Around the W: Week 4
A vast summary of what took place in the WNBA over the past week.
As we finish up Week 4 of the WNBA season we continue to learn more about all 12 of our WNBA teams. The Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun remain at the top as they have for multiple weeks. No team had a better week than the Chicago Sky who moved up from the 7th overall seed all the way to the third best record in the WNBA.
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 4 Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 7-4
The Atlanta Dream continue to prove they’re a good basketball team. They picked up two more wins this past week with their only loss coming against the defending champions. I’m not quite ready to call the Dream a great team as most of their wins have come against the bottom feeders of the WNBA standings. With that said, they’re also only losing to teams that are considered serious title contenders like Las Vegas, Chicago, and Washington.
I think that’s what makes their game this week against the Storm an exciting matchup. Seattle was thought to be a top contender heading into this season but their 5-5 start through 10 games has revealed them to only be an average team so far. If Atlanta can come into Seattle and beat them it’ll prove they are a legit potential playoff team even if they aren’t quite at that elite contending tier just yet. Which honestly is significantly more than most people expected before the season began.
Let’s take a look at how their games played out over this past week.
They defeated the Minnesota Lynx 84-76. Rhyne Howard led the team in scoring with 22 points. Kristy Wallace continues to be a huge positive surprise as she scored 18 points. Erica Wheeler nearly had a double-double with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Aari McDonald had 13 points and SEVEN steals! Monique Billings also came close to a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the win.
Atlanta was not able to topple the defending champs while playing at home. They lost to the Sky 73-65. Cheyenne Parker led the team with 19 points and a team-high six rebounds. Erica Wheeler added 15 points and a team-high five assists. No other player scored in double figures for the Dream in this game and Rhyne Howard was limited to just five points on 2-12 FG shooting.
On Sunday, the Dream defeated the lowly Indiana Fever for the third time this season by a final score of 75-66. Four players scored in double figures with Nia Coffey leading the team. She had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Rhyne Howard also scored 16 points in this contest. Cheyenne Parker also added 11 points and Aari McDonald scored 12 points off the bench in the victory.
Chicago Sky
Week 4 Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 7-3
No team did more to improve their position in the league standings than the defending champion Chicago Sky. During my previous write-up, the Sky were the 7th seed but after three straight victories, they’ve moved all the way up to the third-best record in the WNBA.
On Tuesday (5/31), Chicago had a narrow victory over the Phoenix Mercury at home. They defeated Phoenix 73-70. Four Sky players reached double figures with Courtney Vandersloot leading the team in scoring (18 points) and assists (six assists). Kahleah Copper contributed with 11 points and seven rebounds. Emma Meesseman added 10 points and Rebekah Gardner also scored 10 points off the bench.
In their second game of the week, Chicago defeated Atlanta 73-65. Kahleah Copper led the team in scoring with 21 points and eight rebounds. Emma Meesseman was the only other player to score ten plus points with 16. She also added six rebounds. Courtney Vandersloot added nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Then on Sunday (6/5), the Sky defeated the Washington Mystics for a second time this season. This time the score was 91-82. Four players scored in double figures with Kahleah Copper leading the team in scoring with 15 points. Candace Parker had a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists. She also had six assists which tied for a team-best. Meesseman added 13 points, six assists, five steals, and four rebounds. Dana Evans continues her strong sophomore season in Chicago with 12 points and four assists off the bench.
Chicago will have a chance to sweep the Mystics on Wednesday as the two teams face off for a third and final time during the regular season.
Connecticut Sun
Week 4 Record: 3-1
Overall Record: 9-3
While the Chicago Sky was the only team to go undefeated this past week (3-0) you could easily make the argument that the Connecticut Sun had the best week of any WNBA team. They had a difficult four-game road trip where they faced the Las Vegas Aces twice, the Phoenix Mercury, and the Seattle Storm. Connecticut came away with three big victories!
On Tuesday (5/31), they played their first of two games against the Las Vegas Aces. They fell short in this first game losing 89-81 to Vegas. Four Sun players scored in double figures but none had more than 14 points. DeWanna Bonner led the team in scoring. Alyssa Thomas had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also had a team-high six assists. Courtney Williams (13 points) and Brionna Jones (12) were the other players to score in double figures.
