Seattle Storm sweep Minnesota Lynx; Las Vegas Aces force Game 5 vs. Connecticut Sun in WNBA semifinals
BRADENTON, Fla. – Breanna Stewart scored a career playoff-high 31 points – tying Seattle’s franchise playoff record – and Sue Bird had 16 points and nine assists, and the Storm beat Minnesota 92-71 on Sunday to sweep the Lynx and advance to the WNBA Finals.
Stewart added six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. Mercedes Russell tied her season high with 10 points for the No. 2 seed Storm.
Bird and Stewart combined to score or assists on 13 points during a 17-0 run that gave Seattle a 24-8 lead when Sami Whitcomb made a layup with 54.2 seconds left in the first quarter. Stewart made a short jumper to push the Storm’s lead to 18 points with 1:05 left in the first half but Minnesota scored 16 of the next 21 points, inclduing six by Crystal Dangerfield and two 3-pointers by Odyssey Sims, to make it 48-41 about three minutes into the third quarter.
Stewart answered with back-to-back layups and, after Jewell Loyd made another layup, Stewart converted a three-point play and then hit a 3 in a 12-0 run that made it 60-41 with about four minutes later and Minnesota trailed by double figures the rest of the way.
The fourth-seeded Lynx, who came in averaging a playoff-low 11.0 turnovers per game, committed 19 on Sunday. They made 27 of 59 from 3-point range in the first two games of the series but hit just 7 of 22 (31.8%) on Sunday.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 22 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Damiris Dantas and Dangerfield – the 2020 WNBA rookie of the year – scored 16 points apiece and Sims added 10 points.
The Storm will play either top-seeded Las Vegas or No. 7 seed Connecticut in the Finals, which begin Friday. Seattle lost both regular season matchups with the Aces – including an 86-84 loss in the regular season finale – and won its two regular season games against the Sun by an average of 18 points.
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Aces force deciding Game 5 vs. Sun
Angel McCoughtry said she received some inspirational advice from two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne before the game and applied it to keep Las Vegas’ season alive.
McCoughtry scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter as Las Vegas took control and the Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 84-75 on Sunday in Game 4 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.
“It helped (talking) with people who had been in that position, who had won it and done it,” McCoughtry said of Washington Mystics star Delle Donne. “It’s amazing to talk to her about that.”
McCoughtry finished with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
“Angel wasn’t ready to go home. That was fun to watch,” Laimbeer said. “Angel played that third quarter and it was a spectacular performance to get us the lead. We maintained the lead the rest of the way.”
A’ja Wilson, the 2020 league MVP, had 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for top-seeded Las Vegas and Danielle Robinson also scored 18 points.
Game 5 is Tuesday.
McCoughtry scored 14 of the first 18 second-half points for Las Vegas and assisted on the remaining four as the Aces turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 55-46 lead midway through the third quarter and Connecticut trailed by at least nine points the rest of the way.
“She single-handily took over, had 12 points quickly out of halftime and assisted on another basket,” Miller said of McCoughtry. “She played 13 or 14 minutes more than she had been averaging. You see what she’s capable of doing in extended minutes with the amount of shots.”
Las Vegas was without reigning two-time WNBA sixth woman of the year, Dearica Hamby, who will likely miss the remainder of the playoffs with a knee injury.
Jasmine Thomas made a career-high six 3-pointers on 11 attempts and finished with 25 points for the Sun. Alyssa Thomas added 15 points and DeWanna Bonner had 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
WNBA Playoff schedule
Semifinals — Best-of-5
(*-if necessary; All times ET)
No. 1 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 7 Connecticut Sun
Series tied 2-2
Game 1: Connecticut 87, Las Vegas 62
Game 2: Las Vegas, 83, Connecticut 75
Game 3: Connecticut 77, Las Vegas 68
Game 4: Las Vegas 85, Connecticut 75
Game 5: Tuesday: 7 or 9 p.m.
No. 2 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Minnesota Lynx
Storm win series 3-0
Game 1: Seattle 88, Minnesota 86
Game 2: Seattle 89, Minnesota 79
Game 3: Seattle 92, Minnesota 71
Finals — Best-of-5
No. 2 Seattle Storm vs. TBD
(*-if necessary; All times ET)
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 4, 3 p.m.
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.
*-Game 4: Thursday, Oct 8, 7 p.m.
*-Game 5: Sunday, Oct. 11, 3 p.m.
First round — Single elimination
No. 7 Connecticut Sun 94, No. 6 Chicago 81
No. 5 Phoenix Mercury 85, No. 8 Washington Mystics 84
Second round — Single elimination
No. 4 Minnesota Lynx 80, No. 5 Phoenix Mercury, 79
No. 7 Connecticut Sun 73, No. 3 Los Angeles Sparks 59