The final days of the 2025 WNBA regular season are here, and three former Iowa and Iowa State women’s basketball players will be continuing their seasons as members of one of the eight playoff teams.
The Seattle Storm clinched the eighth and final postseason bid Tuesday, Sept. 9, after defeating the Golden State Valkyries, 74-73, in the team’s regular-season finale at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
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The 2025 WNBA playoffs will begin at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 14, with four-time WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty aiming to become back-to-back WNBA Champions.
Here’s what to know about this year’s WNBA playoffs and how to watch the Iowa college alums play.
How do the WNBA playoffs work?
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The league’s No. 1 seed, the Minnesota Lynx, will play the No. 8 seed; No. 2 plays No. 7; No. 3 plays No. 6; and No. 4 plays No. 5. The first round is best-of-three games, with the higher seed hosting Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 3. The lower seed hosts Game 2.
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The league semifinals will be a best-of-five series. The better seed hosts Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5. The lower seed hosts Games 3 and, if required, 4.
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The league championship series is best-of-seven for the first time, with the better seed hosting Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5 and 7. The lower seed hosts Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 6.
What WNBA teams are in the playoffs?
Rankings based on team’s current record and seeding as of Wednesday, Sept. 10:
What players from Iowa are in the WNBA playoffs?
Kate Martin of the Valkyries and Megan Gustafson of the Aces are the two Iowa players in this year’s WNBA playoffs.
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Martin is making her second trip to the playoffs after reaching the semifinals in 2024 as a rookie with Las Vegas. The guard, who played for Iowa from 2019-2024, recorded solid numbers for the Valkyries, averaging 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game in her first season with the team.
Golden State is the first-ever expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season.
The 2025 playoffs will be Gustafson’s third time making it to the postseason, following two previous appearances in 2024 and 2022, the latter as a member of the Mercury. The Hawkeye legend missed the first half of the season with a left leg injury and made her regular-season debut on July 10. Since then, she has averaged 3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 19 games in 2025.
The complete seedings won’t be known until the end of the regular season on Thursday, Sept. 11. Based on current rankings, the Aces would play the Valkyries in round one. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Sept. 4 and will miss her team’s playoff run.
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What Iowa State players are in the WNBA playoffs
Minnesota forward Bridget Carleton is making her fifth trip to the postseason since being drafted by the Lynx in 2019.
Carleton, one of the best players in Cyclone history (2015-19), has appeared in all 43 of the top-seeded Lynxs’ games, averaging 6.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2 assists per contest.
Lucy Olsen misses the playoffs in her rookie season
Washington Mystics guard Lucy Olsen‘s season has come to an end following her team’s 75-66 loss to the Liberty on Sept. 9. The Mystics finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 16-28 record.
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The former Villanova transfer appeared in nearly all of her team’s games her rookie season, recording 4 points per game on 41.5% shooting from the field.
How to watch the WNBA playoffs?
The WNBA playoffs will be broadcast through Disney on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
Indianapolis Star reporter Scott Horner contributed to this report
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 2025 WNBA playoffs includes these Iowa, Iowa State alums
