The Las Vegas Aces will host the Phoenix Mercury in a winner-takes-all semi-final decider on Friday night, live from 2am on Sky Sports Main Event, Arena and Mix.
The Game 5 winner will open the best-of-five WNBA Finals at home on Sunday evening against the Chicago Sky.
“Athletes live for moments like this,” Aces guard Chelsea Gray said. “That’s why basketball is so cool. You’re able to play a series like this. The tides can change really fast.”
The tides have changed dramatically a couple of times already. Second-seeded Las Vegas took a 96-90 victory at home in Game 1 but fifth-seeded Phoenix bounced back, snatching homecourt advantage away with a 117-91 victory in Game 2 and a commanding 87-60 win in Game 3.
However, on Wednesday night the Aces fought off elimination with a 93-76 road upset.
“We’ve got to show up for work and we just didn’t show up in a lot of ways,” Mercury guard Diana Taurasi said of Game 4. “Credit to them, but I think that was on us.”
The latest turnaround began with what Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer called a “sombre” review of his team’s lethargic effort in Game 3.
“You never want to lose based on energy,” Aces guard Kelsey Plum said. “As a pro, it’s embarrassing.”
The Aces quickly overcame an 11-2 deficit, grabbed a three-point halftime lead and took command with a 24-0 run early in the third quarter Wednesday night.
The Mercury will be short-handed in the backcourt once again. Starting guard Kia Nurse has been ruled out after sustaining a right knee injury just 39 seconds into Game 4. To make matters worse key reserve Sophie Cunningham (calf strain) did not play in Game 4 and is listed as questionable for Friday.
“It hurt us big time,” Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said of the two absences. “They are the players that give us that toughness and energy. We’ve got to weather the storm a little bit better and stay together. We’ve got to fight a little bit more.”