Around the W - Week 6
A vast summary of what took place in the WNBA during the 6th week.
Another week of the WNBA has come and gone and we’ve had some shuffling in the standings. Let’s take a look at how every team did this week.
Atlanta Dream
Weekly Record: 0-1
Overall Record: 5-7
The Atlanta Dream played just one game this past Thursday losing a hard-fought battle against the Washington Mystics 96-93. Atlanta has now lost five of the last six games they’ve played after winning four straight.
Odyssey Sims led the team with 22 points and a team-high seven assists. Tianna Hawkins scored 17 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. The Dream had five players in total scored in double figures. Tiffany Hayes (16 points), Courtney Williams added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Cheyenne Parker contributed with 10 points as well.
The Dream are currently tied with three other teams for the second-worst record in the WNBA. Due to current tiebreakers, Atlanta is the 11th seed in the WNBA.
Chicago Sky
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 7-7
The Chicago Sky had the best week of any WNBA team going 3-0 over the past week. In total, Chicago has won five games in a row; all have come with the return of Candace Parker. The Sky are a perfect 7-0 in games that Parker has played this season and 0-7 in games that she missed due to injury.
On Tuesday, the Sky handled the Minnesota Lynx 105-89. Courtney Vandersloot became the 4th player in WNBA history to hit the 2,000 assist milestone. Vandersloot had a double-double with 10 points and 13 assists. The Sky had six players score in double figures including all five starters. Allie Quigley had a team-high 23 points off the bench. Stefanie Dolson had 17 points and six rebounds, both Kahleah Copper and Diamond DeShields scored 16 points, and Candace Parker added 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Then on Thursday, Chicago defeated the Connecticut Sun 81-75. Kahleah Copper led the team with 18 points and was tied with Candace Parker for a team-high eight rebounds. Parker scored the next highest with 15 points. Diamond DeShields scored 13 points, while Courtney Vandersloot had another double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Allie Quigley added 11 points off the bench.
Lastly, the Sky beat the Connecticut Sun again 91-81 on Saturday. It was the 2nd game in a row that Chicago beat the Sun and took advantage of Connecticut being without Jonquel Jones. Courtney Vandersloot led the way with 18 points and 11 assists. Diamond DeShields added 14 points. The Sky got major contributions off their bench as the reserves scored 42 points including 13 points from both Quigley and Ruthy Hebard and 11 more from Azura Stevens.
After winning five games in a row, the Chicago Sky have gone from one of the worst teams in the WNBA at 2-7 to the 5th seed in league standings. With two very important wins against the Connecticut Sun this past week, the Sky improved their WNBA Commissioner’s Cup record to 5-2 just behind the Sun who are at 4-1. If the teams end up with a tied record for the Commissioner’s Cup standings, Chicago will win the tiebreaker.
Connecticut Sun
Weekly Record: 0-2
Overall Record: 8-5
As mentioned right above, the Connecticut Sun lost both of their games this past week against the Chicago Sky. Without Jonquel Jones, the team has lost three straight games. Jones is off participating in Eurobasket World Cup qualifying games for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The national team is playing so well thanks to Jones that it means she will miss even more WNBA games than initially expected.
That’s bad news for Connecticut who had the best record in the WNBA through the first few weeks of the season but have now dropped to third place. A couple more losses would send them even further down the WNBA standings.
During their 81-75 loss to Chicago, the Sun were led by Jasmine Thomas who scored 20 points. Kaila Charles has played well in recent games scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds while being inserted into the starting lineup after her breakout performance against the Seattle Storm. Natisha Hiedeman added 13 points off the bench as she continues to get attention as a candidate for Most Improved Player. DeWanna Bonner added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Brionna Jones was just short of one with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
All five starters scored in double figures during the Sun’s 91-81 loss to the Chicago Sky on Saturday. Brionna Jones led the team with 22 points and eight rebounds. DeWanna Bonner added 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Briann January added 12 points and six assists. And Jasmine Thomas and Kaila Charles each added 10 points in the losing effort.
