2025 WNBA Regular Season

[sivad40]

And despite this loss, they were winning this game until the last two seconds until Jewell Loyd, who had one shot all game, hit a three to cement a 75-72 win. I thought Coach Johnson should've used his last timeout several times to set up a play, but he relied on Sutton or Sutton to create plays. More often than not, it didn't work. What did work was Iriafen's rebounding and Sonia Citron's overall play.
Coach...next time, set something up for those two to work off each other.

You mean Coach Johnson mean he relied on Jade Melbourne and Sug Sutton to create and more often than not, it didn't work. Mystics had a chance to win in regulation but the ball when out bounds on Melbourne tried to play hero ball and got her block shot by Kiah Stokes with 7.2 left.

Seattle avenged their loss to Phoenix. Skylar Diggins with 23 points and a franchise record tying 14 assists.

Golden State defeated Los Angeles for their 2nd win on the season.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Golden State defeated Los Angeles for their 2nd win on the season.

We have a winning record! My over / under for wins for the season was 5, so we're already 40% of the way there. Boy is this a fun team to watch.

 

[cancontent]

And despite this loss, they were winning this game until the last two seconds until Jewell Loyd, who had one shot all game, hit a three to cement a 75-72 win. I thought Coach Johnson should've used his last timeout several times to set up a play, but he relied on Sutton or Sutton to create plays. More often than not, it didn't work. What did work was Iriafen's rebounding and Sonia Citron's overall play.
Coach...next time, set something up for those two to work off each other.

Wasn't able to stay up to watch. It's on my list to watch later today!

 

[cancontent]

Looking at the Seattle-Phoenix box score and damn! Diggins with 14 of the team's 21 assists last night. That's impressive.

Nice bounce back game against the Mercury overall it seems. Clark's minutes remains a puzzle to me. Less than 15 minutes? Another game I have to watch to see what happened.

 

[Reypl21]

Looking at the Seattle-Phoenix box score and damn! Diggins with 14 of the team's 21 assists last night. That's impressive.

Nice bounce back game against the Mercury overall it seems. Clark's minutes remains a puzzle to me. Less than 15 minutes? Another game I have to watch to see what happened.

Another puzzle has been Ezi Macbegor. Is she coming back from an injury maybe? Skylar and Nneka have been really good this season so far to help carry the load.

 

[Dillon77]

Looking at the Seattle-Phoenix box score and damn! Diggins with 14 of the team's 21 assists last night. That's impressive.

Nice bounce back game against the Mercury overall it seems. Clark's minutes remains a puzzle to me. Less than 15 minutes? Another game I have to watch to see what happened.

@sivad40

Some notes on the importance of floor leaders:

• Sky organized the Storm throughout that game with a mix of passing and scoring. Nneka consistently hit some funky shots throughout and was the main ingredient along for the Storm, along with Sky and some clutch shots by Gabby Williams..
• Thought the losses of the Sun and Mystics to some degree could be pegged on the lack of a definitive presence in the backcourt.
• Jacy Sheldon is a bit too amped still and Mabrey's effectiveness in games fades when she has to do too much (or feels she has to). Lindsay Allen is a cool customer and knows what is coming from the Lynx and could've added some calm to the proceedings.
• And, as noted by @sivad40 , Coach Johnson let Sug Sutton and Jade Melbourne try to handle matters and they didn't. (BTW, Melborune's play on that hero drive was to throw a skip pass to a wide-open Citron.) With Brittany Sykes out, there was no one else who had "been there, done that." Lastly, you can see why they drafted Georgia Amoore to run the show. Ah, next year.

 

[cancontent]

@sivad40

Some notes on the importance of floor leaders:

• Sky organized the Storm throughout that game with a mix of passing and scoring. Nneka consistently hit some funky shots throughout and was the main ingredient along for the Storm, along with Sky and some clutch shots by Gabby Williams..
• Thought the losses of the Sun and Mystics to some degree could be pegged on the lack of a definitive presence in the backcourt.

Jacy Sheldon is a bit too amped still and Mabrey's effectiveness in games fades when she has to do too much (or feels she has to).
Lindsay Allen is a cool customer and knows what is coming from the Lynx and could've added some calm to the proceedings.
- And, as noted by @sivad40 , Coach Johnson let Sug Sutton and Jade Melbourne try to handle matters and they didn't. (BTW, Melborune's play on that hero drive was to throw a skip pass to a wide-open Citron.) With Brittany Sykes out, there was no one else who had "been there, done that." Lastly, you can see why the drafted Georgia Amoore. Ah, next year.

Hopefully the leg injury reported isn't serious.

 

[Dillon77]

Hopefully the leg injury reported isn't serious.

For Sykes? Agree...as someone noted, she -- unfortunately -- has a history of off-and-on injuries.

