WNBA Player News

Still questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Dream, Cunningham participated in the pregame shootaround. That bodes well for her availability after sitting out Saturday’s season-opening win over the Sky. Cunningham provides the Fever with additional depth on the wing, supplementing fellow reserve Lexie Hull.

Williams was up to her usual tricks against the Wings, getting most of her looks via paint penetration and serving as a playmaker alongside Skylar Diggins. Although without Jewell Loyd, the Storm have trusted Williams with the ball in her hands more which allows for Diggins to find spots to score off the ball. Williams made three of her four three-pointers, an impressive feat for a player who hasn’t shot over 32 percent from deep in her seven-year WNBA career. Williams can also be counted on to play relentless defense as tonight was no exception. She flew around and wreaked havoc, especially in the second quarter when the Storm only gave up 15 Dallas points.

Siegrist’s campaigning for 2025 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year has officially begun. Her 29 minutes off the bench, second only to Paige Bueckers, who logged 37 minutes, proved how much Siegrist will be relied upon for this Dallas team. Siegrist hit a pair of crucial three-pointers right as the Wings were clawing back into this game in the final minutes of the third quarter. She also scored on a pass in the dunker spot from Kaila Charles with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter to whittle down the Storm lead to just three points. Seattle had to take a timeout as a result. Siegrist also made some effort plays in addition to microwave scoring. She was often seen driving for the ball during most if not all 50-50 balls she was on the floor for.

While McCowan is the Wings’ least versatile big, she played a much more productive role than starters NaLyssa Smith and Myisha Hines-Allen. When the Wings were struggling to get early offense in the first quarter, McCowan stepped up and took advantage of the mismatches she had inside. While both she and Storm backup center Li Yueru are around the same height, McCowan is much stronger and found a way to muscle her way to the basket. McCowan played well alongside Maddy Siegrist, who is more a natural stretch power forward and can actually provide spacing.

The majority of Smith’s production on Monday night was cleaning up misses on the offensive glass, running the floor and scoring in transition on heads up passes from Paige Bueckers. While Smith provided some impact scoring and aggression on the offensive glass, she didn’t play in the entire fourth quarter. It seems clear that she’s not trusted to close out tight games. The Wings got the score back within five points by the start of the fourth quarter.

Diggins’ playmaking and rim pressure came up in the clutch against the Wings in a game where the Storm let a 17-point lead shrivel down to a three-point lead with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter. After Maddy Siegrist scored on a cutting layup, Seattle took a timeout. Following the timeout, Diggins responded by firing off passes to her bigs in Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor right at the rim. The Storm went on a 8-0 run as a result and stayed ahead until the end of regulation.

Bueckers looked more like the player fans have grown to love in her 37 minutes of play for the Wings on Monday night. Although at first she began the game hesitant trying to read and make decisions quickly out of the Storm’s traps on ball screens. But once Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes subbed Bueckers back in with 4:54 remaining in the first after a couple of minutes to take a breather, the No. 1 overall draft pick found her rhythm and flow within the Wings’ offense. Her efficient scoring and playmaking allowed the Wings to get within three points of the Storm with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter after being down by as many as 17. Bueckers’ defensive effort was evident as well as she was either a roamer or was placed on Skylar Diggins. With 1:23 left in the fourth Bueckers picked Gabby Williams’ pocket and scored on the other end shaving the Storm’s lead down to five points.

While the Storm’s offense was erratic at times, Ogwumike was steady, efficient and dominant for Seattle. The first quarter was her strongest scoring the basketball, where she tallied up eight points. What followed in the second was Ogwumike’s most active quarter on the glass; she accounted for 60 percent of her team’s total rebounds in the quarter. Ogwumike made league history Monday night by reaching 2,188 career defensive rebounds, which moved her into ninth all-time and passed WNBA legend Tina Thompson. What sealed the win for the Storm was Ogwumike’s offensive rebound and putback following an Alysha Clark miss to put the Storm in front by seven points with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.

Rivers recently rejoined the Suns after spending time away from the team following her mother’s passing in late April. The first-round pick out of NC State was on the bench for Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Mystics, and her absence from the injury report indicates that Rivers will be available on Tuesday. Those competing in fantasy leagues should not expect too much immediately regarding Rivers’ playing time, but she should figure prominently in head coach Rachid Meziane’s plans as the season progresses.

After spraining her right ankle during Indiana’s preseason finale on May 10, Cunningham did not play in Saturday’s rout of the Sky. Her return would likely expand the Fever rotation, with fellow guards Lexie Hull and Sydney Colson potentially playing fewer minutes. While Hull played 23 minutes on Saturday, Colson logged 11 as Caitlin Clark’s primary backup.