The WNBA playoff picture is still jumbled with the final postseason spot coming down to three teams — Chicago, Atlanta and Washington.
All three teams will play each other at least once over the last nine days of the season. The Mystics face both the Sky and Dream this week, including a home-and-home set against Atlanta. Chicago visits Atlanta next Tuesday.
The Sky have a one-game advantage over the Dream and a two-game lead over the Mystics, though they lost star rookie Angel Reese for the season with a wrist injury.
The reward for securing the eighth seed is most likely a trip to New York to face the Liberty. New York has a three-game lead on second-place Minnesota with five games to play. The two teams will meet Sunday in New York.
Making the playoffs also has other implications for Chicago and Atlanta. The Dallas Wings have the option to swap first round picks with Chicago from an earlier trade. Atlanta traded its first round pick to Washington.
The eighth spot isn't the only seed still up for grabs. The rest of the playoff picture is slowly starting to come into focus. The Lynx have a one-game lead over Connecticut for the No. 2 seed. Las Vegas has a one-game advantage over Seattle for the fourth spot.
Caitlin Clark has helped Indiana rise to the No. 6 seed. The Fever trail Seattle by 1 1/2 games for the fifth seed and lead Phoenix by two games.
New York remains in the top spot in this week's AP WNBA power poll with Minnesota right behind them. Las Vegas flipped places with Connecticut to move up to third. Indiana, Seattle and Phoenix stayed in fifth, sixth and seventh. Chicago and Washington were next with Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles rounding out the poll.
Clark had another strong week, averaging 25 points, 10 assists and 7.7 rebounds to help the Fever win two of their three games. The star rookie helped Indiana rally from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter. Indiana hosts a pair of games against Las Vegas and one against Dallas this week.
Leonie Fiebich has routinely been on the court to close out games for the New York Liberty. The 6-foot-4 rookie from Germany provides length on the defensive end and a solid all-around offensive game. She averaged 6 points, 4.5 rebounds and three steals in New York's close wins over Seattle and Las Vegas last week.
Napheesa Collier had another impressive pair of games to earn AP Player of the Week honors as the Lynx star averaged 22.5 points, 11 rebounds and 1.5 blocks to help Minnesota win both its games and remain in the hunt for the No. 1 seed. Indiana's Aliyah Boston and Las Vegas' Kelsey Plum also received votes.
Washington vs. Atlanta, Friday and Sunday. The teams will play a home-and-home set on Friday and Sunday with the first game in Atlanta. They split the first two meetings this season with each winning on the road.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots and is fouled by Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso (10) during the second half of an WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. L (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes drives toward the hoop against Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, back left, and guard Lindsay Allen, right, during the second half of an WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. L (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) steals the ball from Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) during the first half of an WNBA basketball game Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Atlanta Dream guard Haley Jones (13) makes a rebound by teammate Allisha Gray (15) during the first half of an WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — Floods and landslides in Myanmar triggered by last week’s Typhoon Yagi and seasonal monsoon rains have claimed at least 226 lives, with 77 people missing, state-run media reported Tuesday. The new figures push the total number of dead in Southeast Asia from the storm past 500.
The accounting of casualties has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties with the affected areas. Myanmar is wracked by a civil war that began in 2021 after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Independent analysts believe the ruling military controls much less than half of the country’s territory.
Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing almost 300 people in Vietnam, 42 in Thailand and four in Laos, according to the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance. It said 21 people were killed in the Philippines, with another 26 missing.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Monday that an estimated 631,000 people may have been affected by flooding across Myanmar. There were already 3.4 million displaced people in Myanmar at the beginning of September, according to the U.N. refugee agency, mostly because of war and unrest in recent years.
Heavy rains from the typhoon and the seasonal monsoon brought widespread flash floods to Myanmar, especially the central regions of Mandalay, Magway, Bago and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta; the eastern states Shan, Kayah, Kayin and Mon; and the country’s capital, Naypyitaw.
Some flooded areas have started to see water levels recede but others in the Shan and Kayah states remain critical.
More than 160,000 houses have been damaged and 438 temporary relief camps have been opened for more than 160,000 flood victims, Myanma Alinn reported. The military government announced that nearly 240,000 people have been displaced.
Myanma Alinn said 117 government offices and buildings, 1,040 schools, 386 religious buildings, roads, bridges, power towers, and telecom towers were damaged by the floods in 56 townships.
It also said nearly 130,000 animals were killed and more than 259,000 hectares (640,000 acres) of agricultural land were damaged by the floods.
The U.N.’s humanitarian affairs agency said food, drinking water, medicine, clothes, dignity kits, and shelters are urgent needs for the flood victims but alleviation efforts are hampered by blocked roads, damaged bridges and ongoing armed clashes.
Vice Senior Gen. Soe Win, the second-ranking member of Myanmar’s ruling military council, said the country had received relief aid from other countries, and some humanitarian assistance from the Association of Southeast Asia, will arrive soon.
Soe Win, speaking at a meeting of the National Disaster Management Committee on Monday, said that the extent of flooding in the capital was unprecedented, and cleaning and rehabilitation activities in the flooded areas began Thursday as the water level declined.
Myanmar experiences extreme weather during the monsoon virtually every year. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people around the Irrawaddy River delta. The then-military government was harshly discredited when it delayed acceptance of outside aid.
Local residents carry food on their cart, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents carry their belongings along a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents carry food walking in the rain, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents carry their belongings along a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents travel by boat on a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A boy wades through a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A women and child wade through a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Flood victims receive relief supplies from a private donor in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Flood victims take rest at temporary camp opened at monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A chicken stands on wooden beam of a half-submerged building along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A woman looks out at flooded areas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Local residents wash clothes along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
