Guru’ WNBA Report: Vegas Tightens Race at Top Beating Connecticut while Phoenix Rides on Taurasi and Diggins Smith Over Indy to Gain Playoffs

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

The race at the top of the WNBA standings tightened again Thursday night as  the Las Vegas Aces made it a two-game sweep of the seventh-place Connecticut Sun, winning 93-78 to move into a tie for second with the Los Angeles Sparks (13-4) one game behind the Seattle Storm (14-3).

 

The Storm and Sparks will highlight Friday night’s three-game card meeting at 10 p.m. on facebook at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., near Tampa/St. Petersburg, where the whole league has been sequestered since early July for a shortened 22-game regular season, instead of what was to be a newly expanded 36-game schedule before the coronavirus altered the WNBA summer planning as well as every other sports league.

 

The Phoenix Mercury (11-7) pulled away from the Indiana Fever (5-13) in the second half for a 105-81 victory and into a fifth-place tie with the idle Chicago Sky 3.5 games behind Seattle and became the sixth qualifier for the postseason, which will use its recent WNBA playoff format with the seven other teams.

 

The top two seeds earn double-byes into the WNBA best-of-five semifinals while the third and fourth teams get a single bye into a second-round winner-take-all game to advance against the survivors of the winner-take-all first-round involving the 5^th place team through six, seven, and eighth places.

 

Despite the loss, Connecticut (8-10) stays in seventh 6.5 games behind Seattle. 

 

Dallas (6-11), which was idle holding the last playoff berth, meets fourth place Minnesota (12-5) Friday at 8 on facebook two hours before the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle try to tap out the other in the three-team race for the top two spots and double double byes into the best-of-five semifinals.

 

The reigning champion Washington Mystics (4-12) meet the Chicago Sky (11-7) at 7 p.m. on twitter with the Mystics’ chances to return to the postseason dwindling and Chicago 1.5 games behind Minnesota to at least get to fourth place and a first-round bye.

 

New York (2-15) is now four games behind the eighth spot with five remaining, while Atlanta (5-13) is 1.5 games  behind in 10^th with four remaining.

 

Connecticut (8-10) despite the loss on Thursday remains in seventh but is going to have trouble getting much higher with only four remaining games, though two are with Phoenix.

 

In the game with Las Vegas, the Sun already had a handicap going into play with Alyssa Thomas, one of the team leaders, out with a hand injury, and likewise Jasmine Thomas, also disabled, missing just the fourth game. In her entire 10-year WNBA career.

 

It’s the only game both Thomases missed at the same time with the Sun.

 

Five players for the Aces (13-4) scored in double figures with A’ja Wilson scoring 24, reserves Jackie Young and Dearica Hamby each scoring 20, Kayla McBride scored 14, and Angel McCoughtry had 11.

 

Vegas was able to dominate the inside scoring 48 points, 10 on second chances and eight on fast breaks.

 

Connecticut got 22 points from DeWanna Bonner, while Brionna Jones scored 14, and Beatrice Mompremier had a career-high 16 rebounds.

 

The Sun are three  games in front of Indiana and play the Fever next on Saturday at 4 p.m. on Facebook.

 

Vegas and Atlanta follow at 6 on Facebook, while New York wraps up the Saturday action at 8 on twitter.

 

Meanwhile, Indiana in what is now a five-game losing streak that has them drifting away from playoff contention has allowed WNBA records to the opposition.

 

The last time out it was Chicago’s Courtney. Vandersloot dealing 18 assists, while Thursday it was Diana Taurasi night helping to lead Phoenix back to the postseason 

 

The ageless wonder who starred at Connecticut had a tying career-high eight three-pointers, including a WNBA record 28 threes over a five-game span for the Mercury. She finished with 27 against Indiana while Skylar Diggins Smith had 28 points and dealt eight assists.

 

Brianna Turner had 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and six blocks for Phoenix, while Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 10 points and four assists.

 

Indiana, meanwhile, got 16 points from Kelsey Mitchell and 14 points each from former Temple star Candice Dupree and Tiffany Mitchell.

 

In Thursday’s opener in the game between the bottom two teams in the league, then-No. 11 Atlanta topped No. 12 New York 62-56 to remain mathematically in the race for the last two slots.

 

Courtney Williams had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Dream (5-13) in the win and season 2-0 sweep of New York while Elizabeth Williams became Atlanta’s all-time blocked shot leader, swatting six to reach 283 passing Erika De Souza.

 

Former Rutgers star Betnijah Laney had 13 points, while Monique Billings had 12 rebounds, while the team overall on the boards had a WNBA season high 49 rebounds on a combined defensive and offensive caroms.

 

“Yeah, that’s big,” Elizabeth Williams said of her team blocks mark. “I guess I’ve been at this franchise longer than I realize, but it’s a really cool stat. I take a lot of pride in my defense and anything I can do to help my team win.

 

“I think, today, it’s been the blocks. So, it’s an exciting stat. I’m proud of it, for sure.”

 

New York’s Leonna Odom had 12 points as did reserve Kia Nurse. On the boards, Kiah Stokes had 10 and Amanda Zahui B had 11.

 

New York’s rookie Kylie Shook left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle.

 

Paris Kea had a career-high eight rebounds to go with eight points.

 

“We had good looks but couldn’t make shots,” New York first-year coach Walt Atkins said.

 

And that’s the report.