Connecticut got revenge on Thursday defeating the Aces 97-90. The Sun used a balanced attack with five starters scoring double figures. Alyssa Thomas had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jonquel Jones led the team in scoring with 20 points and seven rebounds. Bonner added 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Courtney Williams had 18 points and was tied for a team-high six assists. Lastly, Brionna Jones scored ten points off the bench. Connecticut’s bench outscored Las Vegas’s 15-5.
The Sun played the very next night in Phoenix and defeated the Mercury 92-88. Five players reached double-digit scoring with Jonquel Jones leading the way with 24 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Brionna Jones had a huge impact off the bench with 18 points. Alyssa Thomas nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Bonner added 14 points and Courtney Williams scored 11 points.
Lastly, on Sunday (6/5), Connecticut faced a (finally) healthy Storm team. Seattle led throughout the entire game including by as many as 13 points. However, the Sun used a dominant 32-19 fourth-quarter rally to beat Seattle 93-86. The reigning MVP, Jonquel Jones, was special scoring 25 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out six assists. Brionna Jones was unstoppable down low with 21 points and eight rebounds. She also got to the foul line a ton and made 9-10 from the charity stripe. Bonner got hot late in the game scoring nine of her 21 points in the 4th period. Lastly, Dijonai Carrington was a perfect 5-5 from the floor scoring 12 points off the bench.
Jonquel Jones was also named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the week for averaging more than 19 PPG and nearly 9 RPG and 3 APG during those four games.
Dallas Wings
Week 4 Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 6-5
Dallas didn’t have a great week as they lost two of their three games. But the two games they lost were both very competitive.
On Tuesday (5/31), they lost a game in the final minute to the Los Angeles Sparks 93-91. Five players from Dallas scored in double figures. Isabelle Harrison led the team in scoring with 20 points off the bench. Both Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey scored 16 points in this game. Satou Sabally (12) and Allisha Gray (10) were the other players to score 10+ points.
The Wings came to Seattle and completely shut down the Storm. Seattle was missing two of their starters but Dallas was clearly the better team as they won the game 68-51. Allisha Gray led the team with 18 points and seven assists. Satou Sabally had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She also had a team-high six assists. Arike followed that up with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Dallas went head-to-head with the best team (per the standings) in the WNBA and just barely lost to the Las Vegas Aces 84-78. Gray led the team again with 24 points and nine rebounds. Arike scored 21 points. Satou Sabally had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kayla Thorton led the team in rebounding with 15 rebounds.
Indiana Fever
Week 4 Record: 0-3
Overall Record: 3-10
Indiana lost to the Washington Mystics 87-75. Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 26 points. NaLyssa Smith scored 13 points and Victoria Vivians added 11 points in the losing effort.
The Fever lost their next game by almost an identical score. This time they fell to the New York Liberty 87-74. Kelsey Mitchell scored 17 points to lead the Fever in scoring. Vivians scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds. Queen Egbo had 10 points and tied for a team-high with two others with six rebounds. Bria Hartley added 10 points off the bench.
Lastly, on Sunday, the Fever lost their third game of the week to the Atlanta Dream 75-66. Kelsey Mitchell led the team in scoring with 20 points. NaLyssa Smith scored 10 points. Queen Egbo had a team-high eight rebounds, had two blocks, and scored six points.
Las Vegas Aces
Week 4 Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 10-2
Last Tuesday, the Aces matched up against the other top team in the WNBA the Connecticut Sun. In their first of two battles, Vegas came out the victor by a final score of 89-81. Four of five starters scored in double figures including two that scored above twenty points. A’ja Wilson had a monster game with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Jackie Young added 21 points. Kelsey Plum scored 18 points, had a team-high seven assists, and four rebounds. Lastly, Chelsea Gray contributed with 13 points and six assists in the win.
