The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Minnesota Win in New York Widens Lead in First; Atlanta beats Phoenix to Catch Liberty

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Early in the third quarter Sunday afternoon the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty (20-11) in second place was delighting its sellout crowd of 17,343 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with a 47–40 lead over the Minnesota team it defeated at the finish in overtime in the decisive Game 5 last October to capture the franchise’s first title in 28 years of existence dating to the league’s inaugural summer in 1997.

Then the first-place Lynx (27-5) lowered the boom with a 24-7 run over the next six minutes to go on to an 83-71 victory increasing its lead to 6.5 games over nine other teams fighting for seven other spots when the playoff field is set Sept. 11 on the final day of the regular season, which has expanded by two to a record 44-game schedule.

“We know we’re right here,” said New York’s Natasha Cloud said of the loss. “We have everything we need in our locker room and that’s not going to change.”

The magic number for the Lynx under South Jersey’s Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star, to become officially part of the playoff field is two, which at worst could come Saturday, the team’s next game, when Minnesota hosts New York at 2 p.m. in their third of four games now having swept the first two to clinch a series tie.

“They made us feel uncomfortable and we didn’t make them feel uncomfortable,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said of the Liberty turnovers. “And we lacked a little bit of discipline.

“Minnesota played a little bit harder and more intentional today.”

After the Liberty’s loss, they have been caught by Atlanta (16-15) which unlocked a third-place tie with Phoenix (19-12) on the road, beating the Mercury 74-66 for their fifth-straight triumph before a crowd of 13, 953 at PHX Arena, leaving the host a game behind the Dream and New York and just 1.5 ahead the fifth-place duo of idle Indiana (18-14) and Las Vegas, which caught the Fever in the chase for home court advantage in the first round by beating last place Connecticut 94-86 before 10,407 at home before a Micheloeb ULTRA Arena crowd of 10,407 dropping the Sun to 5-25.

Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson made history with Las Vegas scoring 32 points and grabbing a career-high 20 boards becoming the first WNBA player with a combo 30+ points minimum 20 boards game.

Minnesota in the standings is starting to resemble the way NCAA champion UConn has looked for decades in the conference wars of the Big East in two eras and the now-renamed American Conference in between.

The Lynx magic number for overall home court advantage, which New York held last season, is five.

Meanwhile down below in two other games involving two teams just outside the playoff cutoff, ninth-place Los Angeles (15-16) again nipped Seattle (16-16), this time at home 94-91 as Dearica Hamby scored on a three-point play with 5.6 left in regulation before a crowd of 11,796 at Crypto.com Arena.

The win came a week after winning 108-106 up in Washington in double overtime.

The Sparks, who host New York Tuesday, are now a half-game behind the Storm and idle Golden State (16-16), which in Monday night’s lone game the expansion Valkyries at the Chase Center they’ve sold out every game in San Francisco will continue to try to become the first playoff team making the field their initial summer in the league.

Seattle has lost five straight in the last week beginning with the first loss to Los Angeles and then by four each to Indiana, Minnesota, both at home, and at Las Vegas ahead of Sunday’s three-point loss in L.A.

The Storm have plunged from a first-round home court playoff fight to a tie with Golden State just inside the elimination line and two behind Indiana and Las Vegas.

In the other game 10th place Washington (14-17), which with the youngest roster trails eighth by 1.5 games and the Sparks by a game, snapped a four-game losing streak with a 91-78 win at 12th-place Dallas (8-24) before a crowd of 6,152 at the College Park Center on the campus of Texas-Arlington in the suburbs as fourth overall pick Kiki Iriafen had a career-high 23 points and 10 boards and the Mystics, which trailed 41-30 at the half, outscored the Wings 61-37 the rest of the way.

The game brought some more notriety to Villanova which last spring had a former student from Chicago become Pope Leo XIV.

While Big Five women have confronted each other in the WNBA, notably Temple’s Candice Dupree against Saint Joseph’s Natasha Cloud – Dupree even went against her former Temple coach Dawn Staley in an All-Star game - Sunday’s game in Texas marked the first time two former Wildcats, both original Harry Perretta recruits also coached by Denise Dillon, were on opposite sides.

All-time scorer Maddy Siegriest, the number three overall pick in 2023 who returned this week to Dallas after sidelined two months by a knee injury, played 19 minutes with nine points and three boards.

