Can Mercury break through Lynx defense?
USAT’s Meghan Hall and Sam Cardona-Norberg break down Mercury’s playoff chances against the Lynx and Alyssa Thomas’s impact.
Sports Seriously
- The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Minnesota Lynx 84-76 in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals.
- Phoenix’s defense held Minnesota to just nine points in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx were neck-and-neck to take the critical Game 3, but it was the fourth quarter where the Mercury’s defense took over.
Holding the Lynx to nine points in the final frame, the Mercury are now one win away from the WNBA Finals after winning, 84-76, at PHX Arena on Friday, Sept. 26.
All season, the Mercury have been at their best when the Big 3 of Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas are playing at a high level. Once Sabally got going in the second half, shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and scoring 19 points after missing all five shots in the first half, Phoenix began to reel in the No. 1-seeded Lynx.
“When you bring great players together, you never really know for sure how it’s going to work,” coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We did a great job of finding ‘Kah’ (Copper) early. I thought in the first half, (Sabally) may have forced some things. I think she was excited about the game.
“The second half, I was extremely proud of her and how she let the game come to her. She’s just fearless and made some big-time plays down the stretch.”
Sabally led all scorers with 23 points, followed by Copper and Thomas posting 21 points.
Copper shot 9 of 13 for the game, but she carried the Mercury with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the first half.
Emotions rose after halftime when Copper received a technical after beating Lynx guard Courtney Williams on the fast break midway through the quarter.
The high intensity seemed to have a positive effect on the Mercury from that point forward.
“It was nothing deeper than what it was,” Copper said. “Right after that, we came to a timeout and AT (Thomas) spoke up about staying composed and understanding that we understand the moment, but just to stay locked in, and we don’t want anything to affect the game and change the momentum.”
The physicality from both sides reached a boiling point when Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected from the game after Napheesa Collier was hit by Thomas after Thomas poked the ball loose, resulting in a fast-break layup with 21.8 seconds left.
In her profanity-laced postgame speech, Reeve said that Collier’s leg was “taken out and probably has a fracture.”
Collier posted 17 points for the Lynx on 8-of-15 shooting, but scored only four points on 2-of-6 shooting in the second half.
“I feel like she’s a routine player who gets her spots in an elite way and you have to shut that down,” Sabally said. “She has her 50/40/90 (shooting 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the free-throw line. That is really big. It’s hard to do and to disrupt that, you have to be an elite defender.
“That’s what we have on the team, and this is really teamwork. We have a lot of tips on her, so it’s been a team effort. It’s just knowing where she wants to go.”
Natisha Hiedeman provided a spark off the bench for the Lynx with 19 points, but led the team with just eight points in the second half.
The Mercury will have a chance to eliminate the Lynx in Game 4 on Sunday, Sept. 28, on ESPN.
The Phoenix Mercury have the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx on the brink of elimination in the WNBA semifinals, rallying for a dramatic 84-76 win in Game 3.
Satou Sabally had a massive second half, going 5 of 6 from the floor and scoring 19 points after missing all five shots in the first half. Saballa finished with 23 points on the night, which included an 11-for-11 performance at the free-throw line.
Kahleah Copper scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected from the game after receiving her second technical foul with 21.8 seconds left in the game. Reeve was dragged away from the official by her coaching staff and guard Natisha Hiedeman. Associate head coach Eric Thibault also received a technical following Reeve’s ejection.
Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman had a big third quarter with eight points and propelled the Lynx to a 67-63 lead. The Lynx outscored the Mercury by eight in the quarter and were 10 of 19 (52.6%).
Hiedeman leads the Lynx with 19 points in the game, while the Mercury are led by Kahleah Copper’s 19 points. Copper has been playing well throughout the game, but got a technical after beating Courtney Williams on the fast break with 4:38 left.
The Phoenix Mercury took a 48-44 lead at halftime.
The Lynx dealt with a lot of issues in the first half, receiving a traveling violation and several foul calls. Frustrations boiled when a shot clock violation on Napheesa Collier was called with 5:27 left, and head coach Cheryl Reeve received a technical foul.
Kahleah Copper dominated in her matchup against Courtney Williams, scoring 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Williams was limping around in the second quarter and was a step slower at times.
The Phoenix Mercury had a hot start in the first quarter, but the Minnesota Lynx used a late run to pull ahead with a 22-19 lead after the first quarter.
The teams were tied with 4 minutes left, but the Lynx used an 8-0 run to pull ahead. The Lynx scored four points off the Mercury’s four turnovers. Courtney Williams led all scorers with seven points in the quarter.
Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani had a good start with five points off 2 of 3 shooting in the first 5:44 minutes of play. She drove and shot inside the paint over Alanna Smith.
The Mercury players didn’t disclose the details about head coach Nate Tibbetts’ halftime speech in Game 2, but Satou Sabally said it was “necessary heat” for their first-half performance.
Kahleah Copper added more insight at shootaround before Game 3 and said his urgency helped them overcome the Minnesota Lynx.
“I think he’s been Mr. Nice Guy all season, so it was about time,” Copper said. “I think we respect him and understand what the message was, so we came out a lot stronger in the second half.”
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
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