2014 WNBA Playoffs
DatesAugust 21 – September 12, 2014
Final positions
ChampionsPhoenix Mercury (Finals Champion)
East championChicago Sky (Coach: Pokey Chatman)
West championPhoenix Mercury (Coach: Sandy Brondello)
Tournament statistics
Attendance8,200 per game
← 2013
2015 →
Standings
Eastern Conference Western Conference
1st Atlanta Dream 1st Phoenix Mercury
2nd Indiana Fever 2nd Minnesota Lynx
3rd Washington Mystics 3rd San Antonio Stars
4th Chicago Sky 4th Los Angeles Sparks

The 2014 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the 2014 WNBA season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.

The Phoenix Mercury won the 2014 WNBA Finals, sweeping the Chicago Sky in three games. The Mercury defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in the conference semifinals before defeating the Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals. The Mercury lost only one game in the entire playoffs.

The Chicago Sky attempted to complete a cinderella run by upsetting the Atlanta Dream in the conference semifinals and by upsetting the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference Finals, both in three games. However, the Sky were unable to complete their historic playoff run, as the Mercury won their third WNBA championship title.

Tiebreak procedures

Two-team tie

  1. Better record in head-to-head games.
  2. Better winning percentage within own conference.
  3. Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season.
  4. Better point differential in games head-to-head.
  5. Coin toss.

Three or more-team tie

  1. Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams.
  2. Better winning percentage against teams within conference (for first two rounds of playoffs) or better record against teams in the opposite conference (for Finals).
  3. Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season.
  4. Better point differential in games involving tied teams.
  5. Coin toss.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

Seed Team Record Clinched
Playoff berth Best record
in Conference		 Best record
in WNBA
1 Atlanta Dream 19–15 August 2 August 13 —
2 Indiana Fever 16–18[a] August 14 — —
3 Washington Mystics 16–18[a] August 15 — —
4 Chicago Sky 15–19[b] August 15 — —

Western Conference

Seed Team Record Clinched
Playoff berth Best record
in Conference		 Best record
in WNBA
1 Phoenix Mercury 29–5 July 22 August 12 August 12
2 Minnesota Lynx 25–9 July 24 — —
3 San Antonio Stars 16–18[c] August 15 — —
4 Los Angeles Sparks 16–18[c] August 12 — —
Notes
  1. ^ a b Indiana Fever clinched #2 seed over Washington Mystics based on Eastern Conference winning percentage. (.545 vs .500)
  2. ^ Chicago Sky clinched #4 seed over New York Liberty based on a 4–0 regular season series record.
  3. ^ a b San Antonio Stars clinched #3 seed over Los Angeles Sparks based on a 3–1 regular season series record.

Playoffs and finals

See also: 2014 WNBA Finals
Conference semi-finals:
best-of-3 		Conference finals:
best-of-3 		WNBA finals:
best-of-5
         
E1 Atlanta 1
E4 Chicago 2
E4 Chicago 2
Eastern Conference
E2 Indiana 1
E2 Indiana 2
E3 Washington 0
E4 Chicago 0
W1 Phoenix 3
W1 Phoenix 2
W4 Los Angeles 0
W1 Phoenix 2
Western Conference
W2 Minnesota 1
W2 Minnesota 2
W3 San Antonio 0

Eastern Conference

Conference semifinals

(1) Atlanta Dream vs. (4) Chicago Sky

August 22
7:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 80, Atlanta Dream 77
Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 18–14, 21–21, 23–19
Pts: Delle Donne (21)
Rebs: Fowles (14)
Asts: Prince, Vandersloot (7)		 Pts: McCoughtry (24)
Rebs: Lyttle (14)
Asts: Schimmel (6)
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 5,985
Referees:
#11 Lauren Holtkamp
#21 Byron Jarrett
#38 Lamont Simpson
August 24
7:00pm ET
Atlanta Dream 92, Chicago Sky 83
Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 20–21, 24–18, 24–22
Pts: McCoughtry (39)
Rebs: Lyttle, Thomas (7)
Asts: Thomas (6)		 Pts: Delle Donne (22)
Rebs: Delle Donne, Fowles (6)
Asts: Vandersloot (8)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Attendance: 4,546
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#9 Denise Brooks
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
August 26
7:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 81, Atlanta Dream 80
Scoring by quarter: 17–30, 24–24, 10–13, 30–13
Pts: Delle Donne (34)
Rebs: Fowles (15)
Asts: Vandersloot, Young (5)		 Pts: de Souza (18)
Rebs: Lyttle (13)
Asts: Schimmel (6)
Chicago won the series, 2–1
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 4,829
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#39 Michael Price
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

