It feels unfathomable, but the player to monitor for a near-nightly triple-double is not Alyssa Thomas – it’s Jessica Shepard. 

The sixth-year veteran forward is hitting her stride in a major way with the Dallas Wings this season, posting three triple-doubles so far this season. That’s good for the most in the league so far this year, outdoing even Thomas, who’s known for easily hitting that benchmark thanks to her playmaking and rebounding abilities. 

Shepard’s been a key cog to the Wings’ dominance in year two of the Paige Bueckers era, and it’s in major thanks to her that Dallas is on a five-game winning streak as we head towards the All-Star break.

This, and five other things, really caught my eye from week eight of WNBA action. 

Commissioner’s Cup Hangover

After the New York Liberty took out the Las Vegas Aces for another Commissioner’s Cup title, it felt like perhaps they’d start to hit their stride ahead of the All-Star break. A nice streak could set them up for a comfortable spot atop the league standings and keep them afloat despite a very slow start from the team and their stars. 

Instead, New York has once again become inconsistent on offense and is struggling to get stops when it matters. They’re right in the middle of the league in three-point percentage (34.5) despite having shooters like Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Marine Johannès in tow, and are averaging just 87.8 points per game. That’s close to the output from teams like the Connecticut Sun, Portland Fire, and Chicago Sky. 

That, coupled with very little rim protection, average rebounding, and a third-lowest 6.3 steals per game, New York is lacking pop on either side of the ball. 

Since beating the Aces, the Liberty have lost three of their last four games. It feels like they have some identity issues to once again work out with a new head coach in tow, and with another new-look bench that doesn’t seem prepared to back up the starting unit. 

Indiana Fever Surging

The Indiana Fever huddle during the game against the Phoenix Mercury

The Fever had two key contests this past week: road games against the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces present the largest challenge on paper to the Fever, with A’ja Wilson being a thorn in the side of any team that doesn’t have an experienced big ready to challenge her in the paint. 

Of course, Indiana did not have to worry too much about that, with Kelsey Mitchell simply putting the team on her back in both games. The star guard averaged 28.3 points per game over Indiana’s games this past week, along with shooting ridiculously efficiently from behind the arc. Despite a slower start to the year for the Fever, it seems like they’re beginning to pick things up thanks to Mitchell, the return of Caitlin Clark more consistently to the floor following a back injury, and star center Aliyah Boston honing in on her defensive stalwart-ness this past week. They’re sitting in 5th place now, just behind the Wings, and are proving they can make even the sharpest teams look silly with their core of Mitchell, Boston, and Clark. Consistency will be key for them. 

Tempo Trip to Montreal

I had the pleasure of venturing across the border to go watch the Tempo’s two games hosted at the Bell Center over the weekend as part of their Cross Canada series, and they gave fans two exhilarating games against the Wings and Liberty. While they went 1-1 on the “road” trip, you couldn’t really tell that was the case. Fans were unbelievably supportive of the squad during both games, and, of course, Marina Mabrey put on a show against Dallas and New York. 

Mabrey, a first-time All-Star this year, averaged 32 points over the weekend, in addition to shooting 9-17 from three across both games. Her step backs in both games just always seemed like they were going to find the net, and more often than not, that was the case. 

Some underrated performances from the Tempo’s Maria Conde and Laura Juskaite deserve flowers, as well. Both played as excellent co-stars to Mabrey’s offensive explosion over this past weekend. Conde was confidently letting it fly from three, while Juskaite seemed to keep finding all of the Liberty’s pain points on her drives. 

Toronto did a great job of feeding off the energy from the Montreal crowd. 

Valkyries Continue to be a Brick Wall

Veronica Burton #22 of the Golden State Valkyries

The Valkyries scored 62 points against the Washington Mystics on July 6. That’s 20 points lower than their season average of 82, and typically the kind of offensive output you’d see from the losing team. 

Of course, they held the Mystics to just 49 points to secure the win, anyway. 

Golden State has been the best overall defensive unit in the WNBA this year, and that’s a huge testament to the work of Veronica Burton as one of the league’s best two-way guards. She’s the head of a snake that is neck and neck with the Minnesota Lynx in defensive rating (100.4), and while also allowing the least amount of points in the paint per game in the league (31.8 per game). 

Burton is also one of the league leaders in defensive win shares, which measures how much an individual player impacts their team’s wins on the defensive end of the floor only. 

Despite not being the flashiest team when it comes to their defense – they aren’t hauling down rebounds or getting blocks at a huge clip – their collective effort on the floor to make life miserable for opponents on defense is what’s helping land Golden State right in the conversation for contention ahead of the All-Star break. 

Juhasz’s Return Comes with Huge Reeve Milestone

Dorka Juhasz had been out all season with a foot sprain suffered overseas, keeping her out of the Lynx’s lineups until July 6. The forward, while missed, wasn’t necessarily returning to a downtrodden team. Minnesota’s been one of the best stories of the season so far, with rookie Olivia Miles helping lead the Napheesa Collier-less team to a first-place record and a stronghold on the standings. So, Juhasz’s return was a welcome addition to Minnesota’s frontcourt depth, but the team has been managing just fine in her absence. 

Still, her contributions as a stretch 4 who can rebound efficiently and operate in the pick and roll with Miles are great for the Lynx, and even without Miles on July 9, Juhasz flashed all of that ability in the Lynx’s win over the Sun. That win carried head coach Cheryl Reeve over the hump to get the league record for most regular-season wins by a coach in history. 

It was also a clutch three from Juhasz that sealed the victory for Minnesota, on a night where the team was unbelievably shorthanded thanks to Miles’ calf injury and the ramp-up for Collier still ongoing. 

As if the Lynx needed to get any scarier, Juhasz’s ability to keep up this level of play off the bench could end up being huge for Minnesota as they seek to gain 100% health by the second half of the season. Minnesota’s bench play could use some work –  their second unit is averaging a league-low 15.7 points per game, along with just 8.7 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists, two steals, but is holding the best net rating (4.7). 

Juhasz can, at a minimum, be the remedy for their rebounding and bench shooting.