Dallas Wings
Weekly Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 6-7
The Dallas Wings split a two-game series with the Minnesota Lynx losing the first game 85-73. Arike Ogunbowale led the team with 20 points. No other players had more than 10 points but three players had ten. Satou Sabally, Kayla Thorton, and Allisha Gray all scored ten points for the Wings. Interestingly, Marina Mabrey continues to struggle in recent games. Mabrey started this season with some incredible shooting and was even averaging more than 20 points per game through the first three or four weeks. But she has fallen off a bit in recent games as she has been in and out of the starting lineup as Coach Vickie Johnson tries to find the right rotations for her players. In this loss against Minnesota, Mabrey scored zero points and went 0-8 from the floor including 0-4 from three-point range in 17 minutes.
Fortunately for Dallas, Mabrey got things back on track on Saturday scoring a career-high 28 points and hit five threes and 9-13 FG overall while coming off the bench. The Wings knocked down 17 shots from beyond the arc in total in this game which was a new franchise record. The high scoring led to a 95-77 beat down of the Minnesota Lynx. Arike scored 16 points, had five rebounds, and six assists. Ty Harris continued her solid 2nd season in the WNBA with 13 points off the bench. Kayla Thorton was the other player to score in double figures with 10 points in the win.
The Wings are hanging in playoff contention as they currently hold the 7th overall seed with their record at 6-7. They have the talent to make the playoffs this season, it’ll just be a matter of playing better defense and closing out games for the youngest roster in the WNBA.
Indiana Fever
Weekly Record: 0-3
Overall Record: 1-14
The Indiana Fever continue to struggle mightily as the worst team in the WNBA. They were the only team to go 0-3 this past week. It didn’t help that they played two games against the #1 overall seed Seattle Storm.
On Tuesday, they fell to the Storm 87-70. Kelsey Mitchell scored a game-high 26 points and Jessica Breland came close to a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Tiffany Mitchell added 12 points. Lauren Cox and Kysre Gondrezick, their last two first-round picks, combined for 0 points in 11 minutes.
Then on Thursday, they lost again to Seattle but kept the game close throughout. Eventually falling to the defending champions 79-69. Indiana actually had five players score in double-figures, however, no player scored more than 13 points. Teaira McCowan led the way with 13 points and 10 rebounds. However, she was held to just two points in the 2nd half. Kelsey and Tiffany Mitchell each scored 12 points. Jessica Brelan had a very strong game with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Jantel Lavender also added 10 points in this game.
The Fever came very close to winning their second game of the season but weren’t able to close the deal against the Washington Mystics losing the game 82-77. Indiana was outscored by five points in the fourth quarter and that would be the difference in the ball game. Danielle Robinson led Indiana with 19 points and a game-high six assists. Tiffany Mitchell added 18 points, while Kelsey Mitchell contributed with 13. Teaira McCowan added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Gondrezick scored zero points in eight minutes and Lauren Cox didn’t even play (Coach’s decision) in this game.
It’s hard not to believe that major changes are needed in Indiana. I’m not sure if Coach Marianne Stanley lasts the rest of this season the way the team is playing. If that talent isn’t up to par with the rest of the league it’s understandable why a team has a losing record. But you want to see progress. Right now a lot of their younger players aren’t even being given opportunities to play many minutes and the team isn’t producing. In most games, they haven’t even been competitive. Maybe the Indiana Fever can just turn everything around by landing the #1 overall draft pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. But right now, it looks like it’s going to take even more than that to right their ship.
Las Vegas Aces
Weekly Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 10-3
The Las Vegas Aces just continue to win and not just win but crush their competition. The Aces have won five games straight and eight out of their last ten. They beat up on the New York Liberty in back-to-back games on Tuesday and Thursday of last week.