Chicago won the regular-season series 3–2:

May 24, 2014
Atlanta Dream 73, Chicago Sky 87
June 7, 2014
Chicago Sky 59, Atlanta Dream 97
July 13, 2014
Chicago Sky 79, Atlanta Dream 81 (OT)
July 25, 2014
Chicago Sky 79, Atlanta Dream 75
August 10, 2014
Atlanta Dream 69, Chicago Sky 80

(2) Indiana Fever vs. (3) Washington Mystics

August 21
7:00pm ET
Washington Mystics 73, Indiana Fever 78
Scoring by quarter: 13–22, 23–8, 14–17, 23–31
Pts: Latta (22)
Rebs: Vaughn (8)
Asts: Latta (5)		 Pts: Catchings (22)
Rebs: Larkins (11)
Asts: Catchings, Christmas, January, Zellous (2)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 5,576
Referees:
#8 Daryl Humphrey
#9 Denise Brooks
#45 Tom Mauer
August 23
5:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 81, Washington Mystics 76 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 16–12, 14–15, 21–26, 15–13, Overtime: 15–10
Pts: Catchings (26)
Rebs: Catchings, Larkins (11)
Asts: January (7)		 Pts: Lawson (20)
Rebs: Meesseman (10)
Asts: Hartley (5)
Indiana won the series, 2–0
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 6,124
Referees:
#13 Cameron Inouye
#24 Tony Dawkins
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

The regular season series was tied 2–2:

May 23, 2014
Washington Mystics 79, Indiana Fever 63
June 6, 2014
Indiana Fever 64, Washington Mystics 61
July 2, 2014
Indiana Fever 80, Washington Mystics 77
August 8, 2014
Atlanta Dream 74, Indiana Fever 61

Conference finals

(2) Indiana Fever vs. (4) Chicago Sky

August 30
7:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 70, Indiana Fever 77
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 15–21, 15–1 8, 22–17
Pts: Fowles (20)
Rebs: Fowles (14)
Asts: Vandersloot (4)		 Pts: January (19)
Rebs: Larkins (8)
Asts: Catchings (4)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,557
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
September 1
4:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 84, Chicago Sky 86 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 18–16, 21–15, 13–17, 19–23, Overtime: 8–8, 5–7
Pts: Zellous (20)
Rebs: Catchings (14)
Asts: January (6)		 Pts: Fowles (27)
Rebs: Young (9)
Asts: Prince, Quigley, Vandersloot (5)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Attendance: 6,019
Referees:
#11 Lauren Holtkamp
#13 Cameron Inouye
#18 Kurt Walker
September 3
7:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 75, Indiana Fever 62
Scoring by quarter: 15–11, 22–18, 15–16, 23–17
Pts: Quigley (24)
Rebs: Fowles (7)
Asts: Vandersloot (9)		 Pts: Zellous (16)
Rebs: Larkins (11)
Asts: Catchings, January (3)
Chicago won the series, 2–1
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,705
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#45 Tom Mauer
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

Indiana won the regular season series 3–2:

May 16, 2014
Indiana Fever 71, Chicago Sky 74
June 20, 2014
Indiana Fever 83, Chicago Sky 75
July 17, 2015
Chicago Sky 64, Indiana Fever 82
July 22, 2014
Indiana Fever 57, Chicago Sky 60
August 16, 2014
Chicago Sky 67, Indiana Fever 71

Western Conference

Conference semifinals

(1) Phoenix Mercury vs. (4) Los Angeles Sparks

August 22
10:00pm ET
Los Angeles Sparks 72, Phoenix Mercury 75
Scoring by quarter: 12–13, 22–22, 19–21, 19–19
Pts: Parker (22)
Rebs: Lavender, Parker (7)
Asts: Parker, Toliver (4)		 Pts: Taurasi (34)
Rebs: Dupree, Griner (7)
Asts: Taylor (7)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 11,591
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#30 Thomas Nunez
#35 Billy Smith
August 24
9:00pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 93, Los Angeles Sparks 68
Scoring by quarter: 30–14, 22–19, 23–18, 18–17
Pts: Griner (21)
Rebs: Dupree (8)
Asts: Phillips, Taurasi (7)		 Pts: Parker (21)
Rebs: Ogwumike (6)
Asts: Toliver (9)
Phoenix won the series, 2–0
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 7,449
Referees:
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
#62 Jeff Wooten
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 5–0:

