TORONTO, Ont. (September 23, 2021) – The 2021 WNBA Playoffs tip-off tonight with all three Canadians in action over the first two rounds this week.

Kia Nurse and the No. 5 Phoenix Mercury (19-13) will face off against her former club, the No. 8 seed New York Liberty (12-20), on Thursday night in the first round at 10:00 PM ET.  Nurse, a 6’0” guard, started all 32 games this season for the Mercury and averaged 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds, a career high, in her fourth season in the league.  

Fans in Canada can catch the first round double-header live tonight on Sportsnet One, beginning at 8:00 PM ET as Dallas faces Chicago.

On Sunday, September 26 (time TBD), Bridget Carleton, Natalie Achonwa and the No. 3 Minnesota Lynx (22-10) will face the lowest-seeded team to advance into the second round.  Appearing in all 32 games this season for Minnesota, Carleton, averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds, while Achonwa, a veteran in her seventh season in the league, returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after being limited to 21 regular season games due to injury.

Nurse, Carleton and Achonwa, all key members of Canada's Senior Women's National Team, proudly represented the country this summer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The first two rounds of the playoffs are a single-elimination format with teams reseeded after each round.  

The Connecticut Sun and the Las Vegas Aces finished in the top two spots during the regular season and received a double bye and advanced directly to the semifinal round.  Both the semifinals and 2021 WNBA Finals will be a best-of-five format.