Hi everyone, welcome back! We are now into the second week of WNBA action. We have seen some incredible performances, some great games and some standout moments. It is now time for Week 3 update of WNBA Rookie Watch. You can view the second week of WNBA Rookie Watch here.
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WNBA Rookies Watch – Getting Adjusted to the WNBA Season
*Note – This WNBA rookie watch will be updated every two weeks instead of every week. This is because in the WNBA, there are a limited number of roster spots and so rookies have to compete with veterans/star players for spots. A majority of them either get cut, get limited minutes or need time to get adjusted. Their minutes will vary from game to game, opponent to opponent. It will be hard to find consistent minutes and so it won’t be easy to judge rookies on a week to week basis. I’m updating this every two weeks so that I have several games and data(!) to work with.
- Aliyah Boston, C – Indiana Fever
Aliyah Boston continues her excellent play as a rookie in the WNBA. Since the last previous rookies watch came out, she’s been becoming more consistent. She’s scored in double-figures in 4 of her previous 5 games. She’s had two double-doubles, AND even though she only played 22 minutes of action against Phoenix on June 11th, she still managed to score 4 points, grab 7 rebounds and hand out five assists. That’s pretty remarkable. Well-done! To top it all off, she was even able to bring home Eastern Conference Player of the Week – as a rookie! She continues her elite level of play in the WNBA and she has performed quite well.
2. Jordan Horston, G-F,- Seattle Storm
Jordan Horston is continuing to improve upon her game and did just that. Since Week 2’s Rookies Watch came out, Horston has scored in double-figures in 4 of the 6 games she’s played in. She got her first ever double-double on June 13th in the road victory versus Phoenix in which she scored 13 points and grabbed a career high 14 rebounds. And although Seattle lost in a blowout to Las Vegas on the road two days later on June 15th, Horston still managed to score 4 points, grab 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. In her last game of this rookies watch report, she managed to score her second double-double. In a close loss against Connecticut at home, she scored 11 points, grab 13 rebounds and dished out 2 assists. This was also the best shooting game for the season for her. She shot 50% FG from the floor and 50% from three (it was only 2 threes) but that marks for a sign of progress.
3. Haley Jones, G, – Atlanta Dream
Haley Jones looks like she is starting to settle in and get adjusted to the WNBA season. She first made her appearance in Week 2’s Rookies Watch and now it looks like she may stay for a while. She was very close on getting her first double-double in a close road loss to New York as she scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. In the next game, on June 15th in a win against Connecticut, Jones missed out on a double-double, but this time in assists! She scored 10 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out a career high 9 assists. Now that is definitely unique and something she can use for the future. She’s starting to settle into this WNBA season.
4. Dorka Juhász, C – Minnesota Lynx
Dorka Juhász looks like she is startling to settle in and be part of the Lynx team. I had replaced in Week 2 of the WNBA rookies watch in place of Haley Jones and now Jones has moved up a spot. I noticed that Dorka Juhász was continuing to play well in the two weeks that have gone by. She scored 9 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and one block in a close road win against Los Angeles. She is using her versatility to help her navigate around the team and will begin to get more comfortable in dealing with difficult matchups and more.
5. Maddy Siegrist, F – Dallas Wings
Maddy Siegrist makes an appearance on this Week 3 WNBA Rookies Watch list because she has come in and played well when she’s been given the minutes to do so. Although her shot attempts are low due to a lack of playing time, she’s still shooting at a high percentage. She still shoots 50% or more. This obviously will change when she gets more playing time, harder matchup assignments and learn how to make difficult shots. In her New York homecoming game on June 11th, she scored 6 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Even though Dallas still lost the game, that game meant a lot to Siegrist and I’m sure there was plenty of family cheering her on as they finally got to see a family member in the WNBA.
Well, that wraps up this Week 3 WNBA Rookies Watch report. Until then, remember to keep watching, keep cheering for these young ladies as well as the rest of the WNBA. Make sure you watch all of the games when you can and catch up whenever you can. Until then, the next WNBA Rookies Watch report won’t be out until July 6th.
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