Phoenix Mercury Oust the New York Liberty at MSG
It was a somber locker room as the New York Liberty players placed their uniforms and equipment in the center of the locker room. After gaining the three seed and a first round bye, New York could not overcome the Phoenix Mercury in the second round of the new WNBA playoffs format.
New York and Phoenix have only met once before in the playoffs. In the inaugural WNBA semifinals, Rebecca Lobo scored 16 points in a 59-41 victory at Madison Square Garden. This season, New York bested Phoenix, winning two of three regular season games. However on Saturday, Phoenix would win the fourth matchup in the one game elimination playoff game.
In the first quarter, the teams battled back and forth. New York seemed to have the advantage, as Tina Charles got to the free throw line four times for seven points. Additionally, the Liberty benefitted from 14 points in the paint, compared to the Mercury’s 6 points. The Liberty defense blanked Phoenix from any tallying second chance points or fast break buckets; the Liberty benefitted from a combined 8 points in those categories. However, Phoenix held on and tied the Liberty at 25 points, thanks to a field goal from Brittany Griner with 3.7 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Phoenix started the second quarter strong with ten unanswered points after Epiphany Prince opened the second with two made free throws. With 5:25 left in the half, Phoenix built a 35-29 lead. Phoenix added 14 points in the paint in the paint, as well as 8 points from second chances and fast breaks. The Liberty entered the half with a 52-41 deficit on their home court. The three seed would need to have a much stronger second half to stave off an early exit.
Within the first three minutes of the third quarter, the New York Liberty liquidated the Mercury lead, tying the game at 54 with 7:16 left until the 4th quarter. However, the Liberty could not regain the lead from Phoenix, despite tying the game twice in the 3rd. Phoenix was able to hold off New York, but was far from their largest lead of the game (15 points) in the last two minutes of the third quarter. The Liberty got the crowd behind them in the final second as Amanda Zahui B collected a rebound and the bucket to bring the game within one point at the buzzer.
Phoenix led the Liberty 68-67 going into the 4th quarter. Griner was huge for Phoenix going into the final stretch. She led all scorers with 22 points to begin what would be the final quarter of the Liberty season. Charles tallied 17 points, the second best of the game. However, it would be the former UCONN star from Chino, California that would be the difference in the game. Diana Taurasi scored 17 of her 30 points in the 4th. “Diana Taurasi; she’s the G.O.A.T, so it’s always good to have her on your team,” said Phoenix Head Coach Sandy Brondello postgame, “she’s special. She wants to take those (big) shots, we want her to take those shots, and she makes those shots.”
From the Phoenix locker room, Mistie Bass spoke to MyWSports about the mindset coming into the game. She noted the Mercury road record (4-10) wasn’t exactly a boost of confidence. Thus, the team focused on a clean slate for the playoffs, “it’s a whole entire new season and what you did no longer matters … let’s execute the game plan, and if we do that, we can win.” When we asked Bass the game plan for Saturday night, the answer was rather straightforward, “making sure we stopped Tina (Charles) and Sugar Rodgers. They have been the biggest pain … the last three times we’ve played them.” Charles and Rodgers averaged 26.6 and 21.3 points respectively, in the last three games against Phoenix. Last night, Charles finished with 19 buckets and Rodgers with 11. Suffice it to say, the Mercury successfully executed the game plan. Additionally, Phoenix shot 100% from the free throw line, compared to New York’s 75%.
Although the final difference in the game was seven points, New York missed five free throws over the course of the game. The liberty also gave up fourteen second chance points and four fast break points. Despite keeping Charles and Rodgers under 20 points, the Liberty found productivity elsewhere, something that plagued them throughout the regular season. In the waning minutes of the game, all five New York players were in double digits. Carolyn Swords logged over 26 minutes and tallied 14 points. Tanisha Wright notched 21 points in just over 28 minutes, making her the high scorer for the Liberty. Veterans Shavonte Zealous (10 points in 27 minutes) and Epiphany Prince (12 points in 16 minutes) kept New York afloat.
However, it was just short of what was needed to overcome the Phoenix trio of Penny Taylor (20 points), Brittney Griner (22 points) and Diana Taurasi (30 points). Candice Dupree dropped 14 points for Phoenix and was given props from Laimbeer postgame, “Dupree made some big shots … every time we were right there, she seemed to find herself open for a 15-18 footer and canned it.”
Phoenix will need to build momentum as they face the top seed, the Minnesota Lynx, in the next round. “It’s going to be a test for us,” said Bass at the notion of a 5 game semifinal series against the top seed. “We’ve gone through some adversity in these single elimination games, so we’re ready.”
MyWSports also asked Bass about her continued conversations regarding community-police relations both on and off the court. Bass and Kelsey Bone took a knee during the national anthem for the second time in as many playoff games. Mistie and her teammates Lindsey Harding, Isabelle Harrison and Alex Harden participated in a 2-hour discussion with the Phoenix Police Department on September 9th. About ten member of the Phoenix Police Department discussed the training that officers are able to get through a $3 million grant to “strengthen relationships between community and officers”, according to a release from the City of Phoenix last September. The 3-year grant is one of the things the officers discussed with Bass and her teammates earlier this month.
“If you really look at it, it’s amazing and I can tell why the Phoenix Police Department is so successful,” said Bass. She also noted, however, that the resources, training and ultimate success of Phoenix is not replicated everywhere, “Having that knowledge made us understand why we’re seeing things different in other places.”
Bass shared her experience with the Phoenix Police Department with other WNBA players on a conference call on September 6th. This was her way of taking her concerns beyond t-shirts and kneeling, “it’s what’s happening after … you can’t just take a certain action and not follow up with something. In our case, that was building a bridge between the community and the police department.”
As for Bass, she intends to continue to take a kneeling. To those who might find her actions distracting to her or others, as the playoffs continue, Bass stated, “Well, it’s three minutes … I can focus on (the game) and then when I’m out of practice, off the court, focus on something completely different. We hold two different tables all the time, so that’s just something that’s near and dear to my heart, it’s also for Kelsey.”
Washington Post Graphics/WashingtonPost.com
Mistie also discussed the number of civilians shot and killed by police reflects a larger issue. The Washington Post and Think Progress provide an online database tracking police brutality. The outlets report that anywhere from 700 to 844 civilians have been killed in 2016.
The Washington Post shows that the number of fatal shootings by police officers is currently less, compared to the same time last year. Bass hopes that she can continue to spread awareness for the sake of the country, “it’s a bigger issue, it’s not just a Black issue, it’s an American issue.”
