On July 6, two WNBA games had completely different storylines as the Los Angeles Sparks won a wire-to-wire match against the Indiana Fever while the Golden State Valkyries got crushed by the Minnesota Lynx.
Plum and Stevens Carries The Sparks to a Victory
Kelsey Plum and Azura Stevens had to perform at an elite level in order for their squad to get their 6th win of the season.
It was an evenly close match with only the Sparks getting an advantage at the last few minutes of the game.
Final Score: 89-87
After 37 minutes of action, Plum had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and shot perfectly from the Free Throw line (4-4). Stevens had a team high 21 points along with 12 rebounds and 2 assists.
The team had shot more 3-pointers (10-22) compared to (7-22). Sparks also converted crucial free throws (15-23) than the (12-19) of the Indiana Fever.
Interestingly, both teams had a tie in assists with 22. But Indiana still had an advantage in the blocks (6-1), points in the paint (46-41), steals (3-2) and fastbreak points (5-2).
The Indiana Fever also had a lot of players who had a great performance. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard both scored 20 plus points. Boston had 23 points, 12 boards, 2 assists and with 2 blocks. Howard had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks as well.
The Indiana Fever goes with a 9-9 record, 3rd spot in the East while the Sparks are 6th in the West.
Valkyries Had No Answer Against The Best Team
The Golden State Valkyries were hoping that their 2 game winning streak could help them in facing up against the #1 team in the league, the Minnesota Lynx. But it didn’t.
Final Score: 82-71
Despite having an early 5 point lead, it wasn’t enough to fully defeat the Lynx as Minnesota even had a 15 point lead at some point in the match.
The Valkyries’ best player Kayla Thornton, was only limited to 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals but a horrifying 6 of 15 shooting from the field. It was Tiffany Haynes who scored a team high 21 points accompanied with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and was flaming hot from the rainbow country shooting 5 of 6.
The Lynx had more blocks (4-1), steals (4-2), assists (25-19) and free throw attempts as well as makes (13-15 against 6-8).
Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier had a team high 22 points, 6 boards, an assist, a steal and a block. While two of her teammates also scored double-digits. Courtney Williams had 15 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists and Kyla McBride, despite shooting 3 of 10 from the field, still had 12 points, 3 assists and a block.
Minnesota continues to dominate the WNBA with a record of 16-2, best in both conferences, while the Valkyries get the 3rd spot in the West with a 9-8 record.
