Arike Ogunbowale powered Dallas to a win on Wednesday, with 14 of her 25 points coming in the fourth quarter.
Despite trailing 75-73 with 3:16 to go, the Wings rattled off the next 14 points to beat the Chicago Sky 87-79. As a whole, the Wings shot 100% on eight shots in the final five minutes of the game.
"I don't know. I mean, I was dead, honestly," Ogunbowale said after Dallas's comeback win. "Maddy [Siegrist] came to me and said, 'The Lord renews your strength.' And the last five minutes, we went crazy."
Postgame, head coach Latricia Trammell applauded her team’s ability to handle the Sky’s pressure.
"We know basketball is a game of surges," Trammell said. "You just gotta weather the storm because we were gonna go on our runs as well."
While Chicago was unable to find an answer for Dallas’ fourth-quarter surge, Sky rookie Angel Reese had a solid professional debut. Her first WNBA bucket came in the third quarter, and she finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, joining the remaining four Sky starters in double-digit scoring.
Of Reese's 12 points, seven came in the fourth quarter.
"She's [Angel Reese] a great player on and off the court," Ogunbowale said of the LSU alum's performance. "This is her first game. Obviously, she has a long career, this is a good start."
While rapper Latto was in the building for the Sky game, Kim Kardashian dropped by the Los Angeles Sparks game with daughter North to see the Sparks took on Atlanta. Rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson both made their WNBA debuts, while Layshia Clarendon had their first career triple-double.
Brink finished with 11 points, four assists, and two blocks, but got into foul trouble with five fouls in 20 minutes.
Atlanta would have the last word, thanks to Rhyne Howard leaving behind some broken ankles in her 25-point performance.
The Indiana Fever hold the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft for the second consecutive year after again winning the draft lottery.
Following the Fever in the 2024 draft will be the Los Angeles Sparks (No. 2), Phoenix Mercury (No. 3) and Seattle Storm (No. 4).
No. 1 overall picks have a prolific history in the WNBA. Those players have won 38 championships, 13 MVPs and 124 All-Star selections, according to ESPN.
The Fever were represented at the draft lottery by 2023 top pick and WNBA rookie of the year Aliyah Boston. If Iowa star Caitlin Clark decides to go pro after her senior season, she and Boston on the same team could prove deadly for the rest of the league.
“I think it’s just going to be another talented player that we can use to help build us to back to the franchise that the Fever was at, so I’m super excited for the upcoming draft,” Boston said to ESPN on the broadcast.
Like many other players for the draft, Clark has some NCAA eligibility remaining, which could shake up draft predictions. Players have until March to declare for the draft — unless their team is in the NCAA tournament after the deadline, in which case players have until 48 hours after their final game to declare.
The draft is scheduled for April 15, 2024, and Just Women’s Sports has made early predictions for the lottery picks.
Dearica Hamby’s former Las Vegas Aces teammates cut off contact with her after she went public with her claims of mistreatment by the team, she said in a discrimination complaint filed on Sept. 22.
In the complaint, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the Aces and the WNBA, the 29-year-old forward alleges that Las Vegas traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks in January because she was pregnant. She also contends that the WNBA “failed to properly investigate” the incident in “retaliation” for her public comments about the situation, as first reported by the Washington Post.
Hamby first spoke out about “unethical treatment” by the Aces in the immediate aftermath of her trade. But in the complaint, she shares new details of her allegations.
After she revealed her pregnancy in August, the Aces “retaliated” against her, creating an “abusive and hostile” work environment, Hamby said. Her former teammates cut off communication with her after she spoke out, per the complaint.
And even after she was traded to the Sparks, Hamby claims the Aces attempted to obtain private OBGYN medical records, as reported by CBS Sports.
Hamby also claims that the WNBA failed to interview any current Aces players in the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, the league suspended Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon for two games, and also rescinded the team’s 2025 first-round draft pick.
“The league conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations and levied appropriate discipline based on its findings,” the WNBA said in a statement.
Chennedy Carter isn’t done with the WNBA.
The 24-year-old guard is waiting for her next WNBA opportunity, one she doesn’t plan to waste, she told Andscape’s Sean Hurd. Carter was released by the Sparks ahead of the 2023 season.
“I love basketball. I love to play. I’m passionate about it. My time is coming soon,” she said. “Chennedy Carter is not finished.”
The No. 4 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, Carter started her career in Atlanta, where she scored a franchise-record 18 points in her Dream debut. She went on to set other franchise rookie records that season, from scoring 35 points in a single game to scoring 25-plus points in consecutive games. When she’s at her best, she can be among the best in the game.
“She’s a phenomenal talent. I think everyone understands that and sees that,” Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Andscape. “From a basketball standpoint, I don’t think we’ve seen a player like her in the league when she’s been able to play. You just think of the crazy potential that she has.”
Yet Carter has had a rocky start to her career.
She was suspended in July 2021 following a locker-room confrontation with then-teammate Courtney Williams. She did not play again in 2021 and then was traded to the Sparks.
In Los Angeles, Carter averaged just 16.4 minutes per game in 2022. She missed four games toward the end of the season due to what interim coach Fred Williams called a “coach’s decision.”
This offseason saw Carter lead the top Turkish basketball league in scoring. She also believes the time in Turkey gave her a better handle on other aspects of her game, which boosted her confidence — and, she hopes, her WNBA prospects.
“I’m pretty much in control of whenever I play. I’m in control of that,” Carter said. “I just want to find the best situation for me. I’m a talented player and I want to be utilized the right way. … I’m ready to go.”
