No. 6 Indiana Fever and No. 7 Seattle Storm force series-deciding Game 3’s

The GIST: Time flies when you’re having fun…and when the first round is only a best-of-three series. Just a few short days after the WNBA playoffs tipped off, all four series could be decided before our next newsletter with tickets to the best-of-five semifinals on the line. Let’s hoop to it.

🥵 No. 6 Indiana Fever force series-deciding Game 3: If your back’s against the wall, find yourself a Kelsey Mitchell. The dynamic Fever guard dropped 19 points to lead Indy to a convincing 77–60 win over the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and stave off elimination last night. The dub sets up what should be a spicy decisive Game 3, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET.

⛈️ There’s a (Seattle) Storm coming after the No. 7 squad kept their season alive with last night’s 86–83 upset win over the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces. Skylar Diggins made it rain for Seattle, who forced a winner-take-all Game 3 back in Vegas tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. ET.

🗽 No. 5 NY Liberty’s success could hinge on Breanna Stewart’s left knee: The reigning champs (up 1-0) dodged a bullet when Stewie’s MRI came back “relatively clean” yesterday, but the three-time champ is still a game-time decision for tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 2 tilt against perennial MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas and the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.

🐱 No. 1 Minnesota Lynx look poised to sweep: Fresh off Sunday’s dominant 29-point Game 1 win over the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, Minny looks virtually unstoppably ahead of tonight’s 10 p.m. ET Game 2. That said, the Lynx will have to silence a displaced Ballhalla crowd, not to mention the league’s Most Improved Player, Veronica Burton.