A quartet of contests created a beautiful basketball symphony on Saturday across the WNBA. There were featured rookie debuts, trios gelling together and a surprising blowout.
Here are all the key moments from the second day of WNBA action.
The Wings’ new Big 3 blitzed the Fever
The Dallas Wings’ starting backcourt was a force to be reckoned with in their first game together.
The trio of Odyssey Sims, Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale combined for 62 points in the Wings’ 107-104 win over the Indiana Fever.
Dallas played at a blistering pace, scoring 25 fastbreak points while the Fever only scored 12. They also contained Caitlin Clark, who struggled shooting 2-for-9 from 3-point range. Clark still found ways to be effective inside the arc and ended the game with 20 points.
Azzi Fudd made her WNBA debut coming off the bench and looked like a rookie. She played for 18 minutes and had just three points. Her first basket, however, was a 3, which was a key part of her game in college. Once she gets settled, that will also be a key to her game at this level.
The Mercury absolutely destroyed the defending champion Aces
It was a celebratory atmosphere for the Las Vegas Aces in their home opener against the Mercury.
They hung another banner and rocked some new jewelry, with A’ja Wilson wearing all three of her rings and looking like she is creating a WNBA infinity gauntlet.
Then, the Phoenix Mercury went on to pummel Las Vegas, beating them 99-66.
Alyssa Thomas scored 20 points, secured six rebounds and dished nine assists in the shocking Mercury win. Jovana Nogic looked like a rookie phenom, scoring 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including four 3s. Kiana Williams was also productive off the bench with 11 points.
Wilson had 19 points in the loss, and Chennedy Carter scored 10 points off the bench. Ring night games can be tricky. After all the pregame adulation, teams have to quickly shift into competing. Las Vegas played an uncharacteristic game, but they’ll have a chance to immediately flush that loss and play better on Sunday when they take on the Sparks in LA.
Angel sealed the Atlanta comeback in Minnesota
The Atlanta Dream’s 91-90 win might’ve been the most exciting game of the weekend. They trailed by as many as 19 points, but rallied back, outscoring the Minnesota Lynx 28-19 in the fourth.
Midway through the final quarter, the Dream were still down by seven when Naz Hillmon began applying pressure. She scored in the paint on back-to-back layups, then drilled a 3 to make it an even game.
The Lynx still had another run in them as Kayla McBride hit a 3 to give Minnesota the lead with 1:11 left to play. Jordin Canada scored on the following play for the Dream, and Te-Hina Paopao scored the game-clinching layup with 12 seconds left in the contest.
Minnesota had one more chance to win the game, but the newest Dream player, Angel Reese, sealed the game with a block on Emese Hof.
Gray had a game-high 25 points in the win. Rhyne Howard scored 15 points, and Naz Hillmon had 15 points on 60 percent shooting. Reese played well, scoring 11 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. For the Lynx, McBride had 20 points, and Olivia Miles had 21 points in the loss. The defeat will certainly sting for Minnesota, but seeing Miles playing so well in her WNBA debut is a fantastic silver lining.
Skylar and the Sky torched the Fire
The Chicago Sky took care of the Portland Fire rather easily. They dominated from start to finish, cruising to a 98-83 win.
Kamilla Cardoso had a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Skylar Diggins scored 21 points in her Sky debut, knocking down eight of her 11 shots.
With all five starters in double figures, the Sky also got some help from their bench. Elizabeth Williams scored 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in her 15 minutes of play.
Portland struggled with their 3-point shooting, converting on just 31 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. On the plus side, Carla Leite scored 18 points, but 11 came off free throws. Second-year player Sarah Ashlee Barker was the only Fire to have a solid shooting performance. She went 6-for-9 and scored 13 points. There is work to be done in Portland.