In the first game, Vegas won 100-78. Kelsey Plum scored a career-high 32 points on 11-16 FG shooting. An even more impressive feat considering she tore her Achilles heel last year and missed the entire 2020 season. Dearica Hamby scored 16 points also off the bench. Between Plum, Hamby, and the rest of the reserves Vegas scored 52 points off the bench! Liz Cambage led all starters with 14 points and 11 rebounds. A’ja Wilson added 10 points and Jackie Young gave them 11 points and tied for a team-high with Chelsea Gray dishing out five assists.
The Aces won by even more in the rematch defeating the Liberty 103-76. The extremely talented Aces had six players score in double figures with Kelsey Plum (once again) leading the way with 18 points off the bench and a team-high seven assists. Four of their five starters scored in double figures with A’ja Wilson providing 17 points and seven rebounds. Chelsea Gray added 15 points and six assists, while Cambage had 13 points and nine rebounds. Riquna Williams 11 points and Dearica Hamby 10 points and 12 rebounds rounded out the group.
At 10-3, Las Vegas holds onto the 2nd best record in the WNBA. But with the talent on their roster and advanced stat metrics, you can easily make the argument that they are the best team in the WNBA. How dangerous are the Aces? Well right now, they lead the league in Offensive Rating (108.1). They also lead the league in Defensive Rating (94.3). Then not surprisingly, they lead the WNBA in Net Rating as well at 13.9 currently. As I mentioned in a previous article covering the Storm, in the past 10 years eight out of the ten WNBA Champions came from the team that led the league in Net Rating. The only two years the eventual champion wasn’t the league leader in Net rating, it ended up being the team that finished 2nd in net rating.
Currently, Vegas has only lost to Seattle and Connecticut (two times) this season. They have split the first two games with the Storm both in Seattle and play Seattle at the end of this week on Sunday. That game could go a long way in determining who finishes the season with the top record in the WNBA.
Los Angeles Sparks
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 5-7
The Los Angeles Sparks went 1-2 this past week first defeating the Phoenix Mercury 85-80 this past Wednesday. Erica Wheeler hit a clutch shot over Brittney Griner to seal the victory for LA. Wheeler led the team with 18 points and 10 assists. Kristi Toliver added 17 points while Amanda Zahui B. gave them 15 points and seven rebounds. Brittney Sykes scored 14 points off the bench and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Phoenix got their revenge on Friday defeating the Sparks 80-66. Only three players on LA scored in double figures with Wheeler leading the way with 17 points. Sykes added 14 more and Bria Holmes scored 11 points in the losing effort.
The Sparks then lost a heartbreaker against the New York Liberty 76-73 in a game that honored the WNBA’s very first inaugural game between these two franchises. Just as they did 24 years prior, the Liberty came out on top in this one.
With both Ogwumike sisters still out, Erica Wheeler continues to lead the team scoring 20 points and dishing out 10 assists in this game. Both Nia Coffey and Kristi Toliver scored 15 points for the Sparks. Brittney Sykes added 10 points off the bench for LA.
At 5-7, the Sparks have fallen out of the playoff race for now as they currently hold the 10th seed in the WNBA standings. I think when you look at LA and you look at Indiana, you see one team that has lost so much in the Sparks but they are still competing every single night and hovering around .500 basketball. Los Angeles lost Candace Parker (a former MVP winner and MVP candidate in 2020) and Chelsea Gray (All-Star and Olympian) in the offseason. Then they lost both Ogwumike sisters (Nneka and Chiney) to injuries. And their first-round pick (7th overall) Jasmine Walker to a torn ACL. And yet, they are still playing hard and have been competitive. And sure, they’re currently the 10th seed out of 12. But it was only a week ago that they were hovering around the 5th seed in the middle of a playoff hunt.
Minnesota Lynx
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 5-7
We’re still trying to figure out who the Minnesota Lynx really are this season. After having some of the best offseason signings (on paper), the team really struggled out of the gate losing their first four games of the season. But they rebounded strongly winning four of their next five games.
Now this past week, they went 1-2 to fall two games back under .500 at 5-7. First, they lost 105-89 to the Chicago Sky. Napheesa Collier scored 27 points to lead all scorers in the game. Sylvia Fowles added 14 points and nine rebounds but was the only other player on the team to score in double figures.
