Mercury to host Games 1 and 2 of the WNBA Finals on October 10 and 13 vs. Chicago
PHOENIX – The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury tonight sealed its berth in the 2021 WNBA Finals, the fifth Finals trip in franchise history, and will tip off the championship series this Sunday, October 10 at Footprint Center. Phoenix earned its berth in the Finals by virtue of an 87-84 win in Vegas tonight in the series-deciding Game 5, claiming the series 3-2. The Mercury will take on the Chicago Sky in the best-of-five Finals, as the team looks to capture a league record-tying fourth WNBA title this season (2007, 2009, 2014). Tickets to Games 1 and 2 (Sunday, October 10) will go on sale tonight at 9 p.m. PT.
Similar to Game 4 of the Semifinals on Wednesday, the Mercury and Phoenix Suns will once again hold a double-header at Footprint Center for Game 2 on October 13. The Suns and Trailblazers will tip-off at 2 p.m. PT, while the Mercury and Sky will begin at 6 p.m. While the two games will act as a doubleheader, each matchup will be treated as separate events. Fans will be required to purchase separate tickets to each game. General doors for the Suns’ preseason game will open at 1 p.m. (PayPal SixthMan Member doors to open at 12:45), while general doors for the Mercury game will open at 5 p.m. (approximately 4:45 p.m. for PayPal X-Factor members).
This year’s appearance in the WNBA Finals will mark the fifth in franchise history, as the Mercury join the Minnesota Lynx (6) and Los Angeles Sparks (5) as the only franchises to reach at least five WNBA Finals. What a summer at Footprint Center, as the Mercury joins the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Rattlers who have all played for a championship in downtown Phoenix’s newly-remodeled arena.
The Game 5 win over Las Vegas on the road tonight moved the Mercury to 5-2 in this year’s playoffs and moved Phoenix to 3-1 all-time in Game 5’s. Diana Taurasi, who scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter tonight, moved to 16-2 all-time in winner-take-all games in the WNBA Playoffs, 22-8 all-time in elimination games in the WNBA Playoffs (now 10-2 on the road) and 57-9 throughout her entire basketball career in elimination games (NCAA, WNBA Playoffs and Olympics).
Having both played in every round of this year’s playoffs, the Mercury and Sky will meet in the Finals for the second time, as the two also squared-off in the 2014 WNBA Finals. Phoenix came away with a 3-0 series sweep, including a closeout win in the Windy City to claim the franchise’s third WNBA championship.
Phoenix swept the three regular-season meetings against Chicago in 2021 regular season, which included an 84-83 win in Chicago on June 1 thanks to a 45-foot buzzer beater by Kia Nurse, then won an overtime contest two days later on June 3 in Phoenix. The Mercury finished up the regular season series with a 103-83 win over the Sky on August 31 at Footprint Center.
2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith have led the Mercury to their fifth Finals appearance in franchise history, and this weekend begin the last leg of the journey to a WNBA-record tying fourth championship in 2021. Tickets available at PhoenixMercury.com.
Contact: Bryce Marsee, bmarsee@phoenixmercury.com