Hello, WNBA Hey Fans! With about two weeks left in the regular season, the battle for playoff seeding is heating up. A win for the Minnesota Lynx (vs. Indiana Fever) and a loss for the Connecticut Sun (vs. Las Vegas Aces) have caused some changes in the standings, dropping the Sun to the #3 seed.
There's just one game tonight, with the seventh-seeded Phoenix Mercury taking on the fifth-seeded Seattle Storm at 9 PM ET.
Let's start with Friday's results.
- Chicago Sky beat Los Angeles SparksThe Sparks won 92-78 behind Angel Reese's 24 points and 12 rebounds. Chennedy Carter returned after missing several weeks due to illness and contributed with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the win. It was Chicago's second win since the Olympic break. With the loss, the Sparks became the first team to miss the playoffs. They are poised to take the lead in the race for Paige Bueckers.
- The Minnesota Lynx ended the Indiana Fever's four-game winning streak. Napheesa Collier's 26 points and 10 rebounds, Bridget Carlton's 16 points and Courtney Williams' 15 points led to a 99-88 victory for the Fever, who trailed by 17 points in the third quarter and lost for the second time since the break.
- The Las Vegas Aces (22-12) overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to beat the Connecticut Sun (24-10).Kelsey Plum led the team with 27 points on 8-for-15 shooting. A'ja Wilson is a leading MVP candidate He added 20 points and eight rebounds. The 72-67 victory gave the Aces their fourth straight win, and they're hitting their stride at the right time.
- The Atlanta Dream defeated the Dallas Wings in overtime.The win was largely due to Rhyne Howard's 33-point performance, and Tina Charles had 20 points and 13 assists in a 107-96 victory that kept the Dream in ninth place in the standings.
The Phoenix Mercury (17-18) will visit the Seattle Storm (20-14) at 9 p.m. ET.
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
It's been a bit of a disappointing year for the Mercuries, who are under .500 and have lost five of their last seven games. Phoenix is led by Khaliah Copper (21.9 ppg on 44.3% shooting), Brittney Griner (18.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg on 57% shooting), Diana Taurasi (15 ppg) and Natasha Cloud (11.6 ppg, 6.8 apg).
The Storm have also not been doing so well since the break, going just 3-5 since the Olympics, making this a battle between two talented but somewhat disappointing teams. Skylar Diggins-Smith has been the Storm's leading scorer in three of their last four games, while Jewel Loyd (20.1 points per game) is their leading scorer this season. Still, it's Nneka Ogwumike who is arguably having the best season of the Storm trio. The 2016 league MVP is averaging 16.8 points and shooting 50.6% from the field and 41.3% from three-point range on the year.
Both teams will be looking for a much-needed win tonight. The two teams have met twice before, with each team winning once.
Updated WNBA Standings
There was some movement in the standings last night, as the Lynx overtook the Sun to become the No. 2 seed. With two weeks remaining, here is the standings:
- New York Liberty (28-6)
- Minnesota Lynx (25-9)
- Connecticut Sun (24-10)
- Las Vegas Aces (22-12)
- Seattle Storm (20 wins, 14 losses)
- Indiana Fever (18-17)
- Phoenix Mercury (17-18)
- Chicago Sky (12-22)
- Atlanta Dream (12-22)
- Washington Mystics (11-23)
- Dallas Wings (9-25)
- Los Angeles Sparks (7 wins, 27 losses)
How to watch today's WNBA games
Saturday's matchup between the Mercury and Storm will be streamed on WNBA League Pass and NBA TV.
