The 2024-25 WCBA officially has begun, with the first few rounds of play already completed. Several teams appear to be starting off hot, including the Sichuan Blue Whales, who seem to be early title favorites as they remain undefeated. Other teams have gotten off to pretty strong starts as well, including Inner Mongolia, Liaoning Flying Eagles and Jiangxi Gan Xing.
Who’s on fire from the W?
Through the first few games of the season, many players from the WNBA have been blazing hot, including Chennedy Carter, Kelsey Mitchell, Kalani Brown and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus.
Kelsey Mitchell has had the most recent showing of dominance with her insanely clutch play propelling her Shanxi Flame to 3-1 on the season after she unleashed 23 points, four rebounds and seven assists, including 11 fourth-quarter points to secure the win for her squad and keep them high in the standings. That was her third-straight game of 20 or more points. Beijing’s Aari McDonald also has had her share of stardom in the matchup, dropping 30 points, four boards, and six assists, although it was not enough to secure the win versus Mitchell and the Flame.
Kelsey Mitchell tonight:
23 PTS | 4 REB | 7 AST | 4 STL
Shanxi secured a thrilling 84-80 victory over Beijing in a hard-fought road game, thanks to her clutch performance.
She dominated the fourth quarter, delivering 11 crucial points to seal the win.#WCBA pic.twitter.com/5oRzBrS151
— Chinese Women’s Hoop Show (@CWHoopShow) November 21, 2024
McDonald’s teammate, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, has recently been playing great ball as well, going off for 31 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks while shooting 65 percent from the floor and 66 percent from 3-point land en route to leading Beijing Great Wall to their first win of the season.
Moving forward
With round one past us and round two upon us, it will be interesting to see how the W talent continues to progress this season. There are certain stipulations that dictate the type of impact foreign players can have. A maximum of two foreign players are allowed on the court to start the first three quarters, while only one is allowed to play in the fourth, which definitely plays a large factor in the way the players are utilized and the flows they are able to establish.
Standings are tight so far so it will also be interesting to see what teams keep the ball rolling and can gain separation in the standings, and which other teams begin to drop the ball.
