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Today’s the penultimate day without a WNBA game before the end of the regular season, and with several teams sitting squarely on 33 games played out of 44, it’s the perfect time for the last quarterly report card. As with the first quarter and midseason editions, I’m basing this largely on vibes. We’re also only grading the period from the end of the All-Star break through Wednesday, August 13, which history will of course remember as the day Taylor Swift announced the release date of The Life of a Showgirl.
Third quarter record: 8-2
Atlanta’s third quarter got off to a 2-2 start, but the Dream have won six in a row to surge into second place in the standings and a half-game ahead of New York. This is Atlanta’s longest win streak since a seven-game run in June/July 2023, and if the playoffs ended today, the Dream would have their highest seed since 2018 (also the No. 2 seed) in Karl Smesko’s first season at the helm. They’ve already won the first three games of what’s not technically a six-game road trip since they’re “at home” against Seattle on Friday in Vancouver, but it’s a six-game road trip (whereas the one that technically is a six-game road trip was two three-game trips with an All-Star break in the middle, but I digress). Once the Dream get through Golden State and Las Vegas to close out the trip, they’ll be at home for seven of their final nine games with both roadies coming at Connecticut.
Third quarter record: 1-9
The only reason the grade isn’t an F is because I’ll give the Sky the slightest pass for the fact that they’ve been hit pretty hard by injuries. The most notable of those is the one that’s limited Angel Reese to two appearances since the break, but the Sky also missed Ariel Atkins and others over the last few weeks. That said, it’s been a pretty rough few weeks. All nine of the Sky’s losses since the break have been by at least seven points, and seven of them have been by at least 13 points. The lone win came against Washington hours after it had traded top scorer Brittney Sykes away and felt more like the Mystics waving a white flag than a win for anyone involved. Reese’s play in the second quarter of the season gives Sky fans plenty of reason to be excited about the future, but the third quarter was one to forget.
Third quarter record: 3-7
Connecticut’s still in last place, but the Sun have unquestionably been more competitive since the All-Star break. They snapped a five-game skid last night against the Sky and won for the third time in 10 games since the break. Winning 30% of your games obviously isn’t ideal, but it’s a huge step up from their 13.6 winning percentage in the first half of the season. Progress has to start somewhere, and there have also been positive signs for the future in the play of Saniya Rivers, Leila Lacan and Aneesah Morrow.
Third quarter record: 3-7
The Wings have the same record as the Sun since the All-Star break, something which caught me off guard. They’re 3-11 since winning five out of seven heading into 4th of July weekend, though, with their latest win snapping a five-game skid. If you talk to a Wings fan (or listen to what they chant at home games), you might think the team is 0-10 since the break. I’ve been happy to see Villanova legend Maddy Siegrist get back on the floor and into a groove lately (including a career-high-tying 22 points on Tuesday), and the future is bright with Paige Bueckers in the fold. The present just isn’t pleasant.
Third quarter record: 7-3
The Valkyries introduced Violet, who is perfect, and thus their third quarter was also perfect. Moving on. Kidding aside, Golden State’s third straight win last night matched the 1998 Detroit Shock, who finished 17-15, for the most wins by an expansion team in WNBA history. The Valks are in the driver’s seat to become the first expansion team to make the playoffs and even to get to the No. 7 seed and thus (presumably) avoid the Lynx in the first round. Not to say that the Valkyries couldn’t plausibly win that series, but I think we can all agree that the likelihood of a Cinderella semifinals run increases exponentially for Golden State against any non-Minnesota opponent. Violet is also perfect.
Third quarter record: 6-4
I would have bet good money this grade would be in the ‘A’ range if you’d asked me after the Fever won five in a row, matching their best streak in a decade. They’ve lost three out of four since that streak, and while the first two setbacks were pretty understandable (on the tail end of a four-game road trip at Los Angeles and Phoenix), the most recent one was an uninspired effort against the Wings. That was only a one-point loss thanks to a late Fever comeback bid and/or Dallas collapse bid, depending on your perspective, but it’s a game Indiana will want back if it ends up impacting playoff seeding. The Fever might be getting the best possible news soon as Caitlin Clark is said to be nearing a return. Here’s hoping that the fourth quarter of Indiana’s season doesn’t include her missing any more time.
Third quarter record: 8-3
The Aces are currently the hottest non-Lynx team in the league, having won five straight after holding off New York last night for their first regular-season win over the Liberty since getting the best of New York in the 2023 WNBA Finals. What’s holding back Las Vegas’ grade for this term, of course, are the two unsightly losses they took at the hands of the Lynx in late July and earlier this month. The Aces are 7-2 in their last nine games, but they have just a +5 point differential in that span as a result of the losses coming by 84 combined points against the Lynx. Las Vegas’ trajectory is certainly heading in the right direction now, and it has a chance to make some moves in the standings if it stays hot thanks to two meetings each against Phoenix and Atlanta in addition to five combined games against Chicago, Dallas and Washington.
Third quarter record: 7-3
The Sparks were left for dead by just about everyone coming out of the All-Star break, but they won six of their first seven games in the second half to get back on the precipice of both .500 and the playoff race. Losses in two of the last three have put a little damper on the Sparksmentum (although they still scored 97 points and put up an offensive rating of 116.9 points per 100 possessions in the last loss), but the fact that LA is back in the playoff race at all is somewhat remarkable. The turnaround has also featured the return of Cameron Brink, who has had her ups and downs, but more of the former than the latter. There’s been no update since she left the loss to New York on Tuesday late in the first half, but hopefully whatever happened won’t cost her any further time.
