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Tag: WNBA basketball

  • WNBA holding its own against NFL, MLB, with finals broadcast during busy sports calendar

    WNBA holding its own against NFL, MLB, with finals broadcast during busy sports calendar

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    The WNBA is competing for TV viewers during one of the busiest times on the sports calendar and the league is holding its own with no plans to turn back the clock.

    Through two WNBA Finals games, the series between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty is the most watched in 20 years.

    The finals opened on an NFL Sunday and the Aces 99-82 victory over the Liberty was the most-viewed Game 1 since ESPN started broadcasting the series in 1998. Game 2 on Wednesday night — a 104-76 win by Las Vegas — was played with the MLB postseason in full swing.

    “I think whatever timeframe you’re operating in, there’s going to be competition. It’s about continuing to try to grow your product,” said ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke, who called WNBA games during its early years. “I don’t think there’s any doubt you can see the evolution of the players and the coaching in the WNBA. And I expect that trajectory to continue.”

    The numbers are trending in the WNBA’s favor.

    Viewership for the two games is up 13% over last year’s finals between the Aces and Connecticut Sun. Game 1 on ABC averaged 729,000 viewers and the average was 626,000 for Game 2 on ESPN. The two-game average of 680,000 is a bump the league hopes continues.

    This will be the latest finish to a WNBA season in a non-Olympic year. Playing later into the fall is not a new trend for the league. It’s the 13th time in the WNBA’s 27-year history a finals series has either started or stretched into October. When the league was launched in 1997 the schedule ended in August — before the deluge of viewing options for sports fans.

    An expanded regular season and playoffs have pushed the end of the WNBA season into head-to-head competition with the NFL, baseball playoffs and the start of the NHL and NBA preseason.

    When the WNBA debuted in 1997 with eight teams, its season was completed before Labor Day. The league continues to operate in a condensed time frame. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states the earliest the season can start is April 1 and that it must end by Oct. 31. But not factoring in the pandemic seasons of 2020 and 2021, the league has gone from a 34-game regular season from 2003 to 2019, to 36 in 2022 to 40 this year.

    Beginning last year, the playoffs also expanded to best-of-three in the first round and best-of-five in the semifinals and finals. The altering of the playoff format was one of the primary objectives of the WNBA Players Association during its last round of CBA negotiations.

    The change created some tradeoffs for the league.

    More games and arena availability also means sometimes the playoffs doesn’t get top billing. ESPN2 ended up carrying a playoff doubleheader on a Friday night because ESPN had college . Still, according to the WNBA, regular-season games on ESPN and CBS averaged 505,000 viewers, an 8% increase over last year. The Sunday afternoon games on ABC averaged 627,000, its most since 2012.

    Going into the finals, though, playoff viewership was averaging 400,000, an 8% decline over last year. However, Game 2 of the semifinal series between the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty on Sept. 26, a Tuesday night, averaged 563,000 on ESPN, the largest audience for a non-finals playoff game on cable since 2001.

    When asked during her annual news conference before the start of the finals why the long periods between playoff series, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert cited the number of regular-season games as one factor.

    “It’s just the nature of the broadcast windows and how that played out this year and how long the series went,” Engelbert said. “We also played 40 games this year, so I think some of the rest actually should come in handy.”

    John Kosner, who runs his own digital and sports consulting company, says that even though the playoffs and finals are taking place during a busy time on the sports calendar, there are more people watching television during the fall, which brings opportunities to get a sampling from a broader audience.

    “The reality of the WNBA season is that the league has to make trade-offs. The fact is no time of the year is clear, and running from spring until now makes the most sense for first-rate arenas,” he said.

    It helps to have the star-power of this year’s finals. League MVP Breanna Stewart and sharp-shooting Sabrina Ionescu headline a New York team in the finals for the first time since 2002; the Aces under coach Becky Hammon and led by last year’s league MVP A’ja Wilson are trying to become repeat champions for the first time since Los Angeles in 2001 and ’02.

    “When you have a marquee matchup, like the Las Vegas Aces and now New York, that’s what the old days used to be. That’s what we were getting back to,” Aces President Nikki Fargas said before Wednesday’s Game 2. “And I think the fan base is understanding that not only are we going to follow you and support you in person, if I can’t be there, then I’m gonna support you and watch you.”

    The league also has tried to make better use of the popularity of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament as a springboard to the start of its season. That includes the draft, which takes place in mid-April and generally less than two weeks after March Madness is over.

    The promotion is expected to intensify during next year’s tournament with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese and Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers on the horizon as well as next year’s Olympics. And that women’s college basketball audience has traditionally followed those players into the WNBA.

    The ratings bump will surely be a topic of discussion during upcoming TV contract negotiations.

    The WNBA’s television contract expires in 2025. ESPN/ABC has the entire postseason and the All-Star Game while Scripps, Amazon and CBS have some regular-season and Commissioner’s Cup games.

    The league will receive $33 million from ESPN/ABC for the final season in 2025, but it could see significant growth beyond that. A new media rights deal with additional partners would increase revenue. Multiple carriers for the postseason could even make the playoff schedule more compact.

    “I’ll go back to the NBA at a point in history in which they were on tape delay,” Burke said. “It takes some time to grow the fandom and get these players to be front and center in the minds of the nation’s sports fans. But it feels to me like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray are becoming more known to the casual sports fan.”

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    AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg and AP contributor W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this story.

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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  • WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expects to add another expansion team soon

    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expects to add another expansion team soon

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    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert joked Sunday she’ll have to get new shoes now that the league has added one expansion team, with another most likely on the way soon.

    Engelbert has a pair of high heels with all of the WNBA team logos on them. The shoes will become a collectors’ item in 2025 when the expansion team owned by the Golden State Warriors starts playing. Engelbert expects to add another franchise to give the league 14 teams that year.

    “The goal is to add a second one, or 14th team, by 2025,” Engelbert said before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. “Not more for before ’25 but obviously longer term. I’ve said my goal is to get this league you know additional teams and additional cities that we think would be great. We have a lot of cities interested, which is why we didn’t announce the 14th team yet.”

    Engelbert mentioned a few cities including Denver; Philadelphia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon, which is considered a front-runner. Portland had a WNBA team from 2000-02, playing its games at the Rose Garden before the franchise folded. There has been a strong women’s basketball fan base in the state over the past few seasons with the success of Oregon and Oregon State on the college level.

    The city also has a big women’s sports presence with the NWSL’s Thorns, who won the league’s title last year and three overall. Portland also has the Sports Bra — the first sports bar dedicated to women’s sports — where Engelbert was part of a panel discussion on the WNBA earlier this year.

    Other topics broached by the commissioner:

    Dearica Hamby, the Los Angeles Sparks forward, filed a gender discrimination complaint last month against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, saying her former team and its coach, Becky Hammon, retaliated against her after she informed them she was pregnant.

    The league investigated the original complaint in the offseason and suspended Hammon for two games.

    Engelbert said she “wasn’t going to comment on too many specifics because it’s obviously a pending litigation at this point with the (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Obviously, we’ll cooperate fully, we’ll see whether there’s new information we didn’t have the original time, and I’m going to let the lawyers do the work first before we have any comment on whether we would do anything after that.”

    The WNBA had strong metrics again, with the league having its most-watched regular season in 21 years and its highest average attendance since 2018. Viewership was up 21% over last year across its national television partners, and the league’s average attendance of 6,615 fans was its highest since the 2018 season. The league has expanded its schedule, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic year, going from 34 games in 2010 to 40 this season, which helped the WNBA gain its highest total attendance in 13 years (1,587,488). “We had an incredible season with many milestones,” Engelbert said. “Historical numbers, not just on the court, but also viewership, attendance, digital engagement.”

