South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks in the WNBA - Week 1

A’ja Wilson set more records, the Atlanta Gamecocks excelled in a couple of thrillers, and Aliyah Boston saw a seven-year-old streak end. Catch up on all of last week’s action from the Gamecocks in the WNBA.

Atlanta Dream (2-1)
Allisha Gray
3 games (3 starts), 34.4 mpg, 25.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 bpg
at Minnesota (91-90 win): 33 minutes*, 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, block
at Dallas (77-72 win): 34 minutes*, 26 points, 4 rebounds, block
vs Las Vegas (85-84 loss): 37 minutes*, 25 points, 9 rebounds, assist, block

Madina Okot
3 games, 11.6 mpg, 7.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg0/3 apg, 0.3 bpg
at Minnesota (91-90 win): 10 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, steal
at Dallas (77-72 win): 9 minutes, 5 rebounds
vs Las Vegas (85-84 loss): 16 minutes, 14 points, 11 rebounds, assist, block

Te-Hina Paopao
3 games (1 start), 23.6 mpg, 9.0 ppf, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 25.0 3P%
at Minnesota (91-90 win): 21 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, block, 0-4 3PT
at Dallas (77-72 win): 13 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, assist, 0-3 3PT
vs Las Vegas (85-84 loss):  36 minutes*, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, steal, block, 4-9 3PT

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All three Gamecocks had big weeks. Gray is second in the WNBA in scoring and is now fifth on the Dream’s career assists list. She made a clutch block in the waning seconds to beat Minnesota. Right before Gray’s block, Paopao hit the game-winning bucket. As a fill-in starter on Sunday, Paopao scored a career-high 19 points. In that same game, Okot notched her first career double-double in just 16 minutes.

This week:
Friday, May 22 vs Dallas (7:30 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Sunday, May 24 vs Phoenix (3:00 ET, League Pass)

Chicago Sky (3-1)
Kamilla Cardoso
3 games (3 starts), 24.7 mpg, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 1.0 apg
at Portland (98-83 win): 25 minutes*, 22 points, 14 rebounds, assist, block
at Golden State (69-63 win): 27 minutes*, 8 points, 7 rebounds, assist, 2 blocks, steal
at Phoenix (91-83 loss): 23 minutes*, 7 points, 8 rebounds, assist, block
at Minnesota (86-79 win): 26 minutes*, 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks

Chicago hasn’t played the most challenging schedule so far, but the Sky are unexpectedly 3-1 and don’t care. They probably want Cardoso to be a little more consistent with the double-doubles, though.

This week:
Wednesday, May 20 vs Dallas (9:00 ET, USA)
Saturday, May 23 vs Minnesota (1:00 ET, CBS)

Golden State Valkyries (2-1)
Laeticia Amihere
3 games, 17.0 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.7 bpg
at Seattle (91-80 win): 16 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, assist
vs Phoenix (95-79 win): 24 minutes, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks
vs Chicago (69-63 loss): 11 minutes, 3 points, 2 blocks, rebound, assist

Consistency seems to still be Amihere’s biggest issue. But when she’s feeling it, she’s really good. Check out that stat line against Phoenix.

This week:
Thursday, May 21 at New York (8:00 ET, Amazon Prime)
Friday, May 22 at Indiana (7:30 ET, Ion/League Pass)

Indiana Fever (2-2)
Aliyah Boston
3 games (3 starts), 23.2 mpg, 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.0 bpg
vs Dallas (107-104 loss/OT): 26 minutes*, 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, block
at Los Angeles (87-78 win):  23 minutes*, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
vs Washington (104-102 loss/OT): 21 minutes*, 9 points, 4 rebounds, assist, steal 
vs Seattle (89-78 win): DNP – Lower Leg Injury

Bree Hall
Has not appeared in a game
vs Dallas (107-104 loss/OT): Not yet signed
at Los Angeles (87-78 win): Not active
vs Washington (104-102 loss/OT): Not active
vs Seattle (89-78 win): Not Active

