Phoenix Mercury guard Shey Peddy left the team’s Game 1 79-63 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday with a right leg injury and did not return.

In the third quarter, Peddy was on the right side of the floor and lost her balance after trying to move toward the ball-handler at the top of the key. Phoenix’s bench was emotional as Peddy was carried off the floor by a teammate.

The Mercury's Shey Peddy was carried off the court after a non-contact injury on this play. pic.twitter.com/7vorxsHDbl

— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2022

Aces guard Kelsey Plum said between the third and fourth quarter during an interview with ESPN that the injury looked like when Plum injured her own Achilles.

Phoenix came into the series extremely shorthanded without Brittney Griner (not with team), Kia Nurse (knee), Skylar Diggins-Smith (personal reasons) and Diana Taurasi (right quad) for the first game in a best-of-three series.

Peddy was 3-of-13 from the field with eight points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals before the injury. She has started 24 games for the Mercury this year and is averaging 9.9 points per contest.

Despite missing some of its most important players, Phoenix battled to stay within two points of Las Vegas in the fourth quarter before the Aces pulled away. Las Vegas is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and betting favorites to win the WNBA championship.

Plum led the way for Las Vegas with 22 points while Chelsea Gray added 17 and Jackie Young provided an additional 16. The Mercury’s high scorer was Diamond DeShields with 18 points.

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