It's too bad the Mystics lost, but -- glass half-full -- they played tough on the road until the end, which is where inexperience usually rears its obvious head. I could tell Vegas coach and players were very much onto Citron in the second half in that Gray was virtually face-guarding her. There was one sequence in which Citron was virtually involved in a game of "musical screens" with Gray and Dolson (the screen). It was pretty amusing to watch, with Citron springing open to unleash a three. Net.

Note to Coach Johnson for clutch situations until Sykes comes back: Citron can orchestrate an offense from the half court...effectively. Give her a high-post (Big Stef?) for a pick and pop and look for Iriafen down low. Or she goes to the hole. If she gets fouled, she'll make you pay. She makes good decisions.

 

[cancontent]

For Sykes? Agree...as someone noted, she -- unfortunately -- has a history of off-and-on injuries.

It's too bad they lost, but -- glass half-full -- they played tough on the road until the end, which is where inexperience usually rears its obvious head. I could tell Vegas coach and players were very much onto Citron in the second half in that Gray was virtually face-guarding her. There was one sequence in which Citron was virtually involved in a game of "musical screens" with Gray and Dolson (the screen). It was pretty amusing to watch, with Citron springing open to unleash a three. Net.

Note to Johnson for clutch situations until Sykes comes back: Citron can orchestrate from the half court...effectively. Give her a high-post (Big Stef?) for a pick and pop and look for Iriafen down low. She makes good decisions.

While I agree with this, I was referring to Allen as she left the game early last night versus the Lynx.

 

[boontonbomber]

We have a winning record! My over / under for wins for the season was 5, so we're already 40% of the way there. Boy is this a fun team to watch.

Those 2 players from France showing that it wasn't all Gabby in the Olympics.

 

[boontonbomber]

This is not a game thread, but during a timeout in the Minnesota-Conn. game:

• Saniya Rivers is going to be able to play in this league. Easily.
• The reffing is woefully inconsistent. Bodies flying and nothing, then arbitrary weird "really?" calls.
• Mabrey's first two games are over. She's on all cylinders so far with intensity.
• Phee missed her first free throw of the year?

18-0 run out of nowhere now has Minnesota in front with a three by Heidemann

Mabrey's intensity is pretty impressive. She just never quits. That Conn. coach, another import from France, looks to know what he's doing.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Dawn Staley Reveals Message to MiLaysia Fulwiley Amid South Carolina Transfer

The women's college basketball community was thrown into collective shock when it was announced that former South Carolins Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley was

www.si.com

Dawn's take on Fulwiley hits at the point I was trying to make about AO and Chennedy.

There are givers and takers and team sports reveals wrote clearly who you are.

Paige is a giver and ....... These other folks aren't

Dawn wants her players to be happy, but wanted them to cry hard after the UConn loss. Sounds strange to me.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Lynx come back to win 76-70, as Sun score 2 points in last five minutes.

As hot as Connecticut was in the first half, they were middlin' in the third and ice cold in the fourth.
Lindsay Allen went out in the first quarter with a leg injury and never returned. She was missed in the fourth when there was no rhyme or reason to the Sun.

Lynx kept their composure until they got it going. Phee went for 33 (!) and Heidemann scored 11 in the fourth quarter.
Shepard had 13 and, amazingly, those were the only three in double figures. They're undefeated and Kayla McBride just showed up on the bench, so they'll only get better.

Hiedeman had 11, but Courtney was 0-11. She's normally a great shooter.

 

[MilfordHusky]

And despite this loss, they were winning this game until the last two seconds until Jewell Loyd, who had one shot all game, hit a three to cement a 75-72 win. I thought Coach Johnson should've used his last timeout several times to set up a play, but he relied on Sutton or Sutton to create plays. More often than not, it didn't work. What did work was Iriafen's rebounding and Sonia Citron's overall play.
Coach...next time, set something up for those two to work off each other.

Melbourne, whom I like, rushed a layup attempt well before the buzzer and turned it over, which gave Vegas time to set up Jewell's shot. Reminded me of the 2017 Final Four loss.

 

[cancontent]

Dawn wants her players to be happy, but wanted them to cry hard after the UConn loss. Sounds strange to me.

Why? One could interpret that statement to mean she's telling her players that it's okay to let all their feelings out versus keeping a stiff upper lip when they lose.

 

[Dillon77]

Melbourne, whom I like, rushed a layup attempt well before the buzzer and turned it over, which gave Vegas time to set up Jewell's shot. Reminded me of the 2017 Final Four loss.

I like Melbourne, too, but agree that she most certainly rushed that shot (want to take that with just enough time for an O-rebound, but nothing more). As noted somewhere, her drive was good but if she had raised her head had Citron (for sure) and Sutton (pretty sure) wide open for jumpers. She'll learn.

