The Guru WNBA Report: Minnesota Rallies at Dallas as Rookie Miles Continues to Shine; New York Routs Expansion Portland; UPSHOT League Begins Friday Night

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

Game one of Thursday night’s WNBA twin bill on Amazon Prime was a preview in some way of the league’s future showcasing pieces of the younger talent though the veterans still came up big in a tight battle in which Minnesota (2-1) rallied to win 90-86 at Dallas (1-2) before a crowd of 5,982 in suburban Arlington at the College Park Center

Then New York’s bench produced the blowout that shockingly didn’t live up to Tuesday’s forecast when expansion Portland pulled an upset at the finish for the franchise’s first win, the Liberty (3-1) dousing the host Fire (1-2) in a 100-82 romp before a crowd 13,087 at the Moda Center in Oregon.

Lynx Edge Wings

In Game One, in which the top two picks of last month’s draft were involved, rookie Olivia Miles, the Central New Jersey native and second overall selection out of TCU, fed Natasha Howard with the tiebreaker to an uncontested layup with 51 seconds left in regulation and then Kayla McBride nailed 3-of-4 from the line in the final 17.1 seconds to deprive the Wings.

Howard finished with 26 points, Courtney Williams scored 21 playing against her South Florida college coach Jose Fernandez in his first season at the helm of the Wings, and Miles had 15 points with six assists while McBride shooting 9-of-line free throw attempts led her to11 points.

The Lynx had the best guns in Texas shooting 60% with Nia Coffey adding 13 points and joining McBride with eight boards each.

Reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers had a game-high 27 points including 10-of-11 from the line for Dallas, fourth-year pro Maddy Siegrist out of Villanova off the bench scored 17 in the first half, Odyssey Sims had 11 and number one overall pick Azzi Fudd off the bench, who was rested Tuesday night, scored eight in her second league game.

Siegrist, the all-time scorer at Villanova and second overall for men and women in the Philadelphia area, was 7-for-10 across the first two quarters as the Wings built a 12-point lead but Minnesota came back in the second quarter on a 9-0 run.

Miles is the only player in the 30-year history of the WNBA to post 10+ points and 5+ assists in each of their first three games joining Sue Bird and Candace Parker, and is the fifth joining the duo along with 2024 rookie of the year Caitlin Clark and Nikki McCray to average 15+ points and 5+ assists.

“We couldn’t play any worse first half, defensively, we were very, very disapointed,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star from South Jersey. “We really committed at halftime to play like we know how to play and take away some things we knew they were going to do.

“I think Nia Coffey has really defined our toughness. I can’t say enough what Nia did, obviously when the game was in the balance the rookie took it over.”

Fernandez was not happy this one got away, the second straight home loss following Saturday’s season-opening win at Indiana.

“I know there’s selfishness in this locker room,” he said he told the team. “There is, and you gotta look in the mirror and be accountable on how you played, and don’t get upset. If you think that you should have played more, or you didn’t play enough, or you didn’t get the shots that you think you should have gotten.

“Really good teams, they don’t give a (expletive) about that. Know what they give a (expletive) about? Give a (expletive) about winning, because that’s what matters.

“The ball didn’t move as it should,” he said of the decline in assists in the second half.

Liberty Rout Fire

Later out in the Northwest, New York ‘s bench had eight makee from deep and scored 41 points two days after collecting just 11 in Tuesday’s loss to Portland,

Alex Fowler, who played at nearby Portland in college and signed a developmental contract for the still short-handed Liberty earlier in the day, got one more than that, while starter Breanna Stewart scored 22, Rebekah Gardner scored 14 and Julie Vanloo on a hardship deal got all nine points on three makes from distance.

Sabrina Ionecu and free-agent signee Satou Sabally have missed all four games.

Rookie free-agent Pauline Astier out of Frqnce, who has played in place of Ionescu, had 20 and reached 67 over all four games with 16 boards and 15 assists, joining Parker, Clark and Tamika Catchings as the only players reaching those marks their first four games.

