Second Round Bound: Mercury Advance to Round 2 of 2018 WNBA Playoffs with Win Tonight
August 21, 2018 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release
PHOENIX - The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury is bound for the second round of the 2018 WNBA Playoffs after a Round 1 single-elimination win tonight over the Dallas Wings, 101-83, at Wells Fargo Arena at Arizona State University. Phoenix earns a spot in another win-or-go-home game, this time a second-round matchup with the Connecticut Sun, this Thursday, August 23, at 5:30 p.m. Phoenix time (8:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN2.
Phoenix is now 5-0 in single elimination games since the league changed its playoff format prior to the 2016 season, more wins than the rest of the WNBA combined, which is 4-9 (.308) in those knock-out contests.
In Round 2 of the 2018 WNBA Playoffs, the fifth-seeded Mercury and fourth-seeded Sun meet for a second-straight season, while either the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks or seventh-seeded Minnesota Lynx will travel to Washington to take on the third-seeded Mystics. The winners of these games will advance to play in the best-of-five semifinals against either the top-seeded Seattle Storm or second-seeded Atlanta Dream.
The Mercury came away with an 88-83 win in round two of the 2017 WNBA Playoffs a year ago against the Sun behind 26 points and nine rebounds from Brittney Griner and 23 points from Diana Taurasi. Phoenix won the regular season series with Connecticut this year, 2-1, picking up both wins in Phoenix on June 16 and July 5. The Mercury fell to the Sun, 91-87, in the two teams' only in meeting earlier this season.
Be Heard in the Playoffs! Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury are headed to their franchise-record sixth-straight WNBA Playoffs, as Taurasi attempts to lead the Mercury to a WNBA-record tying fourth championship.
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