They then won a Commissioner’s Cup game against the Dallas Wings 85-73. Sylvia Fowles posted her 170th career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kayla McBride came out of her shooting slump to lead the team with 22 points. Collier had another strong game with 19 points and eight rebounds.
On Saturday, Minnesota lost again, this time in the rematch with the Wings by a final score of 95-77. The most two recent Rookie of the Year players, Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield, both led the team in scoring with 17 points. Kayla McBride added 13 points and Damiris Dantas contributed with 10 points off the bench. In total, the reserves scored 36 bench points.
At 5-7, the Lynx have fallen out of the playoff race and are currently in 9th place. However, all the WNBA teams between the 4th and 11th seeds are within just a few games of each other. A team like Chicago won five straight games and vaulted themselves from 11th to 5th in a matter of two weeks. With 20 games left in the season, Minnesota has plenty of time to correct course and make another push in the WNBA Playoffs after reaching the semi-finals last season.
New York Liberty
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 7-6
The New York Liberty struggled this past week getting handled by the Las Vegas Aces in both of their games. Losing the first game 100-78. Jazmine Jones led the team off the bench with 17 points. Betnijah Laney had 15 points and a team-high six assists. Kylee Shook added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. And former Seattle Storm player, Sami Whitcomb, added 10 points and five rebounds.
The second game of the week was even worse for New York as they lost by 27 points to the Aces with a final score of 103-76. Betnijah Laney led the team with 20 points. Reshanda Gray added 17 points on 7-11 FG shooting in just 21 minutes off the bench. Rebecca Allen was the only other player to score in double figures for New York with 14 points.
In their third game of the week, the Liberty got back on the winning track defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 76-73. Rebecca Allen had two major rejections in the closing seconds to secure the victory. Allen led the team with 19 points while Sami Whitcomb added 17 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Laney (14 points, five rebounds) and Kylee Shook (11 points) were the other major contributors for New York.
It’s great to see former Storm player Sami Whitcomb continue to have success with her new team. Whitcomb is enjoying the most individual success she’s ever had in the WNBA in her 5th season. She’s averaging career-highs in virtually every single category but most notably points (11.0 PPG), rebounds (5.5 RPG), assists (2.9 APG), and field goal (52%) and 3-PT FG percentage (48%). She’s also started all 13 games for the Liberty and is averaging nearly 29 minutes per game.
In a bit of an interesting twist, Whitcomb is actually having the most success of the three major players that left (or were traded) from the 2020 Championship Storm team. Of course, this is also because Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard have been out with injuries. Clark will miss the entire season with a Lisfranc fracture in her foot. Howard has played in just two games this season for the Liberty due to being a late arrival from overseas competition and then injuring her right knee in just her second game with the team.
Despite injuries to Howard and Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty currently hold the 4th best record in the WNBA at 7-6. They are also one of just four teams that actually have a winning record this season. Also, an interesting tidbit is that in five of their six losses they have not been competitive losing all of those games by double digits and some by nearly 30 points. It’s difficult to get an exact read on the Liberty, but right now they are definitely a playoff team as we get close to finishing up the 2nd month of the season.
Phoenix Mercury
Weekly Record: 1-1
Overall Record: 6-7
The Phoenix Mercury split two games with the LA Sparks this past week. In the first game, they lost 85-80 which was actually their 4th loss in a row. Brittney Griner has really carried the team even in their losses. Griner had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mercury. Sophie Cunningham had one of the best games of her career scoring 16 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith also had a double-double with 15 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.
Phoenix was finally able to get back in the win column by defeating the Sparks 80-66. Diggins-Smith led the team with 21 points and tied Kia Nurse for a team-high four assists. Brianna Turner had a strong game with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals. Griner added 14 points and eight rebounds. Megan Walker added 10 points off the bench.
With a record of 6-7, the Phoenix Mercury currently hold onto the 8th and final playoff spot. Help should be coming soon as Diana Taurasi is expected to return to the team before the Olympic break in mid-July and possibly by the end of June. As long as they can hover around .500 until Taurasi gets back, they should be competing for a solid playoff spot at the end of the season.
