But in the postseason, “one of the reasons you worry about seeding is home-court advantage,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said. In the previous two seasons with the current playoff format, no higher-seeded team lost in the first round. “When you have the ups and downs of a game, that’s important at home.”
And a third game in Phoenix would draw Mercury fans to what could be the final game of the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, Phoenix point guard Diana Taurasi. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve called her “clearly one of the best competitors there has ever been in sports, not just women’s basketball.”
The 42-year-old three-time league champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP and six-time Olympic gold medalist has hinted that this season could be her last. Her final home game of the regular season drew more than 11,300 fans. The Lynx and Mercury played in Minneapolis on Sunday before a crowd of 8,524.
Collier praised her former University of Connecticut classmate after the game, but said she hopes the Lynx can end Taurasi’s career on Wednesday.
Including changes in the number of playoff participants and the length of the series, the WNBA has introduced seven different versions of the playoffs since 1997.
In the past, the first and second rounds were not series at all, but single-elimination games. In 2018, 2019 and 2021, the Lynx were eliminated from the playoffs with one loss each time.
