At least one New York Liberty acquisition went home happy after Game 3 of the opening round series against the Phoenix Mercury. While Phoenix's headliners rose

The winner will advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Minnesota Lynx after Phoenix evened series with dominant 86-60 victory in Game 2.

Alyssa Thomas made history on Friday night as the Phoenix Mercury defeated the reigning champion New York Liberty 79-73 to progress to the WNBA playoff semifinals.

After delivering a 26-point beating of the Liberty on Wednesday night, Mercury guard Kahleah Copper said she was “shocked” by how hushed the Barclays Center crowd appeared to be. “I don’t think it was loud to start,” Copper said. “I was shocked. I was expecting us to have to deal with some crowd, some court-side people. Like, it was quiet.”

The Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 3-1 in their season series, and their rookie, Monique Akoa Makani contributed.