Another hot WNBA Sunday is here, only now with verified All-Stars and an ever-tight playoff picture. Here’s what’s in store and how to watch.
Seattle Storm (18-6) at Atlanta Dream (14-9)
When: Sunday, July 22 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, GA | TICKETS
How to watch: NBA TV (nationally) | WNBA League Pass (worldwide) | Fox Sports Southeast (Atlanta)
Injury report: Damiris Dantas (right ankle) is questionable for Atlanta. Seattle is presumably good to go.
Keys to the clash
- The #1 and #2 teams in the standings face off in a game in which the Storm hope to get one game closer to 20 wins and the Dream seek to make it seven wins in a row, for franchise history.
- Storm All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd will go against Atlanta All-Star Angel McCoughtry.
- Former Player of the Week Tiffany Hayes, who is averaging 17.5 points per game, is an arguable All-Star snub. Just as the Sky’s Courtney Vandersloot did after being snubbed for All-Star honors, look for Hayes to remind everyone who she is.
- Prior on-court beef* between Hayes and Stewart, which spilled into
the streetsTwitter, promises to add drama and intrigue to this one. - Jessica Breland is coming off of her own Player of the Week award, so look for her, Hayes and Sykes to make this a statement game, with the statement being that Atlanta is a real threat and the rest of the league better recognize.
- The season series is even, with the Dream getting the 67-64 win on June 10 and the Storm getting the 95-86 victory on July 6. This afternoon’s contest will settle the score.
- Look for players on both teams to leave everything on the floor — *ponytails, whatever.
Connecticut Sun (12-12) at Dallas Wings (14-10)
When: Sunday, July 22 at 4 p.m. ET
Where: College Park Center in Arlington, TX | TICKETS
How to watch: WNBA League Pass (worldwide) | Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas) | WCCT (Connecticut)
Injury report: No injuries were reported by time of publication.
Keys to the clash
- The Sun held the top spot in the standings for weeks at the start of the season. But they have since been up and down and now sit at .500. Connecticut will seek to get above even.
- The Wings have had some impressive games behind the history-making performances of Liz Cambage. But they dropped their most recent outing to the Sky behind Courtney Vandersloot’s quest to make a little history of her own. The Wings have had a tough schedule this week, including a back-to-back, so it will be interesting to see how this plays into their performance this afternoon.
- Guards for both teams are all about grind and hustle. Whether it will be Skylar Diggins-Smith or Courtney Williams to come out on top is anyone’s guess, but the guard play should be fun to watch.
- With Alyssa Thomas back for the Sun, Dallas losing more home games this season than they would prefer and the Sun dominating the Wings in their first meeting of the season, the edge goes to Connecticut.