Marine Johannes had a career-high 11 assists while overall New York had 32 helpers.

Portland’s Megan Gustafson scored 14 and Haley Jones had 10 while Nyadiew Puoch scored 13 points with Bridget Carleton and Emily Engstler scored 11.

The Liberty took a slim 39-37 lead at the half on former Rutgers star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s layup and then the visitors exploded making 11-of-14 from the field and outscoring the Fire 31-16 in the third quarter and building a 22-point lead in the fourth.

“The world works in crazy ways,” said Fowler of her return to Portland. “This just lined up perfect for me. I didn’t think I’d be here yet in the ‘W,’ and it’s just amazing the talent we have lined up around here. It’s been pretty special. I’ve seen a few people.”

‘We’re trying to put together 40-minute games, and we didn’t have the best first half,” said New York first-year coach Chris DeMarco.

Looking Ahead

All four Friday games are on League Pass beginning with Connecticut hosting Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. for a second visit in three nights from the Aces, while ION joins the other three: Indiana hosting Washington at 7:30 p.m., and at 10 p.m., Los Angeles hosts Toronto, and Phoenix hosts Chicago.

The league is dark Saturday.

On Sunday, NBC returns to the WNBA telecast fold for the first time since early in the league’s history.

The main network and Peacock will air the Las Vegas game at Atlanta at 1:30 p.m., while at 6 p.m., the NBC Sports Network and Peacock will televise Seattle at Indiana.

League Pass has the other two games – Chicago at Minnesota at 7 p.m. and Toronto at Los Angeles at 7 p.m.

The NBC Sports Network and Peacock come back Monday night at 8 p.m. for Washington’s visit to Dallas followed at 10 p.m. on League Pass when Connecticut visits Portland.

Upshot League Begins

The new pro league under commissioner Donna Orender, the former Queens College standout in New York who was the second president of the WNBA, begins in two cities with its four teams Friday night.

Jacksonville and Greensboro which are hosting the two openers against Charlotte and Savannah are reporting sellouts.

Media stories describe the operation equivalent to the NBA G-League but Orender prefers to call it a league of opportunity.

The league games are on its UPSHOT YouTube Channel for free and on Thursday the league announced a 15-game national schedule on Scripps ‘new FAST channel platform. There is also local over-the-air coverage in the four markets.

Tip times for Charlotte at Jacksonville and Savannah at Greensboro are at 7 p.m.

The league website is at upshotleague.com

Local Coaches Honored

All six Big 5 women’s coaches at the inaugural Philadelphia Sports Legacy Honors presented by Major League Baseball will receive the first Dawn Staley Legacy Award next Wednesday at the Alan Horowitz “Sixth Man” Center at 7 p.m.

The Eagles’ Jordan Mailata will receive the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizen Award among several other honors being made.

Tickets are limited but go to legacyhonors@pysc.org for inquiries.

The Guru WNBA Report: Clark and Mitchell Power Indiana at L.A. While Expansion Toronto Gets First Win; Connecticut Routed by ‘Vegas Hours After Sale to Houston Approved by WNBA and NBA Boards

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

If there was any rust on Indiana’s Caitlin Clark in the Fever’s narrow season-opening loss at home Saturday returning after being out with injuries since mid-June last season, it all came off except for long-range scoring late Wednesday night, the former Iowa great and 2024 rookie of the year scoring 24 points and dealing nine assists while Kelsey Mitchell added 24 and the Fever (1-1) on the West Coast got their first win 87-78 over Los Angeles (0-2) before a crowd of 12,605 at the Crypto.com arena in Southern California.

A night after expansion Portland quickly got its first win, expansion Toronto (1-1) gained its first triumph delighting a home crowd of 8,142 at the Coca Cola Coliseum in Canada with an 86-73 victory over Seattle (1-2).

