BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Natasha Cloud #9 and Kennedy Burke #22 of the New York Liberty celebrates during the game against the Phoenix Mercury during round 2 game 1 on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

Phoenix Mercury v New York Liberty - Game Two

BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Emma Meesseman #33 of the New York Liberty drives to the basket during the game against the Phoenix Mercury during Game Two Round One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Spike Lee hugs Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty before the game against the Phoenix Mercury during round 2 game 1 on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Sami Whitcomb #33 of the Phoenix Mercury three point basket against the New York Liberty during Game Two Round One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury shoots the ball during the game against the New York Liberty during Game Two Round One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, NY - SEPTEMBER 17: Alyssa Thomas #25, Satou Sabally #0 & Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury are interviewed after the game against the New York Liberty during Game Two Round One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on September 17, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE(Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Janelle Salaun #13 of the Golden State Valkyries reacts after scoring against the Minnesota Lynx during the first half of Game Two in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Sap Center on September 17, 2025 in San Jose, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Minnesota Lynx v Golden State Valkyries - Game Two

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Monique Billings #25 of the Golden State Valkyries reacts after scoring and being fouled on the shot against the Minnesota Lynx during the second half in the first round of Game Two of WNBA Playoffs at Sap Center on September 17, 2025 in San Jose, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Bridget Carleton #6 of the Minnesota Lynx three point basket against the Golden State Valkyries during Game Two Round One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs  on September 17, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Andreea Cardani/NBAE via Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Monique Billings #25 of the Golden State Valkyries drives to the basket during the game against the Minnesota Lynx during round 1 game 2 on September 17, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries is presented with the Kia Coach of the Year Award prior to the start of Game Two of WNBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Lynx at Sap Center on September 17, 2025 in San Jose, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Playoffs

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		<h2>Gallery Block</h2>
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AP Recap

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson bounced back from a rare off game with 25 points and nine rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces evened their WNBA semifinals playoff series with a convincing 90-68 Game 2 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.
The best-of-five series heads to Indianapolis, where Game 3 will be played Friday night.
Wilson made 10 of 18 shots to go with playoff career-high five steals, two nights after the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-mvp-wilson-aces-9dbf1eb3125c59797f4fd57737684b01" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">four-time MVP</a> made just 6 of 22 field goals. NaLyssa Smith added 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Jackie Young scored 13, and Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans each had 10 points. Chelsea Gray finished with 10 assists.
Odyssey Sims led the Fever with 18 points and Lexie Hull, who was questionable with a back injury and wore a brace while on the bench, scored 15. Kelsey Mitchell had 13 points and Aliyah Boston 10.
Mitchell scored 34 points in Game 1 as the Fever rolled <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-fever-las-vegas-aces-aja-wilson-17faa1779c3bebbf1c701cf8fc890396" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">to an 89-73 victory</a>, but she was held to 4-of-14 shooting on Tuesday.
The second-seeded Aces <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-playoffs-fever-aces-wilson-clark-c4d0312e83d13a8f98c9e7de06dd163b" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">came into the playoffs</a> on a 16-game winning streak, but barely got by Seattle in the opening round and then were blown out at home to open this series. This game, in which the Aces led by as many as 26 points, more closely resembled the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/aces-lynx-wnba-playoffs-19860936d5c33ee4cef60365ceb1ad05" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">WNBA’s hottest team</a> at the end of the regular season.
But the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-fever-playoffs-aces-wnba-52f2b57247f2d9affcd8a5503becdd41" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">short-handed Fever</a> have proven to be a tough out. Sixth-seeded Indiana upset No. 3 Atlanta in the quarterfinals, and now head home with the chance to close out this series. That despite entering Game 2 with six players out with injuries, including superstar Caitlin Clark, and another in Hull at clearly less than full health.

