Guru’s WNBA Report: Minnesota, Los Angeles and Phoenix Win As League Returns to Action

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

Seattle was idle as the WNBA went back on the court Friday night following a missed game for each team, now rescheduled, in the cause of social justice but nevertheless it’s determined the Storm atop the standings are now about to be the first to clinch one of the eight playoff spots available.

 

In the shortened 22-game schedule for the regular season caused by the coronavirus, Seattle (12-3) either needs to win its 2 p.m. game on Saturday against the Chicago Sky (10-5) on ABC or Indiana (5-9) lose its 4 p.m. game to the Dallas Wings (5-10) on the main CBS channel.

 

Though the Storm must still play Dallas one more time, the next tiebreak if the Wing gained a split is best record against teams with winning records and the Storm is in excellent shape against the six teams at the moment in that slot.

 

However, its not a slam dunk that either will happen on Saturday because Chicago is fighting near the upper part of the standings in fifth just 2.0 games behind the Storm for one of the two double bye slots for the playoffs and 1.5 behind second place Las Vegas (11-3) and Los Angeles (11-3).

 

Fortunately, spots made it easy on the window of opportunity to reschedule the six missed games, which the league announced earlier Friday.

 

Taking advantage of the normally idle Monday, next week, Chicago will meet Indiana at 6 p.m. on CBSSN followed by Los Angeles meeting Minnesota at 10, also on CBSSN.

 

A week from Monday on Labor Day, Connecticut and Phoenix will meet at 6 on CBSSN.

 

As for the other three games, the regular season will now end one day later on Sunday, Sept. 13, with Dallas and New York meeting at noon on CBSSN, followed by Las Vegas and Seattle at 3 on ABC and Washington at Atlanta at 5 on Facebook/Oculus venues.

 

Of the six teams who returned to action on Friday night, the three teams in the upper part of the standings all took care of their business.

 

The fourth place Minnesota Lynx (10-4) topped the Atlanta Dream 88-79 ending the Dream’s one game win streak as they fell to 3-12 in 11^th place a half-game in front of the last place New York Liberty (2-12) and three behind the Indiana Fever, which is currently holding the last playoff slot.

 

Minnesota is holding fourth but just 1.5 games behind Seattle and a game behind Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

 

The Los Angeles Sparks won their eighth straight beating the Connecticut Sun 80-76 as the Sparks stayed tied with idle Las Vegas and Connecticut 6-9) still held seventh 1.5 games behind Phoenix (8-7) but just 0.5 in front of Indy and one in front of Dallas and Washington.

 

Phoenix went one above .500 at 8-7 easily beating the Washington Mystics 94-72 to hold sixth while Washington didn’t help itself with the loss staying in 10^th at 4-10 but still in the playoff hunt 1.5 games behind eighth place Indiana.

 

Minnesota Bests Atlanta

 

In the Minnesota win over Atlanta, rookie Crystal Dangerfield out of Connecticut scored 23 points, helped by 9-of-10 from the line, while reigning rookie of the year Napheesa Collier, also out of UConn, had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while reserve Odyssey Sims had 17 points and dealt nine assists.

 

Atlanta’s Betnijah Laney, the former Rutgers standout, scored 22, Courtney Williams scored 17, Elizabeth Williams had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while reserve Blake Dietrick, the former Princeton star and Ivy player of the year, scored 11 while Monique Billings had 10 points and eight rebounds.

 

Chennedy Carter back from injury started but was held to three points

 

Atlanta had upset Minnesota a week ago in their first meeting on Sunday.

 

“They were actually similar,” Atlanta coach Nicki Collen said of the two games. “Didn’t get off to a good start. Battled back. Battled back quicker, even tied at the end of the first quarter.

 

“Those offensive rebounds, gave up too many offensive rebounds. Turned it over too many times in the second half, and quite frankly when you look at why we lost, we didn’t put the ball in the basket from two feet.”

 

Late Surge Carries Los Angeles Over Connecticut

 

In the Los Angeles-Connecticut game, Chelsea Gray scored 27 points for the Sparks off 10-for-16 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, while Nneka Ogwumike, the Stanford grad and president of the WNBA players union, scored 17, former Tennessee standout Candace Parker scored 12, and reserve Te’a Cooper scored 14.

 

On the Sun, Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and nine rebounds, former Duke star Jasmine Thomas scored 12, Brionna Jones scored 10, and DeWanna Bonner scored 13.

 

The Sparks used a late surge to carry them to the win.

 

“That was not easy to do … when you add what’s been going on for the last week, for a lot of us, that took us over the top,” Los Angeles coach Derek Fisher said.

 

The Sparks were one of the four teams in the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., near Tampa/St. Petersburg, and were scheduled for the second game of the daily three-game grind by the league behind the Atlanta/Washington game, which got postponed at the tip as the WNBA  followed the lead the NBA on Wednesday, deciding not to play in the cause of the latest police shooting, which occurred in Kenosha, Wis.

 

“For them, to be able to some how find a way to channel the energy and commitment to each other, it just says a lot of who they are as people.”

 

Los Angeles swept the two-game series with the win.

 

At one stage, Connecticut held an 11-point lead.

 

Sun coach Curt Miller spoke to the 23 turnovers by the Sun as leaving point s on the court in terms of shooting 50 percent from the field.

 

“We had won 6-of-8 and had felt good about playing the hottest team in the league, but we came up short, unfortunately,” Miller said.

 

Phoenix Handles Washington

 

In the last game of the night, former Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 24 for the Mercury fueled by 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, former Rutgers star Kia Vaughan scored 16, and former UConn star Diana Taurasi scored 16 among the Phoenix starters, while reserve Tianna Hawkins scored 13.

 

Fortmer Temple star Shey Peddy, recently picked up when she was waived by Washington, scored 14 off the bench, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 10 as a reserve. 

 

Leilani Mitchell had 17 for the defending WNBA champion Mystics, while former Louisville star Myisha Hines-Allen scored 14, and Kiara Leslie scored 10 among the starters. Tianna Hawkins had 13 of the bench. Former Rider star and rookie Stella Johnson did not play due to a left ankle injury.

 

Looking Ahead

 

On Saturday as the other six teams get back in action, the New York Liberty will meet Las Vegas at noon on CBSSN, followed by Seattle and Chicago in a key game at 2 on ABC, and  Dallas and Indiana meet at 4 on CBS.

 

Completing the weekend on Sunday, Connecticut and Washington meet at 4 on twitter, Phoenix and Minnesota meet at 6 on Facebook, and Los Angeles and Atlanta, also meet on Facebook at 8.

 

And that’s the report.