Ever since Courtney Vandersloot went down and tore her ACL, Reese has taken it upon herself to play more like a point-forward, and the results for Reese have paid off. She facilitated to six different teammates in Kamilla Cardoso, Elizabeth Williams, Ariel Atkins, Michaela Onyenwere, Rebecca Allen and Rachel Banham. Unleashing Reese’s passing has made her offense much more efficient. She’s not forcing as many tough shots near the basket, but instead is getting better looks on cutting actions and is being screened for. She went 4-for-4 in the third quarter on a couple of putbacks for teammates in addition to a couple of field goals where she had the advantage and could use her athleticism to score.

On a night when Caitlin Clark’s road struggles continued, Boston stepped up with the most productive night of her WNBA career. Recording her second 30-point game, Tuesday’s victory was the first in which Boston surpassed that mark. Over her last two outings, the third-year forward/center has scored 57 points on 25-of-37 shooting from the field. Just as important as the points are the shot attempts. Before Sunday’s loss to the Aces, Boston had not attempted 18 shots or more in a game since May 24 against the Liberty. While Clark may receive the mainstream attention, the Fever are at their best offensively when there’s a concerted effort to get Boston the ball in spots where she’s most effective early and often. Tuesday night, Aliyah’s effectiveness opened things up for others, helping Indiana compensate for Clark’s limited scoring.

Stevens made her first eight shots which included four three pointers made. The Chicago Sky defense was slow to contest Stevens who stands tall at 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan. Stevens was responsible for 54.2 percent of the Sparks’ total points in the first quarter. But once Steven’s hot shooting streak ended in the fourth quarter, she didn’t hit another three or score another point. The Sparks only scored 17 points to the Sky’s 30 in that final frame.

Without Napheesa Collier for the second straight game with a back injury, Smith had to step up and in the first half she did. Her Lynx teammates found her cutting to the basket for most of her scores. The Mystics defense lost sight of Smith on these cuts, keeping their attention glued to Lynx guards Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. Smith hit 60 percent of her shots in the first half, but that changed in the second half where Smith was less efficient and her looks weren’t as easy. Shakira Austin was more keyed into Smith especially, contesting a lot of her jump shots.

Austin continues to go on a tear coming off her eastern conference player of the week honors. Austin made a bunch of difficult and acrobatic shots through multiple Lynx defenders in the first half. Austin was her most successful when she was guarded by less athletic and less lengthy post players in Jessica Shepard and Maria Kliundikova. The Lynx had trouble keeping up with Austin’s drives coming off closeouts. Austin read the defense well in the second half, drawing two and passing instead of trying to score through multiple Lynx defenders. Her final field goal, an offensive rebound putback in the fourth quarter, tied the game at 64 with 32 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Sky’s starting center was dominant against the Sparks’ front court out-muscling Los Angeles’ Azurá Stevens on the block and out running Dearica Hamby to the rim on pick-and-roll lob passes. Cardoso cut well in the quarter court and 80 percent of her made field goals were assisted, mostly via Rachel Banham and Ariel Atkins. Tuesday night’s win over the Sparks was Cardoso’s final game before she jets off to Chile for the AmeriCup to compete for the Brazilian National team until the second week in July. In her absence expect more minutes from center Elizabeth Williams in addition to Michael Onyenwere when Sky head coach Tyler Marsh opts to play Angel Reese as a small ball center.

While Howard had a difficult night shooting the basketball, she was one of Atlanta’s best performers. The Dream shot a season-low 23.4 percent from the field and 7-of-34 from three, with Howard responsible for five of the makes. For the second time this season, she’s scored 20 points or more in consecutive games, and Rhyne finished Tuesday’s defeat an assist shy of a complete stat line. Outside of fantasy leagues in which field goal percentage is a scoring category, this was a good night to have Howard rostered. She and the Dream will look to bounce back when they host the Lynx on Friday.

Due to a lower right leg injury, Sykes will not be available for Washington’s first matchup of the season with the league-leading Lynx. Regarding production and leadership, not having Sykes is a significant issue for the Mystics. Jade Melbourne, who played 18 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s overtime win over the Wings, should figure more prominently in the rotation, and there may also be additional minutes for rookie Lucy Olsen.

Mabrey suffered a left knee injury during Connecticut’s June 20 game against Dallas, with the issue keeping her out of Sunday’s loss to Golden State. Tuesday afternoon, the Sun announced that she’ll miss at least 2-4 weeks. Bria Hartley started against the Valkyries and will likely retain that spot until Mabrey returns, while Lindsay Allen should also pick up additional playing time.