The WNBA Playoffs continued on Thursday with two more single-elimination games in the second round between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury, as well as the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks.
The first game of the night was another that came down to the final possessions, as Phoenix once again found itself in need of a game-winner as they got from Shey Peddy in their first round matchup. However, the Lynx, up 80-79, forced a turnover on the Mercury’s first opportunity at a game-winner and, after two missed free throws, Skyler Diggins-Smith’s desperation attempt at the buzzer was unsuccessful. The Lynx, boasting the Coach of the Year in Cheryl Reeve and Rookie of the Year in Crystal Dangerfield (who had 17 points in the second round win) now advance to square off with the Seattle Storm in a best of five series.
The nightcap was a wire-to-wire win for the Connecticut Sun, who stunned the Sparks in a 22-8 first quarter and never looked back en route to a 73-59 win to set up a semifinals series with league MVP A’ja Wilson and the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces. All five starters for the Sun scored in double figures against L.A., with Alyssa Thomas (19) and DeWanna Bonner (17) leading the way. The Sun were runners up last year, losing in the WNBA Finals to the Washington Mystics, and their run to the semifinals this year has been stunning giving some of the key absences they’re dealing with, namely Jonquel Jones who opted out of the Wubble.
The semifinals will tipoff on Sunday afternoon, starting with Sun-Aces at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN followed by Lynx-Storm on ABC at 3 p.m. ET. The rest of the TV schedule for the semis and Finals can be found below.
Alsooooo the next rounds of this exciting playoffs are SERIES and they go as follows:
Sunday, Sept 20@ConnecticutSun vs @LVAces -1pm ET on ESPN @minnesotalynx vs @seattlestorm -3pm ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/aymFZUTaA5— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) September 18, 2020
