South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks in the WNBA - Week 8

It was a slow week in the WNBA, but Aliyah Boston and A’ja Wilson still made headlines. Get caught up on all the Gamecocks in the WNBA.

Atlanta Dream (11-7)
Allisha Gray
18 games (18 starts), 35.9 mpg, 19.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 41.5 3P%
Gray was named an All-Star starter last week, an unexpected but totally deserved honor. She struggled shooting against Seattle, as Atlanta gave up yet another fourth-quarter lead, but still notched a double-double.

Last week:
vs Seattle (80-79 loss): 40 minutes*, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists

Te-Hina Paopao
17 games (4 starts), 12.9 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 rpg, 47.6 3P%
Last week, I broke down in detail why Paopao should be playing more. She only played six minutes against Seattle, even though Rhyne Howard didn’t play and Gray played all 40 minutes. 

Last week:
vs Seattle (80-79 loss): 6 minutes, 2 points, rebound, 0-0 3PT

Upcoming games:
Monday, July 7 vs Golden State (7:30 ET, League Pass)
Friday, July 11 at Indiana (7:30 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Sunday, July 13 at New York (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Chicago Sky (5-12)
Kamilla Cardoso
14 games (14 starts), 23.0 mpg, 12.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.8 bpg, 56.1 FG%
Cardoso was playing in the AmeriCup gold medal game while Chicago played its only game of the week. She will return to the Sky this week.

Last week:
at Minnesota (80-75 loss): DNP-National Team commitment

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, July 8 at Washington (11:30 AM ET, League Pass)
Wednesday, July 9 vs Dallas (8:00 ET, League Pass)
Saturday, July 12 vs Minnesota (1:00 ET, ABC)

Dallas Wings (6-13)
Tyasha Harris
5 games, 16.5 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 45.5 3P%
Harris injured her left knee against Connecticut on May 27. Initially, there was optimism that it wasn’t long-term, but unfortunately, Harris underwent season-ending surgery on June 10.

Golden State Valkyries (9-8)
Laeticia Amihere
7 games, 18.3 mpg, 8.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 bpg
Golden State kept Amihere after the international players returned to the active roster, but she didn’t play in the Valkyries’ only game last week.

Last week:
at Minnesota (82-71 loss): DNP-CD

Bree Hall
2 games, 3.9 mpg, 1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Golden State waived Hall on Monday, June 30 to create roster space for players returning from EuroBasket. It wasn’t a surprise, but hopefully Hall put herself on the league’s radar.

Upcoming games:
Monday, July 7 at Atlanta (7:30 ET, League Pass)
Wednesday, July 9 at Indiana (Noon ET, NBA TV/League Pass)
Saturday, July 12 at Las Vegas (4:00 ET, CBS)

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Indiana Fever (9-9)
Aliyah Boston
18 games (18 starts), 29.9 mpg, 16.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 bpg, 59.7 FG%
Indiana began the week with a pair of impressive wins, but ended with a bad loss to remind everyone the Fever aren’t quite on the top tier of teams yet. Boston had three huge games (the double-double in the Commissioner’s Cup doesn’t count toward her season stats), but she probably would like a redo after leaving the game-tying shot attempt short against the Sparks.

Last week:
Commissioner’s Cup Final at Minnesota (74-59 win): 33 minutes*, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals (Game does not count in standings and stats are not part of season average)
vs Las Vegas (81-54 win): 24 minutes*, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
vs Los Angeles (89-87 loss): 32 minutes*, 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, July 9 vs Golden State (Noon ET, NBA TV/League Pass)
Friday, July 11 vs Atlanta (7:30 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Sunday, July 13 vs Dallas (1:00 ET, ABC)

Las Vegas Aces (9-9)
Tiffany Mitchell
16 games (2 starts), 13.1 mpg, 3.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
The struggling Aces took a chance by trading for NaLyssa Smith, but had to clear salary cap room to add Smith. Mitchell had a similar salary and had to be waived to make the numbers work.

A’ja Wilson
15 games (15 starts), 31.3 mpg, 21.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.6 bpg, 1.8 spg
“Done messing around A’ja” has entered the chat. Whether she can salvage the Aces’ season remains to be seen. She outscored her teammates by four against Indiana. Even the GOAT can’t do it all by herself.

Last week:
at Indiana (81-54 loss): 26 minutes*, 29 points, 3 rebounds, assist, block
at Connecticut (86-68 win): 24 minutes*, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, July 8 at New York (8:00 ET, ESPN)
Thursday, July 10 at Washington (7:30 ET, Amazon Prime)
Saturday, July 12 vs Golden State (4:00 ET, CBS)

Los Angeles Sparks (6-13)
Sania Feagin
5 games, 4.0 mpg, 0.4 ppg, 0.4 rpg
Feagin did not play last week.

Last week:
at New York (89-79 loss): DNP-CD
at Indiana (89-87 win): DNP-CD

Upcoming games:
Thursday, July 10 vs Minnesota (3:00 ET, League Pass)
Sunday, July 13 vs Connecticut (6:00 ET, League Pass)

Seattle Storm (12-7)
Zia Cooke
18 games, 11.3 mpg, 3.4 ppg, 0.7 apg, 0.6 rpg
Cooke didn’t score last week, but Seattle notched two of its biggest wins of the season. I’m sure she’ll take the tradeoff.

Last week:
at Atlanta (80-79 win): 13 minutes, assist
at New York (79-70 win): 9 minutes, steal

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, July 9 at Connecticut (11:00 AM ET, League Pass)
Friday, July 11 vs Connecticut (10:00 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Sunday, July 13 vs Washington (6:00 ET, League Pass)

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