Mercury’s Satou Sabally Reveals Plan To End Unwanted Shooting Streak in Crunch Liberty Playoffs Clash

Satou Sabally flashed back to her 2023 playoff form, and that’s not exactly a highlight reel. As the Phoenix Mercury faced its first postseason test against the New York Liberty, it needed all engines to fire, but Sabally had one of those days. She went 2-17 from the field and 1-10 from the three-point line, which was the second-worst shooting performance in playoff history, matching her 2023 semifinal performance for the Wings against the Aces.

This 2-17 (11.8%) ties for the second-worst FG% in a playoff game (min. 15 attempts), matching her 2-17 (11.8%) in Game 3 of the 2023 semifinals vs. Las Vegas (Sept. 29, 2023; Wings lost 64-61). The worst is 1-17 (5.9%) by multiple players, including Tamika Catchings (2007).

However, Sabally is not letting one of her worst performances put her down with the series on the line, and the team is behind her. 

Phoenix has yet to win a playoff game since its finals run in 2021, and the jitters were visible. After Alyssa Thomas missed the game-winning layup, the Mercury never appeared to shake off the “what if” heading into overtime. The Liberty went on a 7-0 run in the extra period despite Breanna Stewart being off the court. Sabally couldn’t quite get her shot back in the OT as they scored a grand total of 4 points in 5 minutes. But like Nate Tibbets said after the game, “It wasn’t like she was trying to miss.” Sabally is taking her Game 1 performance in stride. 

She said via Desert Wave Media, “Looking at it like really. I look at the film, I’m my hardest critic, so I feel like all the comments and whatever, like they don’t really  faze me. It’s really just like finding you in a calm reading through it, accepting failure too in that way. And just knowing like this was an off day, like it was an off day, moved the page and just tried it around.”

While everyone honed in on Sabally’s awful shooting night, she finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. This stat line shows she contributed in other areas despite being off-key. Could she have shot less? Maybe, but  Sabally has always been a volume shooter. She has averaged more than 13 shots attempted over the last 3 seasons and a team high 13.2 in 2025. So Sabally can’t afford to lose her edge in the most important game of the season. She is Mercury’s best scorer at 16.3 points per game, so they need her to fire to have any chance over the Liberty. Like Thomas later revealed, the only solution is to “keep shooting”. The Mercury star is in better spirits than you would have expected her to be. 

Sabally further said, “I’ve learned just to live with failure and learn from it rather than beating myself up for it. Because a lot of times when we say Oh my God, this was horrible like when you really look at it, it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was. And just staying strong like this is why athletes are so good at performance.”

Alyssa Thomas is gearing up for her ninth playoff run. Kahleah Copper? Seventh trip to the big stage. Satou Sabally has danced in the postseason three times before, so the Game 1 jitters will be relatively easy to shake off. Taking down the Liberty on their home floor is no easy mission, and Sandy Brondello’s squad enters as the clear favorite. But if Satou Sabally rediscovers her shot, the door swings wide open. With their mindset locked in, the Mercury look ready to challenge the reigning champs head-on.

Coach Nate Tibbets Stands Firm Behind Satou Sabally

Satou Sabally wasn’t alone in her shooting drought. Monique Akoa Makani shot 2-11, Sami Whitcomb shot 2-7, and the team as a whole shot a woeful 32.5% from the field and a 23.1% from the three-point line. “I mean, look at the stats of open shots that we had. Usually we make those 60-70 percent of the time, and you know, there’s a lot of chances in and out.” Alyssa Thomas explained. The Mercury may shoot just 43.3% on the season, but their outing against the Liberty was a rare exception. Like Sabally said, a positive view for the second game is the way to go, and coach Nate Tibbets agreed. 

Tibbets said, “I think that’s the beauty of Satou’s approach, like she’s got a New Day mentality. It’s probably one of her worst shooting performances of her career. You know she had a couple tough shots, but she had open shots. We believe in her work and we feel like she’ll be ready to respond.”

Remember, it was Mercury who finished No.4 seed above the Liberty, and by no means is the series over. New York picked up a win on the road, and Phoenix can do the same. In fact, they beat the Liberty 89-81 in New York in the team’s first regular-season meeting. However, their form is still a bit of a concern; they lost all of their last three regular-season games. With or without Breanna Stewart, Liberty has the tools to overpower Mercury, and ESPN gives Mercury only a 24.3% chance to get the win. It will take the performance of their lives for Mercury to take this to Game 3.