The Guru’s WNBA and UPSHOT Reports: Vegas Wins West Cup Showdown with Minnesota; Indy Stays in Hunt With Third Straight; Portland Edges Dallas; L.A. Wins Battle of Dueling 40-Point Scorers; Greensboro Stops UPSHOT Leader Jacksonville

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

Storylines keep pouring out of WNBA games like fireworks on the Fourth of July, especially in the current intra-conference races for the two spots in the Commissioner’s Cup championship on June 30.

And so it was on the four-game card Saturday that with idle New York being the only unbeaten team left in the East competition, that overall defending playoff champion Las Vegas (10-3) before a home crowd of 10,330 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena withstood a deep rally fueled by a season-best 29 points from overall No. 2 draft pick Olivia Miles to snap the eight-game win streak by Minnesota (10-3) with a 100-97 victory to become the only unbeaten West team in the race.

The Aces’ reigning MVP A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 10 boards to put the winners in the driver’s seat with one week left in both races.

Indiana (8-5) moved to a half-game behind New York, which owns a Cup win over the Fever and hosts Washington Sunday at 3 p.m., by winning 85-75 at Connecticut (2-13) before a crowd of 8,910 at the Mohegan Sun Arena as Caitlin Clark had 25 points and five assists while reserve Sophie Cunningham, who finished with 11, shooting 4-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-4 from deep, also had her scoring account for an 11-3 ending by the winners in the fourth quarter.

The game was billed as Clark’s farewell appearance at Mohegan with the Sun, who are 0-5 in the Cup series, set to relocate next summer under NBA ownership in Houston.

However, with Clark likely to make the 2028 Olympic team that will compete in Los Angeles and the state of Connecticut devoid of a pro team for the moment after this season, it would not be surprising for USA to play a friendly at Mohegan the next two seasons.

Dallas (8-5), virtually out of the Cup chase with two losses, was without reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers due to right ankle soreness and expansion Portland (7-8) took advantage to snap a four-game losing streak winning 84-83 for its first Cup victory courtesy of Emily Engstler making the second of two foul shot attempts with two seconds left before a home crowd of 14,612 at the Moda Center in Oregon.

The fourth and final game of the night may have been a footnote with both teams out of the Cup pursuit but Los Angeles (7-6), which won 111-102 in overtime, and host Phoenix (4-11) before a crowd of 9,234 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Arizona made WNBA history on a pair of career-performances as league-leading scorer Kelsey Plum (26.6) collected 43 points for the triumphant Sparks and the Mercury got a personal-best 41 from Rutgers alum and North Philadelphia native Kahleah Copper.

It’s the first time in the 30-year WNBA history a game produced dueling 40-point efforts.

“That was an offensive display by both Kah and KP,” said Los Angeles second-year coach Lynne Roberts. “When they both have it going like that, it’s impressive and fun to watch.”

“In the offseason this year, I really took my weight room strength and conditioning to another level,” said Plum, a nine-year veteran and former No. 1 pick who had been the NCAA career scoring leader at Washington before Clark broke her record. “And another thing is just mentally I’ve grown and been a lot more patient. I appreciate that Coach gives me the freedom to really go out there and just play.”

Copper joins Hall of Farmer Lauren Jackson (2007) as the only two league players with 40 points in a loss and with 10 boards she’s the first Phoenix player with a 40-point double-double.

UPSHOT Action: In the new four-team UPSHOT league, Greensboro (5-4) at home stopped a two-day sweep by first-place Jacksonville (6-3), the Groove beating the visiting Wave 83-79 as the winners, trailing 37-28 at the half rallied to outscore the opposition 55-42 in the second half, including 29-20 in the fourth quarter.

Greensboro, whose coach Janice Washington coached at Lincoln University in the Philadelphia Western suburbs, got 16 points from Jessica Timmons, Philly’s Diamond Johnson had 15 points and seven rebounds, Kamaria McDaniel and Colorado grad Mya Hollingshed each scored 14 and Tayanna Jones Bell scored 11 points.

Jacksonville, coached by Philadelphia native Jess Bogia, got 16 points and eight boards from Tennessee grad Rennia Davis, Taylor Soule scored 13, Jasmine Walker and Khayla Pointer each scored 11, and Ariel Hearn scored 10 with Pointer and Hearn each grabbing six rebounds.

