Game 1: Everything you need to know from the WNBA's opening weekend

Basketball was back, and it ruled.

Hello, it’s me, Matt Ellentuck.

We did it. The first game for all 12 teams is complete. We saw Allie Quigley hit a game-winner against the Aces, Seimone Augustus dominate against the Mercury, Breanna Stewart and the Storm ruin Sabrina Ionescu’s debut, Chennedy Carter make her case for Rookie of the Year early, and so much more.

Let’s review all the takeaways and key events that you might have missed from the weekend.

I’ll stop talking now.

Here’s Basketball.

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The WNBA honored Breonna Taylor before every game

WNBA players have been at the forefront of the social justice movement, and during the opening weekend, they pushed their message forward, again. Before the national anthem played, teams went back to the locker room. When they returned, they held a 26-second moment of silence, representing Taylor’s age when she was killed by police.

ESPN @espn

Correction: Players left the court before the national anthem was played, not during.

ESPN @espn

As the national anthem was played, the @nyliberty and @seattlestorm walked off the floor as part of the social justice initiative. https://t.co/VihH5X3Yzh

Before tip-off of the first game of the season, WNBPA vice president Layshia Clarendon spoke. “We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home. Breonna Taylor was dedicated and committed to uplifting everyone around her. We are also dedicating this season to Say Her Name campaign, a campaign committed to saying the names and fighting for justice for Black women. Black women who are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who do not have people marching in the streets for them. We will say her name.

“Sandra Bland. Atatiana Jefferson. Dominique ‘Rem’mie’ Fells. And Breonna Taylor. We will be a voice for the voiceless.”

WNBA @WNBA

.@Layshiac and @breannastewart address the 2020 #WNBA season being dedicated to Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter Movement.

All players also wore jerseys with Breonna Taylor’s name on the back.

Everyone who was injured last year and came back, looked great

The WNBA is loaded with talent, but shit injury luck and.. uhh… an entire pandemic threatened the quantity of All-Star talent in the bubble. Last year’s MVP, Elena Delle Donne, hasn’t joined her team and is likely to sit out, and Liz Cambage, Jonquel Jones, Tina Charles, Tiffany Hayes and more have opted to stay home. Those were all crushing (yet understandable) blows to the league. And things could’ve been shakier had any of last year’s group of injured superstars been a shell of themselves in their debut.

That wasn’t the case, though. Breanna Stewart bounced back from a torn Achilles with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sue Bird scored 11 points with five assists in 20 minutes. Angel McCoughtry’s legs looked fresher than ever, and she scored 25 points with eight rebounds. Candace Parker scored 13 points with seven rebounds, and Diana Taurasi scored 16 points. The W might be missing a lot of talent this year, but there’s more than enough star players in the bubble to get fans hooked watching.

Seimone Augustus was a flamethrower

Just as we all thought, Los Angeles Sparks (!?!) legend Seimone Augustus, in her 15th WNBA season, went perfect from the field, draining all six of her shots, including two threes, for 14 points in a 23-point win over the Phoenix Mercury.

Vintage Mone! We deserved it.

Basketball Society @bbsociety_

Seimone Augustus, in her 15th season, still getting it done on both ends of the floor!

Myisha Hines-Allen looked like a superstar ?!?

Hines-Allen played eight minutes per game last year, and averaged two points, buried behind a stacked lineup that had the best offense the league had ever seen. Everyone in D.C. knew her talent, she just never got the time… until Saturday.

WSLAM @wslam

Myisha Hines-Allen has 22 points so far in the first half. @Mooks_22 She averaged 2.3 points per game last year. (via @WashMystics)

Hines-Allen finished the game with 27 points and 10 rebounds — superstar numbers — as a starter against the Indiana Fever. She looked fantastic, bullying her way past guards, finishing in the paint, and nailing 3-of-4 threes. Washington blew out Indiana by 25 points, and Hines-Allen was a huge reason why.

Allie Quigley came up CLUTCH

Sky-Aces was debatably the best game of the weekend, and it came down to the final seconds. Having climbed back from a 9-point deficit, Chicago was down just one point with 22 seconds left to play, and had the ball. James Wade drew up the perfect play, sending Courtney Vandersloot baseline to find Quigley, who pump-faked Jackie Young just enough to side-step and launch a corner-three. Buckets.

The Sky won by two points.

Chicago Sky @chicagosky

THE GAME WINNING 3 @alliequigley

Chennedy Carter had a helluva debut

The Rookie of the Year debate has three lead contenders: Ionescu, the Wings’ Satou Sabally and the Dream’s Carter. Carter was no doubt the best of them in Game 1.

