Sophie Cunningham, Diana Taurasi Critical of Officiating After Mercury's Loss to Aces

Mercury guards Sophie Cunningham and Diana Taurasi weren't pleased with the officiating in Phoenix's 103-99 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night. The crew appeared to miss a critical charge call late in the contest.

Mercury guard Diana Taurasi claps for her teammates / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY

Officiating was a touchy subject for Phoenix Mercury guards Sophie Cunningham and Diana Taurasi following Thursday's 103-99 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Neither seemed too pleased with a late no-call that proved to be critical.

With the Aces leading 97-95 with under one minute to play, Mercury star Kahleah Copper appeared to take a charge from Las Vegas guard Jackie Young. No whistle was blown and Young hit a jumper, giving the Aces a four-point lead.

Phoenix wasn't happy with the call. We'll let you decide for yourself if a foul should've been called against Young on the play:

Following the game, Cunningham didn't hold back on her thoughts of the officiating.

"I think we came out really well in the first quarter. Defensively, we were on top of it. Moving the ball offensively, shots were going in for us," Cunningham said of Phoenix's performance. "Second half, that was a tough stretch. There's a lot of things we could've controlled.

"Refs were awful tonight. Absolutely horrible. You can't miss that last call with Kah. But I think we're gonna be better from it."

When Taurasi was asked for her opinion on the officiating on Thursday night, she steered away from answering.

"I'm so happy we have charters," she said.

Taurasi's response drew laughs from reporters and from Cunningham. That response might save her a few bucks from the league office, as well.

Phoenix dropped to 6-7 following the loss. Taurasi ended the night with 22 points and four assists, while Cunningham had 10 points off the bench.

Young ended the game with 34 points, eight rebounds and four assists. A'ja Wilson scored 32 points and collected 15 boards to get the Aces the win and improve to 6-5 overall.