Mercury’s regular season ends with loss to Aces

By Scott Mammoser

PHOENIX – Over the past few seasons, the Phoenix Mercury has been at its best during the first two single elimination rounds of the playoffs, and after a 98-89 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, the team can now focus on that.

The Mercury (15-19) was already locked into the eight seed before the game, while the Aces (21-13) were tied with Chicago for the fourth seed and final first round bye. As the No.1 Washington Mystics beat the Sky, 100-86, Phoenix heads to Chicago (20-14) for the first round game on Wednesday night.

Brittney Griner was a beast in the first quarter, with 13 points and the shot with the clock expiring that gave the Mercury a 27-25 lead to conclude the period. Scoreless and limited to three minutes in the second with foul trouble, Griner added 10 more points in the third, as the Mercury cut a 27-21 halftime deficit to 76-75. Liz Cambage, who was on an exercise bike during the first half, recorded 11 of her 21 points in the third quarter for the Aces.

“The effort was definitely there,” Griner said. “We couldn’t get the win, but it’s a good game for us to go into the playoffs. Whoever steps on that court, we know we need to beat them.”

DeWanna Bonner, who scored 14 points with eight rebounds, sent the Mercury to an 89-87 lead from the free throw line with three minutes on the clock, but those would be the final baskets for Phoenix, as the Aces cruised to an 11-0 run to finish and won 98-89.

“We had consistent effort tonight for most of the game,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said, “and I was happy with that, but not the result. Briann January:  a really great offensive game for her (14 points). We know she’s great defensively, but she made good decisions with the ball. I thought for the most part, we did a pretty good job today.”

After playing for five consecutive games, Diana Taurasi was out of the lineup for the second time this weekend with a hamstring injury, although Coach Brondello said she might be back for the playoff game on Wednesday. Griner also added that Taurasi being on the bench was an advantage with her knowledge of the game.

A’ja Wilson scored 20 points for the Aces, while Dearica Hamby (12) and Kelsey Plum (10) also scored in double figures. The Mercury is 6-0 in the first two rounds since the league instituted the single elimination playoff format in 2016, including 4-0 on the road. Chicago was 3-0 versus the Mercury this season, with wins of seven points, eight points, and most recently, 105-78 on Sept. 1.