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WNBAâs first game in South Dakota is a sell-out as Phoenix Mercury coach returns home
TL;DR
The WNBA's first game in South Dakota is a sell-out, featuring the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky. The game sold out in just seven minutes and will take place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
Key points
- WNBA's first game in South Dakota is a sell-out
- Game features Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky
- Sold out in seven minutes
- Location is Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls
- Coach Nate Tibbetts returns to his home state
Mentioned in this story
Sioux FallsNate Tibbetts
Phoenix MercuryChicago Sky
WNBAâs first game in South Dakota is a sell-out as Phoenix Mercury coach returns home
The WNBAâs first game in South Dakota, which will feature the Phoenix Mercury and the Chicago Sky, is a sellout.
The game â which sold out in seven minutes, according to a team source â will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., roughly 73 miles from the town of Jefferson where Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts grew up.
âIâm excited to go back to South Dakota,â Tibbetts told reporters earlier this week. âI get to go back once in a while, but I havenât been back in a long time ⊠to coach in front of a lot of family and friends. Itâs a lot of people that have watched my career as Iâve grown. Itâll be neat. Iâm looking forward to it.â
The Sanford Pentagon has a capacity of 3,250. Remaining tickets for Saturdayâs game are being sold for resale prices of up to $3,454 on StubHub. The cheapest available seat was listed at $237 as of Friday evening.
âYear 16 and Iâm going to South Dakota, how crazy is that,â veteran Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner said.
TIbbetts went to high school at Jefferson before transferring to school in Sioux Falls as a junior. The son of South Dakota Hall of Fame coach Fred Tibbetts, his transition into the WNBA aligns closely with his fatherâs career.
Fred Tibbetts coached high school girls basketball for almost three decades, amassing more than 500 wins, including a 111-game winning streak and seven undefeated championship seasons. He died of colon cancer in 2008.
Nate Tibbetts played for the menâs basketball team at the University of South Dakota before beginning his coaching career as an assistant for the University of Sioux Falls menâs basketball team. In 2005, he began a nearly 20-year journey in the NBA coaching ranks starting as an assistant with the Sioux Falls Skyforce â the Miami Heatâs G-League affiliate â and ending with a three-year stint as an Orlando Magic assistant before the Mercury hired him in 2023.
Q&A
What teams are playing in the WNBA's first game in South Dakota?
The Phoenix Mercury and the Chicago Sky are the teams playing in the WNBA's first game in South Dakota.
Where is the WNBA's first game in South Dakota being held?
The game is being held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Who is the coach of the Phoenix Mercury returning to South Dakota?
Nate Tibbetts, the coach of the Phoenix Mercury, is returning to South Dakota for the game.