If you missed Sunday's games because you were away or busy for Labor Day weekend, they might actually be worth going back into the archives and watching - that might have been the best day of games at least since the Olympic break, if not the 2012 season.
The reason is not just a matter of the teams' performances on the court, but also the storylines that came out of them: the Chicago Sky finally seemed to wake up and find a rhythm with their win over the Los Angeles Sparks and Angel McCoughtry returned to score 18 points in the fourth quarter against the visiting Connecticut Sun in the Atlanta Dream's win.
James Bowman and M Robinson have already done an excellent job filling the void in media coverage out of Atlanta and Queenie and Ray Floriani have covered just about all the bases on the New York Liberty's weekend, so you can check out their accounts of those situations elsewhere on the site. What follows is a quick recap of the rest of the weekend's action.
- Richard Cohen of the WNBA Alien blog wrote that the second half of the Chicago Sky's 85-74 win on Sunday was, "...what this Sky team can be at its best." Led by a huge second half for sophomore point guard Courtney Vandersloot, the Sky shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range in the second half on the strength of outstanding ball movement and, most importantly, they kept those turnovers to a minimum. Read more >>>
- In related news, with the win, the Chicago Sky moved into a tie with the New York Liberty for the fourth and final Eastern Conference playoff seed. Just to prove that they're serious this year, playoff tickets are already on sale. Read more >>>
Saturday
- Stephen Haynes of Newsday reported that Saturday's game against the Washington Mystics wasn't the first time New York Liberty wing Essence Carson had played point guard, but that it was the first time she had started there in the WNBA. And she did quite well, finishing with 20 points, 6 assists and just one turnover (outstanding 9.67 pure point rating). Read more >>>
- Kristofer Habbas of SB Nation Arizona reported that the Phoenix Mercury were clicking on all cylinders in the first quarter on Saturday against the San Antonio Silver Stars, hitting five threes to keep themselves close against their playoff-bound opponent. At the center of their second win in a row was the performance of Diana Taurasi, who led the team with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Read more >>>
- David Woods of the Indianapolis Star reported on Saturday that the Indiana Fever clinched their eight consecutive WNBA playoff berth with their 81-64 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday. While the Sky inflicted a familiar form of self-harm with 21 turnovers, Woods highlights Tamika Catchings' MVP-caliber performance of 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Read more >>>
Friday
- Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the Minnesota Lynx pulled away from Tulsa Shock on Friday with their defensive intensity, which was particularly significant on the boards. Rand notes a 44-25 rebounding differential, but more impressive was their 18-6 offensive rebounding differential. Read more >>>
The WNBA & Breast Health Awareness
WNBA.com posted a behind-the-scenes video of the Minnesota Lynx' fourth annual Catwalk for a Cure event, which raised money for different charities as part of the WNBA's Breast Health Awareness efforts.
Mike Peden of Examiner.com originally reported on the event back on August 25, including a full 30 photo slide show and more details on where the funds went.
Just a few days after the event, Swish Appeal received the infographic below to help promote breast cancer awareness that included some of the numbers behind breast cancer both why underscoring more research is needed and early detection is so important.
Peden notes that the event's central location in, "...the largest staging area in the country's largest shopping mall" represents the Lynx' growing status in the Twin Cities and it's great to see them continuing to use it for a great cause.