On Thursday (6/2), Vegas lost the rematch. It’s not terribly surprising that the two best teams met up and split a two-game series with each other. Connecticut beat the Aces 97-90. Four players from Vegas had double-digit scoring with Jackie Young leading the way with 26 points. Kelsey Plum scored 23 points and distributed a team-high eight assists. Dearica Hamby added 15 points and seven rebounds. A’ja had similar numbers with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Vegas rebounded from that defeat on Sunday and defeated the Dallas Wings 84-78. Kelsey Plum tied her career-high with 32 points. She also tied with Dearica Hamby for a team-high five assists. Chelsea Gray added 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Hamby was the only other player to reach double figures with 12 points. She also had a team-high eight rebounds.
The Aces remain the number one overall seed in the WNBA at 10-2. Kelsey Plum was also named the Western Conference Player of the Week. Plum averaged over 24 PPG, 4 RPG, and nearly 7 APG. Up to this point, only the Aces’ players have won the Western Conference Player of the Week award. With A’ja Wilson winning it twice and Jackie Young winning the award in Week 2.
Los Angeles Sparks
Week 4 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 5-7
Los Angeles defeated the Dallas Wings 93-91. Brittney Sykes led the team with 24 points off the bench. She also tied with Liz Cambage for a team-high six assists. Liz also scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lastly, Katie Lou Samuelson scored 13 points on 5-7 FG shooting.
Then on Sunday, the Sparks fell to the Phoenix Mercury 81-74. Nneka Ogwumike led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds. She was the only starter to score in double figures. Brittney Sykes added 14 points and Chennedy Carter scored 10 points. Both of them provided a huge spark off the bench.
The Sparks remain a team that is hovering around .500. They haven’t been great this season but they’re currently still hovering around the last playoff spot. Los Angeles has a ton of talent and it’s just a matter of putting it all together. Most of their players haven’t played together with one another so it’s going to take time.
Minnesota Lynx
Week 4 Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 3-8
The Lynx lost 84-76 to the Atlanta Dream. Kayla McBride led the team in scoring with 20 points. But it was Sylvia Fowles that nearly had a 20-20 game which is unreal. Fowles had 16 points and 20 rebounds. Nikolina Milic has been a bright spot for Minnesota in an otherwise disappointing season so far. She had 14 points off the bench for Minnesota.
On Sunday (6/5), Minnesota defeated the New York Liberty 84-77. Four players scored in double figures. Aerial Powers had a season-high 27 points. She also added seven rebounds. Sylvia Fowles added 18 points and eight rebounds. Kayla McBride also scored 18 points and Rachel Banham chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds, and a team-high four assists.
While still near the bottom of the standings, Minnesota has been playing .500 basketball over the past two weeks. That’s good enough to make the playoffs. Their slow start certainly set them back. But with 25 games left to play, they definitely have plenty of time to continue to rise in the standings and into playoff position.
New York Liberty
Week 4 Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 3-8
On Wednesday (6/1), New York finally snapped their long losing streak. They beat the Indiana Fever 87-74. Four starters scored in double figures. Sabrina Ionescu led the team with 23 points and seven rebounds. Rebecca Allen scored 17 points. Natasha Howard and Stefanie Dolson combined for 32 points each scoring 16. Dolson led the team in rebounding with eight rebounds and also a team-high seven assists.
Then on Friday, New York had their most impressive victory this season as they beat the Washington Mystics 74-70. Sabrina Ionescu had another strong game with 24 points. Natasha Howard added 17 points and seven rebounds. Lastly, Rebecca Allen contributed with 11 points.
On Sunday (6/5), the Liberty were not able to make it three in a row as they lost 84-77 to the Minnesota Lynx. Sabrina Ionescu led the team with 31 points and a team-high seven assists. Natasha Howard added 20 points and five rebounds. They only got nine points total from Stefanie Dolson, Rebecca Allen, and Crystal Dangerfield. The lack of additional scoring from their starters hurt New York in this game.
New York can be really happy about this week’s performance. Not only did they pick up multiple victories for the first time in a given week but Sabrina Ionescu was outstanding. Which is incredibly important being a former number one overall pick back in 2020. Ionescu has to live up to that billing if New York is going to turn their franchise around.