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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  • WNBA first: Hammon, Brondello make history as ex-players coaching teams in the Finals

    WNBA first: Hammon, Brondello make history as ex-players coaching teams in the Finals

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    NEW YORK — Becky Hammon sent Sandy Brondello a text before the WNBA season started with a simple few words: “This is about to be fun.”

    It has been for Hammon’s defending champion Las Vegas Aces and Brondello and the New York Liberty. Now when the two preseason favorites to win it all meet in the WNBA Finals they will be the first former players to meet as head coaches for the championship.

    With New York building a formidable team in the offseason through free agency and trades with the additions of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot, Hammon knew A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and the rest of the Aces were going to have a new threat to their title defense led by her former coach in San Antonio.

    She wasn’t wrong. The first-place Aces and the second-seeded Liberty Sunday will tip off the highly anticipated showdown in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

    “We have a lot of mutual respect. I coached Becky and she was one of the smartest players around,” Brondello said. “Let’s have a fun time and see where it goes. We’ll compete but have great sportsmanship, hopefully it’s great basketball.”

    Both Hammon and Brondello have already won titles as coaches but there is much at stake in this one: Las Vegas is looking to become the first team to repeat as champions since Los Angeles did it in 2001-02; New York is trying to win its first championship ever.

    Hammon and Brondello competed against each other as players and tried to win a championship together in San Antonio.

    The former point guards squared off before Brondello retired and got her start as an assistant coach with the then-Silver Stars in 2005. Hammon joined San Antonio as a player in 2007 after a stellar career with the Liberty.

    Hammon has a lot of respect for Brondello and her husband Olaf — who is an assistant with the Liberty. He was also in San Antonio when Hammon was there and spent countless hours working with her to hone her skills as a player.

    “I think Sandy’s a very much big-picture kind of head coach and Olaf is this behind-the-scenes tactician, so they work really well,” Hammon said. “They’re still running some plays that we did at San Antonio. Hopefully, those ones don’t sneak up on us and we’ll be ready.”

    Former San Antonio coach Dan Hughes, who hired Brondello as an assistant and coached Hammon, is thrilled that his two proteges are in the Finals.

    “I’m very excited for them. I’m very happy for them,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “I know the reality is that someone is going to win and someone is going to lose. I’ve been swept in the finals and swept to win the finals, I know the elation and I know the depression. when it doesn’t happen for you.”

    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says the Hammon-Brondello is a reflection of the league’s growth.

    “As we witness Sandy Brondello and Becky Hammon guide their teams to the WNBA Finals, their journey from the court to the coaching sidelines is an inspiring testament to the enduring legacy of the WNBA,” Engelbert said. “Since 2019, we have tripled the number of former players who are head coaches and significantly increased those in the assistant coaching ranks and I am so pleased to see all their successes and contributions to growing the game.”

    Hughes is not surprised at the coaching success Hammon and Brondello have had, or that their teams were 1-2 in scoring this past season.

    “What I remember the most was Sandy had — especially as a young coach — a brilliant offensive mind,” Hughes recalled. “So did Becky. I leaned on Becky in a lot of ways too from an offensive standpoint on the court.”

    Hughes plans to be at Game 3 in New York but does not have a favorite, saying he “definitely will sit right in the middle and root for both of them.”

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    AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this story.

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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  • Griner’s WNBA return not a fairytale, but there were still plenty of joyful moments

    Griner’s WNBA return not a fairytale, but there were still plenty of joyful moments

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    PHOENIX — Brittney Griner’s return to the WNBA after nearly 10 months in a Russian prison hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.

    There have been injuries. There was a break for mental health. There were travel issues, including being confronted by a ‘provocateur’ at a Dallas airport. Her team — the Phoenix Mercury — hasn’t been very good, and their coach was fired less than halfway through the season.

    But there have also been many moments of joy.

    She was welcomed by adoring crowds at nearly every WNBA arena. Individually, she played well, and was selected to play in another All-Star game. She also got to celebrate as teammate and friend Diana Taurasi became the first player to score 10,000 career points in WNBA history.

    One more joyful moment came on Friday night, when the 6-foot-9 Griner played her final home game of the season in front of an announced sellout crowd of 13,206. She scored 10 points — including a turnaround jumper at the first quarter buzzer — and grabbed two rebounds in the Mercury’s 94-73 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.

    The Mercury fell to 9-30 for the season and will miss the playoffs for the first time in her 10 seasons, but the past 18 months have helped her deal with that disappointment much more easily.

    After Friday’s game, she was among the players helping throw T-shirts to fans in the stands.

    “It’s been good — minus the record,” Griner said. “I’ve really enjoyed being here, playing basketball, being with this group, being back in the Valley with the fans. The crowd was amazing.

    “I’m just happy to be here, doing what I love.”

    She’ll have one more game on Sunday in Las Vegas. After that, it’s time for some rest.

    “Going hunting with my dad,” Griner said. “Try to get me a whitetail and a hog. I’m country. I like hunting, I like doing all that stuff, fishing, off-roading in my Jeep, mountain biking. That’s what I’ll be doing.

    “It probably sounds like a lot, but that’s my peace.”

    Griner’s return this season has been widely celebrated around the WNBA and much of the expected vitriol — she was freed as part of a swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout — never really materialized. Aces coach Becky Hammon said she was working for ESPN last year when the news came that the Mercury star was returning to the United States.

    She said the relief was immediate. Like Griner, Hammon also played for Russian teams during the offseason in her playing days and even represented the country in the Olympics in 2008 and 2012.

    “There was a heaviness over the league last year,” Hammon said. “When she came back, that cloud was lifted, and it was almost palpable, her effect on the league, her teammates and really, the whole world in general.”

    The 32-year-old Griner has averaged 17.7 points and 6.6 rebounds this season going into Friday’s game, numbers that are slightly below her averages from 2021, but still remarkable production for someone who missed all of last season in such extreme circumstances.

    “Am I surprised she’s kicking (butt) on the court? Not at all,” Hammon said. “That’s like riding a bike for her.”

    Aces guard Sydney Colson and Griner are both from Texas and played against each other in high school

    “I’m still surprised at the fact that she came back on American soil and decided to play,” Colson said. “I think it speaks volumes about Brittney and her resilience, just mental, on top of physical toughness.”

    Griner is also trying to turn last year’s ordeal into something positive.

    The extra exposure from being detained in Russia for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage has given her a platform to advocate for other Americans being detained abroad. She was already an LGBTQ+ activist since publicly coming out in 2013 and became the first openly gay athlete to be sponsored by Nike.

    Griner announced in April that she is working with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign formed last year by the family members of American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas.

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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  • Harris praises 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces for ‘grit and determination’ on and off court

    Harris praises 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces for ‘grit and determination’ on and off court

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    WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris led a White House celebration Friday for the 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, praising the team for its “grit and determination” on the court and “ferocious” advocacy in support of colleague Brittney Griner during her detention in Russia last year.

    The Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game Four of the finals to win the championship trophy, 3-1, along with what’s become a traditional invitation to the White House.

    “It was only five years ago that this franchise moved to Las Vegas and now they are the first major professional sports team in Nevada history, in Nevada history, to win a championship, and that’s because this team defines grit and determination,” Harris said.

    The Aces were lifted to its first championship title by Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, who scored a game-high 20 points; regular season MVP A’ja Wilson, who added 11 points, and shooting by Riquna Williams, who came off the bench to score 17 points.

    The title made Becky Hammon the first rookie head coach in WNBA history to win a championship. She joined the Aces from the San Antonio Spurs, where she became the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history.