Tyasha Harris
4 games, 10.9 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg
vs Dallas (107-104 loss/OT): 4 minutes, no stats
at Los Angeles (87-78 win): 16 minutes, 7 points, 3 assists, rebound
vs Washington (104-102 loss/OT): 10 minutes, 2 points, assist
vs Seattle (89-78 win): 11 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, assist, block

Raven Johnson
4 games, 9.6 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.3 apg
vs Dallas (107-104 loss/OT): 12 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, steal
at Los Angeles (87-78 win): 5 minutes, 2 assists, rebound
vs Washington (104-102 loss/OT): 4 minutes, 2 rebounds
vs Seattle (89-78 win): 15 minutes, 3 rebounds, assist, block

On Sunday, Boston missed the first game of her WNBA and college career, ending a streak of 275 games, all starts. That streak began six-and-a-half years ago. 

In other Fever news, Indiana’s defense offers about as much resistance as a broken folding chair. In WNBA history, only eight teams have lost two or more games in a season where they scored at least 100 points. Indiana did it in the first three games. The Fever is also struggling to find a balance between Harris and Johnson, and both are off to slow starts as a result. There’s plenty of time to fix that, but the defense is a bigger concern.

This week:
Wednesday, May 20 vs Portland (7:00 ET, USA)
Friday, May 22 vs Golden State (7:30 ET, Ion/League Pass)

Las Vegas Aces (4-1)
A’ja Wilson
5 games (5 starts), 27.5 mpg, 25.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 bpg, 0.8 spg
vs Phoenix (99-66 loss): 24 minutes*, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
at Los Angeles (105-78 win): 30 minutes*, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, steal
at Connecticut (98-69 win): 21 minutes*, 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, assist
at Connecticut (101-94 win): 32 minutes*, 45 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, steal
at Atlanta (85-84 win): 31 minutes*, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, assist

Wilson became the first player with multiple games of at least 45 points, and then she passed her coach, Becky Hammon, for 19th on the WNBA’s career scoring list. Wilson has played 271 games and is still almost three months away from her 30th birthday. Hammon played 450 games and retired at age 37. 3,474 of her 5,841 points came after she turned 30. Wilson should have a lot more points in her.

This week:
Saturday, May 23 vs Los Angeles (8:00 ET, CBS)

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Los Angeles Sparks (1-3)
Sania Feagin
1 game, 3.0 mpg, no stats
vs Las Vegas (105-78 loss): 3 minutes, no stats
vs Indiana (87-78 loss): DNP – Left leg
vs Toronto (99-95 win): DNP – Left leg
vs Toronto (106-96 loss): DNP – Left leg

Ta’Niya Latson
3 games, 2.9 mpg, 0.7 ppg, 0.3 rpg
vs Las Vegas (105-78 loss): 5 minutes, 2 points, rebound
vs Indiana (87-78 loss): 2 minutes, turnover
vs Toronto (99-95 win): 2 minutes, no stats
vs Toronto (106-96 loss): DNP-CD

Feagin is out indefinitely with a lower leg injury that is not expected to be serious. Latson is trying to convert to a full-time point guard, and the learning curve has been tough

This week:
Thursday, May 21 at Phoenix (10:00 ET, Amazon Prime)
Saturday, May 23 at Las Vegas (8:00 ET, CBS)

Seattle Storm (1-3)
Zia Cooke
4 games, 18,3 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
vs Golden State (91-80 loss): 23 minutes, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, steal
at Connecticut (89-82 win): 12 minutes, 4 points, rebound, steal
at Indiana (89-78 loss): 22 minutes, 13 points, 4 assists, rebound

Cooke has never averaged more than 4.8 points, which she did as a rookie in 2023. She has also never averaged a full rebound or assist per game. It’s early, but so far the biggest change in Cooke’s effectiveness is that she is more than a scorer, and she is hitting 40.0% from three. 

This week:
Wednesday, May 20 vs Connecticut (10:00 ET, League Pass)
Friday, May 22 vs Connecticut (10:00 ET, Ion/League Pass)
Sunday, May 24 vs Washington (6:00 ET, League Pass)

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