On the other side, Washington’s second round pick Lucy Olsen, the Collegeville native who played her first three seasons on the Main Line before transferring to Iowa last season replacing Caitlin Clark’s spot, played nine minutes and missed her only shot.

McBride and Carrington Lead Minnesota Closer to No. 1 Seed

Quirks of the WNBA schedule did not have a first meeting of the WNBA finalists until late last month when New York travelled to Minnesota and lost in a game in which All-Star Breanna Stewart had previously become a sideline casualty to a bone bruise in her right knee – she said Sunday she’s hoping to return at the end of the month.

 Free agent signee and past WNBA standout Emma Meesseman had yet to arrive during what was to be a four-game losing streak while front-running MVP Napheesa Collier later that weekend was to suffer a sprained ankle during a blowout win at Las Vegas.

Now, off Sunday’s game, the two teams are meeting three times in nine days – the Lynx are off until Saturday and then back in Brooklyn next Tuesday, while the Liberty are at Los Angeles Tuesday (10 p.m.) – the other game Indiana hosts Dallas at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+ - and then at Las Vegas the next night at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.

When the season started both New York – with a best-ever 9-0 – and Minnesota bolted from the crowd before Liberty Finals MVP Jonquel Jones was out a month with an injury and the team began to slip while the Lynx have been going strong and yet to lose without Collier.

On Sunday Kayla McBride scored 18 for the visitors and DiJonai Carrington, acquired last week from Dallas before the trade deadline, scored 15.

“She’s just a competitor and hustle plays are what we need,” Reeve said. “I thought she was relatively disruptive defensively and getting an offensive rebound at a key time. That’s what defines her and that’s what we wanted her for.

“Also, just giving McBride to not having to play both ends engaged. So, she got life by saying, ‘OK, you go chase her around.’”

Cloud had 14 for the home folks whose bench was diminated 34-19 by the Lynx depth.

Alanna Smith, who led Minnesota to Friday’s victory, added eight points, nine boards, seven assists, four steals and three blocks.

“Alanna Smith is incredible, so you just don’t come to a game not knowing she’s one of the best defensive players in the league,” Reeve said “How she impacts things.

“Both games were very different, we’re still learning. The difference in the game was our bench and that’s stating the obvious but that’s how you win hard games.

‘What we learned was how gritty we are. Just throw some stuff at us, this team doesn’t break. We don’t break.”

Minnesota also gained former Liberty Jaylyn Sherrod this week, who was waived when Meesseman arrived.

New York, which inducted Tari Phillips to its ring of honor at the half, played a highlight video honoring Sherrod before the opening tip.

Atlanta Gains 5th Straight Win Snapping Phoenix Deadlock and Catching N.Y.

While the New York-Minnesota game had two veteran coaches in Reeve, who's been there for over a decade, and Brondello, now in her fourth season, the tilt between the visiting Dream and host Mercury had two of the eight new mentors on the sidelines in the visitors’ Karl Smesko, a longtime collegiate coach at Florida Gulf Coast, and Nate Tebbetts.

Allisha Gray scored 17 points for the winners, while Brionna Jones scored 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Naz Hillmon had 13 points and 13 boards.

Jordin Canada had scored 13 when she left with an injury near the end of the third quarter and was carried to the locker room by two team members.

 The Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas, who made history in the previous game with the league’s string of three straight triple doubles, scored 21, while reserve DeWanna Bonner scored 16.

The Dream had built a 36-19 lead in the second quarter, but Phoenix rallied 13-4 to make it close 39-34 at the half.

Rhyne Howard, back from a month’s long absence with an injury, was 0-7 from the field and was tossed after 16 minutes of action with two technical fouls.

The Mercury, who next host Las Vegas Friday as part of another five-game ION package, had won three straight.

L.A. Bounces from Golden State Loss to NIP Seattle Again

Dearica Hamby, who had the winning play, scored seven of the Sparks’ nine points and finished with 19, just behind the 20 from Kelsey Plum.

The Storm’s Brittney Sykes, in her second game after she was dealt from Washington, hit two straight layups to tie it at 91 with 12.7 seconds left in regulation before Hamby ended it for a win to the Sparks.

