Home US SportsWNBA Gabby Williams, Azura Stevens poised for breakout seasons: How ex-UConn stars are faring in the WNBA

Gabby Williams, Azura Stevens poised for breakout seasons: How ex-UConn stars are faring in the WNBA

by

Now that she’s back in the WNBA full-time, UConn women’s basketball star Gabby Williams seems to find a new way into the Seattle Storm’s record books with each passing game.

The former Huskies guard had a statement performance against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, putting up a season-high 21 points plus seven assists, three rebounds and a block to lead Seattle in an 89-77 win. She joined Storm teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith as the first duo in franchise history to log 20 points and seven rebounds in the same game. Williams also set her career high for points in a half with 18, hitting four 3-pointers in the first to tie her career high for makes in a game, then breaking it with a fifth in the third quarter.

Advertisement

Williams was the No. 4 pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft but hasn’t played a complete season in the league since 2022 due to obligations with her overseas club and the French national team. She opted to remain with the Storm this year rather than compete with France during the FIBA EuroBasket tournament at the end of June, and that decision is paying off already in 2025. She is averaging 15.2 points on 51.5% shooting from the field and 48.9% from three, all of which are career highs, while also contributing four assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

Forward Azura Stevens, who was drafted out of UConn right behind Williams at No. 6 in 2018, is also having a breakout season with the Los Angeles Sparks. She had her most complete performance to date in the Sparks’ 93-79 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday, logging 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks. She leads LA averaging a career-best 8.9 rebounds per game, and her 14.6 points, 1.7 steals are also career highs. She is shooting above 40% from 3-point range for the first time in eight seasons and hitting above 50% from the field for the first time since 2021.

Napheesa Collier extends double-double streak to five

The Minnesota Lynx remain undefeated three weeks into the WNBA season, and star forward Napheesa Collier led the team in both points and rebounds in all three of its wins since the start of June. Collier put up 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists shooting 61.5% from the field in Minnesota’s 88-65 win over the Phoenix Mercury last Tuesday, and she added another 28 points plus 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks in an 81-65 win over the Dallas Wings.

Advertisement

Collier has logged a double-double in five consecutive games dating back to May 23, the longest streak of her seven-year career. She leads the WNBA in scoring averaging a career-high 25.5 points per game on 52.5% shooting from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range, which are also both career bests.

Stewart, Liberty continue to dominate

Two-time MVP Breanna Stewart is averaging less than 30 minutes per game for the first time in nine seasons, but her New York Liberty have cruised to an 8-0 record in 2025 for the best start in franchise history. Stewart recorded her first double-double of the year with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Liberty in a win over the Washington Mystics on Thursday, and she also logged 13 points, three rebounds and five assists in New York’s 100-52 dismantling of the Connecticut Sun.

Washington, which features a pair of former Huskies, put up a better fight than Connecticut in its matchup with New York, falling 86-78 after outscoring the Liberty in the second half. Center Stefanie Dolson logged a season-high eight points shooting 4-for-6, and forward Aaliyah Edwards scored three.

Advertisement

Edwards has appeared in just five games after a lower back contusion sidelined her to start the season, and she had her best showing to date against Connecticut on Sunday. She recorded 13 points and seven rebounds plus a steal shooting 62.5%, and Dolson added three boards in Washington’s 104-67 win.

Tina Charles powers struggling Sun

Eight-time All-Star Tina Charles had an elite outing against her former team, the Atlanta Dream, on Friday, logging 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in Connecticut’s second win of the season. Though the team followed it up with a 38-point loss to the Mystics on Sunday, Charles came just short of a double-double with 17 points and nine boards.

Former Huskies guard Bria Hartley has solidified her spot in Connecticut’s starting lineup, and she dished a season-high six assists plus 11 points and four rebounds in the 84-76 win over Atlanta. She added six points and three assists against Washington.

Advertisement

Center Olivia Nelson-Ododa had a strong start against the Dream with three steals in 12 minutes, but she exited the game in the second quarter with a right ankle injury and did not return. She was ruled out for Sunday’s game against Washington, but she’ll get some extra recovery time with the team’s next matchup nearly a week away.

How other former Huskies fared

Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings: The star rookie has missed four straight games since she was placed in concussion protocol on May 29, though she was cleared to play Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx. The Wings kept her out for the matchup due to an illness, but she could return to the court as soon as Wednesday against the Phoenix Mercury. Dallas is 0-4 with Bueckers sidelined.

Tiffany Hayes, Golden State Valkyries: Hayes remains out with a nose injury originally suffered on May 21 against the Mystics. She returned to start against Minnesota on June 1 but re-aggravated the injury after playing just 15 minutes.

Advertisement

Moriah Jefferson, Chicago Sky: Jefferson has yet to make her 2025 debut and was downgraded to out with a leg injury ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Indiana Fever after she was available the previous three games. Jefferson also missed the first three games of the season with the injury.

Kia Nurse, Chicago Sky: Nurse logged three points, two rebounds and two assists in Chicago’s lone game last week, a 79-52 loss to Indiana on Saturday. She shot 1-for-5 from the field and played a season-low 18 minutes.

Kiah Stokes, Las Vegas Aces: Stokes played 13 minutes in Vegas’s only game of the week, a 95-68 upset by the Golden State Valkyries. She logged four rebounds but didn’t attempt a field goal.

After getting first home win, Connecticut Sun promise fans: ‘We’re going to turn this around’

Source link

You may also like