The Los Angeles Sparks will be without Lexie Brown for the 11th straight game Wednesday as Brown continues to recover from an unspecified non-COVID illness.
Brown, who joined the team in 2021 as a free agent, had been having a breakout season to start 2023. The 28-year-old guard averaged a career-high 13.3 points per game, as well as 2.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals through the first nine games. Her shooting percentages — overall and from 3-point range — are also career highs.
Last Thursday, Brown took to Instagram to address her extended absence, writing that she’s “thankful & grateful.” She also made it seem like she could make her return sooner rather than later.
“I want to send a special thank you to everyone that helped me get through an extremely difficult time. The support, care, and love has been so real,” she wrote. “I’m so excited to start the process of getting back on the court and finishing the season strong. Remember to listen to your body and take care of it. It’s the only one you have.”
Brown is one of many players out for the Sparks, including Chiney Ogwumike, Nia Clouden and Layshia Clarendon.
“While many of my teams have endured injuries, I have never experienced anything like this year,” head coach Curt Miller wrote Monday on Twitter. “Nineteen games into the season, we have now had players miss 57 games with injuries/illnesses. If you included two season-ending (injuries), we have 95 games missed by players!”
After an intense battle between five teams, the Mercury and the Liberty secured the last two playoff spots. The Dream, the Lynx and the Sparks just missed the cut, while the Fever have been out of contention for most of the season.
As the rest of the league entertains scenarios of championship bliss, the offseason is already underway for those four organizations. Here’s what each squad needs to do in the coming months to get into contention next season.
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta was one win away from sneaking into the playoffs, but back-to-back losses to the Liberty ensured New York surpassed the Dream as the final team in the postseason. First-year head coach Tanisha Wright took the Dream from winning 25 percent of their games in 2021 to 39.9 percent this season. That’s the team’s best win percentage since they made it to the semifinals in 2018.
Rookie of the Year frontrunner Rhyne Howard averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals a game to lead Atlanta back into the playoff chase. But the Dream have some major offensive shortcomings that need to be addressed in the offseason, starting on the inside. The Dream are fourth in the country from beyond the 3-point line, but once they step inside the arc, things go downhill. As a team, they are 11th in the league in 2-point field goal percentage (45.2) and 10th in free-throw percentage (77.7). And on the other side of the ball, the Dream allow their opponents to score 49.9 percent of their points from 2-point range.
Atlanta needs to set out and sign an experienced big or draft a WNBA-ready post. Players like Nneka Ogwumike, Emma Meesseman and Dearica Hamby will be free agents this offseason, and depending on how things shake out in the 2023 draft lottery, the Dream could be in a position to select South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston or Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee, though the latter may take more development. A better inside presence can easily lead to a couple of more wins and, in turn, a playoff spot.
Minnesota Lynx
I’m not ready to think about the WNBA without Sylvia Fowles, but the Lynx need to. Cheryl Reeve was right when she said there will never be another player like her, so replacing the WNBA’s leading rebounder isn’t going to happen.
Instead, Minnesota needs to figure out its new identity. Will they be a more guard-oriented team? Will they look for another traditional post, or seek out someone who can stretch the defense and shoot 3s? How will they fill the hole on defense? What about on the glass? There are plenty of questions, and they won’t all be answered right away.
A good start for Minnesota would be to sign a couple of non-traditional bigs who can serve two purposes. The first is to keep up the team’s rebounding prowess — they were the second best squad on the glass this season. The second is to create offense by stretching the floor. Without Fowles to displace defenders and take attention away from driving guards, the Lynx need to clear lanes in other ways. A post who can stretch the defense and shoot 3-pointers is a great way to do that. Plus, Minnesota could use a lift from beyond the arc after finishing the season with just 24.9 percent of the team’s points coming from 3-point range.
Overall, the Lynx will want to play through two-time All-Star Napheesa Collier, who returned to the court for her team’s last four games just 74 days after giving birth to her daughter. Collier averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks during the 2021 season.
Los Angeles Sparks
Despite finding a way to stay in playoff contention, the Sparks were a mess this year. Derek Fisher was fired early in the season, but his decisions continue to haunt L.A. From the contract divorce with Liz Cambage to his insistence on signing Chennedy Carter despite reported pushback from the organization, Fisher left the Sparks in bad shape. Because of that, it’s time for a total rebuild.
Seven players are going to be free agents, and it makes sense for L.A. to unload most of them and start fresh. Holding onto someone like Nneka Ogwumike, despite her obvious talent, isn’t beneficial when the team needs to rework most of its roster. Her $193,409 salary is better used on young talent the organization can develop and build around. The Sparks need to worry about the future, not the now. That means turning to the draft and targeting a versatile centerpiece like Haley Jones or, looking further ahead, a game-changing playmaker like Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers in 2024.
Indiana Fever
On paper, things look bad for the last-place Fever, who parted ways with coach Marianne Stanley earlier this season after she amassed a 14-49 record over three years and missed out on the playoffs for a league-leading sixth straight year. But in reality, the organization is doing all the right things and there is plenty to be excited about.
The Fever are overflowing with young talent after drafting college stars NaLyssa Smith, Emily Engstler, Lexie Hull, Queen Egbo and Destanni Henderson. Smith is certainly a player to build around, and after Rhyne Howard, she was easily the best-performing rookie in the league, averaging 13.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. For the Fever, it’s all about staying the course. There likely isn’t a quick pick-up or one draft pick who can take them from last place to the top of the league, but the pieces are coming together.
If Indiana develops the players it has and continues to put a focus on drafting top players over the next few years, then the organization has a good chance of breaking into the top half of the league. For now, they just need to be patient.
Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.