Gamecocks in the WNBA: A’ja Wilson’s Wild Week, Raven Johnson’s Bad Luck, and the League Returns From All-Star Break
The WNBA is back in action following the All-Star break, and it’s a good moment to check in on how South Carolina’s professional alumnae are trending as the season enters its stretch run.
A’ja Wilson leads Team Spoon to victory — with a laugh along the way
Team Spoon, which featured all three of South Carolina’s All-Stars, defeated Team Coop 129-122 in Saturday’s exhibition. Aliyah Boston, managing recent leg injuries, played just five minutes in the first half by design to rest her legs, finishing with one rebound on a missed shot attempt — a deliberately light workload that reflects smart in-season injury management rather than any actual concern about her form.
Wilson logged 14 minutes and finished with 12 points, three rebounds, an assist, and one unintentionally hilarious moment: a comical accidental block that came while she was simply trying to get out of Angel Reese’s way. Allisha Gray, the lone reserve of South Carolina’s trio, made the most of her minutes, scoring 19 points in just 21 minutes to go with two rebounds and two assists — arguably the most efficient of the three performances given the limited playing time.
Atlanta: a quiet week before a demanding stretch
Atlanta didn’t play last week, leaving Allisha Gray’s season averages unchanged at 19.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game across 26 starts. Madina Okot continues to post elite shooting efficiency at 60.9% from the field, albeit in a limited 9.8 minutes per game. The Dream now face a tougher week ahead, with road and home matchups against Dallas and Seattle respectively.
Chicago: Cardoso produces even with restrictions
Kamilla Cardoso remains on a minutes restriction while managing a right knee injury, but it hasn’t dulled her impact. In a narrow loss at New York, she posted a season-high five assists to go with 10 points, 5 rebounds, a steal and a block in 25 minutes — evidence that her playmaking has actually expanded even as her workload has been deliberately capped. Chicago faces Connecticut and Las Vegas this week, giving Cardoso a chance to build on that facilitating role against varied competition.
Golden State: a rare defensive no-show
Golden State’s defense, which has been remarkably consistent for most of the season, had an uncharacteristic off night in a home loss to Washington. Laeticia Amihere’s modest line of 3 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 12 minutes reflected a team that appeared to check out early for the All-Star break rather than a genuine step back in form. With games at Phoenix and against Toronto on deck, this week offers a clear opportunity to reestablish that defensive identity.
Indiana: Boston shines as Raven Johnson’s misfortune continues
Aliyah Boston delivered one of her stronger performances of the season in a blowout win over Connecticut, posting 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in just 20 minutes — an extremely efficient stat line given the shortened workload in a lopsided game. Tyasha Harris also cashed in, adding 12 points and 6 assists in the same contest.
The tougher storyline belongs to Raven Johnson, who suffered a lower-body injury during warmups before the Connecticut game and did not play. The timing was particularly unfortunate — a blowout win is exactly the kind of game where a bench player like Johnson would typically see extended, low-pressure minutes, and the injury occurred too late to activate developmental player Bree Hall as a replacement. Instead, Boston and Harris were left to pad their own stat lines further in Johnson’s absence. With a demanding week ahead — road games at Seattle, Portland and Minnesota — Johnson’s recovery timeline is worth watching closely.
Las Vegas: the same rollercoaster, now with historic scoring numbers
No storyline stands out more this week than A’ja Wilson’s stretch of performances. She followed a 26-point, 4-block outing against Toronto — during which she shot a scorching 3-of-3 from three-point range — with a monstrous 38-point, 7-rebound, 5-assist showing in a narrow loss to Washington. That kind of back-to-back offensive dominance, now averaging 26.1 points per game on the season, reinforces just how historic her current campaign has become.
But the loss to Washington also reflects a pattern that has defined Las Vegas’ season: the offense, powered by Wilson, has been sensational, while the defense has been inconsistent at best. That’s been the story of the Aces’ first half — individual brilliance from their superstar unable to fully paper over larger structural issues on the other end of the floor. With Portland, New York and Chicago all on the schedule this week, Las Vegas has a real opportunity to prove that recent defensive lapses are correctable rather than a season-defining flaw.
Portland and Seattle: managing setbacks and finding fight
Sania Feagin’s season remains over following her torn left ACL, though she underwent successful surgery on July 22 — a positive marker for her long-term recovery even with this season lost.
In Seattle, Zia Cooke turned in one of her better weeks of the season, scoring 18 points and nearly leading the Storm to an upset of Minnesota, the league’s best team, before a quieter 7-point follow-up in the rematch. That near-upset performance is a notable data point for a team with a difficult overall record — showing genuine competitiveness against elite competition even without matching win totals.
What to watch this week
The headline storylines heading into this stretch are clear: whether Wilson’s historic scoring pace can be paired with a more consistent Las Vegas defense, how quickly Raven Johnson recovers from her lower-body injury, and whether Golden State’s uncharacteristic defensive lapse was a one-off or the start of a concerning trend as the postseason picture starts coming into focus.
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