Aussies in WNBA: Taylor and Mitchell battle for playoff spot
Penny Taylor's Phoenix Mercury and Leilani Mitchell's Washington Mystics are in a serious battle to clinch the final playoff spot in the WNBA.
Locked in for playoff berths is the Minnesota Lynx, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty (Rebecca Allen), Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm (Abby Bishop and Jenna O'Hea).
The season will come to a head in the coming days, with the final spot being decided on whether Phoenix can knock off Seattle and San Antonio or Washington beating Atlanta and Connecticut.
With one of the most even WNBA seasons we've seen in a while, the playoffs are shaping up to be a historical contest.
Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks is the hot favourite for the MVP award, currently sitting on an average of 19.8 points per game (on an incredible 67% FG shooting average), 9 rebounds per game, 3 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals. Tina Charles is close behind, sparking the Liberty's incredible form towards the latter half of the season and racking up a huge average of 21.5 points per game, 9.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Other notable mentions for MVP include Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker and Breanna Stewart.
Some highlights below of the MVP favourite Ogwumike and her LA Sparks in their win over Phoenix.
https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/776125928397164544
Aussie Update
The Phoenix Mercury will be honouring much-loved Australian Penny Taylor in what will be her last regular season home game. Taylor's incredible career will leave a lasting legacy with the Mercury after leading them to 3 WNBA Championship titles.
https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/776119932341714944
In true fashion, Taylor has been in dominant form as she desperately seeks the opportunity for one more playoffs campaign that the Mercury. The forward racked up 14 points, 3 assists and 6 steals in their win over Atlanta. She then made 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the Mercury's 5 point loss to the Sparks. With her consistent performances, Taylor's output has been her best since the 2011 season just to demonstrate how good she has been.
https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/775401212099211264
The other Australian seeking out a playoff opportunity is Leilani Mitchell. The Mystics were able to knock off New York, putting them in good position for their final two games that they need to win to get to the postseason. Mitchell added 5 points in both games this week with some healthy court time.
Check out the highlights from the Mystics' huge win over New York:
https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/776080652517056514
With the WNBA season coming to a close, it will be great to see so many Australian's in action in the playoffs.