Las Vegas (2-1) is expected to strongly contend for its fourth title in the last five seasons while Connecticut (0-3) is expected to be lottery bound again in its final season in New England and the two teams looked that far apart as the visiting defending champions romped to a 98-69 win before a crowd of 5,452 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The sellout streak of 18,064 at the Chase Center in San Francisco begun with Golden State’s debut last season continued in the fourth and other game of the night but the weekend sweep to start 2026 last weekend hit a speed bump, the Valkyries (2-1) losing 69-63 to Chicago (2-0) which with Atlanta are the only two clubs in the 15-team league left unbeaten while L.A. and Connecticut are the only duo without a win in the WNBA’s opening week in the 30th season that got under way Friday night.

Fever Top Sparks

It looked to be a rout when Clark’s first 3-pointer in seven attempts put Indiana up 78-63 put then the Sparks with 4:51 remaining in regulation erupted on an 11-3 run ending with Kelsey Plum’s shot to narrow the deficit to 83-76 with 1:23 remaining but after the Fever lost the ball on the next possession, Plum missed a chance to keep it going, not connecting on an open three, and Clark fed Mitchell inside to make it 85-76 at the 33.2 seconds mark.

Sophie Cunningham added 12 points to the winning attack, Monique Billings had nine points and eight boards, and Aliyah Boston who fouled out with 3:32 left had four points and seven boards.

Additionally, Myisha Hines-Allen picked up her 500th career assist.

Plum scored 25 for the Sparks, while Dearica Hamby collected 16 while former Stanford star Cameron Brink had 11 points and blocked three shots, while Nneka Ogwumike and Rae Burrell each scored 10 points.

Los Angeles starter Ariel Atkins was sidelined with a head injury the rest of the game are leaving 16 minutes into the action.

Former Saint Joseph’s star Laura Ziegler who played last season in Louisville who went undrafted is one of two two players signed to a developmental deal by Los Angeles after given a training camp deal.

“Laura is a versatile big, whose high basketball IQ and efficient shooting embody our style of play,” said Sparks General manager Raegan Pebley of the Denmark native. “She rebounds well on both sides of the ball and thrived in a new role with Louisville this past season, showcasing her adaptability. We’re excited to see her develop within our system.”

Ziegler can play 12 games in her role under the new CBA.

Indiana shot 56% in the first half.

“What I can do best for my team is make plays for my teammates and I know that,” said Clark of her long-range skill still a bit off.”

Of the officiating, Indiana coach Stephanie White who was on a committee to improve things said,” We said, ‘call everything,’ which is going to frustrate players but there will be a calibration.

“But this felt like last year and what the coaches want is consistency, which is frustrating.”

Tempo Quells Storm

Before the game, Toronto coach Sandy Brondello, formerly with New York, was asked to react to Portland’s first win.

“This isn’t going to be a competition,” Brondello said of the two new teams. "We’re going to have our ups and downs.”

The Tempo then proceeded to have an ups as Marina Mabrey scored 26 points propelled by six makes from deep, while Brittney Sykes scored 18 with eight rebounds and six assists.

Mabrey and Maria Conde combined for 14 points in the third period when Toronto wrnt on an 18-6 run to go ahead 65-56.

Then the former Notre Dame standout opened the first six minutes of the final quarter with eight more coming from a pair of threes within a minute for an 81-71 advantage.

Seattle was near scoreless with one made field goal in the funalsix minutes.

Conde, a reserve, had 16 points while first-round pick Kiki Rice from NCAA champion UCLA scored12.

Seattle’s Dominique Malonga, one of the top rookies last season, scored 21 with seven boards, former UConn star Stefanie Dolson scored 16, reserve Jade Melbourne had 14 points and six helpers, snd rookie Flau’jae Johnson, the number eight pick out of LSU, had seven points shooting 2-for-7 from the field.

The Storm had a narrow 45-44 lead at the half.

“It was a good game for us,” Brondello said. “We talked about game one for us we were very clunky.

