The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Reese and Cardoso Lead Chicago to an Upset of New York; Atlanta Hands Minnesota Second-Straight Loss; ‘Vegas Takes 9th Straight Doening Phoenix; Connecticut Completes 2–0 Washington Sweep

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

NEW YORK – The four WNBA games played Thursday night here at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and elsewhere saw the race to clinch playoff berths cause an oddity and a wild shake up to the tightly compacted standings involving the nine teams pursuing the remaining seven spots.

The defending champion Liberty (22-14) here, who began the night in a second-place tie with Atlanta (23-13)m suffered another fourth-quarter meltdown and was upset 91-85 by the newly eliminated 11th-place Chicago Sky (9-26) before a nearly full-house crowd of 15,887 that saw the home team closed out on an 8-0 run.

It would be interesting to see how much money was placed on what would be called a trap game in the vernacular off a recent Washington Post story on how betting has exploded on action in the WNBA.

 By its placement on the schedule of New York the contest occurred just 48 hours after finally beating first-place Minnesota (28-7) here in the last of the four-game series and 48 hours ahead of a crucial road stop Saturday (2 p.m., CBS) at Atlanta.

“We had a great game our last game,” said New York coach Sandy Brondello. “We went back to our old habit, we need to get two feet in the paint, that’s when we’re at our best.

“Just didn’t have the carryover and a little bit too late (attacking the paint).”

As for those Lynx, which had been running away at the top of the league and the only one with a clinching footnote on the record 44-game league slate now in a single digit countdown until the pairings are set next month on Sept. 11.

A 75-73 setback at Atlanta before a crowd of 3,265 at the small Gateway Center in suburban College Park made it the first time Minnesota lost two straight leaving the magic number at two to clinch a home court for the best-of-three first round that starts with all four games on Sunday, Sept. 14 on ABC and CBS.

The magic number for the top seed and overall home court for the Lynx, who still lead the pack by a comfortable 5.5 games, by returning to a record best-of-seven finals is at three.

While Minnesota was experiencing consecutive losses, on the same night way down below last -place Connecticut (8-27), which had been deep in the basement in its worst season since brought to New England from NBA-owned Orlando in 2003, completed its first two successive wins, a home-and-home sweep over 10th place Washington (16-20) after the previous triumph in the nation’s capital winning 67-56 before a near-capacity crowd of 7,144 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville near New London.

The Sun, though 20 behind Minnesota, are just a half-game behind Dallas (9-27) and a game behind Chicago involving the three teams that are now lottery bound with two more to join the trio.

Washington, though with the youngest roster and through a series of recent trades signaled a greater emphasis on the future, had moved just outside the playoff cutoff and for the moment are still only two games behind eighth place Seattle (18-18) and 1.5 behind Los Angeles (17-18) with eight games left.

In the other game of the night, a very key meeting between teams at tipoff that were in a virtual fourth place tie, red hot Las Vegas (23-14) won its ninth straight with an 83-61 thumping of Phoenix (21-14) before a home crowd of 10,460 at Micheloeb ULTRA Arena.

The Aces’ tear began after a WNBA second-worst home blasting 111-58 wipeout on August 2nd by Minnesota in a game MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the year, suffered an ankle sprain and has since been sidelined six straight games though she may return this weekend.

New York at the outset of the season with a best-ever 9-0 start was eye-to-eye with the Lynx, the team the Liberty last October beat 3-2 in Finals series games for their first championship dating to the 1997 WNBA inaugural summer.

 But then Finals MVP Jonquel Jones was lost for a month with an injury and two-time Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, when she played with Seattle, has been out since late July with a bone bruise on her right knee.

She is close to returning also but with Thursday’s loss to the Sky the Liberty during Stewart’s absence are the only team among the top five with a loss to all three clubs already eliminated at the bottom of the standings.

In the tight standings race if New York, which has also suffered other injuries, is edged to be having to be on the road disadvantage in every series defending its championship, look at the losses at Dallas and at Connecticut the first week of Stewart’s absence and Thursday night’s loss to Chicago as the difference.

Looking Ahead

Heading into Friday night’s three-game package streaming on ION, Atlanta occupies the second-place spot held most of the summer by New York despite the injuries, 5.5 games behind Minnesota and just a half-game in front of Las Vegas, which is a half-game in front of New York which is a half-game in front of Phoenix.

While fourth gets home court in the first round the 4-5 matchup means the winner will likely face Minnesota in the best-of-five semifinals.

Then there’s the race among the next five from sixth place Indiana (19-16), two games behind Phoenix, and still without Caitlin Clark in addition to three other guards all of which recently suffered season-ending injuries, but just two in front of 10th place Los Angeles.