May 18, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 74, Los Angeles Sparks 69
July 6, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 94, Los Angeles Sparks 89
July 24, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 93, Los Angeles Sparks 73
July 29, 2014
Los Angeles Sparks 69, Phoenix Mercury 90
August 16, 2014
Los Angeles Sparks 69, Phoenix Mercury 76

(2) Minnesota Lynx vs. (3) San Antonio Stars

August 21
9:00pm ET
San Antonio Stars 84, Minnesota Lynx 88
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 14–16, 23–25, 31–23
Pts: McBride (20)
Rebs: Adams (10)
Asts: Robinson (6)		 Pts: Moore (26)
Rebs: Brunson, Whalen (7)
Asts: Whalen (11)
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 8,523
Referees:
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
#53 Jeff Smith
August 23
7:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 94, San Antonio Stars 89
Scoring by quarter: 12–28, 28–16, 27–20, 27–25
Pts: Whalen (31)
Rebs: Moore (8)
Asts: Moore (10)		 Pts: McBride (25)
Rebs: Appel (8)
Asts: Robinson (6)
Minnesota won the series, 2–0
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 7,085
Referees:
#8 Daryl Humphrey
#18 Kurt Walker
#31 Amy Bonner
Regular-season series

Minnesota won the regular-season series 4–1:

May 30, 2014
San Antonio Stars 72, Minnesota Lynx 88
June 1, 2014
Minnesota Lynx 87, San Antonio Stars 79
July 3, 2014
San Antonio Stars 84, Minnesota Lynx 91
July 25, 2014
San Antonio Stars 78, Minnesota Lynx 88
August 15, 2014
Minnesota Lynx 76, San Antonio Stars 92

Conference finals

(1) Phoenix Mercury vs. (2) Minnesota Lynx

August 29
10:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 71, Phoenix Mercury 85
Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 11–19, 16–25, 24–18
Pts: Whalen (25)
Rebs: Brunson (8)
Asts: Brunson, Moore (3)		 Pts: Griner (23)
Rebs: Taylor (13)
Asts: Taylor (7)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 10,376
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#39 Michael Price
#45 Tom Mauer
August 31
3:30pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 77, Minnesota Lynx 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–9, 22–27, 18–20, 15–26
Pts: Taurasi (23)
Rebs: Dupree (9)
Asts: Taurasi (5)		 Pts: Moore (32)
Rebs: Brunson (10)
Asts: Whalen (7)
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 10,513
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#55 Eric Brewton
September 2
10:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 78, Phoenix Mercury 96
Scoring by quarter: 21–28, 21–22, 25–22, 11–24
Pts: Augustus (21)
Rebs: Brunson (8)
Asts: Whalen (6)		 Pts: Taurasi (22)
Rebs: Bonner (7)
Asts: Taurasi (7)
Phoenix won the series, 2–1
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 9,749
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#39 Michael Price
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 3–1:

June 15, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 80, Minnesota Lynx 72
June 18, 2014
Minnesota Lynx 79, Phoenix Mercury 92
July 31, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 67, Minnesota Lynx 75
August 9, 2014
Minnesota Lynx 80, Phoenix Mercury 82

WNBA Finals

Phoenix Mercury vs. Chicago Sky

Main article: 2014 WNBA Finals
September 7
3:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 62, Phoenix Mercury 83
Scoring by quarter: 8–15, 12–27, 14–14, 28–27
Pts: Fowles (19)
Rebs: Fowles (11)
Asts: Vandersloot (5)		 Pts: Dupree (26)
Rebs: Griner (7)
Asts: Taurasi (11)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,263
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
September 9
9:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 68, Phoenix Mercury 97
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 22–30, 15–23, 17–23
Pts: Delle Donne (22)
Rebs: Fowles (5)
Asts: Vandersloot (4)		 Pts: Griner (19)
Rebs: Taylor (8)
Asts: Taylor (6)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,348
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#18 Kurt Walker
#55 Eric Brewton
September 12
8:00pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 87, Chicago Sky 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 23–21, 16–20, 26–19
Pts: Dupree, Taurasi (24)
Rebs: Bonner (9)
Asts: Dupree (6)		 Pts: Delle Donne (23)
Rebs: Fowles (8)
Asts: Vandersloot (11)
Phoenix wins series, 3–0
UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
Attendance: 7,365
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 2–0:

July 2, 2014
Chicago Sky 69, Phoenix Mercury 87
July 11, 2014
Phoenix Mercury 72, Chicago Sky 66

References

Category