On Sunday the Savannah Steel (4-4) at 2 p.m. plays at the Charlotte Crown (2-6).

Games can be watched free on the league’s YouTube channel.

Aces Win Streak Reaches Six at Expense of Lynx

Perfect shooting from the line at 7-for-7 in the last 44.3 seconds enabled Las Vegas to top Minnesota with just a Monday visit to Dallas and at Phoenix Wednesday left on the Cup schedule.

The payout is $500,000 in the player prize pool in the final plus each team names an organization to receive a donation.

Referencing the final, the Aces’ Chelsea Gray said, “It’s kind of like a midseason measuring stick. It’s always good to play for charity and a bigger purpose, and you know everybody liked money, right?”

Gray behind Wilson’s night had six 3s and after tying a WNBA record with nine the previous game, the 15 two-game attack ties a record set by Minnesota’s Kayla McBride in 2024 and retired Phoenix star Diana Taurasi in 2020.

Gray had 23 points and seven assists while Jackie Young had 16 points and 10 boards.

“These are two really good teams just going blow for blow,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “I’m sure both me and (Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve) are going to be looking at the defensive end.

“She’s not happy giving up 100, and I’m not happy giving up 97. At the end of the day, it was probably fun to watch. But one of those games that, as a coach, probably drives you crazy.”

Reeve, the former La Salle star out of South Jersey and 17-season coach at Minnesota to be inducted in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville June 27, said of the game and Miles’ performance, “What forever reason we were back on our heels to start the game and it just felt like we kept scratching and clawing and that’s what we said to them.

“Give us a chance and fight, fight, fight. And let it fall, wherever it might. We put ourselves in position, we gave ourselves a chance,” she continued.

“We can’t give up 100 on the road. We gave ourselves a chance but obviously a lot of things we can do better.”

Minnesota is still without perennial MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who was expected to return this month from offseason surgery on both ankles.

“We just played one of the best teams in the league and (Miles) found her way through and she made some pretty big plays but we got to get more off our bench, they certainly did. Our starters have to do everything. There’s a lot of pressure on the starters. Defensively, we’re not there.

“This was a game (Miles) was curious what we were going to get, I was curious what we were going to get from ‘Liv knowing Becky was going to do something different, when you have a rookie like that … willing yourself at the end, that’s a special player.”

Fever Stays in Cup Hunt with Win Over Sun

Though Indiana has righted itself for now after a 4-4 month of May, questions keep coming up up over social media dissection of speculation of internal team discord with the generational star that Clark is.

“She quipped, according to ESPN, “I think it’s speculation. Opinions. I don’t know about reports.”

“I don’t think you’re talking about journalism,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “And so if we’re going to continue to create news from fans on social media or bots on social media, or whatever it may be, then that’s a problem, right? I think legitimate news sources need to report legitimate news.”

Clark now has 14 games in her three-year career with 25 points tying retired Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper for most within a player’s three years in the league.

It’s also the third time she’s had consecutive 25-point games.

The Fever continued to blow double digit leads but they are 3-1 in those games, the loss being the recent foul-plagued affair in New York.

“We had a lot of missed layups tonight,” Clark said. “And those are the little ones that can kind of help us sustain our lead rather than making it so much more difficult on ourselves.”

On the other side, the 2-13 ties the Connecticut record for worst 15-game start. Olivia Nelson-Ododa led the home folks with 12 points.

Wings Clipped by Fire

Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said prior to the game of withholding Bueckers, also saying she’ll be listed day-to-day after getting hurt during Thursday’s game with Minnesota, “Paige is who she is. Trust me, Paige wants to be on the floor tonight. But the best thing for her longevity, for her career, for the franchise is making sure we take care of her, and she takes care of her body.”

Portland’s Bridget Carlton scored 20, making 6-of-10 from deep, Iowa alum Megan Gustafson scored 16, Engstler scored 11, while Sarah Ashlee Barker and Carla Leite each scored 10 points.

Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points, rookie Azzi Fudd, the No.1 overall pick in April’s draft, scored 18, Aziaha James had 17, Jessica Shephard had 13 points and 14 boards, and Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist had five points with a pair of two boards and assists each.

