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tRY IT NOWPHOENIX — Sandy Brondello didn’t even have to think about her messaging to the team ahead of Saturday’s pivotal matchup against the Mercury.
“Playoff game,” Brondello replied swiftly.
But then the easy-going Aussie came out, and she flashed a wide smile.
“But enjoy it,” she said. “These are fun.”
Or at least they’re supposed to be.
Turns out these games are more fun when you win, and the Liberty failed to do that as they fell, 80-63, just hours later.
Not only will the defending champions have to wait another day to officially secure a playoff spot, but the Liberty also lost their regular-season series against the Mercury 3-1, giving Phoenix the head-to-head tiebreaker and potentially home-court advantage in the first round.
The Liberty felt the urgency heading into Saturday’s game.
They got a little closer to full strength as they welcomed a masked Natasha Cloud and Jonquel Jones back, though Sabrina Ionescu was ruled out with her toe injury.
New York had to be gritty.
It had to be near perfect.
The turnovers, fouling and rebounding issues that’s haunted this team at times needed to be minimized.
The Liberty played well in the first half.
They were methodical with their offense and controlled the tempo well.
On the other end of the floor, their active hands were disrupting Mercury passing lanes and making things hard for Phoenix.
The Liberty took a 39-37 lead at the half.
The third quarter was when some of the breakdowns started to happen.
The Liberty scored only one point over the final 4:34 of that frame and the Mercury built up a six-point lead entering the fourth.
On the Liberty’s first possession of the fourth, Marine Johannès turned the ball over and DeWanna Bonner ran it in for an uncontested layup.
The Mercury’s lead grew to 11.
Emma Meesseman made a 3 at the top of the key, but Kathyrn Westbeld answered with a 3 on the other side to put Phoenix up 10 with 6:13 left.
Brondello called a timeout to regroup the troops.
But the Mercury were relentless.
Every time it felt like the Liberty found a little bit of momentum, Phoenix extinguished it.
Bonner scored seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter.
Kahleah Copper celebrated a big 3 that gave Phoenix a 15-point lead with 3:49 left by wagging her tongue like Michael Jordan.
The Liberty waved the white flag with 2:16 left as Brondello cleared the bench.
It wasn’t the result New York had hoped for on the first game of this pivotal road trip.
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But the Mercury’s big three of Copper (22 points), Alyssa Thomas (14 points, nine assists and five rebounds) and Satou Sabally (14 points and four assists) were too much.
Meesseman finished with a team-high 17 points.
Saturday was a potential glimpse into what could be a first-round matchup come Sept. 14.
The Mercury and Liberty entered Saturday ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Liberty, who have four games left, head to San Francisco next, where they’ll play the Valkyries Tuesday.