    Harris also praised the Aces for being role models and leaders outside of the arena by serving the Las Vegas community through a team foundation, supporting student health and mental wellness, and pushing for equal pay for female athletes and all women.

    The vice president commended the Aces for speaking out in support of Griner, the star center of the league’s Phoenix Mercury, who was detained in Russia in February 2022 after authorities at an airport near Moscow said they found vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis in her luggage. Griner faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.

    “Our nation’s stronger because of your leadership,” the vice president said. “For example, when an American citizen was wrongfully detained abroad, you organized and advocated in a ferocious extraordinary way. You organized folks, you lifted up the issue, you helped educate folks about what was at stake, all in support of Brittney Griner.”

    The two-timed Olympic gold medalist was freed from a Russian prison 10 months later, in December 2022, in exchange for the United States releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

    Aces players also lead in the fight for broader rights and freedoms, including the right to vote and for LGBTQ individuals and their families, Harris said.

    Harris said the larger story is that the WNBA is more than a basketball league, but rather is a way to “inspire our young people and people across our nation to dream with ambition.”

    The WNBA title is the first for the Aces, which is one of the league’s original eight franchises. The team began as the Utah Starzz from 1997-2002, then relocated to San Antonio as the Silver Stars (and later just the Stars) from 2003-2017. The team moved to Las Vegas before the 2018 season.

    The Aces are also the first major professional sports team to win a championship for Las Vegas, which also has the NFL’s Raiders and the NHL’s Golden Knights.

    The team, she said, reminds everyone that “Las Vegas is so much more than just 4 miles on a strip.”

    Wilson and Gray also presented Harris with a jersey with the No. 49.

    The White House had announced several weeks ago that President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, would host the Aces. But the assignment went to Harris after Biden extended a family vacation in the Lake Tahoe area through Saturday.

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  • LA Sparks fighting to grab last playoff spot in rebuilding year riddled with injuries

    LA Sparks fighting to grab last playoff spot in rebuilding year riddled with injuries

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    LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Sparks knew this season was a rebuilding year for a franchise looking to regain its championship pedigree. They just didn’t count on a spate of injuries and illness that have sometimes limited them to eight available on a 12-player roster.

    “It’s a vicious cycle when you have adversity,” said coach Curt Miller, in his first season with the Sparks after leading the Connecticut Sun to last year’s WNBA Finals. “The teaching has been less than I would hope. You don’t have the amount of time on the practice floor and the reps.”

    The Sparks are 13-18 and last week handed the WNBA-leading Las Vegas Aces just their fourth loss of the season. Riding a four-game winning streak, the Sparks lead the Chicago Sky by 1 1/2 games for the eighth and final spot in the playoffs, which begin Sept. 13.

    Among their nine remaining games, the Sparks face the second-place New York Liberty, play the third-place Sun twice and host Chicago.

    The Sparks used 12 different starting lineups in their first 20 games.

    Starting guard Lexie Brown has been out with an unspecified non-COVID illness. Chiney Ogwumike, who hasn’t played since June 28, is expected to be sidelined another four to six weeks while recovering from an Achilles injury. Nia Clouden is out indefinitely with a shin injury.

    “The injuries have very much put our backs against the wall and beat us down and drug us through the mud and forced us time and time again to really be gut-checked this season and see how much willingness we have to get back up and keep fighting,” guard Layshia Clarendon said.

    Clarendon scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and made all nine free throws in handing the Aces their first regular-season home loss.

    Clarendon recently returned after being sidelined for a month with a foot injury. The team is 10-7 with her in the lineup.

    “Those 14 games that she missed is a big deal for us,” Miller said. “(Clarendon) just adds so much to what we’re about and what we’re trying to create here culture-wise.”

    Brown got off to a strong start, averaging a career-high 13.3 points in the season’s first nine games. Her shooting percentages overall and from 3-point range were career-bests.

    The Sparks recently stabilized enough to use the same lineup in four straight games.

    “We’re finding our flow now,” guard Jordin Canada said. “Unfortunately, it’s coming toward the end of the season but we’ve had so much adversity. We’re learning each other, we’re playing off each other, we’re talking and communicating more.”

    The Sparks are getting career-best seasons from eight-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, Canada and Karlie Samuelson.

    Now in her 12th year, Ogwumike is putting up numbers comparable to her league MVP season in 2016. She’s averaging 19.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 51% from the floor. She earlier passed Candace Parker to become the Sparks’ second-leading career scorer behind Lisa Leslie.

    Canada was re-signed this season to a training camp contract with her hometown team and fought her way to a starting spot. She’s averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

    “She hasn’t even scratched the surface,” Miller said. “I truly believe there’s a whole other level to Jordin.”

    Rookie Zia Cooke has been one of the team’s most durable players, appearing in 30 games while averaging 14 minutes.

    “She’s an exciting young player that has an explosiveness offensively,” Miller said. “We think her ceiling is high. She’s really, really coachable and an unbelievable person, and that’s what we wanted to build this with, great people and Zia exemplifies that.”

    The Sparks won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2001 and ’02 — the only active team to do so — and again in 2016. They’ve missed the playoffs the last two years and are eager to change that as they rebuild.

    “If we can make a run and get into the playoffs, we’ll be a tough out,” Miller said. “If we fall short and we’re into the (draft) lottery, then we hope the balls bounce our way.”

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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  • Liberty hitting stride heading into final month of season

    Liberty hitting stride heading into final month of season

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    NEW YORK — The New York Liberty are hitting their stride after capping off a brutal stretch of their schedule with a convincing win over the Las Vegas Aces.

    “They got us at their place really good, and we wanted to come in ready, to show our fans and ourselves how much we’ve improved over the last few months,” said New York guard Sabrina Ionescu after the 99-61 win over Las Vegas on Sunday.

    The 38-point win over the Aces came at the end of a 10-game in 18-day stretch that included contests on both coasts. The team went 8-2 in that span and has won four straight. The Liberty sit 2 1/2 games behind the Aces in the standings for the top seed.

    “We just proved to ourselves what we’re able to do,” Ionescu said. “We’ve set the level of how we need to play every single game in order to be at our best … we’re not sitting here jumping for joy that we beat them. It’s just a wake-up call of how good we can actually be, and that’s the standard of New York basketball. Now we have to continue to get better throughout the next month.”

    The top two teams in the league will meet three more times this month, including twice in Las Vegas next week. The first of those meetings will be for the Commissioner’s Cup championship.

    New York’s win moved the team closer to Las Vegas near the top of the AP WNBA power poll. The Aces received only eight first place votes this week while the Liberty got the other four. Las Vegas had been the unanimous top choice for every week except the first one.

    AP WNBA POLL

    While New York closed the gap on Las Vegas, Connecticut, Dallas and Atlanta remained third, fourth and fifth in the poll. Chicago jumped up two spots to sixth after two wins in Dallas. Minnesota and Washington were seventh and eighth. Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix and Indiana rounded out the poll.

    PLAYER OF THE WEEK

    Diana Taurasi became the first player to reach 10,000 points in the WNBA, doing so in outstanding fashion with a 42-point effort in a win over Atlanta last Thursday. Taurasi did all she could to try and help the Mercury win, averaging 33 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists, but Phoenix went 1-2. Other players receiving votes included Ionescu and Breanna Stewart of New York, Kahleah Copper of Chicago and Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut.

    GRINER WATCH

    Brittney Griner returned after taking three games off to focus on her mental health. Phoenix’s All-Star center returned in a home loss to Seattle on Saturday.

    The 6-foot-9 center — who became an international story during her 10-month detainment in Russia last year — said that she needed a break.

