Guru’s WNBA Report: Wilson Gives Vegas Semifinals Series 1-1 Tie With Connecticut While Clark Gives Seattle 1-0 Lead at Finish Over Minnesota

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

With further CVID-19 tests on the multiple Seattle players all proving negative and the return of Storm stars Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird, who had missed the final games of coronavirus-shortened 22-game regular season, the WNBA semifinals Tuesday moved into a second night of action, but the first with a full doubleheader and what a night it was at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., near Tampa/St. Petersburg.

 

In Tuesday’s opener, Game 2 between the seventh-seeded Connecticut Sun and top-seeded Las Vegas (18-4) Aces, the Sun lost former Maryland standout Alyssa Thomas to a shoulder injury five minutes into the first quarter but to the surprise of many, Connecticut (10-12) threatened to go up 2-0 in the best-of-five series when it took a four-point lead into the fourth and final quarter.

 

But the Aces doubled on the Sun scoring the rest of the way, 24-12, though Las Vegas didn’t put the game out of reach until WNBA regular season MVP A’ja Wilson made her presence felt in the closing minutes on the way to an 83-75 victory.

 

In the second game, though second-seeded Seattle (18-4) stayed ahead of fourth-seeded Minnesota (14-8), the Lynx tied it late in the fourth quarter but the Storm prevailed when Alyssa Clark grabbed an offense rebound and scored as regulation time ran out for an 88-86 victory.

 

Earlier in the afternoon, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert held a media teleconference to provide more details on how the situation evolved Sunday when multiple players on Seattle off Saturday’s testing had inconclusive results Sunday causing the commissioner in consultation to postpone the Storm-Lynx opener that was to be the second game and aired on ABC.

 

Though the league had been relatively unscathed across the summer schedule that began with the whole league arriving in Florida July 5 and launching play several weeks later, Sunday was the first time tests came back with multiple players on the same team with inconclusive results.

 

Repeating what she had told ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, who has been on the property all summer, though the lead broadcasters have been back in Bristol, Conn., in studio, or in the case of CBSSports talent, in their homes, “Everyday we go back to zero,” and Tuesday noted that there many variances to testing.

 

On Thursday, the Minnesota-Seattle Game 2 will air at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 followed at 9:30 p.m. by Las Vegas-Connecticut Game 3 on the same network.

 

Prior to Sunday, the league releases had all the dates, including the if necessary Games 4 and 5 all the way through the best-of-five finals. However, they now appear to be taking it one day or night at a time.

 

Meanwhile, in Tuesday’s opener, which saw Connecticut snap their 3-0 streak starting in the first round of the postseason last week, the Sun in a game that had 20 ties were eclipsed on the foul line with the Aces shooting 21-of-28 while they were 7-for-7. 

 

The website Across the Timeline says its fourth largest differential in the 24-year history of the league in postseason and largest since 2012.

 

On the other hand, Connecticut, which had shown good ball control, committed 18 turnovers leading to 22 points by the Aces.

 

Las Vegas also owned the paint, outscoring the Sun 52-20 besides 13-4 in second chance points.

 

Wilson, a former consensus player of the year at South Carolina and WNBA rookie of the year, scored 29 points, a career high, for Las Vegas, shooting 13-for-19 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked seven shots.

 

Angel McCoughtry, whose whole WNBA career had been in Atlanta before this season for the former Louisville star, scored 11 points for the Aces, as did former Notre Dame star Kayla McBride and reserve Dearica Hamby, the winner of the WNBA’s sixth player award for the regular season.

 

Connecticut got 23 points and seven rebounds from DeWanna Bonner, who formerly played with Phoenix before signing as a free agent this season, Briann January, another free agent, scored 20, while former Duke standout Jasmine Thomas, who had a career-high 31 in the opener, had just 10 this time as did former Maryland star Brionna Jones, while reserve rookie Beatrice Mompremier out of Miami had nine rebounds and blocked three shots.

 

Mompremier is just the fourth player in playoff history with that stat and eighth for a rookie besides being the first overall player for Connecticut.

 

Alyssa Thomas has played with a torn labrum in both shoulders.

 

“We had them on the ropes, we just couldn’t finish,” said Connecticut coach Curt Miller, who said he thought Thomas may have dislocated the shoulder but was unsure.

 

Thomas’ status for Thursday was unknown late Tuesday night.

 

“Give them credit, I don’t think anyone outside of our locker room believed we could beat them when AT went down.

 

Of Wilson, Miller noted, “She was very aggressive. Obviously, when you take the best defender in the world off the floor, it made it more difficult.

 

“I’m really proud of our tenacity, our fight. We struggled to find our offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter. You’ve got to give them credit, but we were right there.”

 

From Aces coach Bill Laimbeer’s perspective, “Nothing in this league is easy. Everything’s hard and our players gritted it out. We got some good performances by a lot of people and A’ja played  A’ja’s game.”

 

Asked what she was thinking when the score was tied before she led the breakaway finish, Wilson said, “Just get a bucket. I knew I needed to attack the basket and lead the team in this way.”

 

In the Seattle game, the Storm’s Jewell Loyd had 25 points, 6 rebounds, and four of the team’s 13-made three-point shots, Stewart had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Clark scored 12, Natasha Howard had 10, and Bird had 11 points and eight assists.

 

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier had 25 points and nine rebounds, Odyssey Sims scored 19, Damiris Dantas had 11 points and eight rebounds, Bridget Carleton scored 14 and she and Collier each connected on four of the Lynx’s 14 made 3-pointers, but rookie of the year Crystal Dangerfield was held to four points.

 

Afterwards, Seattle coach Gary Kloppenburg said of the events involving three unnamed players with the testing episode, “We’re just in a brave new world that’s not going to be like it used to be for a long time, if ever.  

 

“Playing a season in this situation, you just have to expect the unexpected and be able to adapt whatever comes your way.”

 

Kloppenburg is filling in for Dan Hughes  who was advised not to go to Florida because of his cancer surgery at the start last season.

 

“The last 48 hours honestly have been pretty stressful and exhausting just not knowing what to expect,” Clark said after her game-winner.

 

“Just being confused about everything  and trying to figure out how this is happening. You played the waiting game. Sitting around waiting for test results. Sitting around and waiting to be moved.”

 

Seattle, by virtual of being a top two seed, hadn’t played since a week ago Sunday on the final day of the season when Las Vegas caught them to tie at the top and get the No. 1 one seed of a 2-0 sweep in their series.

 

Minnesota had a first-round bye and then edged the Phoenix Mercury Thursday stopping them at the finish to advance to the semifinals.

“The playoffs is all about making winning plays,” said Clark, whose  shot was the third game-ending play since the postseason began a week ago Tuesday. There were also several down the stretch when qualifying and seeding were at stake.

 

“Something I pride myself on is being a winner. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure or at least put us in a position to win.”

 

An 18-8 run in the fourth quarter got Minnesota back in the game with a one-point lead with 4:10 left in regulation. 

 

The Lynx ‘s center Sylvia Fowles was back on the bench ruled out because of her calf injury rehab though she played briefly in the Phoenix game.

 

“Clark is a smart, willful player,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star from South Jersey who has won four titles and guided her team to two other finals.

 

“That’s one of the hardest rebounds to secure defensively. Clark’s trademark is being opportunistic in that way, outworking you, giving one more effort than maybe your opponent. Obviously, it was the different in the game.”

 

The playoffs are being covered here remotely from Florida via postgame zoom media interviews and other zoom meetings as warranted.