Mercury Dominate Liberty in Playoff-Shaping Victory

It all came down to the second half for the Phoenix Mercury against the New York Liberty.

After a back-and-forth first half against a team fighting for a playoff spot, the Mercury gained important separation with a big second half that included holding the Liberty to 24 points and outscoring them by 19 to win 80-63 at PHX Arena on Saturday, Aug. 30.

The Liberty surrendered 26 points off 19 turnovers,while the Mercury allowed just seven on 12 turnovers.

The win had major playoff implications as the fourth-place Mercury (25-14) now hold the season series over the fifth-place Liberty (24-16) and have a better chance of home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Kahleah Copper led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Alyssa Thomas with 14 points and nine assists.”There’s a good chance that we see new york in the first round, so it is indeed what it is,” coach Nate Tibbetts said. “I’m really pleased with our defense in the second half. They were missing a key piece in Sabrina (Ionescu) and tried to play a little bit bigger than they have, but with (Breanna) Stewart back, Emma (Meesseman) and JJ (Jonquel Jones)