WNBA Recap | August 22, 2026
Saturday's three-game slate delivered a 211-point shootout, a historic trend finally snapped, and a second straight statement win for Atlanta that officially clinched their playoff spot. New York outlasted Indiana in a game that saw both teams shoot over 55 percent. Los Angeles ended a bizarre Connecticut cover streak that had held for a decade of meetings. And Atlanta's win in Phoenix, coming just two days after their franchise-record 124-point outburst, locked the Dream into the postseason. Here's how it all went down, plus a look at how the preview predictions and season-to-date record held up.
Liberty Outlast Fever in 211-Point Shootout
Indiana Fever 102, New York Liberty 109
New York's rest advantage off a well-timed homestand showed up immediately, and the Liberty never trailed by more than two points in a game that turned into one of the highest-scoring affairs of the season. Final: 109-102, New York improves to 23-15 and stays seventh in the East, while Indiana falls to 24-14 and stays fourth.
Breanna Stewart posted a double-double with 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on 56.4 percent true shooting. Leonie Fiebich, playing through questionable status, was nearly perfect, going 7-of-10 from the field for 20 points at 85 percent true shooting. Jonquel Jones added 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line with 10 rebounds for a double-double. New York's 71 percent true shooting as a team and their 76.5 percent points-in-paint conversion reflected exactly the well-rested, red-hot form the preview flagged as the Liberty's path to victory.
Kelsey Mitchell extended her WNBA-record streak of 20-plus point games to 22 straight, scoring 25 points on 60 percent shooting. Caitlin Clark bounced back from Thursday's rare shooting slump with 21 points and seven assists on 50 percent shooting. Aliyah Boston added 22 points on 57.1 percent shooting. But Indiana's 50 percent free throw shooting (11-of-22) and one player fouling out reflected a night where the Fever's offense, which shot 57.1 percent as a team, still could not match a Liberty roster that was even more efficient.
NYL 109 · IND 102
Sparks Snap Connecticut's Historic Cover Streak
Connecticut Sun 68, Los Angeles Sparks 77
Connecticut had covered the spread in 10 of its last 11 meetings in Los Angeles, a remarkable historical trend the preview flagged as worth fading the Sparks against. That streak came to an emphatic end. Los Angeles, playing without any signs of their six-game losing streak, built a 22-point lead and cruised behind a physical, chaotic fourth quarter that included a Los Angeles player ejection. Final: 77-68, Los Angeles snaps its skid and improves to 13-24, while Connecticut, already eliminated and missing Brittney Griner and Aaliyah Edwards, falls to 9-27.
Rae Burrell led the way with 20 points on 61.5 percent shooting, adding three steals and three blocks. Erica Wheeler contributed 11 points and five assists, and Nneka Ogwumike posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Los Angeles's 44.4 percent three-point shooting and their 15 fast-break points reflected the Ogwumike-Brink combination the preview identified as the Sparks' path to finally ending their skid, even amid a chaotic, foul-heavy fourth quarter.
Connecticut's 15 team steals were a genuinely impressive number in defeat, but the Sun's shooting struggles proved too much to overcome. Saniya Rivers led Connecticut with 14 points on 45.5 percent shooting with four steals. Leila Lacan added 13 points, and Kennedy Burke contributed 11 points with four steals and three blocks despite three turnovers. But Connecticut's 16.7 percent three-point shooting (4-of-24) and 25 total turnovers, missing two key rotation pieces, reflected a team that competed defensively but had no answer offensively.
LAS 77 · CON 68
Dream Clinch Playoff Spot With Second Straight Statement Win
Phoenix Mercury 89, Atlanta Dream 99
Two days after setting a franchise record with 124 points against Los Angeles, Atlanta carried real momentum into Phoenix and delivered again, and this win officially clinched the Dream's playoff spot. Final: 99-89, Atlanta improves to 24-13 and clinches its postseason position, while Phoenix falls to 13-24, mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in the process.
Angel Reese followed her perfect shooting night from Thursday with a monster double-double, going 14-of-21 from the field for 31 points at 66.8 percent true shooting with 14 rebounds, four steals, and seven offensive rebounds. Rhyne Howard added 20 points on 50 percent shooting (4-of-11 from three) with five assists. Jordin Canada contributed 12 points and five assists. Atlanta's 24 assists and 12 steals reflected exactly the continued offensive rhythm the preview flagged Atlanta would need to carry over from Thursday's historic outburst, even against a Phoenix team playing at home.
