The Guru WNBA Report: Late Rally Carries Expansion Portland to Win in New York and Owning the Three-Game Series; Golden State Routs Visiting Connecticut as the Perfect Home Sellout Streak Continues

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

NEW YORK – On Monday night for the third straight time in less than a week here in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, home of the WNBA Liberty, the scene on the way to the visitors’ postgame press conference area was repetitive and akin to the approach in small town America at a railroad crossing in which the gates are lowered to create a standstill while a freight or passenger train goes roaring past on the way to its destination.

In this case foot traffic from press row to the designated interview area was halted shortly after the game’s end while the opposing participants went flying by on the way to the locker room all giddy offering celebratory exchanges with their respective traveling entourage personnel after prevailing as underdogs over the New Yorkers and 1997 WNBA charter members who are one season removed from winning their first championship.

On Thursday it was second-year Golden State who last summer became the expansion poster child for success selling out every home game at the 18,000+ seat Chase Center in San Francisco, while adding another record for total newcomer wins and one more as a playoff squad in their first year of existence in which the Valkyries just missed advancing to the next round.

On Sunday afternoon it was being on the wrong side of the deadly 3-point shooting Dallas Wings, who were bad enough a year ago for the second straight time to win the draft lottery ball drop and claim former UConn sensation Azzi Fudd, who had a breakout performance alongside Paige Bueckers, the reigning rookie of the year out of UConn, who matched Fudd’s 24-point total.

A date later on Monday night, proving a recent road trip loss in their first-ever meeting with newcomer Portland (4-3) in Oregon was no fluke, New York (3-4) after a go-ahead rally in the third quarter, completely fell apart in the next period, yielding a 65-60 lead held  at the midpoint  by way of a 12-0 run keyed by reserve Sarah Ashlee Barker with all seven of her points as the Fire triumphed 81-74 before a crowd of 13,881 and won the series 2-1.

It’s the first time since 2022 that the Libs have suffered a three-game home losing streak.

Off a back-to-back, All-Star Sabrina Ionescu, who played for the first time Sunday for New York after being hurt in an exhibition game, sat this one out.

Satou Sabally, the major free agent attraction previously with Phoenix, was in foul trouble early, then went to the locker room feeling ill and did not return.

 Prior to the game, first-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco, a former longtime NBA Golden State assistant, noted that while injuries, adding new players, a brand-new system, new coaching staff, could be used as excuses for the uneven start to the season, they are not to be used as a crutch.

Veteran Breanna Stewart, who had 25 points, said of the team’s status, “It’s a learning experience for everyone. My message to the players in the locker room is like, ‘Nobody expected this.’ Not to say we thought it was going to be easy, because we definitely didn’t. But it’s going to take time. It’s going to be highs and lows.

‘While it seems, we’re in the lows right now, eventually we’ll get to a place where everybody’s really confident and comfortable with what’s going on. I’m happy it’s happening early and not late.”

“This is how it goes sometimes,” DeMarco said. “We had a lead. We let it get away, Turnovers hurt us. I do think we made it a few strides defensively tonight. Our biggest thing is we’re going to have confidence going into the Phoenix game. Will be ready to play.”

New York hosts the Mercury, Wednesday and Friday.

Marine Johannes was 5-for-9 from deep for the home team, finishing with 17 points and Jonquel scored 12 with 11 rebounds.

Portland was all energized off its early deeds after Carla Leite, who is in her second season with a team from nowhere after playing with the Valkyries, scored 18 points, Bridget Carleton scored 10 as did rookie Teja Oblak in her second-ever WNBA game.

Former Iowa star Megan Gustafson was 5-of-8 off the bench for 11 points with one make from deep.

“We just spoke in the locker room about the resiliency we’ve shown throughout the season,” said Portland coach Alex Sarama. “We have a chip on our shoulder trying to prove everyone wrong.

“We feel in that locker room we have something special in Portland going on. Three of these wins have been in the clutch in very close games. That’s one of the things I’m proudest about just in terms of in those games, not only coming from down 12 points like tonight but the way they closed it out was just incredible.

“We talked about (Emily Engstler) getting four steals and four blocks, she really set the foundation of our defense tonight. How we can force turnovers (19 leading to 23 points). They executed the game plan perfectly. Great win for us, we want to carry this one into the next game.”

Sarama was hired out of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers organization where things did not go well at the same time for his former employers, who finished at home getting swept 4-0 in the Eastern Finals 130-93 by the New York Knicks – thrilling a large watch party crowd in Madison Square Garden, pouring out of the arena afterwards yelling “Knicks in four.”

Valkyries Dominate Sun

In the other WNBA game later out west, last year’s expansion Cinderella Valkyries (4-2) routed the Connecticut Sun 97-70 the perfect sellout total of 18,064 continuing watching the latest demise by the visitors (1-7), who will be relocating next season in the league’s former city Houston where the first four league titles were won by the former Comets, whose name will be restablished by the current NBA owners who bought the team.

That same thing happened to the new Portland team.

Former UConn star Gabby Williams, acquired in the offseason out of Seattle, scored 16 points fueled by 6-of-10 makes from deep for Golden State, while Kaila Charles had 12 points and seven boards.

The Sun’s Aneesah Morrow off the bench scored 11 with 10 rebounds for the visitors.

“I wasn’t sure who I was gonna play,” said the Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, who was voted coach of the year last season, about her squad returning to full strength.

“Just by the way we started, I didn’t think we were locked in with our defensive execution, again we gotta be better, but we did, we took a deep breath and we started to lock in.”

Looking Ahead

The league is dark Tuesday night but Wednesday becomes busy, USA airing the New York game with visiting Phoenix at 7 p.m. and Atlanta at Minnesota at 9 p.m., while League Pass has Toronto at Chicago at 8 p.m., and at 10 p.m. Connecticut is at Portland and Washington at Seattle a second time after Sunday’s loss.

On Thursday, the weekly Amazon Prime doubleheader has Las Vegas at Dallas at 8 p.m. and Indiana at Golden State at 10 p.m.

All four Friday night games will be handled by ION and League Pass: the second Phoenix at New York game this week, Los Angeles at Washington, and Minnesota at Chicago all at 7:30 p.m.; and Atlanta at Portland at 10.

League Pass has two of Saturday’s three-game slate – Seattle at Toronto at 1 p.m. and Los Angeles at Connecticut at 6 while in the evening at 8 p.m. CBS and Paramount+ will air Indiana at Portland.

The week and first month of the WNBA’s first season wraps up with a single game Sunday on NBC and Peacock at 3:30 p.m. when Las Vegas plays at Golden State.

We’ll get to the June start later in the week when the in-season Commissioner Cup intra-conference schedule of games, the only time those designated standings are relevant, begin Monday in the West with Seattle at Dallas at 8 p.m. on USA and Minnesota at Phoenix at 10 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 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 competition.

The Guru’s WNBA Report: Rookie Azzi Fudd Third-Quarter Scoring Leads Dallas at New York; Atlanta Nips Phoenix; Expansion Portland Wins First Battle of Newbies at Toronto; L.A. Stuns ‘Vegas

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

For the WNBA winners in the three-games each in three days now in the books with a doubleheader to come Monday night, Memorial Day weekend was quite memorable highlighted Sunday afternoon by rookie and overall number one pick Azzi Fudd’s best performance to date with 17 of her 24 points in the third period to help Dallas (4-3) bounce back from Friday’s loss at Atlanta (4-1) and hand the New York Liberty (3-3) their second straight home loss 91-76 before a full house 17,622 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn as well as a nationwide TV audience on  NBC and Peacock.

The triumph spoiled the Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu’s debut from recovering from an injury in the preseason.

Atlanta (4-1) continued to look like an early contender, Sunday, at the expense of last season’s runnerup Phoenix (2-5) gaining a clutch steal from Angel Reese to clip the visiting Mercury 82-80 before 3,575 at the Gateway Center in suburban College Park.

Completing Sunday’s action late in the evening in the Northwest, Seattle (3-4) bested the Washington Mystics (2-3), winning 97-85 before 10,559 at home in Climate Pledge Arena as Natisha Hiedeman scored 24 points for the Storm.

On Saturday, Los Angeles (3-3), suddenly coming alive in recent games, in a high-scoring contest stopped the four-game win streak by defending champion Las Vegas (4-2) beating the host Aces 101-95 before 10,386 at the Mobile ULTRA Arena with both losses coming at home, including the season opener.

Kelsey Plum had a season-high 38 points for the visiting Sparks and Rutgers alum Erica Wheeler hit a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the final period.

The two expansion teams for this season, the league’s 30th, faced each other for the first time and Portland (3-3) on the road paced by Emily Engstler with 16 points and seven rebounds and a dominating second half by the Fire (3-3) blitzed Toronto (3-4) before a sellout  8,210 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Minnesota (4-2), still awaiting next month’s expected return of Napheesa Collier from surgery on both ankles, got 14 of Natasha Howard’s 26 points in the second period on the way to an 85-75 victory at Chicago (3-3) before 7,030 at Wintrust Arena.

On Friday, third-year pro Caitlin Clark returned from missing Wednesday’s game with back soreness and scored 22 points as host Indiana (4-2) tempered second-year Golden State’s win at New York the previous evening with a 90-82 win over the Valkyries (3-2).

In the Atlanta 86-69 win over Dallas the Dream closed with a 23-5 run before 3,626 in College Park.

In Friday’s other game, after visiting Connecticut (1-6) on Wednesday became the last of the 15 WNBA teams to get a victory, Seattle 48 hours later romped to a 77-49 win before 9,741 at home as Zia Cooke collected 16 of her career-high 25 points and rookie Flau’jae Johnson, the number eight overall pick out of LSU in last month’s draft, had her best outing in her young pro career with 17 points, seven boards, and five assists, all personal bests.

On Monday in the second of a back-to-back set of games, New York, which split with Portland on the recent road trip, will host the Fire at 8 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network and Peacock, followed at 10 p.m. by Connecticut visiting Golden State on League Pass.

The league is dark on Tuesday before resuming on a busy night Wednesday.

UPSHOT in Review

The new four-team developmental style UPSHOT League under commissioner Donna Orender, the former second president of the WNBA, following Jacksonville’s first win in the second weekend of play on Thursday, handing Charlotte (1-1) at home its first loss as a payback from the opener in Florida.

The Waves (3-1) continued on a three-game win streak beating Greensboro (2-2) at home Saturday and Savannah (1-3) on the road Sunday following Greensboro beating the Steel on Friday.

On Monday Greensboro makes the short trip in North Carolina to play at Charlotte at 7 p.m., all games can be viewed free on the UPSHOT YouTube channel.

WNBA Recaps: Wings Soar Over Liberty

Dallas trailed by one coming out of the half and then Fudd exploded after missing her first beyond the arc in the third period and then connecting on her next five long distance shots.

The visitors had two more additionally to go up 66-53 with 3:15 left in the quarter as the final period approached.

Reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers, the former Fudd UConn teammate, also scored 24 and former Notre Dame standout Arike Ogunbowale scored 19 teaming with Bueckers to answer any Liberty attempted rally.

Playing on restricted minutes, Ionescu, who was out due to a preseason left foot injury in a game with Connecticut, finished with 11 points and seven assists, several going to her former Oregon teammate Satou Sabally, a free-agent acquisition recently inserted after also missing several opening games rehabbing a concussion suffered with Phoenix in last season’s finals.

Former Rutgers star and Philly-area native Betnijah Laney-Hamilton remains sidelined from New York for what has been termed personal reasons.

Prior to the game Bueckers learned the league rescinded a technical foul she was assessed during a rally against Atlanta in Friday’s loss.

As a result, she is released from owing the $500 penalty fee.

The penalty was for clapping excessively, which surprised her.

Fudd’s 17 are the second most points in any quarter by a WNBA rookie, exceeded by 20 from former Louisville star Shoni Schimmel scored with Phoenix.

“My goal was to play just a little bit slower,” Fudd said afterwards. “I felt like I was rushing a little bit every time I caught the ball, not reading … I’m just putting the ball down and going too fast. So, my goal was to just slow down.”

First-year coach Jose Fernandez formerly the South Florida mentor in the NCAA praised his young star, saying, “Really proud of her, stayed the course. She showed on the national stage, bright lights, tough place to play on national TV. Now, everybody knows why we took her No. 1.”

Fudd was in familiar surroundings, having played with the Huskies in Brooklyn in her collegiate career.

The Wings bench outscored the Liberty reserves 38-17.

Jessica Shepard added 10 points for Dallas while four-year pro Maddy Siegriest out of Villanova off the bench scored two points in just six minutes.

Sabally had 20 for New York, Breanna Stewart had a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

Jonquel Jones, the former George Washington star and a former MVP when she played her early pro years in Connecticut scored 14.

“Azzi’s an incredible player, she was drafted No. 1 for a reason,” Stewart said afterwards. “Her shot and release is so deadly, I think she ‘s more than a 3-point shooter and people are going to start to see that as she goes forward in the W.”

