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ARLINGTON, Texas — Identical to the New York Liberty the night time earlier than, the Dallas Wings had an opportunity Wednesday to knock out one of many prime 4 seeds from the WNBA playoffs on their house court docket. And identical to the Chicago Sky towards New York, the visiting Connecticut Sun did not let that occur towards Dallas.
With the Solar’s 73-58 victory over the Wings in Recreation 3 of their first-round collection, the league’s semifinal matchups are official, and the highest 4 seeds will face off in best-of-five collection beginning Sunday. No. 1 Las Vegas is assembly No. 4 Seattle (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET), and the opposite semifinal will probably be a repeat of final 12 months, as No. 2 Chicago takes on No. 3 Connecticut (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET).
In 2021, the Solar had the WNBA’s finest document, the No. 1 seed and home-court benefit towards the No. 6 seed Sky. This 12 months, it is sort of the reverse: Chicago had the highest document (tied with Las Vegas), and the Sky can have the home-court edge within the semifinals. Nevertheless it’s not as if the Solar had been far off the lead; they completed at 25-11 to the 26-10 information of the Aces and Sky.
Final 12 months, Chicago rode the underdog vibe all the way in which to a championship, having gone 16-16 within the common season. There aren’t any underdogs left within the WNBA playoffs this 12 months, though neither the Aces nor the Solar have ever gained a WNBA championship. Chicago broke via for its first final 12 months, and Seattle has gained 4 titles.
“Our workforce is extremely assured in what they do and who they’re,” Connecticut coach Curt Miller mentioned Wednesday. “We’re again to the semis for 4 straight years. This group needs to take one other step, and there is not one individual that’s going to select us to beat Chicago. So we’ll go along with the underdog mentality and provides it our greatest shot.”
Sky coach James Wade entered the playoffs satisfied nobody thought his workforce may repeat, so each he and Miller could be attempting to seize the “underdog” vibe. When it comes to current historical past between these groups, although, the Sky have dominated. They gained the semifinal collection 3-1 final 12 months and gained all 4 regular-season conferences this 12 months. These 4 had been determined by single-digit margins, two of them by three factors.
The Solar would have most well-liked closing out their first-round collection in a sweep in Connecticut and never making the journey to Texas for Recreation 3, however they superior on the street in convincing vogue, simply because the Sky did Tuesday at New York.
Solar ahead/guard DeWanna Bonner gained two WNBA titles whereas she was with Phoenix, and Miller mentioned he thought she introduced a “championship pedigree” to Wednesday’s recreation, main Connecticut with 21 factors.
Bonner, who turned 35 on Sunday, gave credit score to 24-year-old Solar guard DiJonai Carrington for her relentless protection. The Solar held Dallas to 24 factors within the second half.
“Her defensive stress was unbelievable,” Bonner mentioned.
Whereas the Solar now transfer on to the acquainted territory of the semifinals — they misplaced in that around the previous two years after falling within the WNBA Finals in 2019 — the Wings a minimum of have a playoff win to construct on. Dallas’ 89-79 victory Sunday was the franchise’s first within the postseason since 2009, when the workforce was nonetheless in Detroit because the Shock.
In 2010, the Shock moved to Tulsa for six seasons, then went to the Dallas-Fort Price space to turn into the Wings in 2016. Coach Vickie Johnson, a longtime WNBA teammate and pal of Aces coach Becky Hammon, is in her second season with the Wings and is wanting ahead to the long run.
The Wings had been with out main scorer and two-time All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale as a consequence of damage for many of August, though she returned for a couple of minutes Wednesday however did not rating. Ogunbowale’s former Notre Dame teammate Marina Mabrey led the Wings with 20 factors on Wednesday and, Johnson mentioned, grew loads as an total participant in 2022.
The truth that the Wings made the playoffs and compelled the Solar to a 3rd recreation provides her workforce confidence for 2023, Johnson mentioned.
“I feel the largest factor they realized is that they’re excellent,” Johnson mentioned. “I advised them when Arike went out to only imagine in themselves. Play collectively, play with vitality and energy, and that is what we did.”