Daily Briefing — May 20, 2022: Dallas drops a Phoenix team dealing with drama

But the real story here is, as it was two days ago, the Phoenix Mercury. After superstars Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith got into a long-anticipated feud during a timeout, the latter missed last night’s game with an unspecified illness. A situation worth monitoring, I guess.

But first, read:

• Our Jackie Powell dives into why the Liberty have floundered out of the gate, and how they plan to right the ship
• Her Hoop Stats’ Richard Cohen continues his “WNBA Dissected” with a look at fourth-year options, poor end-of-game coaching and more
• The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings answers questions about WNBA tanking strategies and the Aces’ breakouts

W Roundup

Washington: Activated center Elizabeth Williams

Watch List, Friday, May 20

(All times in Eastern, Game Of The Day in bold)

Indiana @ Connecticut, 7 p.m., League Pass (Local: Indiana Fever Livestream, NESN+)

Washington @ Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., Twitter/League Pass (Local: Monumental, Bally Sports South)

Los Angeles @ Seattle, 10 p.m., League Pass (Local: SpectrumSportsnet, JOEtv/Amazon Prime video)

NCAA Roundup

Transfer portal

Out of the portal:

• Taylor Bigby: The off-ball guard out of Oregon committed to USC
• Saniya Rivers: The wing out of South Carolina committed to N.C. State

Thursday, May 19 recap

Las Vegas beat Minnesota, 93-87. The Lynx were within one possession both in the early second quarter and the early-fourth, but the Aces went on a 7-0 run in the mid-fourth. Las Vegas took seven more free-throw attempts; Minnesota committed 21 fouls.

Wing Jackie Young led the Aces with a season-high 25 points on 8-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 from three, 6-for-7 from the line, four assists and three steals against four fouls in 37 minutes; combo forward Dearica Hamby recorded a double-double with 14 points on 6-for-12 FG (0-1 3pt., 2-6 FT) and 12 rebounds (four offensive) without a turnover; center A’ja Wilson had 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting (1-2 3pt., 6-6 FT), nine rebounds (three offensive), four assists and two steals against two turnovers and four fouls in 31 minutes; point guard Chelsea Gray notched 17 points on 6-for-10 from the field (2-4 3pt.), three rebounds, seven assists and two steals against five turnovers.

The Lynx were led by off-ball guard Aerial Powers’ season-high 25 points on 9-for-21 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, six rebounds (three offensive), six assists and two blocks; center Sylvia Fowles recorded a double-double with 20 points on 8-for-11 FG and 11 rebounds; combo forward Jessica Shepard had 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting (0-1 3pt.) and a career-high 14 rebounds for a double-double, plus three assists; off-ball guard Kayla McBride scored zero points.

Dallas beat Phoenix, 94-84. The Wings had an 11-point lead in the mid-second quarter, but the Mercury closed the gap to one by the early third; the game was within two possessions for most of the rest of the game. Dallas shot 7.5% better from the field and 22.2% better from three; the Wings notched eight blocks; the teams combined for 38 fouls.

Dallas was led by off-ball guard Arike Ogunbowale’s season-high 37 points on 11-for-24 from the field, 5-for-11 from three, and 10-for-10 from the line, four rebounds and five assists without a turnover; wing Marina Mabrey recorded her first-career double-double with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting (2-6 3pt.) and 10 assists, plus six rebounds against four turnovers and four fouls in 30 minutes; wing Allisha Gray had 16 points on 6-for-12 FG (4-6 3pt.), five rebounds, two assists and a career-high five blocks — the first five-block game by a backcourt player in Wings history.

TDB Dallas center minutes distribution watch: Isabelle Harrison, 28; Teaira McCowan, seven; Awak Kuier, five. Charli Collier did not play.

Combo guard Diana Taurasi led the Mercury with a season-high 31 points — the first such game by a player at least 39 years old — on 5-for-15 from three (4-5 from two) and 8-for-9 from the line, three rebounds and four assists; wing Diamond DeShields scored 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting (0-3 3pt.) against five fouls in 34 minutes; center Tina Charles recorded a double-double with 17 points on 5-for-15 FG (0-2 3pt., 7-7 FG) and a season-high 11 rebounds; point guard Shey Peddy had 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting (0-3 3pt.), four rebounds and five assists against four fouls in 34 minutes.