WNBA 2024 Week 2 Recap & Takeaways

                                          

The WNBA is in full effect and going into week 2 they’re were many storylines to follow. Will Caitlin Clark win her first WNBA game (she did), will Cameron Brink find her offensive rhythm, will anyone beat the Aces? Angel Reese made headlines with a twitter at Clark, and many other girls seemed to follow suit and pile on the number one overall pick. Where is the aggression from with these issues about Clark. Clark narrative that the media twists. People are going to write what they want to write about. And where I’m confused is if this is stars taking bate by the media to stir drama, and if that's the case, the WNBA needs to get some better media coaches in fast. And if not, then is Clark doing anything to bring this. Because everyone who’s played with her says that they like her, but these shots feel personal. They need to listen to LeBron and Charles Barkley, two guys who’ve dealt with the media their entire lives. You’re only making it worse for yourself by saying things that the media can take and turn into a story. I care about basketball, and so let's look at the basketball stories that went down in week 2.  

No. 1 VS No. 2

The Indiana Fever got their first victory of the season. It’s the first win of Caitlin Clark’s career. The Fever moved to 1-5 on the season, beating the 1-3 Los Angeles Sparks 78-73. The matchup featured the first overall pick Caitlin Clark VS second overall pick Cameron Brink. Brink found her offensive rhythm in this game, something that she’s struggled with all season long. Brink scored 15 points and finished with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Brink and Dearica Hamby make quite the intimidating front court, Hamby is a double-double machine, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. But the Fever won this game because of a team effort. Clark had a quiet night offensively only scoring 11 points, but made an impact in other areas. She grabbed 10 rebounds and dished 8 assists. The Fever got a 17 point scoring effort from Aliyah Boston and Temi Fagbenle, and got another great game by guard Kelsey Mitchell who scored 18 points. At the end of the game, Clark fired up a half-court shot as the buzzer went off with a look of relief on her face. The last 5 games have come with immense criticism of Clark. The Fever were close in a lot of these games, but failed to breakthrough. The Sparks rebuild continues, but this should still be viewed as a positive game for the Sparks as Cameron Brink seemed to have found a stroke of confidence. They’ve struggled to get her involved so far this season. 

No Place Like Home 

The New York Liberty continued to beat up on bad competition. Seattle came out with an awful offensive performance. Sabrina Ionescu finally got going offensively with a 20 point game and a much more efficient shooting performance. The Liberty won 74-63 to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Storm are now 1-3, and the new big 3 in Seattle has struggled to find their rhythm. 

The Connecticut Sun remained unbeaten at home by barely surviving an amazing game from a UCONN legend. The Lynx Napheesa Collier scored 31 points against the Sun, who had to push this game to overtime in order to beat Minnesota. The Connecticut Sun big 3 stepped up when it mattered. DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points, Brionna Jones scored 19 points, and Alyssa Thomas scored 18 points. 

Revenge is a dish best served cold 

Phoenix exacted revenge against the defending champions with a 10 point victory in Las Vegas on Tuesday Night. New acquisition Kahleah Copper went off with 37 points. The Mercury managed to win despite the Aces big 3 having good games. Kelsey Plum scored 27 points, A’ja Wilson had a double-double scoring 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Jackie Young scored 23 points. However, it takes more than 3 players to win a game. All the other players on the Aces combined for 17 points. 

The Atlanta Dream ended a 6 game losing streak against the Dallas Wings. The Dream improved to 2-1 on the season behind Alisha Gray’s 21 points. The Dream won by a final score of 83-78. Dallas had a strong first half, outsourcing Atlanta 21-14 in the 2nd quarter. But the Dream had a dominant 4th quarter. Rhyne Howard and Tina Charles both recorded double-doubles. 

The Giant Killer 

The Chicago Sky’s brutal schedule to open the season continued and they’ve so far found a way to navigate it well. Impressive as they’ve played, incorporating young Angel Reese and getting strong play from Marina Mabrey, the team is still 3-4 weeks away from getting Kamilla Cardosa. Their game against the New York Liberty was one that the entire league noticed. Reese was a rebound away from recording a double-double (13-9-1). But the league would watch her shut down the reigning M.V.P. Brenna Stewart, who only put up 18 points. The Sky were without Diamond DeShields as well, leaving veteran Marina Mabrey as the sole offensive threat. Mabrey led all players in this game with 21 points. After the game Reese would send out a cryptic tweet that seemed to be aimed at Caitlyn Clark. Reese would say “and that's on getting a WIN in a packed arena not just because of one player on our charter flight.” That not deleted tweet seemed to take a shot at Clark, and caused LeBron James and Charles Barkley to stand up for Clark, calling the women “petty” and “thank her for the charter flights and move on.” It seems like the Reese and Clark rivalry is not over with. 

