Tag: Seattle Storm

Former Lady Vols’ WNBA results for July 5

A look at how former Lady Vols performed in the WNBA on Friday.

Six former Tennessee women’s basketball players competed in the WNBA on Friday.

Chicago defeated Seattle, 88-84, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.

Jordan Horston started for the Storm. She totaled 20 points, six rebounds and one steal in 33 minutes.

Horston converted 8-of-11 field goal attempts, 2-of-4 three-point attempts and 2-of-4 free throw attempts.

Mercedes Russell recorded eight points, one rebound and one assist in 10 minutes for Seattle. She converted 4-of-4 field goal attempts.

Diamond DeShields totaled four points and five rebounds for Chicago in 15 minutes. She converted 1-of-6 field goal attempts, 1-of-4 three-point attempts and 1-of-2 free throw attempts.

Isabelle Harrison recorded two points and four rebounds for the Sky. She went 1-of-4 in field goal attempts.

Los Angeles defeated Las Vegas, 98-93 in overtime, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

Rickea Jackson started and played 41 minutes for the Sparks. She totaled 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jackson converted 5-of-17 field goal attempts, 3-of-8 three-point attempts and 1-of-2 free throw attempts.

Rae Burrell recorded nine points, two assists, one rebound and one steal in 32 minutes for the Sparks.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Five Notre Dame alumni face each other on Brianna Turner’s birthday

Plan to stay up late tonight.

Former Notre Dame standout [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] has turned 28, and there’s only one way to celebrate if you’re an Irish fan. Turner and four of her fellow former Irish will be on the same court when the Chicago Sky visit the Seattle Storm. This is the WNBA matchup that can provide the most former Notre Dame players at any one time in 2024.

Turner has been left on the bench during the Sky’s past two games, but maybe coach Teresa Weatherspoon will give her a break on her birthday. Weatherspoon will have no qualms playing Sky leading scorer [autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag] (14.1 points a game) or reliable bench player [autotag]Lindsay Allen[/autotag], whose 3.1 assists a game rank third on the Sky.

Suiting up for the Storm will be U.S. Olympian [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], one of the league’s top scorers at 20.4 points a game, and [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag], whose 13.9 points a game rank third on the team. A win for the Storm would tie them for first with [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag]’s Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Two former Notre Dame players make WNBA All-Star roster

Congrats, Arike and Kayla!

The final decade or so of [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s tenure at Notre Dame saw her develop many future WNBA stars. Those stars have their mark on today’s league and have earned the right to display their skills as much as possible.

The WNBA All-Star roster for the annual All-Star Game on July 20 in Phoenix has been announced. That roster will include the Dallas Wings’ [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] and the Minnesota Lynx’s [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag], two players who came up with the Irish.

Ogunbowale was named to the team by virtue of being one of the top 10 vote-getters among fans, players and media. McBride was one of eight additional players named after coaches completed the final round of voting. Among those on the final ballot but not making the roster were the Seattle Storm’s [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] and the Chicago Sky’s [autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag].

The WNBA All-Stars will face the U.S. Olympic team, which includes the Las Vegas Aces’ [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag], who also was one of the top 10 WNBA vote-getters, and the Storm’s [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

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Jewell Loyd really dropped 34 points against the Fever with one eye almost closed

Two eyes. One eye. It didn’t matter. Jewell Loyd was getting BUCKETS.

Seattle Storm star Jewell Loyd is an absolute DAWG, and she dropped all kinds of buckets on the Indiana Fever…with one eye almost closed.

Every time Jewell has played the Fever this season, she wrecks them. On May 22, she had 32 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and 2 steals. Eight days later, on May 30, she dropped 22 points and six assists. Thursday was more of the same.

During the first quarter, she took a hit to the face and still knocked down two free throws, barely able to see out of one eye. Loyd then briefly left the game (after scoring 15 points) and came back to finish the job. The savvy veteran ended the night with 34 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal and one block.

After her terrific performance, Loyd was asked why she always gets going against the Fever. Right on cue, she gave the filthiest response to the crowd, who likely was also there to see Caitlin Clark.

She said, “Nah, you guys come for a show. I’ll give you one.” WHEW.

Feature image courtesy of Amazon’s Prime Video.

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Caitlin Clark absolutely wowed a Seattle broadcaster with this fantastic logo 3-pointer

Even the Seattle home broadcaster couldn’t believe this Caitlin Clark logo 3-pointer.

