NEW YORK (AP) — The surging New York Liberty will face Indiana on Tuesday night in a marquee WNBA matchup that will see the Fever at full strength after the league rescinded a technical foul against Caitlin Clark that would have kept her out.
Clark picked up her eighth technical of the season on Saturday, the number that triggers a one-game suspension, but league officials quickly rescinded it.
New York has won four straight games and seven of its last eight thanks to strong play from its top three players Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu. The trio has been taking turns leading the Liberty during the recent hot streak that's bumped them up to seventh place in the standings — but just two games behind third-place Las Vegas.
The Liberty are coming off a 40-point win over the defending champion Aces on Sunday. The Aces rested stars A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young as it was the second half of a brutal back-to-back for Las Vegas.
“It doesn’t matter who’s playing on the other side, we understand we needed to win,” Ionescu said. “It doesn’t matter, we wanted to go out. We wanted to execute, we wanted to play our brand of basketball, knowing every game is important and this game isn’t going to have an asterisk by it because those players didn’t play. It’s going to show up as a win or a loss.”
New York lost by 20 to Indiana just before its current hot streak, so the Liberty would love to get some revenge.
Power poll rankings
Minnesota held onto the top spot in the power poll this week, although the Lynx weren't unanimous. No. 2 Golden State received two votes and third-ranked Washington got one. Las Vegas, Indiana and New York were next. Atlanta, Dallas and Chicago followed the Liberty. Portland was 10th and Los Angeles 11th. Phoenix, Connecticut, Toronto and Seattle rounded out the poll.
Taskforce meeting
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to all the teams that there will be a meeting this week to continue discussions around transgender athletes in women’s basketball. The memo, sent Friday afternoon, said the topic will be discussed further by a task force of team presidents and general managers at a previously scheduled meeting next week.
Record shooting performance
Kayla McBride had a record-setting game Sunday, scoring a career-high 43 points and hitting a league-best 10 3-pointers in a win over Dallas. McBride made 10 of 14 shots from behind the arc.
“Minneapolis has become home for me and I want to give my best,” she said. “Whether the ball goes in or doesn’t, I just feel so much love. I think that’s why I can come out here and do my thing. I feel so loved and appreciated for who I am and I just love the game. I want to win. So I’m grateful for these fans, this organization. I’m just overcome with joy, and when I have opportunities like that I want to give it back.”
Player of the week
Shakira Austin of Washington was the AP player of the week for the second consecutive week. The forward averaged 22.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks to help the Mystics win all three of their games last week. Other players receiving votes included Breanna Stewart of New York, Bridget Carleton of Portland, Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana and Kayla McBride of Minnesota.
Game of the week
Washington at Las Vegas, Tuesday and Thursday. The Mystics will try to extend a seven-game winning streak when they visit the Aces for a pair of games. A win Tuesday would tie the franchise record of eight consecutive victories by Washington, matching the 2018 team.
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