“Toughness,” said Los Angeles coach Lynn Roberts before the tip about playing back-to-back games following Saturday’s loss at Golden State. “This is what the league is about, everyone goes through it, and no one's going to feel sorry for us, including me or them.

“We’ve got to be locked in. This is part of playing in the W NBA. And is it hard? Is it a reason to not give it your all? Not at all.

“So we're not looking to give any excuse to not be our best in terms of effort and execution.

“last night, we ran into a really good defensive team in Golden State, and then we just shot it really poorly. And it wasn't like there was just one or two people. It was everybody.

“When you play 44 games, it's going to happen. And so we've got to turn the page. The way we score it, I don't anticipate that being an issue, but you've got to find other ways to win.”

Sykes scored 27, reserve Dominique Malonga, the overall No. 2 pick out of France, added 20, Skylar Diggins scored 17, and Nneka Ogwumike had 15.

“It's so hard to guard (Malanga),” Roberts said afterwords. ‘She's just so big and athletic.

 “When they went really big, we went a little smaller with Rickea Jackson at the four. As I always say, the knife cuts both ways - they gotta defend us, so it was a battle of wills.

“It seems like every time we play them, it's back and forth. We have some great lengths too, as you know, but we're banged up and tired.

 “Seattle's a good team and ohh man and they got a lot of powerful fits in that roster, so I couldn't be more proud of the team. And yes, I'm tired, too, and I haven't played a minute.”

Seattle took a 26-14 lead after the first period, but the Sparks answered 32-14 to go up 46-40 at the half.

The Storm under three minutes held an 87-80 lead.

The Sparks’ Azura Stevens scored 15 for Los Angeles and Cameron Brink, the second-year pro out of Stanford, who missed most of last season, scored 14 off the bench.

Both teams are off until Friday, Los Angeles visits Dallas, and Seattle is at Atlanta.

Las Vegas Tops Connecticut

In Wilson’s big night she was just three short from equaling the board work (23) by the Sun.

The Aces have now won four straight for a season-best streak as Jackie Young added 21 points while off the bench Jewell Loyd scored 12 points while Dana Evans collected 10.

‘She’s really important for us,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said of Evans’ sixth player role. “She’s a different imprint than we have with any other person out there. Her ability to get into the ball, her ability to get downhill, just blow by people.

“I mean she's lightning quick so you know I'm amping her up all the time to attack the rim and then you know she’s probably more shy than I want her to be out there, like I want her to be super aggressive on both ends of the ball and typically when she comes in and gives us that punch, things are start looking up for us and you're right she had some timely ones tonight and kind of gave us that little energy boost off the bench that we really needed at that time.”

As for Wilson’s performance, Hammonn said, “Just A’ja being A’ja. She’s a lot of different things. She probably could have had one of these in the past and l’ve never let her really go to the offensive glass.

 “This year where we've been emphasizing that more, it's been helpful in her rebounding numbers, too, because now she can go on both ends or before you know we had a lot of focus on transition defense, which we still want that, but we also want to create more opportunities for ourselves on the offensive end.”

Three Sun players scored in double figures with Marina Mabrey collecting 22, rookie Saniya Rivers with 17, and rookie Leila Lacan with 13 points.

After trailing by double digits, the Aces knotted it 45-45 on a 13-0 run to finish the half.

Rookies Shine in Washington Win

Besides Iriafen’s best scoring game, third overall pick Sonia Citron out of Notre Dame fueled the Mystics’ big second half with 17 of her 18 points.

Stefanie Dolson added 14 points and off the bench Emily Engstler scored 11 points.

Paige Bueckers, Dallas’ No. 1 overall rookie pick off the NCAA champs, scored 17 and tied Ruthie Bolton with 25 games scoring double digits for fourth fastest at the outset of a WNBA career.

Former Houston great Cyntha Cooper leads with 92 appearances, next is South Carolina’s Wilson at 37 followed by retired Tennessee standout Candace Parker at 32.

The Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale scored 12 and Halley Jones scored 11.

Dallas is at Indiana Tuesday where the Fever off Caitlin Clark’s long running recovery from her groin injury and last Thursday’s season-enders to Sydney Colson (ACL) and Aari McMcDonald (foot) in Phoenix have picked up Odyssey Sims on a hardship signing after she was recently let go by Los Angeles.