One season faraway from a visit to the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury didn’t meet their lofty expectations and as an alternative ended their 2026 marketing campaign quietly at Mortgage Matchup Middle, falling to the Las Vegas Aces, 100-82, on Thursday evening, Sept. 24.
The Mercury have missed the playoffs solely twice up to now 14 seasons.
The reigning champion Aces clinched the No. 3 seed with the win.
“We had been aggressive at instances through the season, we simply battled adversity like different groups do. We didn’t at all times deal with it the most effective,” coach Nate Tibbetts stated.
“This yr hasn’t been as much as our normal and we wish to be within the playoffs, that’s what this group is about. We wish to be enjoying for championships, so our job now’s to get higher.”
The Mercury appeared clunky initially and didn’t possess the identical tenacity as on Sept. 21, when Kahleah Copper t.
Phoenix dedicated 10 turnovers within the first quarter. The Mercury had simply 5 in your entire recreation towards Dallas.
Las Vegas took benefit of the Mercury’s errors, turning seven turnovers right into a 14-0 begin. It took 5 minutes earlier than the Mercury might rating, and Las Vegas by no means let up.
A’ja Wilson scored 17 of her 34 factors on 8-of-11 capturing within the first quarter.
Copper led the Mercury with 18 factors, capping her yr with a career-high common of 21.5 factors per recreation.
Whereas many of the group returned from the Finals run, the Mercury didn’t retain star ahead Satou Sabally in free company. Function gamers Sami Whitcomb and Kathryn Westbeld suffered accidents, together with a season-ending ACL harm for Westbeld earlier than coaching camp started.
Accidents and inconsistent play brought about a 2-8 begin that plagued the Mercury. Because the season went on, Phoenix couldn’t maintain a profitable stretch lengthy sufficient for playoff competition.
“We had lots of change after coaching camp,” Tibbetts stated. “Within the first two years, we did a extremely good job of setting the usual of who we had been going to be and the way we needed to play. We acquired off to a troublesome begin and had been 2-8. That’s robust to get well from.
"You swing {that a} couple video games and there’s somewhat bit extra perception and buy-in and issues like that.”
Not like different eradicated groups, the Mercury gained’t be trying on the draft lottery for his or her future. Phoenix traded its first-round decide to Los Angeles for guard Kelsey Plum on the deadline.
For the reason that Mercury had been eradicated from postseason competition on Aug. 22, the season shifted to evaluating the staff’s youthful pool of expertise. Shay Ciezki, Kara Dunn, Marta Suarez and Maddy Westbeld earned significant alternatives to earn a spot for subsequent season.
Ciezki performed 19 minutes in her remaining recreation, scoring 13 factors off the bench on 4-of-9 capturing. Ciezki shot an environment friendly 47.7% from the sphere with 8.5 factors per recreation in eight appearances this season.
“I let adversity hit this yr, the rookie season shouldn’t be presupposed to be straightforward by any means,” Ciezki stated. “However to know that, I’m right here for a cause and I can play on this league and simply to hold that over within the subsequent yr.”
The Mercury will maintain their exit day on Friday, Sept. 25, with normal supervisor Nick U’Ren, Copper, Alyssa Thomas and Tibbetts all anticipated to talk.
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This text initially appeared on Arizona Republic: s