Around the W: Week 3
A vast summary of what took place in the WNBA over the past week.
As we finish up Week 3 of the WNBA season we continue to learn more about all 12 of our WNBA teams. The best teams remain at the top of the standings but the teams in the middle have shifted around some. If you have a favorite team you can scroll down to them or read the entire article if you want an idea of how every team is doing and which players are playing the best right now. I also provide some additional commentary for most teams.
Atlanta Dream
Week 3 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 5-3
It’s still very early but the Atlanta Dream are the surprise story of the 2022 WNBA season. At least when it comes to positive stories. For a second consecutive week, the Dream remains the 4th overall best seed. Atlanta has not made the playoffs since the 2018 season when they finished with the second-best record in the WNBA that year (23-11). Will this be the year they turn things around? Right now number one overall pick, Rhyne Howard, has looked the part of the top prospect. And rookie head coach, Tanisha Wright, has done a great job so far! The only caveat right now is that Atlanta is beating up the bad teams of the league and still losing to the upper-tier teams. Their best win to date is against the Dallas Wings.
This past week, they went 1-1. On Tuesday (5/24) they lost for a second time to the Washington Mystics. The first time they lost it was only by five points but this time they lost by 20 with a final score of 70-50. Only Aari McDonald scored in double figures off the bench with 10 points. This was by far Rhyne Howard’s worst game so far as she scored zero points on 0-9 FG shooting.
On Sunday (5/29), the Dream completely throttled a struggling Phoenix Mercury team by 27 points. They won the game 81-54. Four starters and five players total reached double-digit scoring for Atlanta. Kristy Wallace led the team with 17 points. Cheyenne Parker had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Erica Wheeler scored 16 points and Rhyne Howard added 12 points. Howard also led the team with six assists. McDonald added 10 points off the bench again in this game as well. Aari had a strong overall game as she also had eight rebounds and five assists.
This week, Atlanta will play three more games with all of them being at home. They’ll have some tough challenges against a Minnesota team that is likely better than their current record and a Chicago Sky team that are the current defending champs.
Chicago Sky
Week 3 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 4-3
The defending champs haven’t quite gotten off to as strong of a start as they had hoped. Not unlike last season where they finished the regular season 16-16, the Sky are currently hovering around .500 with a 4-3 record.
Over the past week, they picked up a narrow win at home against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday (5/24). Chicago won the game 95-90. The Sky’s depth was on full display with six players scoring in double figures. Candace Parker led the team with 16 points. She also had seven assists and six rebounds. Courtney Vandersloot had nearly identical stats with 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Allie Quigley and Kahleah Copper each contributed 12 points. Azurá Stevens (15 points) and Dana Evans (10) were part of a bench that scored a total of 32 points.
On Saturday (5/28), they lost to the Las Vegas Aces by a final score of 83-76. The game wasn’t quite as close as the final score would indicate as the Aces led by as many as 18 points. Four players from Chicago scored in double figures but none more than 12 points (Vandersloot and Copper). Candace Parker had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to counter what A’ja Wilson did (22/16). Rebekah Gardner added 11 points off the bench.
Coach James Wade had some choice words after the Las Vegas game. It sounds like he’ll be motivated for the rematch later this year.
They could rematch in the Commissioner’s Cup as well. Currently, the Sky lead the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 record in Cup games.
Connecticut Sun
Week 3 Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 6-2
The Connecticut Sun remain one of the top teams in the WNBA after going 2-1 over this past week. Although it wasn’t all positive news as the team announced that starting point guard Jasmine Thomas had torn her ACL and would miss the rest of the 2022 season.
Sometimes it feels like this franchise has been snakebitten. After losing the WNBA Finals in 2019 to the Washington Mystics they’ve lost key players in each of the past seasons. In 2020, Jonquel Jones did not play inside the bubble environment. The team managed to reach the semifinals but ultimately lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the decisive Game 5. Prior to the 2021 season, it was announced that Alyssa Thomas had torn her Achilles and would likely miss the entire season. While Thomas was able to return before the end of the season, the team again would lose in the semifinals, this time to the eventual champions the Chicago Sky. And now, in 2022, their starting point guard Jasmine Thomas has torn her ACL.
It’s unclear how much the loss will affect the team as their roster is still very deep with tons of talent. Natisha Hiedeman who has played well as the backup point guard will now move into the starting role.
On Tuesday (5/24), the Sun lost to the Dallas Wings 85-77. Four starters and five Connecticut players scored in double figures. Jonquel Jones had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Alyssa Thomas had a near-triple-double with 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Courtney Williams and Hiedeman each scored 11 points. Brionna Jones added 13 points off the bench.
