The Phoenix Mercury will have their busiest stretch remaining in the season with four games in six days.
With all three opponents vying for a playoff spot, the Mercury will be tested.
The Mercury will start with the Seattle Storm on the road on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m. The Storm hold the season series 2-1 against the Mercury, winning the past two meetings.
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At the trade deadline, the Storm were among the teams to make a move, trading for veteran guard Brittney Sykes. Sykes earned an All-Star nod with the Washington Mystics this season, averaging 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and a career high 4.4 assists in 25 games.
Against the Storm, the Mercury have averaged 15.7 turnovers and 19.7 personal fouls. However, the Mercury have averaged more points (76.0), 3-pointers (8.0), rebounds (33.7) and field goals (28.7).
The game will be shown locally on Arizona’s Family 3TV and Arizona’s Family Sports.
The Mercury will then travel to San Francisco to face the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m.
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The Valkyries have created a tough home environment in their first year, drawing the highest average attendance in the WNBA with 18,064 per game.
All-Star forward Kayla Thornton suffered a devastating knee injury during practice in late July that ended her season. Thornton led the team in points (14.0) and rebounds (7.0), but the team has rallied in her absence.
Forward Cecilia Zandalasini averaged 14.0 points with 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists across four games following Thornton’s injury.
The Mercury will head to Las Vegas to face the Aces on Thursday, Aug. 21, for the final meeting of the season. The game will be shown locally on Arizona’s Family 3TV and nationally on Prime Video at 7 p.m.
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The Mercury will then host the Valkyries on Friday, Aug. 22, at PHX Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be on ION.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury lookahead: Big matchups against playoff teams
