Game of the week
Earlier today, the New York Liberty played arguably their best game of the season, rallying from a 17-point first quarter deficit and outlasting the Washington Mystics in overtime.
Stewie is CLUTCHHHH @breannastewart pic.twitter.com/fRHO7aIwI0
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 25, 2023
Breanna Stewart hit the go-ahead shot in OT and Courtney Vandersloot hit the layup that tied the game at the end of regulation. But it was Sabrina Ionescu who sparked New York's comeback and kept them in the game.
KNOCK. THEM. DOWNNNN 👌 @sabrina_i20 pic.twitter.com/TUl5OB7Ceh
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 25, 2023
She finished with 31 points off seven triples with six assists. Ionescu out-dueled Washington’s Ariel Atkins, who went for 24 points on 6-for-7 shooting from downtown. New York has been awesome this season, currently sitting at second in the Eastern Conference with a 9-3 record. They’re still only scratching the surface of their newly assembled lineup.
Big-time baller
Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas made history today, recording her fourth career regular season triple-double, putting her first all-time in that category.
Thomas passed Ionescu and Candace Parker in career triple-doubles in their comfortable win over the Chicago Sky. The three-time all-star had 14 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in the dominant performance. That was her second triple-double of the week after hanging 13 points, 15 boards and 14 assists on the Seattle Storm last Wednesday.
With the Sun at the top of the Eastern Conference and averages of 14.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists, it’s hard to make a case for anyone else as MVP.
Team in the spotlight
The Connecticut Sun are the hottest team in the league outside of the league-leading Las Vegas Aces. The Sun are 6-1 on the young season after notching three straight wins over Indiana, Minnesota, and Dallas this past week.
Who would have thought that a team without its MVP (Jonquel Jones) and longtime coach (Curt Miller) would start this strong? But credit their veteran core of Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones. This trio is averaging nearly 44 points per game while also doing the heavy lifting in rebounding and assists. Tiffany Hayes, one of Atlanta’s go-to players in the past decade, has fit seamlessly in Connecticut as the team’s fourth-best scorer with 12.9 points per game.
Credit also coach Stephanie White for getting her players to buy into her system and stay locked in. Defensively, the Sun remain deadly as ever, using their length and physicality to disrupt opponents. Just ask Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale and her 3-for-16 shooting performance in Connecticut’s previous game.
Watch out for…
The Sun and Liberty meet for the third time this season on Wednesday. They split their first two matchups with the Sun taking the season opener and the Liberty dominating two weeks ago. They are the top teams in the Eastern Conference and have numerous All-Stars candidates on their roster.
Then on Saturday, the league-leading Las Vegas Aces visit New York to take on the Liberty. The Aces won their first meeting this season in Las Vegas. The Aces, so far, have been pretty unbeatable, having lost just one game all season. A'ja Wilson is having another MVP-caliber season and she has a Hall of Fame-level supporting cast in Kelsey Plum, Candace Parker, and Chelsea Gray.
Did you see that?
Speaking of the Aces, Chelsea Gray dished out one of the greatest assists in the history of basketball this week.
OH. MY.
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 25, 2023
CHELSEA GRAY!!! 🤯@cgray209 // #ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/1m3UqKzCBc
