The Guru’s WNBA Report: Dallas Goes to 7-3 After Beating Los Angeles; Chicago Halts Slide Beating Connecticut; Phoenix Minus Harris and Copper Nips Expansion Portland

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

Three games featuring mostly likes meeting each other Friday in what was night five of the first week of intra-conference Commissioner’s Cup action resulted in single-digit differentials across the board.

The highlight was Dallas (7-3) continuing to be above the doormat status of last summer with its sixth win in the last seven games – a 104-98 victory at Los Angeles (4-6) before 12,828 at the Crypto.com Arena.

Chicago (4-6) got its first home win before 6,594 at Wintrust Arena snapping an overall five-game losing streak made possible in part that the 85-80 victory came over the visiting Connecticut Sun (2-10).

Phoenix (4-8) won its second straight game after ending a six-game skid, the 78-72 road triumph coming before a Moda Center crowd at expansion Portland (6-6), which is now 0-2 in early June after closing May in its first WNBA season at 4-1.

Wings Defeat Sparks

The rebuilt Dallas attack continues to shine after getting offseason help for reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers out of UConn with a new coach in South Florida’s Jose Fernandez, adding Azzi Fudd, her Huskies teammate, as the overall No. 1 pick in April, signing free-agent Jessica Shepard, and keeping Arike Ogunbowale, who six 3-pointers and 30 points against Los Angeles.

Bueckers had 18 points and a personal best 14 assists while Shepard double-doubled with a career-high 22 points and 15 boards with five assists. The assists tied Ogunbowale’s franchise record.

Villanova’s Maddy Siegriest had 10 points in the final period and 16 for the game while Fudd scored 11 and Dallas had  25-plus assists for the fourth time this season bringing the Wings their best 10-game start since relocating from Tulsa in 2016 and before that originated in Detroit.

The Motor City is getting a new WNBA team in 2029 a year after Cleveland returns in 2028 as an expansion unit and before Philadelphia brings the WNBA to 18 teams in 2030.

The win ruined the return of L.A.’s league-leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who missed the three prior games with an ankle injury and scored 27 points while Ariel Atkins collected 16 points.

Additionally, Dearica Hamby scored 15 points, Nneka Ogwumike had 13 points, 10 boards and five assists while reserve Cameron Brink scored 10 off the bench.

“There were some big plays in that fourth quarter,” Fernandez said. “Big deflections, big rebounds, total team effort. Good win. We have to rest up and see who will be available next week.

“Paige is such a great decision maker. We talk at timeouts about things we want to go to. Down the stretch I have total trust in her putting us in position to go to the things we want to go to.”

Off the season start and turnaround, he said, “I don’t think anybody in the country or around the league thought we’d be 7-3 right now. I did. Our staff and locker room did. It’s a credit to we learn from wins and we learn from those three losses, we had leads in the fourth quarter.”

Off the loss, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said, “It’s ironic, right? Last year, all we talked about was how we’re going to get better defensively, and we have. Now, it’s what’s wrong with the offense, which is the process.

“This will only be our second game where we have our whole roster, and while it’s not an excuse, it is a variable. So that will help. In terms of process, I went to see us play with more pace, and our spacing has to be better,” Roberts continued.

“In the last four minutes, they willed it to happen, and we didn’t. That’s unfortunate, but there are positives to take from it… Offensively, we can build on it. I think we were better (offensively), 25 assists on 36 shots, that’s good. Too many turnovers, especially in that fourth quarter. They just had some really timely… What I call 50-50 plays that could go either way but went their way and they capitalized on it.”

Sky Shine Over Sun

In Chicago’s win Skylar Diggins had 18 of her 24 points in the first half while on the back end Elizabeth Williams made two key shots in the final minute.

Tied following Diggins’ three-point play and the Sun’s Saniya Rivers’ make from deep to answer, Williams scored to make it 82-79 with48.9 left in regulation and her hook score with 14.5 made it a five-point lead.

Diggins then clinched it from the line.

Azura Stevens scored 13 for the Sky with 10 boards and Saint Joseph’s Natasha Cloud had 13 points, while Williams finished with all 10 of her points in the second half.