They responded on Thursday (5/26) beating the Wings by 31 points with a final score of 99-68. Five scored in double figures with DeWanna Bonner scoring the most with 18 points. Natisha Hiedeman had 17 points and a team-high six assists. Jonquel Jones added 12 points. Brionna Jones contributed with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Dijonai Carrington added 13 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
In their third game of the week on Saturday (5/28) the Connecticut Sun defeated the Washington Mystics in a battle between the Eastern Conference’s two best teams. The Sun won the game 79-71 which was also a Commissioner’s Cup contest. Three Connecticut players scored 14 points including Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and Courtney Williams. Thomas also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also had six assists. Brionna Jones provided 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Connecticut is currently in 2nd place in the Commissioner’s Cup standings with a 3-1 record.
Dallas Wings
Week 3 Record: 1-1
OverallRecord: 5-3
The Dallas Wings split their two games this past week with the Connecticut Sun. They won their first game on Tuesday 85-77 before getting blown out 99-68 in their second game.
The Wings got the majority of their production from three players in their big win. Marina Mabrey led the way with 20 points on 6-10 FG shooting. Allisha Gray had 17 points and eight rebounds. Then Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points.
On Thursday (5/26), during their lopsided defeat, the Wings had three players score in double figures. Satou Sabally led the team with 18 points off the bench. Arike scored 16 points and Gray added 11 more.
They are currently tied with the Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm with the 4th best record in the league at 5-3. However, due to tiebreakers, the Wings are currently the 6th seed. They’ll face the Storm this upcoming week which will also be a Commissioner’s Cup game.
Indiana Fever
Week 3 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 3-7
On Tuesday (5/24) the Fever played the defending champions right down to the wire before losing the game 95-90. Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 25 points. Victoria Vivians continues her strong resurgence with another 17 points. Emily Engstler had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Queen Egbo added 10 points and eight rebounds. Destanni Henderson provided 13 points off the bench in the losing effort.
Despite the strong performance against the Chicago Sky. The team announced they had decided to part ways with head coach Marianne Stanley. The Fever announced that assistant coach Carlos Knox would take over for the rest of the season as the interim head coach.
Then on Friday (5/27), Indiana defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 101-96. It was the first win of Coach Knox’s career. Five Fever players reached double figures. Kelsey Mitchell led the way with 22 points. NaLyssa Smith and Victoria Vivians each scored 17 points in the game. Danielle Robinson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists. And Engstler had a near double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Indiana made more news through the rest of the week. First, they hired Coach Gary Kloppenburg, who most recently won a WNBA Championship with the Storm in 2020, as a new assistant coach.
The team also announced they have released forward Alanna Smith. It’s unclear if they have someone else in mind for that roster spot but it’ll be worth watching the transaction page.
Las Vegas Aces
Week 3 Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 8-1
Who can stop the Las Vegas Aces? That’ll be the question as we get deeper and deeper into the season. Right now the Aces are dominating the rest of the league with only a single defeat in nine games (to the Washington Mystics). They’ve already beaten other top contenders like the Chicago Sky and Seattle Storm this season. And they have a stranglehold on the Commissioner’s Cup Western Conference standings with a 5-0 record. It’s crazy but they’ve already essentially locked up a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup and we’re only three weeks into the season.
On Monday (5/23) the Aces destroyed the LA Sparks by nearly 30 points with a final score of 104-76. A’ja Wilson led the way with 24 points and six rebounds. Jackie Young, the biggest surprise for Las Vegas this season, scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out five assists. Kelsey Plum scored 17 points and led the team with eight assists. Chelsea Gray added 14 points and five assists. Rookie Kierstan Bell had a career-high off the bench with 12 points in 11 minutes.
During the weekend, the Aces defeated the Sky in Chicago 83-76 in a game where they led by nearly 20 points before Chicago made a late rally. Las Vegas’ starters all scored in double figures and it’s a good thing they did because the team literally had zero bench points! A’ja Wilson had a monster game with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Kelsey Plum (19 points), Chelsea Gray (18), and Jackie Young (10) all had six assists. Dearica Hamby continues to have an underrated season with yet another double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Hamby is averaging a double-double this season (13.2 PPG and 10.0 RPG).
The Aces will play three home games this week including two games against the Connecticut Sun and one against the Dallas Wings. If Vegas goes 3-0 this week they might start running away with the number one overall seed. Even if they don’t but still beat Dallas they’ll essentially lock up the Commissioner’s Cup appearance.
Los Angeles Sparks
Week 3 Record: 2-2
Overall Record: 4-6
The Los Angeles Sparks played four games this past week and went 2-2. On Monday, they were destroyed by the Aces 104-76. Chennedy Carter led the team in scoring off the bench with 17 points. Jordin Canada had a very good game with 11 points and nine assists. Liz Cambage (more on her later) scored 10 points and Nneka Ogwumike had just nine points.
