SEATTLE -- Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird will need surgery on her broken nose, and her status is uncertain for Game 1 of the WNBA Western Conference finals that begin Friday.

Bird broke her nose during Seattle's 64-54 victory over Minnesota on Monday. Doctors on Tuesday determined she will need surgery to reposition the nose, team spokesman Liam O'Mahoney said Tuesday afternoon.

	“	She is one tough cookie. I don't think there is anything more painful than getting hit in the beak. My heart goes out to her; she took quite a hit. ”
		— Storm coach Anne Donovan

Bird will be "day-to-day" for the conference finals, but O'Mahoney said Bird, with doctors' approval, could play before surgery by wearing a protective mask.

Bird was injured less than three minutes into Seattle's playoff win against Minnesota. The victory advanced the Storm to the conference finals for the first time in team history.

As Bird went to set a screen on Minnesota's Teresa Edwards, the two collided. Edwards said she felt Bird hit her jawbone but didn't know the two hit that hard. Bird immediately ran off the court with her hands covering her face as blood dripped onto the court.

Bird spent the first half of the game in the training room before returning to the bench in the second half, holding an ice bag over her nose.

After the game, her nose was swollen and slightly bent to her left.

"I was running off and then I saw all the blood so I just kept running," Bird said after Monday's game.

Bird was at the team's practice facility Tuesday watching film of the win over Minnesota before seeing doctors. Head coach Anne Donovan said a mask should be ready by Thursday.

"Her spirits are good. She is one tough cookie," Donovan said. "I don't think there is anything more painful than getting hit in the beak. My heart goes out to her; she took quite a hit."

Without Bird in the lineup, Seattle used a combination of backup guards Tully Bevilaqua and Michelle Greco and starter Betty Lennox to fill in. Bevilaqua played a season-high 27 minutes, scoring nine points, with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

"The most surprising thing for me was when I got into the coaches' locker room ... and realized just how phenomenal Tully's performance was," Donovan said. "It deserved more recognition from me."

If Bird can't play on Friday, Donovan said she would use a similar rotation at the point.

Bird's injury is the third broken nose for the Storm this season. Lennox broke her nose at Houston in late June and borrowed a protective mask from Greco for one game before having surgery. Greco re-broke her nose during the preseason.

"Everyone thinks it's a mental thing, but it's not. It's more of a physical thing," Lennox said. "That mask is going to be nagging, nobody is going to get used to it."

Bird averaged 12.9 points per game during the regular season. She had six points in Seattle's Game 1 win over Minnesota on Saturday.