Gamecocks in the WNBA: Week 15

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Heading into the final week of the WNBA season teams are jockeying for playoff position while Aliyah Boston scored a career-high and set a franchise record.

Atlanta Dream (17-20)
Laeticia Amihere (19 games, 7.3 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
94-76 win vs Phoenix: 3 minutes, 2 points
91-85 loss at Minnesota: 4 minutes, steal

Allisha Gray (35 games, 35 starts, 32.7 mpg, 17.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.1 spg)
94-76 win vs Phoenix: 26 minutes*, 18 points, 4 assists
91-85 loss at Minnesota: 29 minutes*, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists

Atlanta continues to limp toward the playoffs. The Dream now has just a two-game lead on ninth-place Chicago. A game against Seattle should help, and there is a good chance Dallas will have nothing to play for in the season-finale.

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, September 6 vs Seattle (7:00 ET, NBA TV)
Friday, September 8 at Washington (7:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, September 10 vs Dallas (1:00 ET, League Pass)

Connecticut Sun (25-12)
Tyasha Harris (37 games, 15.9 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 rpg, 45.3 3P%)
84-74 win vs Phoenix: 20 minutes, 18 points, 2 assists, 4-4 from three
89-58 loss at New York: 20 minutes, 4 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds

Harris is tied for the league lead in three-point percentage. You can just hear Dawn Staley saying, “I told you to shoot it more!” Connecticut is locked into the third seed, but has to be discouraged about being noncompetitive in its games against New York this season.

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, September 5 vs Los Angeles (7:00 ET, X/Twitter)
Friday, September 8 vs Indiana (7:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, September 10 vs Chicago (1:00 ET, CBS Sports Network)

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Indiana Fever (12-25)
Aliyah Boston (37 games, 37 starts, 31.4 mpg, 14.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 bpg, 1.3 spg,  58.4 FG%)
110-100 loss vs Dallas: 37 minutes*, 27 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists
97-84 win at Dallas: 45 minutes*, 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Victaria Saxton (13 games, 3.4 mpg, 1.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg)
110-100 loss vs Dallas: DNP-CD
97-84 win at Dallas: DNP-CD

Boston is making sure she ends one of the best rookie seasons in league history in style. She had in three of the last four games and both games last week, despite playing with an injured thumb. She scored a career-high 27 points, played all but 18 seconds in Indiana’s overtime win over Dallas, set the franchise record for rebounds in a season, and still leads the league in field goal percentage. Indiana has been eliminated from the playoffs, but has reach double-figure wins for just the second time since 2016.

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, September 5 vs Chicago (7:00 ET, NBA TV)
Friday, September 8 at Connecticut (7:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, September 10 vs Minnesota (1:00 ET, League Pass)

Las Vegas Aces (32-6)
Alaina Coates (10 total games, 3.1 mpg, 1.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
94-85 loss at New York: DNP-CD
84-75 win vs Washington: DNP-CD
103-77 win vs Seattle: 2 minutes, 2 rebounds

A’ja Wilson (38 games, 38 starts, 30.8 mpg, 22.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg)
94-85 loss at New York: 35 minutes*, 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks
84-75 win vs Washington: 35 minutes*, 26 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks
103-77 win vs Seattle: 27 minutes*, 30 points, 10 rebounds, block

Wilson continues to pour on one huge game after another. The Aces need them because after a fatigued loss at New York, they lead the Liberty by just 1.5 games for the top overall seed in the playoffs. Fortunately, the schedule is very favorable. Las Vegas essentially gets a week to rest and then a pair of games against last-place Phoenix.

Upcoming games:
Friday, September 8 at Phoenix (10:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, September 10 vs Phoenix (3:00 ET, ESPN2)

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Los Angeles Sparks (16-21)
Zia Cooke (36 games, 4 starts, 14.0 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.8 apg)
76-75 loss vs Chicago: 19 minutes, 9 points, rebound
72-61 loss vs Seattle: 21 minutes, 8 points assist
72-64 win vs Washington: 11 minutes, 5 points, 2 assists

Cooke chipped in some nice games off the bench as Los Angeles lost to Chicago and Seattle and then beat Washington with six players unavailable. It makes no sense. The loss to Chicago was especially painful – LA is just a game ahead of the Sky for the final playoff spot.

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, September 5 at Connecticut (7:00 ET, X/Twitter)
Thursday, September 7 at New York (7:00 ET, Amazon Prime Video)
Sunday, September 10 at Seattle (3:00 ET, ESPN3)

Minnesota Lynx (19-19)
Tiffany Mitchell (31 games, 19 starts, 22.8 mpg, 7.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg)
83-72 loss at Washington: 20 minutes*, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
91-85 win vs Atlanta: 29 minutes*, 5 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds
86-73 win vs Phoenix: 25 minutes*, 3 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

Mitchell doesn’t put up big numbers, but since she has returned to the starting lineup she has been a steadying influence. Last week the Lynx became just the second team in WNBA history to make the playoffs after starting 0-6 or worse.

Upcoming games:
Friday, September 8 at Chicago (8:00 ET, Ion)
Sunday, September 10 at Indiana (1:00 ET, League Pass)

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Free Agent
Destanni Henderson (15 total games, 1 start, 13.3 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 1.8 apg)

After Phoenix declined to offer Henderson a third seven-day contract, she jetted off to Turkey to begin her overseas season. Henderson hopefully did enough to earn a WNBA training camp invite next spring.

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