WNBA Wraparound: Caitlin Clark goes for 30, Kahleah Copper hits game-winner, Liberty clinch Commissioner’s Cup spot

With a win over the Sun on Saturday afternoon, the Liberty secured their spot in the Commissioner’s Cup game and snapped the Sun’s undefeated start to the season. Meanwhile, rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese both scored career-highs last week and have solidified themselves as two of the best players in the 2024 draft class. 

Here’s everything you need to know from the WNBA last week, in this week’s WNBA Wraparound.  

3 highlights from last week around the WNBA

Kahleah Copper game-winner lifts Mercury past Lynx: Kahleah Copper, who’s having an exceptional season so far for Phoenix, hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds to play to secure a Mercury victory. In her first season with the Mercury after seven years in Chicago, Copper is averaging a career-high 23.5 points and went off for 34 points on 13-of-23 in this one. She said after the game that head coach Nate Tibbetts designed the final play for Diana Taurasi, but that Taurasi pushed for the shot to go to Copper. The game also marked Britney Griner’s return from injury, and the All-Star center finished with 13 points in 21 minutes. 

Caitlin Clark goes off for 30 points as Fever beat Mystics: On Friday night, Clark tied her career-high with 30 points while setting a Fever rookie franchise record of 7 made 3-pointers as Indiana racked up its third win of the season. She also added 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. That game came on the heels of her worst game of the season so far – a three-point outing in a blowout loss to the Liberty. It was Clark’s second 30-point game of the season, and best 3-point shooting performance so far as a professional, taking place in front of a sold-out DC crowd. 

Angel Reese has career-best game: There was a lot of debate about how Angel Reese’s game would translate to the WNBA, and so far, she’s excelled at the professional level. In a win on Thursday over the Mystics, she scored a career-high 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists. The seventh pick is averaging a near double-double through the first month of the WNBA season, averaging 11.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 steals. The Sky, predicted by many to be the worst team in the league this season, have started the year 4-6 and pulled out several surprising victories. 

2 WNBA games to tune into this week 

New York Liberty @ Las Vegas Aces – Saturday, June 15 at 3 p.m.

The highly-anticipated rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals will take place on Saturday afternoon, as the Liberty will travel to Las Vegas to take on the two-time defending champions. With Chelsea Gray sidelined at point guard, the Aces have had a rockier start to the season than most expected — already dropping three games — but remain one of the clear championship contenders in the league. 

The Aces defeated the Liberty 3-1 in the Finals, which took place in October, with the thrilling closeout game coming down to a Courtney Vandersloot missed 3-pointer. This matchup will feature five 2023 All-Stars — A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart — and three former MVPs (Wilson, Stewart, and Jonquel Jones). Stewart and Wilson headlined last year’s MVP race and are likely competing for that honor again this season, and this game will be the first of three regular-season matchups this season.

The Aces and the Liberty are also the two teams who faced off for the Commissioner’s Cup last season, with the Liberty coming out victorious in that one. Since these are Commissioner’s Cup games, they also count toward a spot in the In-Season Championships (and could serve as a preview of this year’s, if both teams have the best Cup record in their respective conference). 

Chicago Sky @ Indiana Fever – Sunday, June 16 at 12 p.m. 

Last time the Sky and Fever faced off, a thrilling game was marred by the discourse around a Chennedy Carter flagrant foul that had national media debating whether Caitlin Clark is being targeted by WNBA players. That game also served as the first WNBA game between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, whose rivalry took center stage when LSU beat Iowa in the 2022 NCAA championships. Most recently, Clark and Reese competed in the Elite Eight, and now, games played between the Sky and Fever have a little bit of extra juice. 

The two teams squared off on June 1, with Clark’s Fever pulling out a 71-70 win. Kelsey Mitchell (18 points) and Nalyssa Smith (17 points) led Indiana to victory, while Carter put up 19 points for the Sky. 

The Fever and the Sky are both rebuilding teams with young talent and if the last game is any indication, the intensity level should be high and this should be a competitive one. 

1 WNBA story to monitor this week: the New York Liberty are rolling

After a slow start to the season — which included back-to-back losses to the Sky and Lynx – the New York Liberty have won six straight games and are solidifying themselves as one of the best teams in the league. The Liberty lost the Aces 3-1 in last year’s Finals but were a missed shot from tying things up at 2-2. This year, balanced scoring and strong play by reigning MVP Breanna Stewart has helped them to a 10-2 record, good for second-best in the league. 

The Liberty snapped the Sun’s undefeated start to the season with an 82-75 win on Sunday afternoon, powered by 24 points by Sabrina Ionescu and 22 points by Jonquel Jones (9-of-14 shooting). The win clinches their spot as the Eastern Conference team in the Commissioner’s Cup for the second straight year. 

Four Liberty players have averaged double-figures this season — Breanna Stewart (19.3 points), Sabrina Ionescu (17.8 points), Jonquel Jones (14.3 points) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (12.8 points). 

"We understood this was a huge game for us, a statement game, they're undefeated. It's huge for the Commissioner's Cup," Ionsecu said after the win. "And so we came in here, regardless of how ugly the game was looking, how sloppy it was at times, and we just stay poised and played our style of basketball."

Last year’s experience in the Finals against a seasoned Aces squad has proved helpful in overcoming adversity now, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. 

"The chemistry that we built last year and the experiences that we had helps us now," Brondello said. "We settled down, our defense goes to another level. I think our connections even go to another level regardless what happens in those other quarters.