PHOENIX – Postseason basketball at PHX Arena is all too familiar for coach Sandy Brondello, who helped her defending WNBA champion New York Liberty team take a crucial 76-69 victory in overtime over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of a best-of-three, first-round playoff series.
Brondello’s connection to the Valley includes her part in a 2014 Phoenix WNBA championship season, when she coached the Mercury. But despite the love the Phoenix “X-Factor” faithful have for her, Brondello’s history with the city was not front of mind.
“I love Phoenix. I had eight great years here,” Brondello said. “But now I’m the head coach of the New York Liberty. It’s coming into someone else’s arena to try to win a game. There’s no extra motivation, I just want to make sure we come out and give our best effort.”
The Liberty’s best effort was highlighted by strong offensive performances from forward Breanna Stewart and former-Mercury guard Natasha Cloud. The duo combined for 41 points and nine assists.
Still, the Mercury had a chance to win the game in regulation when Alyssa Thomas spun to the basket for a fast break layup with two seconds on the clock. But, like most shots on the night, it did not land.
The Mercury’s offense took a step back in Game 1 as the Liberty defense took full control with 38 defensive rebounds, something that Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts hasn’t seen teams do often against his squad.
“I don’t think we’ve gotten outrebounded like this all year,” Tibbetts said after the loss. “They did a good job on the glass. We’ll do a better job in Game 2.”
Tipoff for Game 2 is set for Wednesday Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. MST at the Barclays Center, where Phoenix will have to win in order to prevent first-round elimination from the playoffs.
The regular season painted a promising picture for the Mercury in this series against the Liberty, who Phoenix beat in three of four meetings. The playoffs are a different environment, and any regular season clout is thrown out the window.
At the center of the Mercury’s struggles Sunday against New York’s defense was Liberty center Jonquel Jones, who swooped in for 12 rebounds and helped her team force 20 turnovers, equaling the Liberty’s second-highest mark of the season.
For Tibbetts, the lack of offense doesn’t ignore the fact that his team held its own against New York’s high-caliber roster.
“I’ve been extremely proud of our group all season long,” Tibbetts said. “No one’s picking us to win this series. We went toe-to-toe against the defending champs and had a chance to win. I know I expect and the group will expect to bounce back in New York.”
It was a tale of two halves for both teams, as both New York and Phoenix supplied their best offense in the first 20 minutes of play. The Mercury excelled at getting the job done in the paint while the Liberty relied on their defense to push turnovers and rebounds for longer possessions.
Phoenix ended the half down by one with momentum on its side. A 30-point second quarter led by the offense’s physicality at the rim gave the fans, nicknamed the “X-Factor,” plenty to cheer about.
In the second half, the Mercury’s offensive stability tumbled. Though Phoenix was able to outscore the Liberty 22-21 after the half to force overtime, the Mercury shot just 20.7% after hitting at a 43.6% clip in the first half. The drought continued in overtime, where Phoenix shot 22.2%.
New York took advantage of Phoenix’s lapse in performance and opened the extra five minutes with an 8-0 run, a deficit Phoenix could not overcome in the absence of key shooting from Satou Sabally and Thomas. Sabally ended her night 2-for-7 overall and she was 1-of-10 from behind the 3-point line.
“I think Satou was aggressive tonight, she’ll be aggressive,” Tibbetts said. “The thing with 2-for-17 is she’s not trying to miss. But that happens in the game. Every time you’re thinking about shooting, you’re thinking ‘make’ and sometimes there’s games like this.”
Thomas, who led the team with nine rebounds and 14 points in the paint, expressed optimism for the offense going forward.
“A lot of shots were in and out. It could have gone either way,” Thomas said. “That’s the beauty of the series. Unfortunately, the shots weren’t going down today, but we had a lot of open looks.”
The loss for the Mercury marks their fourth-consecutive loss dating back to the regular season, their longest losing streak of the year. Opponents have outscored Phoenix 144-124 in the second halves of those games, a possible indication that Phoenix’s endurance is an issue.
A bright spot for the Mercury in Sunday’s contest was the contributions from the bench, especially from their late veteran addition, DeWanna Bonner. In 31 minutes, Bonner scored 12 points while providing exceptional defense with three steals and five defensive rebounds.
“That’s why we went and got DB, for these moments,” Tibbets said. “As soon as she checked in, you just felt her impact. We’re going to need her veteran presence in New York, too, as we go on the road.”
What once was a home court advantage for the Mercury has now become a do-or-die situation in an away environment. Wednesday’s game will determine whether the Mercury advance to the next round or become victims to a first-round sweep for the second year in a row.
With the odds stacked against them, the attitude has not changed for the Mercury, especially for guard Kahleah Copper.
“The mindset is go get it,” Copper said. “There’s no other mindset. We talked about whatever, whoever said ‘Liberty in three.’ It’s cool, stay there, it’s all right. It’s Merc versus everybody, that’s how we feel.”
In the event that the Mercury take care of business in Game 2, a winner-takes-all Game 3 will be played in Phoenix on Friday, with times to be announced once confirmed.
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