The Phoenix Mercury have been eradicated from postseason rivalry Sunday with a 77-74 loss to the Dallas Wings, snapping what were the league’s longest lively streak of playoff appearances (10 directly years).

The endmost past the Mercury neglected the playoffs used to be 2012, when Diana Taurasi performed most effective 8 video games because of trauma and Penny Taylor neglected all the pace nearest tearing her ACL within the offseason. Brittney Griner used to be drafted refer to spring.

Additionally on Sunday, the Seattle Typhoon noticed their streak of consecutive playoff appearances (2016-22) damaged with their loss to the Chicago Sky. The longest lively streak of postseason berths now belongs to the Connecticut Solar (2017-23).

“It was a season that was not ideal,” intervening time schoolmaster Nikki Blue mentioned of what went improper for the Mercury. “However, we still have a couple games left, so our season is not over yet. Although we might miss the playoffs this year, we still are going to focus on winning these next couple games.”

It’s been a disappointing pace for the Mercury, who fired schoolmaster Vanessa Nygaard halfway via her 2nd season following a 2-10 get started. Franchise stars Griner and Taurasi have seemed in most effective 25 sport apiece, year a number of gamers have sat no less than a handful of video games because of trauma. Perennial All-Famous person barricade Skylar Diggins-Smith used to be additionally out all the season year on being pregnant/maternity release.

Griner — who neglected all of endmost season year she used to be detained in Russia for 10 months — performed Sunday nearest lacking a future because of condition and protection protocols. Taurasi has been out since Aug. 20 with a toe trauma. And Sophie Cunningham neglected the general 3 mins of Sunday’s sport nearest happening with an trauma.

Phoenix narrowly made the playoffs endmost pace at 15-21 regardless of a tumultuous summer time involving a couple of participant absences, accidents and midseason departures.

Blue mentioned that despite the fact that the Mercury will pass over the postseason, “our players, they continue to keep fighting, and I’m very, very, very proud of us for that.

“They display up each era they usually paintings sun-baked. You couldn’t inform that our report is what it’s in our practices, as a result of their morale — they’re exuberant, they’re keen to be told, they’re desperate to play games, they’re desperate to compete.”

Added guard Moriah Jefferson, who is in her first year with Phoenix: “We’ve been via a quantity this season with accidents and society going out and in and a untouched training team of workers. For us, we don’t love to create any excuses, particularly in video games like this night. I believe we must have gained that. However for us, it’s near to looking to get well each unmarried sport. It doesn’t matter what’s thrown at us, we simply need to store pushing for it. This pace, we were given a quantity nearer and with a bit of luck we will be able to store proceeding to try this.”

Blue, who was elevated to interim coach after Nygaard’s firing, said she hopes the Mercury will remove her interim tag, and noted that in spite of all the injuries, she believes the team demonstrated progress under her tenure.

“I am hoping that they’ve obvious the transition that our crew has made within the past that I’ve been head schoolmaster,” Blue said. “When we get a complete roster, I wish to see what we will be able to do with that.”

Phoenix has six video games too much, together with two at house; the Mercury are 1-15 at the highway.