“We think we can get some runs if we get some stops. But we shared the ball.”

Aces Rout Sun

Earlier in the day Connecticut became an official lame duck when the NBA and WNBA board of governors unanimously approved the sale from the Mohegan tribe, who bought the former Orlando Miracle in 2003, to to Tilman J. Fertitta, who will relocate the team next season to Houston, the Texas city that saw the former Comets win the first four WNBA titles (1997-2000).

As part of its farewell in New England the Sun will host games May 30 and July 2 in Hartford at the PeoplesBank Arena, which is one of UConn’s home sites, and another return to Boston at the NBA Celtics’ TD Garden on Aug. 18, which saw sellouts the past two seasons.

Word originally reported the Sun’s move to Boston, but the league negated to move, favoring Houston, which was edged out in last summer’s expansion announcement of returning to Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and gaining Philadelphia (2030).

In Wednesday’s game, Chennedy Carter shot 13-of-16, scoring, 27 points, while reigning and four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson had 14 of her 27 points in the third quarter, and 11 rebounds overall for her 121st career double-double.

Jackie Young added 11 and Las Vegas shot 54% from the field in the first half. Jewell Loyd also scored 11, and Cheyenne Psrker-Tyus scored 10.

The Aces dominated the boards 46-29.

Connecticut’s Aneesah Morrow had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Olivia Neldon-Ododa scored 14 while Brittney Griner (left foot) and Aaliyah Edwards (left thigh) were sidelined with injuries.

“I kind of like road trips early in the season,” said Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon. “You kinda get in that foxhole and get to know each other.

“A lot times at home it’s distractions, family members and what-not. As far as chemistry, we’re still very much in teaching mode getting our system in place.”

Sky Stop Valkyries

Former Tennessee star Rickea Jackson hit a late 3-pointer and scored 18 for Chicago, whose coach Tyler Marsh and Golden State’s Natalie Nakase served as assistants together to Hammon in Las Vegas.

Former Notre Dame great Skylar Diggins, a free-agent signee, had 15 points, seven assists and five boards while Jacy Sheldon scored 12, and former Saint Joseph’s star Natasha Cloud made her debut, scoring seven points off the bench with four rebounds.

The Vakyries’ Gabby Williams scored 18 points, Veronica Burton scored 16, and Kiah Stokes scored 11.

“I’m really proud, we came together, they’re (GS) a really loud crowd, it was a test for us. It’s a great win on the road,” Sheldon said.

Of Cloud, who was on New York last season, Jackson smiled and said, “Energy, that’s just Taj. She came to practice; you just feel her aura.

“To have that veteran just instills confidence in us.”

Golden State is off until next Thursday, heading East when New York returns to Brooklyn.

Looking Ahead

The Thursday night Amazon Primetime doubleheader has Dallas hosting Minnesota at 8 p.m. and Portland hosting New York at 10 p.m., as the Liberty try to even their Northwest visit.

All four Friday games are on League Pass beginning with Connecticut hosting Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. for a second visit in three nights from the Aces, while ION joins the other three: Indiana hosting Washington at 7:30 p.m., and at 10 p.m., Los Angeles hosts Toronto, and Phoenix hosts Chicago.

The league is dark Saturday.

On Sunday, NBC returns to the WNBA telecast fold for the first time since early in the league’s history.

The main network and Peacock will air the Las Vegas game at Atlanta at 1:30 p.m., while at 6 p.m., the NBC Sports Network and Peacock will televise Seattle at Indiana.

League Pass has the other two games – Chicago at Minnesota at 7 p.m. and Toronto at Los Angeles at 7 p.m.

The NBC Sports Network and Peacock come back Monday night at 8 p.m. for Washington’s visit to Dallas followed at 10 p.m. on League Pass when Connecticut visits Portland.

