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BOB'S CORNER: Our US correspondent BOB CRAVEN reports from Seattle the WNBA semi final series are all locked away at 1-1, with the lower ranked Storm and Sun pinching initial road wins off Las Vegas and Chicago respectively. But it didn't take long to tie both series away.

THE first two games in the WNBA semi final series are in the books and it's looking a bit more interesting than anticipated. 

Both higher-seeded teams lost Game1 at home, thus giving up at least temporarily, the home court advantage in this round.

In the Eastern Conference, the Connecticut Sun surprised the #2 seed and defending champion Chicago Sky, 68-63.  It was a rugged and hard-fought defensive game causing both teams to shoot well below their normal standards. 

Tied at the half, Connecticut jumped out early in the third quarter and took an 8-point lead into the final term and managed to hold on.

The Western Conference semi final matched the #1 seed Las Vegas Aces against the Seattle Storm.  Between them, the two teams had seven former #1 overall picks in the WNBA draft and six players who played in this year's All-Star game. 

One of Seattle's starters was out with an injury so, Steph Talbot took her spot.  Known as a shooter, her job in this series would be different as a starter and against Las Vegas.  Seattle's "Kadina Kid" would need to be a rebounder and part of the defence on superstar A'ja Wilson.

Seattle jumped out to a big first quarter, leading by 11.  Then it was time to hang on, which it did well, leading for 36 of the 40 minutes to end up winning by three. 

Seattle was led by a huge game from Jewell Loyd who had 26, and the usual big game by Breanna Stewart, who added 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and three blocks.

Seattle's Tina Charles struggled offensively (6-of-18 shooting) but set a Seattle playoff record underneath with 18 rebounds, five at the offensive end. 

Sue Bird had 12 assists, making her the new WNBA all-time playoff assist lead with 342, and she's now the third player to have at least 12 assists and commit no turnovers in a playoff game.

A major reason for the Seattle win was that A'ja Wilson was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.  She did manage to grab 12 rebounds and add three assists and three blocks. 

The Storm swarmed her any time she got the ball, and, by her own admission, she too often held on to the ball too long before either forcing a shot or trying to pass back outside to shooters.

Game 2 between Chicago and Connecticut was quite different from Game 1. Chicago came out shooting, and shooting well. 

The Sky took a quick 10-point lead and lengthened that to 13 points heading into the fourth quarter.  They pretty much coasted in from that point, winning 85-77.

DeWanna Bonner, who was the surprise leading scorer for Connecticut in Game 1, was a non-factor in this game, scoring only two points. 

The Sun were led by Jonquel Jones with 23, while Candace Parker led Chicago with 22.  All five Chicago starters scored in double figures.

In Las Vegas, the Aces and the Storm fought to a draw in the first half, but then Las Vegas jumped out to an eight-point lead in the third quarter and held on for the 78-73 win. 

The main news in this game was the incredible show put on by both A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart (below), the two best players in the league. 

It was quite the duel. Wilson finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, while Stewart scored 32 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. 

Game 3 in each series will be this coming Sunday with Seattle and Connecticut the home teams.

IN other WNBA news A'Ja Wilson was named Defensive Player of the Year, and joining her on the All-Defensive first team were Breanna Stewart, Natash Cloud, Ariel Atkins and Sylvia Fowles. 

Opals star Ezi Magbegor was selected to the second team.

Also, U. of Connecticut star, Paige Bueckers, has announced that while she will be age-eligible to declare for the 2023 WNBA draft, she will return to UConn for the 2023-24 season despite being sidelined this upcoming season with an ACL tear.

AS we all know, Steph Curry is the best ever at making threes.  This past week he made the biggest three of his life--and it was 13 years in the making. 

At his alma mater, Davidson U., in a special ceremony, he was selected to Davidson's Athletic Hall of Fame, his jersey number 30 was retired, and he was awarded his bachelor's degree in Sociology.

Of interest to Aussie fans might be the fact the NBL's 1990 MVP, Derek Rucker of the Brisbane Bullets at that time, is another player with his jersey retired at Davidson, the famous #11.