With the WNBA season in full swing in its third week, we can finally see the players and teams stepping up. You can immediately see that the league is brimming with talent—and the All-Star voting also began last Thursday, June 6, to determine the best of the best.
Games of the week
The Connecticut Sun made a statement win over the Las Vegas Aces last Friday, overwhelming them with a 17-point lead to take down the same team who had beaten them for the WNBA Championship in the same building nine months prior.
DeWanna Bonner led the Connecticut Sun with a career-best 41-point performance, setting a franchise record en route to the 94-77 victory–-the first loss of the season for Las Vegas (7-1).
Speaking of good performances, we have Nneka Ogwumike finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds to propel the Los Angeles Sparks to a big 77-62 win over the Chicago Sky last Friday night. It’s always a fun watch between these two very scrappy teams who are both outperforming expectations this season.
Everyone was excited to see the matchup of Aliyah Boston versus Brittney Griner in the Indiana Fever-Phoenix Mercury contest. The Fever lost another close game though as they fell to Phoenix, 82-85.
Fever rookie and No. 1 pick Boston had her lowest scoring output of the season, registering just four points against the 6’9 center Griner who easily blocked Boston from getting good looks in the paint. Griner controlled the paint at the first sound of the buzzer, scoring 29 points that lift her team up for their second win of the season.
Team in the spotlight
The ball club that deserves the spotlight this week is the New York Liberty. They were able to overcome another deficit to defeat the Dallas Wings in their return to Barclays Center last Sunday. Two of the WNBA’s star projects battled it out until the end, with familiar faces stepping up for the Liberty.
Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Courtney Vandersloot are shaking up the league as they continue to impress offensively.
They’re definitely the team to watch after all the excitement of Stewart’s recent game-winning jumper against Chicago last week to her one-of-a-kind stat line of 32 points, nine rebounds, and five assists with 70% shooting against the solid Wings Team.
Big-time baller
A’ja Wilson is Her.
In the past week, Wilson became the second fastest player in WNBA History to reach 3,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds, and 250+ blocks.
A look at the bucket that put @_ajawilson22 at 3,000+ career points 👏
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 9, 2023
📺 @PrimeVideo pic.twitter.com/mW1Wfj6S7V
Watch out for..
You know that it’s going to be a good one for when the Sparks meet with the Wings this coming week.
In need of a fresh start, the Sparks hired Curt Miller, who had led the Sun to the playoffs for six straight seasons, including two Finals appearances. They have a retooled roster and would figure out if they can overpower a squad like the Dallas Wings who looks like they’re eyeing for a breakthrough this season.
Both like to play with pace, and have their own quirks in rotating the ball which will make this matchup interesting.
