DeWanna Bonner Returns Triumphantly to Phoenix Mercury
DeWanna Bonner made her anticipated return to action with the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, contributing to the victory over the league leader, Minnesota Lynx, with a score of 79-71 at PHX Arena. Bonner, who signed with the Mercury on Tuesday, proved her worth with seven points and six rebounds, helping her team overcome the Lynx. Alyssa Thomas, for her part, led the Mercury with an impressive performance, scoring a personal record of 29 points, which propelled the team to second place in the standings with a record of 14-6. The Lynx, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat of the season, remaining with a record of 17-3. The return of Bonner, a 6-foot-4 forward-guard, marks her reunion with the WNBA team that drafted her in 2009. During her ten seasons in Phoenix, Bonner won two WNBA titles with the team. After five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, Bonner signed as a free agent with Indiana, but only participated in nine games with the Fever. Bonner had stepped away from the Fever in June for personal reasons, and was released by Indiana. The player stated that Indiana was not the right place for her. However, in Wednesday’s game, she seemed to feel at home again. The Mercury, for their part, enthusiastically welcomed her return, especially due to the injury absences of Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper. Bonner, who came off the bench, played a total of 26 minutes. Bonner told reporters that her focus was to integrate into a team that she already considered to have very good chemistry. Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts commented that he didn’t intend to give Bonner so many minutes, but circumstances favored her participation. Bonner and Thomas, her fiancée and former teammate at Connecticut, played together on the Sun from 2020 to 2024. Tibbetts mentioned that this familiarity helped Bonner feel comfortable quickly on the Mercury.Thomas, in addition to his 29 points, added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Phoenix outscored Minnesota 27-14 in the final quarter, culminating in a 19-4 run. Despite a low percentage of three-pointers (1 of 16), Phoenix compensated with a 57.9% success rate in two-point shots and only 9 turnovers.That’s part of the reason we were excited to have DB. And it just adds more versatility to our team. She has size and length. You can feel her professionalism in her approach, her focus in timeouts. She’s excited to be here, and we’re excited to have her.
Nate Tibbetts, Mercury Coach
Today, they threw her into the fire; she didn’t know everything. But she did the things she could control, which is playing defense and rebounding. We have a lot of players who are hungry and ready to play. And it’s scary to think that we’re not yet at full capacity. We still have a lot of firepower to return.
Alyssa Thomas
