Monday morning WNBA links: Elena Delle Donne's big shot, Brittney Griners big blocks, and improved TV ratings

A lot of significant things happened this past weekend, both for teams and individuals.

For those who inexplicably did something other than watch basketball this past weekend, we already have you covered with recaps from Swish Appeal correspondents in Atlanta, Connecticut, New York and Washington this weekend in our "WNBA Scores" section. And we also offer a few links to help you catch up beginning with stories about a pair of teams that made statements that might be significant beyond merely adding a "W" or two to the win column.

• Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune details the many impressive aspects of the Chicago Sky's 94-86 win over the Minnesota Lynx yesterday, including the benefits of being a 6-foot-5 wing as demonstrated by All-Star rookie Elena Delle Donne's game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation. But Hersh also notes an important element of the game that was absent: "The Sky took advantage of the absence of Lynx (17-5) center Janel McCarville, out with a concussion, to score 38 points in the paint." Read more >>>

• Tyler Killian of the Arizona Republic reports that newly-hired coach Russ Pennell knows what he can do to help the Phoenix Mercury make a turnaround after recording a defensive milestone against the Tulsa Shock yesterday: "I’ve got footage now that’ll prove they can do it. We may watch that over and over and over." The Mercury set a WNBA record for blocks in a half (12), led by rookie center Brittney Griner who set an individual franchise record for blocks in a half (5). Read more >>>

• Cassandra Negley of The Arizona Republic described the Phoenix Mercury's new emphasis on defense under newly hired interim coach Russ Pennell, which was punctuated by getting a game-winning stop to beat the Shock in their first meeting between the two of the weekend. Read more >>>

• Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reports that Seattle Storm coach Brian Agler was more focused on character than strategy prior to their 69-63 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars yesterday. After a blowout loss that had them "a little embarrassed", according to veteran All-Star Tina Thompson, the Storm had a season-high 48 rebounds and no offensive rebounds in the second quarter, representing a much improved effort overall. Read more >>>

@seattlestorm #stormcrazies I am so proud of our team. We put hi value on hi character, because hi character always bounces back, we r& did

— brian agler (@brian_agler) August 12, 2013

• Evans had previously reported on Friday that the Seattle Storm simply didn't follow their scouting report in a 77-56 blowout loss to the San Antonio Silver Stars on Friday night in a game with playoff implications. But more significant for the standings, the Storm lost an opportunity to create some separation between them and the Silver Stars in the battle for fourth place in the Western Conference. Evans also reported that DeLisha Milton-Jones had been bought out on Friday only to be picked up off waivers by the New York Liberty. Read more >>>

• Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star reports that Indiana Fever guard Erin Phillips is feeling good again after recovering getting her first start of the season and hitting a career-high five 3-pointers in a 80-66 win against the Atlanta Dream on Saturday. Unfortunately, the injury woes just continued for the Fever: Shavonte Zellous missed the game with a case of plantar fasciitis. Read more >>>

• John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut Sun coach Anne Donovan is wondering if her starters are the problem after yesterday's loss to the Washington Mystics: after a poor first quarter performance, they outscored the Mystics the rest of the way. Altavilla highlighted a key aspect of their change of fortunes after the first quarter: "...the awakening of Charles, who scored just four points in the first half." Read more >>>

• Ned Griffin of The Day an honest comment from reigning WNBA MVP Tina Charles about the Connecticut Sun's season after a brutal loss to the Chicago Sky on Friday: "To be honest with you, I think usually every team that comes in and plays against us, they go off against us. I think it's something that people have noticed in our tactics, and it's something that we have to change personally in how we go about things on the court." Read more >>>

• John Altavilla of Hartford Courant reported after the Connecticut Sun's 77-61 loss to the Chicago Sky on Friday night that Danielle McCray, who is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury, visited the team last week and was "even riding the exercise bike a practice...She said she will be able to play again in January." Read more >>>

• Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reported that women's basketball viewership on ESPN2 and NBA TV is up in 2013, of course noting that the campaign to promote the rookies is part of that narrative. Read more >>>

Of course if you have other links and thoughts to share you can feel free to post them in the comments below. If you have an extended commentary you'd like to share with the community, feel free to create a fanpost or fanshot. Regardless, Happy Monday.