South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Connecticut’s Diamond Miller and Brittany Griner each scored 16 points while Rivers had 14 points and Aneesah Morrow scored eight and grabbed 17 boards.

“It was one of those quarters, but I was proud of the way we continued to fight back,” Chicago coach Tyler Marsh said of the Sky held to 11 points in the first quarter and then reversing with 32 in the next.

“It feels great,” Diggins said of the win and her changed approach in this one.. “Obviously it’s been a journey the last five games. The crowd’s been amazing. The city keeps showing up and Chicago really loves their sports. “The last few games we went down, I don’t like being down, and I wasn’t aggressive.”

Mercury Douse Fire

Playing without key starters Maryland grad Alyssa Thomas out of Harrisburg due to a left calf injury and Rutgers grad Kahleah Copper out of North Philadelphia due to a left hip condition, Phoenix was still able to handle expansion Portland with DeWanna Bonner getting a season-best 19 points and Natasha Mack scoring 16 points.

The game’s outcome was undetermined most of the night until Jovanna Nogic’s score with 2:46 left in regulation flipped the lead back to the visitors, who held on the rest of the way.

The line was key for the Mercury who was 19-for-22 and in the final three minutes five were 10-of-12 with Bonner perfect at 4-for-4.

Noemie Brochant and Monique Akoa Makami each scored 11 points for Phoenix.

Portland’s Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 15 with seven boards while Karlie Samuelson got off to hot start making her first four attempts from distance to account for most of her13 points.

The Fire, committing 20 turnovers, also got 11 points from Teja Oblak.

“It was a good opportunity for everybody to get some confidence and get some reps in,” Bonner said of missing Thomas and Copper. “Everybody stepped up. I think our bench can match everybody in the league. We just have a lot of great players.”

“We were consistent all night,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts. “One of our goals was try to keep people under 20 points. Everyone who played contributed in a certain way, especially on the defensive end.

“And that’s what it takes. Our two leading scorers are out. We had to guard at a high level. It’s been a tough start. You need this kind of win. We did a great job sharing it as the game went on.”’

Looking Ahead

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.

Sunday League Pass will air Chicago at Toronto at 3 p.m., while NBA TV at 7 will air Portland at Los Angeles.

Week two beginning Monday at 7 p.m. has League Pass airing New York at Connecticut while at the same time NBCSN and Peacock will air Indiana at Washington.

At 10 p.m. USA will telecast Seattle at Las Vegas.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., ESPN will air Atlanta at Chicago, while League Pass will televise Dallas at Minnesota at 8 p.m., and at 10 p.m. Phoenix at Golden State.

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.

The second and last game of this week in the new UPSHOT League airs at 4 p.m. Saturday with Charlotte hosting Savannah on the league’s free YouTube channel.

The Guru’s WNBA Report: Indiana and Clark Edge Atlanta While Miles Sets Rookie 3-Point Mark Propelling Minnesota Over Golden State

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

Just two games Thursday night in the Commissioner’s first week but each had plenty of excitement.

After a week of side drama for Indiana (5-4), beginning with cameras focused on a difference of opinion between superstar Caitlin Clark and coach Stephanie White during a timeout in Portland in a 100-84 blowout loss, followed by a team meeting Monday to get back on course, the Fever came back before a home crowd of 17,002 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to begin title defense of the Cup with an 83-71 victory over Atlanta (6-3).

Next up, the fabulous Olivia Miles rookie show continued in Minneapolis before a crowd of 9,105 at the Target Center where the collegiate star at Notre Dame and TCU out of Central New Jersey set a WNBA rookie record with eight 3-pointers leading the Lynx (8-2) to a narrow 87-84 triumph over two-year-old Golden State (6-4) for their sixth straight victory.

Fever Down Dream

Back in 1999 before Clark was born, a football movie Any Given Sunday had a scene in which Jamie Foxx as a third-team quarterback is thrust into a key game and vomits during a play.

At halftime Thursday, Clark managed to do likewise before shaking it off and finishing with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Fever snapped a two-game losing streak with their best defensive performance of the season.

“I haven’t puked that much in a really long time,” Clarke said afterwards. “But then I felt fine. I felt light. So, I was running around feeling good in the second half but feel OK. Obviously, I’m losing my voice a little bit. But I’ll be good.”

