Aussies in WNBA: Taylor's Mercury begins the seige
The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks still remain the only undefeated teams in the 2016 WNBA season as the Lynx sit 6-0 and the Sparks 5-0. The Atlanta Dream are riding a high with a 4-game winning streak to now sit on a 5-1 record comfortably on top of the Eastern Conference standings. Pre-season favourites the Phoenix Mercury have started to find their feet, whilst the Chicago Sky continue to present a strong case for themselves.
Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips continue to carry the Australian name by leading the way for the Aussies as Jenna O'Hea works her way into the Storm's rotation.
Parker and McCoughtry leading the way
The phenomenal Candace Parker is dominating the Western Conference, as she leads her LA Sparks to 5 consecutive wins with no losses, and has managed to pick up the Western Conference Player of the Week.
Parker is ranked fourth overall in scoring, with an average of 20.8 points per game, seventh in rebounding (6.5rpg) and she also delivers 3.5 assists per game. Parker paved out the win for the Sparks over Chicago with a massive 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Parker is a scoring machine and one of the most athletic players in the WNBA.
This week, @Candace_Parker averaged 24ppg, 6.5rpg & 3.5apg while helping @LA_Sparks win 2 road games. #WatchMeWorkhttps://t.co/NrUy25Jcc6
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 31, 2016
Angel McCoughtry has earned the Eastern Conference Player of the Week as she helped the Atlanta Dream surge their way up the Eastern Conference standings.
McCoughtry's most dominant game came in the Dream's win over the Dallas Wings, where she made 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. McCoughtry is the sixth top scorer in the WNBA, averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.67 steals per game.
For the week, @Angel_35 averaged 21ppg, 6.7apg & 1.67spg while helping the @AtlantaDream go 3-0. #WatchMeWorkhttps://t.co/fqzmgahZN1
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 31, 2016
Aussie Update
The Seattle Storm were able to win one of the three games they played the last week. They suffered a narrow 2-point loss to Washington after coming back from a 14-point deficit to force overtime, bouncing back to then earn a much-needed win over the Connecticut Sun. Seattle then lost on the road to the Indiana Fever by 10 points.
Jenna O'Hea has been making her way back into the side, receiving over 10 minutes of court time in her three games back since joining the side from France. The versatile Australian was one of the main forwards on the court in their loss to Indiana. O'Hea managed 6 points and 3 rebounds in Seattle's tough loss to Washington.
The Phoenix Mercury have finally broken their drought of consecutive losses as they found wins against the Washington Mystics and Connecticut to now sit at 2-4. Penny Taylor was outstanding in the Mercury's win over Connecticut, picking up 16 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds as the team came from behind with a 14-point deficit. It was another great performance from Taylor to back up her 25 point explosion in a loss to the undefeated Lynx.
Penny Taylor showed the 🔥 last night with 25 points, including 18 in the 4th Q. #MercVsLynxhttps://t.co/C6LuBo3J9G
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) May 26, 2016
Erin Phillips continues to perform for the Dallas Wings despite their struggle to get wins on the board. Phillips, acting as the starting point guard for injured Skylar Diggins, made 13 points in the Wings' loss to Chicago. The feisty guard has been the Wings go-to play maker and will need t continue playing well to help improve her team's record.
Catchings makes 7,000
Indiana Fever's Tamika Catchings became just the 2nd player in the history of the WNBA to reach 7,000 points. Catchings announced she would play on for her final season of the WNBA, and is just adding further highlights to her long list of achievements.
The 2012 WNBA MVP has been one of the best players in league history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auouHZ_W0dI