    “You can’t plan for when you might need some time,” said Griner. “I just want to shout out the Phoenix Mercury organization. From the jump, they were there for me, making sure I was good, letting me know that at any moment if I needed some time off, I could do that.”

    CHIPPY WEEKEND

    Four players were ejected over the weekend in a pair of games and the WNBA levied its penalties Monday. Chicago’s Ruthy Hebard received the only suspension and she’ll have to sit one game for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation in the Sky’s win over Dallas.

    Hebard left the bench when teammate Dana Evans and Dallas’ Odyssey Sims got involved in a dust-up on the court in the third quarter.

    While neither player was ejected, Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale was tossed for contact with an official with 52 seconds left. In the Los Angeles-Washington game, Brittney Sykes and Layshia Clarendon were both ejected for an on-court tussle.

    GAME OF THE WEEK

    Washington at Las Vegas, Friday. The Mystics have been beset by injuries lately and hope to have at least a few of their player back soon. Elena Delle Donne (ankle), Ariel Atkins (ankle) and Shakira Austin (hip) have been out for about a month and the Mystics have struggled.

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    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Minnesota Lynx rebound from 0-6 start behind strong play from rookies

    Minnesota Lynx rebound from 0-6 start behind strong play from rookies

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    After starting the season with six straight losses, it was easy to think that the Minnesota Lynx were on their way to a second consecutive appearance in the WNBA draft lottery.

    The Lynx have turned it around, winning three straight, including impressive road victories over New York and Connecticut to move back to .500 (13-13) and climb into sixth place in the standings. Minnesota won both those games against the top teams without All-Star forward Napheesa Collier, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle.

    In Collier’s absence, coach Cheryl Reeve has relied upon veterans Kayla McBride and Aerial Powers as well as rookies Diamond Miller, who went No. 2 in the draft, and Dorka Juhasz, who was picked 16th.

    “She’s not afraid of the big moment,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after Miller scored 22 points to beat New York. “Lots of times rookies can be intimidated. Look at some of the names on the other side. The rookies we had were excited for the moment.”

    Miller is averaging 13.2 points, second on the team behind Collier. Juhasz is the team’s third leading rebounder with 5.8 a game.

    AP WNBA POLL

    Las Vegas, New York and Connecticut remain the top three teams in the rankings. Dallas was next with Atlanta moving up to fifth. Minnesota switched places with Washington to climb to sixth. Chicago was eighth. Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix and Indiana rounded out the poll.

    PLAYER OF THE WEEK

    McBride had a stellar week to help the Lynx win all three of their games. She averaged 20 points while shooting 72% from the field, including making half of her 3-point shot attempts. She also averaged 1.7 steals. Chelsea Gray of Las Vegas, Jewell Loyd of Seattle and Breanna Stewart of New York also received votes.

    GRINER WATCH

    Brittney Griner is sitting out a few games to focus on her mental health. Phoenix’s All-Star center missed the team’s game in Chicago on Sunday and will also miss Tuesday night’s contest in Indiana. The Mercury then play four straight home games.

    The 6-foot-9 center — who became an international story during her 10-month detainment in Russia last year — is averaging 18.2 points and 6.7 rebounds over 20 games this season.

    “The Mercury fully support Brittney and we will continue to work together on a timeline for her return,” the team said in a statement on Saturday.

    CHASING 10K

    Diana Taurasi is within reach of becoming the first player ever to score 10,000 points in her career. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer returned from a quad injury on Sunday to score 24 points in a loss to Chicago. Taurasi sits 47 points short of reaching that milestone heading into Tuesday night’s game at Indiana.

    GAME OF THE WEEK

    Las Vegas at New York, Sunday. The second matchup of the top two teams in the WNBA will take place. The Aces used a dominant third quarter to turn the first meeting into a rout. They’ve won 23 of their 25 games this season with the lone losses coming to Connecticut and Dallas. The Liberty have had a busy few weeks. They just finished a five-game in eight-day stretch.

    ___

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  • Alyssa Thomas now WNBA triple-doubles leader and has Connecticut near top of standings

    Alyssa Thomas now WNBA triple-doubles leader and has Connecticut near top of standings

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    Alyssa Thomas has kept the Connecticut Sun competitive with her all-around play. She has found ways to increase her productivity with Connecticut center Brionna Jones sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

    Thomas now owns the WNBA record for triple-doubles after posting her fourth in a regular season game on Sunday. That broke a tie with Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker on the all-time leaderboard. Thomas also has two in the playoffs.

    “I want to win,” said Thomas after the win over Chicago on Sunday. “We’re still trying to bring a championship here. We just continue to grind it out each and every day. My name might be on (the record) but a lot of credit goes to my teammates. So far this year, I feel like it’s been the easiest for me with the way they’re knocking down shots.”

    The Sun lost former MVP Jonquel Jones in a trade to New York and Jasmine Thomas in a deal with Los Angeles in the offseason. Despite those departures, Connecticut has the second best record in the league a year after their finals appearance.

    Alyssa Thomas, who was the AP player of the week, is a major reason why. She leads the WNBA in rebounds and is second in assists and minutes played, yet wasn’t named a starter for the All-Star Game.

    “She’s legit one of the best players in the world,” teammate DeWanna Bonner said. “And I think everybody’s starting to recognize it and I think it’s great timing. She’s waited her turn and now she’s getting that recognition. It’s coming little by little and it’s just an honor to play with her, but she’s literally one of the best players I’ve played with hands down.”

    AP WNBA POLL

    Las Vegas remained the atop the AP WNBA Poll for the seventh straight week. The Aces were followed by Connecticut and New York again. The three teams will all face each other this week. Washington was fourth with Los Angeles fifth. Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Indiana were next. Minnesota, Seattle and Phoenix rounded out the poll.

    AILING AUSTIN

    The Washington Mystics announced that forward Shakira Austin will be out for at least the next three weeks and be reevaluated at that time to better determine her return to play timeline. Austin was selected with the third pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and is currently averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

    ALL-STAR STARTERS

    The league announced the 10 All-Star starters for the game that will be played in Las Vegas on July 15. The WNBA will reveal the 12 reserves who will be chosen by the league’s coaches on Saturday. A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were chosen as captains for the second consecutive season. They will have their draft on July 8 to choose the two teams.

    GRINER WATCH

    Brittney Griner, who was chosen as an All-Star for the ninth time, returned from a hip injury last week that sidelined her for three games. She will be playing for a new coach as the Phoenix Mercury fired Vanessa Nygaard on Sunday. The team promoted assistant Nikki Blue to be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The Mercury have three home games this week playing Dallas, Indiana and Minnesota.

    GAME OF THE WEEK

    New York at Las Vegas, Thursday. The first meeting between the two teams that experts predict will meet in the WNBA Finals. Las Vegas has lost just one game this season while New York has dropped three contests.

    ___

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  • Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud lead the Mystics past the Sky, 80-59

    Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud lead the Mystics past the Sky, 80-59

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    CHICAGO (AP) — Elena Delle Donne had 18 points and eight rebounds, Natasha Cloud added 16 points and the Washington Mystics beat Chicago 80-59 on Thursday night for the Sky’s fifth straight loss.

    Washington (8-4) beat Chicago for the second time in four days, winning 77-69 on Sunday. The Mystics also beat the Sky 71-69 on May 26.

    Ariel Atkins added 12 points and Shakira Austin had 10 points and seven rebounds for Washington. Cloud became the fourth player in team history to make 200 career 3-pointers.

    Alanna Smith had 13 points for Chicago (5-8). Kahleah Copper was 2 of 13 from the field and Marina Mabrey went 2 of 11 as the Sky shot 30%.

    Washington outscored Chicago 25-9 in the first quarter and led by 19 in the first half.

