Can Phoenix stage a WNBA Finals comeback at home?
Down 2-0 to the red-hot Aces, the Mercury have their work cut out for them in tonight's Game 3, plus Napheesa Collier opens up to Kamala Harris and more news to know
Can Phoenix stage a WNBA Finals comeback in Game 3 tonight?
Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (R) is averaging 12.5 points per game in the 2025 WNBA Finals. (Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)
No. 4 Phoenix returned to Arizona on a mission this week, tipping off Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals down 0-2 to red-hot No. 2 Las Vegas and in dire need of a bounce-back performance.
“We need to be better defensively,” said Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts ahead of tonight’s clash. “We haven’t done a good enough job getting stops.”
“First and foremost, we gotta play better defense,” echoed forward Alyssa Thomas. “Still a lot of confidence here. We just know we have a lot of room to improve.”
Big picture: A two-game deficit has historically spelled disaster in past five-game WNBA Finals, but this year’s best-of-seven format gives postseason underdogs like Phoenix a bit more cushion.
“There’s no panic, no pressure,” said Thomas. “That’s the beauty of a seven-game series. If we’re sitting at five games, it’s basically elimination.”
“We’ve got two games here to do what we need to do — two guaranteed games here,” added forward DeWanna Bonner.
Visitor’s guide: The Aces will also be on their game, looking to avoid a slow-down in momentum on the road.
“It’s going to be a different environment playing at their place, but we have to stick together, stay within ourselves, and just continue playing Aces basketball,” guard Jewell Loyd told reporters.
Tune in: Game 3 of the WNBA Finals tips off tonight at 8 PM ET, live on ESPN.
Napheesa Collier tells Kamala Harris she was 'fed up' with WNBA leadership
Lynx star Napheesa Collier discussed the intent behind her viral exit interview at this week’s A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit. (Ellen Schmidt/NBAE via Getty Images)
Lynx star Napheesa Collier was back on stage this week, opening up to former Vice President Kamala Harris about her viral exit interview blasting WNBA leadership at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in LA.
“For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle,” Collier said. “And I saw nothing was changing.”
“I think I just got to the point where I was fed up,” she told Harris. “Whether I was going to get annihilated for this, or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right.” (Watch full clip)
Playing chess: Collier also doubled down on her stance, publicly cancelling a meeting with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after Engelbert denied Collier’s account of a past conversation regarding Caitlin Clark’s rookie compensation.
“For her to start her speech saying she has the utmost respect for me and for the players, and then to turn around and call me a liar three minutes later... I think it just speaks to that lack of accountability,” Collier told Axios, confirming the cancellation.
Bottom line: Both Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver have said they’re focused on repairing relationships between players and leadership, but Collier’s recent outspokenness shows just how much ground there’s left to cover.
OL Lyonnes hands Arsenal early Champions League blow
Melchie Dumornay’s (R) first-half brace lifted Lyonnes over the defending UWCL champions. (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
OL Lyonnes got some Champions League revenge yesterday, toppling reigning UWCL champs Arsenal 2-1 in London to open the 2025/26 league phase.
In a rematch of last year’s semifinal, Haiti international Melchie Dumornay sealed the result with a first-half brace for the French titans, quickly countering Arsenal forward Alessia Russo’s seventh-minute strike.
“Errors happen from time to time, but if they happen too often, of course, there’s something there,” Arsenal manager Renee Slegers said, referencing the defensive mistakes that led to both goals. (Watch full highlights)
Big picture: Lyonnes weren’t the only opening-day victors, as 2024/25 runners-up Barcelona routed Bayern Munich 7-1 behind a pair of braces from forwards Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina.
Unlike previous iterations, this year’s UWCL will not feature first-round rematches, with each team facing six different opponents before advancing to the knockouts.
Tune in: UWCL action kicks off again today at 12:45 PM ET, as WSL winners Chelsea take the pitch against Dutch side FC Twente live on Paramount+.
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Your favorite WNBA show is back, as an all new episode of JWS digital series Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie presented by State Street Investment Management brings another helping of unfiltered commentary, insider perspective, and cultural critique to basketball fans everywhere.
In this week’s episode, sports broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude stopped by to tackle growing tensions between WNBA players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert — and there was no holding back.
“Cathy, yes, has done a really good job of helping raise capital, of helping administer the television deal… but you’re only able to do that because of those players,” Leslie said. “Listen, the wolf is only as strong as the pack and the pack is only as strong as the wolf. But just know when the wolf doesn’t lead the pack properly, the pack will eat the wolf.”
Tune in: Catch Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie on YouTube.
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo says she’ll step up after “underachieving” season
Notre Dame junior Hannah Hidalgo plans to step into a leadership role with the team this year. (William Howard/Imagn Images)
Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo is stepping up, telling reporters at Tuesday’s ACC Media Day that she’s eager to erase the memory of last season’s March Madness crash-out.
“Knowing how much talent we had last year and underachieving like we did was something that was heartbreaking,” she said, referring to the one-time No. 1 Fighting Irish’s loss of focus ahead of their Sweet 16 tournament exit.
Big picture: The junior plans to embrace a leadership role this year, after Notre Dame lost Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA and fellow guard Olivia Miles transferred to TCU.
“I know how to get the best out of my teammates,” said Hidalgo, dismissing questions about her rumored rift with Miles. “I know the steps that I need to take and the things that I need to do.”
“I know the weight of [the spotlight] is heavy,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo’s role. “But I feel like she has done a great job of surrounding herself with the right network.”
Seattle Reign’s Sofia Huerta invests in USL Super League team
Seattle’s Sofia Huerta has invested in AC Boise prior to the club’s 2027 launch. (Elsa/NWSL via Getty Images)
NWSL veteran Sofia Huerta is expanding her portfolio, with the Seattle Reign forward joining incoming USL Super League side Athletic Club Boise’s ownership group this week.
“Soccer has given me so much, and this club is building something that will give those opportunities to others,” the Idaho native said in Tuesday’s press release. “The foundation Athletic Club Boise is laying — with the men’s team in 2026 and the women’s Gainbridge Super League team in 2027 — makes me proud to invest in the future of soccer here at home.”
Big picture: Huerta is the first NWSL player to directly invest in the growing USL Super League, developed as a top-flight US pro league alongside the NWSL.
Though some of Huerta’s Reign teammates have already crossed league lines, with Lauren Barnes, Jess Fishlock, and Olivia Van der Jagt buying into Washington-based semi-pro USL W League team Salmon Bay FC last year.
Number of the day
1.9 million
Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals averaged 1.9 million viewers on ESPN, becoming the most-watched Finals opener since 1997’s inaugural single-game Championship.