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Each Thursday this season, Sports Illustrated’s Ben Pickman is diving deep into the WNBA story lines you need to know.
The Mercury were likely hoping that the dog days of August would never end. An undefeated, seven-win month helped Phoenix, who entered the Olympic break at just 9–10, vault up the WNBA standings. On Tuesday night, before defeating the surging Sky by 20 points, the franchise clinched a ninth straight playoff appearance.
“We knew that we needed to get better and we needed to do it collectively as a team,” coach Sandy Brondello said Tuesday.