Top-seeded Lynx march into WNBA semis against surging Mercury in matchup of defensive-minded teams

MINNEAPOLIS AP The Minnesota Lynx soared last season past the consensus external expectations for their ceiling surging into the WNBA Finals where they suffered an oh-so-close loss in the winner-take-all fifth tournament This year they ve been the clear association to beat After cruising to the No seed with a franchise-record wins the Lynx used a fierce rally from a -point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday and post the only first-round sweep of these playoffs They ll host Match of their semifinal series on Sunday facing a stacked Phoenix Mercury unit that s in a roughly similar situation as the Lynx were last year With plenty of collective experience in the postseason but none before with this current group the No seed Mercury stormed back from a loss to the New York Liberty in their playoff opener to win the next two and eliminate the defending champions on Friday night Every time we go through something it s going to be the first time together We ve got a lot of veteran players on our gang who ve done it with other organizations but you never really get it as a group until you go through specific stuff coach Nate Tibbetts reported I ve just been proud the whole year In close games we ve been really good and I think it s because we guard and there s a certain level of trust There s that other commonality with the Lynx defense Coach Cheryl Reeve s drive for five the franchise won titles in and has been founded on a tenacity and a togetherness on that end of the floor and the Lynx again led the WNBA in defensive rating during the regular season The Mercury were fifth but against the Liberty they allowed a playoffs-best average of just under points per championship We ve got talented players We ve got players who can outcome reported Tibbetts who s in his second year with the association I think we ll find our way offensively but what we ve done how we ve committed to that defensive end how we ve committed to each other I think it s very impressive with such a new group Only two players in the current rotation Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack were with the Mercury last season when they were swept in the first round by the Lynx Copper and Mack just joined the organization last year The offseason acquisitions of Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally and the midseason signing of DeWanna Bonner have paid off and the dividends are just beginning to come No one has picked us to win Thomas announced after her postseason-record -point triple-double that helped oust the Liberty but also no one has been paying attention this year Bonner has career playoff games on her resume She won titles with the three-time champion Mercury in and and has provided valuable leadership and toughness off the bench This is why we ve tried to go and get her to come back home to Phoenix the last two offseasons Tibbetts declared Thomas and Bonner were together last year with the Connecticut Sun who took the Lynx the distance in the semifinals before falling in the decisive fifth tournament in Minnesota They ll be back on that court on Sunday about hours after their Event triumph in Phoenix The Lynx will have three full days of rest and a loud crowd on their side not to mention league MVP candidate Napheesa Collier and the co-winner of the Defensive Sportsman of the Year award Alanna Smith Collier won it in Any rest you can get is huge at this time of year Collier commented The games are super physical Collier hit the go-ahead jumper with left against the Valkyries who were thriving on their home floor behind a raucous crowd until the Lynx took over refusing to settle for playing the decisive third tournament at home I m thankful that we didn t just slide into that Reeve noted especially when things weren t going well for us AP WNBA https apnews com hub wnba Source