The Guru WNBA and NCAAW Report: Portland Upsets New York for First Franchise Win; Minnesota and Atlanta Also Gain Narrow Victories

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

All three WNBA games Tuesday night went deep into fourth quarter before the winning teams were decided as expansion Portland went to 1-1 for the franchise’s first ever victory stunning still-shorthanded New York 98-96 before a crowd of 12,386 at the Moda Center in Oregon to hand the Liberty (2-1) their first loss.

Atlanta (2-0) ruined the home opener of Dallas (1-1), winning 77-72 before a crowd of 6,251 at the College Park Center in suburban Arlington, the host Wings missing overall No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd out of UConn with a knee injury.

Minnesota (1-1) bounced back from its weekend home loss delivering a bit of a payback for last season’s semifinals elimination by Phoenix (1-2) handing the host Mercury an 88-84 setback before a crowd of 10,826 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in the venue where UCLA handled South Carolina last month to win its first NCAA Women’s Final Four and second national collegiate title overall.

And in an outside news item the WNBA and Disney reported that Saturday’s Dallas narrow win at Indiana spoiling the return of Caitlin Clark drew 2.5 million average viewers on ABC, the  second most watched regular season league game ever.

The league also announced All-Star tickets for the weekend extravaganza returning to Chicago July 24-25 will go in sale May 19.

Dream Clip Wings

Atlanta’s Allisha Gray scored 26 points, and Angel Reese, the third-year pro coming over in a trade from Chicago, continued to do her double-double thing with 12 points and 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass that was an o-board better than Dallas as a team.

Reese out of LSU now has 51 double doubles after Saturday became the second youngest WNBA player behind the recently retired Tina Charles to reach 50.

Jordin Canada scored 19 for the Dream, with seven boards and five assists, while Rhyne Howard collected 14 but Brionna Jones was sidelined with a right knee injury.

Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale had 20 points, reigning rookie of the year Paige Bueckers scored 15 points while Jessica Shepard had 12 points with eight rebounds.

Atlanta started the fourth with a 15-6 run concluding with a contested 3-pointer from Canada with 3:34 left in regulation for a 73-65 lead.

 As for Fudd, who did not start in Saturday’s win because first-year coach Jose Fernandez wanted all veterans for now in his first five, he said ahead of the game she was being rested “out of an abundance of caution, and long-term health.

“It’s a long season, she just finished a long season, we have to put her in the best position to be success. She’s going to have a great season.”

Gray said of playing with Reese, “She’s always a positive person no matter what state we are in a game, bringing us together, she’s such a hard worker. And she’s such a great person as well.”

Fire Edge Liberty

All those media places that rushed to an immediate power ranking after the league’s opening weekend placing New York at the top and predicting a Monday blowout found the choices did not age well.

Bridget Carleton had a career-best 26 points for Portland with five makes from deep but after New York was assessed a three-second violation with 13.8 seconds left in regulation and the score tied, Carleton missed a game-winner from distance but Sarah Ashlee Barker cleaned it up with rebound and a putback beating the clock followed by her teammates piling on top of her in celebration.

Barker had five points in 22 minutes as a substitute while Carla Leite scored 21 with six helpers and Luisa Geiselsoder and Kamiah Smalls each collected 13 points.

The win negated five New York starters scoring in double figures led by rookie Pauline Astier starting in place of the injured Sabrina Ionescu scoring 24 points while Marine Johannes scored 18.

Jonquel Jones had 17 points, Breanna Stewart had 16 points, 10 boards, and four blocks, while Rutgers grad Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 10 points.

The long ball was working both sides, the teams combining for 28 makes from deep.

Ionescu’s Oregon college coach Kelly Graves was among the crowd.

The Saturday crowd of 19,000 plus was the second largest for a home opener in WNBA history.

Satou Sabally also was again on the sidelines for New York, which blew a 51-38 lead existing in the first half before shaved the deficit to 54-47 at the break.

With the league using a travel saver on road trips the two teams will play again in Portland Thursday.

