A year ago, all four WNBA first-round playoff series ended in sweeps and without much drama, with the closest game decided by six points.

But 2025 has been a season of parity, and the playoffs have been decided by razor-thin margins. The three closeout games leading into Friday’s Game 3 between Phoenix and New York each came down to the final possession.

Although the final game of the first round wasn’t decided at the buzzer, the Mercury were nursing a three-point lead in the final minute before 2021 finals MVP Kahleah Copper barrelled her way into the lane, scoring the decisive bucket to earn the 79-73 win. Phoenix advances to the semifinals to play Sunday at No. 1 seed Minnesota. The defending champions’ snakebit repeat bid came to an early end.

“No one has picked us to win,” Mercury star Alyssa Thomas said. “For us, it was not about panicking. If you watched any of the games, you knew it was going to come down to the wire.”

Breanna Stewart, five days removed from spraining her MCL, was a woman possessed in the elimination game. She led with a game-high 30 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Unfortunately for the three-time champion, what was supposed to be the deepest roster in the league failed to provide her much support. Sabrina Ionescu scored 22 points, but the rest of the Liberty combined for 21.

That wasn’t enough against a balanced Phoenix attack, which featured four players in double figures. Satou Sabally was hot from outside, draining four 3s, three of them coming when the Mercury were trailing or up by one possession. Alyssa Thomas had another triple-double and found her own offense despite mostly being defended by Stewart. And Copper brought Phoenix home with the basket to go up five in the final minute.

“Tonight, we left it all out there,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said. “That’s all you can ask from a team. Phoenix just executed a little bit better when it really mattered.”

The Mercury were 1-3 against the Lynx during the regular season, but Copper missed all four games. Sabally and Thomas each also missed two. Although Minnesota and Phoenix met in the 2024 postseason, only two players (Copper and Natasha Mack) remain on Phoenix’s roster.

This is the Mercury’s first trip to the WNBA semifinals since 2021, when they upset the then-No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces. That Aces team was coming off a defeat in the finals a year before, just like the 2025 Minnesota Lynx.

“I’m extremely proud of this group, every time we go through something, it’s going to be the first time together,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said.

(Photo of Satou Sabally: Aryanna Frank / Getty Images)