    SUNS 89, LYNX 68

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tiffany Hayes hit a season-high four 3-pointers and scored 21 points, DiJonai Carrington added 17 points and Connecticut beat Minnesota.

    Alyssa Thomas had 15 points and nine rebounds, and DeWanna Bonner added 11 points for Connecticut (11-3). Brionna Jones did not play after suffering a non-contact injury in the fourth quarter against Seattle on Tuesday.

    Napheesa Collier scored 21 points for Minnesota (4-9).

    FEVER 80, STORM 68

    SEATTLE (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell made seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points and Indiana used a 17-0 run in the second half to beat Seattle.

    NaLyssa Smith had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Indiana (5-7). Emma Cannon and Erica Wheeler each scored 10 points, and rookie Aliyah Boston had nine points and 11 rebounds.

    WNBA scoring leader Jewell Loyd was held to 19 points on 5-of-21 shooting for Seattle (3-9). Ezi Magbegor added 18 points and Ivana Dojkic had 11. The Storm made just 22 of 74 field goals, with 11 coming from 3-point range.

    ___

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  • Brittney Griner misses second straight game with hip injury

    Brittney Griner misses second straight game with hip injury

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    Brittney Griner sat on the bench in warmups for the second straight game, sidelined by a hip injury she suffered earlier this week

    ByDOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

    Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, center, join teammates in a cheer at the start of a WNBA basketball game against New York Liberty, Sunday, June 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

    The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — Brittney Griner sat on the bench in warmups for the second straight game, sidelined by a hip injury she suffered earlier this week.

    The All-Star center worked out about an hour before the game against New York on the court and looked good doing an array of post moves and jumpers. She told The Associated Press when she walked in the arena that she hoped to play.

    Instead she sat on the bench cheering on her teammates, being ruled out about 20 minutes before the game after being listed as questionable on the injury report.

    It was Griner’s first game in New York since being detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year.

    Before the game Griner signed autographs and posed for photos with fans, one of whom had a sign that read “NY (hearts) BG”. She also caught up with USA Basketball teammate Breanna Stewart and other Liberty players pregame.

    Stewart wore a Griner jersey walking into the arena and the two exchanged a hug and chatted for a while during warmups.

    Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached Griner from 2014-21 in Phoenix, had dinner with Griner on Saturday night when the Mercury got to New York.

    “She’s a special human being,” said an emotional Brondello. “For me it was just great to hug her and to be like we just saw each other last week. That’s how special she is so it was wonderful.”

    The Liberty showed a video package showcasing Griner and the work of the “Bring Our Families Home” campaign during the first timeout. Griner received a loud standing ovation from the crowd and waved to fans and pointed to her heart.

    Griner has been receiving warm ovations from the crowd on every road trip this season.

    The game against New York closed out a two-game road trip for the Mercury. It was their first since she was harassed by what the WNBA called a “provocateur” at the Dallas airport.

    The league has been working with Griner and the Mercury on travel options including charter flights.

    Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard said before the game that the team had “no issues” with their travel this weekend. The team played in Washington on Friday. When asked about how the team is traveling now she said that she couldn’t comment on changes because of security, but ” I do feel good about where we are now.”

    Phoenix was also missing Diana Taurasi for the second straight game with a hamstring injury.

    ___

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  • Griner, Mercury get 1st win behind 13 3-pointers; Aces go 2-0 without coach Hammon

    Griner, Mercury get 1st win behind 13 3-pointers; Aces go 2-0 without coach Hammon

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    PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury earned their first win of the WNBA season with a 90-81 victory against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night.

    Diana Taurasi had 23 points and 10 assists, while Griner added 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

    Phoenix, which finished with 13 3-pointers, hit 11 of 17 3s in the first half for a 57-40 lead. Taurasi had three triples and 15 points at the break.

    The 40-year-old Taurasi finished 4 of 9 from 3-point range, giving her 1,300 3s and extending her WNBA record. Sue Bird is second with 1,001.

    Aerial Powers paced the Lynx (0-3) with 20 points off the bench. Jessica Shepherd and Diamond Miller had 13 points each and Tiffany Mitchell added 12.

    For Phoenix, Sug Sutton had 14 off the bench and Moriah Jefferson and Sophie Cunningham each scored 13 points with three 3-pointers.

    The Mercury finished 13 of 28 behind the arc, while the Lynx were 3 of 18. Phoenix went 5 of 6 from 3-point range — with triples from five different players — to open a 27-18 lead after one quarter.

    Minnesota came within seven twice late in the third quarter. The Mercury finished 21 of 23 from the free-throw line.

    ACES 94, SPARKS 85

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and defending WNBA champion Las Vegas took control in the third quarter en route to a win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night.

    Down 10 at halftime, Las Vegas rallied by making 12 of 16 shots to outscore the Sparks 31-17 and take a 67-63 lead into the fourth quarter. Aja Wilson scored six straight points before Young had consecutive layups to put the Aces up 61-59.

    Wilson finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for Las Vegas (2-0). Chelsea Gray added 16 points and eight assists, while Candace Parker had 10 points against her former team of 13 seasons.

    Gray’s pullup jumper with 1:30 to play gave the Aces an 89-79 lead.

    Chiney Ogwumike led the Sparks (1-1) with 19 points, and Lexie Brown had 15. Brown made all four of her shots, including two 3-pointers, to score 10 points to help the Sparks take a 25-15 lead after one quarter.

    The Sparks were without leader Nneka Ogwumike because of a non-COVID illness. Dearica Hamby, two months after giving birth, started in her place and scored 11 points.

    Hamby joined L.A. in an offseason trade with Las Vegas. She said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant. That led to a WNBA investigation and a two-game suspension for Aces coach Becky Hammon, who denied the accusations.

    Hammon will return to the bench when the teams play again Saturday in Las Vegas, when the Aces receive their championship rings.

    ___

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  • Brittney Griner, Mercury teammates confronted at airport by ‘provocateur,’ WNBA says

    Brittney Griner, Mercury teammates confronted at airport by ‘provocateur,’ WNBA says

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    DALLAS — Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were confronted by a “provocateur” at a Dallas airport on Saturday, the WNBA said.

    The league said in a statement it was looking into the team’s run-in with a “social media figure” whose “actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”

    “The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,” the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

    Griner and her supporters had lobbied for charter flights after she returned from detainment in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her and others’ safety. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights to road games.

    Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras “saying wild remarks.”

    “Excessive harassment,” Turner tweeted. “Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”

    A Twitter user posted a video that appears to show a part of the confrontation.

    The Bring Our Families Home Campaign, an advocacy group that works to bring home Americans who are held hostage or detained in foreign countries, issued a statement condemning the incident.

    “Accosting a recently returned hostage like this is unacceptable, and we urge social media companies to prohibit the monetization of any resulting content. Our Campaign stands with Brittney, her teammates, and the Phoenix Mercury,” the organization said.

    Griner has been warmly received by crowds at home in Phoenix and on the road. This past week, she played two games in her home state of Texas and the team was headed to Indianapolis to face the Fever on Sunday.

    The WNBA has added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of back-to-back regular season games were scheduled for such flights.

    WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league’s inception in 1997. The league typically doesn’t allow teams to charter because it could create a competitive advantage for teams who can afford to pay for them.

    “Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG’s team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times,” the league’s statement reads. “We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.”

    The WNBA players’ union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it “quite clear that the matter of charter travel is NOT a ‘competitive advantage’ issue.”

    “What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,” the WNBPA statement reads. “Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.”

    The Mercury released a statement saying the team will be working with the league on next steps.