2025-playoffs-fever-aces-game-2-recap

Game Recap: Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces (Semi-Finals, Game 2)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Satou Sabally scored 11 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter and Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists to help the Phoenix Mercury erase a 20-point deficit and beat the Minnesota Lynx 89-83 in overtime on Tuesday night, tying the WNBA semifinal series at one game apiece.
Sami Whitcomb’s 3-pointer from the wing with 4 seconds left in regulation evened the game at 79 after Thomas kept alive the possession following Whitcomb’s airballed 3 from the top of the key, and Napheesa Collier’s 18-footer for the win fell short at the buzzer to force extra time.
Thomas, who had a triple-double in the decisive Game 3 victory in the first round that ousted defending champion New York, grabbed eight rebounds and ignited the rally with her intensity after a lackluster first half. Her three-point play with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter ended a stretch of 33:28 during which the top-seeded Lynx had the lead.
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Collier scored 24 points on her 29th birthday, Kayla McBride had 21 points and Courtney Williams added 20 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals for the Lynx, whose bench was outscored 25-3.
The Mercury, who played their fourth game in seven days, will host Game 3 of the best-of-five series on Friday night.
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Game Recap: Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx (Semi-Finals, Game 2)

Awards

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2025 – Atlanta Dream General Manager Dan Padover has been named the 2025 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the WNBA announced today.
This marks a record third WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award for Padover and the first since he earned the honor in 2020 and 2021 with the Las Vegas Aces. Padover becomes the first three-time WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, breaking a tie with two-time winner Cheryl Reeve (2019 and 2024).
The voting panel to determine the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year was composed of the general manager from each of the league’s 13 active teams, plus the general manager of the Toronto Tempo, which will begin play in 2026. Each voter submitted a ballot with a first-place vote, second-place vote and third-place vote, and they could not vote for themselves. The executives received three points for each first-place vote, two points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Padover was named on the most ballots (12, including eight first-place votes). The Golden State Valkyries’ Ohemaa Nyanin (10 ballots) finished in second place and the Phoenix Mercury’s Nick U’ren (nine ballots) placed third. The Washington Mystics’ Jamila Wideman (three ballots) was fourth.
With Padover in his fourth year as general manager, Atlanta finished tied for the second-best record in the WNBA (30-14) in the regular season, doubling its win total from 2024. The Dream earned the No. 3 seed in the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google.
Leading into the 2025 season, Padover first hired Karl Smesko as Atlanta’s new head coach, bringing the longtime Florida Gulf Coast University coach to the WNBA for the first time after a decorated career in which he recorded the third-highest winning percentage (.843) among active head coaches in NCAA Division women’s basketball.
Padover then signed veteran free agent forward Brionna Jones and veteran free agent center Brittney Griner, adding the multi-time All-Stars to a roster that already included All-Star guards Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. Padover had previously selected Howard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm and acquired Gray from the Dallas Wings in a January 2023 trade. In April, Padover selected guard Te-Hina Paopao with the 18th pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm.
In guiding the Dream to a franchise-record 30 wins, Smesko finished with the most victories ever by a first-year WNBA head coach and helped Atlanta improve in key statistical categories. The Dream’s year-over-year improvement included moving from 12th to second in offensive rating (108.2), sixth to second in defensive rating (98.9) and 12th to third in assists per game (21.4).
Gray was a three-time Kia WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month (May, June and August), finished fourth in the voting for the Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player Award and was selected as an All-Star starter for the first time in her career. She ranked seventh in the WNBA in scoring, averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game.
Howard, who was named an All-Star for the third time, led all WNBA players in made three-point shots per game (3.1) and became the first player in league history to record multiple games of nine made threes in a career (June 13 vs. the Chicago Sky and Sept. 5 vs. the Los Angeles Sparks).
Jones led the WNBA in total offensive rebounds (136) and ranked second in offensive boards per game (3.1). She also was named to her fourth AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game.
In addition, Naz Hillmon, a 2022 draft pick by Padover, was named the 2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year after recording career-high averages in scoring (8.6 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg). Paopao ranked fifth among 2025 rookies with 2.4 assists per game.
Below is the list of recipients of the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award since its inception in 2017.
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WNBA BASKETBALL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
<table style="border-collapse: collapse;width: 100%;height: 216px">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Dan Padover</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Atlanta Dream</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2025</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Cheryl Reeve</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Minnesota Lynx</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2024</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Jonathan Kolb</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">New York Liberty</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2023</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">James Wade</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Chicago Sky</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2022</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Dan Padover</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Las Vegas Aces</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2021</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Dan Padover</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Las Vegas Aces</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2020</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Cheryl Reeve</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Minnesota Lynx</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2019</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Chris Sienko</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Atlanta Dream</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2018</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Curt Miller</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Connecticut Sun</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">2017</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

