Tina

Charles

Stewart led the Liberty in scoring while shooting an efficient 64.3%, her highest percentage since returning from being out almost the entire month of August with a bone bruise in her right knee. Stewart now has 41 career games of scoring 20 points on at least 60% shooting from the field, the eighth-most in WNBA history, passing Tina Charles. She scored over half of her field goals off passes from Sabrina Ionescu where the Liberty guard found Stewart cutting to the basket, hitting some open jumpers and running in transition. Stewart also had three assists of her own to Ionescu in transition and to Emma Meesseman who cut off the ball in two different quarter court sets.

Rivers capped off her rookie season scoring at all three levels. She began the evening with a three-pointer in the second quarter and then scored most of her points in the third quarter. She got to the rim on drives while blowing past Dream defenders Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. She came off screens and hit a couple of mid-range jumpers. Rivers led the Sun in assists alongside teammate Marina Mabrey as the pair each had five a piece. Rivers found Mabrey cutting off the ball in addition to Tina Charles for a couple of jump shots. Also, Rivers set up Aneesah Morrow for a wide open drive right to the basket. Rivers finished her rookie campaign with 100 total stocks, a statistic which combines steals and blocks. She’s the only rookie to reach that number this season and the only other players who have done so in 2025 are WNBA all-defensive caliber players in A’ja Wilson, Gabby Williams, Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith and Ezi Magbegor.

Griner had her most productive scoring outing since she was moved to the bench on August 10 after she missed a few games after dealing with a neck injury. With head coach Karl Smesko wanting to not play his starters too many heavy minutes just days before the playoffs begin, Griner got more of an extended opportunity. Also, the matchup against the Sun is advantageous for Griner in particular when she matches up against a smaller center in the Sun’s Tina Charles. Griner shot 63.6 percent from the field, mostly by getting great position on Charles, and then later in the game, Griner outmuscled the even smaller power forward Aaliayh Edwards, who was defending Griner. Griner also made WNBA history on Wednesday night, passing Swin Cash for 16th on the league’s all time rebounding list with 2,522 career boards.

Mabrey finished her 2025 season with her second most efficient shooting performance of the year. She shot 53.3 percent from the field, her highest percentage since May 30 when she shot 58.8 percent from the field against the Fever. Mabrey scored 20 points in the Sun’s season finale, and it was the ninth time of the season Mabrey scored at least 20 points during a game. She struck a balance between scoring the basketball off the ball and then creating offense on the ball. Half of her made shots came on assists and the other four did not. Mabrey facilitated the basketball well also, tying Saniya Rivers for the most assists by a Sun player on Wednesday. She passed the ball to four different teammates including Rivers, Tina Charles, Aaliyah Edwards and Aneesah Morrow.

Lacan had some drive and scores in the second quarter that prove what the WNBA has learned about the rookie: that she is as talented as was advertised going into the 2024 draft. Her quickness going downhill coupled with her decision making on pick-and-roll as a ball handler makes for a really appealing combination. But on Saturday afternoon, the league learned that Lacan has some clutch in her. She scored the Sun’s final 6 points with around 30 seconds left in regulation which included two pairs of free throws and a drive where she scored right through an open lane via some space from a Tina Charles screen. She gave the Sun a 83-81 lead before Lacan made four more free throws to walk away with the win.

Mabrey and Tina Charles carried the scoring load like usual for the Sun, but when Charles had trouble scoring the basketball in the third quarter, Mabrey stepped up notching 8 points, an assist and two steals in the third that helped the Sun get back into the game when they were down, including a steal that resulted in a score on the other end. Points were hard to come by in that third quarter for both teams and Mabrey pushed the ball in transition and exploited the Mercury’s weaker defenders in the process. Mabrey also distributed the basketball well for the Sun. She found Charles once in the first half and then made some pivotal passes to Aaliyah Edwards, Saniya Rivers and Charles for scores in the final two quarters while the Sun were down by as many as 7 points.

Part of what has made Thomas’ 2025 year so extraordinary is how she’s improved her offensive efficiency by not attempting as many shots as she did during her previous MVP caliber season in 2023. On Saturday she attempted 15 shots and only made 6 of them. Most of her shots were in the paint but quite far from the rim. Sun center Tina Charles made sure not a lot was easy for Thomas. Aside from Thomas’ inefficient scoring, she did break the WNBA’s regular season total assist record on Saturday afternoon, a record set by Caitlin Clark last season. Thomas’ now 342 assists during the regular season only inflate her MVP case as she continues to rack up statistical milestones that haven’t been accomplished by a forward.

Charles earned her 7th double-double of the season and shot efficiently and above 50% in her eighth straight game. She began the game absolutely on a mission scoring 10 points and not missing a single shot in the fourth quarter. While Charles cooled down following the first quarter, she had a bunch of clutch baskets that came within the final five minutes of regulation. Also in the fourth quarter, Charles racked up four of her 10 total rebounds, the most she had in any quarter. After Saturday afternoon’s game, Charles remains the the player who has the most 20+ point and 10+ rebound regular season games in WNBA history with 109 games.

On her third made basket of the game, Charles passed Diana Taurasi to become the WNBA’s all-time leader in made field goals. She’d make five more shots from that point to finish with a game-high in points. Charles added a couple of rebounds but didn’t have much of an impact in any other areas of the game, at least not statistically. Nonetheless, the veteran center will have a chance to finish the season strong, starting on Saturday against the Mercury.

It was “Tina Charles Bobblehead Day” at the Sun game on Monday, and the veteran center gave the home fans another quality showing. She recorded her 14th 20-point game of the season and played 36 of a possible 40 minutes. Charles’ consistent playing time is good news for fantasy managers who have her rostered, as the veteran’s minutes have not been sacrificed in favor of Connecticut’s younger frontcourt players. Rayah Marshall only played three minutes on Monday, while fellow rookie Aneesah Morrow (6/5/1/1/1) played 20 and Aaliyah Edwards (4/4/1/0/2) logged 21.