ARLINGTON — The Phoenix Mercury wrapped up the regular season on Thursday night with a 97-76 loss to the Dallas Wings, but are already shifting their attention to the playoffs.
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Sep 11, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Phoenix Mercury center Kalani Brown (21) shoots the ball over Dallas Wings guard Haley Jones (30) during the second half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Mercury started the game on a 20-6 run against the Wings, but Dallas quickly chipped away in the second quarter. Dallas took the lead into halftime and didn’t look back. Phoenix used its entire bench and its starters played fewer than 20 minutes.
When asked what they hope the team should clean up before the start of the playoffs, center Kalani Brown said the intensity on their defense.
Sep 11, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward Myisha Hines-Allen (2) moves the ball against Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack (4) during the second half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“Our rebounding wasn’t our best tonight,” Brown said. “Once our defense is on, and that’s clicking, and we’re doing that at a high level, it translates to offense, and we can have fun. It’s been like that all season. So yeah, definitely starts with defense.”
Phoenix allowed 54 points in the paint and was outrebounded 42-27 in the loss to Dallas.
Sep 11, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward Amy Okonkwo (0) makes a shot against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Mercury ended the regular season with a 27-17 record, the team’s second-most wins in franchise history.
Now locked in for the No. 4 seed, Phoenix will face the No. 5 seed New York Liberty in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. The team comes out of the regular season healthy and will now focus on the next challenge this weekend.
“We did a good job here the last couple [of] games, limiting minutes,” head coach Nate Tibbetts said post-game. “Now the focus, obviously, is New York. We’ve been talking about them, the last couple [of] days and getting ready for this series. I think we’ll be rested and ready to go. This is the new season. There’s only eight teams that are moving on and we’re gonna be excited to host game one on Sunday.”
Lexi joins the 3PT party! 🎉
6 players so far thru the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/44Sg9vOsUc
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 12, 2025
With the regular season in the rearview, the Mercury now look toward facing the reigning WNBA champions as they pursue a title of their own this season.
The Phoenix Mercury will host the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Sunday, Sept. 14.
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Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde
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