What’s Trending: July 6, 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 July 6, 2015:
#MercAtSparks: Mitchell’s Jumper Gives Phoenix OT Win
The holiday weekend ended with fireworks in Los Angeles, where guard Leilani Mitchell hit a game-winning jumper with 3.9 seconds left in overtime to lift the Mercury over the Sparks.
The clutch shot gave Phoenix its third straight win, as Brittney Griner’s return to dominance has the Mercury pushing for the No. 2 spot in the West.
#Highlight Reel: Griner Throws Down First Dunk of Season
In addition to blocking seven shots on Thursday and posting a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) on Sunday, Griner slammed home a dunk for the first time in 2015 over the holiday weekend. The Mercury were, of course, excited…
. @brittneygriner with the slam! Mercury leading it 20-17 in the 1st! #MercAtSparks pic.twitter.com/2OJ7kUfH7M
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 5, 2015
#WeAreLA: Toliver Pours in 43 Points for Sparks
https://instagram.com/p/4s5ICXt6UQ/
The Sparks are starting to look like the Sparks again.
With Nneka Ogwumike (26 points, 19 rebounds on Sunday) healthy and Kristi Toliver back, L.A. is slowly climbing out of the 0-7 hole it dug to open the season. On Friday, a career-high 23 points from Toliver, who’s averaging a career-high 26.0 points, propelled the Sparks over the Shock.
#WNBABallot: Early All-Star Returns Announced; Voting Ends Thursday
#WNBAAllStar Balloting 2015 presented by @boostmobile closes at 9pm/et on July 9! #WNBABallot
✔ Keep voting pic.twitter.com/3jfeVQk8wQ
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 2, 2015
With four days of voting remaining, the WNBA’s finest are primed for a return trip to All-Star Weekend.
The early returns announced on Thursday had Elena Delle Donne and Shoni Schimmel leading vote-getters in the East and Skylar Diggins and Maya Moore leading out West.
Click here to learn how to vote on WNBA.com.
#NBASummer: Becky Hammon to Coach Spurs Summer League Team
Becky Hammon keeps breaking new ground.
The longtime WNBA star spent the 2014-15 season on the San Antonio Spurs’ bench as the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history. This week, she will begin a stint as the first-ever female head coach at the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (July 10-20).
#WNBA great @BeckyHammon to become 1st female @NBASummerLeague Head Coach! Read More: http://t.co/mm69BBKqKa pic.twitter.com/gr8Do0ohfo
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 4, 2015
#USA: WNBA Stars React to World Cup Victory
Some of the WNBA’s top players turned into fans like the rest of us on Sunday when the U.S. Women’s National Team won the World Cup in Vancouver.
Congratulations @ussoccer_wnt 2015 Women's World Cup Champions!!!??????⚽️⚽️⚽️ #USWNT #1N1T pic.twitter.com/vw9vEHpdp0
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 6, 2015
https://twitter.com/SkyDigg4/status/617858509007364096
World Cup Champs!!!!!?????? What a great match!! Go #USAWNT
— Maya Moore (@MooreMaya) July 6, 2015
#Happy4th: WNBA Celebrates Independence Day
https://instagram.com/p/4uFIeVC3Ti/?taken-by=wnba
Have a happy and safe 4th of July Dream fans! #LiveIt pic.twitter.com/hI8NvaGv7Q
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 4, 2015
Wishing our Sky family a safe & happy holiday! See you back at @AllstateArena 7/10 when we host the @minnesotalynx pic.twitter.com/hRMBlEwANa
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) July 4, 2015
#RacetoMVP: Elena Delle Donne’s Busy Week
After an incredible streak of 58 consecutive made free throws, EDD finally misfired from the charity stripe on Thursday, falling short of Eva Nemcova’s record of 66 straight. She’s now shooting a not-too-shabby 97% (97-of-100) on the season.
Delle Donne also paid a visit to both the ESPN campus — where she appeared on SportsCenter and His and Hers — and CNN studios this week when she wasn’t dunking at practice in a superhero outfit.
Yesterday @De11eDonne spoke w/ @donriddellCNN about sexism in women's sport. Watch the segment on @cnnsport & @cnni pic.twitter.com/qLX539ZVWj
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) July 4, 2015
#BreakingNews: Stars Trade for Dream First-Round Pick Samantha Logic
The trade deadline isn’t until August, but on Sunday the Stars and Dream completed the first trade of the 2015 season.
San Antonio sent a 2016 second-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for rookie guard Samantha Logic, the No. 10 pick in April’s WNBA Draft out of the University of Iowa.
BREAKING: The Stars acquire Samantha Logic from the @AtlantaDream! RT to welcome Samantha! http://t.co/xscnlaymox pic.twitter.com/3OJRoKZsmJ
— San Antonio Stars (@SAStars) July 5, 2015
#WNBAKicks: SLAM Magazine Shouts Out Some of the Finest Footwear
The @WNBA's been lacing up some serious heat. See the best kicks from @LA_Sparks & @nyliberty: http://t.co/Eko5X8LriN pic.twitter.com/qLGL5lpijN
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 1, 2015