The NY Liberty and Dallas Wings punch their tickets to the WNBA semis

September 20, 2023
Three down, one to go. The WNBA semis are nearly set, with three favorites clinching their berths and one decisive Game 3 coming up tonight.
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The NY Liberty and Dallas Wings punch their tickets to the WNBA semis
SOURCE: CBS

The GIST: Three down, one to go. The WNBA semis are nearly set, with three favorites clinching their berths and one decisive Game 3 coming up tonight. Cancel your plans.

Last night’s games: It was a spicy slugfest, but the No. 2 NY Liberty came out on top, powering through the No. 7 Washington Mystics (and a career-high performance from Natasha Cloud) in a tight 90–85 overtime Game 2 win. The superteam Libs are now semis-bound for the first time since 2015.

  • Then the late showdown was a true team effort, with all five No. 4 Dallas Wings starters hitting double-digit points as the squad throttled the No. 5 Atlanta Dream 101–74 — scoring the Wings their first playoff series win since 2009, when they were still the Detroit Shock.

Tonight’s game: Nothing like a winner-take-all Wednesday. Under the W’s new playoff format, the No. 6 Minnesota Lynx will host tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 3 vs. the No. 3 Connecticut Sun. The Lynx needed a combined 54-points from Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride to upset the Sun in Game 2, but will certainly gain a boost from the home crowd.

  • As for Connecticut, it’s all eyes on MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas and her partner in buckets, DeWanna Bonner, who put up a combined 50 of their own in Game 2. May the best dynamic duo win.