The first round of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Playoffs came and went, but not without shock and chaos. From surprising upsets to record-breaking performances, the first round started the WNBA playoffs with a bang!
Playoff Format
Each team was ranked from 1 to 8 based on its regular-season win-loss percentage. The No. 1 team played the No. 8 team, the No. 2 team played the No. 7 team, and so forth. It was structured as a 1-1-1 format, with the higher-seeded team getting to play the first game at home and the lower-seeded team having the second game at home.
Whichever team gets to two wins first takes the series and advances into the semifinals. If done in two games, they get a couple of extra days to avoid the stress of an extra game day. However, if the first two games result in a tie, a third game is needed to finalize the winner. This game is played at the higher-seeded team’s home.
The second round is similar in structure, but slightly different. Teams are placed into a bracket that aligns with the matchups of the first round. The winner of the No. 1 and No. 8 matchup will face off against the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 matchup for the semifinals on one side of the bracket, with the other two winning teams playing against each other in the semifinals.
Whichever team has the higher seed will get the advantage in the 2-2-1 format, playing the first two games at home. Of course, the fourth and fifth games are not guaranteed; whichever team gets to three wins first will advance to the finals.
Recapping the first round
The New York Liberty set history as the first No. 8 seed to eliminate the No. 1 seed from the WNBA Playoffs. They did so in a sweep, winning their first game by 91-75 and 87-71 in their second game. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with a combined 55 points, while holding Rookie of the Year, Olivia Miles, to a total of just 16 points.
For what could be considered the most even matchup, the No. 4 Atlanta Dream against the No.5 Washington Mystics, also ended with a 2-0 sweep. Atlanta won 92-77 and 93-75, led by Allisha Gray, who scored 22 points in each game, and Angel Reese, who averaged 9.5 rebounds.
All four of the other playoff teams each won their first game played at home, requiring a third game for a tiebreaker. The No. 3 Las Vegas Aces faced off against the No. 6 Indiana Fever. A’ja Wilson scored 38 points in the Aces’ win of 102-85, and in the Fever’s victory of 99-89, Caitlin Clark scored 27 points. In their final matchup, the Aces won the game and the series at 94-83.
After suffering a brutal loss of 104-80 against the No. 2 Golden State Valkyries, the No. 7 Dallas Wings managed to send the second game into overtime before securing the win with 108-100. Arike Ogunbowale set a WNBA playoff record for the most points scored in a single game at 45 points, including a corner 3-pointer to tie the game near the end of the fourth quarter.
Their final matchup in San Francisco saw the Wings with the lead for the majority of the game, before losing 77-73 in the final minutes of the game.
On to the semifinals
The New York Liberty faced the Atlanta Dream to start off this round of playoffs. In their final two games of the regular season, these teams went head-to-head, and the Dream won both games. With them also having home-court advantage for the first two games in this best-of-five series, they secured a win in the first game at 92-82.
Despite the regular season losses and the result of the first game, the Liberty shouldn’t be counted out. They’re known for their domination in the playoffs, led by Stewart, who’s a two-time Most Valuable Player.
Back for another game in San Francisco, the Golden State Valkyries faced off against the Las Vegas Aces. In the regular season, the Aces won all three of their games. However, they lost in the first game of the semifinals at 71-60.
One thing to know about WNBA playoffs: no team should ever be counted out. The first round of playoffs didn’t end the way many expected, and the semifinals will likely follow that pattern. It’ll be an exciting watch to see who advances into the finals and who becomes the WNBA champion!
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