Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. Let’s take a look at how the ladies in the WNBA are doing!
Kennedy Burke and the Indiana Fever stop the Seattle Storm’s 9-game win streak.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Carlson/AP.)
I said in the last few weeks that, hey, the Indiana Fever aren’t doing too bad. They were 4-7 coming into this huge game and while they don’t seem to be too far above the cellar teams the Atlanta Dream and the New York Liberty, at least, they were able to pull off some wins.
But boy, were they able to pull of a huge win. They upset the juggernaut Seattle Storm, who looked like they were never going to lose a game in the Wubble again. They were able to make a nice 14-point cushion in the third and while the Storm stormed back (heh heh) to get within four points, they simply ran out of time. Indy held on for the win.
And they don’t have a bad roster. Kelsey Mitchell has come into her own as a scorer. Candice Dupree has been steady in the league forever. Tiffany Mitchell has also increased her production. Julie Allemand has been a nice find and when she can stay on the court, Teaira McCowan gets it done in the middle.
However, the wild card in this win was Kennedy Burke, who comes off the bench for them. She scored a career-best 23 points against the Storm and I suppose we can put this down as yet another surprise breakout game from a non-star for this season. Good thing the Fever had Burke going because Jewell Loyd of the Storm could not be stopped. Loyd went for 35 points (a career-high) and had to pretty much carry the load. Breanna Stewart did not shoot well and, other than Natasha Howard, the Storm couldn’t produce much offense. The normally prolific 3-point shooting of Seattle went to the icebox; 5 for 21 for a crappy .238.
The Fever are now 5-7 and are actually 7th place in the standings. With the Mystics reeling, the Wings being inconsistent, and the Dream and Liberty spiraling, maybe this is a chance for the Fever to get back into the playoffs.
Bullet Passes
Yeah, I have noticed that Erica Wheeler still hasn’t played for the Fever this season. Well, she’s not expected to play after all. She was the emotional feel-good story of the 2019 WNBA season, especially with her memorable MVP-winning all-star game performance. I hope that everything turns out okay for her.
The Fever’s third round pick, Kamiah Smalls, was signed back after she was released in May.
The Liberty got messed up once again as the Chicago Sky dropped 101 on them. Good to see Azura Stevens have a big game (25 points). And Courtney Vandersloot, who is becoming the John Stockton of the WNBA, dropped another buck’s worth of assists (that’s 10 dimes, GET IT?!).
My niece’s favorite, Kayla McBride, finally got a big game herself (25 points) in the Aces’ blowout win over the Sun. She went 9 for 10 from the field. The most field goals without a miss belongs to Nneka Ogwumike; she went 12 for 12 in 2016.
Not that it matters much in terms of playoff seedings but the Chicago Sky is the only winning team (9-4) in the Eastern Conference.
Double U Scoreboard
CHI 101 (9-4) v NY 85 (1-11)
SEA 84 (11-2) v IND 90 (5-7)
CON 78 (5-8) v LV 99 (9-3)
Watch This Play
These near-halfcourt shots are getting too easy for these players. Here’s Kelsey Mitchell beating the buzz at the half.
Back-to-back buzzer-beaters‼️
This time @Kelz_Hoop nails it from nearly halfcourt to give the @IndianaFever a 44-41 lead over the @seattlestorm at the half 🔥
💻: https://t.co/7MjszneOOw | #BradentonArea pic.twitter.com/IUmUWYW81H
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 21, 2020
Everyone has the range these days.
Hope everyone is having fun and staying safe at the Wubble!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.