Current:Home > Contact-usPhoenix Mercury's postseason streak ends at 10 seasons-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Phoenix Mercury's postseason streak ends at 10 seasons
View Date:2024-12-23 18:59:15
The Phoenix Mercury haven't been used to missing the postseason, but after a 77-74 loss to the Dallas Wings, the team will face that unfamiliar feeling.
Since 2012, the Mercury have been a constant presence in the WNBA postseason with 10 consecutive appearances, good for the league's longest active streak. Even when things looked bleak last season, the Mercury made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season.
But much like last season, injuries played a role in reducing the team's strength down the stretch.
Sophie Cunningham went down with a jaw injury near the end of the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss. Diana Taurasi missed her second consecutive game after injuring her left toe against the Indiana Fever. Shey Peddy remains in concussion protocol after a head injury earlier this month. Skylar Diggins-Smith was not available the whole season because of maternity leave.
“We’ve been through a lot this season with injuries and people going in and out and a new coaching staff," guard Moriah Jefferson said. "We don’t like to make any excuses, especially tonight because I think we should’ve won that. But for us, it’s about getting better every single day, no matter what.”
Sunday marked the return of Brittney Griner, who was back on the floor for the first time since Aug, 13 (health and safety protocols). Griner’s presence was needed by the Mercury in the last three games as she recorded 19 points.
Jefferson made her best efforts to preserve the season with six of the team's 11 points in the final four minutes. She finished with 20 points, 10 of them coming from the fourth quarter on 4-of-5 shooting.
“It was a one possession game and we haven’t had one of those in a long time," interim head coach Nikki Blue said. "We continued to fight and once again we were in a situation where we didn’t have some of our key players at the end of the game. That changes things up a bit. There are people in the game that aren’t used to playing down the stretch, but our team continued to fight.”
With the season on the line, the Mercury amped its start and shut out the Wings 6-0. The defense continued throughout the first half with the Wings limited to 10 field goals on 39 shots (25.6%).
The Wings struggled with shooting in the first half and had a sequence of five consecutive missed shots after winning a jump ball at 5:37 in the second quarter.
The Mercury limited guard Arike Ogunbowale to just four field goals on 11 attempts in the first half. But in the fourth quarter, Ogunbowale took over the game with 10 points on eight attempts, finishing with 29 points and four 3-pointers.
Center Teaira McCowan sparked the Wings' turnaround in the second half with seven points in the third quarter.
The Mercury had its worst performance in the third quarter when the Wings outscored the team by seven points and tied the game. Griner scored nine points, but didn't get a lot of help as the Mercury only shot five field goals.
veryGood! (4653)
Related
- These Yellowstone Gift Guide Picks Will Make You Feel Like You’re on the Dutton Ranch
- Why Chinese Aluminum Producers Emit So Much of Some of the World’s Most Damaging Greenhouse Gases
- Zayn Malik's Call Her Daddy Bombshells: Gigi Hadid Relationship, Yolanda Hadid Dispute & More
- New York’s New Mayor Has Assembled a Seasoned Climate Team. Now, the Real Work Begins
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul press conference highlights: 'Problem Child' goads 'Iron Mike'
- Lake Powell Drops to a New Record Low as Feds Scramble to Prop it Up
- After Criticism, Gas Industry Official Withdraws as Candidate for Maryland’s Public Service Commission
- West Baltimore Residents, Students Have Mixed Feelings About Water Quality After E. Coli Contamination
- Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
- Finding the Antidote to Climate Anxiety in Stories About Taking Action
Ranking
- Anti-abortion advocates press Trump for more restrictions as abortion pill sales spike
- To Save the Vaquita Porpoise, Conservationists Entreat Mexico to Keep Gillnets Out of the Northern Gulf of California
- Three Midwestern States to Watch as They Navigate Equitable Rollout for EV Charging
- Denied abortion for a doomed pregnancy, she tells Texas court: 'There was no mercy'
- Waymo’s robotaxis now open to anyone who wants a driverless ride in Los Angeles
- A mom owed nearly $102,000 for her son's stay in a state mental health hospital
- Al Gore Talks Climate Progress, Setbacks and the First Rule of Holes: Stop Digging
- A New Shell Plant in Pennsylvania Will ‘Just Run and Run’ Producing the Raw Materials for Single-Use Plastics
Recommendation
-
Stop What You're Doing—Moo Deng Just Dropped Her First Single
-
Shawn Johnson Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 3 With Husband Andrew East
-
A punishing heat wave hits the West and Southwest U.S.
-
Rooftop Solar Is Becoming More Accessible to People with Lower Incomes, But Not Fast Enough
-
As Northeast wildfires keep igniting, is there a drought-buster in sight?
-
As seas get hotter, South Florida gets slammed by an ocean heat wave
-
Flood-Prone Communities in Virginia May Lose a Lifeline if Governor Pulls State Out of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
-
Wildfires in Greece prompt massive evacuations, leaving tourists in limbo