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PHOENIX — Sandy Brondello didn’t even have to think about her messaging to the team ahead of Saturday’s pivotal matchup against the Mercury.

“Playoff game,” Brondello replied swiftly.

But then the easygoing Aussie came out, and she flashed a wide smile.

“But enjoy it,” she said. “These are fun.”

At least, it was supposed to be.

As it turns out, these types of games are more fun in victories, and the Liberty failed earn one as the Mercury beat them 80-63.

Not only will the defending champions have to wait longer to officially secure a playoff spot, the Liberty also lost their regular-season series against the Mercury 3-1, which gives Phoenix the head-to-head tiebreaker and potentially home-court advantage in the first round.

The Liberty felt the urgency heading into Saturday’s game.

They got a little closer to full strength as they welcomed a masked Natasha Cloud and Jonquel Jones back.

But they were without Sabrina Ionescu, who injured her toe at practice this week.

The Liberty had to be gritty.

They had to be near-perfect.

The turnovers, fouling and rebounding issues that have haunted this team at times needed to be minimized.

The Liberty played well in the first half.

They were methodical with their offense and controlled the tempo well.

On the other end of the floor, their active hands were disrupting Mercury passing lanes and making things hard for Phoenix.

The Liberty took a 39-37 lead at the half.

But they struggled to match the Mercury’s physicality in the second half.

Some of the breakdowns began in the third quarter as the Liberty scored only one point over the final 4:34 of the frame, and the Mercury built up a six-point lead entering the fourth.

On the Liberty’s first possession of the fourth, Marine Johannès turned the ball over and DeWanna Bonner ran it in for an uncontested layup.

Bonner scored seven of her nine points over the final 10 minutes.

The Mercury’s lead steadily grew.

It felt like Phoenix had an answer to every Liberty basket.

Kahleah Copper celebrated a big 3 that gave Phoenix a 15-point lead with 3:49 left by wagging her tongue like Michael Jordan.

The Liberty waved the white flag with 2:16 left as Brondello cleared the bench.

It wasn’t the result the Liberty sought to open this pivotal road trip.

But the Mercury’s big three of Copper (22 points), Alyssa Thomas (14 points, nine assists and five rebounds) and Satou Sabally (14 points and four assists) were too much.

“They were very physical and we weren’t on our front foot and started turning the ball over,” Brondello said. “We weren’t quick to our next actions and then defensively we weren’t really good there. The A.T. ball screen really exploited us in a lot of areas so, yeah, tough game all around.”

Saturday was a glimpse into what could be a potential first-round matchup come Sept. 14.

The Mercury (25-14) and Liberty (24-16) are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the standings.

If the Liberty learned anything about what they could expect if they do in fact meet the Mercury again in the playoffs, it’s that they have to be more physical, Meesseman said.

“We definitely were not playing our best so that’s kind of a good thing knowing that we can do much, much better,” said Meesseman, who scored a team-high 17 points. “So we just got to work on ourselves. Step by step. We still have some games left in the regular season so I think we have to focus on that more than just watching Phoenix as a possible matchup.”

With four games left, the Liberty next head to San Francisco, where they’ll face the expansion Valkyries on Tuesday.