Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the WNBA daily as we try to heal from this pandemic.
The Minnesota Lynx won their first game after beating a very strong Connecticut Sun team.
(PHOTO CREDIT: David Sherman/Getty Images.)
The Minnesota Lynx finally won a game. This might be considered an upset as they beat the Connecticut Sun, who were 6-1 coming into this game.
It didn’t look great early, though, as the Sun were up by 12. But this Lynx team is talented; they also added Layshia Clarendon. They were able to cut the deficit to four by the half.
It was a defensive struggle but the Sun led, 63-55, with two minutes and change left. Then Kayla McBride and Damiris Dantas made back-to-back threes. Crystal Dangerfield would tie the game with two seconds left with a jumper. The Sun would then have a rare 5-second violation.
This could’ve been the Play of the Game. Clarendon made this unbelievable three…
THAT CLOSE.
time for some free basketball. pic.twitter.com/71muHzkUDS
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) May 31, 2021
But it was slightly after the buzzer. BOOOOO.
Clarendon would score five straight points to give the Lynx a 75-72 lead. Sylvia Fowles would eventually put it away with another bucket. The Lynx no longer have that ZERO on the win column.
Again, the Lynx are talented and it surprised me that it took them this long to win a game. Napheesa Collier is back. They have Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield. Sylvia Fowles is still there. Damiris Dantas is reliable. They added Aerial Powers and McBride. Natalie Achonwa was also acquired. Clarendon is their newest signee. The team is still really really good.
The Sun slipped here but make no mistake about how good they are. They’re stingy on defense and Jonquel Jones is an MVP candidate (she scored 22 points in this contest). It’s always going to be a slugfest when you go against Connecticut.
But on Sunday, the Lynx struck back. And it led to their first victory this season.
Bullet Passes
The Sparks were down early against the Chicago Sky. But they came back pretty quickly with some great defense. Erica Wheeler was clutch in both regulation and OT. She first made a lay-in with 12 ticks left to send the game to an extra session. Then she made another one in overtime to give the Sparks a three-point lead. Astou Ndour missed a three that prevented a second overtime.
The Sky are 2-4 and it’s quite a disappointing start. Yes, they’re missing some players but this was not what we expected.
The Las Vegas Aces dominated the Indiana Fever yet again. It felt over after the first quarter. The Aces shot 57 percent for the game in another overwhelming performance.
Dan Hughes has retired as head coach of the Seattle Storm. Assistant coach Noelle Quinn takes over the reins. Quinn, as a player, won a WNBA title with the Storm in 2018. She was associate head coach to Gary Kloppenburg when the Storm won it again in 2020. This time around, she’ll try to orchestrate a repeat championship for the Storm.
Good luck to Hughes in retirement. And good luck to Quinn on her new gig.
WNBA Scoreboard
May 30, 2021
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But hey, the Lynx were clutch before Layshia’s after-the-buzzer shot. Crystal Dangerfield‘s jumper would send this to OT.
𝐂 𝐋 𝐔 𝐓 𝐂 𝐇 pic.twitter.com/vvtklc0iu8
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) May 31, 2021
But thank goodness, the Lynx finally scratched.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the WNBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.