South Carolina women's basketball in the WNBA: Playoffs week 1

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Last week in the WNBA, Kaela Davis put up big numbers despite being on the wrong side of a sweep by A’ja Wilson, and the Dallas Wings have a winner-take-all game three.

Dallas Wings (18-18, tied 1-1 with Connecticut in the first round)

Allisha Gray

Regular season: 33 games, 33 starts, 32.9 mpg, 13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.1 spg

Playoffs: 2 games, 2 starts, 36.0 mpg, 16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.5 spg

Gray has carried Dallas in the playoffs. She leads the Wings in minutes played, points, assists, and steals, and has them one win away from a big upset.

Last week:

at Connecticut (93-68 loss): 35 minutes*, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

at Connecticut (89-79 win): 37 minutes*, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals

Tyasha Harris 

Regular season: 35 games, 5 starts, 15.8 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 0.9 rpg

Playoffs: 2 games, 0 starts, 21.5 mpg, 9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg

Harris has been solid as well. She was one of the only bright spots in game one, and she’s grabbed some big rebounds. Sounds familiar. 

Last week:

at Connecticut (93-68 loss): 27 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

at Connecticut (89-79 win): 16 minutes, 5 points, rebound, 2 assists

Upcoming:

Wednesday vs Connecticut, Game 3 (9:00 ET, ESPN)

Las Vegas Aces (26-10, defeated Phoenix 2-0 in the first round)

A’ja Wilson 

Regular season: 36 games, 36 starts, 30.0 mpg, 19.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg

Playoffs: 2 games, 2 starts, 30.0 mpg, 12.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.0 bpg

Wilson struggled in the first game against Phoenix, shooting just 2-11. It only took a couple of minutes to make two baskets in game two, and Las Vegas cruised to the second-largest playoff win in WNBA history (Chicago won by one point more early in the day). Now Wilson and the Aces get a full week of rest before taking on Seattle in round two.

Last week:

vs Phoenix (79-63 win): 33 minutes*, 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks

vs Phoenix (117-80 win): 27 minutes*, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, block

Upcoming:

Sunday vs Seattle, Game 1  (10:00 ET, ESPN2)

Kaela Davis

Davis’ 2022 odyssey came to a gallant end last week. Davis was waived six times this season, but she stayed ready, and twice she was signed in the afternoon and played that night. She finally stuck on Phoenix’s depleted roster, and despite an ankle injury, was impressive in the playoffs. Davis ran point in the fourth quarter of game one and then tied her career-high with 23 points in game two.

In seven regular season games (one each with Chicago and Seattle, and five with Phoenix), Davis is averaging 7.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.3 steals. Proving she’s just as capable as ever of getting hot, all of Davis’ points have come in two games. In two playoff games with Phoenix, Davis averaged 23.5 minutes, 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and shot 48.3%.

How did she get to that point?

Davis was signed by Chicago in the offseason. Wednesday before the season began, Davis was waived by Chicago. Two days later, just hours before Chicago’s season-opener, the Sky resigned Davis to a hardship contract (Davis didn’t even show up on the league transaction list until the next day). She played 10 minutes that night against Los Angeles but was released on May 9, before Chicago’s next game. Davis was out of work for less than a week and was signed to another hardship contract by Seattle that Friday. She did not appear in a game for Seattle and was waived again on May 18.

Then on May 28, with several Storm players in health and safety protocols, the Storm resigned Davis. Davis played 18 minutes in the Storm’s blowout win over the Liberty on May 29, scoring 11 points to go with two rebounds and two steals. It would be her only game – Davis was waived June 2 to make room for returning players.

It was another seven weeks before she got another chance. Davis was signed to a hardship contract by Phoenix on July 21. She made a brief appearance against Seattle, playing two minutes and not registering a stat. Davis’ seven-day contract expired July 28 and Phoenix resigned her. She did not play in the Mercury’s win over the Sparks, and then played one stat-less minute against New York. In a blowout loss to Connecticut, Davis had 10 points and two rebounds in seven minutes of action. 

Phoenix let Davis go after her second contract expired on August 4, but resigned her again on August 12. Later that day, Davis scored two points in five minutes against Dallas. Sunday against Chicago, Davis scored 11 points with three rebounds in 12 minutes before leaving with the ankle injury that nagged her in the playoffs.

Indiana Fever (5-31, did not make playoffs)

Alaina Coates

8 games, 9.4 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 93.3 FT%

Destanni Henderson

36 games, 5 starts, 16.4 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.6 rpg, 36.6 3P%

Tiffany Mitchell

34 games, 8 starts, 16.3 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.8 spg