There are two weeks left in the WNBA season and teams are struggling through injuries as they fight for playoff seeding.
Dallas Wings (12-16)
Allisha Gray
Thursday vs Atlanta (72-68 win): 37 minutes (start), 19 points, 10 rebounds, assist, steal, block
Sunday vs Atlanta (69-64 loss): 35:00 minutes (start), 10 points, 14 rebounds, steal, block
Season: 21 games (12 starts), 26.9 mpg, 11.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 spg
Tyasha Harris
Thursday vs Atlanta (72-68 win): 9 minutes, 2 assists
Sunday vs Atlanta (69-64 loss): 24 minutes, 6 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Season: 28 games (2 starts), 16.9 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 rpg,
Notes: Dallas is currently the seventh seed and will likely make the playoffs, but the Wings sure don’t inspire any confidence. Losing to Atlanta was an insult, the injury was almost everything else: the Wings were so injury-depleted that coach Vickie Johnson said on the broadcast she was “out of players.” Gray has been tremendous, as always, and Harris produced when called upon Sunday. Hopefully they get some help.
Up next: Tuesday, September 7 vs Connecticut (8:00 pm eastern, Amazon Prime); Saturday, September 11 vs New York (8:00 pm eastern)
Indiana Fever (6-20)
Tiffany Mitchell
Tuesday vs Los Angeles (74-72 win): 32 minutes (start), 12 points, 2 rebounds, assist
Saturday vs Phoenix (87-65 loss): 23 minutes (start), 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist, 10-11 FTs
Season: 25 games (22 starts), 26.7 mpg, 12.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg
Notes: Mitchell is seventh in the WNBA in free throws made and tenth in free throw percentage. The Fever are 5-5 over their last ten games (and three times in that span Mitchell has made 10 free throws), so maybe, just maybe, the mess of a team has figured something out.
Up next: Monday, September 6 vs Phoenix (7:00 pm eastern, NBA TV); Friday, September 10 at Minnesota (8:00 pm eastern, Twitter); Sunday, September 12 at Minnesota (7:00 pm eastern, NBA TV)
Las Vegas Aces (20-8)
A’ja Wilson
Thursday vs Chicago (90-83 win): 37 minutes (start), 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists,
Sunday at Chicago (92-84 loss): 35 minutes (start), 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Season: 28 games (28 starts), 32.4 mpg, 18.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.4 bpg
Notes: Also running out of players, last week Las Vegas basically played seven players without Dearica Hamby (injury) and Liz Cambage (COVID) and split the games with Chicago. Their absence was especially notable in the loss, where the Aces trailed by just three with two minutes left, but fatigued Wilson missed back-to-back shots and Las Vegas went scoreless the rest of the game. Wilson put up her usual numbers this week, but with the depleted roster her efficiency was down. Fortunately the Aces still have the second seed and have time to get healthy with only one game this week - but it’s a big one against the third-place Lynx.
Up next: Wednesday, September 8 vs Minnesota (9:00 pm eastern, ESPN2)
Seattle Storm (19-10)
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan
Season: 1 game, 1.0 mpg, no stats
Notes: Herbert Harrigan will miss the remainder of the season due to pregnancy, the Storm announced on May 27. In a statement released by the team, Herbert Harrigan said, “I’m excited to announce that I am expecting! I’m very much looking forward to motherhood and starting a family with my boyfriend, Stanford. While I am disappointed to miss the 2021 WNBA season, I appreciate the supportive environment the Storm family has provided for me. I will be cheering on the Storm from the sidelines and wish the whole organization great success this season. See you next year!!”
By the way, it’s a boy.