SEATTLE (AP) — Sue Bird was on the brink of seeing maybe her last good chance at getting to the WNBA Finals evaporate. She was playing with a broken nose, her team was playing from behind for almost all of Game 5, and against her rival and friend that never loses in these situations.
And to make matters worse, Bird couldn't find her shot, missing eight consecutive attempts.
PHOENIX (AP) — Four times this postseason, the Phoenix Mercury have faced elimination.
They've won all four and now it's on to Seattle for another one.
Brittney Griner provided the deciding offense and necessary defense in the final seconds as the Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 86-84 on Sunday to force a deciding Game 5 in their WNBA semifinal series.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury lost a starter before the ball went in the air. Their best player struggled to get her shots to fall, their opponent went on another big run.
DeWanna Bonner, with a big boost from Yvonne Turner, kept their season going.
Taking over the offensive lead, Bonner had 27 points and 11 points to help the Mercury to an 86-66 win over the Seattle Storm on Friday night to force a Game 4 in the WNBA semifinal series.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury got off to good starts against the Seattle Storm in the first two games of the WNBA semifinals. They've been good in the fourth quarter, too, highlighted by Diana Taurasi's clutch shots at the end of regulation in Game 2.
Now if the Mercury could just get those two middle quarters right.
SEATTLE (AP) — After watching her team let a big lead slip away, Sue Bird said hitting the reset button was as easy as resetting the game clock for an extra five minutes.
Bird scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:03 left in overtime and two clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left, to help the Seattle Storm recover from blowing a 17-point fourth quarter bulge and beat the Phoenix Mercury 91-87 in the second game of the WNBA semifinals Tuesday night.
SEATTLE (AP) — On the day Breanna Stewart became the newly minted WNBA MVP, a key part of her supporting cast came through with a couple of big shots the Seattle Storm needed in the closing minutes.
Stewart scored 19 of her 28 points in the first half, Jewell Loyd added 23 — including Seattle's final seven points — and the Storm held on to beat the Phoenix Mercury 91-87 on Sunday in Game 1 of their WNBA semifinal series.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — When it comes to winner-take-all games in the WNBA playoffs, Diana Taurasi takes them all.
Taurasi put on quite a show in a single-elimination matchup Thursday night, helping the Phoenix Mercury advance to the semifinals by scoring 27 points in a win at Connecticut.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Diana Taurasi scored 37 points, Brittney Griner had 25 points and 11 rebounds and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Las Vegas Aces 104-93 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix (16-12), which had lost seven of its last eight games. The Mercury moved into a fourth-place tie in the playoff standings with Los Angeles and Washington.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Courtney Williams had 25 points, including Connecticut's final six, and tied her career high with 10 rebounds to help the Sun hold on for a 91-87 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.
Chiney Ogwumike fouled out with 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting and Alyssa Thomas added 11 points, a career-best 10 assists, eight rebounds and two steals for Connecticut (11-10). The Sun snapped a three-game skid.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Diana Taurasi hit five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 29 points to help the Phoenix Mercury snap a 13-game skid against Minnesota with a 95-85 win over the Lynx on Friday night.
Phoenix hadn't beaten the Lynx since August 2015 and won in Minnesota for the first time since the 2014 season.
DeWanna Bonner added 24 points and Brittney Griner finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Phoenix.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Diana Taurasi hit five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 29 points to help the Phoenix Mercury snap a 13-game skid against Minnesota with a 95-85 win over the Lynx on Friday night.
Phoenix hadn't beaten the Lynx since August 2015 and won in Minnesota for the first time since the 2014 season.
DeWanna Bonner added 24 points and Brittney Griner finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Phoenix.
SEATTLE (AP) — Brittney Griner had 29 points and 10 rebounds to help the Phoenix Mercury hold on for an 87-82 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday night.
Griner, who led the WNBA in scoring and blocks per game last season, shot 10 for 16 from the field and added four assists and three blocks. Briann January finished with 15 points and six assists, while Diana Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner scored 12 points apiece for the Mercury (2-0).
PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner is back from Russia and ready to go, with her eye on an MVP trophy and a WNBA championship.
The 6-foot-9 center, who has 10 of the 13 regular-season dunks recorded in the WNBA and is a four-time league All-Star, enters her sixth season in the league, and she says she's a long way from that lanky kid from Baylor who arrived for her first Phoenix Mercury training camp in 2013.