UConn in the WNBA: Career nights for the Lynx’s Huskies

The third full week of the WNBA season is underway, and we are already under a month from the start of the 2020 playoffs. Here’s a look at some of the UConn related news from around the league this week:

Career nights for Minnesota’s former Huskies

Both Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield set new career highs over the past week in the wubble. After Sylvia Fowles went down with a calf injury in the first minute of the Lynx’s game Thursday night, Collier led the way on the glass and tallied a career high 14 rebounds. She paired that performance with 21 points, but Minnesota still fell 10 points short of the Aces.

Earlier in the week, Dangerfield also put up big numbers against Los Angeles. Dangerfield scored 29 points, a career high in the WNBA — but also more points than she scored in any game in her college career at UConn. She scored the 29 points on just 17 field goal attempts and also added four assists in the game. Minnesota didn’t secure the win despite Dangerfield’s standout performance. However, Dangerfield did strengthen her case to be a part of the Rookie of the Year conversation, or at the very least, in the running for the All-Rookie team.

Injury Update

After missing five games with a left-knee bone bruise, Sue Bird has returned to the court for the Seattle Storm. Seattle didn’t miss a beat while Bird was out, going 5-0 in that stretch. Stefanie Dolson has also returned from her ankle injury for the Chicago Sky. In the meantime, Diana Taurasi went down with a back injury. The injury is said to be unrelated to last year’s surgery, but no timetable for return has been given yet.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

Stewart on track for another MVP season

The Seattle Storm sit atop the league at 8-1 on the season. Its lone loss came to Washington in third game of the season, and they’ve won six straight since. The depth of Seattle’s roster deserve much of the credit for the extended win streak, especially in the absence of Sue Bird.

But having Breanna Stewart back on the court and once again playing at MVP level has certainly made things easier. Stewart is averaging 18.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, which rank fifth and ninth in the league, respectively. She’s also been efficient from the floor, shooting 47 percent on field goals, 43 percent from deep and 87 percent from the charity stripe.

That’s a stat line to keep an eye on, as Stewart is flirting with a 50-40-90 season, with plenty of time to boost her numbers a bit to get there. After nine games, she’s also on track to set career highs in both assists (3.6) and steals (2.0) per game.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images