September 24, 2020
Mercury’s Bria Hartley undergoes successful surgery
By Kim Doss
Hartley played 13 games for Phoenix this season
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AUGUST 23: Bria Hartley #14 of the Phoenix Mercury shoots the ball against the Washington Mystics on August 23, 2020, at the Feld Entertainment Center in Palmetto, Florida. Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via GettyImages)
The Phoenix Mercury have announced that guard Bria Hartley underwent successful ACL reconstruction in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, Sept. 18. The team expects a full recovery for the 2021 season.
Hartley was one of the unexpected stories of the early WNBA season. In her first year with the Mercury, she was putting up career numbers and seemed on her way to being a serious contender for both the Most Improved Player and Sixth Woman of the Year awards. The only question was whether she would get passed over for Sixth Woman of the Year after she moved into the starting lineup.
In 13 appearances with the Mercury, she was setting career highs in points per game (14.6), assists (4.5), steals (1.2), field goal percentage (42.0), 3-point percentage (38.5), and free-throw percentage (80.5). Her scoring was up nearly five points over her previous career-high of 9.8 PPG set in 2019.
Then, came the team’s Aug. 28 game against the Washington Mystics. Hartley went down in the first quarter with a non-contact knee injury. The Mercury went on to defeat the defending champions by a score of 94-72, but it would be the last action for their free-agent signee.
The team announced the following week that she would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.