Looking Ahead

On Sunday, Washington is at New York at 3 p.m., on NBA TV, which is now part of the League Pass package at no extra cost, and Atlanta is at Toronto the same time on League Pass.

With New York all agog after the NBA Knicks won their first title since the 1970s Saturday night it will be interesting to see how long the Liberty gets eclipsed in the city.

On Monday, Las Vegas at Dallas at 8 p.m. is on USA while at the same time League Pass will carry Phoenix at Minnesota.

At 10 p.m., Los Angeles at Golden State is on NBCSN and Peacock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru WNBA and UPSHOT Reports: Citron Buzzer-Beater Enables Washington to Ruin Expansion Toronto Comeback; Golden State Tops Seattle; Jacksonville Builds 2-Game UPSHOT Lead on Greensboro by Beating Groove

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

The NBA Finals are not the only place where dramatic shots at the finish are deciding outcomes.

In the same week the NBA New York Knicks won Game 4 on an offensive tip-in completing an all-time comeback from a 29-point deficit, Indiana and Washington followed some previous thrilling game enders in the WNBA’s 30th season Monday with the visiting Fever beating the Mystics on Caitlin Clark’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

On Thursday Indiana at home where Clark and Aliyah Boston became the first 30-point double-double duo in league history, the contest saw Chicago’s Skylar Diggins force overtime with a long 3-pointer at the end of regulation before the Fever prevailed.

On Friday night in the first of two games in the on-going intra-conference Commissioner’s Cup series card, it was Washington’s turn as second-year pro Sonia Citron completed a 17-point performance with what ESPN termed “a miraculous buzzer-beater” to clip expansion Toronto 86-85 thrilling a Mystics home crowd of 4,200 at the small CareFirst Arena.

In the other Friday night game later out in the Northwest second-year Golden State (8-5) barely survived a 19-10 fourth-quarter rally winning 76-72 over host Seattle (3-12) before a Storm crowd of 10,648 at ClimatePledge Arena which saw their team drop its eighth straight loss.

Also, on Friday night in the new four-team UPSHOT League the first-place Jacksonville Wave (6-2) won 82-70 on the road over the Greensboro Groove (4-4).

Citron Rescues Mystics Beating Tempo

In Washington’s win rookie reserve Lauren Betts, the fourth overall pick in April’s draft out of NCAA champion UCLA, had a season-best 18 points shooting 8-for-9 from the field.

Second-year pro Kiki Iriafen, an all-Rookie choice last season along with teammate Citron, was idle with an ankle injury suffered recently, and second-year pro Lucy Olsen out of Villanova and Iowa, did not get into the contest per Sydney John’s coaching decision.

Iriafen’s injury made Betts’ season-best 21 minutes possible to fortify the post slots.

Michaela Onyenwere, an offseason assistant coach at her alma mater UCLA, added 17 points while Shakira Austin had 12 points and 11 boards for her fifth double-double on the Mystics’ 2026 schedule.

Austin playing center also committed a WNBA season-worst nine turnovers, a career-high.

Overall, the Mystics overcame a season-worst 22 miscues and a mediocre long-range shooting with just two makes from deep in 18 attempts.

Toronto’s Marina Marbrey collected 18 of her 27 points in the final period with an overall 5-of-10 from distance, while Brittney Sykes scored 20 against her former team that dealt the Syracuse star to Seattle during last season before the Tempo took her in the expansion draft that also involved Portland.

The Washington poor ball handling allowed Toronto a season-high 18 steals, the most in the league behind 20 from Seattle last summer.

Washington held a 14-point lead with 3:21 left in the game.

Marbrey then went on a surge with three from the line, assisted on a layupand then nailed two from beyond the arc over 25 seconds and it became a two-possession game with 1:51 left in regulation.

Toronto, without leading scorer Nayara Sabally (12.4 ppg on 56% from the field) due to an ankle injury, continued to rally and the Tempo went ahead and held the lead with 2.1 seconds left and Washington in possession.

Betts got tied up with 2.1 left but tipped the ensuing jump ball to Citron for the winning shot, a fadeaway jumper.

“We drew up (the winning play) from a standpoint of never flinching and hanging in there,” Johnson said afterwards. “I thought we deserved some good luck. We’ve been grinding and we’ve been in some close games and big-time player Sonia is and Lauren was outstanding.

