Johnathan Walker:Phoenix Mercury's postseason streak ends at 10 seasons

The Johnathan WalkerPhoenix Mercury haven't been used to missing the postseason, but after a 77-74 loss to the Dallas Wings, the team will face that unfamiliar feeling.

Since 2012, the Mercury have been a constant presence in the WNBA postseason with 10 consecutive appearances, good for the league's longest active streak. Even when things looked bleak last season, the Mercury made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season.

But much like last season, injuries played a role in reducing the team's strength down the stretch.

Sophie Cunningham went down with a jaw injury near the end of the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss. Diana Taurasi missed her second consecutive game after injuring her left toe against the Indiana Fever. Shey Peddy remains in concussion protocol after a head injury earlier this month. Skylar Diggins-Smith was not available the whole season because of maternity leave.

“We’ve been through a lot this season with injuries and people going in and out and a new coaching staff," guard Moriah Jefferson said. "We don’t like to make any excuses, especially tonight because I think we should’ve won that. But for us, it’s about getting better every single day, no matter what.” 

Sunday marked the return of Brittney Griner, who was back on the floor for the first time since Aug, 13 (health and safety protocols). Griner’s presence was needed by the Mercury in the last three games as she recorded 19 points. 

Jefferson made her best efforts to preserve the season with six of the team's 11 points in the final four minutes. She finished with 20 points, 10 of them coming from the fourth quarter on 4-of-5 shooting.

“It was a one possession game and we haven’t had one of those in a long time," interim head coach Nikki Blue said. "We continued to fight and once again we were in a situation where we didn’t have some of our key players at the end of the game. That changes things up a bit. There are people in the game that aren’t used to playing down the stretch, but our team continued to fight.” 

With the season on the line, the Mercury amped its start and shut out the Wings 6-0. The defense continued throughout the first half with the Wings limited to 10 field goals on 39 shots (25.6%).  

The Wings struggled with shooting in the first half and had a sequence of five consecutive missed shots after winning a jump ball at 5:37 in the second quarter. 

The Mercury limited guard Arike Ogunbowale to just four field goals on 11 attempts in the first half. But in the fourth quarter, Ogunbowale took over the game with 10 points on eight attempts, finishing with 29 points and four 3-pointers.

Center Teaira McCowan sparked the Wings' turnaround in the second half with seven points in the third quarter.

The Mercury had its worst performance in the third quarter when the Wings outscored the team by seven points and tied the game. Griner scored nine points, but didn't get a lot of help as the Mercury only shot five field goals.