Milestones Aplenty As WNBA Returns To Action


The WNBA was back in action Friday night, and it was a fascinating start. The Sparks and Lynx both went down, and Elena Delle Donne poured in 34 points. Plus, there were milestones being reached left and right–by both players and coaches.

Candice Dupree Joins The 5,000 Point Club

The Mercury’s veteran forward has flown under the radar during her time in Phoenix, but tonight was her night to be on the front page. She went 8-10 from the field, dropping 16 points to help the Mercury to a big win over the Wings, and in the process became the 17th player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points.

She reached the milestone late in the second quarter, as she moved across the lane and knocked down the mid-range shot.

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Plenette Pierson Joins The 4,000 Point Club

Phoenix was the place to be tonight when it came to setting records. While it took Dupree until the second quarter to make her mark, Plenette Pierson took care of business early. She hit two three-pointers in the first minute, the second of which put her over 4,000 career points, making her just the 27th player to achieve the feat.

Her 23 points were a season high, but unfortunately not enough as the Wings fell to the Mercury.

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Sue Bird Moves Into 8th Place All-Time With 574 Career Steals

Sue Bird and the Storm scored a massive upset victory over the Sparks tonight, handing Los Angeles just their fourth loss of the season. Bird hit five triples for all 15 of her points to help lead the way, but the defensive end is where she moved up in the record books.

Late in the game, Bird pilfered the ball from Candace Parker, giving her 574 career steals, and moving her into 8th place on the all-time rankings.

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Pokey Chatman Wins 100th Game As Head Coach Of The Chicago Sky

Finally, there was a milestone reached on the sidelines. The Chicago Dream picked up a key victory over the Atlanta Dream at home Friday night, giving head coach Pokey Chatman her 100th as leader of the Sky.

With the win, Chatman became the 13th coach in WNBA history to reach 100 career wins, and strengthened her position as the winningest coach in Sky history.