The fourth quarter of the regular season is all but upon us, with six of the league’s 15 teams having completed at least 33 of their 44 scheduled regular-season games. The timing is appropriate, given all that happened last week across several fourth quarters to completely swing a few outcomes.
On Wednesday, the Mystics trailed by as many as 20 points during their matchup with the Wings before erasing a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and earning a 96-92 win on their home floor. They outscored the Wings 24-12 in the final frame (52-33 in the second half) to push their winning streak to five games, largely due to Shakira Austin’s 27-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The Aces, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, erased a 20-point first-half deficit and even pulled ahead by nine points near the midway mark of the fourth period, only to see their lead completely dissolve as the end of regulation neared. Missed free throws by both Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark allowed Chelsea Gray to beat the buzzer with a three-pointer and send the game to overtime. Similar errors from Clark and the Fever in the closing moments of overtime left the door open for Gray to produce more heroics at the buzzer — this time, sending the Aces out of Indianapolis with an 86-84 victory.
The Sparks had a less dramatic comeback win a little bit later on that same Thursday. However, theirs was perhaps the most surprising result — going into Minneapolis and using a 23-11 fourth quarter to stun both the home crowd and home team, snapping first-seeded Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak, and exiting Target Center with an impressive win and some positive momentum.
The Mystics were the only of those aforementioned teams to turn the come-from-behind win into more success in the following games. They added two more wins, tallying what’s now a league-best seven straight wins and moving from 8th place in the standings up to fifth. Meanwhile, the Aces went on to lose their two games — one at Minnesota, and then a day later at New York — and the Sparks returned home to drop a game on Sunday to the Valkyries.
As a result of the wild endings during last week’s action, there is now a jam-packed top-8 in the standings. Only two games separate the third-seeded Aces from the seventh-seeded Liberty, who deserve a shoutout for having won four straight games and seven of their last eight overall. The crowdedness will raise the level of importance for almost every game moving forward, beginning with today’s slate.
SCHEDULE: Check out the full WNBA on NBC, Peacock slate of games
THE WEEK AHEAD
Toronto Tempo @ Atlanta Dream
(Monday, August 10 at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN)
More than anything else, I might consider this game one that each team needs to win to reset vibes. For the Dream, they’ve lost two of their last three games and haven’t looked great on the offensive end in either — especially in their most recent outing against the red-hot Mystics. They also need this win to stay in the mix in terms of playoff positioning. The Tempo hasn’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Still, with eight straight losses and the league’s third-worst record, it’s hard to imagine the postseason being a likely outcome for them this season. Nonetheless, Toronto could use a win on Monday simply to get off the losing streak.
New York Liberty @ Indiana Fever
(Tuesday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
Quietly, the Liberty is one of the hottest teams in the WNBA — they’ve won seven out of their last eight games, and are on the heels of a 40-point win over the Aces — albeit a depleted Aces team that sat their main players on the second game of a back-to-back. From the top of the rotation to the end, it seems as though each New York player is doing their job game in and game out. But their streak of strong play didn’t begin until after catching a 20-point beatdown to the Fever, a team that’s played them well over the past couple of seasons. Indiana, statistically, has the best offense in the league, with Clark and Mitchell making a case to be the league’s best backcourt. Will Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones do enough to help New York extend its winning streak to five games?
Washington Mystics @ Las Vegas Aces
(Tuesday, August 11 at 10 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
Perhaps the biggest games of the week will take place in Las Vegas. Before seeing the Lynx on Saturday, the Aces will have hosted two consecutive games against the Mystics. Just one game in the loss column separates the two teams in the standings. Washington won the only meeting with Las Vegas this season, in, you guessed it, a late comeback win just before the WNBA All-Star break. At the time of this writing, the Aces have lost two straight games, while the Mystics’ winning streak is at seven games. Both of their matchups this week are big for the standings.
Chicago Sky @ Golden State Valkyries
(Wednesday, August 12 at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network/CNBC)
Chicago has alternated wins and losses most recently, but has been a very competitive opponent whenever they take the floor. They haven’t lost a game by more than five points since July 10 against the Sparks, and have honestly been a fun team to watch of late. Sydney Taylor hasn’t played in a week due to a groin injury, which will make it way tougher to score against this stout Valkyries defense. Golden State’s trying to keep pace with Minnesota for the top record in the league, so I’d expect them to remain in top form for this matchup, regardless of who’s on the floor.
Dallas Wings @ Indiana Fever
(Friday, August 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION)
Simply put, the Wings are in a tough spot — they’ve dropped three straight games, lost Jessica Shepard to an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Lynx, are playing without an injured Azzi Fudd, and now find themselves in the eighth spot in the standings. Things will only get tougher on Friday, having to go into Indianapolis and face the best offense in the league, and a Fever team that’s won seven of its last 10 games. The Bueckers-Clark matchup will steal headlines, but if Shepard is back on the floor for this matchup, I’ll be excited to see her match up with Aliyah Boston in the interior. We’ll be in for a treat if this matchup plays out anything like the 107-104 season opener between the two teams.
