Mercury without star Satou Sabally (concussion) for must-win Game 4 vs. Aces

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The Phoenix Mercury will be without All-Star forward Satou Sabally when they attempt to avoid being swept by the Las Vegas Aces on Friday in the WNBA Finals.

The Mercury announced Thursday that Sabally has been diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out for Game 4 in Phoenix in the best-of-seven series. Sabally was injured when she fell while going for a rebound and her head hit the leg of the Aces’ Kierstan Bell with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter of Game 3 on Wednesday.

Las Vegas guard Jackie Young was called for a loose-ball foul on the play. Sabally spent several minutes on the floor and needed help from teammates and staff to leave the court. She totaled 24 points, five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes before her early exit.

The Aces won 90-88 on star A’ja Wilson’s last-second basket to go up 3-0 in the series.

Sabally, 27, leads the Mercury in scoring through 10 playoff games with a 19.0 average. She’s second on the team in rebound average (7.0), tied for third in steals (1.1) and third in minutes (32.6).

The Dallas Wings selected Sabally second overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft out of Oregon. She spent her first five seasons with the Wings before being traded to Phoenix in February.

She has career averages of 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 28.8 minutes in 136 regular-season games (126 starts).

The three-time All-Star was All-WNBA as well as Most Improved Player in 2023 after making the All-Rookie first-team in 2020.

If the Mercury win on Friday, Game 5 would be Sunday in Las Vegas, with Game 6 in Phoenix on Wednesday and Game 7 hosted by the Aces on Oct. 17, if necessary.

–Field Level Media