After a first round full of bursts, the WNBA semi-finals are officially here.
The four remaining teams, the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, Connecticut Sun and Las Vegas Aces, will all begin Sunday in the first games of their respective series. The remaining four teams also happen to be the top four teams in the WNBA regular season.
The Liberty have won all three games this season against the Aces by an average margin of victory of eight points.
In the regular season series between the Lynx and Sun, Connecticut has won two of three meetings, although Minnesota won the most recent game, 78-76, earlier this month.
Here’s what you need to know for Sunday’s playoffs:
No. 1 New York Liberty vs. No. 4 Las Vegas Aces
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Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
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Television, streaming: ABC, ESPN
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Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
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Series ranking: 0-0
What happened in the previous round? The Liberty and Aces each swept their respective first-round series. New York triumphed over the Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas over the Seattle Storm. In the Liberty’s decisive game against the Dream, a 91-82 victory, guard Sabrina Ionescu scored 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting. In the Aces’ seven-point victory over Seattle in the decisive game two, Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson combined to score 53 points.
What’s at stake? This is the first match of the semi-final series between the two teams. A win would give this team significant momentum in the best-of-five series. This is a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals, a series Las Vegas won in four games.
#2 Minnesota Lynx vs. #3 Connecticut Sun
What happened in the previous round? The Lynx and Sun each swept their respective first-round series. Minnesota prevailed over the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut prevailed over the Indiana Fever. In the Lynx’s deciding game against the Mercury, Napheesa Collier scored 42 points on 14-of-20 shooting and also made 12-of-14 free throws. In the Sun’s six-point victory over Indiana, five different players reached a double-digit score.
What’s at stake? This is the first match of the semi-final series between the two teams. A win would give this team significant momentum in the best-of-five series.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: WNBA playoff games today: Liberty vs. Aces, Lynx vs. Sun