“It’s hard to win in this league this league is awesome, and it was more awesome that the Mystic came out with a win today.

“(Sonia) made a big-time shot. It’s good to celebrate that.”

On the other side following the heartbreaking finish, Toronto coach Sandy Brondello said, “We have to put 40 minutes together. We gave ourselves a chance and just got unlucky at the end. Great shot by Sonia.”

Valkyries Edge Storm

Janelle Salaun used five 3-pointers to overall score 22 points for Golden State while free agent Gabby Williams scored 19 against her former Seattle team.

The Valkyries led 69-57 with 4:23 left in regulation and then went cold the rest of the way from the field shooting 1 of 16 allowing the Storm rally.

Seattle was down a point with the ball, but rookie Flau’jae Johnson missed a layup and the visitors got two from the line from Tiffany Hayes with 21.3 left.

The Storm got back within a point with 13.4 remaining and then Williams got two from the line and Kiah Stokes blocked a Seattle attempted make from deep.

Hayes, a reserve, scored 17 from the bench while Veronica Burton had 11 points and eight assists.

Golden State was a near-perfect 20-of-23 from the line.

The Valkyries win ruined a career-high 26-point performance from free agent Natisha Hiedemann.

Before the Seattle closing surge, Golden State had gone ahead 59-44 in the third quarter as the visitors burst from the break on a 19-6 start to the period.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase praised Hayes, a former UConn star with 5,000+ points in the WNBA who put off retirement to join Golden State last season when they made their debut setting records such as 18,000+ sellouts for every game played to date at the Chase Center in San Francisco, total wins for an expansion team besides becoming a playoff qualifier.

“Five thousand points is incredible for a player who was maybe about to walk away from the game,” Nakase said. “She made two crucial free throws. Game on the line. I thought she stepped up with confidence. Even with the crowd trying to freeze her out.

“She did an amazing job coming in down the stretch. She made two blocks. Tough to win on the road. I thought it was the first time we felt that so I have to do a better job to prepare us for these road games.”

Looking Ahead

On Saturday, Connecticut hosts Indiana at 6 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network and Peacock while at 8 p.m. comes the blockbuster West showdown of Minnesota at Las Vegas.

League Pass has the other two games, Dallas at expansion Portland at 8:30 p.m., and Los Angeles at Phoenix at 10 p.m.

On Sunday, Washington is at New York at 3 p.m., on NBA TV, which is now part of the League Pass package at no extra cost, and Atlanta is at Toronto the same time on League Pass.

On Monday, Las Vegas at Dallas at 8 p.m. is on USA while at the same time League Pass will carry Phoenix at Minnesota.

At 10 p.m., Los Angeles at Golden State is on NBCSN and Peacock.

UPSHOT ACTION

In the the new four-team UPSHOT League, in Jacksonville’s road win over Greensboro to increase the Waves’s first place lead to two games over the Groove, now tied at 4-4 with the Savannah Steel, Ariel Hearn scored 19 points with six boards and six assists, Tennessee grad Rennia Davis had 18 points, and Lindsey Pulliam scored 13.

Greensboro got 20 points from Jessica Timmons, Philadelphia’s Diamond Johnson scored 16, Kamaria McDaniel scored 14, while Colorado grad Mya Hollingshed had eight points and nine rebounds.

Jacskonville coach Jess Bogia, a native of Philadelphia, said, “I thought we came out really locked into the defensive game plan early and showed with our ability to contain Diamond and Timmons.

“Our theme for the week was communication and sharing the ball. I saw a definite conscious effort to do that - passing up good shots for great shots,” she continued.

 

“Just overall happy with the way we executed the game plan. Now we get to do it all again tomorrow.”

 

The teams play again in North Carolina, Saturday at 4 p.m., while Sunday the Savannah Steel is back at the Charlotte Crown (2-6) at 2 p.m.

Games can be watched free on the league’s YouTube channel.

