2017 WNBA Week 4: The Liberty and Mystics are on top of the East


(LVJ's 2017 WNBA season round-up Week 4)

In the 2015 WNBA Playoffs, the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics figured in one of the most memorable first-round playoff games in recent WNBA history.

Ivory Latta and Emma Meesseman powered the Mystics to an 86-83 double-overtime victory over Tina Charles and the Liberty inside the Madison Square Garden in what was only the fifth playoff game in the league which went to at least two extensions.

Latta had 15 including four triples, Meesseman had 13 points and 10 boards, while then-Mystics center added 13 points. Epiphanny Prince led New York with 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Charles had 22 points and eight boards.

Two years have passed, and both the Liberty and Mystics are still poised to top the Eastern Conference of the WNBA.

The Mystics, before getting blown out by the Minnesota Lynx in an early clash of contenders, went on an impressive five-game winning streak which included four without Meesseman who is with the Belgian national team for the upcoming 2017 EuroBasket Women.

So far in the season, the Mystics are second in the overall league standings with a 6-3 record, just trailing the undefeated Lynx (8-0).They are fourth in offensive rating at 107.5 points per 100 possessions and fourth in net rating They lead the league in three-point makes per game with 7.1.

Thanks to the addition of superstar Elena Delle Donne and WNBA champion Kristi Toliver, Washington has looked like a team that could take it to the next level. Mike Thibault's space and three-point oriented offense has taken it to whole new level with the threat Delle Donne provides on the offensive end, and with players like Tayler Hill. Toliver, and Latta who can all hit from the outside. Toliver is averaging 2.1 makes from beyond the arc. Hill is just behind at 2 makes a game, while Latta is hitting 1.4 of her three-point tries. All are shooting above 35 percent.


Hill herself is averaging career-highs in points (15.8) and assists (3.3). Part of Washington's success in the offense comes from her ability to get to the rim and get her teammates involved by whipping passes back out. Role players like Krystal Thomas, Tierra-Ruffin Pratt, Tianna Hawkins, and Natasha Cloud have all contributed as well in the Meesseman-less stretch.

Meanwhile, the Liberty are doing it with their defense. They lead the league in rebounding at 38.3 a game, and they hold opponents down to just 38.7 percent shooting from the field, the best in the WNBA.

As of this writing, the Liberty have won three in a row to rise to third (tied with Seattle and Los Angeles) in the league. What was more impressive about this streak is that New York didn't have Kia Vaughn and Epiphanny Prince who are both suiting up as naturalized players for their respective 2017 EuroBasket Women teams. The team recently suffered from a season-ending injury to Brittany Boyd as well, and yet, here they are, on a roll.


Different players have stepped up for the Liberty. In the 93-89 win over the Dallas Wings, Shavonte Zellous poured in 27 points. Against Phoenix Mercury, Kiah Stokes finished with a career-high 23 points to go with 14 rebounds and two blocks for an 88-72 win. Then in a 76-61 conquest of the Atlanta Dream, Stokes pulled down 17 boards while Sugar Rodgers had 16 points.

Both the Liberty and Mystics have weathered challenges early in the WNBA season. They have the deepest benches in the league, and how they've been performing so far points to more post-season trips for both.

 Courtney Williams sets career-high for Sun
Connecticut's sophomore guard Courtney Williams was instrumental for the Sun throughout their two-game winning streak to get out of the bottom of the WNBA team standings. In an 85-77 win over the San Antonio Stars, Williams came short of a perfect game as he had 23 points and 10 rebounds while missing just one of his 11 field goal attempts.

She followed it up with a 19-point, six-rebound, four-assist line in the Sun's 104-71 blowout win over the Atlanta Dream where she was plus-37.

Williams played more than 30 minutes in both instances, only the second and third times she has logged such minutes this season.

In the season, the guard is averaging 10.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.3 APG while shooting 42.9 percent from long range, more than 13 percentage points better from her rookie year. Williams has also increased her playing time from 14 to 24.4 minutes per game in her sophomore year.

With Alex Bentley out for a stretch to represent Belarus in the 2017 EuroBasket Women, expect Williams to perform at the same level in the Sun's next games.

Lindsay Whalen now winningest WNBA player
With the Lynx beating the Mystics 98-73 last Friday, Lindsay Whalen has now become the winningest player in WNBA history with 295 wins, passing Swin Cash.


The veteran Lynx guard hasn't shown any signs of slowing down this season. Though her scoring has decreased a bit, the 14-year pro is averaging more assists than last season, and is shooting better from three-point land.

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