WNBA Recap & Results | August 1, 2026
Saturday delivered two games that both came down to the final possession, and both went the way the preview's underdog leans suggested they might. Chicago blew a 10-point third-quarter lead against Las Vegas, lost it back and forth through a chaotic final two minutes, and then stole it at the buzzer on a Sydney Taylor three. And New York, playing without three rotation pieces, watched a double-digit second-quarter lead evaporate before grinding out a two-point win over Phoenix that stayed tense until the final free throws. Here's how it all went down, plus a look at how the preview predictions and season-to-date record held up.
Taylor's Three Stuns Aces in Wild Finish
Las Vegas Aces 83, Chicago Sky 84
Las Vegas controlled this game for three quarters, building a comfortable cushion behind A'ja Wilson's dominant interior scoring. Then the fourth quarter turned into one of the most dramatic sequences of the season. Chicago tied it with 4:39 remaining. Las Vegas answered and took the lead back, only to lose it again with 2:25 to play. The lead changed hands twice more, tied at 43 seconds, before Wilson gave the Aces the lead on a layup with just 3.2 seconds left. Sydney Taylor had the last word, burying a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining to win it outright. Final: 84-83, Chicago improves to 12-18, while Las Vegas falls to 20-10.
Wilson was magnificent even in defeat, finishing with 36 points on 13-of-27 shooting and a double-double with 12 rebounds, adding four assists and two blocks. Jackie Young posted a double-double of his own with 18 points and 11 rebounds, though six turnovers were costly. NaLyssa Smith added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Las Vegas out-rebounded Chicago 53-47 and shot better from the field, but their five bench points, compared to Chicago's 21, and a stretch where they couldn't close out the final two minutes were the difference in one of the wildest finishes of the season.
Chicago's defense held up exactly as the preview suggested it would. Sydney Taylor was the hero, scoring 29 points on 11-of-27 shooting, including the game-winning three, and adding two rebounds and two assists. Kamilla Cardoso posted a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds, and Courtney Vandersloot added seven points and five assists with three steals. Chicago's 40.3 percent shooting and their ability to survive Las Vegas's 25-point third quarter, then answer every late Aces push, reflected exactly the defensive resilience their recent form had been building toward.
CHI 84 · LVA 83
Liberty Survive Bonner's Late Rally to Hold Off Mercury
New York Liberty 94, Phoenix Mercury 92
Phoenix and New York traded big runs from the opening tip. New York opened with a strong first quarter before Phoenix answered with a 28-point second to take the lead, and the Mercury's advantage held until New York seized control for good with 8:21 remaining in the fourth. New York never gave the lead back after that, but Phoenix made it agonizingly close: DeWanna Bonner buried a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two with 24.1 seconds left, and New York needed Breanna Stewart to ice it from the free throw line with 12.7 seconds remaining. Final: 94-92, New York improves to 18-13 and holds onto the eighth and final playoff position league-wide, while Phoenix falls to 11-19.
Sabrina Ionescu was outstanding, posting a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists on 9-of-19 shooting, adding seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and Han Xu came off the bench to shoot 6-of-9 (3-of-6 from three) for 17 points. Breanna Stewart had a quieter double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds, but her free throws in the final seconds were the difference. New York's 100 percent free throw shooting as a team, 19-of-19, and their 26 assists on 33 made field goals reflected a shorthanded roster that found a way to execute when it mattered most.
Phoenix pushed New York to the brink despite missing key rotation pieces of their own. DeWanna Bonner was excellent, scoring 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds, and her late three-pointer nearly completed the comeback. Kahleah Copper added 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Alyssa Thomas contributed 17 points and seven assists despite four turnovers. Phoenix shot 50.8 percent from the field, better than New York's clip, but New York's 27 points off Phoenix's 10 turnovers and their perfect night from the free throw line were the numbers that ultimately decided a game that came down to the final possession.
NYL 94 · PHX 92
CHI & NYL Steal Wild Finishes.
Saturday's slate delivered two of the most dramatic finishes of the season, and both broke in favor of the team the preview's underdog lean favored. Chicago's defensive form all week translated directly into a buzzer-beating upset over one of the league's top teams, a result that keeps their playoff push alive. And New York, missing three rotation pieces, found enough from Ionescu and their bench to survive a Phoenix team that had every reason to believe it could complete the upset in the final seconds. Both results carry real playoff weight as the league's stretch run tightens.
Star of the Night: Sydney Taylor, Chicago Sky
29 points | 11-of-27 FG | Game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining
Wilson's 36-point double-double makes a real case, but Taylor delivered the single biggest shot of the day, capping a 29-point game with a buzzer-beater that stole a win from one of the league's best teams. When the moment was biggest, she was the one who delivered.
Dud of the Night: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
18 points | 7-of-14 FG | 11 rebounds | 6 turnovers | Double-Double
Young's double-double looks fine in isolation, but six turnovers in a one-point loss where Las Vegas blew a double-digit lead reflects a night where her mistakes directly fueled Chicago's chaotic comeback. In a game decided by less than a possession, that turnover total carries real weight.
How We Did: Checking the Preview Predictions
Saturday's picks went 1-for-2 on sides, with the Chicago lean the clear highlight of the day.
Las Vegas @ Chicago: The preview leaned Chicago to cover as a home underdog, citing a genuine defensive form gap that the record didn't reflect, with the under favored in the mid-180s. Chicago didn't just cover, they won outright, and the total came in at 167, comfortably under the number. A clean sweep and the pick of the week.
New York @ Phoenix: The preview leaned New York -2.5 with the under around 175, expecting a grind-it-out game between two shorthanded rosters. New York won by two, meaning Phoenix covered the small spread, and the total came in at 186, well over the projected number as both offenses found more efficiency than the shorthanded framing suggested. Both calls missed, though the correct winner was identified.
The headline takeaway: Chicago's defensive form read was exactly right, and it delivered the best individual pick of the week. The Phoenix game was closer to a coin flip than either roster's absences suggested it would be, with both offenses performing better than the "shorthanded grind" framing predicted.
Season Predictions Record
Tracking every graded pick against the spread and total from the preview articles this season, updated through August 1:
Spread / Side: 10-5
Total (Over/Under): 8-7
Fifteen games graded so far across six preview articles. The side calls remain solidly ahead of a coin flip at exactly 67 percent, while the totals sit just above 53 percent. We'll keep this tally updated with every recap going forward.