WNBA Season Opening - Sunday Cardinal Couple

WNBA Gets Underway

Washington Mystics

WNBA fans, say hello to Myisha Hines-Allen.  Mooks, a nickname she uses in her social media handles, has been at the front and center of social media in the Wubble leading up to the beginning of the WNBA season.  She demonstrated that she has no intention of stepping back in the shadows on the court.

With Elena Della Donne and Tina Charles not being on the court for the Washington Mystics (Della Donne is still recovering from back issues, and Tina Charles was granted an exemption from the season for medical purposes), the runway was cleared for Hines-Allen to take off and shine.

Myisha dropped 14 points, in the first quarter, and had a career high 22 points by halftime.  She would go on to complete a double-double in the game with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  She went 3-4 beyond the arc...which is a new element to her game since her time at UofL...and 11-17 from the field overall.

It's fair to point out that this is only Myisha's 2nd career WNBA start.  The Mystics have lost some significant contributors to their championship run from last year, and while the season is just barely underway, this may be a case of reloading instead of rebuilding.

New York Liberty

Other Cards in the Pros were in the league opening game, the NY Liberty vs the Seattle Storm.  The
Storm, lead by Breanna Stewart, Jewell Lloyd, and Sue Bird would be victorious over the Liberty, 87-71.

The Liberty sport a trio of Cardinals on their roster, with Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones being the newcomers, and the active players, on the team while Asia Durr has been granted a medical exemption for the season.

Only Kylee Shook would see action, with a report that Jazmine Jones is nursing a bit of an ankle sprain.

Shook played almost 12 minutes of game time, scored the first field goal of her WNBA career, and pulled down a rebound.

Layshia Clarendon was the clear leader for the Liberty with 20 points, while the heralded rookie Sabrina Ionescu put in 12 points.

Stewie's 18 points would lead the Storm to the win, Lloyd got 14, and Sue Bird contributed 11.

Las Vegas Aces

Angel McCoughtry is the other UofL alumna playing in the WNBA.  They weren't on the court yesterday, with their season opener against the Chicago Sky being today at 3pm EDT.  You can catch this one on ESPN streaming.

Some of the other will known names on the roster for the Aces are Liz Cambage, Kayla McBride, Kelsey Plum, and A'ja Wilson.  Plum is not active as she is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon last season.

Who to watch with the Sky?  The always entertaining Stefanie Dolson, rookie Ruthy Hebard, and a whole gang of guards; Diamond Deshields, Allie Quigley, and Courtney Vandersloot.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

A slim line-up for the CCRH yesterday, with only Paulie and I able to make the call.  Case was off
again working on preparing for the Professional Engineering exam, while Jared was back at the financial institution making sure people were wearing masks.

We previewed the WNBA action and shared a bit about life in the Wubble.  We wrapped up a bit about the FGCL and the success of Jordyn Wolfe and Paige Schindler in Bradenton.  I was able to bring out a little bit of extra information about Tess Clark heading to Alcombendas Volleyball in Spain.

We kept it a little short so folks switch over to the Liberty game starting at noon.  Check it out below.

JMcA