Mercury in a funk ahead of final regular reason stretch

It’s as simple as this: the Mercury looked like a team comfortable with its seventh seed in the postseason while the Mystics played like a group fighting for the last spot.

Phoenix had the chance to get back-to-back wins headed to Seattle and sit only one game back from Caitlin Clark and the red hot Fever.

Instead, they hit the road for the last three out of five games of the season sub-.500 (17-18) after a rough showing against Washington.

The loss caps off a seven game stretch in which the Mercury dropped five contests.

Don’t get me wrong – the Mystics have been playing great basketball – but low energy from the jump? Careless turnovers on offense? Consistent defensive breakdowns?

Everyone expected more than that, especially the players and coaches.

“I thought us missing shots early maybe affected how hard we played,” head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We’re in a stretch right now that’s every other game and we might’ve given in to the frustration and fatigue.”

The offense works best when Kahleah Copper gets downhill early and often. It was as stagnant as its been all year, throwing the ball away 17 times for a second straight game (five straight with 15+ turnovers).

One of Tibbetts’ points of emphasis has been getting off to better starts. Something they did last game against the Dream but missed the mark on tonight, being outscored 50-32 in the first half (24-15 in Q1).

“We allowed Washington to be too comfortable,” forward Monique Billings said. “We didn’t really take anything away from them. We didn’t let them feel us on the defensive end. Think we’re still tryna get our flow and our chemistry on offense – that’ll come. Our defense is something we should be hanging our hat on.”

Would’ve been a win for Kristi Toliver and Natasha Cloud against their former team too.

Someone who definitely left the game happy was Sug Sutton, who the Mercury traded earlier this season, along with Phoenix’s 2025 third-round draft pick, for the rights to Swedish league MVP Klara Lundquist.

When she was on PHX’s squad, Sutton notched the first triple-double in franchise history.

“I’m happy that Sug got quality minutes tonight,” Tibbetts said. “Sug was great in the time that I had her. Very professional. Came to work every day. Great teammate.”

The Mercury faces the Storm in Seattle on Saturday at 6 PM.

Also, a very special congratulations to our Sports360AZ teammate and friend in Jody Jackson for being recognized as this game’s Phoenix Mercury Believe in Women honoree.

Thank you Eliav and @PhoenixMercury I’m so honored! https://t.co/QPblT7suos

— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) September 6, 2024