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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial |
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ARTICLE VIEW: |
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Alyssa Thomas puts up historic triple-double as Phoenix Mercury |
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dethrone New York Liberty |
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By Jamie Barton, CNN |
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Updated: |
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9:28 AM EDT, Sat September 20, 2025 |
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Source: CNN |
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made history on Friday night as the defeated the reigning champion |
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79-73 to progress to the WNBA playoff semifinals. |
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The six-time All-Star put up the first 20-point triple-double in WNBA |
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postseason history, adding 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a dominant |
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performance. |
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It was the fifth playoff triple-double of Thomas’ career, and just |
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the seventh by any player in the league’s history. She now has nine |
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for the season, more than double the total any other player has managed |
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across their entire WNBA career. |
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“Is that AT’s first triple-double of the year?” joked Mercury |
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head coach Nate Tibbetts after the game. “This is just what she does. |
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She impacts the game in so many different ways. She cares about one |
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thing, and that’s winning. |
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“When you’ve got a player of her caliber with that much pride to |
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win a game and do whatever it takes, you’re going to have a great |
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team. |
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Two days after her excellent display in Game 2, Satou Sabally added 23 |
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points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Kahleah Copper contributed 12 |
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points and nine rebounds, while Sami Whitcomb had 13 points as Phoenix |
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claimed its first playoff series win since 2021. |
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DeWanna Bonner’s eight rebounds saw her pass Candace Parker’s total |
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playoff record with 614. |
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For New York, Breanna Stewart scored 30 points despite having sprained |
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the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee in Sunday’s |
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Game 1. The feat saw her tie Diana Taurasi for the most 30+ point games |
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in playoff history, with eight. |
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Sabrina Ionescu put up 22 points, but no other Liberty player managed |
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more than eight. |
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A back-and-forth game saw the lead change hands 13 times in the first |
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three quarters, but the Mercury took a 60-59 lead into the fourth and |
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– despite 14 points from Stewart in the last 10 minutes – stayed |
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out in front. |
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“AT is incredible. The way that she has really perfected her game to |
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be a nightmare all over the court,” a clearly disappointed Stewart |
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said of Thomas’ performance. “She has triple-doubles every single |
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night, so there’s tons of respect between both sides.” |
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Phoenix, the fourth seed, will face the top-seeded in the semifinals |
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after they beat the Golden State Valkyries in two games. The |
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best-of-five series starts at Target Center on Sunday. |
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