Making a Statement. Going Down in Defeat.

After the Liberty finished 21-13 with the Eastern Conference’s best record, their season ended after just one playoff game.

The Liberty’s No. 3 seeding had given them only a bye in the first round of the W.N.B.A.’s new playoff format for this season, which features single-game playoffs for all but the semifinals and the final and eliminates the importance of conferences in the postseason matchups.

The Mercury, the eighth seed, advanced to the semifinals against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.

The moral of the story?

Don't take your eye  off the ball, ladies. Play the game, and don't settle for being entertainment fodder, just providing symbolic shows in the pre-game...

The Liberty's Swin Cash, who has said she plans to retire, finished scoreless in more than 11 minutes of play, but her impact on the team was evident before the game.

Through the season, Cash has guided her teammates as they have staged protests in response to police shootings and gun violence.  

Before Saturday’s game, Liberty guard Brittany Boyd arrived at the Garden wearing a No. 7 San Francisco 49ers jersey to support Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who has become a leading voice among athletes in the national discussion on race, violence and policing.

During the national anthem, Boyd sat on the bench with her head bowed.

And then her team lost. The Liberty lost.

“I was really hoping this was the year we could get over that bump, but sometimes you got to take a couple bruises before you figure it out,” Cash said.

Here's to healing up in retirement, I guess...

After the game, when asked what the totality of this season meant, including the Liberty’s protests, Cash said, “It’s tough to kind of completely reflect right now, but I’m very proud of this team.”

The Mercury, the eighth seed, advance to the semifinals against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx. (Defense...defense! *clap, clap, clap-clap-clap!*)

The Mercury and Lynx will play Game 1 of their best-of five series Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center. Game 2 will be Friday night at Xcel. The second-seeded Los Angeles Sparks will open the semifinals Wednesday against Sunday’s Chicago-Atlanta winner.