WNBA 2024 Week 3 Recap & Takeaways

The WNBA season is heating up, with some new contenders emerging to challenge the powerhouse teams at the top of the league. The Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty, and Las Vegas Aces are holding their spots as the top threats in the league. But as the season goes on, a new "big 3" in Seattle is starting to heat up, while the "big 3" in Phoenix is struggling. The Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream have arrived and continue to make a statement. The star-studded draft class continues to try and make an impact on the standings, with the Chicago Sky being the most competitive at 3-4 so far. Let's take a look at and break down some of the top storylines in the WNBA from week 3.

The Defending Champions 

A'Ja Wilson felt like white privilege played a part in the increased viewership as Caitlin Clark took the league by storm. This brought mixed criticism to the defending champion and dominant center for the Las Vegas Aces. So what did A'Ja Wilson do? She stepped up her play and had two impressive performances this week. In Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Lynx, Wilson scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds on her way to a double-double. Jackie Young paired that impressive performance shooting 3-5 from 3, and finished with a double-double of her own (19 points and 10 assists). The Aces would run past the Lynx 80-66. However, despite A'Ja Wilson's 28 points on Friday, the Atlanta Dream would steal a critical home win against the Aces. Both teams are deadlocked in the overall standings with a 4-2 record. Allisha Gray was a marvel to watch for the Atlanta Dream. She scored 24 points, and she was 6-7 from the 3-point line, leading Atlanta to a 50% 3-point shooting performance. For a team to shoot 50% from 3, and still only win by 4 points, it says a lot about the Aces effort.

Heating Up 

The New York Liberty are on a roll, improving to a 6-2 record with a dominating victory over the Washington Mystics on Friday. The Liberty followed that up with an impressive performance against the slumping Phoenix Mercury, winning 81-78. Kahleah Copper led the way with 20 points, while Natasha Cloud added 21. Copper is averaging 24.3 points per game this season and is among the league's top players. Sabrina Ionescu added 22 points, going 4-for-9 from 3-point range. For the Liberty, this victory was a complete team effort, with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scoring 15 points and Jonquel Jones adding 20 points and 7 rebounds. Reigning MVP Breanna Stewart had a quiet game with only 13 points but was a force down low. The Liberty would follow that up with an impressive and dominant performance over the 0-8 Washington Mystics. New York got out fast on Washington in the game, leading 32-17 after the first quarter, and closed the slumping Mystics down, out scoring them 20-12 in the 4th quarter, finishing with a 90-79 win. Sabrina Ionescu stayed hot shooting 50% from behind the 3-point line scoring 24 points. Breanna Stewart provided a punch down low with a dominant double-double. He scored 18 points and tallied 15 rebounds. Jonquel Jones also had a double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

A Storm is Brewing 

The Storm visited the Midwest with a .500 record after starting 1-3. They started their week by getting a road win in Chicago against the Sky. Seattle got really great offensive performances by Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd. Diggins-Smith scored 21 points, and Jewell Loyd scored 19 points. But the most impressive aspect of this game was the defensive effort for the Storm. Diggins-Smith had 1 block and 3 steals. The Storm’s Ezi Magbegor provided more defensive pressure with a double-double, scoring 13 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and getting 3 steals and sending away 5 blocks. After their impressive win over the Sky, the Storm would go a couple hours to the next city and visit Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. The Fever are the exact opposite of being on a 3-game winning streak like the Storm, now 1-8 after the Storm beat them 103-88. Despite Caitlin Clark scoring 20 points, and Nalyssa Smith scoring 22 points for the Fever, the Storm 4 stars couldn’t be stopped offensively. The back courts for the Storm led the way. Jewell Loyd led the storm’s effort with 22 points, followed by Skylar Diggins-Smith scoring 18 points. The Storm shot for 42.1 % from 3-points, with both Loyd and SDS shooting 50%. The Storm also got impressive performances from Nneka Ogwumike who seemed to be all over the court. She finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. She also provided the defense with 2 steals and 1 block. Paired well with Ogwumike was center Ezi Magbegor, who had 15 points, but on defense had 3 steals and 4 blocks. The Storm rode a massive 34 point 3rd quarter to create a comfortable lead, despite Indiana outsourcing the Storm 29-22 in the fourth.

1 VS 2: Clark VS Brink Part 2 

The Sparks got their revenge against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, beating Indiana 88-82. The Sparks were led by Aari McDonald and Kia Nurse, who scored 21 and 22 points, respectively. Dearica Hamby also had a strong game, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Fever were led by Caitlin Clark, who scored 30 points, had 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Aaliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell also had strong games for the Fever, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively.

The Winless 

The Mystics are off to an 0-8 start in the 2024 season, their worst start since joining the WNBA in 1998. Ariel Atkins is the leading scorer, but she has yet to find her form from her best season in 2021 when she averaged 16 points per game. Atkins is averaging 13.8 points per game this season. Other than Atkins and Shakira Austin, nobody else is averaging double-digit points per game.

The Unbeaten

The Connecticut Sun are off to a 7-0 start, but their schedule has been relatively easy so far. Their only win against a team currently over .500 is Minnesota. The Sun's defense has been a key factor in their success, forcing turnovers and putting pressure on opponents. On Tuesday, the Sun dismantled the Phoenix Mercury 70-47, holding Phoenix to 3.7% shooting from three-point range. DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones led the way for the Mercury with 19 and 16 points, respectively. On Friday, the Sun improved to 7-0 with a tight victory over the Dallas Wings. Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale had an impressive game, scoring 21 points and 7 assists. The wheels fell off for Dallas in the second quarter, where Connecticut outscored Dallas 22-13. Ironically, Dallas would do the same thing to Connecticut in the 4th quarters, outshooting Connecticut 22-15. Sevgi Uzun hit a 3-pointer with 1:20 left in the game, to give Dallas a 72-69 lead. But Connecticut center Alyssa Thomas made a clutch layup to make it 72-71. Just 30 seconds later, Thomas would make another key layup, this time giving Connecticut the 73-72 lead, and would eventually be the game-winning score. Thomas would finish with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 14 assists. Although not involved in the final minutes, Brionna Jones went off in this game for the Connecticut Sun scoring 22 points. The Sun are now 7-0 after the 74-72 win.

Rivalry Reignited: Clark VS Reese 

The Chicago Sky played the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis. The Sky were coming off a victory over the Los Angeles Sparks, where they defended home turf and won by a score of 83-73. The Sky hoped to bring that defensive pressure to Indiana and beat their rival the Fever. However, the Sky fell short to Indiana 71-70. The starting lineup only scored 37 points for the Sky. The bench was the story of the game. Sky guard Chennedy Carter was phenomenal, scoring 19 points and playing 30 minutes.

The Final Word

The Minnesota Lynx are quietly improving to 5-2 after a 95-71 win over the Phoenix Mercury. The Lynx are a tough opponent for some of the top teams in the WNBA. The Western Conference hasn't been as impressive as the East. With the Commissioner's Cup starting on Sunday, the season is beginning to shape into one of the most competitive fields that we've seen in quite some time in the WNBA.