MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx who finished the 2016 WNBA regular-season with a league-best 28-6 record for the first time since 2013 (fourth time overall), earned a bye through the first two rounds of the WNBA Playoffs and will open up the 2016 WNBA Semifinals at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m. CT. Minnesota will face the Phoenix Mercury, who defeated Indiana 89-78 in the first round and went on to beat New York 101-94 in the second round.
The entire schedule for the best-of-five Semifinals is as follows:
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Game
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Date
|
Time
|
Location
|
Television
|
|
Game 1
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Sept. 28
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7:00 p.m. CT
|
Xcel Energy Center
|
ESPN2
|
|
Game 2
|
Sept. 30
|
7:00 p.m. CT
|
Xcel Energy Center
|
ESPNews
|
|
Game 3
|
Oct. 2
|
4:00 p.m. CT
|
Talking Stick Resort Arena- Phoenix
|
ESPN
|
|
Game 4*
|
Oct. 4
|
TBD
|
Grand Canyon University Arena – Phoenix
|
ESPN2
|
|
Game 5*
|
Oct. 6
|
TBD
|
Target Center
|
ESPN2
|
* If necessary
Minnesota finished 3-0 in the three-game series with the Mercury this season. This year’s postseason meeting will be the fifth time the two clubs have met in the playoffs, also facing off in the 2015 Western Conference Finals (Minnesota won the series, 2-0), the 2014 Western Conference Finals (Phoenix won the series, 2-1), the 2013 Western Conference Semifinals (Minnesota won the series, 2-0) and the 2011 Western Conference Finals (Minnesota won the series, 2-0).
The Lynx (28-6) set a franchise record with 28 wins in a season, equaling the second-highest total in WNBA history. The Lynx finished 15-2 at Target Center, winning their last 10 in a row, the third longest home winning streak in club history. Minnesota completed its road portion with a 13-4 record, tying the franchise and WNBA record for road wins in a season and marking the sixth consecutive season they’ve finished with a winning record on the road, which is the longest such run of success in league history.
Minnesota has put together 155 regular season wins since 2011, which is the most-prolific six-year haul in WNBA history.
This season marks the third season the Lynx have put together 27+ wins, becoming the first team in WNBA history to win 27+ games in three separate seasons and sixth consecutive season with 20+ wins. The Lynx finished 2016 with a 15-1 record vs. Western Conference rivals, winning all eight road games, becoming the first team in WNBA history to go through a season unbeaten on the road against the Western Conference. They are also just the third team ever to complete a full season with only one loss to Western Conference opponents, joining Houston (16-1 in 1998) and Los Angeles (19-1 in 2001).
Two-game playoff packs are on sale and include tickets to each of the first two home games at Xcel Energy Center. Ticket packs can be purchased on lynxbasketball.com/tickets.