    “We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad,” the team statement reads. “We will continue our support of marginalized communities and fighting the kind of hate that targeted us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety.”

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  • Stewart shines in return to Pacific Northwest, Liberty beats Storm 86-78

    Stewart shines in return to Pacific Northwest, Liberty beats Storm 86-78

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    SEATTLE (AP) — Breanna Stewart had 25 points and 11 rebounds in her return to the Pacific Northwest and the New York Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 86-78 on Tuesday night.

    It was Stewart’s first game in Seattle since going to the Liberty as a free agent during the offseason. The former MVP helped Seattle win two titles with Sue Bird, who sat courtside for the return.

    Stewart took over in the third quarter with 10 points and six rebounds to help New York extend a narrow halftime lead to 68-56 entering the fourth. She finished 8 of 14 from the field and 8 of 9 at the stripe.

    Seattle got within single digits early in the fourth before Sabrina Ionescu sank a deep 3-pointer to make it 72-61. Stewart’s fast-break layup, off a nice pass from Courtney Vandersloot, gave New York an 86-74 lead.

    Ionescu finished with 20 points for New York (3-1), which has won three straight games. Stefanie Dolson scored 10 points and Vandersloot had a season-high 11 assists. Jonquel Jones scored nine points in 18 minutes.

    Jewell Loyd led Seattle (0-3) with 26 points and Ezi Magbegor had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

    Kia Nurse made Seattle’s first 3-pointer of the game with 4:15 left in the third quarter to get within 57-53, but New York made 3-pointers on its next two possessions and Stewart followed with a three-point play for a 13-point lead.

    ___

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  • Pregnancy and sports a challenging combination for female professional athletes

    Pregnancy and sports a challenging combination for female professional athletes

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    LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pro soccer player Jess McDonald was traded across six teams in her first five years as a single parent, making it difficult to find, let alone afford, child care in new cities. She and her then-8-month-old son were often forced to share a hotel room with a teammate — and sometimes she had no choice but to bring him with her to practice.

    “If I’d have a bad game, you know, my kid would be blamed for it at times, and it was just like, ‘Oh, was your kid up late at night?’” the U.S. Women’s National Team player said in a recent interview.

    Arizona State basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne had three children without taking maternity leave. And New York Liberty head coach and former WNBA player Sandy Brondello — acknowledging the difficulties that she would face if she got pregnant — waited to have kids until she retired as a player at age 38.

    Juggling the demands of parenthood with those of a professional sports career is just one of myriad challenges female athletes face in an industry that also has been rife with pay disparities, harassment and bullying in the 27 years since the WNBA, the first women’s professional sports league, was formed.

    The issue once again drew national attention right before the season began, when WNBA player Dearica Hamby said she had been harassed by her coach for getting pregnant during the season.

    Las Vegas Aces Coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures and a six-time WNBA All-Star, denied bullying Hamby; she said the player wasn’t traded to the Los Angeles Sparks because she was pregnant. The trade, she said, had “everything to do with freeing up money to sign free agents.”

    Still, Hammon said she may have made a “misstep” by asking Hamby at one point about her pregnancy, and she indicated that the rules in the WNBA “regarding pregnant players and how that looks within an organization” have to be better defined, shining a light on the balancing act of having a family and maintaining a professional sports career.

    Women have never been formally banned from the WNBA for getting pregnant; in fact, the first player to sign with the league in 1997, Sheryl Swoopes, was expecting when she did so. But pregnant athletes have encountered attitudes ranging from ambivalent to outright hostile from leagues, coaches, fellow players and sponsors throughout the years.

    As recently as 2019, Olympic runners Allyson Felix and Kara Goucher spoke out against Nike for slashing their pay and then dropping them for becoming pregnant. And it’s taken years for professional women’s leagues to provide their athletes with the support systems they need to balance their family and career obligations.

    “I’ve been walking on eggshells as a mom in this league since Day 1,” said McDonald, who last week announced her second pregnancy.

    McDonald said that back in 2012, she trained up until two weeks before giving birth; it wasn’t until last year that players in the league were guaranteed paid maternity leave. Arizona State’s Thorne told the AP she once returned to work just two days after giving birth.

    “We’re light years ahead of where we were, you know, 20-some years ago in terms of people understanding that they have to support women’s rights,” Thorne said. Still, “there is pressure on you as the athlete, as the coach, as that person, that woman either starting their family or having kids, to get back to their job” soon after giving birth.

    Under the WNBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in 2020, league members receive their full salary while on maternity leave, though each player has to individually negotiate the length of her leave. During the season, players with children under 13 can receive up to $5,000 a year for child care, and a paid-for two-bedroom apartment.

    A small number of elite, veteran athletes who have played eight or more seasons can be reimbursed up to $20,000 per year for costs directly related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing or other fertility treatments. Per player, the amount is capped at a total of $60,000. Compared to other industries, this is a progressive offering that is inclusive of LGBTQ+ athletes.

    “We’ve made strides and everything,” Thorne said, but she added that the leagues still have a long way to go to support athletes who become mothers.

    “There’s always this little asterisk, that it has to be after your eighth year of service to get” fertility benefits, said four-time WNBA All-Star Breanna Stewart, who plays for the New York Liberty and has a 2-year-old daughter with her wife. Stewart’s wife is pregnant with their second child now.

    Stewart said child care stipends aren’t dispensed freely without requiring something in return: She said she and other players have to submit itemized receipts for such necessities as diapers and babysitters. “If you don’t go to them, they don’t give it to you,” Stewart said. “You have to go and send invoices and it’s a little bit more complicated than it seems.”

    Facing these challenges, many women in sports, like Brondello, decide to have kids after they retire — or to forgo parenthood altogether.

    “Female athletes shouldn’t have to give up motherhood because they want to be an athlete,” said Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, a sports medicine physician based in Boston and the co-chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s women’s health task force.

    Ackerman said there’s a fear that when female athletes become parents, they may not value being an athlete as much. She said that is a fallacy.

    The record books are replete with examples of female athletes who became parents and continued to perform at the highest level.

    Former tennis star Serena Williams famously won a grand slam when she was about eight weeks pregnant. Professional swimmers, runners and basketball players have all competed while pregnant: Beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings even won Olympic medals.

    Mothers “often are better athletes because they learn how to manage their time better, they understand their bodies better,” Ackerman said. “And they may be peaking even later in life.”

    ___

    AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg in New York contributed to this report.

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  • Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces coach, denies bullying player over pregnancy

    Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces coach, denies bullying player over pregnancy

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    HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon denied Wednesday that former Aces player Dearica Hamby was bullied on her team for being pregnant, saying any ill feelings between the two came from Hamby being traded.

    Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, said at a news conference she did nothing to warrant discipline from the WNBA, which suspended her for two games without pay Tuesday after a monthslong investigation into Hamby’s allegations.

    “I’ll take my little lump on the chin and keep it moving,” Hammon said. “We’re bigger than this. It’s just not who the Aces are. It’s not who I am. And so, yeah, everybody’s disappointed in the situation, but at the end of the day, we know who we are and so we go to sleep every night in that truth.”

    Hammon said she once asked Hamby about her pregnancy, but didn’t get into the specifics of what she said.

    “I guess you’d have to ask for (the league’s) interpretation,” Hammon said. “But, yeah, that from my understanding was my misstep, if you will.”

    Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and is considered one of the rising stars in the basketball coaching world. She has been linked to the vacant Toronto Raptors job.

    The WNBA also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft on Tuesday for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby, who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on Jan. 21.

    The trade allowed the Aces to clear up salary-cap space to sign former two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker.

