In an overtime loss Sunday that they could have won in regulation, the Phoenix Mercury proved their regular-season edge over the WNBA defending champion New York Liberty was not a fluke.
They also learned that rookie Monique Akoa Makani is not over her head in the playoffs even given the assignment of guarding Sabrina Ionescu, projected to make a fourth All-WNBA team when first and second teams are announced Oct. 7.
Ionescu scored 16 points in the Liberty’s 76-69 win but none over the final 12:37 of the fourth quarter/overtime. This after Ionescu burned the Mercury for 29 points on July 25 in New York, where Game 2 of the best-of-3 first round series will be played Wednesday.
“Good thing I’m not just a scorer,” said Ionescu, who had two key assists in overtime when the Liberty scored the first eight points. “I was able to continue to facilitate and find ways to help us win. That’s something I’ve always been able to hang my hat on.”
Ionescu missed a game in Phoenix on Aug. 30 due to a toe injury. The Mercury won 80-63 for a 3-1 season series advantage that ultimately proved the tiebreaker difference for this playoff series. But the defending champion Liberty were never going to be an easy out and now the Mercury must win twice to extend their season.
To force a Game 3 on Friday in Phoenix, the Mercury will need another stellar defensive performance like they accomplished in limiting the Liberty to 21 second-half points. That includes Akoa Makani, who figures to carry more confidence into Game 2 now that she’s tasted the playoffs.
“It was a good effort for me to keep for next game,” she said. “It felt a little different (in Game 1) because I felt like I was receiving less calls from the refs. I really had to be more physical because they were being more physical. It was definitely more challenging for me.”
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts and Kahleah Copper, 2021 WNBA Finals MVP, were effusive in praising 24-year-old Akoa Makani, who wasn’t certain she was ready to make the jump from France to the WNBA.
“Mo has been incredible,” Copper said. “It’s important for myself and AT (Alyssa Thomas) to continue to pour into and to let her know what she’s doing is important and what we’re going to need down the stretch. She’s locked in defensively. We know what Mo can do offensively, but there’s going to be times when we need different people to be a star in their role. That’s what Mo is doing for us right now for us, and she’s taking pride in that.”
The WNBA all-rookie team will be announced Sept. 29. Akoa Makani did not make the Associated Press all-rookie team (six players) although her credentials are as solid as half that group.
“Mo is probably a little bit overlooked with some of the other great players we have,” Tibbetts said. “What she has done as a rookie is super impressive. The way she battled against Sabrina all day is what we’re going to need to win this series. She’s been up to every challenge we’ve put in front of her.”
Akoa Makani was 2-of-11 shooting, contributing to the Mercury’s 32.5 percent overall and 23.1 percent from 3-point. That collectively needs to improve in New York, where the Mercury are 1-1 this season.
“We had a lot of missed shots,” Akoa Makani said. “It’s one of those things where they just don’t go in. We’ve got to accept it and move on to the next one. As competitors, we know the better we move on, the better the next game is going to be for us.”
The Liberty won 89-76 over the Mercury at Barclays Center on July 25, the game where Ionescu scored 29. Tibbetts must scheme up a way to limit her like in Game 1 while also slowing Natasha Cloud, who had a game-high 23 Sunday.
Copper was the primary defender on Cloud, traded after one season with the Mercury to Connecticut and subsequently to New York.
“Losing is never a good feeling, but knowing who we have in this locker room as far as players and leaders, I know we can go get it there and come back here for the third game,” Akoa Makani said.
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