What’s Trending: June 29, 2015


With so much #SummerHoops to take in this season, it’s hard to keep track of all of the storylines that will play out on a nightly basis this WNBA season. That’s what What’s Trending is for.

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Here, we’ll bring you the 10 things you need to know, see, listen to and/or watch in the past and coming week. It’s your one-stop shop for all things W, from which teams are on a roll to which players are coming up big to what the league’s superstars are up to off the court.

Here’s What’s Trending on June 29, 2015:

#WNBAPride

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Teams and players around the league joined in on Friday’s celebration of the historic Supreme Court ruling. Tuesday’s Liberty vs. Sky game on ESPN2 and the Connecticut Sun’s Pride night will cap Pride Month in the WNBA.

#ShockTulsa: Diggins Goes for 31 as Tulsa Wins Eighth Straight

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The Shock kept rolling with a pair of victories this weekend, despite guard Odyssey Sims remaining sidelined with a knee injury.

All-Star guard Skylar Diggins shouldered the load in Sunday’s win over the Storm, scoring a season-high 31 points to go along with 6 assists. Tulsa tied the franchise record with its eighth-straight win, which was only matched when the team played in Detroit in 2003.

#LetsGoSun: Connecticut Extends Winning Streak to Seven Games

Meanwhile, in Connecticut, the Sun are off to their best start in seven years.

They needed overtime on Friday against the Sparks, but the Sun once again emerged with a victory — their seventh straight to finish the weekend 1.5 games up on the Mystics for first place in the East.

#DefendingChamps: Griner Returns to Mercury

After staying afloat without their dominant center, the Mercury can now truly begin their title defense. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Brittney Griner made her season debut on Saturday in a Western Conference Finals rematch with the Minnesota Lynx (she was suspended for the first seven games of the season).

Griner posted 14 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, but the Lynx rolled past Phoenix, 71-56.

#RacetoMVP: All About EDD

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The league is still buzzing about Elena Delle Donne’s historic start to her third WNBA season.

Even after “slumping” with 40 points in two games over the weekend, EDD has scored a record 261 points in her first nine games — 30 more than any player in WNBA history through nine games.

That included a career-high 45-point outburst on Tuesday in which she made 19-of-19 free throws, the most ever in a single game without a miss.

#SAstars: McBride, San Antonio Earn Back-to-Back Wins

The Stars got into the win column for the first time on Thursday by taking down the defending champion Mercury.

They followed that up with more drama on Saturday. Down 65-57 with 6:07 to play, second-year guard Kayla McBride exploded for 12 points over the stretch run to help the Stars surge past the Storm, 73-71.

#PrideofMinnesota: Former Lynx Practice Squad Player Tyus Jones Drafted

As a star at Apple Valley High School, Tyus Jones used to practice with the hometown Minnesota Lynx. Now, he’s headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves as a first-round NBA Draft pick.

Read more about Jones’ story here.

#WelcomeBack: Ogwumike, Toliver Return for Sparks

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All-Star absences have hung over the early part of the 2015 season in L.A., but that finally began to change this week.

Forward Nneka Ogwumike has averaged 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in three games since returning from an ankle injury. On Sunday, guard Kristi Toliver came back from a stint in Europe to score a career-high 30 points.

The Sparks are the league’s only remaining winless team, but have the talent to get back into the playoff picture.

#Taku: Rookie Tokashiki Making Strides in Seattle

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Storm rookie Ramu Tokashiki is proving to be more than just the third Japan native ever to play in the WNBA.

The 6-3 forward has taken her training camp invite and run with it. While Seattle fell short in both of its games this weekend, the player they call “Taku” — Japanese slang for strong — played more than 20 minutes in both games, scoring a combined 35 points on 17-of-28 from the field.

#WNBABallot: All-Star Voting Still Open

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