2021 WNBA Commissioner's Cup

The 2021 WNBA Commissioner's Cup was the WNBA's 1st-ever Commissioner's Cup in league history. The Cup Final featured the top Eastern Conference Cup Connecticut Sun facing off against the top Western Conference team Seattle Storm.[1] The Sun came into the Cup Final with a Cup record of 9–1 against fellow Eastern Conference teams, while the Storm entered with a 8–2 record against their Western Conference counterparts.

2021 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Game
Cup Final
Connecticut Sun Seattle Storm
(9-1) (8-2)
57 79
Head coach:
Curt Miller		 Head coach:
Noelle Quinn
1234 Total
Connecticut 1817517 57
Seattle 28182211 79
DateAugust 12, 2021
ArenaFootprint Center
LocationPhoenix, Arizona
MVPBreanna Stewart, Seattle
Referee(s)Eric Brewton, Cheryl Flores, Tiara Cruse
Attendance5,006
United States TV coverage
NetworkAmazon Prime
Announcers

Led by Cup MVP Breanna Stewart, Seattle won the game by double-digits, claiming the inaugural Cup Final Title.

Road to the Cup Final

The Commissioner's Cup starts by designating a portion of regular-season games – 10 games per team – as counting towards Cup play. The team from each conference with the top record in designated “Cup games” then compete for the Commissioner's Cup title and a special prize pool. Cup games are the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals.[2]

Standings

Source:[3]

# Eastern Conference W L
1 Connecticut Sun91
2 Chicago Sky64
3 New York Liberty55
4 Atlanta Dream46
5 Washington Mystics46
6 Indiana Fever28
# Western Conference W L
1 Seattle Storm82
2 Minnesota Lynx73
3 Las Vegas Aces64
4 Phoenix Mercury55
5 Dallas Wings37
6 Los Angeles Sparks19

Game Summary

Coming out of the Olympics Break, Seattle showed no signs of fatigue with having 5 players playing in the Olympics. They worked well together and jumped out to an early lead. The Sun battled back together down 10 after the first quarter. The game was back and forth in the second quarter and the Sun trailed by just five with 4:50 to play in the second and would have cut their deficit to eight at the break had DeWanna Bonner's half court make just after the buzzer counted. It wasn't until the Storm won the third 22-5 that the game was truly out of reach.

Seattle scored the first eight points out of the break with four coming from Sue Bird, who ended the second with a trey. The Storm went on to lead by as many as 31 and Bird finished with 10 points and five assists. The third member of Seattle's big three, Jewell Loyd, notched 16 points and three assists.[4]

August 12
7:00pm ET
Seattle Storm 79, Connecticut Sun 57
Scoring by quarter: 28-18, 18-17, 22-5, 11-17
Pts: Breanna Stewart (17)
Rebs: Mercedes Russell (7)
Asts: Sue Bird (5)		 Pts: Bonner
Hiedeman 11
Rebs: Brionna Jones (11)
Asts: Jasmine Thomas (3)
Footprint Center
Attendance: 5,006
Referees: Eric Brewton, Cheryl Flores, Tiara Cruse

Team Rosters
Seattle Storm roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G10Bird, Sue5' 9" (1.75m)150 lb (68kg)1980-10-16Connecticut17
F22Burdick, Cierra6' 2" (1.88m)172 lb (78kg)1993-09-30Tennessee4
G8Burke, Kennedy6' 1" (1.85m)182 lb (83kg)1997-02-14UCLA2
G21Canada, Jordin5' 6" (1.68m)135 lb (61kg)1995-08-11UCLA3
G24Loyd, Jewell5' 10" (1.78m)148 lb (67kg)1993-10-05Notre Dame6
C13Magbegor, Ezi6' 4" (1.93m)176 lb (80kg)1999-08-13Australia1
G11Prince, Epiphanny5' 9" (1.75m)179 lb (81kg)1988-01-11Rutgers11
C2Russell, Mercedes6' 6" (1.98m)195 lb (88kg)1995-07-27Tennessee3
F33Samuelson, Katie Lou6' 3" (1.91m)163 lb (74kg)1997-06-13Connecticut2
F30Stewart, Breanna6' 4" (1.93m)170 lb (77kg)1994-08-27Connecticut4
F7Talbot, Stephanie6' 2" (1.88m)192 lb (87kg)1994-06-15Australia3
G23Williams, Kiana5' 8" (1.73m)135 lb (61kg)1999-04-09StanfordR
Head coach
Noelle Quinn (UCLA)
Assistant coaches
Gary Kloppenburg (UC San Diego)
Ryan Webb (Seattle)
Perry Huang (Fresno Pacific)
Athletic trainer
Caroline Durocher
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured
  WNBA roster page
East
ATL
CHI
CON
IND
NY
WAS
West
DAL
LV
LA
MIN
PHO
SEA
Connecticut Sun roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F24Bonner, DeWanna6' 4" (1.93m)143 lb (65kg)1987-08-21Auburn11
G/F21Carrington, DiJonai5' 11" (1.8m)175 lb (79kg)1998-01-08BaylorR
G/F3Charles, Kaila6' 1" (1.85m)167 lb (76kg)1998-03-23Maryland1
G2Hiedeman, Natisha5' 8" (1.73m)135 lb (61kg)1997-02-10Marquette2
G20January, Briann5' 8" (1.73m)144 lb (65kg)1987-01-11Arizona State12
F42Jones, Brionna6' 3" (1.91m)230 lb (104kg)1995-12-18Maryland4
F35Jones, Jonquel6' 6" (1.98m)190 lb (86kg)1994-01-05George Washington4
F4Jones, Stephanie6' 3" (1.91m)185 lb (84kg)1998-07-10MarylandR
F1Mompremier, Beatrice6' 4" (1.93m)190 lb (86kg)1996-08-08Miami (FL)1
F25Thomas, Alyssa 6' 2" (1.88m)185 lb (84kg)1992-04-12Maryland6
G5Thomas, Jasmine5' 9" (1.75m)143 lb (65kg)1989-09-30Duke9
Head coach
Curt Miller (Baldwin Wallace)
Assistant coaches
Brandi Poole
Chris Koclanes
Athletic trainer
Nicole Alexander
Strength and conditioning coach
Analisse Rios
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured
  WNBA roster page
East
ATL
CHI
CON
IND
NY
WAS
West
DAL
LV
LA
MIN
PHO
SEA

References
  1. "WNBA Cup Leaderboard". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  2. "2020 WNBA Season to Feature Inaugural Commissioner's Cup, Expanded 36-Game Schedule for Teams and More ABC Games". Wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  3. "2021 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Leaderboard".
  4. Ward, Zachary (August 13, 2021). "Stewart brilliant again in championship setting, Storm take inaugural Commissioner's Cup". swishappeal.com. Swish Appeal. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
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