Seattle Storm at Minnesota Lynx
Fans of the letdown spot have been licking their lips since the Seattle Storm went into their third overtime period against the Phoenix Mercury Wednesday night.
Seattle escaped the desert with a 111-107 victory thanks to Sue Bird’s 3-pointer with just over six seconds remaining in the third additional period. That emotional win was a huge marker for the Storm and the rest of their season – especially since it came over the defending WNBA champs.
“It was really long and tiring,” Seattle forward Lauren Jackson told the media. “We are lucky that we came away with the win.
“I’ve been on teams that have lost, in situations like that. It sucks. You just stick it out and Sue hit a massive shot for us.”
Now, Seattle must find the energy and the focus not to lay an egg against the Western Conference’s second-best team.
Minnesota has battled its way up the standings, winning five of its last seven games, including a win over the Atlanta Dream – the East’s top team – Wednesday. The Lynx are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight games and will be small underdogs at home Saturday afternoon.
Pick: Minnesota
Tulsa Shock at Phoenix Mercury
It’s been an emotional week for the Phoenix Mercury.
Not only did the defending WNBA champs visit the White House Monday but they also suffered a heartbreaking, triple-overtime loss to the Seattle Storm at home Wednesday. This roller-coaster ride could leave Phoenix flat against the WNBA’s worst team Saturday night.
The Tulsa Shock have lost 12 straight outings, dropping them to 3-15 on the year with a dismal 4-14 record against the spread. They are coming off a busy week in which they played Los Angeles Tuesday, San Antonio Friday before heading to Phoenix Saturday night.
“I have never experienced this in the league and honestly I’ve never heard of any team having as many back-to-backs as we have, period,” Shock forward Jennifer Lacy told the Tulsa World. “If we make the playoffs, it’s because we have overcome a huge, huge obstacle in the scheduling.”
With Tulsa sucking wind and Phoenix licking its wounds, WNBA bettors can expect a lethargic, low-scoring game between two teams on different ends of the conference.
Pick: Under