    “We made the decision to move Hamby because we could get three bodies in for her one contract,” Hammon said. “I think it’s very evident who we signed why we made the move, but (Hamby’s pregnancy) was never an issue and it was never the reason she was traded. It just wasn’t. It came down to math and business. That’s all it was. Nothing personal.

    “I had a great relationship with Hamby the whole time, which is probably why she felt the way she did. It feels like a betrayal. It’s a crappy part of my job, but somebody’s got to be the bearer of bad news.”

    Hamby said after the Sparks’ practice Tuesday she wanted “to move forward and focus on where I am today.” However, she said she “and the union will continue to explore our options.”

    The union was especially critical that Hammon and the Aces weren’t more severely punished, saying in a statement: “Where in this decision does this team or any other team across the league learn the lesson that respect in the workplace is the highest standard and a player’s dignity cannot be manipulated?”

    The WNBA said it interviewed 33 people and reviewed texts, emails and other documents. Hammon said none of the current Aces players were interviewed, and to her knowledge the only player the league spoke with was former Las Vegas player Liz Cambage.

    Hammon also said she sent no negative texts or emails to Hamby.

    “I actually haven’t seen that Dearica said she received nasty texts from us,” Hammon said. “I think that’s completely fabricated by somebody on the outside that doesn’t know what the hell’s going on.”

    The Aces issued a statement Tuesday stating their support for Hammon.

    “The WNBA’s determinations about Becky Hammon are inconsistent with what we know and love about her,” the statement read. “Becky is a caring human being who forges close personal relationships with her players.”

    Hammon said she especially appreciated the support of owner Mark Davis, president Nikki Fargas and her players.

    “That’s all I need to keep it moving,” she said.

    Hammon became the first woman to assume the head duties in an NBA game when Gregg Popovich was ejected during a December 2020 game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Hammon also coached the Spurs to the 2015 NBA Summer League title.

    She will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star and became the seventh player to eclipse 5,000 career points.

    ___

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  • WNBA suspends Hammon 2 games for player’s allegation she was bullied for being pregnant

    WNBA suspends Hammon 2 games for player’s allegation she was bullied for being pregnant

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    The WNBA suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, for two games Tuesday after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant.

    Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, was suspended without pay after a monthslong investigation into Hamby’s allegations.

    The WNBA did not disclose details, but said Hammon violated league and team “respect in the workplace” policies.

    The league also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby, who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on Jan. 21. It’s the first time in league history that the WNBA has taken a draft pick from a team.

    That means Las Vegas may not have a first-round pick for two consecutive seasons. The Aces traded their 2024 pick.

    “It is critical that we uphold the values of integrity and fairness, which create a level playing field for our teams,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “The Aces failed to adhere to league rules and regulations and have been disciplined accordingly. We are also disheartened by the violation of our Respect in the Workplace policies and remain committed to ensuring that enhanced training is conducted and standards are followed across all WNBA teams.”

    The Aces issued a strongly worded statement that they are “deeply disappointed by the outcome of the WNBA investigation” and said they “stand behind Coach Hammon.”

    “We are committed to supporting all our players to the fullest extent allowed by the WNBA,” the Aces’ statement read. “Our actions have always been consistent with our responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest professional standards, and the facts we presented were consistent with these standards. The well-being of our players and their families has and will always be at the forefront of who we are.

    “The WNBA’s determinations about Becky Hammon are inconsistent with what we know and love about her. Becky is a caring human being who forges close personal relationships with her players.”

    The impermissible benefits were connected to negotiations for an extension of Hamby’s contract. She had signed a two-year extension with the Aces last June before she was traded.

    After she was traded, Hamby posted on Instagram: “Being traded is a part of the business. Being lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against is not.”

    The players’ union had pushed for an inquiry into whether Hamby’s rights under the league’s 2020 labor agreement were violated, as well as state and federal laws. The league investigation included interviews with 33 people and a review of texts, emails and other documents.

    The union was not pleased with the penalties handed down, feeling they should have been harsher.

    “The league had an opportunity to send a clear message that it abides by and protects the provisions of the CBA, particularly those that we were most proud of — the provisions meant to support player parents,” the union said in a statement. “Today’s decision regarding penalties, however, misses the mark. Where in this decision does this team or any other team across the league learn the lesson that respect in the workplace is the highest standard and a player’s dignity cannot be manipulated?”

    Hammon, who spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, is considered one of the rising stars in the basketball coaching world. She has been linked to the vacant Toronto Raptors job.

    She became the first woman to assume the head duties in an NBA game when Gregg Popovich was ejected during a December 2020 game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Hammon also coached the Spurs to the 2015 NBA Summer League title.

    She will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star and became the seventh player to eclipse 5,000 career points.

    The Aces open the season on Saturday at Seattle before playing at Los Angeles against Hamby and the Sparks on May 25. Las Vegas and New York are the clear favorites to win the title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

    ___

    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Brittney Griner gets emotional discussing Russian detainment

    Brittney Griner gets emotional discussing Russian detainment

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    PHOENIX — Hope bounced around Brittney Griner like a buoy and an anchor.

    Hope of returning home, hope of a miracle, was all she had all those months in custody in Russia. On the days hopelessness crept in, days that grew as her detainment stretched into a second winter, optimism drowned in despair.

    Photos of her family half a world away kept Griner afloat.

    “Just being able to see their faces, that did it for me,” Griner said Thursday in her first news conference since being released. “The moment where you kind of want to give up, you look at the photos and it kind of brings you back to what you’re waiting on. You’re waiting to be back with your families, with your loved ones in a safe place.”

    Griner has been safe since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges ended with a prisoner swap in December.

    Griner kept a low profile following her return to the U.S. while adjusting to life back home, outside of appearances at the Super Bowl, the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open and an MLK Day event in Phoenix.

    She returned to the spotlight at a news conference on Thursday, an event attended by roughly 200 people inside the lobby of the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Mercury and the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

    Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and members of the Mercury organization gave the WNBA star a standing ovation as she appeared from behind a banner and climbed onto the riser.

    “Different than a basketball press conference today,” said Griner, her eyes beaming and a huge smile across her face. “A LOT of media in here today.”

    Griner gained international attention in February 2022, when she was arrested after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

    After months of negotiations between Washington and Moscow, Griner was exchanged in the United Arab Emirates for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on Dec. 8.

    Griner kept her emotions in check during the news conference while thanking everyone who helped secure her release, including President Joe Biden, but had to take a moment to compose herself after being asked about her resiliency through the ordeal.

    “I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said, fighting back tears. “Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”

    Griner faced an adjustment period once she returned to the U.S., one that’s still ongoing.

    She spent some time in San Antonio, where she picked up a basketball for the first time in nearly a year. Wearing low-stop shoes on an outdoor court, Griner put up a few shots, even trying to see if she can still dunk (yes, she can).

    “I thought I was like 16 again,” she said. “I mean, my ankles did not like it, but it was good.”

    Once back in Phoenix, Griner walked around town, taking in the scenery of her hometown with a newfound appreciation that comes with a freedom she didn’t have for nearly 10 months.

    “Walking around town was a little bit different, but it felt good being back to being on U.S. soil, especially when you’re back here in the Valley,” Griner said. “It was really warming and nothing but love, being out and about, just trying to get back to just being normal.”

    Normal will include a return to the Mercury.

    Griner announced shortly after her release that she would play in the WNBA this season and re-signed with the Mercury on a one-year deal. The seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time league defensive player of the year started slowly and has ramped up training in preparation for the Mercury’s opening game on May 19.

    “I feel like I’ve hit the corner and just loving it now, but at first there was a point where it was like, wow, dang, I really want to do this this fast right now?

    “But no, it was so worth it. So worth it.”

    Griner is returning to the WNBA but won’t be playing abroad again, unless it’s with Team USA.

