The WPBA Week 8 Recap

Saturday marked the end of the regular season for the WBPA, meaning that two teams were eliminated after finishing at the bottom of the standings. The top two teams are now gearing up for the semifinals on Saturday while the next four teams must win on Friday first. The entire Tournament of Champions weekend will be back at the College of Alameda with games at 6 and 8 on both Friday and Saturday before the winners are crowned in a game that starts at 4 on Sunday.

The league had further exciting news after the weekend with one more event after the season. The New Zealand national team arrives in this Bay Area later this week to train for two weeks before they decide on their final roster and head to Mexico for a World Cup qualifying tournament. They will play two exhibitions against stars from the WPBA at 6pm on both Thursday and Friday, August 8th and 9th on the campus of the former Holy Names University in Oakland.

Tech City Titans vs Berkeley Royals

The first game of the day had possible playoff seeding implications and the Royals had both Jasmin Guinn and Ashley Hart back in the lineup, helping them start well. The Titans salvaged a split in the second quarter as they tried to win the game or at least stay ahead in the standings, using a strong third quarter to take the game lead again. The Royals won the fourth quarter and then the game 96-90 to climb ahead of their opponents in the standings even with a worse record. Rokia Doumbia led the way with 26 points and added 10 rebounds while Guinn had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Hart had 22 points. Destiny Jackson had 23 points in the loss.

Hayward Reign vs Oakland Swish

The result of the preceding game clarified the possibilities in this game with both teams trying to grab the last playoff spot and the Swish having the chance to climb up a spot by winning every quarter while the Reign needed their own sweep to move up in the standings. The task was made tougher for the Reign with only five available players in Raziya Potter, Kim Hanlon, Nicole Conyers, Mo Bennett, and Denean Jackson, but they seized control of the game early and won 80-55, just falling short of what they needed. Jackson had 23 points, Potter had 21 points, Bennett had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Hanlon had a 11 point, 11 rebound, 10 assist triple-double. Madison Michelis had 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Swish.

San Francisco Riptide vs Alameda Wolves

The third game was unlikely to have any standings implications, but the Wolves could seal the second seed in the playoffs by winning enough quarters against the winless Riptide. The Riptide did get the point for the first quarter lead, but fell behind by halftime and finished with a 109-78 loss despite 31 points and 11 rebounds for Jhaina Stephens. IImar’I Thomas was incredible for the Wolves again with 46 points and 10 rebounds and Rebecca Harris had a 16 point, 19 rebound, 14 assist triple-double.

Bay Area Phoenix vs Bay City Blaze

That left one game with no impact on the standings, but the Blaze were still trying to complete a perfect regular season. They took a big lead and won 93-80 behind a 34 point, 13 rebound, 14 assist triple-double from Ameela Li while Doris Jones had 19 points and Myah Pace had 17 points. The Phoenix prepared for the playoffs and were helped by having Faatimah A, who had 17 points, and Aquira DeCosta, who had 13 rebounds, back in the lineup. Maddison Glass added 19 points and Kiara Brown had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Final Standings:

The standings for the league are determined on a points system with one point awarded for scoring more points in a quarter and the point being split if both teams score the same number of points in that period. Three points are awarded for a win. The playoff bracket was determined after all of the games with the Blaze and Wolves getting a bye to the semifinals.

1. 50.0 Blaze 8-0
2. 43.0 Wolves 7-1
3. 33.0 Phoenix 5-3
4. 26.5 Royals 3-5
5. 25.0 Titans 4-4
6. 18.5 Swish 3-5
7. 18.0 Reign 2-6
8. 10.0 Riptide 0-8