ESPN Platforms Continue Comprehensive Coverage of the WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google with Semifinals Beginning Sunday

WNBA

ESPN Platforms Continue Comprehensive Coverage of the WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google with Semifinals Beginning Sunday

• Sunday’s Game 1 Semifinals: Sun-Liberty (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Wings-Aces (5 p.m., ET, ESPN2)

ESPN’s extensive coverage of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google continues with the best-of-five Semifinals beginning Sunday, Sept. 24. Semifinals coverage will also be available in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App.

On Sunday, five-time All-WNBA selection Breanna Stewart leads the New York Liberty (2nd seed) to the franchise’s first semifinals since 2015, when they host the league’s all-time triple-double leader Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun (3rd seed) at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Action continues at 5 p.m. on ESPN2, when Las Vegas Aces (No. 1 seed) and A’ja Wilson – who set the playoff franchise record with 38 points and 16 rebounds to help the Aces sweep the Chicago Sky in the First Round of the Playoffs – host Satou Sabally, the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player, and the Dallas Wings.

Games 2 and 3 of both Semifinal series will air on Tuesday, Sept. 26, and Friday, Sept. 29, respectively. The if-necessary games 4 and 5 will be played on Sunday, Oct. 1, and Tuesday, Oct. 3.

In addition to featuring every game of the WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google, presentation across ESPN platforms will include WNBA Countdown Presented by Google studio shows, hosted by LaChina Robinson, as well as Hoop Streams Presented by Google WNBA digital pregame shows. The first semifinals 30-minute edition of WNBA Countdown will air Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

The Hoop Streams playoffs show will be hosted by Terrika Foster-Brasby and Christine Williamson and stream on the ESPN App, YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).

WNBA Playoffs Semifinals action will be called by veteran play-by-play voices Ryan Ruocco and Pam Ward and expert analysts Rebecca Lobo, and Monica McNutt, with world-class reporters Holly Rowe and Ros Gold-Onwude on the sideline. LaChina Robinson will host WNBA Countdown, joined by former WNBA head coach Carolyn Peck and Andraya Carter.

Things to Know about the WNBA Semifinals

Las Vegas Aces (No. 1 seed)

  • The defending champions clinched their 5th straight appearance in the WNBA Semifinals
  • A’ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to record 35 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals in a game, including regular season and playoffs
  • Second team to win first 2 playoff games by 20 points in a single year, joining 2015 Mercury
  • 11th game never trailing this season, tied for the 2nd-most in a season in WNBA history (regular season and postseason), only 2013 Lynx (12) had more
  • In addition to Wilson, the Aces are led by fellow 2023 All-Stars Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, along with 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Gray
  • Posted a 3-1 mark vs. its Semifinals opponent, the Wings, during the regular season

New York Liberty (No. 2 seed)

  • Advanced to semifinal round for first time since 2015 (then known as Eastern Conference Finals)
  • Swept a best of-3 postseason series for second time in team history (both vs Mystics); first since 2000 Eastern Conference Semifinals
  • Defeated Washington Mystics and became first team to clinch a playoff series with OT home win since 2009 Fever (also vs Mystics)
  • The Liberty is led by a trio of 2023 All-Stars in Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot. Ionescu provided a record-setting performance this season with her 37-point effort in the STARRY WNBA 3-Point Contest

Connecticut Sun (No. 3 seed)

  • Fifth straight appearance in the WNBA Semifinals, tying the Aces for the longest active streak in the WNBA reaching this round
  • The Sun lost all four of their games against the Liberty this season, but that doesn’t necessarily spell doom. This will be the second time in WNBA history that a team went 0-4 or worse against an opponent in the regular season then faced them in a best-of-5 playoff series.
  • Alyssa Thomas, who has one career triple-double against the Liberty, has a chance to become the first player in WNBA history to record a triple-double against the same opponent in both the regular season and the postseason in their career.
  • Advanced to face the Liberty in the Semifinals; 0-4 vs New York in the regular season (only WNBA team they did not defeat)
  • Led by 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Stephanie White, Thomas and her fellow 2023 All-Star DeWanna Bonner, who on June 8 recorded the first-ever 40-point game against a defending champion when she scored 41 points in a win over Las Vegas.

Dallas Wings (Nov. 4 seed)

  • Defeated the Atlanta Dream to earn franchise’s first playoff series win since 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and did so with a 101-74 win in Game 2, marking the largest margin of victory (27 Pts) in the team’s postseason history
  • First team in WNBA history with 7 double-digit scorers in a playoff game
  • Led by Satou Sabally, the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player, and fellow 2023 All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, who has ranked among the WNBA’s top five scorers in each of the last five regular seasons.

2023 WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google – Semifinals on Disney Networks: 

Date Time (ET) Matchup Network
Sun, Sep 24

 

 

 

12:30 p.m. WNBA Countdown Presented by Google

LaChina Robinson, Carolyn Peck, Andraya Carter

ESPNEWS
1 p.m. Connecticut Sun at New York Liberty – Game 1
Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe
ESPN, ESPN App (Spanish)
4:30 p.m. WNBA Countdown Presented by Google
Robinson, Peck, Carter
ESPN2
5 p.m. Dallas Wings at Las Vegas Aces – Game 1 Pam Ward, Monica McNutt, Rose Gold-Onwude ESPN2, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Tue, Sep 26

 

 

7:30 p.m. WNBA Countdown Presented by Google

Robinson, Peck, Carter

ESPN
8 p.m. Connecticut Sun at New York Liberty – Game 2
Ruocco, Lobo, Rowe
ESPN, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
10 p.m. Dallas Wings at Las Vegas Aces – Game 2
Ward, McNutt, Gold-Onwude
ESPN, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Fr., Sep 29 7 p.m. WNBA Countdown Presented by Google

Robinson, Peck, Carter

ESPN2
7:30 p.m. New York Liberty at Connecticut Sun – Game 3

 Ruocco, Lobo, Rowe

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
9:30 p.m. Las Vegas Aces at Dallas Wings – Game 3

 Ward, McNutt, Gold-Onwude

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)

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