By Wyatt Yearout
The Seattle Storm will look to extend its series lead to 2-0 against the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Semifinals. Game 2 is set for Tuesday, Aug. 28 at KeyArena. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Breanna Stewart MVP t-shirt.
HOME TEAM: Seattle Storm
AWAY TEAM: Phoenix Mercury
TIP-OFF: 7 p.m.
SERIES COUNT: Seattle leads series 1-0
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can watch the game on ESPN2, with live stats available at StormBasketball.com. Live updates will also be provided on Twitter by following @SeattleStorm.
LAST TIME OUT
The Seattle Storm avoided a late comeback attempt by Phoenix to take a 91-87 Game 1 victory.
Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, posted 28 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three-point land, both of which were playoff career-highs.
Jewell Loyd (23 points) and Natasha Howard (20 points) each put in 20-plus points for Seattle, while Sue Bird tallied her third career playoff double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
POSTSEASON SERIES HISTORY
Seattle is now 4-5 all-time against the Phoenix Mercury in postseason play after a Game 1 victory, including 3-2 at KeyArena. The last time Seattle won a playoff series was in 2010, when the Storm swept the Atlanta Dream (3-0) in the WNBA Finals en route to sealing its second championship. The Storm also took down the Mercury that season in the Western Conference Finals, 2-0.
Seattle is 20-22 all-time in postseason play, with Sunday’s victory being the Storm’s first postseason triumph since 2012.
PHOENIX IN GAME 1
DeWanna Bonner (27) and Diana Taurasi (25) combined for over 50 points in Game 1 against the Storm but fell just short of completing a comeback. Phoenix trailed as much as 16 in the game and cut the lead to two points in the final minutes, but that was as close as they were able to get.
Brittney Griner, the sixth best scorer in the regular season at 20.5 points per game, was held to just 13 points.
UP NEXT
Seattle will hit the road for Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals on Aug. 31. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT.