The Guru’s WNBA Report: Washington Moves Up Over New York With Wide Win in Expansion Toronto While Connecticut Edges Out of the Cellar With Narrow Home Win Over Expansion Portland
By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux
It was another two-game minimal schedule in the WNBA on Tuesday with the Connecticut Sun (6-18) moving a half-game out of last place over idle Seattle (6-19) with a morning “Camp Day” home win 90-87 over expansion Portland (10-14) before a Mohegan Sun Arena home crowd of a near-capacity 8,917 while Washington (12-10) continued on the upswing with its youthful core winning decisively 79-62 at the other expansion city Toronto (10-14), which returned from a two-day Canadian “home” swing in Montreal to play before 8,210 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
The Mystics moved ahead of New York (13-11) from the eighth and last playoff spot, though the teams are both 5 games behind first-place Minnesota (18-6) and two in front of Los Angeles (10-12), while the new teams bringing the league to 15 are tied three games behind the playoff fence.
Phoenix (8-17), the runner-up last season, tied with Chicago (7-16) at 10.5 out of first is now focused on just finishing inside the fence in the last spot in which both are 5.5 out.
In Washington’s win over the short-handed Tempo, second-year pro and repeat All-Star reserve Kiki Iriafen had 25 points with 14 boards, while Shakira Austin scored 17 with 10 rebounds.
Mystics coach Sydney Johnson claims Austin should have been one of the 12 reserves picked by the league’s coaches besides Washington’s second-year pro Sonia Citron, also making her second All-Star game.
From the midpoint of the first quarter Washington trailed the Tempo until early in the second half until an 11-3 run put them back in front and they went on to outscore the home team 53-30 over the final two periods and outrebounded the opposition 46-26 with 20 second-chance while yielding just three in Toronto’s lowest scoring total of the season.
Citron was held to two points, her lowest two-year total but the visitors also got 15 points from Michaela Onyenwere, an assistant coach in the off-season at her alma mater reigning NCAA champion UCLA, which sent the WNBA a record five players in the first round of draft in April and six overall.
Toronto’s Julie Allemand scored 15 and Nyara Sabally scored 13.
The Tempo were missing powerful scorer Brittney Sykes, out with a left plantar fascia, rookie Kiki Rice, the rookie from UCLA sidelined by a left ankle sprain, and Temi Fagbenle, who is in the concussion protocol.
Isabelle Harrison and Marina Mabrey, an all-star participant in Chicago next weekend, each were held to eight points, and Washington also takes credit for holding the new team to its second lowest total in 68-65 outcome in Toronto’s inaugural WNBA game on May 8.
Lucy Olsen, taken in the second round last season after three stellar seasons at Villanova and one at Iowa, off the bench in five minutes had five points shooting 2-for-3 from the field with a make from deep.
“The confidence and building consistency from the daily work that we do, really showed,” Johnson said afterwards. “This was a team win in that second quarter and even in the third we had some players in different matchups and different lineups.
“We have a team and we’re pointing to everyone and when you do that consistently every day, we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re able to show up and perform like we did,” he continued.
“I was really, really proud from the first one down to the last when they went down on the court.”
Toronto had just held off a New York rally in Montreal to win over the Liberty on Sunday.
“Phsyicality, rim protection,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello after let go from New York, said of Washington’s ability to hold her team down on the scoreboard in two games.
“We went away from moving the ball and we had zero points in transition and that is our strength,” she said.
“Credit to Washington. They really took us out of our stuff and made it hard for us.”
Sun Burns Fire
In Connecticut’s narrow win over Portland, reserve Aaliyah Edwards, one of the many UConn alums in the league including the last two No. 1 pick duo, reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers in 2025 and Azzi Fudd this season, had 21 points while Brittney Griner scored 20.
After Leila Lacan went length of court to put the Sun ahead 90-83 with 1:13 left, she missed a layup on the home team’s next possession and then committed a turnover with 20 seconds left to give Portland a lingering life.
The Fire took a timeout with 7.4 left and then Carla Leite drove the lane and fed Bridget Carleton in the corner for a potential game-tying three-pointer, but was off the mark as the final seconds concluded.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, another Huskies coach Geno Auriemma product, added 16 points, while Lacan scored 14, the Sun shooting 53% for the game, though a dismal 3-for-14 from beyond the arc.
Leite scored 18 for the visiting Fire, Megan Gustafson had 15, Emily Engstler scored 14, and Carleton scored 12.
Portland used a 13-0 run between the third and fourth quarters to move within a point at 72-71 but never was able to go ahead the rest of the way.
Speaking to the morning start in the East, Portland coach Alex Sarma said, “I never want to have any excuses for the team. We always believe every game is on us. But, yeah, I think it’s definitely something to adapt to.
“That hole we kind of dug ourselves in that first half ultimately was too deep to ascend out of,” Sarma said of a better second half not being enough to rally to a win.
“Really pleased with the spirit that we showed in that second half. So we just can’t afford to fall into slow games like this likd we saw in that first quarter.”
Speaking to the work of Griner and Edwards for the Sun, he said, “We struggle with teams this year that have those really athletic bigs with length, size, and skill and you know, well, BG and Edwards just really got what they wanted.”
Looking Ahead
On Wednesday Seattle is at Chicago at noon on League Pass, while Los Angeles is at Minnesota at 1 p.m., also on League Pass, and Golden State is at Indiana at 8 p.m. on USA.
Portland is at Washington at 7 p.m. on NBA TV Thursday, while New York is at Dallas at 9 p.m. on Amazon Prime.
Friday on the ION and League Pass package, Seattle is at Indiana at 7:30 p.m., while Los Angeles at the same time is at Chicago, and 10 p.m., Connecticut is at Phoenix, the first of two this weekend in the Arizona desert city.
Saturday has a three-game card, New York at Indiana at 8 p.m. on Paramount+ and CBS at 8 p.m., the same time League Pass has Portland at Minnesota, while at 8:30 p.m. on League Pass Washington is at Golden State.
Sunday has Los Angeles at Dallas at 1 p.m. on ABC, Chicago at Atlanta at 4 p.m. on Paramount+ and CBS, and Connecticut at Phoenix at 7 p.m. on Disney + and ESPN.
posted by Mel Greenberg | 4:34 AM
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