Last night in the WNBA Playoffs: The Mercury turn up the heat

Hello and welcome to Last night in the WNBA Playoffs. It’s a new project you’ll be seeing here over the next month or so as we march towards the crowning of a new WNBA champion. Let’s get into it. 

Chicago Sky 77 – Indiana Fever 72 (Sky up 1-0)

Before the game Elena Delle Donne accepted her well-deserved MVP Award.

Allie Quigley brought the heat with her kicks…

And then she brought the heat on the court, dropping 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.

SHEEEESSSHHHH.

Okay Quigs, we see you.

Oh right, and before the game she accepted her Sixth Woman of the Year Award.

The Fever didn’t get the W, but they played an excellent game, with, who else, Tamika Catchings leading the way. Even as her playing days wind down, Catchings is still the realest.

Phoenix Mercury 88 – Tulsa Shock 55 (Mercury up 1-0)

PHOENIX. WAS. LIT.

Early on, it was a pretty close game, as the Shock showed no signs of fear. Odyssey Sims certainly wasn’t afraid of her former teammate, going straight at Griner for the sweet finish.

And check out this full-court pass from Karima Christmas that was absolute money.

But things were all Phoenix after that, with Griner leading the way as usual. She put up 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 (!!!) blocks in the big win.

Before she could do that, however, she had to accept her Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The 11 blocks were a WNBA Playoff record by the way, and tied her own previous WNBA record for most blocks in any game.

This pretty much sums things up.

(h/t @itsmeglinehan, @PhoenixMercury)