2011 WNBA playoffs

2011 WNBA Playoffs
Dates	September 15 – October 7, 2011
Final positions
Champions	Minnesota Lynx (Finals Champion)
East champion	Atlanta Dream (Coach: Marynell Meadors)
West champion	Minnesota Lynx (Coach: Cheryl Reeve)
Tournament statistics
Attendance	9,232 per game
	← 2010 2012 →

The 2011 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2011 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format. The finals were won by the Minnesota Lynx who defeated the defending Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream.

The Minnesota Lynx was the top overall seed in the tournament, having finished 27-7 in the regular season, the best record in franchise history. The team was appearing in its first playoffs since 2004. Prior to the 2011 playoffs, the Lynx had not won a playoff series in franchise history. This changed in the 2011 playoffs, as the Lynx won their first two playoff series to advance to the WNBA Finals.

The Atlanta Dream had reached the 2010 WNBA Finals, losing in three games to the Seattle Storm. Despite a slow start to the 2011 season, the Dream rebounded to finish with a 20-14 record, good for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Dream upset two higher-seeded teams to reach the WNBA finals for the second straight year.

After earning the third seed in the West, the Phoenix Mercury reached their third straight conference finals after upsetting the defending WNBA Champion Seattle Storm in the opening round. They ultimately lost to Minnesota in the conference final.

The Indiana Fever was the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and dispatched the New York Liberty in the opening round. They ultimately fell short to Atlanta in the conference final after WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings tore her plantar fascia in game two of the series, limiting her in the decisive game.

The Seattle Storm earned the West's second seed, and were attempting to repeat as WNBA champions. They took a 1-0 lead in the conference semifinals, but then dropped the next two, losing to Phoenix.

The Connecticut Sun earned the second seed in the East, but were swept in the opening round by the Dream, the eventual East champs.

The San Antonio Silver Stars were the lowest overall seed in the West and the tournament, and drew the unenviable task of playing the Minnesota Lynx. Despite the apparent mismatch, the Silver Stars lost by only one point in game one of the opening round, and won game two. They could not keep up with the Lynx in game three, however, and lost in the opening round.

Format

The top 4 teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs.
- All 4 teams are seeded by basis of their standings.
The series for rounds one and two are in a best-of-three format with Games 1 and 3 on the home court of the team with the higher seed. In previous years, the higher seed would play the first game on the road, then games 2 and (if needed) 3 at home.
The series for the WNBA Finals is in a best-of-five format with Games 1, 2 and 5 on the home court of the team with the higher seed.

Tiebreak procedures

Two-team tie

Better record in head-to-head games.
Better winning percentage within own conference.
Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season.
Better point differential in games head-to-head.
Coin toss.

Three or more-team tie

Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams.
Better winning percentage against teams within conference (for first two rounds of playoffs) or better record against teams in the opposite conference (for Finals).
Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season.
Better point differential in games involving tied teams.
Coin toss.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

Seed	Team	W	L	Tiebreaker	Clinched
Seed	Team	W	L	Tiebreaker	Playoff berth	Conf. homecourt
1	Indiana Fever	21	13	3–2 vs. CON	August 30	September 7
2	Connecticut Sun	21	13	2–3 vs. IND	August 30	—
3	Atlanta Dream	20	14	—	September 4	—
4	New York Liberty	19	15	—	September 2	—

Western Conference

Seed	Team	W	L	Tiebreaker	Clinched
Seed	Team	W	L	Tiebreaker	Playoff berth	Playoffs homecourt
1	Minnesota Lynx	27	7	—	August 20	September 2
2	Seattle Storm	21	13	—	September 2	—
3	Phoenix Mercury	19	15	—	September 3	—
4	San Antonio Silver Stars	18	16	—	September 6	—

Bracket

Conference Semi-Finals
Best-of-3

Conference Finals
Best-of-3

WNBA Finals
Best-of-5

E1

Indiana

2

E4

New York

1

E1

Indiana

1

Eastern Conference

E3

Atlanta

2

E2

Connecticut

0

E3

Atlanta

2

E3

Atlanta

0

W1

Minnesota

3

W1

Minnesota

2

W4

San Antonio

1

W1

Minnesota

2

Western Conference

W3

Phoenix

0

W2

Seattle

1

W3

Phoenix

2

Bold – Series winner
Italics – Team with home-court advantage

Eastern Conference

Conference semifinals

(2) Connecticut Sun vs. (3) Atlanta Dream

NBATV

September 16
7:00pm ET

Game 1

Atlanta Dream 89, Connecticut Sun 84
Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 21–21, 22–25, 28–18
Pts: Harding (21) Rebs: Lyttle (11) Asts: Harding (5)		Pts: Jones, Montgomery (16) Rebs: McCray (8) Asts: Lawson (4)

Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Attendance: 7,373
Referees: Michael Price, Clarke Stevens, Maj Forsberg

ESPN2

September 18
3:00pm ET

Game 2

Connecticut Sun 64, Atlanta Dream 69
Scoring by quarter: 11–16, 25–15, 15–13, 13–25
Pts: Jones (15) Rebs: Charles (17) Asts: Montgomery (6)		Pts: de Souza, Harding, Lyttle, McCoughtry (12) Rebs: de Souza (10) Asts: Harding (6)
Atlanta won the series, 2–0

Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 6,887
Referees: Sue Blauch, Daryl Humphrey, Tony Dawkins

Regular-season series

The teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series:

July 31, 2011

New York Liberty 72, Indiana Fever 74
Scoring by quarter: 16–28, 18–16, 24–18, 14–12
Pts: Pondexter (18) Rebs: Powell (8) Asts: Pondexter (6)		Pts: Douglas (25) Rebs: Sutton-Brown (7) Asts: Bobbitt, Phillips (3)

