By Wyatt Yearout
The Seattle Storm locked up a trip to the WNBA Finals for the third time in franchise history after defeating the Phoenix Mercury, 94-84.
Breanna Stewart posted a team-high 28 points along with nine rebounds to lead the way for the Storm.
Sue Bird tallied 22 points while dishing out five assists. The all-time WNBA assist leader led Seattle in its fourth quarter comeback, scoring 14 points in the final period alone.
Alysha Clark pulled down a playoff career high 13 rebounds while also putting in 13 points.
DEFINING MOMENTS
After trailing by four entering the fourth, the Storm rattled off a 7-0 to open the final period to take its first lead of the game at 66-63. The Mercury answered Seattle with a 7-0 run of its own, however, extending the Phoenix lead back to four points.
Seattle began chipping away and put together a 10-1 run to not only reclaim the lead, but build an eight-point advantage with just under three minutes remaining. Leading 81-76 with less than three minutes, Seattle put the nail in the coffin thanks to Bird, who drilled a deep trey on the left wing to stretch the lead to eight. The Mercury offense fell cold down the stretch, allowing the Storm to extend its lead to double-digits late and seal its third finals berth in franchise history.
NOTES
- Sami Whitcomb entered the game with Storm trailing 57-49 at the 4:39 mark of the 3rd She stayed in for the rest of the game, getting a playoff career-high 11 points and 4 assists in the span.
- The Storm won its 1st series since 2010, when the team swept Atlanta (3-0) en route to sealing its 2nd WNBA championship.
- Seattle set franchise records for points in a playoff game (94) and quarter (35), outscoring Phoenix 35-21 in the 4th
- Stewart’s 11 field goals equaled the franchise playoff record (Betty Lennox, 10/10/04 vs. CON).
- The Storm outrebounded the Mercury, 40-29, marking the largest rebounding margin for Seattle in the postseason. This was the second time Seattle outrebounded Phoenix in the series. This advantage turned into an 18-6 edge in second-chance points for Seattle.
- Seattle held Phoenix without a field goal between 4:57 and 0:42.2 marks of the fourth quarter, turning a 75-74 deficit into an 89-80 lead.
- After going 3-for-13 from deep in the first half, the Storm went 8-for-12 in the final 20 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Storm hosts the Washington Mystics in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday, Sept. 7 at KeyArena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m./PT.