Another playoff run was over before it could get started for the Liberty.
Diana Taurasi had 30 points, Brittney Griner had 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Liberty 101-94 in the second round of the WNBA playoffs Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Phoenix, the No. 8 seed, led nearly the entire way before ending the No. 3 Liberty’s season in the single-elimination game of the league’s new playoff format.
The Liberty trailed 68-67 going to the fourth and tied the score at 74 on an Epiphanny Prince 3-pointer with 7:23 left in the game.
Forward Tina Charles scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Liberty, the regular season Eastern Conference champions, who were a win away from the WNBA Finals last season.
Griner who struggled to find her game prior to the Olympics, said knowing the season could end added a sense of urgency.
“You can’t let one slip away,” Griner said. “It really made us work well together, knowing this was a single elimination game.” We’ll have to play each and every game like this moving forward.”
Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said the key strategy was keeping her starters on the court, particularly Taurasi.
“Oh, Diana Taurasi, she’s the GOAT,” Brondello said. “She’s such an unselfish player. Her determination to win in big moments, that’s why we keep her in the game, she makes those shots.”
Though Charles fared better in previous meetings with Mercury, she agreed Taurasi was the key to assuring her team’s defeat.
“Diana was Diana tonight,” Charles said. “Penny Taylor and Brittney Griner played well too. To me, success is not about awards you receive. We did get better. Aside from what happened tonight, I can’t cry. I hold my head up. We improved as a team.”
Tanisha Wright dropped in 21 points and Carolyn Swords added 14 for the Liberty. It just wasn’t enough.
Liberty guard Brittany Boyd remained on the bench with her head down during the national anthem in support of Colin Kaepernick’s social injustice message.