New records have been set and history has been made during the 2017 WNBA season,
but there are a few records within reach to be could be passed this season. Here
are some players chasing history with two weeks of the regular season remaining:
The Dish
Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot leads the WNBA in assists with 7.9 per game. She
has had five consecutive games with 10 assists which has bumped her up to first
place. She needs to average just under 8.6 assists in the Sky’s remaining seven
games to surpass Penicheiro’s record of 8.0 assists with Sacramento in 2002.
Seattle’s Sue Bird is closing in on the all-time assists record. In her 15th
season in the WNBA she has racked up 2,574 assists and needs 26 to pass Ticha
Penicheiro’s record (2,599). Penicheiro’s record has been untouched since she
retired in 2012. For the duration of her career Bird is averaging a 5.5 assists
per game.
Atlanta guard Layshia Clarendon was averaging the most assists per game this
season until Vandersloot went on a hot streak. Clarendon leads the WNBA in
assists with 203 and is currently averaging 7 assists per contest. She needs 34
assists (average 6.8 assists per game) in the Dream’s final five games to break
Ticha Penicheiro’s single-season WNBA record of 236 with the Sacramento Monarchs
in 2000.
Sky guard Cappie Pondexter is three assists away from 1,500, which would make
her the sixth player in WNBA history to reach that mark.
Own the Boards
Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones is averaging a double-double this season
but she is leading the pack in rebounding with 11.74 rebounds per game. She has
a chance to break Tina Charles’ WNBA record for rebounding average and total
rebounds in a season. Charles has held the record since 2010 when she was with
Connecticut. Charles’ record is 11.71 rebounds per game and 398 rebounds on the
season. Jones’ currently has 317 total rebounds and 7 games left, which means if
she keeps up her average of 11.74, she will break the record.
Accuracy is Key
Storm forward Crystal Langhorne and Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles are both
challenging Tamika Raymond’s single-season record of 66.8 percent shooting from
the field with Minnesota in 2003. Langhorne currently leads the WNBA in shooting
percentage at 67.3 percent from the field, followed by Fowles at 66.1 percent.
Fowles currently holds the record for WNBA all-time field goal percentage with
59%. Langhorne is in second spot all-time shooting 57.2%. Langhorne has led the
Storm two seasons in a row in field goal percentage in 2014 and 2015.
Cookies
Minnesota Lynx guard Jia Perkins needs two steals to pass Katie Douglas (623)
for fifth place on the league’s all-time list. Perkins is averaging .90 steals
per game this season.
