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DeWanna Bonner returned to action with the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, helping them beat the first-place Minnesota Lynx 79-71 at PHX Arena.
Bonner, who signed with the Mercury on Tuesday, had seven points and six rebounds in defeating the Lynx. Alyssa Thomas led the second-place Mercury with a career-high 29 points as they moved to 14-6. The Lynx dropped to 17-3.
The 6-foot-4 guard/forward Bonner is back with the WNBA team that drafted her No. 5 in 2009. She spent 10 seasons in Phoenix and won two WNBA titles with the franchise. Then, after five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, Bonner signed as a free agent this year with Indiana but played just nine games with the Fever.
Bonner stepped away from the Fever for personal reasons in June and was waived by Indiana. She said Indiana wasn’t a good fit. But she seemed right at home again in Wednesday’s matinee game. The Mercury were glad to have her since they were without injured starters Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper. Bonner came off the bench and played 26 minutes.
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Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said he went into the game not intending to play Bonner that much, but it worked out. Bonner told reporters her focus was trying to fit in with a team that she believed already had very good chemistry.
Bonner and Thomas, her fiancée and former Connecticut teammate, played together with the Sun from 2020 to 2024.Tibbetts said that familiarity helped make Bonner quickly feel comfortable with the Mercury, too.
“That’s part of the reason we were excited to get DB,” Tibbetts said. “And it just adds some more versatility to our team. She’s got size and length. You can just feel her professionalism in her approach, her focus in timeouts. She’s excited to be here, and we’re excited to have her.
“She’s seen everything. This is her 16th year in the league; she’s going to be fine. She’s going to figure it out. It’s going to help our size out there.”
Thomas had a triple-double in the Mercury’s previous game, a 102-72 victory over the Dallas Wings on Monday. Along with the 29 points Wednesday, Thomas had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Phoenix outscored Minnesota 27-14 in the fourth quarter and closed on a 19-4 run.
Phoenix was just 1-of-16 from 3-point range against Minnesota but shot 57.9% from 2-point range and had just 9 turnovers.
“Today, she got thrown into the fire; didn’t know everything,” Thomas said of Bonner. “But she did the things she could control, which is playing defense and rebounding. We have a lot of players that are hungry and ready to play. And it’s scary to think we’re not even full strength yet. We still have a lot more firepower coming back.”
