Woof. The Las Vegas Aces just dropped a 114-77 bomb on our Seattle Storm, a truly rough night for the Emerald City squad. But while we’re picking up the pieces from that beatdown, the rest of the WNBA is in full-blown awards season chaos, and some players are throwing down absolute hammers to seal their candidacies. These games, even without direct playoff implications for the teams involved, are prime territory for stars to make their closing arguments for those end-of-season honors.
Dallas Stars Are Going Off for Top Awards
Over in the Phoenix Mercury vs. Dallas Wings matchup, it was a showcase for two players absolutely making their case. Jessica Shepard, already a leading candidate for Most Improved Player, just stacked her resume even higher. This woman snagged her fifth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in the Wings’ win over the Los Angeles Sparks! That’s not just impressive; that’s MVP-level consistency for Most Improved. Then there’s Paige Bueckers, who poured in a game-high 19 points herself. She’s not just good, she’s gunning for All-WNBA First Team. And why not? She was Second Team as a rookie, and she’s absolutely blown up her numbers across the board this season. We’re talking 20.4 points per game on a ridiculous 50.8 percent shooting, tossing 5.8 assists, and pulling down 4.1 rebounds. Plus, look at the advanced metrics: she’s ninth in Basketball Reference’s PER and seventh in both ESPN Analytics’ net points and databallr’s value plus-minus. The numbers don’t lie, folks; Paige is making a statement!
Atlanta’s Got Stars Heating Up the MVP Ladder
Meanwhile, down in the Chicago Sky vs. Atlanta Dream game, the Dream were absolutely feasting, especially Angel Reese. She’s a legit contender for Defense Player of the Year, and she proved exactly why on Thursday, dropping a monster 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in a rout of the Connecticut Sun. That’s a performance that overshadowed even her own teammates, who are also screaming for All-WNBA attention. And talk about making history: Rhyne Howard, even on an otherwise off-shooting night, drained her 129th three-pointer of the season, setting a brand-new single-season WNBA record! She finished with 10 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals. That stat line screams all-around impact, showing why her occasional shooting slumps don’t matter and why she’s rocketed to second in ESPN Analytics’ MVP ladder. Don’t forget Allisha Gray either; she’s also a top 10 MVP candidate, according to ESPN Analytics. That Dream squad is loaded with talent making their final pushes!
It was a tough night for our Storm, getting thumped by the Aces. Nobody wants to see that. But looking around the league, the WNBA is absolutely on fire with players like Paige Bueckers, Jessica Shepard, Angel Reese, Rhyne Howard, and Allisha Gray putting on incredible shows as they vie for those prestigious end-of-season awards. For our Storm, they’ve got to regroup and shake off that blowout loss. The season’s winding down, but there’s still pride on the line for our squad.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Swish Appeal.
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