Locked and loaded.

Meesseman lifts the Liberty

New York’s newest signing re-introduced herself to the league last night, as forward Emma Meesseman led the No. 2 Liberty to a splashy 105-97 road win over the No. 9 Sparks.

• Meesseman made up for injured Breanna Stewart’s absence by scoring a season-high 24 points, combining with fellow big Jonquel Jones’s 21 points.

• “She’s one of the best players in the world,” Sparks head coach Lynn Roberts said of the Belgian international. “There’s a lot of problems one of the best players in the world can bring you.” [Read more]

Big picture: Meesseman made her New York debut on August 3rd, with the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP entering a squad struggling with availability and chemistry.

• “It’s fundamentals, really,” she said of her team’s recent on-court issues. “No matter who we have on the court, no matter what level, players [or] what league, it’s all about hustle. I don’t think you can practice that. So we just have to go out there and fight.” [Read more]

Bottom line: Despite their problems, the Liberty continue to cruise toward a playoff berth at the top of the WNBA standings, while the Sparks are still searching for a boost above the postseason cutoff line.

Next up: New York will try to keep the streak going against No. 5 Las Vegas tonight at 9:30 PM ET, live on ESPN.

Red-hot Atlanta storms into Seattle

No. 3 Atlanta still has something to say, entering Tuesday’s matchup with No. 8 Seattle on a five-game winning streak to pull within a half-game of No. 2 New York.

• “We know it doesn’t get any easier,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said of his team’s remaining regular-season slate. “This is a trip where we’re playing a lot of really good teams.”

• With Rhyne Howard and Britney Griner back in the lineup, Atlanta is returning to the height of their power at the exact right time: “I thought BG was great,” Smesko said of his once-injured center. “She was moving great. She looked really good out there.”

Big picture: Riding a five-game losing streak into tonight’s clash, Seattle finds themselves on the opposite trajectory, while former Storm guard Alysha Clark added insult to injury this week by confirming that she requested her midseason trade to the Mystics. [Read more]

• “Asked Alysha Clark if she had conversations with Seattle before the trade and she said she requested to be moved. Things hadn’t worked out as they envisioned and she told herself at 38 years old she was going to stay in control of her career,” tweeted Washington Post journalist Kareem Copeland.

• The admission comes after 2024 reports that volatile locker room dynamics and front office disputes prompted former Seattle star Jewell Loyd to request a trade last season. [Read more]

Tune in: See if the Dream can take advantage of the Storm’s skid tonight at 10 PM ET, live on ESPN3.

Flag football lights up The World Games

Flag football has gone global, as the emerging sport takes center stage this week at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.

• Eight top national flag football teams begin their tournament campaigns tonight, with 2022 champs Mexico looking to defend their World Games title against the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships-winning US and 2024 bronze medalists Japan, plus squads from Austria, China, Canada, the UK, and Italy. [Read more]

Big picture: Fueled primarily by women’s sports athletes, flag football is on the upswing, rising from its debut at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama to securing a spot at the 2028 LA Olympics as well as growing media exposure and backing by the NFL and NCAA. [Read more]

• “It started rolling faster after World Games [2022],” Mexico captain Diana Flores said at yesterday’s IFAF press conference. “It was a very important moment for the flag football community… the first time flag football was showcased on a platform as big as the World Games, a multi-sport competition where the most elite athletes go and represent their countries.”

• “It took a quick spiral from the World Games Birmingham to the media exposure we got to the support our organization has given us,” echoed US quarterback Vanita Krouch. “To be here paving the way, being these trail blazers and pioneers, it's a huge honor.”

Tune in: The US and Canada kick off The World Games flag football tournament tonight at 9 PM ET, with live streaming coverage.

On this week's all-new Sports Are Fun! presented by Adobe, host Kelley O’Hara hits the JWS studio to bring you the best and brightest in women’s sports — all with an extra side of fun.

• In the episode, O’Hara, Gotham goalkeeper Ryan Campbell, and intern extraordinaire BJ Beckwith unpack NWSL Rivalry Weekend, the mysterious math behind FIFA’s World Ranking, why Ryan would pick Kelley as her Freaky Friday swap, and more.

• “The new FIFA World Rankings came out and Spain topped the charts — they knock off US from number one,” started O’Hara. “There were a lot of questions around this... Like how is England still third and they just won the Euros, beating Spain? Why did Sweden leapfrog England? Why is North Korea still in the top 10 at all??”

Watch more: “How Do FIFA Rankings Work?” on Sports Are Fun! with Kelley O'Hara

Show your skills: Adobe and JWS are asking NWSL fans to create a one-of-a-kind patch representing your favorite team’s history, DNA, and culture. Five winners get a custom jacket plus their designs featured on Sports Are Fun! Learn more.

PWHL hits a salary high-mark

The PWHL hit a new single-season salary record, with The AP reporting that Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark’s recent contract extension pushes the two-time Olympian’s payday north of the $100,000 mark. [Read more]

• While the actual amount has not been made public, Clark signed the two-year deal last week ahead of the growing pro hockey league’s third season.

• “We know what she brings. She’s really the heart and soul of our organization,” Charge general manager Mike Hirshfeld said.

Big picture: The PWHL features a minimum salary of $35,000, but has no maximum salary outside of the $1.3 million-per-team salary cap — though the current CBA mandates that at least six players must be earn $80,000 or more.

• Clark will be one of nine PWHL players making six figures next season, as the league expands from six to eight teams. [Read more]

Chicago lands a coach

The Chicago Stars have landed a coach, with the club announcing Wednesday that Hammarby manager Martin Sjögren will join the team when the top-flight Swedish league’s season ends in November.

• Under Sjögren, Hammarby currently sits second in the Damallsvenskan, with a UEFA Champions League play-in opportunity set for later this month.

• Sjögren assistant Anders Jacobson will take over as interim manager pending visa approval, as the Stars sit 13th in the NWSL standings. He will be Chicago’s fourth coach this season after former manager Lorne Donaldson’s April departure. [Read more]

Big picture: No stranger to the global stage, Sjögren coached the Norway women’s national team from 2016 to 2022, leading the Grasshoppers to two group-stage Euros exits and a World Cup quarterfinal appearance in 2019. [Read more]

Number of the day

45/25

Connecticut Sun rookie Saniya Rivers recorded two steals and one block in Monday’s loss to Golden State, joining 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson and 2024 DPOY Napheesa Collier as the only WNBA players to reach 45+ steals and 25+ blocks so far this season.