The Guru’s WNBA and UPSHOT Reports: Las Vegas’ Hammon Becomes 2nd Fastest to 150 Wins; UPSHOT-Jacksonville Gains Greensboro Split to Re-take 1st

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

There was just one game each in the WNBA and new UPSHOT League Sunday each offering a bounce back from the winners.

In the WNBA ending week three and the first month of the 30th anniversary season defending champion Las Vegas (5-3) stopped a two-game slide with a 91-81 win at two-year old Golden State (5-3) before the Valkyries continued perfect sellout crowd of 18,064 at the Chase Center in San Francisco as reigning and four-time MVP A’ja Wilson led the way with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks, while Jackie Young added 23 points and nine helpers.

It was a milestone day for Aces coach Becky Hammon, a former league player, becoming the second fastest coach to reach 150 victories in her 205th game – seven behind Van Chancellor setting the record with the former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor.

Next season the Comets rebrand when the current NBA Houston owners acquire the Connecticut Sun.

Young for Las Vegas was 9-of-17 from the field, including 5 makes in 9 attempts from deep, with seven boards and NaLyssa Smith added 15 points with nine boards.

Golden States’ Gabby Williams scored 20, Janelle Salaun collected 16, and Kayla Thornton scored 12.

It was close at the half with Aces in front by a basket 43-41 before erupting in the third period when Wilson gained 13 of her points and Young 11 to outscore the home team 29-13, holding Golden State to a lowly 3-of-17 18% from the field and forcing five turnovers.

The Valkyries used an 11-0 run to move within 11 with under two minutes left in regulation and within eight in the next minute before being shut off by the visitors.

The Las Vegas total was a season high allowed by Golden State, which was averaging a league-low 78 on the defensive end.

“This is professional basketball; it happens all the time,” Hammon said of how the game went after her time built its huge lead. “One team is playing a little conservative, the other is playing ultra-aggressive so sometimes that happens during the course of the game.

“I don’t like blowing a lead but they’re a very good team and they were shooting threes and they started going in that fourth quarter.”

As for her milestone, “I didn’t know about it until now, but what jumps off the page is how much I enjoy the process. We’re a process kind of team and you go through the right processes the right way the results will be there.

“I got 150 with some of the greatest humans to ever play and they’re just fun to to coach. We’re in this battle together and we fight for each other. You hear it all the time; a player would run through a wall for a coach; this coach would run through a wall for them.”

Hammon was also an assistant NBA coach under Gregg Popovich at San Antonio, which opens finals play against New York Wednesday night.

“She’s a player’s coach,” Young said. “Obviously she’s been in the league a long time. The relationship she has with each of us, 1 through 12, she treats us all the same. She really changed my career.”

On the other side, Golden State’s Natalie Nakase said, “We just allowed the offense to dictate the flow. If we were making shots early, we allowed it to dictate our fight. We rely on our defense, so we just have to make sure it starts from there.”

Looking Ahead

The in-season Commissioner’s Cup intra-conference schedule of games begins Monday in the West with Seattle at Dallas at 8 p.m. on USA and Minnesota at Phoenix at 10 p.m. on NBC Sports and Peacock.

It’s the only time conference standings are relevant in the overall picture, though they also come in play for the WNBA’s weekly awards.

On Tuesday, the East has Connecticut at Atlanta and Chicago at Washington, both at 7:30 p.m., while at 10 p.m. for both in the West Portland is at Golden State while Los Angeles hosts Las Vegas, with League Pass carrying all the games.

On Wednesday on the USA Net twin bill, Toronto visits New York at 7:30 p.m. in the East and Phoenix visits Seattle in the West at 10 p.m.

Thursday’s twin bill on Amazon Prime has Atlanta at Indiana at 7:30 p.m. and Golden State at Minnesota at 9 p.m.

On Friday, ION and League Pass carry all three games; Connecticut at Chicago at 7:30 p.m., and Dallas at Los Angeles and Phoenix at Portland, both at 10 p.m.

On Saturday, ABC will air two West games in the afternoon: Seattle at Minnesota at 1 p.m. and Golden State at Las Vegas at 3 p.m. while in the East at night League Pass will air Washington at Atlanta at 6 p.m. followed by CBS and Paramount+ carrying Indiana at New York at 8 p.m.

For those new to paying attention to the WNBA, the league standings regarding playoff and seeds are combined without regard to the best teams in the East and West.

As expansion continues the rest of the decade with the additions of Cleveland (’28), Detroit (’29) and Philadelphia (’30) along with the Sun relocation to Houston, while labor peace is firmly in place – the final step of the transformative CBA in what will become an 18-team league recently announced on the weekend – attention will have to be paid to playoff format in terms of field size which also could change the non-qualifying draft lottery number of designated squads and also perhaps an alteration to in-season standings configuration establishing intra-conference divisions or as in the NBA, place the lowest qualifying seeds into opening play-in rounds.

Jacksonville Gains Split in Greensboro to Return to First

In the four-team UPSHOT League, which becomes six next season when Baltimore and Nashville are added, Jacksonville (4-2), which snapped a three-game win streak Saturday losing at Greensboro 89-71 to drop a half-game behind the Groove (4-3), came back Sunday in North Carolina to gain a narrow 90-87 win and flip back up in front by a half-game.

Savannah (4-3), on a three-game win streak, and Charlotte (1-5) were idle.

In Sunday’s Jacksonville win, the Waves’ 24-15 second quarter was the difference being outscored 20-16 in the first and 25-23 in the fourth while tied at 27 in the third.

The winners had a balanced attack with six players in double figures; Maryland grad Shyanne Sellers leading with 17 points, Northwestern’s Lindsey Pulliam with 16, Florida State’s Adut Bulgak with 14, Memphis’ Ariel Hearn with 12 points and Tennessee’s Rennia Davis and LSU’s Khayla Pointer each with 11 points.

Additionally, Sellers, Pulliam, Bulgak, and Davis each pulled six rebounds while Pointer dealt six assists.

Greensboro’s Diamond Johnson, the Philadelphia native who played at Rutgers, N.C. State and Norfolk State, had a game high 27 points, one more than Michigan State’s Kamaria McDaniel, while Alabama’s Jessica Timmons scored 20 and Texas A&M’s Sahara Jones pulled down 11 boards.

Holding an 87-84 lead with 34.9 seconds left, Bulgak took a pass inside to score and went up by two more with 14.2 seconds left.

Johnson then made a long three with 2.6 seconds left.

Sellers was immediately fouled but had to be fouled again to get to the line with 1.1 where she missed the first and made the second.

Greensboro advanced the ball to try to get a 3-pointer which McDaniel shot but it went off the board.

Looking Ahead

On Wednesday, Jacksonville stays on the road visiting Charlotte at noon, all UPSHOT games are on the league’s YouTube channel.

On Saturday, Charlotte hosts Savannah at 4 p.m., completing this week’s schedule.