“I think we got hurt in transition,” said New York first-year coach Chris DeMarco, a longtime NBA Golden State assistant. “We knew going into the game this was going to be one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the W. It’s just a sense of urgency. They get out in transition and find some open shots. Overall, you just have to keep getting better and understand tonight is one thing and tomorrow going to be a whole different game.”

Dream Keeps Streaking After Clipping Mercury With Rally

Rhyne Howard scored 21 while Allisha Gray in Atlanta’s Sunday win had 17 points and third-year pro Angel Reese out of LSU acquired in a trade with Chicago had 17 points and 10 boards for her third double-double on the season.

Jordin Canada had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Atlanta closed fast with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 73 with less than a minute in regulation.

Canada’s free throw put the Dream up one, Howard then scored from distance for a four-point lead with 24 seconds left and then Rutgers grad and Philly native Kahleah Copper scored for Phoenix with a three to cut the deficit to a point

Reese after being fouled was 1-2 on the line but Atlanta got the o-board and Gray went to the line to connect on both shots.

Copper, who finished with 20 points for the visitors as did Alyssa Thomas, was fouled going long and made 2-of-3 from the line for the final points.

Jovanna Nogic scored 11 points and Thomas had 12 boards for the visitors.

In Friday’s win over Dallas by Atlanta, Howard poured in 25 points with eight assists, Gray had 16 points and Reese had 15 points and nine boards.

Dallas reserve Awak Kuler had 16 points, Odyssey Sims had 14 points, and Shepard scored 10 but Bueckers was held to seven points and Ogunbowale scored just two points.

The Dream started quick with a 16-3 lead, Dallas later rallied to a 64-63 advantage before the home team finished strong.

“That was high-level intensity from the jump,” said second-year Atlanta coach Karl Smesko after Sunday’s win over the Mercury. “I mean Phoenix came out with playoff intensity, they took it to us early, they got the lead in the fourth, double digits, sometimes we let stuff get to us, but we re-grouped just in time, so many players made big plays down the stretch.”

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said of the ongoing slide, “It’s hard to win in this league. I thought we did some really good things, I thought we made a step in the right direction, going on the road, obviously we’re not into moral victories but I was proud of the way we battled. Little details, free throws, boxing out, those are the difference.”

Phoenix heads to New York for games Wednesday and Friday against the team they knocked out in the first round last fall, resulting in the Liberty jettisoning Sandy Brondello, who was quickly grabbed by expansion Toronto, a season after guiding the team to their first title, coming after being one of the eight WNBA charter teams in 1997.

Storm Prevail on Mystics

Four other Seattle players were in double figures behind Hiedeman, rookie Flau’jae Johnson with 17 points and six rebounds, veteran Stefanie Dolson with 16, while off the bench Zia Cooke and rookie Awa Fam, the number three overall pick in last month’s draft, each had 10 points.

Fam made her debut after arriving from Spain where she helped Valencia win the Spanish league title.

Washington’s second-year pro Sonia Citron had 16 points, Kiki Iriafen scored 13, one more than teammate Shakira Austin, Georgia Amoore also scored 13, while reserve and rookie Angela Dugalic, one of a WNBA record six picks out of NCAA champion UCLA last month, finished with 13 points.

Second-year pro Lucy Olsen, a former Villanova star whose last year was at Iowa, was scoreless in four minutes.

In Friday’s win over Connecticut, besides the play of Johnson and Cooke, Hiedeman had 11 points.

The Sun’s Diamond Miller scored 13 points and Aaliyah Edwards scored 10 while free-agent signee Brittney Griner was out her fourth straight game with an injured rib.

Connecticut is on its farewell tour this summer, having been sold to move to Houston, a former WNBA city where the first four championships in league history were won.

Fam was excited Friday arriving in the WNBA, brushing aside any notion of being tired following her play in Europe.

“I feel good,” she said in her first media appearance. “It’s OK. I’m 19 years old. I’m ready to play right now in the W. I don’t feel tired. I’m more excited.”  

Sparks Stun the Aces

Los Angeles in Saturday’s win had gone in front 80-73 in the final period but ‘Vegas came back rallying to tie twice at 90 on Chelsea Gray’s shot and at 94 on two from the line from four-time and reigning MVP A’ja Wilson.

Erica Wheeler’s three-pointer put the Sparks up, but the Aces came up empty with two misses from deep and a foul shot while Dearica Hamby and Plum each connected with two from the line.

Hamby and Camron Brink each added 16 to the visitors’ total, while Ariel Atkins scored 11, Rae Burrell scored 10, as did Wheeler, with seven boards and six assists, three less than Plum.

The Aces’ Wilson scored 24 with 15 boards, Nalyssa Smith scored 22, Gray had 12, Jackie Loyd was held to 10 and Chennedy Carter continued to produce off the bench with 23 points.

“It was all them,” said Sparks coach Lynne Roberts of the second half. “On this trip w started to play with a lot of toughness. We were down Nneka (Ogwumike), we know how important she is to us. Everyone had to give just a little bit more.

“KP was unbelievable. Thirty-eight points on 17 shots, that’s efficient. It was the most unselfish 38 points I’ve ever seen. Just huge.”

“Obviously, I’m just trying to go out and be super patient,” Plum said of her 25+ points start this season, a rarity for all players in league history. “And really just take what the defense gives. I just want to get better every year.”

On the other side, “We had multiple defenders, it didn’t matter,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of dealing with Plum.

Clark Leads Fever Over Valkyries

Besides Clark’s return for Indy from a brief absence, Aliyah Boston had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Fever, their third straight win.

Clark hit four from deep and Kelsey Mitchell had 19 points, making all 11 attemptsm from the line, while reserve Sophie Cunningham scored 11 points.

The Valkyries from their bench got 19 points from Tiffany Hayes, while former Princeton and UConn star Kaitlyn Chen scored 18, Veronica Burton had 17 points and Kayla Thornton scored 10.

Clark, who played in just 13 games last year and was done by mid-July, said Friday her confidence had yet to be steady in her body.

“These are the best players in the world, and if I don’t feel 100% confident in my body on Game 5 of the year, I don’t know if that’s really worth it in that scenario,” she said.

“Overall I feel good, it’s just taking care of my body.”

Clark will have time to rest; Indy’s next game is Thursday in San Francisco.

Fire Tops Tempo in Battle of the Newbies

Portland outscored Toronto 55-36 in the second half, including collecting 33 in the fourth falling a point short of the team’s first-ever 100-point game.

Carla Leite and Bridget Carleton each scored 15 points for the Fire, Leite also dealing nine assists, while former Iowa star Megan Gustafson collected 14, Sarah Ashlee Barker scored scored 12, and Engstler blocked four shots.

“It’s been incredible being in Portland so far,” Carleton said. “On my second day in the city even before playing any games or even practicing, there were people on the street who knew who I was.”

Toronto’s Marina Marbrey scored 19 points with eight assists, rookie Kiki Rice out of UCLA also scored 19, shooting 8-for-11 from the field while Brittney Sykes scored 10.

It was close in the first half, the teams knotted 44-44 at the break.

“Great team basketball tonight,” Portland coach Alex Sarama said afterwards. “I think what was more impressive how we responded in the second half, everything we spoke at halftime about the adjustments, that’s what made me so pleased.

“I think it’s natural to make comparisons because we joined as expansion teams the same year. But we really want to see them succeed. It’s awesome for Canadian basketball.”

Brondello of the lopsided finish on the low end by the Tempo said, “I think we got away from our identity tonight.”

Toronto also has several post players sidelined with injuries.

“Our defense is very average at the moment, and we’ve got to find solutions for that, Brondello said. “We’re not moving the ball in terms of creating space and trusting each other.

“But you know, we’ll get there. We are facing some adversity and sometimes you just need to get slapped in the face to make some changes and be better.”

 Lynx Top Sky

Minnesota on Saturday in the last game of this roundup to catch up to everything managed to win despite making 19 turnovers.

Azura Stevens, who missed Chicago’s first five games with a bone bruise in her left knee, had six points in 16 minutes.

The three-guard tandem who all start for the Lynx were in double figures with Courtney Williams scoring 17 points, Kayla McBride getting 13, and rookie Olivia Miles, the second overall pick last month, scoring 14 points to combine for 44.

Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso scored 17 points, Skylar Diggins collected 13 points with six boards and six assists, and reserve Sydney Taylor picked up 11 while free agent and Saint Joseph’s graduate Natasha Cloud had six points in 32 minutes.

The Lynx lost to the Sky at home a week ago in a game Chicago’s Rickea Jackson suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

“We cleaned up the fouling in the second half and then we started increasing our turnovers,” said veteran Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star from South Jersey who will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, late next month.

“Happy to get a win. Always happy on the road with a “w” and knowing what spots we have to work on.”