Three weeks away from the WNBA All-Star game, the stars have certainly made their cases for who should appear in the 2023 edition of the game with some standout performances over the last week.
From college alumni putting up career-highs against one another to young players leading the league in various categories, here is the best from the last week of action in the WNBA.
The pieces are in place with the New York Liberty
It’s no secret that the Liberty’s stacked lineup has seen them cruise to an 8-3 record, including a dominant 30-point win over the Atlanta Dream on Friday night.
But it’s not just the likes of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones laying in buckets every night – it’s an apparent full team effort, top to bottom, led by the forces of fellow starting five members Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot too.
Laney has been given the task most nights of guarding the opposing team’s best player, being disruptive and forcing players to either take a bad shot or run out of time to create a play, and while her offence is not as high as she may be used to, her defence is vital to the Liberty’s success.
As for Sloot, playmaker extraordinaire, she had a classic performance against the Dream with a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists, but it was her tenacity and quick feet grabbing seven steals that helped keep the gap between New York and Atlanta so large and proved why New York is an all-around dominant force.
Sabally, Ogunbowale show out for Wings even in losses
The Dallas Wings are 4-6 in their last ten games, winning just one of their last five, but still, sit third in their conference and sixth in the overall WNBA standings with a 6-7 record.
Even in the losses, there is much to celebrate with this Wings team, as against the Seattle Storm scoring phenom Arike Ogunbowale put up a career-high 41-point performance including 14 points in the final four minutes.
Ogunbowale went 13-of-24 from the field, including shooting 50 per cent from three-point range, and making all eight of her free throws.
Satou Sabally added 25 points in that game, and then put her ninth double-double of the season against the Los Angeles Sparks tipping in 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sabally is second in the WNBA in rebounding, averaging 10.5 rebounds per night.
On top of that, Natasha Howard has been a two-way force as she recorded her third-straight game recording 20 or more points, and the second time in three games with a double-double, tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds against Seattle followed by 23 points that led all scorers and 12 rebounds against Los Angeles.
Despite record, Storm still show bright spots
Speaking of the Seattle Storm, their record is just 3-9 this season, and they sit fifth in the Western Conference. They haven’t exactly had an easy schedule, playing twice against Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington already, but they also showed resiliency by going 2-1 on the road and picking up a win against Dallas after an early-season loss.
Jewell Loyd – who is a fellow Notre Dame alumni with Ogunbowale – scored a career-high 39 points and Seattle made 17 three-pointers in the match-up, including Ezi Magbegor going 4-of-4 on threes and finishing with 15 points.
The Storm even showed a lot of fight against top-ranked Connecticut, as they lost by only six points Loyd scored 33 points and made five three-pointers in the first half while Magbegor had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Playing three of their next four games at home, and playing the Mercury once and the Lynx twice, the Storm should be able to get some winning momentum their way before facing off against New York and Connecticut.
Nneka Ogwumike continues to shine for the Sparks
It’s apparent that the leadership that Nneka Ogwumike provides is just one of many things she brings to the court, and her 20 points as the Sparks rallied from a 17-point deficit helped to beat the Dallas Wings 76-74 on Friday night.
She leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.7 points and 9.5 rebounds a night, scoring 19 or more points in nine of the Sparks’ last 10 games. Not to mention she has recorded six double-doubles this season on top of that.
Putting up career-high numbers in her 12th year in the league, Ogwumike’s production doesn’t look to be slowing as the Sparks offence runs through her, but is also playing more efficiently as her team around her continues to thrive.
The emergency hardship signing of Destanni Henderson has paid off as she had a career-high 18 points against Dallas, and Jordin Canada’s second year in Los Angeles has so far seen her put up career highs in scoring, rebounding and assists.
She trails Ogwumike in scoring averaging 13.8 points, but leads the Sparks in assists with 5.6 a night as well as using her speed to lead the team in steals averaging two a night. The Sparks sit at 6-7, good enough for second in the Western Conference, and have opportunities to build more wins as they face Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix next.