Auriemma Calls Bueckers-Fudd vs. Stewie, Reed Jr. Impresses with a Double-Double

Paige Bueckers/Azzi Fudd at Breanna Stewart 

If you were watching Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and the Dallas Wings take on Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty on Tuesday night, then you heard a familiar voice on the ESPN broadcast. UConn Women’s Basketball Head Coach Geno Auriemma was a color commentator along with Robin Roberts and Beth Mowins as part of the WNBA’s ongoing celebration of its 30th season. Geno and Roberts were on the call for the league’s first-ever game on ESPN back on June 23rd, 1997.

Of course, the dialogue started well before tip-off:

As for the game, Stewart continued her offensive tear by scoring a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 9-of-11 from three with nine rebounds and four assists. Bueckers (15 points and six assists) and Fudd (12 points, three assists) combined for 27 points and nine assists in the Wings’ 85-77 victory in Brooklyn. Stewart has scored 25, 36 and 29 points over her last three games, averaging 30.0 points per game while shooting 33-of-51 (64.7%) from the field.

The Wings defeated the Liberty 88-77 to extend their win streak to three games and improve to 14-8 on the season, in fourth place and a game and a half out of first place in the Western Conference. The Liberty dropped to 13-9 and are tied with the Indiana Fever for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Before the broadcast was over, Geno did show his soft spot for Bueckers.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa/Aaliyah Edwards vs Dorka Juhasz

In one of the biggest upsets of the WNBA season, the 5-16 Connecticut Sun stunned the 15-6 Minnesota Lynx, 90-89, in Minneapolis on Monday night. The Lynx entered the matchup with a half-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces for the league's best record. Following the loss, Minnesota and Las Vegas are now tied atop the WNBA standings. 

Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored in double figures for a career-high fifth straight game by scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-8 from the free throw line. She also added eight rebounds, three assists (for the third time in the last four games) and two blocks in 29 minutes. Aaliyah Edwards scored five points with two rebounds and one block in 12 minutes.

After missing the first 20 games of the regular season while recovering from a foot injury, Dorka Juhasz made her season debut. Juhasz struggled offensively, scoring just three points on 1-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-6 from three-point range, but it was great to see her back out there in a Lynx uniform for the first time since the 2024 season. Last year, Juhasz elected to play overseas rather than with Minnesota.

Juhasz, who became the youngest player ever to win the EuroLeague MVP award during the 2025-26 season, received a standing ovation when she checked into the game for the first time. 

The two teams met Wednesday night again at the Mohegan Sun Arena, where Juhasz and the Lynx got their revenge, defeating the Connecticut Sun 86-80. Juhasz played a key role in the victory, scoring 12 points while knocking down four three-pointers, three of them in the final nearly five minutes of the game.

Nelson-Ododa recorded 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from the free throw line, with five rebounds, two assists, and one block in 27 minutes. She has now scored in double-digits in a career-high six straight games.

Aaliyah Edwards scored two points on a pair of free throws with four rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

The Lynx did get the win, but Nelson-Ododa got the best of her former Husky teammate, Juhasz on another edition of “Husky on Husky Crime”

Kaitlyn Chen

Kaitlyn Chen has put together an impressive two-game stretch after scoring 14 points off the bench on Monday in the Golden State Valkyrie's 62-49 road win against the Washington Mystics. Then on Wednesday, the 2025 national champion poured in 16 points, also in relief in the Valkyrie's 83-75 win against the Toronto Tempo in Canada. 

The 14-point performance on Monday marked the only Valkyrie in double-digits as she shot 6-of-9 from the field with four assists. On Wednesday, she was efficient once again, making 8-of-12 attempts with three assists.

Tiffany Hayes netted nine points against the Mystics and two against the Tempo. Kia Stokes 

Kiah Stokes scored six points on 2-of-4 from three-point land with nine rebounds and three blocks against Washington. Stokes has now made 12 three-pointers this season. Her career high is 20 made threes, which she set during the 2020 season with the New York Liberty. In 2020, Stokes shot 23.5% from three. However, this season she is currently hitting at a 38.7% clip. Stokes was held scoreless against the Tempo.

Gabby Williams, now in a bit of a slump, was held to a season-low two points on 1-of-6 shooting against the Mystics and then scored just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting against Toronto.

Kia Nurse scored eight points behind two three-pointers in the eight-point loss. Over the last four games, Nurse is averaging 11.0 points per game on 10-of-21 (47.6%) from three. She was averaging just 3.6 points per game over her first 15 games this season.

The Valkyries (16-7) are now on a season-high six-game win streak while the Tempo (9-12) are just 2-7 over their last nine games.

Katie Lou Samuelson

Katie Lou Samuelson scored a season-high nine points in the Seattle Storm's 82-64 road victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday. Samuelson, who attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, about 45 minutes from Los Angeles, also grabbed five rebounds in the win. 

Stefanie Dolson scored two points with two rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes of action.

Tarris Reed Jr.

Tarris Reed Jr. recorded his first career professional double-double on Monday night after posting 12 points and 12 rebounds in the Spurs California Classic Summer League matchup against the Los Angeles Spurs. Reed Jr. shot 6-of-10 from the field with one assist and one block in 25 minutes.

The former Husky big did not play in the Spurs’ 98-69 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday because the Spurs coaching staff did not want Reed Jr. to play in back-to-back games. It is unclear what the plan is for the Las Vegas Summer League, as the Spurs will play back-to-back games on July 11th against the New York Knicks and July 12th against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Azura Stevens (Chicago Sky)

• TUESDAY: 9 points (3-10 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals in 26 minutes. The Sky (7-14) defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 77-66.

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