Wednesday 16 September 2020 06:54, UK
Shey Peddy made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to earn the Phoenix Mercury an 85-84 win over the Washington Mystics in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
Shey Peddy made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to earn the Phoenix Mercury an 85-84 come-from-behind victory over defending champions the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
Fifth-seeded Phoenix move on to play No 4 seed Minnesota on Thursday night in the second round.
Washington guard Leilani Mitchell went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line with 5.8 seconds to go for an 84-82 lead.
After a timeout, Diana Taurasi inbounded the ball to Skylar Diggins-Smith, who drove the lane and lofted a pass over the defense across the court to the corner. Peddy pump-faked to get her defender in the air and calmly beat the buzzer.
Peddy, who was cut by Washington earlier this season, finished with 12 points for Phoenix. Diggins-Smith had 24 points, six rebounds and five assists and Taurasi, who improved to 7-0 in single-elimination playoff games, added 23 points.
Mitchell led Washington with 25 points and Emma Meesseman added 18.
Meesseman's steal and fast-break lay-up capped a 5-0 run to give Washington a 83-82 lead with 38.8 seconds left. After a timeout, Myisha Hines-Allen drew an offensive foul on Diggins-Smith for Phoenix's third straight possession with a turnover.
Alyssa Thomas had 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and 12 boards, as the seventh-seeded Connecticut Sun beat the No 6 seed Chicago Sky 94-81 in the opening game of the WNBA playoffs.
Connecticut will play the third-seeded Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night in another single-elimination round.
Thomas beat the half-time buzzer with a hook shot in the lane to tie it at 41. Connecticut then started the second half on a 13-2 run with six points from Jasmine Thomas. Chicago were outscored 27-11 in the game-changing quarter.
Brionna Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for Connecticut, who overcame a franchise-worst 0-5 start to the season. The Sun had a 40-21 advantage on the glass.
Allie Quigley scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Kahleah Copper added 17 points and Gabby Williams had 16 for Chicago. Courtney Vandersloot had 12 points and six assists.
It was a memorable season for Vandersloot, who became the first player in WNBA history to average 10 assists per game after totalling 220 in the shortened 22-game regular season.