Indiana, in one of Friday’s games, has Minnesota arriving on a back-to-back coming to play at 7:30 p.m.

The expansion Golden State (18-17) squad with the most wins in WNBA history by a new team sit just a game behind Indiana and a half-game in front of Seattle and a game ahead of Los Angeles.

The Valkyries, who have sold out every home game, the streak a WNBA record, in the 18,000+ Chase Center in San Francisco, are trying to be the first expansion team to be part of the playoff field.

“Winning the 18, that’s nice, but the goal is to make the playoff,” said Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase after the last game was a setback.

Golden State has been injury riddled and visits Phoenix Friday at 10 p.m.

Seattle, before a long losing streak was up in the 4-5 standings neighborhood but now is barely in a postseason spot, and in Friday’s other game at 7:30 p.m., visits Dallas, whose Paige Bueckers, the overall number one pick in April, tied a rookie record with 44 points the last game, a loss at the buzzer at Los Angeles.

Two other games Saturday have Las Vegas visiting Washington at 3 p.m. while on CBSSN at 4 p.m. Chicago hosts Connecticut.

Cardoso and Reese Double Double as Chicago Snaps 5-Game Skid Beating New York

Former South Carolina standout Kamilla Cardoso out of Brazil had 22 Points and a personal best 16 rebounds, while Angel Reese, recently returned from a bunch of games because of back issues, scored 21 with ten boards as the Sky in a tight game on the road stopped the Liberty.

Reese was part of the 2023 LSU national champions in a game whose rivalry with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark touched off a boom in attendance and TV ratings in the sport that carried over to the WNBA last season.

Though both Clark and Reese have been injury-riddle this season, the WNBA has already set an attendance record with less teams.

Cardoso was part of Dawn Staley’s champion Gamecocks in 2024.

Chicago had lost 13 of 14 overall and five straight to New York.

Aerial Atkins scored 19, including nine in the decisive fourth quarter, and Michaela Onyenwere scored 13 in the game that had 21 lead changes and 11 ties.

Jonquel Jones for the Liberty tied a career high with five three pointers and scoring 25 points, while Sabrina Ionescu scored 16, and Saint Joseph's graduate Natasha Cloud finished with 14 points.

With just 2: 23 minutes left in the game, Ionescu snapped a tie with a pair from the line for an 85-83 lead. But Atkins answered on the next possession and was fouled by Emma Meesseman and completed the play as Chicago took over to stay over the final 1:35 minutes.

In the closing drought the Liberty were 0-4 from the field and committed a turnover.

Chicago had a season best 52 points in the paint and shot 50% (31- 62) from the field, which Cardozo was 8-9, with a perfect 6- 6 from the line, besides dealing five assists.

“We have to be more consistent,” Jones said. “We can’t be coming off a game like we played Minnesota and then play Chicago and look like a completely different team.

“We’ve known this a long time, but everybody is going to give us their best effort and when we come out and play that way, it’s going to be hard to beat teams, because teams are going to be ready to play us so we have to be ready to play everybody we play against.”

“Same thing (Jones) said, you can’t show up for a Minnie and not show up for a Chicago,” Cloud said. "

Las Vegas Streak Continues

Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson didn’t score 30 for the first time in four games but she had 19 points and 13 boards for her 18th season double double while Dana Evans scored 17 in the Aces’ ninth straight win stopping the Mercury threat.

Jackie Young, Chelsa Gray, and NaLyssa Smith each scored 12.

Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas, a continuous triple double threat, scored 17 with 11 boards and six assists, while Satou Sabally scored 15.

The Aces defense held the visitor to team season lows in points and field goal percentage, the latter 31 percent from the field.

Rutgers grad Kahleah Copper out of North Philadelphia suffered a rib injury in a third quarter collision and did not return.

“There comes a certain point when you just gotta know what you,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of her team’s surge from struggling down in the standings to returning to the form of being back-to-back champions (2022-23) and a semifinalist last season.

“My belief in them has never in them has never wavered,” Hammon said. “Our locker room, it would have been very easy to fall apart in June when things weren’t going well, for anybody.

“It just speaks to the kind of character we have, and the ability to have a rise above the circumstances and figure it out kind of mentality together. Some locker rooms they're really good at the beginning and then fade as the wear and tear of the season and the stress and pressure builds and mounts, this team seems to be settling in on the pressure.”

On the addition of Smith, Hammon said, “She’s been huge for us, we just felt like we needed to make a change. ‘Lyss adds another element to us, offensively that we were missing, a little toughness down there, she’s done a lot of little things to help us win, whether that’s tipping balls, getting on the offensive glass, that’s huge.

