LAS VEGAS — The Phoenix Mercury led for more than two-thirds of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, but they couldn’t finish what they started Friday night in their 89-86 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
The fourth-seeded Mercury were ahead for more than 27 minutes, and their biggest lead was nine points after Monique Akoa Makani hit three consecutive free throws for a 66-57 advantage with 3:36 left in the third quarter.
The last lead for Phoenix was 82-80 with a little less than five minutes left in the game. Instead of the Mercury nullifying the second-seeded Aces’ home-court advantage, they’re trying to avoid falling into a deeper hole in the best-of-seven series going into Game 2 on Sunday afternoon.
So what went wrong?
“They made a couple plays down the stretch we didn’t,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbets said. “That’s why this is going to be a great series, right?”