Connecticut Sun @ Phoenix Mercury
Sun beat Mercury 76-67, clinch No. 1 seed in playoffs
PHOENIX -- — Jasmine Thomas scored 17 points, Jonquel Jones added 12 points and 16 rebounds and Connecticut beat the Phoenix Mercury 76-67 on Saturday night to clinch the No. 1 seed in WNBA playoffs.
Connecticut (24-6), which has won 12 consecutive games, snapped the Mercury's 10-game win streak. It was just the second matchup ever of teams with win streaks of 10-plus games. Minnesota and Los Angeles met in 2016 when both were undefeated.
Phoenix (19-11) fell into fifth in the WNBA standings, a half-game behind Minnesota. The top four seeds earn a first-round bye.
Brittney Griner made a short jumper to pull the Mercury within two early in the fourth quarter but Natasha Heideman answered with a 3-pointer to spark an 11-4 run capped when Jones made a layup that made it 70-61 with 2:28 to play.
Griner had 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to lead Phoenix. She missed a 15-foot jumper early in the second quarter but Brianna Turner grabbed the offensive rebound and then hit Griner cutting toward the basket for a one-handed dunk. The two-time WNBA scoring champion has a career-high four dunks this season and has 16 of the 19 regular-season dunks in league history.
Diana Taurasi didn't play because of an injured ankle.
------
Regular Season Series
CONN wins 3-0
Game Information
- Referees:
- Roy Gulbeyan
- Karleena Tobin
- Ashley Gloss
2024-25 Western Conference Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 34 | 10 | .773 | - | W1 |
| Las Vegas | 30 | 14 | .682 | 4 | W16 |
| Phoenix | 27 | 17 | .614 | 7 | L3 |
| Seattle | 23 | 21 | .523 | 11 | W1 |
| Golden State | 23 | 21 | .523 | 11 | L3 |
| Los Angeles | 21 | 23 | .477 | 13 | L1 |
| Dallas | 10 | 34 | .227 | 24 | W1 |