The next game was against the Connecticut Sun on Saturday. 

The Winless 

The Indiana Fever lost another close game to a top contender. The Connecticut Sun showed up to Indiana and won the game 88-84. Caitlyn Clark scored 17 points with Kelsey Mtich matching that effort. Dijonai Carrington picked off a pass by Clark and finished with a powerful dunk to start the game and set the tone. Alyssa Thomas was unstoppable down low finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists. 

The Los Angeles Sparks got their first win of the season despite Cameron Brink’s continued offensive struggles. The Mystics fell to 0-4 against the Sparks, who were led by an insane double-double by Dearica Hamby who finished the game with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Lexie Brown scored 20 points for the Sparks. Despite an abysmal offensive performance, the Mystics only lost by 2 points. 

The Indiana Fever almost battled back on Wednesday to get their first win behind Caitlin Clark’s 21 points. Kelsey Mitchell heated up down the stretch finishing with 17 points. Seattle’s big 3 were just too much. Jewel Loyd recorded a double-double, scoring 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points and missed a double-double by 1 rebound. If you don;t think people fear Caitlyn Clark, then watch the finish of the game. The Storm fouled Clark up 3, and conceded 2 points off free throws just so the game didn’t end with Clark getting the last shot. 

The Washington Mystics did not plan to start this way. They’ve yet to find their rhythm this season falling to 0-5 after losing to Phoenix on Thursday. It was bad timing as they visit Phoenix who seem to be heating up. Diana Taurasi and Kahleah Copper both scored 20 points. Washington had a chance to get themselves within 1 point with 13 seconds, but Karlie Samuelson missed the three-pointer, leading to Natasha Cloud to hit 2 free throws and put this game out of reach. Julie Vanloo would sink a deep 3 pointer with 2.1 seconds, but the Mystics would never get the ball back. 

Memorial Day Weekend Madness 

Saturday was packed with WNBA action. What better way to enjoy a Memorial Day Weekend Saturday. 

The Dallas Wings had a massive performance redeeming themselves from a previous 2-game losing streak. Behind Arike Ogunbowale’s 40 points, the Wings blew out the star studded Phoenix Mercury 107-92. Kahleah Copper scored 32 points, and Diana Taurasi scored 28 points, but the supporting cast forgot to show up in this game. 

The Washington Mystics fell to 0-6 to Seattle on the road last week, and it wasn’t close. The Storm won 101-69 on a full team effort. Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points, Ezi Magbegor scored 16 points, Jewell Loyd scored 18 points, Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 16 points and dished 9 assists. Washington Mystics defensively couldn’t stop a nosebleed. 

Indiana Fever were coming off their first win of the season, but the issue was they were visiting Las Vegas when the Aces were looking for their get right game. The Aces smothered the Fever, and A’ja Wilson showed why she’s looked like one of the best players in the league with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Jackie Young finished with 22 points and Kelsey Plum finished with 20 points. The Aces came into that game, shut down Caitlin Clark and gave the Fever no chance at winning this game. 

The Sun visited the Sky on Saturday and the two teams participated in a back and forth affair. DeWanna Bonner fueled the Sun to a come from behind win, hitting multiple big shots in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with 19 points and the Sun won 86-82. The Sun improves to 5-0. 

The Lynx emerged from the weekend's festivities with back to back wins making them a certified threat. The Lynx team defense was impressive against the New York Liberty, as Breanna Stewart scored 20 points, but that was it. The rest of New York had a quiet game, the second leading scorer being Sabrina Ionescu with 13 points. They then turned around and did it again the next day against the Atlanta Dream who finished with 79 team points in a 92-79 Minnesota victory. Minnesota guard Kayla McBride went off scoring 31 points on Atlanta to improve to 4-1. The Lynx are a problem for anyone. 

And the final game of the weekend had some fireworks as Cameron Brink arrived. The Sparks lost a tight game to the Dallas Wings 84-83. But the 2nd overall pick who had a slow start last week put up 21 points. Brink and Dearica Hamby are turning into one of the most exciting interior combos in the league. Hamby had 19 points and 13 rebounds against Dallas. As Brink develops, it will be fun to watch how that combo improves the Sparks in this rebuild phase. 

