WNBA Notes of the Night, June 10: Lynx Maul Wings, Dream Win Reese's Chicago Return

If Tuesday night’s best WNBA game on paper was a measuring stick for the league’s most improved team so far, the message was that as impressive as their turnaround has been, the Dallas Wings still have a long way to go. Here’s went down in the Wings’ trip to Minnesota, Angel Reese’s return to Chicago, and the Phoenix-Golden State nightcap:

Minnesota jumped out to a 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 26 points in the first half while cruising to an eighth straight win and snapping the Wings’ first four-game win streak in three years. Dallas didn’t go away, to its credit, and threatened to get back in the game early in the third quarter, but by the time that period was over, Minnesota’s 20-point halftime lead was still largely intact at 15. Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles led the way with 24 points on 7-for-10 from the field and 8-for-8 at the line while adding 7 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal, although she did commit 4 turnovers, a useful reminder that she is somehow human. Kayla McBride had 22, also on 7-for-10 from the field, and Natasha Howard had 21 points on 8-for-10 from the field. 

I must admit I was somewhat amused when Howard was asked how she’s shooting so well this season in her postgame interview, but as I’ve mentioned a couple times here, the answer is that she’s been getting some of the easiest looks you can ask for thanks in large part to the playmaking of Miles and Courtney Williams, among others, and it’s going to make Howard an All-Star for the first time since 2022. She’s averaging 17.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while making 65.2% from the field, and is almost exclusively shooting not just in the paint, but in the restricted area. Howard’s the WNBA leader with both 76 makes and 107 attempts in the restricted area, according to Her Hoop Stats, while having taken 20 shots in the rest of the paint, 6 in the mid range and 5 from long range (including her first made 3 of the season tonight!). If only the Liberty could get Breanna Stewart to balance her attempts that way…

Dallas allowed Minnesota to score at a rate of 117.6 points per 100 possessions, the highest mark they’ve allowed in a game this season, topping the 116.9 Minnesota posted in its previous win over the Wings. This loss dropped Dallas to 0-4 against Minnesota and the next victorious team I’m going to tell you about, the tied-for-second Atlanta Dream, while it’s 7-0 against everyone else, and it’s pretty clear which end of the floor still has a long way to go before Dallas reaches the highest tier of the WNBA’s contenders. Hint: it’s the one where the Wings have fallen back to 11th allowing 103.7 points per 100 possessions.

Neither team really created separation until Atlanta went on an 11-1 run in the final minutes, including 9 straight points to turn a 71-70 game with 3 minutes to play into an 82-72 game with 38 seconds left. Angel Reese had 17 points and 17 rebounds in her first meaningful WNBA game against the Sky (and in Chicago) since being traded from Chicago to Atlanta in the offseason, and was instrumental in that game-ending run despite having only 2 points on 1-for-1 from the field while it was happening. The (Area Codes) Barbie also had 3 assists on Atlanta’s other 4 field goals in that stretch, 2 of which came after she got the offensive rebound on someone else’s miss and the other of which came on a possession she’d started with a defensive rebound. The double-double was her fifth straight, while Rhyne Howarrd matched Reese’s 17 points to share the team-high on a night when all five Dream starters scored at least 14. The win brought the Dream to 8-3 this season, matching last year’s team and three others for the second-best record in team history after what now amounts to a quarter of a WNBA season. The only Dream team to start better was the 2013 iteration, which started 10-1 before losing eight of the next nine games and finishing 17-17. 

The Sky lost for the seventh time in eight games since losing Rickea Jackson for the season, and I honestly hate to keep mentioning it, but her injury is intrinsically tied to Chicago’s biggest problem. That problem is a lack of reliable sources of buckets when it comes time to finish the games that the Sky’s relentless defense keeps them in. Skylar Diggins led the starters with 17 points tonight while going 5-for-15 from the field, Kamilla Cardoso had `13 points on 6-for-7 and Natasha Cloud scored a team-high 18 in 30 minutes off the bench. I’d personally love to see Cardoso take about twice as many shots on average, but given she’s had 9 or fewer field goal attempts in seven of 12 games this season, I don’t think I’m getting my wish.

Golden State held off a valiant fight from the Mercury, who spent the closing stages of the game repeatedly cutting Golden State’s lead to one possession, but never pulled into the tie or lead while looking for a third straight win since a six-game skid. Gabby Williams and Veronica Valkyrie (Burton) each scored 25 points to lead Golden State while Burton added 8 assists and 2 turnovers (which is actually kind of a lot for her, as she’s only had more than 1 turnover in 4 of 12 games). To their credit, the Mercury look a good bit more competitive since point guard Monique Akoa Makani has returned to the lineup and gotten up to game speed, but these are the kinds of games Phoenix is going to need to win if it’s going to turn its season around (and improving to 5-8 would’ve looked a lot better than falling to 4-9).