Cards in WNBA -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Five Cards remain on three WNBA rosters as of 5/16/23

update:  The Mystics cut Jaz and Em after this article was written and posted. 

As the WNBA squads get down to their roster sizes (11 or 12, depending on the franchise) we still find five Cardinals WBB players on three different rosters. 

Sadly, the Phoenix Mercury did cut both Liz Dixon and Kylee Shook. I was hoping, as a lot of Cardinal fans were, that one or both would remain on the roster to serve as backups to Brit Griner. But, it looks like the Phoenix squad is going to go with Megan Gustafson, who has four years of league experience, to play that role. Phoenix is down to 12 players on their roster.

The Chicago Sky has Dana Evans on their roster. Evans looks to be one that will make the opening day roster, despite there still being 16 players listed on the roster as of yesterday. Seven guards are still listed for the Sky, but two are rookies and two have just a year's experience. Also, three players haven't been assigned a roster number yet.  Evans was named to the All-Rookie team last year after leading all rookies in free throw percentage and hitting 40% from three point range. Kahleah Copper and Marina Mabrey look to maybe have the "jump" on starting spots, but now that Courtney Vandersloot went to the Liberty via free agency, and Allie Quigley is not playing this season...Dana should see plenty of minutes, we hope. And, she played her high school ball not far from Chicago and could help bring fans in. 

The Atlanta Dream have welcomed  Asia AD Durr home and she looks to be a great fit with the Dream. The Dream do have some quality guards on the roster in addition to AD, like Rhyne Howard, Danielle Robinson and Alisha Gray...but Durr scored in double figures in both Dream pre-season games so far. I love her chances of being a star at Atlanta. After the battles she had with COVID, it's so encouraging to see her back on the court...doing "incred-a-Durr" things. Shoot til your arm falls off, AD. 

That leaves us with the Washington Mystics. 

Jazmine Jones, Myisha Hines-Allen and Emily Engstler are on the roster, and I like all three players' chances of making the squad. The Mystics are down to 13 on their roster...Jones is a capable guard who was claimed off waivers from Indiana, and is one of seven guards on the roster. Engstler also came to Washington from Indiana, where she played 35 games last season I find it pretty incredulous that the Fever let her go, but they do still have Grace Berger on the roster, along with 10 rookies or first year players, so it may be a financial thing. Hines-Allen has been an essential part of the Mystics and works well in the lineup with Elena Della Donne. 

Friday is opening day for the WNBA's 27th season and the teams will play 40 regular season games in 2023. The Mystics play New York on opening night, Minnesota brings in Chicago, the Mercury goes to L.A. and Connecticut goes to Indiana. The other four WNBA squads (Las Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas) play their first games on Saturday. 

We wish all our Cards greats a ton of success this season and will watch with interest any news on WNBA expansion. 

paulie