Sources 

1. 5/20 - Connecticut Sun (3-0) @ Indiana Fever (0-4): Connecticut Sun win 88-84 

• CON: F Alyssa Thomas 24 PTS 14 REB 9 AST; F DeWanna Bonner 22 PTS 3 REB 2 AST; G Tyasha Harris 16 PTS 2 AST G Dijonai Carrington 14 PTS 6 REB 2 AST 

• IND: G Kelsey Mitchell 17 PTS 5 AST; G Caitlin Clark 17 PTS 3 REB 5 AST; F Temi Fagbenle 11 PTS 10 REB 

2. 5/20 - Seattle Storm (1-3) @ New York Liberty (4-0): Liberty win 74-63 

• SEA: G Jewell Loyd 13 PTS 9 REB 1 AST 

• NYL: G Sabrina Ionescu 20 PTS 1 REB 8 AST; F Breanna Stewart 16 PTS 11 REB 1 AST; C Jonquel Jones 16 PTS 8 REB

3. 5/21 - Dallas Wings (1-2) @ Atlanta Dream (2-1): Dream win 83-78 

• DAL: F Monique Billings 20 PTS 10 REB 1 AST; G Arike Ogunbowale 24 PTS 3 REB 2 AST; F Teaira McCowan 21 PTS 14 REB 1 AST 

• ATL: G Allisha Gray 21 PTS 2 REB 3 AST; F Cheyenne Parker 16 PTS 2 REB; F Rhyne Howard 15 PTS 10 REB 4 AST; C Tina Charles 12 PTS 11 REB 1 AST 

4. 5/21 - Phoenix Mercury (2-1) @ Las Vegas Aces (2-1): Mercury win 98-88

• PHX: F Kahleah Copper 37 PTS 4 REB 3 AST; G Natasha Cloud 11 PTS 7 REB 10 AST 

• LVA: F A’ja Wilson 21 PTS 13 REB 2 AST; G Jackie Young 23 PTS 8 REB 8 AST; F Kelsey Plum 27 PTS 2 REB 5 AST 

5. 5/21 - Washington Mystics (0-4) @ Los Angeles Sparks (1-2): Sparks win 70-68

• WSH: G Julie Vanloo 12 PTS 3 REB 9 AST; F Shakira Austin 12 PTS 8 REB 1 AST 

• LAS: G Lexie Brown 20 PTS 2 REB 6 AST; C Dearica Hamby 17 PTS 18 REB 4 AST; Cameron Brink 4 PTS 8 REB 3 AST 

6. 5/22 - Indiana Fever (0-5) @ Seattle Storm (2-3): Storm win 85-83 

• IND: F NaLyssa Smith 16 PTS 11 REB 1 AST; G Kelsey Mitchell 17 PTS 3 REB 1 AST; G Caitlin Clark 21 PTS 7 REB 7 AST 

• SEA: F Nneka Ogwumike 22 PTS 9 REB 3 AST; G Jewell Loyd 32 PTS 11 REB 6 AST; C Ezi Magbegor 14 PTS 9 REB 1 AST 

7. 5/23 - Minnesota Lynx (2-1) @ Connecticut Sun (4-0): Sun win 83-82 F/OT 

• MIN: F Napheesa Collier 31 PTS 11 REB 4 AST; G Courtney Williams 19 PTS 7 REB 6 AST; G Kayla McBride 13 PTS 1 REB 4 AST 

• CON: C Brionna Jones 19 PTS 6 REB 5 AST; F DeWanna Bonner 20 PTS 3 REB 2 AST; F Alyssa Thomas 18 PTS 7 REB 5 AST 

8. 5/23 - Chicago Sky (2-1) @ New York Liberty (4-1): Chicago Sky win 90-81 

• CHI: Marina Mabrey 21 PTS 6 REB 7 AST; F Angel Reese 13 PTS 9 REB 1 AST; F Chennedy Carter 12 PTS 6 REB 4 AST 

• NYL: F Breanna Stewart 18 PTS 10 REB 5 AST; G Sabrina Ionescu 19 PTS 4 REB 6 AST 

9. 5/23 - Washington Mystics (0-5) @ Phoenix Mercury (3-1): Mercury win 83-80

• WSH: G Ariel Atkins 16 PTS 5 REB 4 AST; G Julie Vanloo 15 PTS 7 REB 4 AST 

• PHX: G Diana Taurasi 20 PTS 6 REB 1 AST; F Kahleah Copper 20 PTS 5 REB 2 AST; G Natasha Cloud 14 PTS 5 REB 10 AST 