The Guru’s WNBA Report: Clark and Boston Set League Duo Mark in Indy OT Win; Liberty Moves to First in Cup East Race; ‘Vegas on Collision Course With Minnesota; Bueckers Explodes in Dallas Win

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

The Indiana Fever (7-5) blew another double-digit lead in their third straight Commissioner’s Cup contest Thursday night and then the two overall No. 1 draft picks Aliyah Boston (2023) and Caitlin Clark (2024) made WNBA history winning 114-106 in overtime over Chicago (4-9) before a home crowd of 15,578 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as the duo became the first paired teammates in the same game to have 30-point double-doubles.

New York (9-4) continued to roll with the Liberty’s sixth straight win with a 104-90 win at Atlanta (8-4) before 3,600 at Gateway Center in suburban College Park becoming the sole unbeaten team on the Eastern side of the intra-conference Cup race and in the driver’s seat to be one of the reps in the Cup championship game Tuesday, June 30.

Dallas (8-4) may not make it as the West rep, but the Wings are on track for the long-range goal making the playoffs as reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers exploded for a season-high 31 points leading to an 85-70 win over visiting Phoenix (4-10), last season’s playoffs runner-up before a home crowd of 6,251 at College Park Center in suburban Arlington.

Defending playoffs champion Las Vegas (9-3) stayed on a weekend West collision course with Minnesota (10-2) in the Cup race winning 105-89 at expansion Portland (6-8) before a Moda Center of 13,178 in Oregon as reigning MVP A’ja Wilson scored 32 points for her second straight game for the triumphant Aces and Chelsea Gray tied a WNBA record with a personal best nine 3-pointers finishing with 29 points.

On Tuesday in a game featuring the top two draft picks in April’s draft, Minnesota (10-2), at home and the overall standings leader in the playoff race at the quarter-season turn got 24 points from Olivia Miles, the number two pick, for the Lynx’s eighth straight win 100-76 over visiting Dallas, whose Azzi Fudd, the number one pick, was held to six before a Target Center crowd of 10,907 in Minneapolis.

Tuesday’s other games saw Atlanta’s Angel Reese, a third-year pro, acquired from Chicago in the offseason, score 17 points with 17 rebounds for her 57th double-double in an 82-75 win against her former Sky team before 6,921 at Wintrust Arena in the Windy City, the second visit back for Reese after the two teams had an unofficial meeting in the preseason.

Golden State (7-5), which joined the league last season, continued its lifetime nightly home sellout record of 18,064 at the Chase Center in San Francisco as the Valkyries got 25 points, 19 in the first half, from Veronica Burton in an 87-81 win over Phoenix, which was led by Harrisburg’s Alyssa Thomas with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

On Wednesday, expansion Toronto (7-5) at home at the Coca Cola Coliseum before a Canadian crowd of 8,210 got a career-tying best of 38 points from Brittney Sykes as the Tempo rallied to a 106-102 overtime win over Connecticut (2-12), which saw Aaliyah Edwards and French star Leila Lacan each score 24 points.

Toronto’s Marina Mabrey scored 21 points, rookie Laura Juskaite scored 19 and Nara Sabally scored 15.

In Wednesday’s other game, Los Angeles (6-6) got 24 points from Nneka Ogwumike in an 88-83 win over her former Seattle team of two seasons before a Storm (3-11) home crowd of 9,309 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Washington and she also grabbed nine boards to pass Rebekkah Brunson into fourth on the league career list.

Kelsey Plum added 19 points with 11 assists for the visiting Sparks while reserve Cameron Brink scored 15 and Dearica Hamby had 10 boards.

All five Seattle starters were in double figures in the Storm’s seventh straight loss led by Natisha Hiedeman with 16 points.

Boston and Clark Lead the Way in Fever Win

Aaliyah Boston had 34 points and 12 boards for Indiana while Caitlin Clark had 32 points and 10 assists in the win over Chicago.

The Fever seemed poised in regulation when Clark hit two from the lane with 18.9 left for a 98-93 lead, but a turnover led to a game-tying 3-pointer from free agent Skylar Diggins to send it into overtime.

Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, who had 19 points, got Indiana up seven in the extra period and Boston clinched it with two attempts from the line after Chicago, 1-for-7 in overtime, got within three at 24.1 seconds left.

Indiana was perfect at the line with 23 makes until a miss near the game’s end.

