor on Tuesday night, expect Sami Whitcomb to take her place in the starting lineup. Lexi Held will also earn more meaningful minutes coming off the bench if Akoa Makani doesn’t play.

Thomas made league history on Friday night notching her sixth triple-double of the season and the 17th of her career. She tied her own record from 2023 when she also recorded six triple-doubles in a single season. She also broke the Mercury single-game assist record with her 16 assists, tied her own career high for assists in a game, and has had five triple-doubles in the month of August which is more than any player has ever had in their career. Thomas became the third player in WNBA history to record a triple-double on the back end of a back-to-back. The first came from Lisa Leslie in 2004 and the second came from Jessica Shepard just hours before. Thomas’ 16 assists were to five different teammates including four field goals to Kahleah Copper and Monique Akoa Makani, three field goals to DeWanna Bonner and Satou Sabally and then two of Sami Whitcomb’s field goals were Thomas assists.

During his pregame press conference, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters that Copper’s status would be a game time decision. Copper went through pregame warmups and was later upgraded to available. Although Copper is available, expect forward DeWanna Bonner and guard Sami Whitcomb to earn more minutes especially since the Mercury are on a back-to-back after playing Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Aces.