Olympics done, WNBA ready for sprint to the finish

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — With the Olympics in the rearview mirror, the WNBA is ready to restart its season after a month-long break.

There should be quite the sprint to the finish over the league’s final weeks.

“Very excited to get the back end of the season going,” WNBA President Lisa Borders said. “You think about the format changes, top eight teams make the playoffs, doesn’t matter what your geography is, it matters what your record is.”

Only 4 1/2 games separate fourth place and 11th after the league changed its playoff format this season to get rid of conferences. The top eight teams will make the playoffs.

“The league is very close right now and anybody can make it into the playoffs or get kicked out at this point,” Chicago Sky star Elena Delle Donne said. “Every game is do or die.”

Phoenix, which had nearly half its team go to Rio, had been the biggest disappointment this season. Picked by the league’s general managers to win the title in the preseason, the Mercury sit at 10-14 and in seventh place.

“The WNBA season is very tricky, especially with the Olympic break,” Diana Taurasi said. “If we can start building momentum and playing good basketball, we have championship caliber talent, we just need to start playing like it.”

Los Angeles and Minnesota have already clinched playoff spots and most likely will be the top two seeds in the playoffs, earning them byes into the semifinals. The Sparks had plenty of time to rest over the last month as none of their players were in the Olympics.

Not the case for Minnesota, which had coach Cheryl Reeve and stars Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles all with the gold medal-winning U.S. team.

Reeve isn’t worried about the impact playing in the Olympics has had on her core four.

“They would have been playing anywhere whether it was here or there,” she said. “The domestic stuff was pretty challenging on their time and their bodies. Once we got to Rio and settled on the ship and got a little more of a rhythm and downtime. Geno’s done a great job managing their bodies. We’ll continue down that path.”

Here are a few other things to watch as the WNBA gets back underway.

RETURNING FROM INJURY: New York sits in third place and should get a boost from the return of Epiphanny Prince, who missed the first 26 games while recovering from an ACL injury . Coach Bill Laimbeer expects her to be ready come playoff time.

FAREWELL: Tamika Catchings won her fourth gold medal and now winds down her playing career in Indiana. She’s not the only person retiring at the end of the season. Penny Taylor also announced this is her last year playing professionally . Swin Cash also announced her retirement in the middle of the season effective at the end of this year. San Antonio coach Dan Hughes said before the season it would be his final one on the bench for San Antonio.

POWER POLL: The AP power poll will pick back up on Tuesday, Aug. 31. In the last one before the break the order was Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, Indiana, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Seattle, Connecticut, Dallas, Washington and San Antonio.

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United States’ Brittney Griner, left, and Elena Delle Donne, right, celebrate with their gold medals after their win in a women’s basketball game against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/08/web1_112075885-393cc025359e492d901e51e5bd4ad4ce.jpgUnited States’ Brittney Griner, left, and Elena Delle Donne, right, celebrate with their gold medals after their win in a women’s basketball game against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

United States’ Brittney Griner, front left, lifts teammate Elena Delle Donne after they defeated Spain in a women’s gold medal basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/08/web1_112075885-94961fce424e4a97b59d04bea529adb4.jpgUnited States’ Brittney Griner, front left, lifts teammate Elena Delle Donne after they defeated Spain in a women’s gold medal basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

United States’ Diana Taurasi, left, Tamika Catchings, center, and Sue Bird, right, celebrate with their gold medals after their win in a women’s basketball game against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/08/web1_112075885-27ad71dd788642a2b5a9633c3881dc38.jpgUnited States’ Diana Taurasi, left, Tamika Catchings, center, and Sue Bird, right, celebrate with their gold medals after their win in a women’s basketball game against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By Doug Feinberg

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