There will be plenty of postseason implications at stake when the Phoenix Mercury square off against the Seattle Storm on Sunday at KeyArena in downtown Seattle. And a little history could be made as well.
The Mercury (15-16) could clinch a spot in the WNBA's eight-team playoffs with a win over Seattle, a team that they've beaten 11 times in 14 games since 2014. Phoenix owns a 5-1 record against the Storm in the Pacific Northwest.
Phoenix holds the sixth seed in the standings, while the Storm (14-17) is in the seventh spot, tied with Dallas. The teams have split their first two games this season, so the winner of Sunday's game will hold the tiebreaker over the other.
Seattle and Phoenix both have two games remaining after Sunday's showdown.
The Mercury seemingly had the sixth seed wrapped up until the past week, when they lost three games in a row. The most recent setback was an 82-67 home defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday. Phoenix committed 20 turnovers during the loss and surrendered 27 points on those miscues.
"It's been a problem actually the last two games in particular, turnovers have really been our Achilles' heel and a lot of them are unforced, so it's just uncharacteristic of our team," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said.
"The big thing is that we're just not locked in with what we want to do and it's really hurting us."
Brittney Griner had 18 points on Thursday in the loss to Los Angeles. In her 23 games this season, Griner is averaging a league-leading and career-high 20.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and league-best 2.5 blocked shots per game.
Griner is the only WNBA player averaging at least 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots per game.
Brondello gave Diana Taurasi the night off against Los Angeles, forcing the Mercury to try to clinch a playoff spot without one of their key players.
Brondello explained that it was better to have Taurasi sit now than later.
"We played four games in seven days, and Diana can't do that," Brondello said. "When you got no fuel in the tank, she just needs a few days off, because a fresh Diana with fresh legs is going to help us more than a tired Diana at the moment, and we need that going forward."
Seattle has pushed its way back into the playoff picture, winning four straight games before a disappointing 89-82 loss at woeful Atlanta on Wednesday.
The Storm's offense continues to thrive, averaging 85 points and shooting 49.5 percent from the field during its last five games.
During its recent four victories, Seattle scored 85.5 points per game and held its opponents to 73.5, which would top the league's defensive stats if carried across the entire season.
"We are a really competitive group and we want to win," Storm guard Jewell Loyd said. "We want to make the playoffs. We aren't going to care what happened before this.
"We have tried to find ways to win and we are staying positive, not getting so rattled. We have figured out how to take a deep breath. That comes from our vets and our experience. We have refocused and that has definitely helped."
Seattle point guard Sue Bird is six assists away from becoming the WNBA's all-time leader in that category. With 2,594 career assists, Bird is on the verge of passing Ticha Penicheiro (2,599).
Bird is averaging 6.5 assists per game, so she very well could break the record on Sunday during Seattle's regular-season home finale.