Indiana, tabbed preseason as a title contender with injury-riddled Clark recovered from just a limited 2025 summer, came into the game 13th in the 15-team league in defensive scoring at 89.0 but limited Atlanta to the Fever’s lowest output yield, also the Dream’s lowest offensively.

“I like our activity level,” White said. “Figuratively, of course, we hit first. We were the aggressor. We were active. We were anticipating. They felt us; they felt our energy. Our grit and our toughness was as good as it been all year long.”

Kelsey Mitchell, the former Ohio State great, led the Fever with 25 points and crossed the5,000-point plateau.

“Talent gets us there, but team camaraderie, and just being honest about where we are as a group keeps us there,” she said of Monday’s heart to heart internal conversations.

Indiana upset Atlanta in the first round last season despite missing Clark and a slew of others and nearly clipped eventual champion Las Vegas in the semifinals.

It was the first season meeting between the collegiate rivals Clark of Iowa and LSU’s Angel Reese, traded before opening day from Chicago, and booed all night by the partisan crowd, according to game reports.

Aliyah Boston added 19 points with seven rebounds for the winners while Rhyne Howard at eight and Allisha Gray were held to their lowest scoring totals this season.

“Tough one for us,” said Atlanta coach Karl Smesko, hired last year from a long successful run at Florida Gulf Coast. “We got off to a slow start, offensively. I give Indiana a lot of credit, they were locked in.

“Whenever we made a run, they came back with a big basket. Give them credit.”

Miles Powers Lynx Over Valkyries

Soon after Clark’s victory, her former rookie record was taken over by Minnesota’s Miles, the second overall selection in April’s draft behind UConn’s Azzi Fudd to Dallas.

Miles, the league’s rookie of the month, was 8-for-11 from distance, and 9-for-16 overall for 28 points, her best to date, with seven assists.

Not unbeaten with two losses, but still the Lynx are right where they were this time last season despite still missing MVP runnerup Napheesa Collier from offseason surgery on both ankles.

She had been listed as potentially back sometime this month.

Miles, meanwhile, talked about her start as a pro.

“It’s just a testament to my mindset and my confidence. It’s a lot of inner work to go and believe in yourself and constantly remind yourself that you deserve to be where you’re at. The support that I have here to go out there and hoop and be myself, it just allows me to be comfortable.”

Clark in 2024 as the overall No. 1 on the way to rookie of the year and New York’s Crystal Robinson in 1999 had the previous rookie long distance mark at seven.

Mile’s special 3-point performance ties Kayla McBride for the Lynx overall record while the rookie mark was six, set four times, most recently by retired Hall of Famer Maya Moore in 2011.

The record came after Miles had been 2-of-18 her previous nine games from deep, causing Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve to quip, “… was not on our bingo card but we’ll take it.”

“The last few games, we feel like she’s got opportunities to shoot the ball,” Reeve said. “She’s a good shooter… And so, we had been trending toward her being confident to take shots. Once she saw a couple go down, it felt like she was playing Baylor again, I guess.”

The Bears are a TCU rival in the Big 12 in the NCAA.

In her first ten games, Miles has scored or assisted on 317 points, one behind Dallas’ overall No. 1 Paige Bueckers out of UConn last season.

Clark’s rookie total was 312 in 10 games.

Courtney Williams added 17 points with seven rebounds, McBride had 14 with eight boards, and Natasha Howard had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Golden State, which is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league, had14, one more than the hosts, paced by reserve Janelle Salaun with 5-of-8 and 17 overall points while Cecilia Zanadalasini had four deep makes and 18 points, and reserve Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points but Gabby Williams was held to 2-for-10 from the field and five points.

“It came down to a couple of possessions in terms of execution,” said Golden State coach Natalie Nikase of the narrow loss, despite Miles’ big night for the opposition. “Boxing out the last couple, you need those rebounds.

“Giving up 14 offensive rebounds, not part of our game plan. Attention to detail, so give credit to them.”

Looking Ahead

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.

League-leading scorer Kelsey Plum, out the last three games with a right ankle sprain, is expected back for Los Angeles, coach Lynne Roberts saying at practice Thursday, “looks great. Hopefully, she can play.

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.

