The WNBA is heating up as we enter the final week of the regular season ahead of the playoffs, so much so that even New York Liberty floor general Breanna Stewart had a crash-out in the final minutes of their game against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream. As for the Bayou Barbie herself, Reese kept her scoring form alive and made Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco’s life tougher with a double-double to lead the Dream to victory.

Over on the West, the Phoenix Mercury surprised us all with a shock win against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. Meanwhile, Bueckers was doing her own side quest that propelled her to make scoring history for Dallas.

As the seeds for the playoffs are slowly and steadily forming, we take a look at what went on Monday night in the world of the WNBA.

Breanna Stewart reaches her boiling point as Angel Reese and Jonquel Jones trade blows

In a game with major playoff implications regarding seeding, Liberty vs. Dream was as heated as it could be. The headline of the day involved Breanna Stewart and a technical foul, which was absurd considering the Liberty veteran last received one in her second year in the league, back in 2017 when she was with the Seattle Storm.

The incident occurred with 1:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, as Stewart attempted a drive to the basket. However, she was met with none other than Angel Reese, who attempted to block the Liberty star’s shot. In the process, Reese hit Stewart’s arm, and she immediately began protesting the illegal action, as the commentators noted.

However, Stewart’s protest was in vain, as there was no foul called against the Dream forward. On the contrary, it was Stewart who received a personal foul for blocking Reese on the subsequent play.

That was enough for Stewart to reach her breaking point, as she marched towards the officials, stomping her feet to show her protest. With that, Stewart officially received her first technical foul in nine years, and safe to say she was not happy about it.

“That absolutely was [because of] the no-call,” Stewart said following the game. “She (Angel Reese) slapped the s–t out of my hand. So yeah, you gotta see that. Baseline ref, you gotta see that.”

Still simmering after the press conference, Stewart delivered one final jab according to Liberty reporter Myles Ehrlich.

“On the way out of the press conference, Stewie shouted back, ‘Angel should pay my fine.’ And when @alexaphilippou asked if she told her that, she said yes,” he wrote on his X.

Stewart was not alone in thinking that the officials did her wrong, as Sabrina Ionescu joined the conversation and believed this instance did not warranty Stewart her first technical foul in almost a decade.

“If I wanted to see Stewie get a tech for the first time since 2017, I would have wanted something a little bit more animated than that because I think there’s a lot of players in the league that do that nightly and don’t get techs,” Ionescu said.

“So I was a little underwhelmed with the tech. If it was a stat like that, I would have wanted to see something crazy. But good for her. She’s very composed. She talks to the refs really nicely and doesn’t get techs often. So I’m happy for her.”

The intensity surrounding Stewart’s technical made more sense when considering what was at stake for both teams. The Liberty hosted the Dream at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a nationally televised late-season contest on Peacock and NBCSN, with Atlanta entering at 28-14 and New York at 26-16.

Atlanta was pushing to strengthen its top-four position and secure home-court advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. New York, meanwhile, was trying to improve its own postseason standing in a tightly packed race. The Dream’s 95-84 victory moved them to 29-14 and left them one win, or an Indiana loss, away from clinching home court in the first round.

Stewart’s loss of composure makes sense when we look at the broader context of the game. A win here for the Liberty would have made them jump two places in the standings, which would have helped them in receiving home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Stewart did her best to make sure that outcome became a reality, but it was not enough, as the Dream beat the Liberty 95-84.

Stewart finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and one steal, doing nearly everything she could to keep New York within reach. She shot 11-for-19 from the field, though her four turnovers reflected some of the pressure Atlanta created during the loss.

As for Angel Reese, the Dream star recorded another double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. The current frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Game was all over the hardwood against the Liberty, and her apparent foul on Stewart was not the only reason she caught headlines.

Angel Reese went back and forth against Liberty’s Jonquel Jones throughout the game, but one moment between the two quickly stole the spotlight. With 5:45 left in the second quarter, Reese scored on Jones while in the paint and quickly made the “too small” gesture towards her.

