Two weeks into the WNBA season, and we’re down to just one undefeated team. Prior to Tuesday’s three-game league schedule, only the Connecticut Sun remain without a blemish. The 5-0 Sun got to that lofty perch by handing the 4-1 Minnesota Lynx their first defeat last week.
The defending league champion Las Vegas Aces and the team it beat for the title last season, the New York Liberty, both suffered their first defeats. The Liberty actually fell twice last week, suffering losses to the Lynx and the Chicago Sky.
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark tasted triumph for the first time in her fledgling WNBA career as her team traveled to Hollywood and downed the Los Angeles Spark on May 24.
In addition to going 5-0, the Sun scored a player of the week for the second time in as many tries. Forward Dewanna Bonner was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, with Phoenix Mercury forward Kahleah Copper earning Western Conference Player of the Week honors.
WNBA Names Bonner East Player of the Week
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Bonner was named the WNBA East Player of the Week on Tuesday. It was the tenth such honor that the 14-year veteran has earned in her WNBA career. She now joins Sun frontcourt mate Alyssa Thomas, who earned the award last week.
Last week, Bonner averaged 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game as Connecticut went 3-0 against the Fever, Sun, and Sky. She matched her season-high in scoring with 22 points against Indiana on May 20.
The 36-year-old is a two-time WNBA champion, having won the title in 2009 and 2014 with the Mercury. The fifth-overall pick of the 2009 WNBA Draft was traded to Connecticut for three first-round draft picks prior to the 2020 season. She re-signed with the Sun before the start of the 2024 campaign.
In her career, the 6-foot-4 forward has been named a WNBA All-Star five times, including last season.
Copper Honored as WNBA West Player of the Week
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Copper earned WNBA West Player of the Week honors for the second time in her eight-year career. It was quite a week for the first-year member of the Mercury, who averaged 29.7 points per game over three contests last week.
The 29-year-old leads the league in scoring with 29.2 points per game through five contests, while also shooting 48 percent from three-point range. She is currently the only WNBA player with three 30-plus point games this season.
Copper scored a career-high 38 points vs. the Atlanta Dream on May 18, then recorded 37 points in a defeat of the Aces May 21. In doing so, she became the first player in WNBA history to have back-to-back 37-point-plus games. She recorded the 3,000th point of her WNBA career on May 25 during a 32-point night against the Dallas Wings.
The Philadelphia native spent the first seven seasons of her WNBA career with the Sky, before being traded to Phoenix in a package that included the No. 3 overall draft pick this spring.
Copper, Bonner to Face One Another Tuesday Night
Bonner and Copper will face one another Tuesday night as the Sun welcome the 3-2 Mercury to Mohegan Sun Arena. Connecticut seeks to move to 6-0, while Phoenix looks to get back to winning ways after last Saturday’s loss to Dallas.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Tom is the WNBA Content Manager for Total Apex Sports. He is also well versed in covering MLB, NFL, NHL, as well as MLS and EPL.
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