Lexi Hull had 11 points with eight boards for the winners, while Chicago’s Sydney Taylor off the bench had 30 points, Diggins had 21, Azura Stevens scored 10 with nine boards, Kamilla Cardoso also scored 10, as did Jacy Sheldon, and Saint Joseph’s grad and free agent Natasha Cloud scored six off the bench.

“They just played really confident and they moved the ball and it was exactly what we needed,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said of her star duo. “They’re elite in what they do. And the more experience they get at this level, the way people play us. They’ve already grown.”

It was Clark’s third career game with at least 30 points and 10 assists, a WNBA best per ESPN Research, and it was Boston’s second 30-point double-double.

As for losing leads, they got up 19 in the first half, White said, “We are at our best when we play with pace. We can’t play with pace if we’re constantly taking the ball out of the net and if we’re fouling.

“Again, we gave them 38 free throw attempts. It makes it tough. We have moments we’re really good and we have moments where we’re not. We took a step in our connectiveness tonight.”

Liberty Ride Stewart and Sabally to Showdown Win Over Dream

Both New York and Atlanta were unbeaten in Cup competition but the Liberty, still without Sabrina Ionescu, prevailed as Breanna Stewart had 19 points and 11 boards, and Satou Sabally had five threes for the visitors, making their second road stop this week after a seven-game home stand.

The Liberty were hot all night at 54% from the field and set a franchise record with five players reaching at least 16 points, the total reached by Jonquel Jones with 10 rebounds and five assists, while Marine Johannes had 17 points and passed former Rutgers great Cappie Pondexter for sixth best in the franchise with made 3-pointers.

Rookie starter Pauline Astier continued to be a steady substitute for Ionescu with 16 points.

Atlanta’s Reese just missed another double-double with 25 points and nine rebounds while Rhyne Howard scored 24 points and her five makes from deep made her the youngest ever in the league to have 400 career distance makes getting there in 147 games.

Allisha Gray added 18 points.

“We were playing basketball,” said Liberty first-year coach Chris DeMarco on whether it was the team’s season best outing. “The ball was moving. We were getting stops when we needed to and that was a key to the game plan.

“We were tough on the glass, and we had players make plays when we needed to.”

Atlanta second-year coach Karl Smesko said of the Dream loss, “Obviously, New York played it really, really well. They shot it really, really well.

“I though we competed really hard but had too many defensive breakdowns. Just couldn’t make that final run at the end. We’ll learn from it. We’ll get better, but today I thought New York was outstanding.”

Gray and Wilson Keep Aces in Pursuit of Lynx in Cup Race

Gray was 9-for-13 shooting deep, tying four previous players with that many, including Atlanta’s Howard, who did it twice last season.

“I had a couple of games where I was, ‘OK, I’m hitting them in practice, but not here,’ but you know, this is just about trusting the work,” Gray said.

“There is a real connection that we have, and you see that on the court,” Willson said.

Jackie Young had 18 points, 10 assists and eight boards for Las Vegas, while NaLyssa Smith had 12 points and Stephanie Talbot had 10 against Portland.

“It’s nice to have Jackie where you can get Chelsea off the ball, because she is a really good shooter,” winning coach Becky Hammond said. “A lot of times, the ball is in her hands and she’s getting us into offenses where she is passing. So, it’s nice to get the ball out of her hands and let her do some of the easier work.

“But I mean, her numbers are always up there. She flirts with 50-40-90 every year.”

It was the Aces’ first game against the Fire and thus the team said it took a bit to handle Portland’s formidable defense.

“I like Portland’s team,” Hammon said. “I think they’re feisty, but my team is feisty, too.”

The Fire’s Carla Leite had 18 points with eight assists, former Iowa star Megan Gustafson had 17 points, Sarah Ashlee Parker had 14 points, and Bridget Carleton scored 13.

Bueckers Leads Wings to Bounceback From Lynx Loss

Following Tuesday’s loss at Minnesota Paige Buecker’s big night quickly got Dallas righted while Phoenix’s struggles continued.

Jessica Shepard continued her fine free agent season with the Wings scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists.

A late Mercury rally reduced a 22-point deficit to 10 at 80-70 and then it died on a turnover leading to a three-point play from Li Yueru.

Azzi Fudd added 17 points to the Dallas total after being second fiddle to Olivia Miles in Minnesota.

Phoenix’s Lexi Held had 17 points while Philly native and Rutgers alum Kahleah Copper had 13 points on 3-of-10 from the field and Alyssa Thomas was held to six points with nine rebounds and 10 assists.

“I have an opportunity to coach a really good basketball team with a lot of weapons at both ends of the floor,” said Dallas first-year coach Jose Fernandez.

“It was great to see other guys step up especially when the ball didn’t go in the basket for a couple guys on our roster collectively. It was great to respond after a tough loss on the road.”

In the two games former Villanova star Maddy Siegriest was scoreless Thursday after scoring 4 in 22 minutes against the Lynx with seven rebounds.

Bueckers had 23 points in Tuesday’s game while Arike Ogunbowale scored 16.

Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts did not mince words after his team’s defeat.

“This was a step backwards tonight, as far as just our approach and our togetherness, and what it takes to win in this league,” he said.

In second-year Golden State’s win Tuesday over Phoenix, reigning coach of the year Natalie Nakase comparing her team’s attack to its previous game, said, “Visually it was better. The fight was better, I thought, individually, there’s a lot of growth, but we did lose the rebounding battle, but they did shoot a lot of threes which were hard to grab.

“So, overall, it was better. Today we came in with better intentionally to the game plan.”

Also on the high-end Tuesday, Kayla McBride had 22 points with 4 makes in 6 tries from deep for Minnesota, Natasha Howard scored 21, Courtney Williams had 16 points with eight rebounds, and Nia Coffey also grabbed eight boards.

Of Miles, veteran Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star out of South Jersey with four WNBA titles and an Olympic gold medal title for USA in 2024 in the Paris Games, now in her 17th season, said, “She’s special. We’ve had, obviously, good teams, legendary games, but it’s a different time now. And there’s an awareness – I’m hearing from people talking about our team, obviously talking about the rookie – that is palpable.”

Reeve, who will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville later this month, had no new word on the potential return later this month of perennial MVP candidate Napheesa Collier from offseason surgery on both her ankles.

Miles, the central New Jersey native, said after the game, “Fudd’s a great player, she deserved to go No. 1. She’s a brilliant shooter, one of the best we’ve ever seen in the game, but obviously, against any team, I love to compete.

“I love the matchup, Dallas has great guards,” she continued. “It’s always fun to play against someone who’s in your class and we’ve been completing since we were young.”

Wednesday’s Winners

Expansion Toronto coach Sandy Brondello on the first overtime win, beating Connecticut: “It says it we’re a resilient bunch. We weren’t happy the way we played. I said before the game, do not underestimate this team. They’re long, they’re physical. They made shots today. Just happy. We have a brief rest now and we play again.”

Los Angeles star Kelsey Plum: “Nneka was the MVP of our team tonight. I thought just her being so aggressive is what we need moving forward. She’s tremendous in that high paint area, decision-making, shot quality, shot efficiency.

“So, I thought her aggressiveness and kind of really just setting the tone for us was awesome. So yeah, we have multiple threats, inside-out scoring. We have a great shooting game, but I think that our post players were the reason that we were able to come through this game.”

Looking Ahead

The Friday twin bill on ION and League Pass features Toronto at Washington at 7:30 p.m.  and Golden State at Seattle at 10 p.m.

On Saturday, Connecticut hosts Indiana at 6 p.m. on the NBC Sports Network and Peacock while at 8 p.m. comes the blockbuster West showdown of Minnesota at Las Vegas.

League Pass has the other two games, Dallas at expansion Portland at 8:30 p.m., and Los Angeles at Phoenix at 10 p.m.

On Sunday, Washington is at New York at 3 p.m., on NBA TV, which is now part of the League Pass package at no extra cost, and Atlanta is at Toronto the same time on League Pass.

On Monday, Las Vegas at Dallas at 8 p.m. is on USA while at the same time League Pass will carry Phoenix at Minnesota.

At 10 p.m., Los Angeles at Golden State is on NBCSN and Peacock.

UPSHOT ACTION

This weekend in the new four-team UPSHOT League, the Greensboro Groove (4-3) are at the first place Jacksonville Waves (6-2) Friday night at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m., while Sunday the Savannah Steel (4-4) is back at the Charlotte Crown (2-6) at 2 p.m.

Games can be watched free on the league’s YouTube channel.