The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: First Place Minnesota Earns a Back-to-Back Split Winning at Los Angeles While Washington Rallies Past Las Vegas Into Seventh Place

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

A day after suffering their third loss of the season first-place Minnesota (18-3) bounced right back into the WNBA victory column winning 91-82 Thursday at Los Angeles (6-14) before a matinee camp day crowd of 18,199 at crypto.com Arena formerly known as the Staples Center.

Only one other game was played, later at night in the East, in which Washington (10-10) rallied from a 66-58 deficit with 3:45 left in regulation and closed on a 12-2 run to beat short-handed Las Vegas 70-68 before a crowd of 9,350 away from home at George Mason’s large EagleBank Arena in suburban Fairfax, Va.

The Mystics moved into sole possession of seventh place a half-game behind idle expansion Golden State and 7.5 out of first while the Aces (9-11) fell to ninth, a half-game behind idle Indiana (9-10), occupying the last playoff spot if the postseason were to now begin instead of mid-September.

Indiana hosts Atlanta Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ION before last-place Connecticut visits Seattle on the same channel at 10 p.m., the visiting Sun having just beat the Storm at home on Wednesday to snap a 10-game losing streak.

Las Vegas was missing reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, who suffered a right wrist injury during Tuesday’s loss at New York. She had an MRI, but the Aces have not yet made the results public.

Brittney Sykes scored 18 for Washington and Shakira Austin had 16 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Kiki Iriafen had 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Aces’ Jewel Lloyd scored 20 while Chelsea Gray collected 13 points.

The Mystics went up 69-68 with 39.8 seconds left on Austin’s offensive board and putback to regain the advantage since back in the first quarter leading 15-13.

Sykes added another from the line with 4.3 seconds left.

Jackie Young went for the tie but with Austin as one of the defenders the attempted driving layup rolled of the win.

Las Vegas hosts Golden State Saturday at 4 p.m. on CBS while Washington is at Seattle Sunday at 6 p.m.

In the Minnesota game, reserve Natisha Hiedeman scored 18 points while All-Star Captain Napheesa Collier scored 17, with eight rebounds and five assists.

The Lynx broke away from a 50-40 halftime lead outscoring the Sparks 30-19 in the third period to take an 80-59 advantage before Los Angeles made things a bit closer comi| 23-11 in the final quarter to lose by single digits.

This was Minnesota’s eighth game in the last 14 days, including a pair of back-to-backs in the last week and the Commissioner’s Cup championship at home, which went to Indiana.

It will be nine in 16 days on Saturday when the WNBA runner-up to New York in last season’s WNBA final visits Chicago at 1 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+.

That Commissioner’s Cup championship had no other bearing on the WNBA season other than the Lynx having the best the record got to host the Fever at the Target Center.

In the third quarter Thursday the visitors shot 56.5% from the floor connecting on 13 of 23 attempts and their depth showed in the first half with 30 points, including 16 from Heideman, who was 6-of-9 from the floor.

Minnesota was up 27 with 44 seconds left in the third after Collier scored but Los Angeles then launched a 6-0 run to close the quarter and then went 11-0 at the outset of the fourth to move close at 80-70.

The Lynx were still comfortably ahead in double digits until Emma Cannon made a shot from deep with 45 seconds left in regulation.

Courtney Williams scored 16 with seven assists for Minnesota, whose five-game win streak ended Wednesday after at Phoenix, and Alanna Smith scored 15.

Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum had 17 points and 12 assists, while Julie Vanloo used five 3-pointers to score all 15 of her points, Rickea Jackson scored 14, and Dearica Hamby scored 12.

The Lynx defense forced the Sparks into 22 turnovers, enabling them to mine 23 points.

The Sparks are off until Sunday, when Connecticut visits at 6 p.m.