The Phoenix Mercury found themselves on the wrong side of history on Sunday afternoon. Following Phoenix's 77-74 loss to the Dallas Wings, the Mercury will now officially miss the WNBA playoffs for the first time in ten seasons.
The unenviable news marks an appropriate ending, or at least end-in-site, for what has been a frustrating season for Phoenix. This is the first time since the team drafted Brittney Griner that they won't be participating in postseason basketball. The last such season occurred in 2012, when star guard Diana Taurasi missed most of the season due to injury.
It's worth noting that Diana Taurasi has not played this season since August 20, including missing Sunday's loss to Dallas.
“It was a season that was not ideal,” said interim coach Nikki Blue, per ESPN. “Although we might miss the playoffs this year, we still are going to focus on winning these next couple games.”
The unfortunate franchise history was not the only thing to go wrong for the Mercury on Sunday. Sharpshooter Sophie Cunningham also exited the contest with an injury at the tail-end of the narrow loss.
Blue has been filling in for coach Vanessa Nygaard, who was fired earlier in the year after Phoenix got off to a slow start out of the gates.
A large part of Phoenix's struggles this season has been their awful play away from home, as they are just 1-15 in road games. Unfortunately for the Mercury, not that it matters much now, but four of Phoenix's final six contests will be on the road.
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