What’s Trending: June 22, 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 22, 2015:

#ShockTulsa: Tulsa Takes Control of the West

Entering the third week of the 2015 season, the leaders in the Western Conference are not the Mercury or the Lynx — who’ve combined to win each of the past four conference championships — but the upstart Tulsa Shock.

A 2-0 weekend, capped by a 86-78 win over Minnesota in Sunday’s NBA TV showdown, lifted the Shock to 6-1, riding a six-game winning streak. They’ve done it with contributions up and down the roster, led by All-Star Skylar Diggins, who posted 26 points and 8 assists on Sunday.

#LetsGoSun: Connecticut Stays Hot in the East

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If the Shock are the young, up-and-coming team out West, the Sun are their Eastern Conference equivalent — with a six-game winning streak of their own.

Connecticut’s 6-1 start comes as a shock, considering they’ve done it without injured star Chiney Ogwumike. Their best win of the season came on Friday in what is perhaps the early frontrunner for Game of the Year: a double-overtime thriller in Phoenix that featured 23 lead changes and 17 ties.

#DadsandDaughters: WNBA Players #LeanInTogether on Father’s Day

#WNBABallot: All-Star Voting in Full Swing

 

#RacetoMVP: All About EDD

Elena Delle Donne continues to take her game to new heights during her third season. The Sky’s superstar is leading the league in scoring at 29.3 points per game on an incredibly efficient 54% shooting — 11% higher than her career mark (43%) entering this season.

With 54 points in two games over the weekend — she’s now scored at least 24 points in every game this season — Delle Donne became the third fastest player to reach the 1,000-point career milestone (52 games).

#LiveIt: McCoughtry’s Buzzer-Beater Sinks the Sky

Need a clutch bucket? There may be no one better in crunch time than Atlanta Dream guard Angel McCoughtry, who hit her second game-winner in the span of a week to down the Sky on Friday night.

#Relentless: Latta Puts on Shooting Display in Indiana

The Mystics rode the hot hand of Ivory Latta to improve to 3-0 on the road in a win over the Fever on Saturday.

Washington’s sharpshooting guard drilled 6-of-8 from three-point range — one shy of her career high from threes made in a game — en route to an early season-high 24 points. Latta is leading the league in treys made per game for the second straight season while attempting a career-high 7.7 per game.

#RookieReport: Boyd Pours in 18 Points to Lead Liberty

The 2015 draft class is the gift that keeps on giving to the New York Liberty.

The team bounced back to top the Dream on Sunday on the strength of a season-high 18 points from No. 9 pick Brittney Boyd.

New York sits at 4-3 in large part due to the contributions of rookies Boyd and Kiah Stokes.

#WNBACares: Charles to Donate Half of Salary

#Perseverance: Gemelos Overcomes Five ACL Tears

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Jacki Gemelos played just five total minutes of action in two games for the Sky this weekend, but they may have been the most meaningful five minutes anyone played.

It was the first five minutes of her WNBA career, completing a grueling road to the pros that included five torn ACLs dating back to her senior year of high school.

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