South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks in the WNBA - Week 9

A’ja Wilson survived an injury scare, Kamilla Cardoso returned in style, and Tiffany Mitchell found a new home. Get caught up on this week’s Gamecocks in the WNBA.

The WNBA has a short schedule this week with All-Star festivities over the weekend. The three-point contest and skills challenge, won last season by Allisha Gray, will take place on Friday, July 18. The All-Star game is on Saturday, July 19. 

Atlanta Dream (12-9)
Allisha Gray
21 games (21 starts), 35.9 mpg, 18.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 0.9 spg
Gray looks like a player who could use the All-Star break for rest, but she’s going to be starting for Team Collier. Gray leads the league in minutes played and is coming off of her least efficient week of the season, while Atlanta also had two more dreadful fourth quarters. It seems like a tired team. If only there were someone on the bench who could provide some shooting.

Last week:
vs Golden State (90-81 win): 35 minutes*, 24 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, rebound 
at Indiana (99-82 loss): 36 minutes*, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
at New York (79-72 loss): 38 minutes*, 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, steal

Te-Hina Paopao
20 games (4 starts), 12.0 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 rpg, 48.7 3P%
Oh hey – there is: Paopao is fourth in the WNBA in three-point percentage. She also barely played last week despite an injury to Rhyne Howard. 

Last week:
vs Golden State (90-81 win): 8 minutes, rebound, assist, 0-1 3PT
at Indiana (99-82 loss): 5 minutes, 2 assists
at New York (79-72 loss): 7 minutes, 3 points, rebound, 1-2 3PT

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, July 16 at Chicago (Noon ET, League Pass)

Chicago Sky (7-13)
Kamilla Cardoso
16 games (15 starts), 23.7 mpg, 12.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.9 bpg, 55.0 FG%
Welcome back to Chicago, FIBA Kamilla. Cardoso came off the bench in her first game back and then had a monster game against Minnesota. She had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and made the game-clinching block on a three-pointer to secure a win against the WNBA’s best team. Not bad.

Last week:
at Washington (81-79 loss): DNP-National team commitment
vs Dallas (87-76 win): 24 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, steal
vs Minnesota (87-81 win): 33 minutes*, 17 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Upcoming games:
Monday, July 14 vs Minnesota (8:00 ET, League Pass)
Wednesday, July 16 vs Atlanta (Noon ET, League Pass)

Dallas Wings (6-16)
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 (10-10)
Laeticia Amihere
10 games, 15.8 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.8 bpg
Amihere’s minutes have fluctuated since Golden State got its international players back from EuroBasket, but you could argue that she’s actually played better. Amihere isn’t just a scorer, she’s loading the box score.

Last week:
at Atlanta (90-81 loss): 17 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
at Indiana (80-61 win): 10 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
at Las Vegas (104-102 loss): 3 minutes, 2 points

Upcoming games:
Monday, July 14 vs Phoenix (10:00 ET, League Pass)
Wednesday, July 16 at Seattle (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Indiana Fever (11-10)
Aliyah Boston
21 games (21 starts), 29.7 mpg, 16.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 bpg, 58.3 FG%
Aside from the team-wide no-show against Golden State, Boston had another strong week. It helps that she got a fourth quarter against Atlanta and a game against struggling Dallas, but that’s taking care of business. 

Last week:
vs Golden State (80-61 loss): 27 minutes*, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
vs Atlanta (99-82 win): 33 minutes*, 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, steal
vs Dallas (102-83 win): 26 minutes*, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, block

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, July 15 at Connecticut (8:00 ET, ESPN)
Wednesday, July 16 at New York (7:30 ET, CBS Sports Network)

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Las Vegas Aces (10-11)
A’ja Wilson
17 games (17 starts), 30.4 mpg, 21.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.4 bpg, 1.6 spg
Last week I wrote that Wilson was done messing around and stand by that assertion. She left the game against New York after falling on her right wrist. That ended her streak of 62 games scoring in double figures, which was the longest active streak and seventh-longest in league history. Wilson sat out the game against Washington, but then went back to destroying everything in her path with a cool 34 and 16 against the Valkyries. Like Gray, Wilson could probably use the rest this weekend, but is a starter for Team Clark.

Last week:
at New York (87-78 loss): 14 minutes*, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
at Washington (70-68 loss): DNP-Right wrist
vs Golden State (104-102 win): 33 minutes*, 34 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, steal

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, July 16 at Dallas (8:00 ET, League Pass)

Los Angeles Sparks (7-14)
Sania Feagin
7 games, 3.9 mpg, 0.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.6 bpg
Feagin played in both games last week and made her presence known with a huge block against the Sun.

Last week:
vs Minnesota (91-82 loss): 1 minutes, no stats
vs Connecticut (92-88 win): 6 minutes, block

Upcoming games:
Tuesday, July 15 vs Washington (10:00 ET, League Pass)

Seattle Storm (13-9)
Zia Cooke
21 games, 10.3 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 0.8 apg, 0.5 rpg
Seattle signed Tiffany Mitchell to supplement Cooke off the bench. Cooke is still playing, but it appears Seattle is giving more playing time to Mitchell.

Last week:
at Connecticut (93-83 loss): 7 minutes, no stats
vs Connecticut (79-65 win): 5 minutes, 2 points, steal
vs Washington (74-69 loss): 3 minutes, no stats

Tiffany Mitchell (First 16 games with Las Vegas)
18 games (2 starts), 14.1 mpg, 4.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg
After being waived by Las Vegas two weeks ago, Mitchell found a new home with Seattle, a team in dire need of guard depth. How dire? Mitchell immediately stepped in and played 20+ minutes in her first two games. She also scored a season-high 12 points against Washington, and, at least for one week, this looks like a good fit for both sides.

Last week:
vs Connecticut (79-65 win): 20 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds
vs Washington (74-69 loss): 23 minutes, 12 points, 2 steals, assist, rebound

Upcoming games:
Wednesday, July 16 vs Golden State (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Unsigned
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.

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