2018 WNBA Finals

2018 WNBA finals

Team Coach Wins Seattle Storm Dan Hughes 3 Washington Mystics Mike Thibault 0
Dates	September 7–12
MVP	Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm)
Eastern finals	Washington Mystics defeated Atlanta Dream, 3–2 (Note: the semifinal rounds as of 2016 were not divided by conference)
Western finals	Seattle Storm defeated Phoenix Mercury, 3–2
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The 2018 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2018 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2018 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). It featured the top-seeded Seattle Storm and the three-seeded Washington Mystics. The series began on September 7, 2018, and ended on September 12, 2018. After winning the first two games at home, the Storm went on the road and completed the 3–0 series sweep. It was the franchise's first title in eight years and third overall.

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name

x – Clinched Playoff Berth

e – Eliminated from playoffs

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

The Mystics' regular home of Capital One Arena was not available during the 2018 postseason due to renovations. The team had played its previous home playoff games at Charles Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University in Washington's Foggy Bottom neighborhood, but that venue would also be unavailable for the Finals due to scheduling issues. The team then moved its home Finals games to EagleBank Arena at George Mason University near Fairfax, Virginia.^[1]

In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Jewell Loyd came up big, leading the Storm in points and rebounds. Loyd scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and regular season MVP Breanna Stewart added 20 points in a 13-point Storm win. The Storm went on a 16–4 run during the second quarter and never looked back. Seattle led by as many as 27 in the third quarter.^[2]

Game 2 of the finals was a back and forth affair. In the first quarter, the Storm started quickly and held a 9-point lead. However, the Mystics came on strong in the second quarter and took a 4-point lead into halftime. The Storm cut the lead to 3 at the end of the third quarter and eventually prevailed in the final period. Seattle was now one win short of its third WNBA title. Since the WNBA Finals went to a best-of-five format in 2005, no team has gone down 0–2 and forced a game five.^[3]

In Game 3, Seattle dominated the first half, particularly in the second quarter. By halftime, the Storm held a 17-point lead. Washington showed life in the third quarter, pulling to within five points, but Seattle quickly responded with an 8–0 run to reclaim control. From there, the Storm put the finishing touches on their third title as Finals MVP Breanna Stewart finished with a series-high 30 points while Sue Bird managed 10 assists. Bird became the only player to have been a member of all three of the Storm's championship teams.

2018 Seattle Storm roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 10 Bird, Sue 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1980-10-16 Connecticut 15 G 21 Canada, Jordin 5' 6" (1.68m) 1995-08-11 UCLA R F 32 Clark, Alysha 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 1987-07-07 Middle Tennessee 6 F 6 Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 165 lb (75kg) 1991-09-02 Florida State 4 F/C 1 Langhorne, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 1986-10-27 Maryland 10 G 24 Loyd, Jewell 5' 10" (1.78m) 148 lb (67kg) 1993-10-05 Notre Dame 3 F 23 Mosqueda-Lewis, Kaleena 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 1993-11-03 Connecticut 3 C 3 Paris, Courtney 6' 4" (1.93m) 250 lb (113kg) 1987-97-21 Oklahoma 8 G 45 Quinn, Noelle 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 1985-01-03 UCLA 11 G 2 Russell, Mercedes 6' 6" (1.98m) 1995-07-27 Tennessee R F 30 Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-08-27 Connecticut 2 G/F 33 Whitcomb, Sami 5' 10" (1.78m) 145 lb (66kg) 1988-07-20 Washington 1	Head coach Dan Hughes (Muskingum) Assistant coaches Gary Kloppenburg (UC San Diego) Crystal Robinson (SE Oklahoma State) Athletic trainer Tom Spencer (Central Washington) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

2018 Washington Mystics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 7 Atkins, Ariel 5' 11" (1.8m) 160 lb (73kg) 1996-07-30 Texas R G 15 Cloud, Natasha 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 1992-02-22 Saint Joseph's 3 F 25 Currie, Monique 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 1983-02-25 Duke 12 G/F 11 Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 187 lb (85kg) 1989-09-05 Delaware 5 F 21 Hawkins, Tianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 193 lb (88kg) 1991-03-02 Maryland 4 F 2 Hines-Allen, Myisha 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 1996-05-30 Louisville R G/F 23 Powers, Aerial 6' 0" (1.83m) 157 lb (71kg) 1994-07-17 Michigan State 2 G 14 Ruffin-Pratt, Tierra 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 1991-04-11 North Carolina 5 F/C 30 Sanders, LaToya 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1986-09-11 North Carolina 5 C 34 Thomas, Krystal 6' 5" (1.96m) 210 lb (95kg) 1989-06-10 Duke 6 G 20 Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 1987-01-27 Maryland 9 G 32 Walker-Kimbrough, Shatori 5' 11" (1.8m) 142 lb (64kg) 1995-05-18 Maryland 1	Head coach Mike Thibault (Saint Martin's) Assistant coaches Marianne Stanley (Immaculata) Eric Thibault (Missouri) Athletic trainer Chalisa Fonza (Western Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

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