Lynx Top Mercury

Nia Coffey took rookie Olivia Miles’ feed for an easy 3-pointer and four-point lead with 25.6 seconds left in regulation and then Miles, the newcomer out of Central New Jersey and Notre Dame and TCU, the second overall pick, rebounded a missed distance shot with 13.2 left and went 1-for-2 from the line to secure Minnesota’s victory.

Kayla McBride scored 14 points for the Lynx, while Coffey and Miles each with 13 points, Coffey with three long makes and 10 rebounds, additionally, and Miles with six boards and seven assists, and Courtney Williams and Emma Cechova each scored 11.

Napheesa Collier, the runner up MVP, off surgery on both ankles, is sidelined for the visitors until June.

The loss ruined Philly Kahleah Copper’s night, the Rutgers grad scoring 30 for Phoenix while DeWanna Bonner scored 16 and Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and eight assists.

Natasha Mack added 10 boards and nine points for the Mercury who got half of their first half makes from beyond the arc.

“Nia turned down the first open one and then it came back to her, and she was wise to take that second shot and glad she did,” said Minnesota coach and La Salle grad Cheryl Reeve. “It was big for us.

“We’re happy overall with our response to some things we didn’t do well last game like rebounding.”

On the other side, “We gotta understand every night in this league you have to come to play,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts. “I don’t think we competed at the level that we needed to.”

Looking Ahead

On Wednesday, Toronto hosts Seattle at 7 p.m. on league pass, Connecticut hosts Las Vegas at 8 as USA becomes part of the national platforms, while at 10 p.m., Golden State hosts Chicago at 10 p.m. on League Pass and Los Angeles hosts Indiana at 10:30 p.m. on USA.

The Thursday night Amazon Primetime doubleheader has Dallas hosting Minnesota at 8 p.m. and Portland hosting New York at 10 p.m.

All four Friday games are on League Pass beginning with Connecticut hosting Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. while ION joins the other three: Indiana hosting Washington at 7:30 p.m., and at 10 p.m., Los Angeles hosts Toronto, and Phoenix hosts Chicago.

The league is dark Saturday.

College News

Former La Salle star Molly Masciantonio will return to her alma mater as an assistant coach to Mountain MacGillivray this season.

Saint Joseph’s will return last season’s visit by Penn State.

Earlier this week, the Lady Lions announced former great Susan Robinson Fruchtl, who had been employed at her alma mater, will join alum and first-year coach Tanisha Wright’s staff as senior director of advancement and strategic relations.

Earlier former PSU scoring great Kelly Mazzante also joined Wright’s staff.

The Ivy League announced that in the men’s and women’s four-team each Ivy Madness tourney returning to The Palestra, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, with the expansion of the NCAA tourney, the men will play on Friday and Saturday as a precaution if the rep lands a low seed to allow a second open day ahead of travel.

Both genders played the same days Saturday and Sunday when the first two Ivy events were held but when rotation began and smaller arenas became sites, the women moved to Thursday practice and Friday and Saturday games.

No word yet if the women will back up one day or maintain the same calendar.

Villanova, whose Pope Leo XIV is an alum and whose men and women will open the NCAA season in Rome against Notre Dame on Sunday, Nov. 1 – the women 12 p.m. on FS1, the men 9:30 a.m. on FOX, will meet LSU in the field of the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida the weekend of Nov. 27 and Nov. 28.

The ‘Cats, who will also play Kansas State, and Tigers last met in 2003, LSU winning 63-56, but nearly met twice recently in the NCAA tourney – in 2023 Maddy Siegrist’s senior year when Villanova lost to Miami, and last season in Baton Rouge when ‘Nova lost to Texas Tech.

UConn and South Carolina will meet Nov. 24 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, the first meeting since Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks upset the Huskies in the NCAA semifinals followed by a postgame dustup between Geno Auriemma and Staley.

Auriemma spoke to Staley several days later and both Hall of Famers said they were moving on after making peace.

The second game will match defending champion UCLA and St. John’s.