On yet another logo 3-pointer for the night, Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark stunned a Seattle Storm game broadcaster with how sharp her shot was.

Seattle broadcaster Dick Fain joined his regular on-air partner Elise Woodward to call the Storm’s game against the Fever on Thursday night, where the home team would get an impressive 89-77 victory.

However, Clark had a particularly great first half for the Fever, including a beautiful 3-pointer from the Climate Pledge Arena logo on the Seattle court.

As Fain called the play, he couldn’t help but exclaim a big “Wow!” at watching Clark in action as she nailed the stellar bucket.

While Clark’s second half wasn’t nearly as electric as her first, Fain’s delightful reaction to her making such a great shot counts as a win for us.

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Caitlin Clark somehow got an assist from the Storm free-throw line on this unreal pass

Caitlin Clark is absolutely unbelievable.

While much is made about Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark’s uncanny shooting ability, her passing might be just as impressive.

During an away game against the Seattle Storm on Thursday, Clark somehow made a pass from the Seattle free-throw line all the way to teammate Katie Lou Samuelson under the Fever bucket for a layup.

It’s just not common to see someone pull off an assist from the opposing free-throw line, but Clark isn’t common. Her passing ability is one of her best attributes on the court, and this might be her best professional pass so far.

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Caitlin Clark knocked down an unbelievable 3-pointer from the Storm midcourt logo with ease

Caitlin Clark, are you serious?!

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark hit one of her longest logo 3-pointers of her WNBA career on Thursday night on the road against the Seattle Storm.

Clark threw up a beautiful trey from the Storm midcourt logo and knocked it down in style to give her team a much-needed basket.

The distance on this 3-pointer is outrageous, as Clark didn’t even think twice before planting her feet and nailing yet another logo 3-pointer for her impressive rookie season.

It just never gets old to watch Clark hit logo 3-pointers, but getting one from the midcourt logo is just on another level. Clark really is something special.

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Five former Notre Dame players among top 20 WNBA scorers

These ladies are making Irish fans proud.

Before too long, Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] will be sending players she’s had as head coach to the WNBA. For now though, a few of [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s former players are tearing the league up through their scoring. But a lot of people might not seem to realize just how much they’re lighting up the scoreboard.

While most fans are focused on the budding rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, just as much focus should be going to the professionals the Irish have developed. If you need more convincing of that, check out this tweet from @trendyhoopstars:

That’s unbelievable. It’s a testament to how great the program has been for a while now but especially during McGraw’s final decade coaching the Irish. It should come as no surprise that these players have blossomed professionally and are giving the development at some other prominent women’s basketball schools a run for their money. UConn and South Carolina aren’t the only two programs worthy of attention.

So who are the former Irish players turning heads through the first month-and-a-half of the WNBA season, and where do they rank among the league’s scoring leaders? It’s these five:

One former Notre Dame player defeats two others in WNBA matchup

Sometimes, you just gotta get hot from downtown.

[autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag]’s WNBA-high eight 3-pointers in her previous game weren’t enough to carry the Minnesota Lynx to victory. That undoubtedly had to be a frustrating moment for her. Fortunately, there always is room for redemption, and the former Notre Dame guard got it against two others.

McBride hit seven 3s and made all seven of her free throws en route to a game-high 32 points and an 83-64 victory over the Seattle Storm. The win improved the Lynx to 8-3 and broke a tie for first place in the Western Conference.

McBride had to excel to counter the Storm’s starting backcourt, which should be very familiar to Irish fans. [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], fresh off making her second Olympic team, paced the Storm with 25 points on nine-of-27 shooting from the field and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] was held to only seven points but tied of the game high of three steals.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Two former Notre Dame players named to U.S. Olympic team

With so many quality former Notre Dame players thriving in the WNBA, at least one of them had to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.

With so many quality former Notre Dame players thriving in the WNBA, at least one of them had to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic team. Now, two of them reportedly have done just that. [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] of the Seattle Storm and [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] of the Las Vegas Aces will be among the 12 players trying to win gold for the U.S. in Paris:

This will be the second straight Olympics for Loyd after taking the gold along with [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] during the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Young also won gold at those Olympics but as part of the first-ever 3-on-3 basketball competition.

The U.S. won’t be the only roster to find Notre Dame representation though. [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag] will be competing in her fourth straight Olympics for Canada. As she currently is not on a WNBA roster, she can focus her energy on preparing for Paris. Here’s hoping she can bring home a medal, too.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89