The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Minnesota Holds of Washington and New York Wins at Dallas Setting Sunday’s 1-2 Showdown in Brooklyn. Las Vegas Climbs More by Edging Seattle

Updating with minnesota signing Jaylyn sherrod

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Showdown No. 2 is set for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Sunday afternoon (12:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2) after first-place Minnesota (26-5) made it 16-1 at home Friday night holding off Washington 80-76 before a Target Center crowd of 8,821 while second-place New York (20-10) stayed 5.5 games behind the Lynx winning at Dallas 88-77 before 6,251 at College Park Center in the suburbs on the campus of Texas-Arlington.

It’s the fourth straight loss for the 10th place Mystics (13-17), who fell further behind the eighth place cut off spot for next month’s playoffs at 1.5 games trailing expansion Golden State (14-15) and Los Angeles (14-15) who will meet in one of the two Saturday games at 8:30 p.m. in San Francisco, the other Indiana (17-14) hosting 11th place Chicago (8-22) at 8 p.m. on CBS.

The Big Eye Network took that game long before the host Fever’s reigning rookie of the year Caitlin Clark landed on the sidelines with her second groin injury and third overall, including a strained quad, while the former star Iowa collegian’s collegiate rival from LSU Angel Reese has also been disabled with back difficulties.

Meanwhile on Saturday afternoon the Lynx signed for the remainder of the season Jaylyn Sherrod, who was let go on by New York August 1 to make room for Meesseman, who’s arrival was delayed by getting her visa situation settled..

The 12th place Dallas (8-23) loss leaves the Wings just two games above Connecticut (5-24) who sit at rock bottom with their worst season since acquired from the former Orlando Miracle in 2003.

The Sun are now for sale again with two groups contesting to either bring the team to Boston where they sold out two games in successive seasons at TD Garden, the home of the NBA Celtics, or move them in-state to Hartford, even closer to the home of NCAA champion UConn.

Sunday will be the second meeting between Minnesota and New York and first in Brooklyn where last October the Liberty nipped the Lynx at the finish in overtime in decisive Game 5 for the team’s first title in 28 years of existence dating to the launch of the WNBA in 1997.

Minnesota won the long-awaited first meeting between the top two teams late last month when New York was in a losing streak before the free-agent arrival of past WNBA standout Emma Meesseman, who had not played in the league since 2022, while All-Star Breanna Stewart on the bench with a bone bruise on her right knee being held out until near the playoffs and

The Belgian was the first reserve player to win Finals MVP honors when Washington won its lone title in 2019.

The Lynx, meanwhile, have lost MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier for at least two weeks with a sprained ankle suffered last Saturday in Las Vegas during Minnesota’s WNBA record road wipeout victory.

Since that setback, the Aces (17-14) have soared in three straight after Friday’s other game, a 90-86 win at home over Seattle (16-15) as reigning MVP A’ja Wilson scored 29 points with 12 rebounds on her 29th birthday before a sellout crowd of 10,415 at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

While Golden State has sold all 18,804 seats in every game in their debut season at the Chase Center in San Francisco shared with the NBA Warriors, Las Vegas since moving from San Antonio has the WNBA total record with 40 sellouts after Friday.

The win enabled the Aces to continue to rocket from outside the playoff fence to a fifth-place tie with Indiana while the Storm’s fourth straight narrow loss dropped them to seventh a game behind Las Vegas and just one in front of Golden State and Los Angeles.

A week ago, Seattle fell at home to surging Los Angeles 108-106 in double overtime and then by four each at home to Indiana and Minnesota and now four points at Las Vegas.

Smith Scores 25 in Minnesota Win Over Washington

The Lynx dodged yet another bullet with Napheesa Collier sidelined as former Stanford standout Alanna Smith scored 25 points in the narrow win over Washington to keep Minnesota’s wide lead from reduced a bit over New York heading to Sunday’s clash.

“Alanna was terrific,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve. “We needed someone to be the big dog, and she was able to do that for us tonight. We needed someone willing to step up for the big moments.”

The two league leaders will meet two more times within the next week and a half, first back in Minneapolis next Saturday on CBS and then back to New York the following Tuesday.

As Friday’s game stayed close down the stretch Smith and Mystics rookie Sonia Citron, who had 26 points, each scored eight straight points.

The first-round overall No. 3 pick out of Notre Dame brought Washington within a point 71-70 with 2:44 left on a three-point play and then Smith fired her fourth make from deep.

Citron tied it at 76 all with 59 seconds left on a 3-pointer only to have Courtney Williams, who scored 14, get two with a baseline jumper.

Sug Sutton was fouled for the visitors with 36 seconds remaining in regulation, but a review overturned the call.

Washington won the jump, but Citron turned the ball over and Kayla McBride sealed it with two from the line.

DiJonai Carrington, acquired earlier in the week in a trade with Dallas, scored 12 in her Target Center debut while McBride scored 11.

Washington earlier in the week dealt leading scorer Brittney Sykes to Seattle for Alysha Clark, Zia Cook, and a first-round pick in April’s draft, and then swapped second-year pro Aliyah Edwards with Connecticut for Jacy Sheldon on Thursday.

 Clark scored three off the bench in her first game as s Mystic and Sheldon had yet to arrive.

