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Dates | September 15 – October 7, 2011 |
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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 →
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Standings | |
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Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
1st Indiana | 1st Minnesota |
2nd Connecticut | 2nd Seattle |
3rd Atlanta | 3rd Phoenix |
4th New York | 4th San Antonio |
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.
Seed | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker | Clinched | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | — |
Seed | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker | Clinched | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | — |
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 |
Note: italics denote home-court advantage; bold denotes series winner.
September 16 |
Atlanta Dream 89, Connecticut Sun84 | ||
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 |
September 18 |
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 |
The teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series:
July 31, 2011 |
Atlanta Dream 92, Connecticut Sun99 |
August 19, 2011 |
Connecticut Sun 88, Atlanta Dream94 |
August 21, 2011 |
Atlanta Dream 87, Connecticut Sun96 |
September 6, 2011 |
Connecticut Sun 74, Atlanta Dream85 |
September 15 |
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) |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
September 17 |
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) |
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ |
September 19 |
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 |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
The teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series:
June 10, 2011 |
New York Liberty81, Indiana Fever80 |
June 11, 2011 |
Indiana Fever86, New York Liberty80 |
August 13, 2011 |
New York Liberty 71, Indiana Fever82 |
September 9, 2011 |
Indiana Fever 75, New York Liberty83 |
September 22 |
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) |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
September 25 |
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) |
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA |
September 27 |
Atlanta Dream 83, Indiana Fever67 | ||
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 |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
The Atlanta Dream won 4–0 in the regular season series:
July 19, 2011 |
Indiana Fever 74, Atlanta Dream84 |
August 27, 2011 |
Atlanta Dream86, Indiana Fever80 |
August 30, 2011 |
Indiana Fever 90, Atlanta Dream92 |
September 11, 2011 |
Atlanta Dream93, Indiana Fever88 |
September 16 |
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) |
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
September 18 |
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) |
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX |
September 20 |
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 |
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
The Minnesota Lynx won 4–0 in the regular season series:
July 31, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx70, San Antonio Silver Stars69 |
August 4, 2011 |
San Antonio Silver Stars 60, Minnesota Lynx62 |
August 26, 2011 |
San Antonio Silver Stars 75, Minnesota Lynx85 |
August 28, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx72, San Antonio Silver Stars61 |
September 15 |
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) |
KeyArena, Seattle, WA |
September 17 |
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) |
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ |
September 19 |
Phoenix Mercury 77, Seattle Storm75 | ||
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 |
KeyArena, Seattle, WA |
The Seattle Storm won 3–1 in the regular-season series:
June 4, 2011 |
Phoenix Mercury 71, Seattle Storm78 |
July 26, 2011 |
Seattle Storm83, Phoenix Mercury77 |
August 16, 2011 |
Seattle Storm 79, Phoenix Mercury81 |
September 9, 2011 |
Phoenix Mercury 70, Seattle Storm85 |
September 22 |
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) |
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
September 25 |
Minnesota Lynx 103, Phoenix Mercury86 | ||
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 |
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ |
The Minnesota Lynx won 3–2 in the regular season series:
July 13, 2011 |
Phoenix Mercury 112, Minnesota Lynx 105 |
July 20, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx 106, Phoenix Mercury98 |
August 2, 2011 |
Phoenix Mercury 73, Minnesota Lynx 90 |
August 9, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx 80, Phoenix Mercury 85 |
September 11, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx 96, Phoenix Mercury90 |
October 2 |
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) |
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
October 5 |
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) |
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
October 7 |
Minnesota Lynx 73, Atlanta Dream67 | ||
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 |
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA |
The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2-0:
June 17, 2011 |
Atlanta Dream 85, Minnesota Lynx96 |
June 19, 2011 |
Minnesota Lynx77, Atlanta Dream64 |
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Teams |
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Annual events |
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Statistics |
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Other |
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2011 WNBA season by team
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Western |
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