Copper, Mercury pull past Tempo with strong fourth quarter in 89-80 win

Phoenix Mercury's Kahleah Copper (2) drives to the net past Toronto Tempo's Kia Nurse (11) during first half WNBA basketball action in Toronto, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

TORONTO — Kahleah Copper scored a game-high 27 points as the Phoenix Mercury used a fourth-quarter surge to beat the Toronto Tempo 89-80 on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.

In a game that saw the lead exchange 11 times, the visitors outscored Toronto 24-14 in the fourth quarter.

DaWanna Bonner picked up a double-double for Phoenix (7-13) with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Julie Allemand had a double-double for Toronto (9-10) with 11 points and 10 assists, while adding seven rebounds. Nyara Sabally scored a team-high 14 points, as the Tempo six players score in double-figures.

With the two sides fighting tooth and nail late in the final minutes of the game, Copper committed an offensive foul with her team ahead by three. However, Toronto failed to score on the ensuing play while Phoenix scored on its next possession, making the tally 85-80 with 51 seconds left.

Toronto was without star guard Brittney Sykes (left foot) and rookie Kiki Rice (left ankle) due to injuries.

The Tempo were coming off their largest win of the season, a 125-97 win over the Los Angeles Sparks – the 125 points being the most in any regulation game in WNBA history. The Tempo also posted a season-high 52 rebounds. Marina Mabrey scored a record-tying 53 points in that game but was a late scratch against the Mercury because of a neck injury.

Takeaways

Mercury: Phoenix outscored Toronto 13-4 on second-chance points and 17-10 on fastbreak points.

Tempo: Toronto had more field-goal makes (31 for 67) and three-point makes (12 for 30) in this one but were undone by being outscored by 15 points at the free-throw line.

Key moment

Bonner hit a three with 4:08 left in the game to put Phoenix ahead 78-73.

Key stat

Phoenix went 21 for 29 from the free-throw line, compared to Toronto’s 6 for 12.

Up next

Tempo : Welcome the Dallas Wings on July 5.

Mercury: Head home to host the Seattle Storm on July 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2026.

Steve Buffery, The Canadian Press