Mercury drop Game 1 against Liberty after shooting struggles

Despite keeping the reigning WNBA Champions to 65 points in regulation, Phoenix couldn’t convert many points on forced turnovers to go on a run. They eventually went into overtime tied, 65-65, where the Liberty scored 11 points and held the Mercury to four.

It wasn’t the Mercury’s night shooting-wise, as they missed numerous wide-open shots. Mercury forward Satou Sabally scored nine points on 2-of-17 shooting, while the entire team shot 23.1% from the field.

“We didn’t shoot a great percentage today,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said, according to the team’s post-game notes. “You’re always trying to make shots. We’ll look at the analytics and the numbers and see what we can do better, but we put ourselves in [a] position to win that game.”

Now playing from behind in the series, the Mercury will travel to Brooklyn to even it out. Despite the result, Tibbetts praised his team for keeping pace with New York and believes they aren’t out of the fight just yet.

“I’ve been extremely proud of our group all season long,” he said. “No one’s picking us to win this series. I know we believe in us, and so this is our journey, right? This was our first playoff game together. We went toe-to-toe with the defending champs and had a chance to win. I’m super proud of how we competed and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end and I know the group will expect to bounce back in New York.”

According to Mercury guard Kahleah Copper, the team has already put the loss in the rearview and is ready for the second game in the series.

“I think just right after the game, right in our huddle, we just got right to it,” Copper said, according to the team’s post-game notes. “It’s done… We’re just gonna go to New York and get one. It’s just our mentality. We have enough experience in our locker room who have been in the playoffs and been in situations. So, we’re just giving our group tons of life and just pouring into them and just letting them know that this is not it. This is what it is, it’s a series.”

The Mercury look to regroup and keep their season alive as they focus on the next matchup.

The Phoenix Mercury and the New York Liberty face off in Game 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m.