In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Hunter Cruse, Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer discuss Thursday’s game between the Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics as well as other happenings around the WNBA. That game, which Chicago won, saw rookies Angel Reese (Chicago), Kamilla Cardoso (Chicago) and Aaliyah Edwards (Washington) face off.
Reese finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five steals on 5-for-17 shooting in 35 minutes. Cardoso had two points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes off the bench. And Edwards had a career-high 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks on 10-for-12 shooting in nearly 36 minutes.
Shafer and Adler talk about how Edwards outplayed Reese, but they were more impressed by Edwards than concerned about Reese. Here’s Shafer:
“Angel kind of just looked exhausted most of that game. And she looked a whole lot better defensively when she was not guarding Aaliyah Edwards, in the second half especially. Aaliyah was just beating her down the floor every single time the first five minutes of that game, and just kind of, oh, look, I’m wide open at the rim again. And that’s a great way to score efficiently.”
Related reading: Rookie Aaliyah Edwards, Mystics’ ‘Duracell Bunny,’ makes WNBA transition look easy
Shafer also explained how Cardoso’s passing changes the Sky’s offense:
“Angel’s first buckets, two of the first three, I think, came from [an] entry pass to Kamilla and then she sees Angel in the dunker spot on the weak side open because [the Mystics are] sending a double. And she is taller than everyone else on the floor and able to just get that pass in. One of them, she had the ball in her hands for less than half a second. It’s basically a volleyball pass to the next spot. And it’s that kind of decision-making and that kind of passing acumen that made her stand out sometimes at South Carolina. …
“That’s something that’s very important for the Sky team, who let’s just say they struggle with spacing. … It gets bogged down. And when you have a big who can draw two and make plays out of double teams, that’s going to be massive for your offense at any point.”
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!