Sunday League Pass will air Chicago at Toronto at 3 p.m., while NBA TV at 7 will air Portland at Los Angeles.

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.

UPSHOT AND WNBA AWARDS

The first monthly player award of the new four-team UPSHOT League announced Friday by commissioner and co-founder Donna Orender, the second WNBA president, goes to first-place Jacksonville’s Ariel Hearn, a 2016 Memphis graduate with 17.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists for games in May.

In leading the Waves (5-2) to the top, she shot 43.4% from the field and 35.0% from deep along with 90.0% from the line.

The league’s second and last game this week on Saturday has the Charlotte Crown (1-6) hosting the Savannah Steel (4-3), tied with the Greensboro Groove (4-3), at 4 p.m. on the league’s YouTube channel

In the WNBA, expansion Toronto’s Marina Mabrey (21.0 ppg., 3.5 rpg., and 5.5 apg.) and Dallas’ Jessica Shepard (22.0, 20.0,10.0) were the respective East and West players of the week.

Atlanta’s Allisha Gray (20.4, 4.1, 1.3) and Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson (24.8. 8.1, 2.3) were the respective players of the month in the East and West, while expansion Portland’s Alex Sarma was named coach of the month.

Minnesota’s Miles’ rookie numbers in May were 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.9 assists.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s WNBA + UPSHOT Reports: Jones’ Vintage Night Carries New York Over Toronto While Phoenix Slide Ends; Jacksonville Balance Controls Charlotte

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

NEW YORK – Night three of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup series Wednesday brought two divisional games, one here at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn where a crowd of 14,574 was treated to what could be termed a large dose of nostalgia by the Liberty (6-4) who won their straight, a 97-62 victory over expansion Toronto ( 5-5) and former coach Sandy Brondello.

Out West Phoenix (3-8) snapped a six-game losing streak with a narrow 72-68 triumph at Seattle (3-8) before a Climate Pledge Arena crowd of 9,109 in the state of Washington.

In the new four-team UPSHOT League in the first of only two games being played this week Jacksonville (5-2) moved from a half-game lead to a full game over idle Greensboro (4-3) and Savannah (4-3) by gaining a 67-59 matinee road win at Charlotte (1-6), which will host Savannah in the other game Saturday at 4 p.m.

Liberty Take 3rd Straight Beating Tempo and Former Coach

George Washington grad Jonquel Jones gave a performance akin to an earlier time winning WNBA MVP honors playing with the Connecticut Sun but in this one helping her present team with 22 points and 17 rebounds.

It was the first meeting against Toronto coach Sandy Brondello, whom the Liberty let go after last fall’s first-round exit courtesy of Phoenix one season removed from the franchise’s only championship in New York’s then-28-year history dating to the league’s inaugural summer summer of 1997.

The game also paired two sisters against each other – Satou Sabally who signed with New York after being a force in Phoenix’s run to the championship series where the Mercury were dominated by Las Vegas winning a third title in four straight tries while Nyara was taken from the Liberty in the expansion draft.

Sidelined with an injured right hand but part of the homecoming delegation on Toronto was Isabelle Harrison who went to the Tempo in free agency.

“I always love seeing my sister, so that was great,” Satou said. “I love her so much and I’m just happy to see her thrive on an expansion team.”

Still out of action for New York was Sabrina Ionescu, who has played one game due to back issues.

Brondello got a loud ovation from the crowd during a video tribute to the three during a timeout early in the game.

“Coming back, obviously it was nice,” Brondello said. "Everyone moves around this league. Going back to an old team, and to get the appreciation that we get, that’s always special. The fans have been amazing. It’s a special group here and something that we’ll remember.”

Both expansion teams – the other Portland - bringing the WNBA to 15 members following the debut of Golden State last summer have done well so far.

“It was great to see them,” said Jones, the adopted daughter of Temple coach Diane Richardson. “Obviously, we made history in this building together.”

In this one, though, powered by Jones, trailing 22-17 early in the second quarter New York launched a 15-2 run bowtied by a pair of 3-pointers from Satou, the first over her sister in transition.

Satou only recently joined the action after dealing with a concussion suffered in the finals.

“I have a high expectation for myself, so I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there,” she said.

