[1] Following the WNBA regular season, the top eight teams in the overall league standings, without regard to conference alignment, qualified for the playoffs and were seeded from one to eight.
The first two rounds were single-elimination games played on the higher ranking seed's home court.
[2] ^note 1 Seattle earned the sixth seed via the first tie-breaker of head-to-head record versus the Lynx in the regular season.
Phoenix also limped into the playoffs, losing its last four games, including a 105–78 loss to Chicago on September 1.
Ultimately, Seattle proved to be in control for most of the game, advancing to the second round with a ten-point win.
Napheesa Collier became the first rookie since Candace Parker to score a double-double in her playoff debut.
Los Angeles closed with a strong fourth quarter to win by 23 and advance to the Semifinals.
First-year head coach Derek Fisher lead the Sparks to the victory in his first playoff game in the WNBA.
Under pressure from two Aces defenders, she threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Dearica Hamby.
[10] The Aces won their second-round game to earn a spot in the Semifinals versus the Mystics.
The Mystics won the regular season series 2–1, with the road team winning each game.
The Mystics led by as many as thirteen in the fourth quarter, and the Aces never managed to pull ahead, always trailing by at least two points.
[11] Game two proved to be a tight affair in the first half, with the Mystics taking a one-point lead into halftime.
Meesseman did not play with the team last year, and has proved to be a difference maker in the first two games of the series.
[12] Facing elimination, the Las Vegas Aces used a strong second and third quarter to win their first game in the series.
Stars A'ja Wilson and Liz Cambage combined for 49 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Aces.
The Aces also improved on their defense, holding the Mystics to only one starter who scored in double-digits, Elena Delle Donne.
[13] The Aces looked to keep their momentum from their previous win going in their second and final home game of the series.
However, the Mystics won the second quarter by eleven points to take a two-point lead into halftime.
[14] The Los Angeles Sparks dominated their Second round matchup to earn a spot in the Semifinals versus the Connecticut Sun.
The Sparks won the regular season series 2–1, with the home team winning each matchup.
The Sun held the Sparks starting back court to 3–17 shooting and force seventeen turnovers.
This was Chiney Ogwumike's first playoff game in Connecticut since the former Sun star was granted a trade to LA in the offseason.
The game was played at the Walter Pyramid because the Spark's usual home, the Staples Center, was hosting the Emmy Awards.
Jasmine Thomas and Courtney Williams combined for forty-six points and were the only Sun players to score in double-digits.