    “I’m never playing overseas again,” the two-time Olympic gold medalist said. “The only time I would want to would be to represent the USA.”

    Griner’s new normal also will include working with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign formed in 2022 by the family members of American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas.

    Griner said her team has been in touch with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who’s being detained in Russia on espionage charges.

    Griner and BOFH unveiled a mural outside the Footprint Center with the faces of Americans detained overseas and will work to bring as many of them home as possible.

    “No one should be in any of the conditions that I went through or they’re going through,” she said.

    The Russian prison conditions at times spiraled Griner into hopelessness. The familiar faces of her family always brought her back, hope returning until she was finally able to reunite with them.

    ___

    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Women’s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest in 2022

    Women’s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest in 2022

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    South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women’s basketball long enough to see the growing pains of a young WNBA league gradually shifting to increased interest in the sport at all levels.

    “We probably are bursting at the seams for the people that are decision-makers in our game to allow us to be just that,” said Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second women’s hoops title this year.

    Popularity across women’s sports has grown steadily over the past few years, but 2022 marked a pivotal moment as several sports saw increases in viewership and ratings, sponsorship deals and prime-time coverage.

    This past WNBA regular season was the most watched since 2006. And storylines were plentiful as the league contended with the detainment of Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner and the retirement of one of the league’s most popular players in Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird.

    According to ESPN, which aired 25 regular-season games and the entire postseason, the 2022 playoffs averaged 456,000 viewers — up 22% over 2021’s postseason — making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason since 2007. The WNBA draft averaged 403,000 viewers, which was the most since Diana Taurasi was the top pick in 2004.

    WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said her league and the women’s college game build off each other.

    Engelbert said the NCAA Women’s Tournament, which had the most viewed championship game in nearly two decades, built momentum for the women’s game heading into the WNBA season. Now she wants to see how far that growth can go.

    “I’m never satisfied,” Engelbert said. “My team is like ‘Ask for more.’ When you’re in hyper growth mode that’s how you have to do it. We don’t rest. We have to take advantage of the momentum when you have it. … You have to keep pushing, too.

    “We’re underinvested and undervalued.”

    The league has a deal with ESPN/ABC through 2025 where the company paid the WNBA $27 million in 2021 and $28.5 million this past season. That number goes up $1.5 million per season until it hits $33 million in 2025.

    At the collegiate level, division I football players continue to exponentially out-earn athletes in all other sports. But name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have been a game changer for female collegiate athletes, particular in non-revenue producing sports. NIL allows women to take advantage of large social media followings and earn sponsorships with brands like Champs and Adidas.

    Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, has over 8 million followers across all of her social media platforms, more than any other female collegiate athlete. Her sponsorships include deals with the clothing brand Vuori and American Eagle.

    From the July 2021 inception of NIL through November, women’s sports occupied six of the top 10 highest-earning sports by NIL compensation, according to the NIL technology and marketing company Opendorse.

    “The student-athletes are using social media to build their own audiences, which is driving more interest and tune in to their sports,” said Blake Lawrence, CEO at Opendorse. “The industry is feeding itself … the more marketable the women’s sports athletes, the more engaged their audience will be, the more engaged the audience will be, the more marketable the athletes become.”

    Women’s soccer has also enjoyed a boost in 2022.

    The sport has seen increased global revenue from sponsorships and broadcast deals, according to a survey by FIFA, the sports’ governing body. In an October report, the organization found that clubs reported year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33% — indicating growing interest from sponsors; 77% of leagues had a title sponsor in 2021, up from 66% the previous year.

    That structural growth was coupled with unprecedented overall interest in the game.

    An August friendly between the United States and England at Wembley sold out in a day and drew nearly 78,000 fans. That was after 87, 192 people watched England defeat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship finals. It was the biggest attendance for a European Championship match, men’s or women’s.

    “The number and the types of different platforms that are highlighting women’s sports, not just women’s soccer, it’s just showing overall that there is interest,” said Kate Markgraf, the general manager of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

    In the United States, the National Women’s Soccer League saw growing popularity amid the backdrop of a league-wide abuse scandal.

    In August, an independent investigation commissioned by U.S. Soccer found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in its pro league were systemic, impacting multiple teams, coaches and players.

    Still, the NWSL title game on Oct. 29 averaged 915,000 viewers on CBS in prime time, a league record.

    As the sport gains global momentum ahead of next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, U.S., Markgraf expects this year’s trend to continue for the foreseeable future, and she wants the success and popularity of women’s soccer to impact fans personally.

    “When you go to a game and you watch it, it’s like, huh, and you leave changed,” she said. “And the more frequently they happen, the longer they resonate. … That’s the goal of U.S. soccer, is to be one of the preeminent sports in our country.”

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  • 6 killed after vintage aircraft collide at Dallas air show

    6 killed after vintage aircraft collide at Dallas air show

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    DALLAS — Two historic military planes collided and crashed to the ground in a ball of flames during a Dallas air show, leaving six people dead, officials said.

    National transportation officials were investigating the cause of Saturday’s collision, which came three years after the crash of a World War II-era bomber in Connecticut that killed seven, and amid ongoing concern about the safety of air shows involving older warplanes.

    Emergency crews raced to the crash scene at the Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city’s downtown. News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area inside the airport perimeter.

    The in-air collision during the Wings over Dallas air show claimed six lives, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Sunday, citing the county medical examiner. Authorities are continuing to work to identify the victims, he said. It was not clear if there were any injuries or fatalities on the ground. Dallas Fire-Rescue told The Dallas Morning News there were no reports of injuries there.

    Anthony Montoya saw the two planes collide.

    “I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who attended the air show with a friend. “Everybody around was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was in shock.”

    Officials did not specify how many people were inside each plane, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the air show, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five people. The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane, has a single pilot.

    No paying customers were on the aircraft, said Coates, of Commemorative Air Force, which also owned the planes. The aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.

    The National Transportation Safety Board took control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said. The Federal Aviation Administration also was going to investigate, officials said.

    “The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson said on Twitter.

    The planes collided and crashed about 1:20 p.m., the FAA said in a statement.

    Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She didn’t see the collision, but did see the burning wreckage.

    “It was pulverized,” said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth.

    “We were just hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they didn’t,” she said of those on board.

    The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.

    Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane appearing to fly into the bomber, causing them to quickly crash to the ground and setting off a large ball of fire and smoke.

    “It was really horrific to see,” said spectator Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander, Texas. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it happened. “I’m still trying to make sense of it.”

    A woman next to Young can be heard crying and screaming on a video that Young uploaded to her Facebook page.

    Air show safety — particularly with older military aircraft — has been a concern for years. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019, a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven people. The NTSB said then that it had investigated 21 crashes since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.

    Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website advertising the event. The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and guests were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft. Its Saturday afternoon schedule of flying demonstrations included the “bomber parade” and “fighter escorts” that featured the B-17 and P-63.

    Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who flew in air shows for 12 years. After watching the air show video and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press on Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flying.

    “He went belly up to the leader,” Wolk said. “That prevents him from gauging distance and position. The risk of collision is very high when you cannot see who you are supposed to be in formation with and that kind of joinup is not permitted.”

    He added, “I am not blaming anyone and to the greatest extent possible, air shows, the pilots and the aircraft that fly in them are safe. Air shows are one of the largest spectator events in America and it is rare that a tragedy like this occurs.”

    Wolk said it takes extensive training and discipline to fly in an air show setting. The air show qualifications of the P-63 pilot are not known.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Bobby Caina Calvan in New York City, Ken Miller in Oklahoma City and Dave Kolpack in Fargo, North Dakota, contributed to this report.

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