Breanna Stewart had 17 of her 19 points for the home club in the second half.

Jones is the fourth franchise player with 20 points and 15 rebounds and joined retired Hall of Famers Tamika Catchings and Lauren Jackson as the only ones with three3-pointers and 12 boards in a half.

Marine Johannes had 15 points and Leonie Fiebich had 14 and both were joined in double digits by rookie Pauline Astier with 10 points.

Liberty coach Chris DeMarco, hired from the NBA San Francisco Warriors’ staff to follow Brondello, was pleased with his team holding the Tempo to six 3-pointers.

“J.J. dominated this game. Dominated the game,” he said. “When she’s throwing the glass on two ends, it’s a huge lift for everyone else and they start putting two bodies on her.”

Toronto’s Marina Marbrey and Brittney Sykes each scored 17 points, but concern has arisen after late in the game first-round pick at sixth Kiki Rice out of NCAA champion UCLA had a shot blocked and her left leg bent backwards while landing.

Brondello, and Australian and coach of the Aussie nationals, had no update, hoping for the best.

As for Toronto’s early success, “I’m going to coach some great games, some good games, and I’m going to make some mistakes,” she said. “Let me learn by doing it. I’ve been doing this for quite a long time. I know what a winning culture looks like and a winning team.”

Mercury Finally Rises by Calming Storm

Rutgers grad and Philly native Kahleah Copper scored 16 points while Mercury teammate Natasha Mack matched it with her career-best while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Seattle’s newcomer Awa Fam had 18 points and Natisha Hiedemann scored 15 but the Storm dropped their fourth straight falling behind for good 61-59 on Copper’s shot with 5:37 left in regulation.

Copper going 4-for-4 from the line offset a late attempt.

Monique Akoa Makani scored 12 for Phoenix and DeWanna Bonner had half her 10 points in the last four minutes.

“We just really stayed together,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts. “We’ve played some really good teams lately and haven’t finished the way we wanted, so we stayed together, we had some different rotations, and we competed.”

Looking Ahead

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.

Sunday League Pass will air Chicago at Toronto at 3 p.m., while NBA TV at 7 will air Portland at Los Angeles.

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.

UPSHOT Action: Balance Carries Jacksonville

A 19-7 lead after the first period enabled the Waves jump in front of the host Crown and hold them off the rest of the way in Charlotte.

Ariel Hearn and Tennessee grad Rennia Davis each scored 12 points and Davis double doubled with 11 boards, while Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers scored 11 with seven boards, Northwestern’s Lindsey Pulliam scored 10 and Khayla Pointer just missed in double figures with nine points.

Jacksonville showed strength defensively keeping Charlotte’s Deja Kelly to 14 points and Saint Joseph’s grad Chloe Welch had 10 points in 20 minutes.

The Crown’s Ugonne “Michelle” Oniyah had a near double-double with 8 points and 8 boards.

“I wouldn’t say it was our prettiest win of the year, but anytime you can get a win on the road in this league it’s a good day,” said Jacksonville coach and Philadelphia native Jess Bogia.

“I thought we did a good job of staying composed when they made their run in the fourth quarter. We’ve been talking a lot about staying connected and together while continuing to defend and rebound when things get tight – and I thought we did just that,” she continued.

“We got contributions from all over – but particularly; Rennia Davis and Lindsey Pulliam – they were huge on the glass and came up big when we needed defensive stops.”

Bogia, who said in forming her team she managed to get to either one practice or game of each Big Five school, except Saint Joseph’s, noted Chloe was very solid for Charlotte.”

UPSHOT Statistically Speaking

After a month, the league’s top player is leading scorer and Philly native Diamond Johnson of the Greensboro Groove, who played at Rutgers, N.C. State and Norfolk State, and is averaging 21.3 points per game while teammate Kamaria McDaniel is close behind at 18.4, and then bunched in are Charlotte’s Kelly (17.3), Jacksonville’s Hearn (17.0) and the Savannah Steel’s Lasha Petree.

Charlotte’s Oniyah leads in rebounds at 9.5, Kelly in assists at 5.2, Petre in blocks at 2.6, and Maria Gakdang in blocks at 1.1.

UPSHOT games air free on the league’s YouTube channel.