They beat the Phoenix Mercury in a close battle 99-94. Nneka led the Sparks with 23 points. Cambage added 21 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson, starting for the first time this season, scored 17 points tying her career-high. Lou knocked down 4-5 shots from beyond the arc. Lexie Brown added 10 points and Carter scored 12 points off the bench. Her second game in a row scoring double digits.
On Friday (5/27), LA had a disappointing loss to the Indiana Fever. That’s a team the Sparks need to beat if they want to be a playoff team and they weren’t able to get it done on this night. They lost 101-96 to Indiana. Nneka Ogwumike had a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson set a new career-high with 19 points including 3-5 FG from beyond the arc. Liz was the only other player to reach double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Lastly, on Sunday (5/29) the Sparks beat their arch-rivals the Lynx in Minnesota by a narrow margin of 85-83. Chennedy Carter started this game for the injured Jordin Canada and scored 20 points. She also led the team in rebounding (six) and assists (four). Nneka finished with 16 points while Liz added 15 more. Katie Lou scored 13 points. Her third consecutive game scoring in double figures. Ever since she’s been inserted into the starting lineup Samuelson has been producing good scoring numbers. Can she keep it up? It’ll be a storyline worth watching.
The other big story with the Sparks is the unfortunate news involving Liz Cambage and the incident that caused her to be removed from the Australian Olympic team last year. The report claims she used racial slurs against the Team Nigerian players. Cambage now denies that but multiple reports from different sides are claiming otherwise. You can read more about the troubling story here.
Minnesota Lynx
Week 3 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 2-7
Minnesota is still working to turn their season around after starting their season 0-4 for the second year in a row. Last year they were able to do that and eventually finished the 2021 season with the 3rd best record in the WNBA (22-10). But this season, it’ll be a much larger challenge as they’ll have to do it without Napheesa Collier who was pregnant and just gave birth to her baby girl.
On Tuesday (5/24), the Lynx defeated the New York Liberty 84-78. Aerial Powers led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds. Sylvia Fowles had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Kayla McBride scored 15 points and Moriah Jefferson added 12 points. Jefferson has continued to play well since joining the Lynx.
Then on Sunday (5/29), Minnesota lost a heartbreaker against the Los Angeles Sparks. McBride led the team with 19 points. Fowles scored 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds but she did foul out of the game. Jefferson scored 11 points and Powers added 15 points off the bench.
This upcoming week the Lynx will go on a trip to the east coast where they’ll face the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty. They need to start picking up some wins soon if they want to move into playoff position.
New York Liberty
Week 3 Record: 0-3
Overall Record: 1-7
Speaking of the Liberty … well they are really struggling. Last week I said they needed to start playing significantly better otherwise they would go 0-3 during the week. Sadly for Liberty fans, that’s exactly what happened.
As just mentioned above, they lost to the Minnesota Lynx 84-78. There were some bright moments in this game for New York. Natasha Howard led the team with 23 points. Rebecca Allen added 21 points. Sabrina Ionescu nearly messed around and had a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Han Xu provided 11 points and seven rebounds.
On Friday (5/27), the Liberty nearly picked up a win at Seattle. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the game, Rebecca Allen scored five points in the final 16 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime. Ultimately, the Liberty lost 79-71 in OT. Former Storm champion, Natasha Howard, led the team in scoring with 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Both Stefanie Dolson and Rebecca Allen scored 11 points in the game. Han Xu added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Then on Sunday (5/29), New York played the Storm again in Seattle. This time the game wasn’t even competitive. The Liberty trailed 49-23 at the midway point before ultimately losing the game by 31 points with a final score of 92-61. Han Xu led the team with 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Howard was the only other player to reach double figures with just ten points. Xu is one of the few bright spots for New York so far this season.
After winning their first game of the season the Liberty have now lost seven straight games. At 1-7, they are the owners of the worst record in the WNBA. After reaching the playoffs last season as the 8th and final seed, this year the team is looking more and more like the 2020 Liberty team that won just two games (2-20). The concerning problem between that team and the 2022 team is that in 2020, they were coached by a rookie head coach in Walt Hopkins, and nearly half their roster was filled with rookies.
That’s not the case this season. They are led by Coach Sandy Brondello who has a tremendous amount of WNBA experience, playoff, and championship experience. They also have multiple players who have won championships including Natasha Howard, Sami Whitcomb, and Stefanie Dolson. The Liberty have way too much talent on their roster with an experienced coach to be as awful as they currently are.
There’s plenty of time left in the season for them to turn things around. But right now things are bowling shoe ugly in New York. If they don’t, could Coach Sandy Brondello be on the hot seat after just one year in Brooklyn?
