Guru’s WNBA Report: Vandersloot Busts 18-Year Assist Mark in Chicago Win While Minnesota Ends L.A. Nine-Game Win Streak

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

The first two WNBA teams involved in back-to-backs this season went at it Monday night and when the smoke cleared the Minnesota Lynx bounced off their Sunday loss with a thunderous finish to down Los Angeles 96-78 bringing an end to the Sparks’ nine-game win streak.

 

In the earlier game the Chicago Sky stayed in contention for an upper seed in the playoffs and put a crimp into Indiana’s plans to snap their recent postseason hiatus by beating the Fever 100-77, both games played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., near Tampa/St. Petersburg.

 

In the win, Chicago’s assist queen Courtney Vandersloot busted an 18-year WNBA record held by retired Ticha Penicheiro by dealing 18 assists, in the process dealing the record-breaker number 17 to her wife Allie Quigley.

 

The former Gonzaga star’s previous WNBA personal best was 15 assists, which she has reached several times.

“I thought this record was untouchable,” Vandersloot said afterwards. “Ticha set the bar very, very, high. I don’t think this one will be touched very often. It’s tough to get 16 assists in a game.”

 

The entire WNBA is sequestered at the facility, nicknamed the wubble, to promulgate a shortened 22-game regular season to cope with the effects of the coronavirus.

 

Monday was the first night of the final two weeks of the regular season, which will conclude a week from Sunday. 

The playoffs will follow at the site soon thereafter in the recent format with the top two seeds gaining a double bye to the best-of-five semifinals, the third and fourth place teams gaining a single bye for two winner-take-all games in the second round to advance, meeting the first-round survivors among the teams from fifth place through eight. 

 

The two games Monday were also the first of makeups from six postponements last Wednesday and Thursday as the league’s players stood down backing their NBA relatives in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., among other police shootings in recent years that spawned the Black Lives Matter movement.

Connecticut will meet Phoenix in a makeup next Monday on Labor Day and then meet the Mercury again 48 hours later, while the remaining three games to be played will extend the season one day to Sunday, Sept. 13, when Dallas and New York meet at noon with potentially a playoff berth on the line for the Wings if not already acquired or eliminated. Then Washington and Atlanta will meet and Washington could still be fighting for a playoff berth if not eliminated, while Las Vegas and Seattle wrap things up but that game could determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seed slots.

 

The win by Minnesota (11-5) yanked the Sparks (12-4) out of a second-place tie with the Las Vegas Aces (12-3), who are a half-game behind the league-leading Seattle Storm (13-3).

 

The top three teams have clinched playoff qualifying status and the Lynx win moved them within a game of the Sparks, while they are a half-game in front of fifth-place Chicago (10-6).

 

In the win over Los Angeles, a UConn alumni duo powered Minnesota with reigning rookie of the year Napheesa Collier scoring 25 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dealing five assists and grabbing three steals, while rookie Crystal Dangerfield had 21 points, and dealt five assists.

 

Center Sylvia Fowles remains sidelined with an injury.

 

Reserve Rachel Banham added 18 points to the Lynx attack with four three-pointers, while Damiris Dantas scored 17 and grabbed nine rebounds., and Bridget Carleton dealt 10 assists,

 

On the Los Angeles side of things, Chelsea Gray continued her fine play, scoring 18 points, while Te’a Cooper scored 12, and reserve Riquna Williams scored 11. Candace Parker had eight points and eight rebounds, while Kristine Anigwe had eight points and seven rebounds.

 

Nneka Ogwumike, the Stanford grad and players union president, who left in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over Atlanta, with back problems, did not play.

 

Second-year coach Derek Fisher noted several options available during his pre-game talk.

 

He also paused to note the passing of former Georgetown Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach John Thompson, Jr.

 

“To his family and the Georgetown family, we owe a lot of appreciation for allowing him to be shared with the world. At some point or fashion everyone thought coach Thompson was their coach. For me growing up in Little Rock, in the early 80s, college basketball was a more attainable goal for a young athlete.

 

“John Thompson was for me, clearly the first leadership figure that was Black. That wore a suit and knew how to articulate himself in press conferences that showed a care and compassion for the people who worked for him. John Thompson was at the top of list for influential in the world.”

 

Following the game, Fisher said, “Winning covers up a multitude of sins, and when you are winning games it covers up some of the things you aren’t doing well and eventually it catches up.

 

“It is just information that you need to learn in order to get better and that is just what setbacks are.” 

Chicago Handles Indiana

 

In the other game, Chicago got contributions from a bunch of players as Rutgers grad and Philly native Kahleah Copper scored 21 points as did Gabby Williams, while Allie Quigley scored 19, Courtney Vandersloot scored 13 and dealt 18 assists, while rookie Ruthie Hebard out of Oregon had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

 

Indiana (5-10), which was on the front end of a back-to-back playing Atlanta Tuesday night, dropped to ninth a half-game out of the playoff loop behind the Dallas Wings and a game ahead of the reigning champion Washington Mystics (4-11).

 

James Madison grad Kamiah Smalls, recently signed after being cut after originally taken in the draft, made her debut with the Fever and scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dealt two assists as a reserve.

 

Temple grad Candice Dupree scored 14 points, Natalie Achonwa scored 13, while Teaira McCowan had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie Julie Allemand dealt 10 assists.

 

 Looking Ahead

 

It’s back to the three-game slate Tuesday night as Connecticut (7-9) can move closer to a playoff berth by taking one from the last-place New York Liberty (2-13), who tip at 7 on CBSSN.

 

At 8 on Facebook, Indiana in a must-win mode meets Atlanta (3-12), while at 10 on Facebook, sixth-place Phoenix (9-7) meets Las Vegas, which can tie the idle Seattle Storm for first with a win.

 

On Wednesday, Minnesota and Chicago meet at 7 on Facebook, while Los Angeles and eighth-place Dallas (6-10) meet at 8 on CBSSN, while Washington and Seattle (13-3) meet at 10 on CBSSN.

 

Thursday will see Atlanta and New York meet at 7 on CBSSN, while Connecticut and Las Vegas will meet at 8 on twitter, and Indiana and Phoenix meet at 10 on twitter.

 

Whither NCAA?

 

Just an alert that some news as to the issues facing NCAA women’s basketball this winter by the corona virus outbreak will get a public airing Tuesday, according to a Guru source. To date, the women have only been generally mentioned in the stories which have been basically focused on the men’s situation.

 

Andy Katz is suppose to discuss some deliberations with Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women’s basketball, and Nia King, who is Duke senior women’s administrator, also the chair of the NCAA tournament committee for this go-round.

 

Right now, unknown publicly, though deliberations have occurred, are questions over start date, plans for the tournament, which is set to be in San Antonio, Texas, in March, potential bubble scenarios, and other items.

 

At this late night Monday hour wrapping this up, this is not suppose to be live, that could change, but Katz will appear somewhere discussing it as he did Friday on the latest men’s news.

 

And that’s the report.