WSLAM @wslam

Hesitation game too smooth. @ChennedyCarter (via @AtlantaDream)

Carter’s known to create her own shots as a scorer, which she did to net 18 points on 16 shots, but her passing is what really amazed in her debut. She finished with eight assists to just two turnovers, and ran Atlanta downhill off the break. Dream fans should be thrilled with what they saw in a 105-95 win over the Wings.

WSLAM @wslam

Hollywood in transition. Ya love to see it. @ChennedyCarter (via @AtlantaDream)

Crystal Dangerfield saved the Lynx

The Lynx are basically having an open audition for their lead guard spot, with no heir apparent to Lindsay Whalen’s throne, and with Odyssey Sims not in the bubble. Lexie Brown got the start, and shared facilitator duties with Shenise Johnson. They played fine. But it was second-round UConn rookie Dangerfield who made a statement on Sunday. She scored 10 points off the bench, and closed out a tight, 77-69 win over the Sun. I won’t be surprised if she’s starting soon.

WSLAM @wslam

Crystal Dangerfield is going OFF in her pro debut. @crystald2_ (via @minnesotalynx)

Brittney Sykes is 5’9 and blocked Brittney Griner who is 6’8 WTF

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

She hit a three-point shot on the very next play, too.

jack maloney @jackmaloneycbs

great sequence from brittney sykes to get up for the block on BG then hit the 3 off the dribble on the other end

Ok, now on to the bad…

Sabrina Ionescu got Welcome To The League’d

Ionescu should sue the WNBA for matching her up against the Seattle Storm, the favorite to win the title, in her first-ever game. She didn’t look awful, but she did look like a rookie on her way to 12 points on 17 shots, six rebounds and four assists. She had four turnovers — some of which were ugly — and she missed all eight of the threes she took.

Huw Hopkins @coach_huw

The approach when Ionescu has the ball is pressure: brief double to get the ball out of her hands, then a switch when she gives it up and another switch on the PnR. The. Stewie pushes up and forces a wide dribble for a poke away and an easy turnover. Storm are well prepared

Brady Klopfer @BradyKlopferNBA

6 minutes into her professional career, Ionescu is already being treated like a weapon

You shouldn’t be worrying about Sabrina. It’s Game 1 in this mess of a bubble season. And she was being swarmed by some of the best athletes on the planet. She’ll be ok. But damn, being great in this league is hard.

The Phoenix Mercury collapsed, and it’s mildly concerning

The Mercury got embarrassed by the Sparks, 99-76, in a game Skylar Diggins-Smith (14 points on eight shots, four assists) played well in. There are a lot of reasons to not think too much into this. For one, the Sparks retained their three stars from a year ago, while Phoenix tried to throw Diggins-Smith into the mix with Griner and Taurasi on minimal practice time in a pandemic season.

But the way Phoenix was dismantled was exactly what fans feared might go wrong. The Mercury lack depth. The team is without Jessica Breland due to a medical exemption, and DeWanna Bonner is gone by way of a forced trade. So who steps up now? Phoenix needs one of Nia Coffey or Alanna Smith, or maybe even Sophie Cunningham to fill that small forward spot. None of them looked great in Game 1. And there are only 21 games left.

Diamond DeShields is injured, and I’m at least moderately worried

It was a surprise to everyone when DeShields was announced not to be in Sunday’s starting lineup minutes before tip-off. The reason was inflammation in her knee, according to ESPN’s Holly Rowe. DeShields did play in the first quarter, but only saw 15 minutes of game time. She had one strong take to the hoop, but otherwise didn’t appear to have anywhere near the athleticism and mobility that makes her one of the best young talents in the world. She finished with just five points and two turnovers. I hope DeShields is ok and recovers quickly. This WNBA season is so short that even a few weeks of missed time could make or break Chicago.

Did the Fever forget they had Teaira McCowan?

In her first game as head coach, Marianne Stanley made the bizarre choice of not including McCowan, a 6’7 All-Rookie first team member last year, in her team’s starting lineup. Then she only played her for 14 minutes. McCowan only scored one point. The Fever lost by 25. Turns out not playing your best player is not a good idea.

Stanley said after the game that McCowan will get more minutes in Game 2. Let’s see if she stays true to that.

Matt’s power rankings after Game 1:

1. Storm

2. Sparks

3. Mystics

4. Sky

5. Aces

6. Lynx

7. Sun

8. Mercury

9. Fever

10. Dream

11. Wings

12. Liberty

Matt’s MVP rankings after Game 1:

1. Myisha Hines-Allen ???

2. Angel McCoughtry

3. Sylvia Fowles

4. Breanna Stewart

5. Nneka Ogwumike

Matt’s Rookie of the Year rankings after Game 1:

1. Chennedy Carter

2. Satou Sabally

3. Sabrina Ionescu

4. Ty Harris

5. Crystal Dangerfield

And that’s the end of the first recap of the 2020 WNBA season.

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