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Five Blue Devils to Open WNBA Playoffs
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Five Blue Devils to Compete in WNBA Playoffs
9/10/2019 9:38:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – As the WNBA Playoffs get set to tip off Wednesday, Sept. 11, five different Duke graduates will be looking to help their squads win a WNBA Championship. Â
Jasmine Thomas helped guide the Connecticut Sun to the No. 2 seed, while Chelsea Gray and Alana Beard led the Los Angeles Sparks to the No. 3 seed. Lexie Brown and Karima Christmas with the Minnesota Lynx earned the No. 7 seed as well. Â
The playoffs will open Wednesday, Sept. 11 with Minnesota traveling to Seattle at 10 p.m., in a single-elimination contest that will be aired live on ESPN2. The other single-elimination contest will be No. 8 seeded Phoenix at No. 5 seeded Chicago at 8 p.m., Wednesday.
The second round will be held Sunday, Sept. 15, which will also be single-elimination contests. No. 3 seeded Los Angeles will host one contest at 3 p.m., on ESPN2 and No. 4 seeded Las Vegas will host another game at 5 p.m., on ESPN2. Teams will be reseeded after each round. Â
Semifinal contests will be best-of-five series that will get started Tuesday, Sept. 17. No. 1 seeded Washington and No. 2 seeded Connecticut will be the home teams in the semifinals. Â
Thomas and the Connecticut Sun totaled a 23-11 record on the season, including a 15-2 mark at home. A 2011 Blue Devil graduate, Thomas has averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals on the season. Her 5.1 assists a game ranks sixth in the WNBA. Â
Beard and Gray have guided the Sparks to a 22-12 mark on the year and also boast a 15-2 mark at home. Los Angeles enter the playoffs winners of three straight contests. Gray, a 2014 Duke graduate, has averaged 14.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals on the season. She ranks second in assists and 13th in scoring in the WNBA. A 2004 Blue Devil graduate, Beard has been hampered with injuries this past season, after being named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. She has played in 16 games and averaged 3.3 points a contest. Â
In her first season with the Lynx, Brown has seen action in 33 games, while averaging 7.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists. The 2018 graduate currently ranks ninth in the WNBA with a 38.5 three-point field goal percentage as she has drained 52-of-135 attempts. Christmas, who graduated from Duke in 2011, has missed most of the season with a knee injury after playing seven games to start the year.
#GoDuke
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Jasmine Thomas helped guide the Connecticut Sun to the No. 2 seed, while Chelsea Gray and Alana Beard led the Los Angeles Sparks to the No. 3 seed. Lexie Brown and Karima Christmas with the Minnesota Lynx earned the No. 7 seed as well. Â
The playoffs will open Wednesday, Sept. 11 with Minnesota traveling to Seattle at 10 p.m., in a single-elimination contest that will be aired live on ESPN2. The other single-elimination contest will be No. 8 seeded Phoenix at No. 5 seeded Chicago at 8 p.m., Wednesday.
The second round will be held Sunday, Sept. 15, which will also be single-elimination contests. No. 3 seeded Los Angeles will host one contest at 3 p.m., on ESPN2 and No. 4 seeded Las Vegas will host another game at 5 p.m., on ESPN2. Teams will be reseeded after each round. Â
Semifinal contests will be best-of-five series that will get started Tuesday, Sept. 17. No. 1 seeded Washington and No. 2 seeded Connecticut will be the home teams in the semifinals. Â
Thomas and the Connecticut Sun totaled a 23-11 record on the season, including a 15-2 mark at home. A 2011 Blue Devil graduate, Thomas has averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals on the season. Her 5.1 assists a game ranks sixth in the WNBA. Â
Beard and Gray have guided the Sparks to a 22-12 mark on the year and also boast a 15-2 mark at home. Los Angeles enter the playoffs winners of three straight contests. Gray, a 2014 Duke graduate, has averaged 14.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals on the season. She ranks second in assists and 13th in scoring in the WNBA. A 2004 Blue Devil graduate, Beard has been hampered with injuries this past season, after being named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. She has played in 16 games and averaged 3.3 points a contest. Â
In her first season with the Lynx, Brown has seen action in 33 games, while averaging 7.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists. The 2018 graduate currently ranks ninth in the WNBA with a 38.5 three-point field goal percentage as she has drained 52-of-135 attempts. Christmas, who graduated from Duke in 2011, has missed most of the season with a knee injury after playing seven games to start the year.
#GoDuke
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