The Phoenix Mercury eliminated the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty in the first-round WNBA playoff series, but will now face the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.
The Mercury’s comeback from the 0-1 deficit in the best-of-three first round punched the team’s ticket to the semifinals for the first time since 2021. The Mercury overcame the recent past by earning their first playoff win since 2021.
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While the Mercury were underdogs against the Liberty, the team has an even tougher task against the Lynx.
“For Minnesota, we’ll worry about that after this win,” the Mercury’s Satou Sabally said. “We’ve already had a few games against them, never at full strength, but we’re excited for round 2.”
The teams will meet on Sunday, Sept. 21, in Minneapolis, at 2 p.m. for Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinal series. The game will be shown on ESPN.
The Lynx came into the 2025 season with a vengeance after losing the 2024 Finals to the Liberty. But with New York out of the picture now, the Lynx will redirect their plans elsewhere.
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From the outside, it looks like the Lynx are built for a championship run. After trailing the Golden State Valkyries by 17 points in Game 2 of the first-round series, the top-seeded Lynx never wavered. Instead, they mounted a massive comeback to sweep the Valkyries on the road.
A lot of that resilience comes from the Lynx’s core group of Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. Collier is an MVP finalist, while Smith won Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
The Mercury took one game in their four-game season series against the Lynx. Alyssa Thomas posted 29 points, while McBride and Sixth Player of the Year candidate Natisha Hiedeman were limited to 12 combined points in the July 9 meeting.
In the first series, the Mercury unlocked a new level on their defense, outworking New York’s bigs on the boards and causing a lot of congestion.
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When the Big 3 of Thomas, Sabally and Kahleah Copper score 10 or more points, the Mercury are 15-0. Not to mention, DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb have added sparks off the bench.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury set to face the Minnesota Lynx in WNBA semifinals
