WNBA Daily 5/6/22: Opening Day Recap
All Opening Day Scores
- Washington 84, Indiana 70
- Los Angeles 98, Chicago 91 OT
- Las Vegas 106, Phoenix 88
- Seattle 97, Minnesota 74
Washington 84, Indiana 70
In her first start in a home opener since 2018, Washington Mystics forward and former league MVP Elena Delle Donne led her team in holding off a young Indiana Fever squad 84-70 Friday night at Entertainment and Sports Arena in front of a sold-out crowd. Full story…
Los Angeles 98, Chicago 91 OT
Led by Jordin Canada, the Los Angeles Sparks held off the defending league champion Chicago Sky in overtime, 98-91. Canada was among five Sparks players in double figures. The tense contest featured Los Angeles center Liz Cambage in her first-ever game with the Sparks after being traded from Las Vegas in the offseason. After a hard-fought regulation contest that ended in a tie at 88 all, Los Angeles outperformed Chicago 10-3 in the overtime period.
During the game, Sky forward Candace Parker became the 2nd WNBA player in history with 6,000 career points, 3,000 career rebounds, and 1,400 career assists. She passed Shannon Johnson for 9th all-time in assists on her third assist of the game.
Canada finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. The Sparks reserves outscored the Sky reserves 37-10.
Top Performers
Los Angeles
- Jordin Canada 21 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists
- Nneka Ogwumike 19 points, 7 rebounds
- Liz Cambage 12 points, 4 rebounds
- Lexie Brown 12 points, 5 assists
- Chennedy Carter 12 points
Chicago
- Dana Evans 24 points, 5 assists
- Candace Parker 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
- Azurá Stevens 13 points, 6 rebounds
- Emma Meesseman 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
- Courtney Vandersloot 11 points, 8 assists
Inactive/Injury list
- Los Angeles: Olivia Nelson-Ododa- OUT (hip, week-to-week); Kristi Toliver- NWT (partial season suspension); Katie Lou Samuelson- NWT (partial season suspension)
- Chicago: Allie Quigley (knee)
Las Vegas 106, Phoenix 88
The game, a rematch of last season’s semifinal playoff series between the squads, was a lopsided affair as Las Vegas dominated the Mercury and led wire-to-wire. Both teams are under the leadership of first-time WNBA head coaches, with league legend and former NBA assistant Becky Hammon at the helm of the Aces and former WNBA player Vanessa Nygaard guiding Phoenix.
The Aces got off to a 31-17 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Phoenix outscored Las Vegas 25-20 in the last quarter, but it was too little too late. The Aces led by as much as 28 and scored 25 points off of turnovers compared to just eight by Phoenix.
Las Vegas forward Dearica Hamby, in her first season as a starter for the team, led her squad with 24 points plus seven rebounds. Chelsea Gray picked up her 1000th assist, and A’ja Wilson earned her 38th career double-double, the third-most in franchise history (including the Utah Starzz and San Antonio Stars).
Top Performers
Las Vegas
- Dearica Hamby 24 points, 7 rebounds
- Kelsey Plum 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
- Jackie Young 20p points, 4 assists
- A’ja Wilson 15 points, 11 rebounds
- Chelsea Gray 11 points, 5 assists
Phoenix
- Skylar Diggins-Smith 25 points
- Shey Peddy 16 points
- Tina Charles 15 points
- Sophie Cunningham 12 pints
Inactive/Injury list
- Las Vegas: none
- Phoenix: Diamond DeShields (Not with team), Brianna Turner (Not with team), Brittney Griner (Not with team)
Seattle 97, Minnesota 74
Seattle fan favorites led the Storm to a 97-74 victory over the visiting Minnesota Lynx in a brand new venue to open the season. With 12,904 fans in attendance at Climate Pledge Arena, the Storm did not disappointment the crowd.
While Seattle raced out to an 18-8 lead, the Lynx roared back and ended the quarter with a slim 20-18 advantage. At the break the teams were tied at 41. However, the Storm could not be stopped in the third period, outscoring their opponent 34-14 that included a 16-2 run.Â
Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd finished with 17 points each while Stewart also grabbed eight rebounds. The Storm shot 53% from the field, 48% from three-point range and was 15-for-15 from the free throw line. All Storm players that played scored.
Top Performers
Minnesota
- Sylvia Fowles 16 points, 4 rebounds
- Aerial Powers 14 points
- Jessica Shepard 9 points, 12 rebounds
Seattle
- Breanna Stewart 17pts/8rebs
- Jewell Loyd 17 points
- Epiphanny Prince 13 points
- Sue Bird 11 points, 9 assists
- Stephanie Talbot 11 points
Inactive/Injury list
- Minnesota: Damiris Dantas (Not with team/right foot), Angel McCoughtry
- Seattle: Mercedes Russell (Illness/non-basketball injury)
