Layup Lines: Liberty's slide continues

Happy Monday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA.

• Yesterday was a good day to do something wild, as we went 3-0 with our bets by taking all three unders.

This 437 word newsletter should take less than 2 minutes to read.

🗞 Three Sunday games, three sentences

• Sabrina Ionescu hero ball worked in the first half (20 points) but very much did not in the second (2 points), as the Storm outscored the Liberty 22-6 in the third quarter behind suffocating interior defense and a huge stretch from 19-year-old No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga.

• The perfect remedy for any struggling team — in this case, Las Vegas — is just to play Connecticut.

• Minnesota responded to its Commissioner’s Cup championship loss last week with three home wins in four days and is starting to pull away from the rest of the league.

Unrelated: I enjoyed this look at the biggest developments for every team from Her Hoop Stats.

📺 Today’s games

• We’re 49-45 this season with a life-changing $21 profit on an initial $1,000 investment.

• There are two games tonight, both on League Pass — Golden State @ Atlanta (7:30pm ET) and Dallas @ Phoenix (10:00pm ET).

  • The Valkyries are much better defensively at home than on the road, and the Dream getting Rhyne Howard back should help their 3-point shooting.

    • Bet: Golden State / Atlanta over 158 total points scored, $50 to win $45.

  • Brutal injury report in the desert, as the Wings are missing Arike Ogunbowale and Dijonai Carrington and the Mercury are down Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally. Having four of the top five playmakers out should mean a game with little quality shot creation.

    • Bet: Dallas / Phoenix under 164 total points scored, $50 to win $46.

⭐️ All-Stars to go

• Coaches around the league voted on the All-Star reserves, meaning we have the general rosters set for the July 19 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

  • My quibbles: Atlanta’s Brionna Jones is a huge omission and she should’ve made it over Kelsey Plum or one of the Mystics rookies. I also think Kayla McBride was more deserving than Lynx teammate Courtney Williams.

• Watch Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier draft their starters and reserves on ESPN’s WNBA Countdown tomorrow night at 7pm ET.

Layup Lines is written 100% by human beings and we appreciate your support. If you’re still reading this newsletter, you must like it enough to share with a friend. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor