Phoenix Mercury beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 84-76 in Game 3
Las Vegas Aces earned an 84-72 victory over Indiana Fever in Game 3
Both Mercury and Aces now have a 2-1 lead in the semifinal series in WNBA
Satou Sabally scored 15 of her 23 points in a stellar fourth quarter and the Phoenix Mercury beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 84-76 in Game 3 on Friday night to take control of their WNBA playoff semifinals series.
The Mercury have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and can reach the Finals on Sunday with a win in Game 4 in Phoenix.
Sabally hit a 3-pointer to give the Mercury a 78-76 lead with 3:05 remaining and added two free throws with 2:01 left to push the advantage to 80-76. Alyssa Thomas had a steal and layup with 21.8 seconds remaining that sealed the win.
A furious Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected following the layup after getting her second technical foul.
Lynx star Napheesa Collier also got hurt on the play, rolling her ankle and had to be helped to the locker room.
Thomas and Kahleah Copper both scored 21 points, highlighting a balanced Mercury offence. It was a tight game throughout with 15 lead changes.
Minnesota was led by Natisha Hiedeman's 19 points off the bench. Collier added 17 on 8-of-15 shooting while Courtney Williams added 14.
Aces beat Fever for 2-1 lead
Jackie Young scored 25 points in her home state and NaLyssa Smith added 16, leading the Las Vegas Aces to an 84-72 victory over the short-handed Indiana Fever for a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.
The Aces would reach their third WNBA Finals in four years with a win Sunday in Indianapolis.
Las Vegas star A'ja Wilson had a poor shooting night. She made a 3-pointer to open the game, then missed her next 11 shots. The four-time MVP finished with 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting and had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and six assists.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 21 points and Lexie Hull finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Aliyah Boston had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Fever, who held a 16-4 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Fever got through the first round of the playoffs and beat Las Vegas in Game 1 despite having lost Caitlin Clark, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham to season-ending injuries during the regular season.
Indiana wore down late on Friday, going nearly nine minutes between baskets, a stretch that began late in the third quarter. The Aces took full advantage by scoring eight straight to extend a four-point lead to 71-59 midway through the fourth.
