Lady Vols In The WNBA Update - Playoff Edition: Sept. 23

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The WNBA Playoffs get under way Thursday night, and four franchises featuring six of seven Lady Vols on rosters this season will be in action in the eight-team tournament.

The Minnesota Lynx (Rennia Davis/sidelined by injury) enter as the No. 3 seed with a 22-10 record, followed by the Seattle Storm (Cierra Burdick and Mercedes Russell) at No. 4 (21-11), the Chicago Sky (Diamond DeShields, Candace Parker and assistant coach Tonya Edwards) at No. 6 (16-16) and the Dallas Wings (Isabelle Harrison) at No. 7 (14-18).

The Las Vegas Aces, whose president is LVFL Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas, are the league's No. 2 overall seed at 24-8.

WNBA Playoffs 2021, presented by Google, will feature two single-elimination first-round contests and a pair of single-elimination second-round match-ups before embarking on a five-game series format for the semifinals and finals.

The No. 3 Lynx and No. 4 Storm will await home Sunday match-ups with first-round winners from tonight's games featuring No. 7 Dallas at No. 6 Chicago (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and No. 8 New York at No. 5 Phoenix (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Tip times and TV information for the second-round contests on Sunday have not been announced. The Lynx and Storm franchises each have won four WNBA titles, with Russell contributing to Seattle claiming crowns in 2018 and 2020.

Semifinal-round action is slated to begin on Sept. 28 at No. 1 Connecticut and No. 2 Las Vegas at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET, respectively. Both game ones of the semifinals will be carried by ESPN2. The WNBA Finals are scheduled to begin on Oct. 10, with the five contests being televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The WNBA Finals will move up to start on October 6 or 8, however, if both semifinals end in three or four games.

Below are updates on each of Tennessee's alums on WNBA rosters this season through regular-season finales on Sept. 19.

Cierra Burdick

6-2 / F / Seattle Storm / 5th Season
After playing four games with Phoenix and three with Minnesota on temporary contracts earlier this season, Cierra Burdick has appeared in 14 total contests in 2021 and was signed by Seattle for the rest of the campaign…Her averages include 0.4 ppg. and 1.7 rpg. in seven games played for the Storm, with 5.0 minutes of duty per contest…Her most recent outing came on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas, when she notched season highs with 13 minutes, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal, and added a point.

Next Game: Sept. 26 vs. TBD in Second Round (Time and TV Info. TBD)

Rennia Davis

6-2 / G-F / Minnesota Lynx / 1st Season
Due to a stress fracture in her left foot, Davis has been sidelined in her first season in the WNBA and has yet to see action…She was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Lynx, which finished the regular season third in the WNBA standings at 22-10 to qualify for postseason play.

Next Game: Sept. 26 vs. TBD in Second Round (Time and TV Info. TBD)

Diamond DeShields

6-1 / G / Chicago Sky / 4th Season
Starting 22 of 32 games thus far, DeShields is averaging 11.3 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 2.3 apg. and 1.2 spg. for the Sky while seeing 26.9 minutes of duty per contest…With 18 games of double-figure scoring under her belt in 2021, she tossed in a career-high-tying 30 points vs. Indiana on Sept. 19, connecting on eight of 13 field goal attempts and making 13 of 16 free-throw tries in only 23 minutes of action…Also added seven rebounds, a career-best six assists, two steals and a block vs. the Fever in one of the finest all-around performances of her career.

Next Game: Sept. 23 vs. No. 7 Dallas in First Round 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Isabelle Harrison

6-3 / F / Dallas Wings / 5th Season
Has appeared in 28 contests and logged five starts, averaging 10.9 ppg. and 5.9 rpg. while shooting a team-leading 53.8 percent from the field and playing 23.8 minutes per contest for the Wings…Has scored in double figures 17 times, including the last six contests…Didn't play for 17 days due to illness, but bounced back with a 14-point effort on seven-of-seven shooting in a win over Las Vegas on Sept. 19.

Next Game: Sept. 23 vs. No. 6 Chicago in First Round 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Candace Parker

6-4 / F-C / Chicago Sky / 14th Season
Has started all 23 games she has played this season for Chicago, averaging 13.3 ppg., 8.4 rpg., 4.0 apg. and 1.2 bpg. while seeing 26.7 minutes of court time per contest…Ranks second in scoring and first in rebounding for the Sky…Posted season bests of 30 points and 14 rebounds at Las Vegas on Sept. 2…Followed that with double-doubles vs. Las Vegas (12/13) and Washington (12/11) on Sept. 5 and 12, respectively, to run her total to eight this season…Had her sixth 20-plus scoring game of the year on Sept. 17, tallying 20 exactly vs. Las Vegas.

Next Game: Sept. 23 vs. No. 7 Dallas in First Round 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Mercedes Russell

6-6 / C / Seattle Storm / 4th Season
Russell has started 28 of 30 games for the Storm…She is putting up 7.3 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.6 apg. while shooting 61.7 percent from the field and playing 24.7 minutes per game…She ranks fourth in scoring and second in rebounding for Seattle…She hit her season best of 14 points for the third time in 2021 on seven-of-nine shooting in a win over Phoenix on Sept. 17, adding eight boards, three assists and three steals in 37 minutes…That point total gave her a double-figure scoring effort for the fifth time in the past eight games to close out the regular season.

Next Game: Sept. 26 vs. TBD in Second Round (Time and TV Info. TBD)

Shekinna Stricklen

6-2 / G-F / Atlanta Dream / 10th Season
Saw action in 24 games for the Dream in 2021…She averaged 2.5 ppg. and 0.9 rpg. over 9.8 minutes per contest…Her best outing came Sept. 2 vs. Dallas, when she played a season-high 19 minutes and finished with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting and added a rebound and blocked shot.

Next Game: Season complete