Kahleah Copper Scores 30, But It Isn't Enough as Mercury Fall to Minnesota

May 12, 2026

Kahleah Copper did everything a scorer can reasonably be asked to do on May 12 — and the Phoenix Mercury still walked away with a loss.

Copper poured in a season-high 30 points against the Lynx, carrying the offensive load in a game Phoenix ultimately dropped, 88-84. It was efficient, sustained scoring from start to finish, the kind of performance that on most nights is enough to steal a win on its own. Instead, it became one of those frustrating nights where individual brilliance wasn't matched by the team result.

That's the tension at the center of a game like this: Copper did her job, and then some — 30 points is a number that should win you basketball games more often than not. But a four-point final margin means the difference came down to everything around her, not anything she failed to do. For a Mercury team still finding its footing early in the season, it's the kind of loss that stings more than a blowout would, precisely because it was right there to be won.

Efficient scoring nights like this are worth remembering even in a loss — not just for what they say about Copper as a shot-maker, but as a marker of what this Mercury team looks like when someone gets hot. The frustration is real, but so is the flash of what's possible when this offense clicks.

Final: Minnesota 88, Phoenix 84