Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally ruled out of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury’s hopes of extending the 2025 WNBA Finals took another hit when they announced that Satou Sabally will miss Game 4 Friday with a concussion she sustained during Game 3.

Sabally suffered the injury in Wednesday’s contest when she collided with Kierstan Bell on an offensive rebound attempt in the fourth quarter with 4:26 remaining. Sabally fell to the floor and remained there for several minutes. A Mercury staffer and her teammate, Kalani Brown came to carry her off the court, but Sabally couldn’t stay upright on the first try. They eventually propped Sabally up to get her into the tunnel.

Coach Nate Tibbetts said Wednesday that Sabally wasn’t in the locker room when the team returned postgame. Phoenix did not give any further information on her availability should the series last longer than four games.

The Mercury mounted a furious comeback following Sabally’s concussion, closing a 10-point gap to tie the game in under three minutes. They’ll need to rely on that grit to keep their season alive in Game 4, but they are running out of bodies.

Tibbetts already phased Natasha Mack out of the rotation after the first half of Game 3, and Kathryn Westbeld only played four minutes after halftime. Both will have to play bigger roles in Sabally’s absence, and perhaps Phoenix looks deeper into its bench and dusts off the 6-foot-7 Brown or rookie guards Kitija Laksa and Lexi Held. The Mercury will also need bigger performances from the remainder of their big three: Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.

Sabally was an All-Star for the third time in 2025, her first season in Phoenix. She is averaging 19 points and seven rebounds per game in the playoffs.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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