Phoenix Mercury
Week 3 Record: 0-2
Overall Record: 2-6
Not only is Sandy Brondello’s new team struggling, but her old team is as well. The Phoenix Mercury lost both of their games this past week. In fact, they’ve only won two games so far this year and it was the two games against the Storm that were played without Breanna Stewart and Epiphanny Prince.
On Wednesday (5/25), the Mercury lost a close game against the LA Sparks 99-94. Skylar Diggins-Smith returned and led the team with 28 points. Tina Charles had 21 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Diamond DeShields added 17 points and a team-high nine assists. Diana Taurasi scored 11 points and Brianna Turner added 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Phoenix had a much more difficult game on Sunday (5/29) against the Atlanta Dream where they lost by 27 points. The Mercury lost the game 81-54. Atlanta dominated the first half outscoring Phoenix 50-23. DeShields was the only Mercury member to reach double figures with 23 points. But she took 27 shots to get that which is not ideal. All of their players shot horribly totaling 18-68 FG for less than 27%. Tina Charles shot 2-11, Taurasi went 1-5 FG, and Diggins-Smith shot 2-12 FG.
Coach Vanessa Nygaard is struggling to get this team on the same page. Even with the horrible Brittney Griner situation in which she is being wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, this Phoenix Mercury team has far too much talent to be losing the way they are.
Any team with Skylar Diggins-Smith, Tina Charles, Diana Taurasi, Diamond DeShields, and Brianna Turner should be a playoff team. Right now they aren’t playing like one.
Seattle Storm
Week 3 Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 5-3
The Seattle Storm had a complicated week. On the positive side of things, they won both of their games this past week and have now won four games in a row which is the second-longest streak in the WNBA currently only behind the Las Vegas Aces (6 wins in a row). They faced the New York Liberty on Friday and Sunday. The first contest was close, the second was not.
Seattle had to beat New York without nearly half of their team. Starting Center Mercedes Russell remains out with a “non-basketball injury”. Russell hasn’t played basketball in the WNBA yet this season. They also lost Sue Bird, Stephanie Talbot, and Ezi Mabegor to COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols. With multiple players out they had to sign two hardship contracts with Kiana Williams and Kaela Davis.
They defeated New York on Friday (5/27) in overtime by a final score of 79-71. Breanna Stewart led the way with 31 points and nine rebounds. Jewell Loyd added 21 points. Briann January, filling in for Sue Bird, added 11 points.
On Sunday (5/29), the Storm crushed the Liberty by 31 points with a final score of 92-61. Jewell Loyd led the team with 22 points and a team-high six assists. Jantel Lavender added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Stewart had a balanced game of 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, six steals, and two blocked shots. January added 12 points and Kaela Davis provided 11 points off the bench in the victory.
The Storm won’t play again until this Friday against the Dallas Wings. Then they face the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. With the team’s schedule getting more difficult they really have to hope they can get their players back. Especially starters, Sue Bird and Ezi Magbegor.
Washington Mystics
Week 3 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 6-3
The Washington Mystics remain one of the league’s best teams despite them not always being 100% healthy. Elena Delle Donne has played in just five of the Mystics’ nine games so far this season. But in the games she has played she’s averaging nearly 18 PPG and 6.5 RPG. Alysha Clark, who missed the entire 2021 season with a Lisfranc fracture in her foot, has missed five games this year already.
On Tuesday (5/24), the Mystics throttled the Atlanta Dream 70-50. Four players scored in double figures with Delle Donne leading the team with 15 points and six rebounds. Alysha Clark scored 11 points which is the first time she’s hit double figures this year. Ariel Atkins added 10 points and Kennedy Burke scored 13 points off the bench on a very efficient 5-6 FG shooting night. Rookie Shakira Austin continues her very strong rookie campaign scoring nine points and collecting seven rebounds.
Then on Saturday (5/28), the Mystics lost to the Connecticut Sun. Because it was a road game, EDD did not play in the game as she’s primarily only playing home games so far this season. Clark also missed this game as she was put into the COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols (quarantine). The fact Washington was without both of these players, it’s actually impressive they kept the game against Connecticut close. That speaks to the depth of the Mystics. Kennedy Burke got the start and led the team with 13 points. Atkins also had 13 points. Elizabeth Williams (12 points) and Tianna Hawkins (10 points) each scored double figures off the bench.
The Mystics will get to face some of the bottom dwellers this week as they will play the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty. After those games, they’ll rematch with the Chicago Sky on Sunday.
WNBA Standings:
Las Vegas Aces 8-1
Connecticut Sun 6-2
Washington Mystics 6-3
Atlanta Dream 5-3
Seattle Storm 5-3
Dallas Wings 5-3
Chicago Sky 4-3
Los Angeles Sparks 4-6
Indiana Fever 3-7
Phoenix Mercury 2-6
Minnesota Lynx 2-7
New York Liberty 1-7
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