Aces, Sparks advance to the semis-time for a rule change

Vandy Manyeh
Staff Writer

Dearica Hamby for the win.

With five seconds left in the game, Hamby intercepted a Courtney Vandersloot pass and drained a 3-pointer to lift the Aces over the star-studded Chicago Sky in Sunday’s 93-92 win. 

On the other end, Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray put on a Kobe-Shaq show to get past the defending WNBA champions, Seattle Storm, in an impressive 92-69 win. 

Both games were playoffs games.

The defending champs are out for the season. Despite being shorthanded from the onset of the season, the Storm went on to win 18 games, rallying around Natasha Howard and Jewel Loyd.  The Storm’s dynamic duo, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, missed the entire season due to injuries.

And fans of the WNBA deserve to see a rematch of the Aces-Sky game given a missed out-of-bounds call on Hamby during the interception that sealed the deal for the Aces. 

 Unfortunately, fans won’t get to see a rematch of both games. And that’s why the WNBA playoffs rule needs to be changed. 

Since the start of the 2016 season, the WNBA rolled out a rule that allows winners of a single game in the second round to progress to the semifinals. Yes, a single-elimination game.  

As a fan, I would love to see a series in the playoffs and not a single-elimination game. I want to watch more comebacks. I want to see the stars around for a while. That’s what playoff basketball is all about.

I hope the WNBA will change the playoffs rule under the leadership of Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, rather than continue with a format that screws teams.

Header photo: Los Angeles Sparks guard Riquna Williams, left, and forward Nneka Ogwumike go after an offensive rebound as Ogwumike is fouled by Seattle Storm forward Natasha Howard in the first half of the second round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via AP)