The Phoenix Mercury are trying their best to stay alive in the playoff race. After their recent loss to the New York Liberty, they must move past the disappointment quickly—they have 14 games to salvage their playoff hopes.  Following the close defeat, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts admitted that the challenge ahead is more than just basketball, as reported by Mercury beat writer Dylan Kane on X.

“Yeah, just the grit and toughness,” he told reporters after the game. “Our biggest challenge is gonna be, obviously, we’re trying to push to make the playoffs and we gotta go on a run, we understand that. So obviously every time we lose, we gotta be willing to bounce back and forget this when that time comes…Because of the poor start to the year, it’s put a lot of pressure on us now, and that’s the reality of it.”

This is the Mercury’s third straight loss to the Liberty this season. The Liberty established a 26-15 lead in the first quarter, which the Mercury wittled down to a three-point gap by the end of the second. The third quarter saw the lead cut to just one point, with the Liberty leading 66-65. But the loss for the Mercury came in the final moments of the game.

With the Liberty up by five, Kahleah Copper stole the ball from Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu before passing it to DeWanna Bonner, who knocked down a three to cut the lead to two.

Unfortunately, Phoenix wasted a costly 11 seconds before fouling, and after two made free throws by New York, all the Mercury could manage was a layup and failed attempts to foul before time expired. Phoenix was on a three-game winning streak before the Liberty cut it short. Nate Tibbetts elaborated on the game plan going forward.

“I think the last three quarters was the level we needed to get to. I didn’t think in the first quarter, the way we came out, we didn’t get after it the way we needed to. I thought we had some really good possessions and some deflating possessions. They hit two 3s right at the end of the shot clock. Those are hard to overcome.”

Starters DeWanna Bonner and Kahleah Copper were the main driving force behind the Mercury offense, combining for 50 points, with Alyssa Thomas adding another 17. But the effort came too late as the Liberty frontcourt duo of Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart scored 30 points, with guard Sabrina Ionescu dropping a stunning 27 points. All three shot perfectly from the line, a performance that crushed Phoenix‘s hopes.

Phoenix is currently 11-19, six games back of the final playoff berth, which is occupied by the Liberty. With only 14 games left to play, the team is still behind the Chicago Sky, Portland Fire, and Los Angeles Sparks in the standings. Amidst the loss, Kahleah Copper seems to be looking forward, rather than pondering the loss.

Kahleah Copper stresses short-term memory as playoff pressure mounts

Nate Tibbetts didn’t just speak on the kind of mindset his team needs to have going into the final stretch of games this season, but also about the last two Liberty possessions, namely the ones where the team attempted intentional fouls. He addressed this with the reporters after the game, per reporter Hayden Cilley.

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to look and see if we got a foul earlier than that or not. But yeah, they ran the clock a little bit longer than we’d like.”

The two intentional fouls that the Mercury made towards the end of the fourth backfired. The first one cost them 11 seconds, while the second saw the final whistle blow.

Meanwhile, the loss weighs heavily on the players, particularly Kahleah Copper. After the game, she was asked about understanding the weight of losing games late in the playoff race.

“I think you said it. You understand the weight of it, but you got to have a short-term memory because we’re playing every few days. At this point, every game matters.”

With the postseason drawing closer, the Mercury will need to put this loss behind them quickly, as they face the Chicago Sky on August 3 for a crucial matchup for playoff chances.

Copper was one of the main forces behind Phoenix’s offense tonight, logging two rebounds alongside her 25 points, as well as providing the steal and pass to DeWanna Bonner that cut the deficit to two late tonight. The Mercury still have a chance to make a late push, but it needs near-perfect execution as well as what Tibbetts has emphasized: grit and toughness.