Semifinals Recap | Top Seeds Take 1-0 Lead

Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
Twitter

The semifinals of the 2017 WNBA Playoffs presented by Verizon kicked off on Tuesday night in Minnesota and Los Angeles.

And the games certainly didn’t disappoint, with both top teams claiming Game 1 victories.

Here are the highlights to get you caught up on everything that happened on Tuesday in the WNBA:

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx 101, No. 6 Washington Mystics 81

GAME BOX SCORE

Top-seeded Minnesota breezed past Washington in the first game of the WNBA’s semifinal action on Tuesday night.

The Mystics led by four points early in the first quarter, but the Lynx caught fire, going on an offensive tear and eventually leading by as much as 29 points in the game.

Seimone Augustus led the way for Minnesota in the game, scoring a season-high 24 points and adding five rebounds and three assists. Renee Montgomery had 18 points (including four threes), which is her new playoff career-high, Sylvia Fowles had 18 points and seven rebounds, Maya Moore had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, Rebekkah Brunson had nine points and three rebounds and Jia Perkins added eight points and three rebounds off the bench.

Elena Delle Donne had 17 points and six rebounds and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt added 16 points and four rebounds to lead Washington. Emma Meesseman had 15 points and three rebounds, Ivory Latta had 10 points and Natasha Cloud finished with eight points and three assists.

Game 2 between Minnesota and Washington will start at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The game will be aired on ESPN2, 106.1 BOB FM and TuneIn Radio.

No. 2 Los Angeles Sparks 79, No. 5 Phoenix Mercury 66

GAME BOX SCORE

For nearly three quarters, Tuesday’s game between Los Angeles and Phoenix was a close, back-and-forth contest.

Coming out of halftime tied 42-42, the Sparks went on to outscore the Mercury 37-24 in the second half to come away with the win.

Like the Lynx, the Sparks take a 1-0 series lead over the Mercury heading into Game 2 on Thursday night.

Nneka Ogwumike had 19 points and nine rebounds and Candace Parker had 15 points and six rebounds to lead Los Angeles in the game. Chelsea Gray had 13 points and six assists, Odyssey Sims had 12 points and five assists and Alana Beard had 11 points and three rebounds.

For Phoenix, Leilani Mitchell had 19 points and four assists and Brittney Griner had 18 points and two rebounds. Monique Currie had eight points and six rebounds and Diana Taurasi finished with six points and three assists.

Game 2 between Los Angeles and Phoenix will start at 9 p.m. (CT) on Thursday night at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The game will be aired on ESPN2 following the Lynx/Mystics game.