Bueckers, Collier, and Hayes lead the way, August 12th WNBA Recap
The first game of the night was between the Dallas Wings and the Toronto Tempo. The Wings had a ten-point advantage at the end of the first quarter (27-17). Tempo managed to cut the lead down by 2 at halftime (45-37). The Wings took their lead back to double digits by the end of the third quarter (70-58). The Tempo managed to cut that lead in half by the end of the game, but the Wings won 94-88.
Paige Bueckers led the way for the Wings with 22 points, eight assists, three rebounds, and three steals. She did have some help from Arike Ogunbowale (21 points and five assists), Awak Kuier (14 points and four rebounds), and Alanna Smith (13 points and 11 rebounds—a good all-around day for the Wings. Credit to Tempo's Marina Mabrey (23 points and four assists); she delivers every night.
The first of the two late games was between the Golden State Valkyries and the Chicago Sky. The Sky took the lead early in this one, leading by 8 at the end of the first (24-16). From that point on, it was all Valkyries. At halftime, the Valkyries led by three (43-40). Then they had a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter (72-58). The Valkyries grew the lead, controlled the game, and won 91-71.
Tiffany Hayes led the scoring for the Valkyries as she had 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Five of her teammates scored in double digits, so a good night for the Valkyries.
The second late game was between the Minnesota Lynx and the Portland Fire. This one started as a close game at the end of the first quarter; the Lynx led 26-23. Then the Lynx dominated the second quarter as they outscored the Fire 31-10 and led 57-33 at halftime. The lead for the Lynx grew to 29 to start the third quarter, and then the Fire ended up outscoring the Lynx in the third and trailed by 17 at the end of the third quarter (68-51).
The Lynx lead of 17 shrunk to 4 by the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter; it turned into a ball game. The lead got down to one around the 1:43 mark, but the Lynx survived and won 85-81. Big games from Napheesa Collier (20 points, nine rebounds) and Kayla McBride (19 points and four steals) helped the Lynx survive the almost-choked 29-point lead.
Another good day of games. We have three more to watch tonight. The Atlanta Dream play the Connecticut Sun at 7 pm EST. Los Angeles Sparks play the New York Liberty at 8 pm EST. Washington Mystics play the Las Vegas Aces at 10 pm EST.
Comments