University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Tandem Leads Mystics To WNBA Finals
September 7, 2018 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL - Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and LaToya Pringle-Sanders, a pair of former standouts from the University of North Carolina, will lead the Washington Mystics into the 2018 WNBA Finals to face the Seattle Storm in game one Friday at 9 p.m. ET in Seattle on ESPNews.
The Mystics are headed to the WNBA Finals for the first time in the franchise's 21 year history following Tuesday's win-or-go-home semifinals victory in Atlanta. Washington is the third seed and will go on the road for the first two games against the No. 1 overall seed Storm in a best-of-five series.
LaToya Sanders
LaToya Sanders has started all six postseason games for Washington and has averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game. She has reached a double-figure point total on four occasions, including 14 points in the first playoff game against Los Angeles on Aug. 23.
Tierra Ruffin-PrattÂ
A key figure of the Mystics bench, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt has contributed 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.8 minutes spanning six games of the playoffs. She scored 11 points in game two of the series with Atlanta and has averaged 7.8 points over the last four playoff games.Â
Season Series
Seattle took the regular season series against Washington (2-1) with the home team prevailing in each match-up. The Storm's two wins at Key Arena came in a pair of highly contested games winning by four and six points, respectively and featuring a combined 17 lead changes and 12 ties.
Trio of Tar Heel title holders
Nikki Teasley was the first Tar Heel to win a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002. Teasley hit a series-winning three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give the Sparks their second consecutive title. Camille Little and the Seattle Storm went a perfect 7-0 in the 2010 WNBA playoffs on their way to a league title. Erlana Larkins won the 2012 title with the Indiana Fever.
Finals Schedule
Game 1 — Washington @ Seattle: Friday, 9 PM ET, ESPNews
Game 2 — Washington @ Seattle: Sunday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC
Game 3 — Seattle @ Washington: Wednesday, September 12, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 4* — Seattle @ Washington: Friday, September 14, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 5* — Washington @ Seattle: Sunday, September 16, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
* — if necessary
The Mystics are headed to the WNBA Finals for the first time in the franchise's 21 year history following Tuesday's win-or-go-home semifinals victory in Atlanta. Washington is the third seed and will go on the road for the first two games against the No. 1 overall seed Storm in a best-of-five series.
LaToya Sanders
LaToya Sanders has started all six postseason games for Washington and has averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game. She has reached a double-figure point total on four occasions, including 14 points in the first playoff game against Los Angeles on Aug. 23.
Tierra Ruffin-PrattÂ
A key figure of the Mystics bench, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt has contributed 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.8 minutes spanning six games of the playoffs. She scored 11 points in game two of the series with Atlanta and has averaged 7.8 points over the last four playoff games.Â
Season Series
Seattle took the regular season series against Washington (2-1) with the home team prevailing in each match-up. The Storm's two wins at Key Arena came in a pair of highly contested games winning by four and six points, respectively and featuring a combined 17 lead changes and 12 ties.
Trio of Tar Heel title holders
Nikki Teasley was the first Tar Heel to win a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002. Teasley hit a series-winning three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give the Sparks their second consecutive title. Camille Little and the Seattle Storm went a perfect 7-0 in the 2010 WNBA playoffs on their way to a league title. Erlana Larkins won the 2012 title with the Indiana Fever.
Finals Schedule
Game 1 — Washington @ Seattle: Friday, 9 PM ET, ESPNews
Game 2 — Washington @ Seattle: Sunday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC
Game 3 — Seattle @ Washington: Wednesday, September 12, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 4* — Seattle @ Washington: Friday, September 14, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 5* — Washington @ Seattle: Sunday, September 16, 8 PM ET, ESPN2
* — if necessary
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