New York Liberty at Seattle Storm
Just because the WNBA is an all-women’s league, doesn’t mean the behaviour has to be ladylike.
Liberty forward Cappie Pondexter was tossed from New York’s 97-82 loss to the Phoenix Mercury after being dealt two flagrant fouls following a tussle underneath the hoop with former teammate Penny Taylor Saturday night.
“I’m sayin this to all my fans I would never do anything on the court to hurt anyone! Imma competitor 1st,” Pondexter posted on her Twitter account.
The Liberty’s loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped the team to 7-8 straight up and against the spread on the season. Now, New York must clear its head for a tough trip to the West Coast to face the WNBA’s top team.
Seattle has won six games in a row, covering the spread in five of those games. The Storm are 11-6 ATS this year, including a 92-84 win over the Liberty as small home favourites.
Pick: Seattle
Connecticut Sun at San Antonio Silver Stars
The Sun have had a hard time rising on the road this season, posting a 3-5 record in opposing arenas.
Those troubles have been extrapolated by Connecticut’s 2-6 ATS mark over those eight games. The Sun lost their most recent outing, falling 92-80 to the Chicago Sky. Connecticut has been a solid play at home, going 6-2 ATS inside Mohegan Sun Arena, but can’t find consistency on the road.
“Everybody was all over the boards with predictions for us (entering the season),” head coach Mike Thibault told the Norwich Bulletin. “But when we started out, we were winning home games in front of our fans, all of a sudden the expectations changed. And mine probably did, too. And now I’m trying to temper my frustration with a sense of reality, too.”
Connecticut scored just 29 points in the first half of Thursday’s loss to Chicago, shooting a dismal 35 percent in the first two quarters. The Sun have struggled to get off to good starts and with the next three games on the road, may have to wait until they return home – on July 17 – to figure it out.
Pick: San Antonio