In the only game on the WNBA's Wednesday (ET) schedule, the Phoenix Mercury won big in the Big Apple.
The visitors' Big 3 came to play in their 106-79 win. Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 27 points and five assists while Britney Griner put together 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Diana Taurasi recorded 21 points and nine assists.
The Mercury jumped to a 35-19 advantage after the first quarter and never looked back, maintaining their pressure until the final buzzer to bring up their fifth straight win.
Improving to 14-10 for the season, with only eight remaining in the regular season, the Phoenix franchise is currently fifth in the standings and just a game behind fourth-seeded Minnesota Lynx.
WE in New York baby, I mean we at Barclay's this is LIT 🔥 - @SkyDigg4
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 26, 2021
Hear from Skylar after dropping 27 PTS, 3 REB and 5 AST 💪 pic.twitter.com/7jOs21yZdm
The victory also gave the Las Vegas Aces a reason to celebrate. The loss for the New York Liberty meant last year's Finalists had clinched their ticket to the 2021 postseason - their third straight playoffs.
For the Aces, this news comes a day after they missed out on clinching the spot on their own merit. On Tuesday (ET), in a matchup with the top-seeded Connecticut Sun, with the winner all set to book their playoff spot, the Aces came up short 76-62.
The victory helped the Sun seal their postseason berth, becoming the second team to do so after the Seattle Storm clinched their spot earlier in the day.
They're IN!
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 24, 2021
The @seattlestorm have already clinched a spot in the #WNBAGooglePlayoffs. Starting tonight, they’ll begin their battle for one of the top two seeds and the coveted double-bye. @Google pic.twitter.com/P0kP876o6u
Overall, with five playoff spots still remaining, mathematically all teams are still in contention. However, realistically, it's a seven-team race for the remaining spots with all seven only separated by 5.5 games.
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