Everything that could go wrong for Nate Tibbetts’ Phoenix Mercury did on Saturday night. They couldn’t score, couldn’t protect the ball, couldn’t control the boards, and had no answer for a relentless Las Vegas Aces team that cruised to a historic 106-58 victory. By the final buzzer, the 48-point defeat had become the largest win in Aces franchise history and one of the most lopsided games the WNBA has ever seen. For Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts, the embarrassment wasn’t something to gloss over.

“That was ugly, disappointing, all the above,” Tibbetts said during the postgame press conference. “No one’s going to feel sorry for us. We got to compete and we did not do that at a high enough level, not even close today. The reality is we can’t have any more of these. It’s time for us to make a move if we’re going to make a move. But yeah, you just don’t want to come out and play like that. That’s extremely disappointing for everyone involved, the players, the staff, the organization, the fans, everybody. I mean, that’s completely unacceptable.”

Poor would indeed be an understatement in describing how the Phoenix Mercury looked in this game. They scored a measly nine points in the first quarter, shot just 35% from the field and a cold 23% from three-point range, while franchise centerpiece DeWanna Bonner was held to just two points on the night. They also coughed up 18 turnovers, which Las Vegas turned into 24 transition points, and were completely bullied on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 47-29.

Las Vegas, meanwhile, made the night look easy. A’ja Wilson, back after missing three games, finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in just 25 minutes. The bigger story came off the bench, however. Rookie Justine Pissott, signed off Indiana’s developmental roster only two days earlier, scored 19 points in her WNBA debut, going 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from three, almost entirely in the fourth quarter.

The gap was too wide to be dismissed as a fluke and Nate Tibbetts knew it.

The loss drops Phoenix to 8-16 and extends their losing streak to three games, deepening what’s already been a difficult season. About the only positive Tibbetts could point to was Sami Whitcomb logging 11 minutes as she continues working back from injury. Everything else about the night was the kind of result that invites hard questions. One reporter asked that after the game; whether this Mercury team is still competitive at all.

Nate Tibbetts Backs Mercury’s Competitive Ability Despite Unprecedented Loss

With the poor record they have compiled so far this season, winning just eight of their 24 games, it is quite justified to begin questioning the level of competitiveness within this Phoenix Mercury group. That was exactly what one reporter asked Nate Tibbetts during the postgame press conference.

And for Tibbetts, this Phoenix Mercury team are still very much capable. They just did very poorly in this Aces game.

“I mean, I think we’ve got competitors on our team,” Tibbetts said in the post-game conference. “We didn’t compete today. I’m not going to question our want to or anything like that. But, you know, the reality is we can’t have any more of these.”

That defense carries some weight given where this team was a year ago. Phoenix opened 2026 with real expectations after reaching the 2025 WNBA Finals. The front office backed that by re-signing Kahleah Cooper, DeWanna Bonner, and Sami Whitcomb to keep the core intact. A roster with that kind of continuity doesn’t often lo0k this lost.

Phoenix now turns to a matchup against the Minnesota Lynx, another tough test, with the season already past its halfway point and the margin for error shrinking fast. Whether Tibbetts’ belief in his roster translates into results soon will determine whether this season still has a path back to the postseason.