The final weekend of the WNBA regular season concluded on Sunday with a wild afternoon that saw all 12 teams in action in the space of a few hours. There were historic performances, nail-biting finishes and playoff implications galore. Now that the games are in the books, here’s a look at the day’s scores and some key takeaways:
Wilson reaches 1,000 points this season
A’ja Wilson’s remarkable individual campaign continued Sunday when she became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a season. Wilson needed 29 points against the Sun to achieve the feat, and that’s exactly how many she got in the Aces’ win.
After a big surge in the third quarter, it seemed Wilson would have no trouble reaching the milestone in this game. But with just a few minutes to play in the blowout, she was still four points short. Then, on back-to-back possessions she made mid-range jumpers to get to 1,000 points and send the Aces crowd into a frenzy.
With the victory, the Aces have now won seven of their last eight to improve to 25-13 on the season and are close to securing the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
Locked in Lynx keep No. 1 seed hopes alive
The Lynx are the one team that has had the Liberty’s number this season, and that trend continued Sunday. Cheryl Reeve’s bunch was locked in from the opening tip and led by as many as 26 before holding off the Liberty down the stretch. Including the Commissioner’s Cup championship game, the Lynx are now 3-1 against the Liberty this season.
Minnesota shot 12-of-17 in the first quarter, with assists on 10 of those baskets, and never looked back. Napheesa Collier went for 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Bridget Carleton added 19 points on five 3-pointers. Combined, those two shot 15-of-23.
With the win, the Lynx kept their slim hope of stealing the No. 1 seed alive. To get it, though, they’ll need to win their last two games and have the Liberty lose their last two games, which is unlikely. The more important seeding matter is they are now two games up on the Sun with two games to play in the race for the No. 2 seed.
Clark has another historic day, Fever get No. 6 seed
Caitlin Clark has been on a tear since the Olympic break. During the last month, she has set the rookie assist record, the all-time single-season assist record and the rookie 3-point record, recorded her second career triple-double and become the first rookie to earn Player of the Month honors. Now, she can add a new career-high and the rookie scoring record to the list.
The No. 1 overall pick drained six 3-pointers en route to a 35-point, eight-assist effort in the Fever’s win over the Wings. Her 35 points are tied for the seventh-most ever by a rookie, and she became the first rookie to have 35 points, five assists and five 3-pointers in a game. In the process, she broke Seimone Augustus’ long-standing rookie scoring record, which had stood since 2006.
With the win, the Fever reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2015 and secured the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
Race for eighth continues
With less than a week remaining in the regular season, three teams are still battling for the eighth and final playoff spot: the Washington Mystics, Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream. Sunday’s slate did not provide much clarity. If anything, it created more uncertainty.
Early on, the Dream beat the Mystics in overtime, and later in the day the Sky lost to the Mercury. Now, all three teams have an identical 13-25 record.
Here are their head-to-head records:
- Mystics: 3-1 vs. Sky; 2-2 vs. Dream; 5-3 overall
- Sky: 1-3 vs. Mystics; 2-1 vs. Dream (one game to play); 3-4 overall
- Dream: 2-2 vs. Mystics; 1-2 vs. Sky (one game to play); 3-4 overall
If two teams finish tied for eighth at the end of the season, it would go to a direct tiebreaker, which is determined by head-to-head record, and, if necessary, record against .500 or better teams. Should all three teams finish with the same record, however, the tiebreaker is the combined head-to-head record against the other teams.
That is why, for now, the Mystics occupy eighth, while the Sky are in ninth and the Dream are in 10th. But with two games remaining for each team, all possibilities are still on the table.
Ogunbowale fastest to 4,000 points
Arike Ogunbowale has been a scoring machine ever since she entered the league and averaged 19.1 points per game as a rookie. On Sunday, Ogunbowale poured in another 27 points in the Wings’ loss to the Fever, becoming the fastest player ever to 4,000 points.
Ogunbowale, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft, needed 195 games to get to the milestone. The previous record was held by Breanna Stewart, who got there in 196 games.
For the season, Ogunbowale is averaging 22.2 points per game, good for second in the league. Since she entered the league, Ogunbowale has been in the top-five in scoring every single season, and that streak will continue.
Ogwumike enters top-10 on scoring list
Nneka Ogwumike doesn’t usually put up huge numbers, but the former MVP has been one of the most consistent players of her generation. Her sustained success finally added up on Sunday when she moved into the top-10 on the all-time scoring list.
Late in the second quarter of the Storm’s win over the Sparks, Ogwumike caught a pass in the lane and made a short little jumper to reach 6,454 points for her career. She finished the night with 23 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting.
Ogwumike is the fourth active player to join the top-10 on the scoring list, along with Diana Taurasi (first), Tina Charles (second) and DeWanna Bonner (fourth).
