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Thursday featured two WNBA Commissioner’s Cup games. The New York Liberty defeated the Washington Mystics 86-78, and the Phoenix Mercury won 86-77 over the Golden State Valkyries.
New York is on top of the Eastern Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings with two wins, and Phoenix is in third place in the Western Conference with a 1-1 record. The Mystics and Valkyries are currently winless, with Washington having two losses and Golden State sitting at 0-1.
The Commissioner’s Cup will run through June 17, and after the in-season tournament is completed, the top team in each conference will play each other on July 1. The team with the best winning percentage in Cup play will host the title game.
Stewie shines for still-undefeated Liberty
When discussing the best players in the WNBA, don’t forget about Breanna Stewart. She was sensational on Tuesday, scoring 26 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Stewart made 10 free throws, grabbed 11 rebounds and was the catalyst to New York’s win.
The Liberty are now 8-0 and off to their best start in franchise history. Needless to say, things are going well for the defending champions.
Sabrina Ionescu also had a strong showing against the Mystics. She ended the night with 13 points and led the team with seven assists. Off the bench, Kennedy Burke led the Liberty with 12 points.
Kiki Iriafen scored 17 points for the Mystics and Sonia Citron added 13, but it wasn’t enough for Washington to pull off the upset. Despite an ankle injury to Jonquel Jones that sidelined her after less than six minutes, New York took over midway through the first half and never trailed again.
Lexi Held’s hot streak ignites Mercury
Recently, Lexi Held, undrafted after finishing her college career at DePaul in 2022, has begun to figure things out. The 25-year-old rookie had a great game against the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday, scoring 16 points on 50 percent shooting. She followed that up with a new career-high of 24 points on Thursday in Phoenix’s win over Golden State.
Held now has the most points by a rookie in a game this season.
Lexi Held last two games:
24 PTS, 2 AST, 1 STL, 7-15 FG16 PTS, 3 AST, 3 STL, 7-14 FG
Most points in a game by a rookie this season.pic.twitter.com/KTRGTKtD9c
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) June 6, 2025
Held is still coming off the bench, but she’s averaging 28 minutes per game over these last two games. If these type of games keep happening, she’ll start making a case to be inserted into the starting lineup.
While the Mercury won, the Valkyries were up 74-66 midway through the fourth. Held helped start the comeback run for Phoenix with a 3-pointer, and the Mercury finished the game on a 20-3 run. On the Golden State side, five players finished in double figures, with Veronica Burton leading the charge with 16.
