On Wednesday night, the Mercury suffered a resounding loss against the Sparks, 91-62. The Mercury had a challenging game against the No. 8 seed on the road without three of its stars in Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and Shey Peddy.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In a must-win game for the Mercury to keep their playoff hopes alive, the game quickly turned into a blowout as the Mercury went down by 15 points at the conclusion of the first quarter.Â
In the absence of three key players, Sophia Cunningham stepped up and logged 16 points for the Mercury, adding six assists and five rebounds.Â
Behind Cunningham, Megan Gustafson finished with 14 points, three assists and eight rebounds. Off of the bench, Liz Dixon contributed another 12 points to the team with one block and one rebound.
The Sparks had four players in double figures during Wednesday night’s game with Azura Stevens having an impressive game, contributing 20 points, three assists and nine rebounds with three blocks and one steal.
The difference between winning and losing for the Mercury came in the form of missed 3-pointers and turnovers. The Mercury made three 3-pointers, shooting 19% from the 3-point line compared to the Sparks’ ten. The Mercury had over double the amount of turnovers as the Sparks’ with 16.Â
With their loss, the Mercury fell 5.5 games behind the No. 8 seed and are now tied for last place in the league with the Indiana Fever, virtually distinguishing any chances for a spot in the postseason. With only seven games left and two of them being against the No. 1 seeded Las Vegas Aces, the Mercury will need a miracle to see the playoffs. Â
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Taylyn Hadley is a sports and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on X via @TAYLYNH11.