“It takes a lot of pressure off those other players, gives space to those other players and when we made that move, I felt like this is the piece that can help us move to another category. Now it took a while to settle in, but you felt her impact immediately.”

On the other side, Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said, “I don’t think we were very good tonight. To be honest, they kicked our ass from the start. These are games we have to go through as a group, figure out how to win as a group, how to lose as a group, and stay together as a group.

“(Las Vegas) playing well and they completely out played us tonight.”

Gray With 27 Helps Atlanta Nip Minnesota

During the baseball Phillies run in a past championship season when they held a huge lead and then went on brief slide the comment was made, that’s why you build big leads, so little slides don’t hurt you.

It’s not time for Lynx fans to show an early sign of panic, especially, if Collier is soon to return, though in a general sense, the tightness of the overall standings and the rise of Atlanta and Las Vegas plus given night threats from others show nothing is absolutely certain as to who the eventual WNBA winner will be.

Last season New York played the best most of the way, maybe a little less dominant than the Lynx have been, yet after the Liberty ended Las Vegas’ goal of a three-peat in the semifinals, Minnesota in the finals was a handful right down to the last play in the last overtime minute of the series fully extended last game.

In this one Atlanta’s Allisha Gray scored 27 in a game that was close in the second half while Rhyne Howard scored 16.

It looked like the Lynx early in the fourth quarter might pull this one out before the Dream erupted on a 12-0 run to go up 66-60 with 6:05 left taking advantage of an 0-6 drought from the visitors who missed their first six shots in the period.

The Lynx in the last minute pulled close 73-71 with 48.9 left on a shot from deep from Alanna Smith.

The Dream were hit with a backcourt violation after a coach’s challenge, but the Lynx 9(99fmissed a shot that would have tied the score.

Maya Caldwell made two from the line to put Atlanta up four, but the Lynx still had a chance when the Dream were charged with another eight-second violation 12.6 left.

However, Courtney Williams missed a layup and as time expired committed a turnover on an inbounds play.

With the win, the Dream equaled their 2018 record for season triumphs.

“Pretty exciting game, right?” Atlanta first-year coach Karl Smesko said. “Went all the way down to the wire, down to the last shot, I thought we made just enough plays.

“First five minutes they were scoring every possession. I thought our defense kicked in, make every shot difficult. They have a lot of good players who could make those shots, but I thought our defense the last three and half quarters was really good.”

Bridget Carleton scored 16 for the Lynx, who could make Indiana’s playoff situation more precarious if they take these last losses out on the Fever Friday night.

Jessica Shepard had a double double 15 points and 16 rebounds. Kayla McBride scored 10 for Minnesota and Smith collected 10.

“It was explained to the group how Atlanta defends and what they intended to accomplish since they played us in Minneapolis,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle standout from South Jersey, said addressing the 14 turnovers in the first half. “It was similar concepts. Our attention to detail and our connectiveness, rising to the occasion to do basic things prior to a catch, patience waiting for a ball screen, ball screen off a pick and roll.

“Certainly, Atlanta deserves credit for putting us in that spot, but I thought we were as bad as passers could be in that first half. Obviously cleaning it up gave us a better chance, but obviously not enough.

“I thought we were ready, we just didn’t perform,” she contrasted her feelings about the New York game and this one. “We’ll have some time tomorrow to work through a few things. We did so many things wrong, we just didn’t put the ball in the hole.”

Connecticut Puts Washington on the Ropes

Following the sweep by the Sun there’s still enough games for the Mystics to make a run, but the problem is the name of the opponents beginning with Las Vegas’ Saturday visit followed by Seattle on Sunday on a back-to-back while next week on the road it’s the Liberty, Golden State and Los Angeles on another back-to-back weekend followed by games with Phoenix, Indiana and New York, all of which betters would call Washington an underdog.

Connecticut got 21 points from Tina Charles while Aaliyah Edwards, a second-year pro taken in the first round, in her second game against the Mystics after recently dealt to the Sun scored 10 points.

In Connecticut, the Sun are 9-2 against Washington dating to 2019.

Rookie Leila Lacan from France in her eighth start had five of the home team’s season high 14 steals.

Mystics rookies Sonia Citron scored 15 while Kiki Iriafen had 13 points and 10 boards for her 13th double-double on the season. The two went third and fourth overall in April’s draft out of Notre Dame and Southern Cal.

Rookie Lucy Olsen, the Collegeville native out of Villanova and Iowa, played 13 minutes off the bench going 1-3 from the field for two points with pairs of assists and rebounds.