Kahleah Copper opted for an early celebration of her birthday by gifting the Phoenix Mercury 35 points in their 80-73 loss against the Washington Mystics on Thursday, Aug. 27.
Copper, who turns 32 on Aug. 28, requested a Western-inspired dress code for the Mercury and fans to wear at the game.
"Shout out to the X-Factor, I love y'all so much," Copper said. "I let y'all know last minute, and I should've gave y'all more of a heads-up, but y'all still showed up and showed out. It really made me feel super good because I was super happy to celebrate my birthday early. I was glad the X-Factor got to be a part of that because they're a big part of our organization and us having success."
With several cowboy hats in the stands, Copper didn't waste time taking over the offense, scoring 12 points in Phoenix's opening 15-2 run in the first quarter. Her 22-point first half was 13 points more than the next scorer, Washington's Kiki Iriafen.
Even though the Mercury (13-26) were among the seven teams eliminated from playoff contention, Copper and the rest of the team played for pride in the latter of the two-game set against the Mystics.
Copper was the main driver on offense, but the shorthanded lineup allowed the Mercury to see more players like guard Shay Ciezki, who hadn't played since June 27, and forward Maddy Westbeld, who now has two games under her belt in Phoenix.
Ciezki showed off her two-way skills, anchoring what coach Nate Tibbetts called one of the Mercury's best ball pressure games of the year. The 5-foot-7 rookie moved around 6-foot-5 center Shakira Austin to get to the rim for her first points in the game.
However, Ciezki's return still had some hiccups, including her missing two free throws in the fourth quarter.
"The one thing that I believe in Shay is that she can really shoot it," Tibbetts said. "Probably fatigue and excitement in that first game and her stepping up and missing those two free throws, I don't know if that's happened in her college career. But she looked comfortable out there and did a good job battling."
With the Mercury's final game before the World Cup break set for Aug. 29, it's likely that players like Ciezki and Westbeld will see more action as Tibbetts helps them "see if they can play in this league or not."
The Mercury's frontcourt options were limited with center Kyara Linskens and Marta Suarez both out. Linskens left the team early to train with Belgium for the World Cup, while Suarez missed her second straight game with a concussion.
Although Westbeld is in her second WNBA season, she played just 29 games with the Chicago Sky.
Westbeld had trouble early on with officiating, collecting two fouls in less than two minutes. But as she got more playing time, she settled in more, got some moving screens and scored on a driving hook shot late in the third quarter.
"These are important minutes for her and her career wherever it may go," Tibbetts said. "But she's here for a reason."
Kelsey Plum, who made her home debut on Aug. 25 after missing three games, did not play due to injury management for the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Plum will represent Team USA with Copper in the event, which runs from Sept. 4-13.
Tibbetts added that sitting Plum will get her ready for the next game on Saturday, Aug. 29, against the Toronto Tempo. The WNBA will then go on a break from Aug. 31-Sept. 16.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Familiar faces, new sources help Phoenix Mercury in remaining stretch
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