Phoenix's night belonged to one player putting together one of the best individual performances of the season in a losing effort. Kahleah Copper exploded for 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting (72.3 percent true shooting) with nine free throw makes. Alyssa Thomas recorded a genuine triple-double with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Phoenix's 16 total turnovers and their inability to slow down Atlanta's continued momentum, exactly the letdown scenario the preview flagged as Phoenix's best path to an upset that never materialized, reflected the difference between two teams heading in very different directions.
ATL 99 · PHX 89
NYL, LAS, & ATL Wins.
Saturday delivered playoff-clinching stakes and a historical trend finally broken. Atlanta's second straight statement win, coming just two days after a franchise-record 124-point outburst, officially locked the Dream into the postseason field, while simultaneously eliminating Phoenix. Los Angeles snapping both their own six-game losing streak and Connecticut's decade-long cover dominance in the same night is a genuinely rare double. And New York's shootout win over Indiana, with both teams shooting above 55 percent, was one of the most efficient offensive battles of the season.
Star of the Night: Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury
38 points | 13-of-21 FG | 72.3% true shooting | 9-of-12 FT
In a losing effort, Copper delivered one of the best individual scoring performances of the season, efficient at high volume against a quality Atlanta defense. Reese's 31-14 double-double and Thomas's genuine triple-double both made strong cases, but Copper's 38 points on that level of efficiency stands above every other performance on Saturday's slate.
Dud of the Night: Diamond Miller, Connecticut Sun
5 points | 2-of-4 FG | 4 turnovers | 3 offensive fouls | minus-10
Miller's four turnovers, including three offensive fouls, reflected a night where nothing came easily for Connecticut against a Los Angeles team ending its own losing streak. In a game the Sun already entered shorthanded, her struggles compounded an already difficult night for a team playing out the string on a lost season.
How We Did: Checking the Preview Predictions
Saturday's picks went 1-for-3 on sides, but a perfect 3-for-3 on totals.
Indiana @ New York: The preview leaned Indiana +2.5 with the over at 186.5, citing Mitchell's record streak and a motivated Clark after Thursday. New York won by seven, meaning Indiana did not cover, but the total came in at 211, nearly 25 points over the number as both offenses were more efficient than either team's recent form suggested.
Connecticut @ Los Angeles: The preview leaned Connecticut +4.5 with the under at 168.5, citing the Sun's remarkable 10-of-11 cover streak in this specific series. Los Angeles won by nine, snapping that historic trend and meaning Connecticut did not cover, but the total came in at 145, comfortably under the number. The side missed as a decade-long trend finally broke, but the low-scoring framing behind the under lean held up.
Atlanta @ Phoenix: The preview leaned Atlanta -6.5 with the over at 177.5, citing real momentum off Thursday's franchise-record performance. Atlanta won by 10, comfortably covering, and the total came in at 178, just over the number. A clean sweep, and the pick of the week.
The headline takeaway: all three totals hit, with two of them, Indiana-New York and Atlanta-Phoenix, blowing well past their numbers as offenses across the league continue to run hot in the stretch run. The Connecticut cover streak finally snapping is a reminder that even the most durable historical trends have an expiration date.
Season Predictions Record
Tracking every graded pick against the spread and total from the preview articles this season, updated through August 22:
Spread / Side: 40-36
Total (Over/Under): 39-42
Seventy-six games graded so far across twenty-seven preview articles. The side calls sit at 53 percent, while the totals have climbed to 48 percent after a perfect night. We'll keep this tally updated with every recap going forward.
The Playoff Picture
Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, and Indiana have clinched playoff spots outright, and Atlanta officially joins them as of Saturday's win in Phoenix. The other three teams currently holding a postseason position, New York, Washington, and Dallas, are functionally secured as well, each having built a large enough cushion that only a historic collapse would change their status. Seeding underneath that group remains genuinely unsettled and continues to shift on a near-daily basis.
Phoenix is now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, joining Los Angeles, Toronto, Seattle, and Connecticut as teams officially out of the race. Every other team currently outside a playoff position, Chicago and Portland, maintain a 1 percent chance or less of qualifying. The door is not fully shut on paper, but with most teams now down to somewhere between 5 and 8 games remaining, Minnesota's magic number continuing to shrink fastest of anyone, a real run at the postseason for anyone outside the current field would require nearly everything to break their way at once.