Copper knows what it takes to win a championship, and as the Mercury go through this series, they will need her scoring. She can help the Mercury set the tone in Game 1 of this series, and if she is not their leading scorer, she will at least be one of the players who score in double figures.

The Phoenix Mercury defeated the defending champion New York Liberty, behind Alyssa Thomas' triple-double. Semifinals.

Rather than a WNBA Finals rematch in the second round, the Lynx will play Phoenix, which never had its full roster together when the teams met earlier this season.

The Phoenix Mercury played well during the regular season, as they finished the season with a record of 27-17. They encountered ups and downs in that time, as they battled injuries, brought in a familiar face and they had an impressive win streak towards the end of the season.

But Liberty stars stood ten toes down in their support of coach Sandy Brondello late Friday night after their season-ending Game 3 loss to the Mercury . “I mean to anybody that kind of questions Sandy being here, like, this is a resilient group,” Breanna Stewart said. “She has our back and we have hers.”