Indiana Fever 72, New York Liberty 87
Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 18–30, 9–12, 22–25
Pts: Douglas (20) Rebs: Catchings (9) Asts: Bobbitt, Phillips (4)		Pts: Powell (19) Rebs: Pondexter, Powell, Vaughn (5) Asts: Pondexter (5)

New York Liberty 62, Indiana Fever 72
Scoring by quarter: 17–17, 19–23, 12–14, 14–18
Pts: Powell (19) Rebs: Vaughn (7) Asts: Pondexter (5)		Pts: Douglas (21) Rebs: Catchings (8) Asts: Catchings (4)
Indiana won the series, 2–1

Atlanta Dream 74, Indiana Fever 82
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 16–21, 17–15, 17–25
Pts: Harding (17) Rebs: de Souza (13) Asts: Harding (7)		Pts: Smith (25) Rebs: Catchings (13) Asts: Catchings, Douglas, Zellous (3)

Indiana Fever 77, Atlanta Dream 94
Scoring by quarter: 25–34, 26–21, 14–18, 12–21
Pts: Douglas (25) Rebs: Catchings (9) Asts: Douglas (6)		Pts: Castro Marques (30) Rebs: Lyttle, Price (7) Asts: Harding (7)

Atlanta Dream 83, Indiana Fever 67
Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 11–12, 22–12, 22–20
Pts: McCoughtry (26) Rebs: Lyttle (11) Asts: Harding (6)		Pts: Douglas (16) Rebs: Douglas, Sutton-Brown (9) Asts: Catchings, Phillips (3)
Atlanta won the series, 2–1

San Antonio Silver Stars 65, Minnesota Lynx 66
Scoring by quarter: 16–11, 19–21, 16–21, 14–13
Pts: Adams, Hammon (16) Rebs: Young (9) Asts: Young (6)		Pts: Whalen (20) Rebs: Brunson (14) Asts: Whalen (5)

Minnesota Lynx 75, San Antonio Silver Stars 84
Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 23–22, 13–24, 25–20
Pts: Augustus (24) Rebs: Brunson (16) Asts: Whalen (3)		Pts: Perkins (24) Rebs: Adams, Perkins (6) Asts: Hammon (6)

San Antonio Silver Stars 67, Minnesota Lynx 85
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 17–26, 20–22, 11–19
Pts: Young (17) Rebs: Riley (6) Asts: Hammon (5)		Pts: Augustus (22) Rebs: Brunson (9) Asts: Augustus, McWilliams-Franklin, Moore (4)
Minnesota won the series, 2–1

Phoenix Mercury 61, Seattle Storm 80
Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 12–21, 11–29, 19–11
Pts: Taylor (13) Rebs: Bonner (8) Asts: Johnson, Swanier, Taylor (3)		Pts: Wright (21) Rebs: Cash, Little (11) Asts: Little (4)

Seattle Storm 83, Phoenix Mercury 92
Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 22–28, 22–20, 21–21
Pts: Wright (18) Rebs: Cash (5) Asts: Bird (4)		Pts: Dupree (29) Rebs: Dupree (13) Asts: Johnson (9)

Phoenix Mercury 77, Seattle Storm 75
Scoring by quarter: 9–20, 21–19, 24–18, 23–18
Pts: Dupree (20) Rebs: Taylor (17) Asts: Johnson, Taurasi (3)		Pts: Bird (22) Rebs: Cash (10) Asts: Smith, Wright (4)
Phoenix won the series, 2–1

Phoenix Mercury 67, Minnesota Lynx 95
Scoring by quarter: 11–28, 25–19, 19–27, 12–21
Pts: Taurasi (22) Rebs: Bonner (8) Asts: Johnson (4)		Pts: Augustus (21) Rebs: Brunson (13) Asts: Augustus (7)

Minnesota Lynx 103, Phoenix Mercury 86
Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 19–25, 27–20, 33–21
Pts: McWilliams-Franklin, Moore (21) Rebs: Brunson (9) Asts: McWilliams-Franklin (7)		Pts: Bonner, Taurasi (22) Rebs: Dupree (11) Asts: Johnson (6)
Minnesota won the series, 2–0

Atlanta Dream 74, Minnesota Lynx 88
Scoring by quarter: 18–14, 21–22, 23–26, 12–26
Pts: McCoughtry (33) Rebs: Bales (9) Asts: Harding (5)		Pts: Brunson (26) Rebs: Brunson (11) Asts: Augustus (7)

Atlanta Dream 95, Minnesota Lynx 101
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 30–28, 16–19, 21–32
Pts: McCoughtry (38) Rebs: de Souza (10) Asts: Harding (7)		Pts: Augustus (36) Rebs: Augustus (8) Asts: Whalen (4)

Minnesota Lynx 73, Atlanta Dream 67
Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 16–17, 19–8, 21–22
Pts: Augustus (16) Rebs: Brunson (9) Asts: Augustus, McWilliams-Franklin (4)		Pts: McCoughtry (22) Rebs: de Souza (15) Asts: Harding (7)
Minnesota won the series, 3–0

2011 WNBA playoffs

Format

Tiebreak procedures

Two-team tie

Three or more-team tie

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Bracket

Eastern Conference

Conference semifinals

(2) Connecticut Sun vs. (3) Atlanta Dream

(1) Indiana Fever vs. (4) New York Liberty

Conference finals

(1) Indiana Fever vs. (3) Atlanta Dream

Western Conference

Conference semifinals

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (4) San Antonio Silver Stars

(2) Seattle Storm vs. (3) Phoenix Mercury

Conference finals

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (3) Phoenix Mercury

WNBA Finals

Minnesota Lynx vs. Atlanta Dream

References

External links