Phoenix Mercury
Week 4 Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 3-8
On May 31st, the Mercury lost a tightly contested matchup to the Chicago Sky 73-70. Tina Charles led all scorers with 25 points. She also had seven rebounds which were second best on her team just behind Brianna Turner who had nine rebounds. Skylar Diggins-Smith provided 12 points and a game-high eight assists. Diamond DeShields also added 10 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort.
They lost another close game to the Connecticut Sun 92-88. Diana Taurasi had a vintage performance with 32 points including six three-pointers. Diggins-Smith also had a great game with 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists. DeShields scored 15 points and Sophie Cunningham added 13 points while getting the start with Tina Charles out.
Phoenix finally snapped their seven-game losing streak with a win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, by a final score of 81-74. Skylar Diggins-Smith led the team with a season-high 29 points. Taurasi added 19 points and a team-high seven assists. Diamond DeShields scored 11 points and Shey Peddy provided 10 points off the bench. Tina Charles also missed this game.
Seattle Storm
Week 4 Record: 0-2
Overall Record: 5-5
In what was the worst scoring performance of the Breanna Stewart era, the Seattle Storm were held to just 51 points in a loss to the Dallas Wings 68-51. It wasn’t Stewie’s fault as she scored more than 50% of the team’s points with 27 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jewell Loyd was the only other player to score in double figures with 13 points. The team was without Ezi Magbegor and Sue Bird but that is still no excuse. No Storm player outside of Stewart and Loyd scored in the entire 2nd half. They were literally the only two players to score any points in the 3rd and 4th quarters! To make matters worse, Jantel Lavender had two points in the 1st quarter. Those two points were the only points scored by a player not named Breanna Stewart or Jewell Loyd in the first period. For essentially three of the four quarters the only two players scoring any points were Stewie and Jewell. And this is why the team only had 51 points total in an embarrassing loss.
Then on Sunday, the Storm had a much better performance. Unfortunately for them, it still wasn’t good enough as they were defeated by the Connecticut Sun 93-86. It’s a game Seattle led by double-digits multiple times throughout the first three quarters. 22-year-old Ezi Magbegor led the team in scoring (19 points), rebounds (seven), and blocked shots (three). Sue Bird had her best offensive game of the season with 17 points. She also had six assists. Jewell Loyd added 16 points and a team-high seven assists. Breanna Stewart had 12 points but did not shoot the ball, especially from deep where she made just 1-5 three-point FG attempts.
Seattle’s schedule only gets more difficult from here as they played nine of their first 11 games at home. It’s too early to panic but they need to play significantly better if they want to finish as a top contender this season. The team is really struggling offensively to begin this season and desperately needs a reliable third scorer to go along with Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd.
Washington Mystics
Week 4 Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 7-5
The Washington Mystics defeated the Indiana Fever 87-75 last Tuesday. Ariel Atkins led the team with 28 points. Elena Delle Donne scored 19 points and had seven rebounds. Natasha Cloud scored 16 points and had a team-high nine assists. Elizabeth Williams provided a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
Maybe to their surprise, the Mystics lost a game against the New York Liberty 74-70. It’s proof you can never underestimate your opponent, especially in the WNBA. Natasha Cloud led the team in scoring (17 points) and assists (eight). Ariel Atkins scored 15 points before fouling out of the game. Delle Donne added 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
On Sunday (6/5), the Mystics lost to the Sky again by a final score of 91-82. Just two players scored in double figures. Tiana Hawkins led the team with 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Myisha Hines-Allen scored 13 points to lead all starters in scoring. Because this was a road game, Elena Delle Donne did not play. Rookie Shakira Austin did start and scored six points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Washington struggled this past week. Can they rebound this week to move back into the Top 4?
WNBA Standings:
Las Vegas Aces 10-2
Connecticut Sun 9-3
Chicago Sky 7-3
Atlanta Dream 7-4
Washington Mystics 7-5
Dallas Wings 6-5
Seattle Storm 5-5
Los Angeles Sparks 5-7
Minnesota Lynx 3-8
New York Liberty 3-8
Phoenix Mercury 3-8
Indiana Fever 3-10
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