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The 2022 WNBA season tipped off Friday night with four action-packed games.
In the first, the Washington Mystics notched a 14-point win over the Indiana Fever. Then, the 2021 defending champions Chicago Sky fell 98-91 in overtime to the Los Angeles Sparks after a controversial foul call with 1.5 seconds left in regulation helped force overtime.
Later in the night, the Las Vegas Aces cracked triple digits, defeating the Phoenix Mercury — opening their season without Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February — 106-88. And the Seattle Storm christened their new home court at Climate Pledge Arena in style, with a 23-point win against the Minnesota Lynx.
ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel, Alexa Philippou and Kevin Pelton analyze each of the four games to open the season.
How Chicago lost to Los Angeles
It’s necessary to start with a caveat here: Like most WNBA teams right now, neither squad was at full strength. The Sky were without Allie Quigley (knee) and 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper (overseas). The Sparks were without Kristi Toliver (coaching in the NBA playoffs) and Katie Lou Samuelson (overseas). So it’s too soon to entirely overreact one way or another about either team.
That said, this was a nice win for the Sparks, who are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2021 in which they missed the postseason for the first time in a decade. What may have been most surprising or notable about the performance was that it wasn’t the likes of prized free agency additions Liz Cambage and Chennedy Carter who moved the needle to beat the reigning champs. Cambage got in early foul trouble and didn’t score from the field until the second half, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds. Carter was limited to 12 minutes, although she was productive in that time with 12 points.
Nneka Ogwumike (19 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists) dominated the first half — great news for L.A. after she dealt with a knee injury last season — while Jordin Canada,…
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Source : espn
