Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas were impressive in their debut for the Phoenix Mercury, who routed the Seattle Storm 81-59 Sunday night in Phoenix in the WNBA season openers for both teams.
Sabally had 27 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes of action for the Mercury. She set a franchise record for the most points scored in a debut for a Mercury player. Sabally mentioned during the postgame interview that she received a text message before the game from Brittney Griner, who spent her entire career in Phoenix before joining the Atlanta Dream as a free agent in the offseason.
“I didn’t want to disappoint,” Sabally said when referring to following in the footsteps of former Mercury legends such as Griner and Diana Taurasi.
Thomas added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes of play.
Sabally was traded by the Dallas Wings and Thomas was traded by the Connecticut Sun as part of a 10-team trade in early February.
Skylar Diggins scored 21 points for the Storm in the loss. Nneka Ogwumike finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Scroll below the photo gallery for a recap and highlights of Sunday’s game:
Highlights: Mercury 81, Storm 59
3Q: Mercury 60, Storm 46
Satou Sabally had 25 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes of play through three quarters. Alyssa Thomas has contributed 18 points.
Diggins was limited to just four points in the quarter. She displayed a level of frustration on the bench during the quarter after turning over the ball on an in-bounce pass.
Halftime: Mercury 41, Storm 30
The Mercury kept the Storm to 15 in each of the first two quarters. Satou Sabally had 17 points and four rebounds for the Phoenix. Alyssa Thomas added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds. Skylar Diggins had a team-high 13 points for the Storm. Ezi Magbegor went scoreless for Seattle but collected six rebounds.
1Q: Mercury 23, Storm 15
Satou Sabally had eight points and three rebounds for the Mercury in the opening period. Kathryn Westbeld had seven points and Alyssa Thomas added six points and three assists. Skylar Diggins had seven points for the Storm.
What time is Storm vs. Mercury?
For the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury, the 2025 WNBA season opens Saturday, May 17, as the teams face off in Arizona. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.
How to watch Storm vs. Mercury WNBA game: TV, stream
Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Location: PHX Arena (Phoenix, Ariz.)
TV: CBS 5, Arizona’s Family Sports (both Arizona only), KOMO 4, CW Seattle (both greater Seattle only)
Stream: WNBA League Pass