Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
If the WNBA’s opening weekend is any indication of how the rest of the season is going to go, the league’s 20th season is sure to be a memorable one.
There were breakout performances, there were close games until the end. There were a few blowouts, and there was an overtime game.
Overall, season number 20 looks to be off to a wild start.
On Saturday night, the marquee game featured the defending champion Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury. The Lynx received their championship rings and also raised their 2015 WNBA Championship banner atop Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.
It was also a notable game for the Phoenix Mercury with the much-anticipated return of Diana Taurasi to the WNBA.
Early in that game, it appeared it would be a close, offensively-charged affair as the Mercury drained their first eight shots from the field. Minnesota kept pace with Phoenix in the first quarter as the Mercury led 28-26, but the Lynx defense tightened up and held the Mercury to under 20 points in the three subsequent periods.
Minnesota won by a final of 95-76 and put the rest of the WNBA on notice that they have their sights set on continuing their dynasty with a fourth title in six years.
Maya Moore led the way for Minnesota with 27 points and ten assists. The Lynx also got 21 from Seimone Augustus along with 17 points and 14 rebounds for Sylvia Fowles. Taurasi concluded her return game to the WNBA with 18 points, including the first two of the game. Brittney Griner had 12 points and five rebounds.
In Los Angeles, it was not as much about a much-ballyhooed return as much as it was about a much-ballyhooed debut. That would be of first overall draft pick Breanna Stewart, whose Seattle Storm traveled to Southern California to face the Sparks at Staples Center for their season opener.
While Stewart did have a huge game in her debut for Seattle with 23 points, and nine of 13 shooting from the field, Candace Parker stole the headlines after this game.
This was the same Candace Parker who was left off of the US Women’s Olympic team for this summer’s Rio 2016 Games.
Parker looked like she plans to make life difficult for opponents this season after the five-ringed snub. She dropped 34 points in nearly 32 minutes of court time for Los Angeles as the Sparks cruised to an emphatic 96-66 victory over the Storm. The Sparks also got 14 from Kristi Toliver and 13 from Nneka Ogwumike.
Jewell Loyd put in 20 in a losing effort for the Storm.
The New York Liberty and Dallas Wings were the two teams who played in a pair of matchups this opening weekend. Coming off a season where the Liberty came within one game of the WNBA Finals last season, New York earned a pair of victories this weekend.
They first defeated the Washington Mystics 87-76 in which Tina Charles contributed a double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds), then topped the Wings in Gotham 79-71. Both Charles and Sugar Rodgers put in 24 in the win over Dallas—the 24 for Rodgers was a career high.
Things were not entirely bad for the WNBA’s newest franchise. Prior to Big D’s team losing in the Big Apple, the Wings in big comeback fashion defeated the Indiana Fever at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 90-79.
In the early going of this game, Indiana was aided by six first quarter Dallas turnovers to pull ahead 22-9. It was the first game of the season in what will be the final one for Tamika Catchings, who fittingly scored the first pair of points of the WNBA’s 20th.
Turnover-free basketball propelled the Wings to a 10-0 run to make it a three-point game at the conclusion of the first quarter.
Plenette Pierson led the Dallas offensive output with 17 points. They also got 14 from Odyssey Sims and 13 from Karima Christmas. Courtney Paris also came within one point and one rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Dallas also spoiled another much-anticipated debut—that of Tiffany Mitchell, who selected ninth by the Fever out of South Carolina. She finished with 18 points—16 of which came in the first half.
Skylar Diggins did not play in either game for Dallas this weekend.
Many of the WNBA’s premier players were in action this past weekend, but one of them, Elena Delle Donne, was not as the Chicago Sky announced prior to its season opener in the Windy City that she was battling an illness and was not with the team.
It was no problem for Chicago as the Sky notched a 93-70 blowout win over the Connecticut Sun at the Allstate Arena.
One of the WNBA’s slogans is “We Got Next.” Courtney Vandersloot and Cappie Pondexter had next for the Sky. Vandersloot scored 14 points and Pondexter added 13 points, including making seven out of her eight free throws.
Alex Bentley had 14 points and Rachel Banham added 13 for the Sun. Chiney Oguwmike, in her first game back from a knee injury, played in 16 minutes and scored four points with two rebounds.
The Sky jumped out to a nine-point lead after the first half—an advantage that became 45-25 at half. The Sun notched 33 points in the third quarter—but it was the lone period that saw Connecticut either score more than 20 points or outscore Chicago in a quarter.
The lone overtime tilt of the opening weekend featured the Atlanta Dream and San Antonio Stars.
The Dream overcame a late bid by the Stars to extend the game into overtime as Atlanta held San Antonio to only two overtime points for their first win of this season.
With 1:30 to play in regulation, the Dream led 61-56. A three by Kayla McBride and a buzzer-beating layup from Jayme Appel-Marinelli led to free basketball from San Antonio.
Unfortunately for the Stars, the Dream’s defense made it difficult for the Stars to put ball through hoop in OT. Atlanta outscored San Antonio 12-2 en route to a 73-63 victory in Texas.
Angel McCoughtry led with 15 points and played 29 minutes. The Dream also got 13 from Tiffany Hayes and 12 from Layshia Clarendon. Elizabeth Williams also added 10 rebounds.
On the San Antonio side, they got 24 points courtesy of McBride. Dearica Hamby also added 14 points and eight rebounds.
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