10. 5/24 - Indiana Fever (1-5) @ Los Angeles Sparks (1-3): Fever win 78-73 

• IND: C Aliyah Boston 17 PTS 6 REB 2 AST; G Kelsey Mitchell 18 PTS 2 REB 2 AST; F Temi Fagbenle 17 PTS 6 REB 3 AST; G Caitlin Clark 11 PTS 10 REB

• LAS: F Cameron Brink 15 PTS 9 REB 2 AST; C Dearica Hamby 18 PTS 12 REB 7 AST; G Rickea Jackson 16 PTS 2 REB 

11. 5/25 - Dallas Wings (2-2) @ Phoenix Mercury (3-2): Dallas Wings win 107-92 

• DAL: F Maddy Siegrist 22 PTS 9 REB 4 AST; F Monique Billings 18 PTS 8 REB 3 AST; G Arike Ogunbowale 40 PTS 7 REB 4 AST 

• PHX: F Kahleah Copper 32 PTS 1 REB 2 AST; G Diana Taurasi 28 PTS 5 REB 2 AST; 

12. 5/25 - Washington Mystics (0-6) @ Seattle Storm (3-3): Seattle Storm win 101-69 

• WSH: F Karlie Samuelson 16 PTS 3 REB; G Jade Melbourne 13 PTS 2 REB 3 AST; G Julie Vanloo 12 PTS 1 REB 3 AST 

• SEA: F Nneka Ogwumike 19 PTS 4 REB 4 AST; C Ezi Magbegor 16 PTS 6 REB 2 AST; G Jewell Loyd 18 PTS 4 REB 1 AST; G Skylar Diggins-Smith 16 PTS 1 REB 9 AST 

13. 5/25 - Indiana Fever (1-6) @ Las Vegas Aces (3-1): Aces win 99-80

• IND: F Temi Fagbenle 13 PTS 8 REB 2 AST; G Kelsey Mitchell 16 PTS 2 REB 2 AST

• LVA: F A’ja Wilson 29 PTS 15 REB 2 AST; G Kelsey Plum 20 PTS 7 AST; G Jackie Young 22 PTS 1 REB 6 AST 

14. 5/25 - Connecticut Sun (5-0) @ Chicago Sky (2-2): Sun win 86-82

• CON: F DeWanna Bonner 19 PTS 8 REB 3 AST; C Brionna Jones 16 PTS 6 REB; G Dijonai Carrington 16 PTS 6 REB 1 AST; G Tyasha Harris 15 PTS 5 REB 3 AST 

• CHI: G Marina Mabrey 23 PTS 5 REB 4 AST; G Dana Evans 13 PTS 1 REB; F Angel Reese 13 PTS 5 REB 2 AST 

15. 5/25 - New York Liberty (4-2) @ Minnesota Lynx (3-1): Lynx win 84-67 

• NYL: F Breanna Stewart 20 PTS 11 REB 5 AST; G Sabrina Ionescu 13 PTS 3 REB 1 AST; G Courtney Vandersloot 12 PTS 3 REB 6 AST 

• MIN: C Alanna Smith 15 PTS 1 REB 1 AST; F Napheesa Collier 15 PTS 12 REB 4 AST; G Kayla McBride 14 PTS 5 REB 5 AST 

16. 5/26 - Minnesota Lynx (4-1) @ Atlanta Dream (2-2): Lynx win 92-79 

• MIN: C Alanna Smith 17 PTS 4 REB 5 AST; F Napheesa Collier 20 PTS 8 REB 7 AST; G Kayla McBride 31 PTS 1 REB 1 AST 

• ATL: G Rhyne Howard 23 PTS 5 REB 5 AST; F Cheyenne Parker 10 PTS 8 REB 1 AST; C Tina Charles 14 PTS 4 REB 1 AST 

17. 5/26 - Dallas Wings (3-2) @ Los Angeles Sparks (1-4): Wings win 84-83 

• DAL: F Monique Billings 18 PTS 12 REB 4 AST; F Maddy Siegrist 15 PTS 8 REB 1 AST; G Arike Ogunbowale 20 PTS 5 REB 5 AST 

• LAS: F Cameron Brink 21 PTS 2 REB 3 AST; C Dearica Hamby 19 PTS 13 REB 4 AST; G Lexie Brown 12 PTS 4 REB 6 AST