DeWanna Bonner gave the Phoenix Mercury a lifeline with 24.1 seconds remaining against the New York Liberty, but the Mercury failed to close the deal, losing an important matchup, 94-92, at Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday, Aug. 1.Kahleah Copper had justpoked the balloutfromNew York's SabrinaIonescu andfoundanopen Bonner along the perimeter. Bonner hesitated and looked around for other optionsbeforehitting a 3-pointerto cut the deficit to two points.With ample time left, the Mercury could steal thegame.But Phoenix burned 11 seconds before fouling,and the game started to fall out of their hands.After the Liberty's Breanna Stewart sunk both free throws, the Mercury's Alyssa Thomas hit a layup with four seconds left but New York killed the final four seconds.The Mercury(11-19)squandereda prime opportunityto close the gap on the Liberty, and now are six games out of the final playoff spot with only 14 remaining."Obviously, we're trying topushto make theplayoffsand we got to go on a run, we understandthat," coach Nate Tibbetts said. "Every time we lose, wegotto be willing to bounceback and forget this when that time comes.I'vebeen proud of the waywe'veplayedlately, andweput ourselves in a position to win anothergoodgametoday, but wedidn'tget it done."The Mercurywon'thave another home gameuntil Aug. 16, but by that time, the postseason could be out of reach. Phoenix has five consecutive road games up next, with two againstopponents currently in playoff position.The Mercury looked sluggish at the start and were 0-for-5 on field goals before Bonner's layup at 4:04. By then,the Libertywereup 11-3and kept finding the right shots.But Bonner helped the Phoenix offenseget back into itin the second quarter, supplying five points in a 7-0 run. The Mercury outscored the Liberty by eight points, but New York controlled theglass anddidn'tallow many second-chance looks.The Mercury's 11-0 run midway through the third quarter gave them their first lead of the game, which ballooned to 10 with just more than three minutes remaining in the quarter. The defense locked upthe Liberty, giving up only six points innearly sixminutes of play.However,the Libertydidn'tgo away and flexed their 3-point shooting. New Yorkoutscored the Mercury 14-3 in the next four minutesas the Mercury committed three turnovers."I think the last three quarterswasthe level we needed to get to," Tibbetts said. "I didn't think in the first quarter, the way we came out, we didn't get after it the way we needed to.I thought we had some really good possessions and some deflating possessions.They hit two 3sright at the end of the shot clock. Those are hard to overcome."Bonner had another excellent game for the Mercuryas one of the top options on offense. She led the team with seven rebounds, and, over the past five games, has averaged 16 points andeight rebounds.The 38-year-old has played a lot in the past two gamesagainst bigger lineups and took the most shots against New York, scoring 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Copper also added 25 points."We'reusing me in different ways than in the first half of the season," Bonner said."When I'm aggressive, it opens up things for Kah and space for Alyssa. We're just figuring out where I can get reps, andnowwe're using me in different ways in different situations, and it's kind of keeping teams off balance."Ionescuhad only six points in the fourthquarter, butmadetwo 3-pointers at critical points, including a long 28-footer to boost the Liberty lead to 87-81.Ionescu led New York with 27 points and four 3-pointers.The Liberty proved they had more options from3-point range, including6-foot-11 centerHan Xu, who went 3-of-6 from deep and scored 17 points off the bench.The Mercury now sit behind three other teams for the eighth spot. One of the teams in that race is the Chicago Sky, which will bePhoenix's next opponent on Monday, Aug. 3.Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortizon X.Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newslettersso youdon'tmiss a thing.This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury fumble chance to boost playoff hopes, fall to Liberty