With the WNBA in the All-Star break, the Blue Zone analyzes the play of former Blue Devils excelling through the first half of the season:
Chelsea Gray leading league-best Aces
Gray was selected by fellow Las Vegas Aces teammate A’ja Wilson as the first pick of the WNBA All-Star Game draft July 8. This marked her fifth All-Star selection in her career, and she was joined in Wilson’s starting lineup by fellow Aces guard Jackie Young. In the game Saturday, the Manteca, Calif., native scored five points while also contributing six rebounds and seven assists. On the first night of All-Star weekend, Gray and teammate Kelsey Plum won the team Skills Challenge, in large part due to Gray’s clutch shooting.
Gray has been on a scoring tear recently, recording double figures in 11 straight games. She had a season-high 25 points June 26 in an 88-80 victory against the Indiana Fever. Perhaps the guard’s biggest contribution to Las Vegas has been her passing skills, as she leads the team in assists with 6.5 per game.
Check out her court vision on display with this viral assist June 24 in the Aces’ 101-88 defeat of the Fever. She dished out a whopping 12 assists and has four double-doubles this season.
This stacked Las Vegas team has performed as advertised thus far, boasting a 19-2 record through the halfway point of the season. It remains to be seen if the Aces will break the record for the best regular-season winning percentage in WNBA history — .900, set by the Houston Comets in 1998 — but if they do, Gray will be a big part of it.
Elizabeth Williams continues great play
Williams has played extremely well of late, marking five straight double-digit scoring outbursts, including a season-high 17 points in the Chicago Sky’s 89-87 victory against Indiana July 2. During that game, the center filled out the statsheet, grabbing nine rebounds and six assists.
After averaging shy of six points per game the last two years, the Virginia Beach, Va., native looks to be on track for a big bounce-back season, recording 9.6 points per game during this year’s campaign. Along with scoring, she has been a defensive force with 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. In the Sky’s 84-72 loss to the Connecticut Sun Wednesday, Williams scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and swatted an impressive five blocks.
Although Chicago has struggled thus far this season compared to last year — due to the loss of a flurry of players headlined by Candace Parker — Williams is a solid starter who has been an efficient scorer and a large interior presence.
Jasmine Thomas working her way back from injury
Thomas, who tore her ACL in May 2022 after only playing five games a season ago, is still progressing back to form. Although she has struggled for the better part of this season, Thomas had her best game of the year July 9 in the Sparks’ 78-72 loss to the Mercury.
For the first time all season, she recorded double-figure scoring and played more than 20 minutes. The Fairfax, Va., native knocked down two triples and dished out four assists as well. Throughout Thomas’s 12-year career, she has been a consistent double-digit scorer, a sharp 3-point shooter and a quality defensive stopper, evidenced by her WNBA All-Defensive Second Team nod in 2021.
If she can continue to reach her pre-injury levels of production, she could provide a much needed spark to a stumbling Los Angeles team.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.