Alyssa Thomas makes WNBA playoff history as Mercury eliminate defending champion Liberty

The Phoenix Mercury eliminated the New York Liberty title champion with a 79-73 victory Friday to win a place in the semi-final of the WNBA 2025. They will face the Minnesota Lynx n ° 1 Sunday at 5 p.m.

This is the first time that the Mercury has come out of the first round since 2021, and they did it behind a triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists by candidate MVP Alyssa Thomas.

“We are not ready for it to be finished,” said Thomas during his post-match interview. “We had a special group. We want to continue playing. Tonight, it was simply to win this victory.”

The Liberty was the favorites to win this series and won match 1 with a result of 76-69 in overtime, but the Mercury forced a 3-point game with a 25-point victory in New York.

The Mercury came out with a lot of energy on Friday and exceeded New York for most of the first half, as their 28-15 advantage shows in the rebounds after the first two quarters. The Liberty revealed the defensive heat in the third quarter and maintained Phoenix at only 15 points, but only Breanna Stewart was able to score for New York in the last 10 minutes of the match.

Minnesota will be a difficult opponent in the semi-finals, because the lynx has obtained the seeded n ° 1 in the playoffs by being the most coherent team all year round. The lynx went 3-1 against mercury during the regular season, but Thomas said that his team would be stronger this time.

“They did not see us full force,” said Thomas during his post-match interview. “We are ready, we are ready to play.”

Thomas continues to make history

There were only seven double triples in the history of the WNBA qualifiers, and Thomas owns five. The other two belong to Sheryl Swoopes and Courtney Vandersloot. Thomas is the first to do it with at least 20 points. Friday was also his ninth triple-double in 2025.

“Is this the first triple-double of the year at AT?” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts joked. “I think we are just in a way used to it. This is exactly what she does. She has an impact on the game in so much different ways. She cares about one thing, and it’s a winner. When you have a player of his caliber with so much pride, win a game and do everything you need, you are going to have a big team.”

A complete team effort

Thomas is the leader of the team, but the energy came from several players. Sutou scored Sabally 23 points and a career summit in playoffs, a summit of 12 rebounds, even if she joked that her double-double seemed “modest” compared to what Thomas did.

Kahlea Cooper almost obtained one with 12 points and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Sami Whitbomb gave the 13 -point team on the bench and helped Cooper on the last basket of the night. Another culmination of the night was Dewanna Bonner, totaling eight boards to pass Candace Parker (610) for the first time of all time on the list of rebounds of the playoffs.

“This is why we have tried to bring it back to Phoenix the last two seasons,” said Tibbetts about Bonner. “I saw our game again the other evening and hearing what people said on television on all her distinctions, what she did in the playoffs … We are so lucky to have it. She was great, we loved having it. This is a great reason why we are where we are.”

Stewart deserves credit

Stewart suffered an MCL sprain in her left knee during match 2, but she decided to adapt on Friday and made a valiant effort. Although most of the Liberty has been out, Stewart has brought energy from the start and has played with the same intensity for 35 of its minutes. She left everything on the ground and scored the 14 points in New York in the fourth quarter.

Stewart finished night with 30 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two interceptions and two blocks. She also won a lot of respect for her opponents.

“When it’s time for the playoffs, you don’t want to go home. You’re going to give everything you have,” said Thomas about Stewart. “Stewie is the ultimate competitor. She showed it day after day, especially with all the injuries she suffered. You have to give her a lot of credit for what she could do.”