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Lynx down the Liberty

Wednesday’s WNBA action brought the heat, as No. 1 Minnesota took down No. 2 New York 100-93 in the first 2024 WNBA Finals rematch of 2025.

• “Fans were excited to see this matchup, and I thought they were treated to a heck of a basketball game,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said after the win.

• Star forward Napheesa Collier played hero, putting up 30 points to lift the Lynx over injury-plagued New York despite Sabrina Ionescu’s 31 points.

• “It could have been anybody walking in here — we just weren’t going to lose two home games in a row,” echoed Minnesota guard Kayla McBride, referencing Sunday’s upset loss to No. 5 Atlanta.

Big picture: The results leave the Liberty on a three-game losing streak while shooting the Lynx five games up in the WNBA standings.

• The Liberty managed to hang onto the No. 2 spot, as the No. 3 Mercury fell to the No. 6 Fever, now on a three-game winning streak while injured Caitlin Clark looks on from the sidelines.

• No. 5 Atlanta also got back in the win column with an 88-85 victory over No. 11 Dallas, drawing level with No. 4 Seattle at 16-11 on the season.

Up next: New York will aim to reset against last-place Connecticut tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET (ION) while Minnesota gears up to face No. 7 Las Vegas on Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC).

Parker’s podcast stirs the pot

Retired three-time WNBA champ Candace Parker weighed in on the current state of the league this week, making waves on her newly launched podcast Post Moves alongside current Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston.

• With CBA negotiations in full swing, Parker called this year’s All-Star Game a missed opportunity for the players, with 2025 All-Star Boston challenging that perspective.

• “You all cannot come out there with those shirts of ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ and then do that in the All-Star Game,” Parker said, referencing the midseason matchup’s lack of competitive edge.

• “An All-Star Game, when we have another game in two days, I think that it’s okay to go out there, hoop, and have some fun,” Boston countered.

Hot takes: Parker later sounded off her recent viral moment ranking Chicago Sky star Angel Reese as “C tier” during a Complex Sports interview.

• “Are you taking Angel above Paige? Are you taking Angel above Arike? Are you taking Angel above Sabrina or Kelsey or Caitlin or A’ja or Napheesa or Breanna? No. That does not make her a bad player,” she said, calling out the need for objective criticism in the WNBA. “Do I think she could be up there? Yes… Is she there now? No. And this is in no way, shape, or form hating.”

‘Bend It Like Beckham 2’ coming soon

Over two decades after first hitting theaters, women’s soccer classic Bend It Like Beckham is getting a part two, director and cowriter Gurinder Chadha confirmed.

• “I’m excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women’s game,” she told Deadline this week, revealing that the new script is still in development.

Big picture: With women’s football booming in England and beyond, London-based Chadha has been consulting with major players in the space as she develops the film’s follow-up — including USWNT manager Emma Hayes.

• “Twenty-three years ago I could never have dreamed of how much that film changed the women’s game and now I have the best job in the world: head coach of the US women’s national team,” Hayes told Deadline.

Stay tuned: The Bend It Like Beckham sequel is aiming for a 2027 debut, coinciding with both the original film’s 25th anniversary and the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Priestman lands in New Zealand

Embattled ex-Canada women’s national team coach Bev Priestman has officially left the country, relocating to New Zealand to manage the Women’s A-League’s Wellington Phoenix.

• Priestman recently finished serving a mandatory one-year coaching suspension handed down by FIFA after being found guilty of spying on opponents via illegal drone use during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

• “For me I didn’t feel safe, that’s being brutally honest,” she told reporters this week, commenting on the Dronegate scandal’s local fallout. “It was very difficult for my family and I have to live with that. I have to wear that.”

Looking ahead: Wellington finished the 2024/25 A-League season ninth out of 12 teams, and are currently setting their sights on a deeper run next year.

• “It feels like Christmas Day to me to come back,” said Priestman, whose wife Emma Humphries played for the New Zealand national team. “I know I have to earn the trust of everybody. And I’ll be working hard to do that."

USC lands another top recruit

USC women’s basketball is stocking up, bringing on their third No. 1 high school prospect in four years with top-ranked Saniyah Hall committing to the Trojans last week.

• Set to join the team ahead of the 2026/27 season, Hall follows in the footsteps of 2023 No. 1 recruit JuJu Watkins and 2025 No. 1 recruit Jazzy Davidson.

• The 17-year-old Ohio native most recently won tournament MVP at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, averaging 19.9 points and 6.4 rebounds.

Trojan war: USC reportedly beat out North Carolina and UCLA in the race to secure Hall’s commitment.

• “I would say it felt like home. I loved all of my teammates,” Hall told ESPN’s NBA Today after visiting USC. “The girls there are so fun to be around.”

Cunningham grabs the mic

Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham also took the mic this week, with the outspoken guard launching a new podcast with sports media personality Colin Cowherd’s The Volume.

• Show Me Something features the Missouri product alongside her former high school classmate and current Bravo Summer House star West Wilson.

• The move follows several new endorsement deals for Cunningham, as she continues to capitalize on the social media bump she experienced after a June 17th dust-up with the Connecticut Sun.

Cutting to the chase: In the first episode, the 2025 Fever addition immediately dug into the ongoing discourse concerning superstar teammate Caitlin Clark.

• “When people try to argue that [Clark’s] not the face of our league, or if our league would be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as s—t,” she proclaimed. “You’re literally dumb as f—k.”

Number of the day 

20/29

The AUSL capped a successful inaugural season on Sunday, with the pro softball upstart playing 20 of 29 games in front of sell-out crowds.