The Phoenix Mercury take on the Las Vegas Aces in Friday night’s pivotal Game 5 of their WNBA semifinal series and they’ll have to play without the services of all-star guard Kia Nurse.
According to ESPN’s Kelly Cohen, the team announced that Nurse suffered a torn right ACL during Wednesday’s Game 4 loss to the Aces, a defeat that knotted the best-of-five series at two games apiece. Nurse’s season-ending injury occurred just 39 seconds into the contest when she planted awkwardly during a fast-break layup attempt.
The fourth-year pro was drafted 10th overall by the New York Liberty in 2018 and spent her first three WNBA seasons with the club, making an All-Star appearance in 2019. In February, Nurse was traded with Megan Walker to the Mercury in exchange for a 2021 and 2022 first-round pick.
In 32 games – all of them starts – this season, Nurse averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while posting a three-point field goal percentage of 35.3%. The 25-year-old Canadian was averaging 8.3 points per game and was shooting 45.5% from distance in the playoffs.
The Mercury and Aces play Game 5 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner will take on the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals.
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