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Atlanta Dream's Dan Padover Wins Record Third WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2025 – Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike has been named the recipient of the 2025 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the WNBA announced today. Ogwumike becomes the first player in league history to win the award four times, having previously earned the honor in three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2021.
The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is presented each season to a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play and integrity. The award is named in honor of the late Kim Perrot, who helped the Houston Comets win WNBA championships in 1997 and 1998 in the league’s first two seasons before passing away in August 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer.
Ogwumike received 18 votes from a national panel of 72 sportswriters and broadcasters. Connecticut Sun rookie guard Saniya Rivers finished in second with 11 votes, while Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton tied for third with seven votes each. Chicago Sky guard Rachel Banham and Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon each received six votes.
In her 14th WNBA season, Ogwumike averaged 18.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She started all 44 games for Seattle and led the Storm in both points and rebounds per game. Ogwumike set a career high with 803 total points and became the first player in Storm history to record 40 double-digit scoring games in a single season.
Ogwumike also continued to climb league charts, moving to fifth all time in steals (668) and becoming the sixth-leading scorer in WNBA history. She is the first player ever to surpass 7,000 career points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. A 10-time AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star, Ogwumike was named the Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2016 and the Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2012.
Below are the voting results for the 2025 WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and a list of past recipients.
2025 KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD VOTING RESULTS
<table style="border-collapse: collapse;width: 100%;height: 312px">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Player</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Team</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Votes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Nneka Ogwumike </td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Seattle Storm</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">18</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Saniya Rivers</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Connecticut Sun</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">11</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Napheesa Collier</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Minnesota Lynx</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">7</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Kayla Thornton</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Golden State Valkyries</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">7</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Rachel Banham</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Chicago Sky</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">6</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Naz Hillmon</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Atlanta Dream</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">6</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Maddy Siegrist</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Dallas Wings</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Natasha Howard</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Indiana Fever</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Jewell Loyd</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Las Vegas Aces</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">3</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Sami Whitcomb</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Phoenix Mercury</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">3</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Leonie Fiebich</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">New York Liberty</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">1</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 24px">
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Jade Melbourne</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">Washington Mystics</td>
<td style="width: 33.3333%;height: 24px">1</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
1997 – Haixia Zheng, Los Angeles
1998 – Suzie McConnell Serio, Cleveland
1999 – Dawn Staley, Charlotte
2000 – Suzie McConnell Serio, Cleveland
2001 – Sue Wicks, New York
2002 – Jennifer Gillom, Phoenix
2003 – Edna Campbell, Sacramento
2004 – Teresa Edwards, Minnesota
2005 – Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Connecticut
2006 – Dawn Staley, Houston
2007 – Tully Bevilaqua, Indiana
2008 – Vickie Johnson, San Antonio
2009 – Kara Lawson, Sacramento
2010 – Tamika Catchings, Indiana
2011 – Sue Bird, Seattle; Ruth Riley, San Antonio
2012 – Kara Lawson, Connecticut
2013 – Swin Cash, Chicago; Tamika Catchings, Indiana
2014 – Becky Hammon, San Antonio
2015 – DeLisha Milton-Jones, Atlanta
2016 – Tamika Catchings, Indiana
2017 – Sue Bird, Seattle
2018 – Sue Bird, Seattle
2019 – Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles
2020 – Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles
2021 – Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles
2022 – Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota
2023 – Elizabeth Williams, Chicago
2024 – Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles
2025-   Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle

oguwmike-2025-kim-perrot-sportsmanship-award

Seattle Storm's Nneka Ogwumike Wins 2025 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Courtney Williams scored a game-high 23 points, Kayla McBride scored 21, and Napheesa Collier added 18 points and nine rebounds as the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury 82-69 on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five semifinal series.
The Lynx trailed by as many as nine and faced a seven-point deficit at halftime. As Phoenix threatened to even the game down the stretch, it was Williams and McBride making big shots to keep the Mercury at bay. McBride drilled a shot from deep to put the Lynx up 73-67 with under four minutes to play, and Minnesota never looked back.
Game 2 is Tuesday in Minneapolis before the teams head to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday.
After surrendering 47 points in the first half, Minnesota’s players came together at halftime to brainstorm ways to slow Phoenix down. The veteran Williams was a vocal voice in that conversation, according to head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Williams then went out and provided a spark for the Lynx in the second half, recording a career-high five steals while scoring 12 of her points after halftime.
“When she’s out there hooping and confident, it’s contagious,” McBride said of Williams. “It just becomes a lot of fun out there playing the game within the game.”
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 22 points and Alyssa Thomas had 18. Mercury leading scorer Satou Sabally (16.3 ppg) was held to just 10 points.
Collier, who finished second to Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson in <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-mvp-wilson-aces-9dbf1eb3125c59797f4fd57737684b01" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">the WNBA MVP voting</a> announced earlier in the day, had 10 first-quarter points but didn’t score at all in the second quarter. She scored eight points in the third as the Lynx evened the game at 59 heading to the final quarter.
Phoenix did its damage almost solely in the paint in the first half. Of the Mercury’s 47 first-half points, 42 came in the paint as Minnesota couldn’t find an answer defensively.
The Mercury scored just seven points in the paint after halftime and had only 22 total second-half points.
“They really did a good job defensively in the second half,” said Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts. “They turned it up at that end.”
Sunday’s game was a quick turnaround for fourth-seeded Phoenix. After <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/liberty-mercury-score-playoffs-3f8413585d7e52ba96c12561ea9ea684" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">beating the defending champion New York Liberty</a> on Friday night, the Mercury flew to Minnesota on Saturday.
The same two teams faced each other four times during the regular season, with Minnesota winning three of those matchups. But the Lynx hadn’t seen a healthy Mercury lineup before Sunday. Copper didn’t play in any of those four games, and Thomas and Sabally each missed at least one game against Minnesota.
“The other (Mercury) teams that we saw didn’t look anything like this, so we knew it would be a learning experience for us,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

2025-playoffs-mercury-lynx-game-1-recap

Game Recap: Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx (Semi-Finals, Game 1)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored a playoff-career high 34 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Las Vegas Aces 89-73 on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five semifinal series.
After seeing their double-digit lead shrink to three points with 2:51 left in the third, the Fever closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to extend their advantage to 14 points, seizing control of the game and never looking back.
Mitchell, who finished fifth in MVP voting with 93 points, scored 17 points in the first half, setting the tone for the Fever’s offense. The veteran guard, who finished the regular season ranked third in scoring with 20.2 points per game, shot 12 of 23 (52.2%) from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range in her first-ever semifinal game.
“I think what you guys see is just me trying to just be a kid in the playground,” said Mitchell, whose scoring tally was the second-highest in franchise history.
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Odyssey Sims had 17 points, while Natasha Howard finished with a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
The Fever finished the game hitting 50% from the floor (34 of 68), while the Aces shot just 29 of 71 (40.8%).
“We wanted to come in and be the aggressor right away to make sure that we were dictating on the defensive end, and we were dictating from a pace standpoint,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We knew that they were going to make runs. They made a big one in the third and we responded with a big one. It’s one game, it’s a long series. &#8230; But to come in here and to be able to steal this one was big for us.”
The victory spoiled A’ja Wilson’s celebration for becoming the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-mvp-wilson-aces-9dbf1eb3125c59797f4fd57737684b01" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">WNBA’s first player to win four MVPs</a> in her career. The 29-year-old, who was also named the AP Player of the Year, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson shot just 27.3% (6 of 22) from the field.
Jackie Young led the Aces with 19 points, while Dana Evans came off the bench to score 14 points and Chelsea Gray chipped in with 13.
Las Vegas hadn’t lost at home since Aug. 2, when the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx handed the Aces the worst home loss in WNBA history, a 53-point beatdown. From that point, the Aces closed the regular season on a 16-game win streak before defeating the Seattle Storm in the opening round.
The win was even more impressive, considering the Aces came into the game without a single player on the injured list, while the Fever had six.
Already shorthanded without Chloe Bibby (left knee), Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left knee), Sophie Cunningham (right knee) and Aari McDonald (right foot), Indiana added Damiris Dantas to the list, as she was in concussion protocol.
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Photo Gallery: 2025 WNBA Playoffs, First Round (9/17/2025)

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Photo Gallery: 2025 WNBA Playoffs, First Round (9/16/2025)