However, Jones was not to be pushed aside, as she returned the favor to Reese with 2:27 left in the third quarter. Jones caught the ball at the arc and began to back Reese down, who was guarding her, getting positioned deep in the paint. Jones then threw her shoulder at Reese as she turned around, sending the forward to the floor as she knocked down the layup and hit her with a ‘too small’ celebration.

Apart from Reese, her teammate Rhyne Howard had a milestone moment against the Liberty. Howard is one of the most important players for the Dream thanks to her scoring proficiency from outside the arc. And while she went 2-for-8 from the three-point line against the Liberty, her two shots propelled her to 500 threes in her career. Howard is now the youngest player in WNBA history at the age of 26 years and 146 days, and the fastest player in WNBA history (178 career games) to reach this mark.

The Dream now extend their record to 29-14 for the season, firmly cementing themselves at fourth in the standings. This is a monumental development for a team that was unable to reach .500 in the past six seasons. Under head coach Karl Smesko, the Dream is one of the favorites to win the title this season.

Dallas Wings’ six-game winning streak snapped by Phoenix Mercury

Just two days before the rematch, Dallas had beaten Phoenix 87-82 at home to stretch its winning streak to six games. Paige Bueckers set the tone early, scoring 20 of her 26 points in the first half, while Arike Ogunbowale added 22 points and six assists as the Wings protected their lead late. Ogunbowale converted a three-point play with 1:19 remaining to push Dallas ahead 86-81 and help secure the victory.

That result made the teams’ second meeting a very different proposition for the Mercury. Dallas entered Monday riding its best run of the season and fresh off a win over Phoenix, only for the Mercury to return the favor with a one-point comeback that ended the streak.

Tenth-place Phoenix Mercury have played spoiler for head coach Jose Fernandez’s side, as the Dallas Wings end their hot win streak with an 87-86 loss against the Mercury.

The Mercury really took things up in the final quarter of the game, and the 26-18 scoreline confirms that. The Mercury have Kahleah Copper to thank for it, as 16 of her 31 points came in the fourth quarter. Copper scored the go-ahead layup for Mercury with 2.4 seconds remaining.

Apart from Copper’s brilliance, three other Mercury players recorded points in double digits. Alyssa Thomas had a fantastic triple-double showcase of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists, her fifth of the season. Natasha Mack and Kara Dunn contributed with 12 and 11 points each.

The Wings had a frustrating night, to say the least. Veteran Arike Ogunbowale had a rough showing with just 7 points. Ogunbowale sank a baseline jumper with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter for an 81-77 lead, which was just her second basket of the game. Jessica Shepard contributed with 17 points and a mammoth 19 rebounds.

However, while the whole team struggled, Paige Bueckers showed why she is a cut above the rest, creating a bit of history on the way.

Paige Bueckers puts her name in Dallas history with her scoring magic

The 2025 No. 1 overall pick has been a blessing for the Wings this season. While Dallas finished 10-34 last year, the team entered the final week of this season with a 26-16 record and a playoff spot already secured.

While the Wings suffered a one-point defeat at the hands of the Mercury, that did not stop Bueckers from creating her own history. The Wings guard scored 30 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Her strong performance raised her season total to 853 points.

And with this total, Bueckers broke her teammate Ogunbowale’s record of 849 points from the 2023 season, officially having the newest single-season points record in Dallas history.

The Wings’ social media account used this scoring record to further solidify Bueckers’ case for MVP and All-WNBA honors this season. In just her second season, Bueckers has perfected the anchor role for the Wings and is averaging 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.9 assists this season, while shooting 51 percent from the field.

Bueckers is not done yet. The Wings have already clinched a playoff berth, and her 30-point outing against Phoenix pushed her to 853 points for the season, setting a new single-season franchise record. Dallas fell to 26-17 with one regular-season game remaining, leaving its final playoff seed still to be determined.

Regardless, Paige Bueckers and co. are not one to back down, as they will attempt to make a deep run in the playoffs for the first time since 2023.