WNBA roundup: last night’s game results, today’s Mercury-Storm matchup, and more

Good afternoon, WNBA fans! There’s just about two weeks left in the regular season, and the race for playoff seeding has intensified. A Minnesota Lynx win (over the Indiana Fever) and a Connecticut Sun loss (to the Las Vegas Aces) shook up the standings, with the Sun dropping to the third seed.

Tonight is a single-game slate, with the 7th-seeded Phoenix Mercury taking on the 5th-seeded Seattle Storm at 9pm ET.

First, let’s start with Friday’s game results:

• The Chicago Sky beat the Los Angeles Sparks, 92-78, behind 24 points and 12 rebounds from Angel Reese. Chennedy Carter, who returned from a couple-week absence due to illness, added 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in the win. It’s just Chicago’s second win since the Olympic break. With the loss, the Sparks become the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. They’re now poised to be frontrunners in the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes.
• The Minnesota Lynx snapped a four-game Indiana Fever win streak with a 99-88 win, powered by 26 points and 10 rebounds from Napheesa Collier, 16 points from Bridget Carleton, and 15 points from Courtney Williams. The Fever were outscored by 17 points in the third quarter — and lose just their second game since the break.

• The Las Vegas Aces (22-12) overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to beat the Connecticut Sun (24-10). Kelsey Plum led the way with 27 points on 8-15 shooting, while leading MVP candidate A’ja Wilson added 20 points and 8 rebounds. The 72-67 victory made it four consecutive wins for the Aces, who very well could be peaking at the right time.
• The Atlanta Dream beat the Dallas Wings in an overtime thriller, largely thanks to a massive 33-point outing by Rhyne Howard. Tina Charles posted 20 points and 13 assists in the 107-96 victory, and the Dream stay in 9th place in the standings.

The Phoenix Mercury (17-18) visit the Seattle Storm (20-14) at 9pm ET

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s been a somewhat disappointing year for the Mercury, who hover below .500 and have dropped five of their last seven games. Phoenix has been led by Kahleah Copper (21.9 points on 44.3% shooting), Brittney Griner (18.1 points on 57% shooting, 6.4 rebounds), and Diana Taurasi (15 points), Natasha Cloud (11.6 points, 6.8 assists).

The Storm also haven’t been great since the break — they’re just 3-5 since the Olympics — so this one is a battle between two talented teams who have somewhat underachieved. Skylar Diggins-Smith has been the Storm’s leading scorer in three of the last four games, while Jewell Loyd (20.1 points per game) has been the leading scorer this season. Still, it’s Nneka Ogwumike who’s arguably had the best season of the Storm trio — the 2016 league MVP has averaged 16.8 points on 50.6% from the year and 41.3% from three.

Tonight, both teams will look to secure a much-needed win. They’ve faced off twice so far, with each team coming out victorious once.

Updated WNBA Standings

We saw some movement in the standings last night, with the Lynx surpassing the Sun for the #2 seed. Here’s where everything stands with two weeks left to play:

1. New York Liberty (28-6)
2. Minnesota Lynx (25-9)
3. Connecticut Sun (24-10)
4. Las Vegas Aces (22-12)
5. Seattle Storm (20-14)
6. Indiana Fever (18-17)
7. Phoenix Mercury (17-18)
8. Chicago Sky (12-22)
9. Atlanta Dream (12-22)
10. Washington Mystics (11-23)
11. Dallas Wings (9-25)
12. Los Angeles Sparks (7-27)

How to watch today’s WNBA game

Saturday’s matchup between the Mercury and Storm will be streamed on WNBA League Pass and NBA TV.