Capsules for the WNBA conference finals series

A look at the two best-of-three WNBA conference finals, which start Thursday:

Season Series: Tied 2-2, with each time winning once on the road.

New York: A roster overhaul that brought Cappie Pondexter, Nicole Powell and Taj McWilliams-Franklin to the Liberty in the offseason resulted in a team record for victories one year after enduring 21 losses. New York won 15 of its last 18 games after the All-Star break, including a franchise-record 10 straight down the stretch. The Liberty then outlasted Indiana in three games - winning 77-74 in the decisive Game 3 - to advance to the conference finals for the second time in three years. Pondexter, who teamed with Diana Taurasi to help Phoenix win two titles in the last three years, led the Liberty with 21.4 ppg and 4.9 apg. Leilani Mitchell (9.3 ppg, 3.8 apg, 49 percent 3-point shooting) earned the league's Most Improved Player award, and McWilliams-Franklin (10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Powell (9.3) and Janel McCarville (8.8) complete a solid starting lineup. McCarville missed the finale against Indiana due to a sprained left ankle, and her status for this series is uncertain. Plenette Pierson is the top reserve, averaging 9.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 25 games. Pondexter was the big scorer in the opening-round series, as well - averaging 27.3 ppg - but the Liberty got key contributions from reserves Essence Carson (17 points in Game 1) and Kia Vaughn (13 points in Game 3) in their two wins. The Liberty were fifth in scoring (79.2) after finishing last a year ago. New York was also third in field-goal shooting 45.3 percent, including a league-best 41 percent on 3-pointers. Pondexter averaged 25.8 points and 6.0 assists against the Dream.

Atlanta: Two years after finishing with a WNBA-record 30 losses in their inaugural season, the Dream earned their second straight playoff berth and have advanced to the conference finals for the first time. Atlanta opened the season with 14 wins in 18 games and was in first place late in the season before faltering down the stretch and losing six of its last seven. Playing like they had earlier in the season, the Dream recovered to sweep first-place Washington in the conference semis. They won the opener by five points at Washington and then used a 26-0 run during one stretch in Game 2 to close the series with a 24-point win at home on Friday night. Reigning rookie of the year Angel McCoughtry (21.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.1 apg) had a sensational second season. Iziane Castro Marques (16.9 ppg), Sancho Lyttle (12.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg) and Erika DeSouza (12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) anchor the starting lineup. Second-year guard Shalee Lehning (4.8 apg, 3.7 ppg) has been solid running the point. Lyttle and DeSouza helped the Dream lead the league in rebounding at 38.8 per game. Atlanta was also second in scoring (85.4) and assists (19.6), but last in 3-point shooting shooting (28.9 percent). McCoughtry (24.5 ppg) and Castro Marques (20.0) led the way in first round as well. Kelly Miller missed the opening series due to an ankle injury and her status is uncertain. McCoughtry averaged 20.8 points against the Liberty, DeSouza 17.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, while Castro Marques added 16.0 ppg.

Prediction: Liberty in 3.

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Season series: Storm won 5-0.

Seattle: After tying the league record for victories - set by Los Angeles in 2001 and 2001 when teams played a 32-game schedule, the Storm swept the Sparks in the first round. Seattle won the opener at home by 13 points, then closed it out with a 15-point win at Los Angeles for their first postseason series victory since winning the WNBA title in 2004. They had lost in the first round in each year since - including the last two years against the Sparks. Seattle got off to such a dominant start, it clinched the top seed in the West on July 27 with 11 games remaining. The Storm won 22 of their first 24 games before losing four of their last 10 while allowing key players to rest. Seattle also set a league record for home victories, finishing 17-0. Lauren Jackson (20.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Sue Bird (11.1 ppg, 5.8 apg), in their ninth season together, are the lone holdovers from the championship team. Swin Cash (13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), in her third season in Seattle, averaged 18.0 points in the opening-round series and gives the team a formidable trio. Camille Little (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Tanisha Wright (9.2 ppg, 4.5 apg) round out the Storm's starting five. Svetlana Abrosimova (7.6 ppg) and Le'coe Willingham (5.5 ppg) are key veteran reserves. The Storm were third in the league in scoring (81.8) and rebounding (36.3) during the regular season, second in scoring defense (73.9) and 3-point shooting (37 percent) and fifth in overall field-goal shooting (45 percent). Four of the five regular-season meetings were decided by six points or fewer.

Phoenix: Following their second WNBA title in three years, the Mercury sent Cappie Pondexter to New York in a three-team deal that brought Candice Dupree from Chicago. Phoenix struggled for consistency and finished with an eight-win dropoff from a year ago. The Mercury lost six of their last seven but still managed to finish second in a conference where only league-leading Seattle had a winning record. Phoenix then swept San Antonio in the first round, winning both games by double digits and beating the Silver Stars in the playoffs for the third time in four years. The previous two times - 2007 and 2009 - the Mercury went on to win the WNBA championship. Once again, Phoenix's high-octane offense is led by Diana Taurasi (22.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg), who won her third straight scoring title. Penny Taylor (15.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.0 apg) and Dupree (15.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) were 11th and 12th in scoring, respectively, and DeWanna Bonner (12.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg) had a strong second season to earn the league's Sixth Woman of theYear honors for the second straight year. Kara Braxton, acquired from Tulsa in a late-season trade, averaged 11.1 ppg and 4.8 rpg to give the Mercury a fifth double-figure scorer as a backup at center to Tangela Smith (9.9 ppg, 5.2 apg). Temeka Johnson ran the point and added 9.2 ppg, 4.7 apg. Phoenix led the league in scoring (93.9 ppg), field-goal shooting (47.3 percent), free-throw shooting (85 percent) and assists (20.2). Bonner averaged 18.3 ppg in the first four meetings against the Storm

Prediction: Storm in 3.