Better Box Score Metrics: WUL Weeks 7-8 Results

Paige Kercher leads Utah into playoff contention and joins the MVP discussion.

May 9, 2023 by Paul Würtztack in Analysis with 0 comments

Weeks 7 and 8 Results

When we last checked in on the WUL, Paige Kercher was excluded from the MVP chatter on account of Utah having only played two games. No longer. Kercher had more than 1150 yards of offense in pacing Utah to a pair of key one-point wins in Weeks 7 and 8. Kercher’s efforts were the second and third highest EDGE-O scores of the weeks, and considering that she is already third in total yardage with half of her games left to be played, we can now consider her a legitimate contender for MVP.

However, her excellent half-season only underscores how impressive of a full regular season has been had by the presumptive front-runner, Kaela Helton. On a per-game basis, Kercher is generating more offensive output, but Helton’s per-possession productivity is higher, and she has nine more blocks on the season. Kat Songer is also coming on strong in Utah’s late campaign, averaging more than 500 total yards in her three games to date. One can also consider that playing on Super Bloom’s highly efficient O-line offers you fewer possessions than playing regular D-line, and Alex Diaz comfortably leads the league in per-possession productivity (EO-100 and E100). Given the shortness of the WUL season, it may make sense to include the post-season in any season-ending assessments.

Back to Weeks 7 and 8, as we haven’t even yet identified our actual EDGE leaders for the 2-week period. Abby Thorpe’s 10-score, 2-block performance in Colorado’s win over LA in Week 7 was tops for EDGE-O and total EDGE, while LA’s Camille Wilson’s five blocks against Utah generated the highest EDGE-B. Kaitlyn Weaver of LA joins Kercher in posting a pair of games on the EDGE top-7 leaderboard.