2014 WNBA Finals
{{Short description|Basketball championship}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{WNBA Finals summary
| image =
| league = WNBA
| year = 2014
| champion = Phoenix Mercury
| champion_coach = Sandy Brondello
| champion_games = 3
| runnerup = Chicago Sky
| runnerup_coach = Pokey Chatman
| runnerup_games = 0
| date = September 7–12
| MVP ={{flagicon|USA}} Diana Taurasi (Phoenix)
| television = U.S.: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 (HD)
| announcers = Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo
| Radio network = ESPN Radio
| referees_1 = Amy Bonner, Roy Gulbeyan, Lamont Simpson
| referees_2 = Sue Blauch, Eric Brewton, Kurt Walker
| referees_3 = Denise Brooks, Michael Price, Maj Forsberg
| ECF result = Chicago defeated Indiana, 2–1
| WCF result = Phoenix defeated Minnesota, 2–1
| prev_year = 2013
| next_year = 2015
}}
The 2014 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2014 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.[https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/11368780/2014-wnba-playoff-schedule 2014 WNBA playoff schedule - ESPN] The Phoenix Mercury, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Chicago Sky, champions of the Eastern Conference.
The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Mercury held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (29–5) than the Sky (15–19). The Mercury swept the Sky in three games to win their third title in franchise history.
Both teams would meet again in the 2021 WNBA Finals, but this time the Sky emerged victorious in four games.
Background
=2014 WNBA regular season=
{{main|2014 WNBA season}}
{{2014 WNBA Eastern Conference standings|team=CHI}}
{{2014 WNBA Western Conference standings|team=PHO}}
=2014 WNBA Playoffs=
{{main|2014 WNBA Playoffs}}
| class="wikitable" style="width: 60%; font-size:90%;" |
| valign=top
!colspan=2 width=45%|Phoenix Mercury!!colspan=2 width=45%|Chicago Sky |
| align=right|29–5 (.853) 1st West, 1st overall !colspan=2|Seeding |align=left|15–19 (.441) |
| align=right|Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0
!colspan=2|Conference Semifinals |align=left|Defeated the (1) Atlanta Dream, 2–1 |
| align=right|Defeated the (2) Minnesota Lynx, 2–1
!colspan=2|Conference Finals |align=left|Defeated the (2) Indiana Fever, 2–1 |
=Chicago Sky=
{{main|2014 Chicago Sky season}}
The Chicago Sky finished 15–19, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Sky defeated the Atlanta Dream in three games, setting up a conference final against the Indiana Fever. Chicago lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the first time in franchise history.
=Phoenix Mercury=
{{main|2014 Phoenix Mercury season}}
The Phoenix Mercury finished with the best record in the WNBA, finishing with a 29–5 record. The Mercury swept the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks in the conference semifinals, and defeated the Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals in three games.
=Regular-season series=
The Phoenix Mercury won the season series 2–0:
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = July 2, 2014
| report = [http://www.wnba.com/game/20140702/CHIPHO/ Report]
| team1 = Chicago Sky |score1=69
| team2 = Phoenix Mercury |score2=87
| place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
}}
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = July 11, 2014
| report = [http://www.wnba.com/game/20140711/PHOCHI/ Report]
| team1 = Phoenix Mercury |score1=72
| team2 = Chicago Sky |score2=66
| place = Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
}}
Series summary
:All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
=Game 1=
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = September 7
| time = 3:30pm ET
| report = [http://www.wnba.com/game/20140907/CHIPHO/ Report]
| team1 = Chicago Sky
| score1 = 62
| score2 = 83
| team2 = Phoenix Mercury
| Q1 = 8–15 | Q2 = 12–27 | Q3 = 14–14 | Q4 = 28–27
| points1 = Fowles (19)
| points2 = Dupree (26)
| rebounds1 = Fowles (11)
| rebounds2 = Griner (7)
| assist1 = Vandersloot (5)
| assist2 = Taurasi (11)
| otherstat1 =
| otherstat2 =
| place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
| attendance = 13,263
| referee =
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
| TV = ABC
| series = Phoenix leads series, 1–0
}}
=Game 2=
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = September 9
| time = 9:00pm ET
| report = [http://www.wnba.com/game/20140909/CHIPHO/ Report]
| team1 = Chicago Sky
| score1 = 68
| score2 = 97
| team2 = Phoenix Mercury
| Q1 = 14–21 | Q2 = 22–30| Q3 = 15–23 | Q4 = 17–23
| points1 = Delle Donne (22)
| points2 = Griner (19)
| rebounds1 = Fowles (5)
| rebounds2 = Taylor (8)
| assist1 = Vandersloot (4)
| assist2 = Taylor (6)
| otherstat1 =
| otherstat2 =
| place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
| attendance = 13,348
| referee =
#4 Sue Blauch
#18 Kurt Walker
#55 Eric Brewton
| TV = ESPN
| series = Phoenix leads series, 2–0
}}
=Game 3=
{{basketballbox
| bg = #eee
| date = September 12
| time = 8:00pm ET
| report = [http://www.wnba.com/game/20140912/PHOCHI/ Report]
| team1 = Phoenix Mercury
| score1= 87
| score2 = 82
| team2 = Chicago Sky
| Q1 = 22–22 | Q2 = 23–21 | Q3 = 16–20 | Q4 = 26–19
| points1 = Dupree, Taurasi (24)
| points2 = Delle Donne (23)
| rebounds1 = Bonner (9)
| rebounds2 = Fowles (8)
| assist1 = Dupree (6)
| assist2 = Vandersloot (11)
| otherstat1 =
| otherstat2 =
| place = UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
| attendance = 7,365
| referee =
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
| TV = ESPN2
| series = Phoenix wins series, 3–0
}}
Rosters
{{sports roster
| team=Phoenix Mercury
| season = 2014
| style = WNBA
| players =
