One takeaway for all four of the WNBA’s first-round series openers

The GIST: And they’re off. The WNBA’s best showed up in yesterday’s first-round openers — here’s one takeaway from all four games before half of the best-of-three showdowns continue tomorrow.

🃏 No. 3 Las Vegas Aces (up 1-0) vs. 🥵 No. 6 Indiana Fever: Vegas’ three-time reigning AP Player of the Year A’ja Wilson was spectacular — even by her lofty standards. The 30-year-old imposed her will in the 102–85 win, dropping 38 points on just 19 shots and adding 16 rebounds and four blocks. It’s just what she does.

• ➡️ The Aces shoot for the sweep on the road tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. ET.

🐱 No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. 🗽 No. 8 NY Liberty (up 1-0): NY sure looked like they could become the lowest seed to win a title. Yes, it’s just one game, but Breanna Stewart and the seafoam superstars frustrated the Lynx on both ends of the floor, using stellar shooting (52% from three as a team) to earn a convincing 91–75 win.

• ➡️ See if rookie phenom Olivia Miles and the Lynx can bounce back tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET.

💭 No. 4 Dream (up 1-0) vs. 🔮 No. 5 Washington Mystics: Dream star (and AP Defensive Player of the Year) Angel Reese looked and played like a superhero in her playoff debut, tallying a signature double-double in a physical 92–77 win. Breaking that first-round curse is on this (briefly) masked Barbie’s to-do list.

💜 No. 2 Golden State Valkyries (up 1-0) vs. 🪽 No. 7 Dallas Wings: Everything that makes the Valkyries great was on display in last night’s dominant 104–80 win — their depth, their defensive tenacity, and their penchant for taking care of the ball. In fact, they only turned the ball over four times, matching the WNBA playoff record.