As noted way earlier, Melbourne kind of reminds me of Payton Verhulst's go-for-it approach.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'm officially worried about LA. 1-3 start against what should have been a fairly easy schedule thus far. Not good.

 

[azfan]

Lynx come back to win 76-70, as Sun score 2 points in last five minutes.

As hot as Connecticut was in the first half, they were middlin' in the third and ice cold in the fourth.
Lindsay Allen went out in the first quarter with a leg injury and never returned. She was missed in the fourth when there was no rhyme or reason to the Sun.

Winning cultures win and losing cultures lose.

On a night with very tough shooting the lessons that Reeve has incorporated and her team is absorbed resulted in the victory.

Connecticut under new leadership does not appear to have that winning culture and while they're not Dallas I was not really surprised to see the loss.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I'm officially worried about LA. 1-3 start against what should have been a fairly easy schedule thus far. Not good.

Has it been? One game against the reigning champs (Lynx), one game against what I'm guessing will be one of the best teams in the league (Phoenix), and two against an unknown whom everyone assumed would be terrible (Valks), but who have already notched two wins in three games.

And remember that they've been without Brink, and now without two potential other starters in Burrell and Jackson. The fact that they have already signed King to a "rest-of-season hardship contract" less than a week into the season speaks to how far the Sparks are from a "full strength" assessment.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Golden State defeated Los Angeles for their 2nd win on the season.

This one is slipping under the radar, and I have no idea why (especially when it's the Sparks, not the Valkyries, who are 1-3 and sitting at the bottom of the West yet again). Maybe it's because people want certain narratives to be true about Kelsey Plum and Vegas, and maybe--just maybe--there's no THERE there. She and the Sparks are struggling, but this is what they want, so...

Other thoughts:

While the Mystics have the top two rookie performers in the league right now, they also have a player whose IQ will hold them back as a team. The more Jade Melbourne plays, the more mistakes she will make (yes, she's young, but she's experienced enough in the W to show some growth in her BBIQ). I'm old enough to remember how bad she was as a decision maker/ballhandler in Seattle her rookie season. In her third season, that doesn't seem to be improving well enough. They're going to have to lean on Sug Sutton (and Slim) a bit more when it comes to running the team. The decision to try Kiah Stokes at the end of the game is head scratching at best and completely idiotic at worst.

Point A'ja is going to force a lot of teams out of an automatic double team--much like shooters in the corner keep Minnesota from experiencing doubles on Collier.

Oh, and Masked Mamba > Jewell Loyd. Her efficiency may not be where it should be, but she's clutch. Hope that carries over to her return to Seattle because that would be awesome!

Stephanie White versus the NY Liberty, again. Oh boy...

 

[WBBTakeover]

Dawn wants her players to be happy, but wanted them to cry hard after the UConn loss. Sounds strange to me.

It's not strange. If you care, you'll want to do whatever it takes to win (even if it means going through a brief period of emotional discomfort). Once you win, you'll be happy. 2023-24 season taught them that (they had to bounce back from being embarrassed on national TV in March 2023 by a team that shouldn't have beaten them).

 

[WBBTakeover]

Hiedeman had 11, but Courtney was 0-11. She's normally a great shooter.

First two games: Courtney amassed 19 assists to zero (!!!) turnovers. Minnesota won both by double digits

Recent two games: Courtney amassed 10 assists to NINE (!!!) turnovers. Minnesota won both games by single digits.

The caliber of opponents (LA, Dallas x 2, Connecticut) didn't change. However, we can see that CW will be the barometer who determines how well this Lynx team will fare this season. If she plays like she did against Dallas the first time and LA, the Lynx should be a Top 3 team all season. If she either plays like she did against Dallas the second time/Connecticut or misses time, then the Lynx will struggle. I don't see the Lynx being head and shoulders above the rest of the league, so their flaws will show at times.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Has it been? One game against the reigning champs (Lynx), one game against what I'm guessing will be one of the best teams in the league (Phoenix), and two against an unknown whom everyone assumed would be terrible (Valks), but who have already notched two wins in three games.

And remember that they've been without Brink, and now without two potential other starters in Burrell and Jackson. The fact that they have already signed King to a "rest-of-season hardship contract" less than a week into the season speaks to how far the Sparks are from a "full strength" assessment.

For some reason I was thinking they played Phoenix twice, who is probably better than most thought they were going to be.

Uh...pretty sure the Liberty are the reigning champs though.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Coach White was listening to me. Hull in as a starter, Bonner out. On very rare occasions, I actually know what I'm talking about.

 

[AidanFan20]

We have a winning record! My over / under for wins for the season was 5, so we're already 40% of the way there. Boy is this a fun team to watch.

I saw ESPN's season prediction: 15.7 wins. But that was still for 13th-place.

The Valkyries look to be very much on the same page defensively, more than a bit surprising for a WNBA expansion team.