{{sports roster/entry | num = 8 | first= Mistie | last= Bass | pos = F | ft= 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 189 | DOB = 12-02-1983 | yrs = 7 | college = Duke | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 23 | first= Tiffany| last= Bias| pos = G | ft= 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 133 | DOB = 05-22-1992 | yrs = 5 | college = Oklahoma State | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 24 | first= DeWanna | last= Bonner | pos = G/F | ft= 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 143 | DOB = 08-21-1987 | yrs = 5 | college = Auburn | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 4 | first = Candice | last = Dupree | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 178 | DOB = 08-16-1984 | yrs = 8 | college = Temple | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 42 | first = Brittney | last = Griner | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9 | lbs = 205 | DOB = 10-18-1990 | yrs = 1 | college = Baylor | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 10 | first = Anete | last = Jēkabsone-Žogota | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 9 | lbs = 167 | DOB = 08-12-1983 | yrs = 2 | from = Latvia | nat = LAT }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 11 | first = Ewelina | last = Kobryn | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 210| DOB = 05-07-1982 | yrs = 3 | from = Poland | nat = POL }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 14 | first = Eshaya | last = Murphy| pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 164| DOB = 04-15-1985 | yrs = 7 | college = USC | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 31 | first = Erin | last = Phillips| pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 165| DOB = 05-19-1985 | yrs = 6 | from = Australia | nat = AUS }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 3 | first = Diana | last = Taurasi | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 163 | DOB = 06-11-1982 | yrs = 10 | college = Connecticut | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 13 | first = Penny | last = Taylor | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 165 | DOB = 05-24-1981 | yrs = 12 | from = Australia | nat = AUS }}
| head_coach =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=Australia| first = Sandy | last = Brondello| college = Western Sydney}}
| asst_coach =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Julie | last = Hairgrove | nolink = 1| college = Arizona}}
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Todd | last = Troxel| college = Doane}}
| ath_train =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Tamara | last = Poole | nolink = 1| college = Cal State Dominguez Hills}}
| str_cond =
}}
{{sports roster
| team=Chicago Sky
| season = 2014
| style = WNBA
| players =
{{sports roster/entry | num = 25 | first = Gennifer | last = Brandon | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 164 | DOB = 11-23-1990 | yrs = R | college = California | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 51 | first = Jessica | last = Breland | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 170 | DOB = 02-23-1988 | yrs = 2 | college = North Carolina| nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 0 | first = Courtney | last = Clements | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 157 | DOB = 11-12-1989 | yrs = 1 | college = San Diego State| nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 11 | first = Elena | last = Delle Donne | pos = G/F | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 188 | DOB = 09-05-1989 | yrs = 1 | college = Delaware | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 21 | first = Jamierra | last = Faulkner | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 6 | lbs = 141 | DOB = 03-09-1992 | yrs = R | college = Southern Mississippi| nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 34 | first = Sylvia | last = Fowles | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 208 | DOB = 10-06-1985 | yrs = 6 | school = Louisiana State | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 9 | first = Markeisha | last = Gatling | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 255 | DOB = 07-14-1992 | yrs = R | college = NC State| nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 45 | first = Sasha | last = Goodlett | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 239 | DOB = 08-09-1990 | yrs = 2 | college = Georgia Tech| nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 10 | first = Epiphanny | last = Prince | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 9 | lbs = 164 | DOB = 01-11-1988 | yrs = 4 | college = Rutgers | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 14 | first = Allie | last = Quigley | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 10 | lbs = 140 | DOB = 06-20-1986 | yrs = 5 | college = DePaul | nat = USA}}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 22 | first = Courtney | last = Vandersloot | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 132 | DOB = 02-08-1989 | yrs = 3 | college = Gonzaga | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 1 | first = Tamera | last = Young | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 172 | DOB = 10-30-1986 | yrs = 6 | college = James Madison | nat = USA}}
| head_coach =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Pokey | last = Chatman| college = LSU}}
| asst_coach =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Tree | last = Rollins| college = Clemson}}
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Christie | last = Sides | nolink = 1| college = Louisiana Tech}}
| ath_train =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Christie | last = Sides | nolink = 1| college = Louisiana Tech}}
| str_cond =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Ann | last = Crosby | nolink = 1| college = Western Michigan}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{WNBA Finals}}
{{2014 WNBA season by team}}
{{Phoenix Mercury 2014 WNBA champions}}
{{Phoenix Mercury}}
{{Chicago Sky}}
{{NBA on ABC}}
Category:Basketball competitions in Chicago
Category:2010s in Phoenix, Arizona