Daily Briefing — June 27, 2022: SHE SLOOTS, SHE SCORES

Happy Pride!

But first, read from around the world of women’s basketball:

• Brittney Griner appeared in court Monday, and her trial is scheduled to begin on July 1
• Our Scott Mammoser stories the induction of the late Pat Summitt into the Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame
• Our David Yapkowitz recaps how Nneka Ogwumike earned her first All-Star start
• The UConn Blog’s Daniel Connolly covers Dorka Juhász’s decision to return to UConn with her fifth year of eligibility
• Swish Appeal’s Eric Nemchock breaks down the case for Allisha Gray, All-Star — and frankly, the fact that she wasn’t in the top vote-getters is ludicrous

W Roundup

Connecticut: Re-signed big Joyner Holmes and off-ball guard Jazmine Jones to each’s first seven-day contract

Minnesota: Re-signed big Nikolina Milić to her first seven-day contract

New York: Point guard Crystal Dangerfield’s hardship terminated, since… someone? got healthy. Presumably combo forward Rebecca Allen, but it could theoretically be combo forward Jocelyn Willoughby; but the real point here is that the Liberty are probably going to jettison either Michaela Onyenwere or Lorela Cubaj soon, and then re-sign Dangerfield to a rest-of-season contract — our Jackie Powell breaks it down here

The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom

The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.

Watch List, Monday, June 27

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

Indiana @ Phoenix, 10 p.m., League Pass (Local: Indiana Fever Livestream, Bally Sports Arizona)

Las Vegas @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., NBA TV (Local: My LV TV, Spectrum SportsNet)

Sunday, June 26 recap

Connecticut (13-6) beat Atlanta (8-10), 72-61. The game was tied with seconds remaining in the first quarter, then the Sun scored 14 unanswered, part of a 22-5 run. Connecticut held the Dream to 33.3% from the field and 26.3%, but shot only 2-for-20 from deep; the Sun won the rebounding battle by 11; Atlanta assisted on 17 of its 21 buckets; the teams combined for 18 steals, part of 37 turnovers — Connecticut becoming just the second team since 2013 to commit 20 turnovers and shoot ≤10% from three and still win, per Her Hoop Stats; the teams combined for 40 turnovers. (It was a sloppy game, is the point.)

Big Alyssa Thomas led the Sun with a near-triple-double of 15 points (4-7 FG, 7-8 FT), 11 rebounds (three offensive), and eight assists against three turnovers; Combo guard Courtney Williams recorded a double-double with 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting (1-3 3pt.) and 10 rebounds (three offensive), against five turnovers; big wing DeWanna Bonner struggled to 12 points on 5-for-14 from the field and 0-for-7 from three, along with three rebounds and five assists.

The Dream were led by point guard Aari McDonald’s 17 points on 4-for-8 shooting (3-5 3pt., 6-7 FT), four assists, and three steals against five turnovers; wing Rhyne Howard had 12 points on 5-for-16 from the field and 1-for-7 from three, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals against three turnovers.

Chicago (13-5) beat Minnesota (5-14), 88-85. The Sky led for most of the first quarter, before the Lynx led for much of the second; the game was mostly within one possession from then through the late third, when Chicago went on a 15-6 run; Minnesota scored seven-straight points in the late fourth to close the Sky’s lead to 81-79 (and then chaos ensued). The teams combined to shoot 54.5% from the field and 41.2% from three.

Point guard Courtney Vandersloot led Chicago with 18 points on 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-7 from three, five rebounds, and six assists against five turnovers; big Emma Meesseman had 15 points on 7-for-14 FG, three rebounds, and four assists against two turnovers and four fouls in 31 minutes; big Candace Parker notched 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting (2-4 3pt.), eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals; combo guard Allie Quigley tallied 11 points on 3-for-6 from the field (0-1 3pt.) and seven assists.

The Lynx were led by combo forward Jessica Shepard’s 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting (1-1 3pt.), eight rebounds, two assists without a turnover against four fouls in 26 bench minutes; center Sylvia Fowles had 12 points on 6-for-6 FG, six rebounds, three assists, three steals against three turnovers in 24 minutes; off-ball guard Kayla McBride notched 15 points on 5-for-10 from the field (1-4 3pt.) and two assists against three turnovers.