Things looked bad in the first half, when the Mercury allowed Minnesota stars Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles to score a combined 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting.

They looked worse then in the third, when Phoenix trailed by as many as 16 points thanks to a rash of turnovers, fouls and missed shots.

Then, in the fourth, the Mercury looked like the team everyone thought they would be entering this season.

It wasn’t enough for the win, but it was the most encouraging sign that a corner is about to be turned.

“We found our identity in that fourth quarter,” said Mercury Head Coach Sandy Brondello.

Phoenix outscored Minnesota 14-2 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Penny Taylor scored 18 of her team-high 25 points in the final frame, while backup post player Mistie Bass (10 points) energized a defense that gave up 48 points in the first half.

“You don’t have to tell her to play hard,” Brondello said of Bass. “She does all the little things well. Sometimes they don’t show up in the stats…She’s very physical on the defensive end. She did a hell of a job.”

A Taylor three-pointer tied the game at 77-77 with 49 seconds remaining, but the Lynx re-established a three-point lead behind four more points from Moore. Diana Taurasi’s game-tying three rattled in and out, and Minnesota’s free throws polished off the 85-78 final.

Brondello is hoping to see similar production and more wins with the kind of play Phoenix toward the end of Wednesday’s game. The Mercury came up with six steals in the final period, five of them in the first five minutes.

“Offensively, we can get a few more contributions from some of our players,” Brondello said. “That will come. That’s about building chemistry.”

Phoenix will look for its first win of the season when they host Washington on Sunday.