Seattle Storm
Weekly Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 12-2
The Seattle Storm improved to a league-best record of 12-2 after defeating the Indiana Fever two times last week. In the first game, they won 87-70. While the Fever played them evenly in the 2nd and 3rd periods, Seattle jumped out to a nine-point lead after the first quarter and finished the game outscoring the Fever by seven in the final period.
Seattle got major contributions from their big three with Breanna Stewart leading the way with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Jewell Loyd added 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Then Sue Bird chipped in with 17 points.
While the Storm struggled at times in their game on Thursday, they still defeated the Indiana Fever 79-69. Seattle was tired after playing five road games in eight days. Their starters really pushed through adversity to secure the victory. Stewart led the way with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Loyd added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Bird had 13 points and a game-high seven assists. Katie Lou Samuelson scored 10 points on 80% shooting (4-5 FG).
Even though their margin of victory hasn’t been quite as impressive as what the Aces have done, Seattle continues to impress with their play. They went on the road, played five games in eight days, and went undefeated. Not only that, but they won every single road game by double digits. Their defense has been outstanding as of late, holding those opponents to 70.2 PPG over those five games.
Seattle’s Defensive Rating for the month of June (eight games) is a league-best 90.7. Their Offensive Rating in the month of June is also the best in the WNBA at 106.3 (just barely edging the Aces who are at 106.2 for June). Seattle’s Net Rating for June tops the WNBA at 15.6. Their overall Net rating for the entire season is currently second-best just behind Las Vegas at 11.0 (Aces is 13.9).
Maybe most impressive overall for the defending champs in their 7-0 road record this season.
Washington Mystics
Weekly Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 6-6
The Washington Mystics went 2-0 and are another example of a team that continues to battle and grind out wins despite lots of injuries and key missing pieces. The Mystics are without Elena Della Donne and Alysha Clark who are both out with injuries. Clark is out for the season and it’s unclear when or if Della Donne will return this season after having more back surgeries. They are also missing Emma Meesseman who did not re-sign with the team in the offseason due to her commitment to her Belgian Olympic team.
On Thursday, the Mystics defeated the Atlanta Dream 96-93 in Coach Mike Thibault’s 350th career win in the WNBA. Ariel Atkins led the team with 32 points. Theresa Plaisance provided 25 points and six rebounds. Natasha Cloud came ever so close to a triple-double with 10 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds. Leilani Mitchell added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Then on Saturday, Washington edged Indiana 82-77. The team had just seven active players in this game. Tina Charles returned with another monster game of 30 points and 15 rebounds. Plaisance added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Atkins also scored 16 points for the Mystics.
With their record back at .500 after two more victories, Washington has moved into the 6th seed in the WNBA standings. If Elena Delle Donne does return this season, they could be a sleeper pick to make another deep run in the playoffs.
Other WNBA News
Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot were named Players of the Week for this past week. Vandersloot helped lead the Sky to a 3-0 record and averaged 13.3 PPG, 11.3 APG, and three steals per game. Stewart led the Storm to a 2-0 record averaging 20.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG to become the Western Conference Player of the Week. Stewart has won the award every single week, except for one week when Jewell Loyd won the award.
In other big news, Team USA’s Olympic Team roster has been set and it includes three players from the Seattle Storm (Loyd, Stewart, and Bird). The Phoenix Mercury also have three players (Griner, Diggins-Smith, and Taurasi). While the Washington Mystics (Tina Charles, Ariel Atkins), Minnesota Lynx (Napheesa Collier, Sylvia Fowles), and Las Vegas Aces (A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray) each have two. Seven of the twelve WNBA teams don’t have a single representative. The most glaring omission is Nneka Ogwumike, who is also the President of the WNBAPA.
Nneka’s sister, Chiney, took to Twitter to air her frustration over the situation. It is absolutely worth reading over real quick and you can find that linked here.
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