Atlanta upends Minnesota
Upsets headlined this week's WNBA action, as the No. 2 Dream silenced the league-leading Lynx, plus the Liberty continue the skid and more news to know
Upsets upend the WNBA standings
Rhyne Howard (L) and No. 2 Atlanta took down No. 1 Minnesota in a Thursday night nail-biter. (Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
The WNBA playoff race is heating up, with Thursday night upsets shooting rising threats No. 2 Atlanta and No. 3 Las Vegas up the WNBA standings.
The Dream handed No. 1 Minnesota their first consecutive loss this season in Atlanta, holding on for a 75-73 victory behind Allisha Gray’s 27 points.
“It’ll help build some confidence to know that we’re capable of having beaten Minnesota at Minnesota, and then able to do it again here,” said Atlanta coach Karl Smesko, referencing his team’s July 27th win over the Lynx. [Read more]
Burning up: Las Vegas added a ninth straight victory to their tally, pulling off a 83-61 win over No. 5 Phoenix fueled by guard Dana Evans’s 17 points off the bench.
“My belief in them has never wavered," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Our locker room, it would’ve been very easy to fall apart in June when things were not going well for anybody.”
“Obviously, at the beginning, we had some rough patches,” echoed Evans. “But that made us closer, that brought us closer together, to lean on each other more.” [See highlights]
Next up: The Dream are back at it with another blockbuster against No. 4 New York on Saturday at 2 PM ET (CBS), before the Aces shoot for a perfect 10 against No. 10 Washington at 3 PM ET (League Pass).
Chicago dunks on New York
Kamilla Cardoso (L) and the Sky upset Jonquel Jones and the Liberty on Thursday. (John Jones/Imagn Images)
The Liberty are in free fall, after Thursday’s 91-85 loss to the already-eliminated No. 11 Sky sent the reigning champs skidding down to No. 4 in the WNBA standings.
Chicago stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso both netted double-doubles in the upset, with Cardoso pairing a team-high 22 points with 15 rebounds.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league, anyone can win this championship — it’s wide open,” New York head coach Sandy Brondello said after her team struggled to dominate the defensive paint. “But our inconsistency is mind-boggling at times.”
“When you give a team hope, that’s all they need,” said star guard Sabrina Ionescu. “I’d say in the first half we made things way too easy for them, and that gave them hope going into halftime, knowing that they could hang with us.” [Read more]
The road ahead: New York won’t have much time to reflect on their mistakes, as they gear up for a Saturday clash with surging No. 2 Atlanta — still with no clear-cut timeline for forward Breanna Stewart’s return from injury.
“I think we have to play more physical in the beginning, and set the tone early,” center Jonquel Jones told reporters ahead of the weekend’s test.
New York does have some light at the end of the tunnel, as potentially lopsided matchups against No. 13 Connecticut and No. 10 Washington follow Saturday’s top-table meeting. [See remaining schedule]
Tune in: See if the Liberty can get back on track as they take on the Dream tomorrow at 2 PM ET, live on CBS.
What’s up with Gotham?
Esther González and Gotham FC are hunting their first NWSL win in four matches. (Ira L. Black - Corbis/Getty Images)
No. 8 Gotham FC’s results disparity deepened this week, taking all three points off CF Monterrey in Wednesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup group-stage play after falling 2-1 to No. 11 Houston last Sunday — leaving the 2023 league champs without an NWSL win since late June.
Gotham has struggled in the league since returning from summer break, entering the match weekend with two draws in addition to Sunday’s upset — fueled in part by veteran defender Emily Sonnett’s own goal — under their belts. [Watch more]
“We try to always look at the glass half full instead of half empty,” head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said after the loss. “Football sometimes throws you some difficult curves.”
Big picture: Hitting the pitch on short rest, Gotham will aim to take advantage of Saturday’s showdown with last-place Utah as they hunt a boost in the NWSL standings.
With just one regular-season win this year, the No. 14 Royals look ready for an offseason refresh after recently sending star forward Ally Sentnor to No. 1 Kansas City. [Read more]
“I think we’re at 60%,” Utah manager Jimmy Coenraets said earlier this week. “The 40% margin is getting people to be able to play 90 minutes in the way that we wanted to play.”
Tune in: Gotham kicks off against Utah tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET, live on ION.
ON GROUND AT WITH PRIME VIDEO |  |
Prime was on the ground last week, teaming up with JWS to put NWSL fans to the test and hand out some exciting prizes as the Washington Spirit took on Racing Louisville.
Soccer personality Duda Pavão took over Rowdy Audi, quizzing the Spirit faithful on player stats past and present with plenty of merch and — for two lucky winners — some upgraded seats on the line.
Headed to a Friday night NWSL match on Prime? Keep an eye out for the JWS crew for your chance to show off your team knowledge and win big.
Tune in: Catch all the On Ground At action on JWS YouTube.
Shopping. Streaming. Live Sports. It’s on Prime.
Rugby World Cup kicks off in England
Ilona Maher (C) and Team USA open their Rugby World Cup group-stage play against England this afternoon. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup has arrived, as top-ranked host nation England takes on world No. 10 USA to kick off pool play this afternoon.
Featuring rugby superstar Ilona Maher alongside several of her fellow 2024 Olympic 7s bronze medalists, the group stage runs through September 6th with quarterfinals set for September 13th.
“Our focus for the first match of the [World Cup] is very much on ourselves and executing our game plan to put pressure on England,” said USA Women’s Eagles coach Sione Fukofuka. “We know they have big external expectations on them… so we are quietly going about our work, building confidence, and looking forward to performing.” [See full schedule]
Big picture: Expanding from 12 to 16 teams this year, it’s expected to be the biggest Women’s Rugby 15s World Cup on record, with over 40,000 tickets already sold for today’s opening matchup.
However, Maher and the US have a steep hill climb in Pool A, with the US set to tackle England plus No. 6 Australia and Samoa while reigning champions No. 3 New Zealand take on No. 5 Ireland in Pool C.
Don’t miss it: The USA Women's Eagles open their World Cup campaign against England today at 2:30 PM ET, live on Paramount+.
US Open takes over Queens
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will begin her Grand Slam title defense on Sunday. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
The 2025 US Open has officially landed, with Sunday’s opening day festivities kicking off the annual Grand Slam while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka begins her 2024 title defense against the sport’s top talent.
The New York-based tournament marks Sabalenka’s last shot at winning a major title this season, after making it to both the Australian and French Open finals while exiting Wimbledon in the semifinal round. [Read more]
Big picture: Other big names on the roster include No. 2 Iga Świątek, fresh off her Wimbledon win, reigning French Open champ No. 3 Coco Gauff, and hometown hero No. 4 Jessica Pegula — plus USWNT legend Alex Morgan, who teamed up with Gauff at yesterday’s “Stars of the Open” Fan Week exhibition. [See more]
No. 25 Naomi Osaka also enters the tournament as a seeded competitor for the first time since 2021, while 45-year-old icon Venus Williams will take the court for her 25th US Open after headlining this year’s wild card list.
Tune in: The US Open singles tournament begins this Sunday, live on ESPN.
Quote of the day
“Tennis matches are a bit like church.”
Sports Are Fun host Kelley O’Hara
discussing Grand Slam decorum on this week’s JWS podcast episode.