Rookie Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin each scored 12 for Washington. Rookie second-rounder Lucy Olsen out of Villanova and Iowa, who has been seeing more minutes, played in 20 off the bench and the Collegeville native was 2-9 with a 3-pointer scoring six.

The Mystics next are at Dallas Sunday at 4 p.m. on CBSSN.

New York Balance Handles Dallas

Things went much better for the Liberty than their visit two weeks ago as all five starters were in double figures for a third-straight win ahead of Minnesota’s Sunday visit.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 16, while Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich, and Meesseman each scored 14 points and Saint Joseph’s graduate Natasha Cloud scored 10 as did reserve Marine Johannes.

Meesseman also grabbed eight boards, dealt seven assists and grabbed three steals.

Coach Sandy Brondello reached 100 wins with the Liberty.

“It’s a great organization to be working for,” she said. "This is my fourth year, and 100 wins means I’ve got a pretty good team. A lot more wins to go.

“(Dallas) exploited us a little bit but we found our composure and got back to being a little more connected. We got big players so when you have players like Emma Meesseman and Jonquel Jones, it helps.”

Overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers out of UConn did not play for the Wings after a back injury during Tuesday’s visit to New York, while the Liberty’s Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally continued to be sidelined with Stewart.

Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 for Dallas, which has lost four straight, and former Villanova all-time scoring leader and third year pro Maddy Siegriest scored 25 off the benchh in her second game back after missing two months with a knee injury.

Myisha Hines-Allen scored 12 with seven boards.

In the first half Meesseman had 14 points, six boards, and four assists as New York went up 50-34 and later opened the fourth period on a 13-1 run to be unchallenged.

Las Vegas Holds Off Seattle

In addition to Wilson’s celebratory birthday party, Jackie Young scored 26 with a key make from deep with 59 seconds left as the Aces have won 5 of 6 to climb up nearer to the status built with consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023 and semifinals finish to New York last season.

The game seemed over when Las Vegas bolted to a 63-44 lead midway through the third quarter and then the Storm rallied 17-6 to close the period as Jewell Loyd scored the last six points.

Seattle kept it going to open the fourth on a 7-0 run to move within a point 71-70 and with 5:38 left French rookie Dominique Malonga, the overall No. 2 pick, tied it at 75 only for Young to answer with five straight points.

“We ran it up to 19 and then the wheels came off and somehow, we were able to put the wheels somewhat back on,” said Aces coach Becky Hammon of the swing after getting a big lead. “But turnovers, poor defense, poor communication, everything that got you the lead, we did none of. We have to be better.

“We have to put different groups on the floor and at least maintain. Not do a nosedive. We helped them crawl back into the game by not doing some things solid. Granted, they did some things better.

“You’ve got to be able to handle your success. We did a lot of things … we were able to get the lead substantially, and then everything went out the window and that can’t happen. There has to be a level of execution that needs to be maintained no matter what group we put out there.”  

The Aces also got 13 points from Chelsea Gray, while NaLyssa Smith had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Loyd scored 10 against the Storm team who dealt her last winter to Las Vegas.

Young passed Hammon for fifth in franchise history for most made field goals, though Hammon, an undrafted free agent when New York signed her out of Colorado State, achieved the statistic playing when the franchise was in San Antonio after she arrived in a draft day trade with the Liberty.

Malonga had a personal best 22 points and 12 boards for the Storm, while Rutgers graduate Erica Wheeler scored 16, Gabby Williams scored 14, and Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points and nine rebounds.

“Confidence comes with reps, and I'm getting more and more reps,” Malonga said. “My coaches trust me more and more. Now when I step on the court, I just know what I can bring,” she continued.

 “I just try to do simple things, do what I'm good at: finishing in the paint, rebounding the ball, set good screens and just do really well. I just step on the court and focus on that, and it's working, so I just keep doing that.”

Brittney Sykes, after arriving in the deal with Washington, scored 14 off the bench.

“We were sharper with our coverages on A’ja, we were contesting, and I thought we were rebounding well in the second half,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said of the comeback. “We were limiting them to one shot on possessions, playing a little bit faster, and obviously, the points in the paint (30-12 favor the Storm) mattered.”

Of Sykes’ first game, Quinn said, “With just one practice under her belt, her explosiveness to the rim, willing to get in the paint and get to the free throw line and she can also initiate and get us into offense. She picked up our stuff pretty quickly and I think she's going to continue to help us tremendously.”

Seattle on Sunday is at Los Angeles at 8 p.m., while Las Vegas at 9 p.m. hosts Connecticut at 9 p.m. on NBA TV.

The other Sunday game has the two third place teams facing each other in Atlanta at Phoenix at 6 p.m. on NBA TV.

In Saturday’s game with Chicago, Indiana has more roster deficiencies besides Clark’s 10th straight absence after Sydney Colson had a season-ending ACL in Thursday’s loss at Phoenix and recently signed free agent Aari McDonald broke a bone in her foot in  the same game to also be lost, leaving the Fever devoid of healthy guards.

There’s no timetable yet for Clark’s return, though she’s started running, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Coach Stephanie White, discussing Clark’s condition Monday on ESPN’s NBA Today, said the green light won’t be given until her star player is 100 percent.

Meanwhile, under WNBA rules Colson and McDonald each need to miss a game before a hardship contract be used to sign a replacement

Indiana after Saturday’s game next plays Dallas Tuesday.