The eighth-seeded Seattle Storm heads to the southwest yet once more to battle its old nemesis, the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury. This first-round championship game will certainly leap on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. PDT at Wells Fargo Field on the university of Sug Sutton Jersey Arizona State University. ESPN2 has the transmission of the notes the second year in a row that the Tornado is playing in a single-elimination playoff video game. Last season, after gaining the seventh seed, Seattle was knocked senseless by the Atlanta Dream. Experience will certainly contribute on the end result of Wednesday's video game. Seattle and Phoenix metro duked it out three times in the 2017 normal season and twice in the preseason. While the Mercury took the season collection 2-1, the Tornado had the ability to get a win in Phoenix az. That victory proved to be huge for Seattle, as the 98-89 takedown on Aug. 12 functioned as the very first win in a string of 4 directly that strengthened the team's place in the leading 8 of the league. The Mercury gets in the playoffs with a 5-5 record in its last 10 games. Seattle also shut its normal season routine by going 5-5, however did win its last game when traveling at of the three games between the groups this year was worked out by much less than 10 points. On June 23, Phoenix az eked out an 85-82 win at KeyArena many thanks to 50 combined points from Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, with the last throwing down her nine profession dunk while doing so. The game finished with the round in the hands of Sami Whitcomb, whose three-pointer to connect the video game went pleading as the last buzzer appeared. In the following meeting, Seattle's shooters sunk 10 three-pointers and shot 56.3 percent on area goals. Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd matched each various other with 20-point games on that particular Saturday night in the desert. The last installment of the rivalry in the 2017 regular period was a thriller. Behind 29 points from Griner and three clutch treys from Leilani Mitchell, Phoenix az won 75-71 in a video game that featured 16 lead 's large three of Stewart, Loyd, and Take Legal Action Against Bird have all played effectively versus their first-round challenger this year. Loyd balanced 23.7 points on 52 percent shooting in the 3 video games with Phoenix az, getting her career-high in points with a 33-point trip on Aug. 27. Stewart gathered at the very least 8 rebounds in every video game and finished the three-game collection with approximately 18 factors per game. Bird dished 5.3 assists per competition with the Mercury and drained pipes 40 percent of her three-point attempts. As constantly, obtaining racking up from outside the marquee trio is a recipe for winning in Seattle. Search For Crystal Langhorne to be a difference maker in Wednesday night's clash. In the 2 losses to Phoenix metro this year Langhorne averaged four rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field, while she shot 8-for-9 for 19 points and clawed six rebounds in the single gain the A GLIMPSE: MERCURYSimply put, Phoenix has two of one of the most unstoppable offensive players in today's WNBA. Griner led the league with 21.9 factors per game, while Taurasi has actually scored the most points in the background of the organization. Seattle was not able to hold Griner under 19 factors in any of the three 2017 face-offs. Twice she went off for greater than 25, consisting of a 29-point, 12-for-20 performance on Aug. 27, with the 12 makes acting as her third-most of the season. Taurasi went 13-for-32 from behind the arc against Seattle, netting 18 factors or more in each go 's supplementary gamers might provide the difference as the calendar transforms to September and the strength is ratcheted up. Camille Little, a key item of the Tornado's 2010 championship squad, started every ready the Mercury and fired 41.9 percent from the floor, her highest possible capturing portion given that leaving Seattle. Monique Currie only showed up in 22 of Phoenix metro's 34 games in 2017, but still handled to average double-digit scoring numbers and struck 42.4 percent from deep. Tornado fans will bear in mind Mitchell, among Phoenix's finest bench gamers, for her dagger 3 in the group's Aug. 27 battle. Mitchell is good for 8 factors and almost 4 aids in 21.4 mins per heavily including Griner and Taurasi in its attack, Phoenix az ranked in the middle of the pack offensively this year. The team was 7th in the organization in factors per video game https://www.storemercury.com/collections/kahleah-copper-jersey, finishing two slots behind Seattle's 82.6. Both teams like to fire the 3 sphere, with the Mercury's 19.1 attempts per video game ticking in just except Seattle's 20. The Storm was top three in the WNBA in area goal percent, 3 guidelines made per video game, and helps per game. Its opponent stopped working to rank in the leading three of any one of those classifications. In regards to protection, the teams are roughly also. Phoenix permitted opponents to rack up 81.9 points per video game on 43.8 percent shooting. Seattle's challengers racked up at an 82.6 per video game clip and tinned 44.3 percent of their background The Mercury has the benefit in both the 2017 collection and the all-time playoff collection. As stated previously, Phoenix metro went 2-1 against the Storm this year. Both success were incredibly close, as Sandy Brondello's team won by three factors in June and 4 factors in going 0-9 against its Western Seminar opponent in 2014 and 2015, Seattle is 3-3 versus the Mercury since. Seattle is 39-29 over 18 years of routine season skirmishes with Phoenix metro. The teams have actually met three times prior to in the playoffs, yet never in a single-elimination format. In seven postseason video games with the green and gold, Phoenix has a small 4-3 lead. In 2010, the Tornado brushed up the Mercury in the Western Seminar Finals on its means to a WNBA title. Naturally, it is worth keeping in mind that all of these previous championship game occurred before Stewart or Loyd were part of the Storm's lineup.