Curt Miller wants two things to be known:

1. Candace Parker is a great basketball player.
2. The Sun’s post trio of Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones have knocked her out of the playoffs three out of the last four postseasons.

“I want to go on the record about that,” he said after his team’s Game 5 comeback win over the Sky on Thursday night to secure a WNBA Finals bid.

As for Parker, she has two statements of her own:

1. The Sky hang championship banners, not conference banners.
2. The Sun’s defense didn’t cause the loss — the Sky’s mistakes did.

“We have a standard to uphold,” Parker said in response. “We won a championship last year. We don’t hang conference banners. Defensively, yeah, they did a great job, they won the series. But if it’s anything, it’s us. It’s our aggression that changed things.”

Whether it was the Sun’s defense or the Sky’s collapse, there was a clear shift in the fourth quarter as the Sun advanced to their first Finals since 2019 with a 72-63 victory at Wintrust Arena.

The Sun entered the final period down 58-48 before outscoring the Sky 24-5 in the fourth quarter to take the lead.

At the 7:20 mark, Emma Meesseman knocked down a 3-point jumper, and Kahleah Copper scored two more points with 4:46 left in the game. That was the last time the Sky scored, as they ended the contest with eight missed field goals, two of which were blocked shots.

“It’s not intentional, but maybe we stopped attacking,” Courtney Vandersloot said. “Maybe we were scared to lose, rather than trying to win. I feel like we got good looks. we just didn’t knock them down.”

The Sky went 2-for-15 from the field to end the contest. During the fourth quarter, Allie Quigley was 0-for-5, Meesseman was 1-for-4, Copper was 1-for-3, Vandersloot was 1-for-2, and Rebekah Garder was 0-for-1. In that stretch, the usually poised Vandersloot also committed three turnovers and Azurá Stevens committed one.

“We just couldn’t get a basket,” coach James Wade said. “I thought there were a couple of layups that we didn’t make, but other than that, it was tough for us to navigate around them and get to the lane.”

Only four of Chicago’s 15 shots in the fourth quarter came in the paint, with one make — a driving layup from Copper.

Meanwhile, absent from the fourth-quarter shot chart was Parker, whose last field-goal attempt came with 3:42 left in the third quarter when her team led by 12 points. Her last make, a 3-pointer assisted by Copper, came 32 seconds earlier.

Overall, Parker attempted just seven shots in the game, finishing with seven points and nine rebounds. Prior to Thursday’s contest, Parker had averaged 18.4 points per game against the Sun this season.

IN TRANSITION!! #CTSun pic.twitter.com/78VbamC2O4

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) September 9, 2022

The Sun threw a three-player attack at her defensively, with Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones all taking their turn at the two-time WNBA MVP. Connecticut placed a clear emphasis on stopping Parker from even getting the ball, as evidenced by her few shot attempts.

“I have three All-Star post players,” Miller said. “I have that luxury. It’s not always easy to figure out how to keep them all on the floor together, but they get to practice against each other every day. So when we get an opportunity to practice, there are great battles going on amongst them.”

But it wasn’t just the post defense that propelled the Sun to a win. In the fourth quarter, their entire unit stepped up, tapping into newfound energy.

Miller has said many times during the postseason that his team needs to make things messy to win, and Connecticut’s brand of chaos defined the fourth quarter.

As the Sun surged, the offensive flow the Sky have become known for slipped away.

“I think slowly but surely, we stopped playing beautiful basketball,” Parker said. “And I’m not taking any credit away from what Connecticut did or didn’t do, but I think that we are at a level where we are passing and moving and cutting for each other, and screening for each other and making plays for each other. We were at that level this season, and we stopped doing that.”

Connecticut closed out the game on an 18-0 run, the longest in WNBA playoff history. The five points Chicago scored were also the fewest ever by a team in a series-deciding playoff game.

The offensive breakdown to end the game was head-scratching to say the least, especially when you consider the success of the Sky’s attack throughout the season.

Chicago averaged 86.3 points per game this season, second in the WNBA after the Las Vegas Aces. Their 63 points on Thursday marked their lowest total of the season. They also scored just 63 points in their loss to the Sun in Game 1 of the semifinals. Prior to that contest, Chicago’s season-low point total was 71 in a May 18 loss to Seattle.

“This is tough,” Wade said. “This is probably one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had professionally. The players gave it everything this year. They did everything, and I thought they deserved a little bit more.”

With the loss, Chicago ended its bid to be the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002.

Now, the Sky head into an offseason with much uncertainty about their future. Of their starting five, only Kahleah Copper is under contract for the 2023 season. Parker, Quigley, Vandersloot, Meesseman and Stevens are all unrestricted free agents.

After signing with her hometown team and winning a championship last season, the 36-year-old Parker said Thursday that she is undecided about retirement but will know it’s time to hang it up when she’s “not able to go out and play and be the Candace that I want to be.”

With Thursday’s game serving as an anomaly from the rest of Parker’s playoff performances, the Sky can hope that time hasn’t come yet.

“I thought they gave it as much as we could,” Wade said. “And we just came up short.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.

Former Stanford leading-scorer Kiki Iriafen is set to join star rising sophomore JuJu Watkins at USC next year, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. 

The 6-foot-3 forward is coming off a breakout season with the Cardinal, where the then-junior led Stanford to the Sweet 16 with an average of 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Walking away with the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award and a spot on the All-Pac-12 team, Iriafen entered the portal at the close of last season and was subsequently ranked second on ESPN’s 2024-2025 transfer ranking list.

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At USC, Iriafen will play out her senior year alongside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association’s 2024 National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins, forming what could be an explosive partnership for the Trojans as they look to build momentum going into next season. The Southern California side advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994 this year, ultimately falling to UConn in a heated 80-73 battle.

Iriafen wasn’t the only one making choices this past week. LSU guard Hailey Van Lith officially announced her own transfer to TCU on Friday, while Princeton standout Kaitlyn Chen committed to UConn for her final year of college eligibility. Other big names still weighing their options are Oregon State's Talia Von Oelhoffen and Raegan Beers, as well as UNC's Deja Kelly.

With conference realignment on the horizon and team fit a contending factor, the NCAA women's basketball transfer portal has been busier than ever. And while transfers can bolster many types of college programs, this particular offseason has seen talent-rich programs growing even richer.

Legendary WNBA superstar Candace Parker announced her retirement from professional basketball on Sunday, effective immediately.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," she wrote in an Instagram post. "The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

The Las Vegas Aces forward was in the midst of rehabbing a right ankle injury and a left foot fracture after missing part of the 2023 season.

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One of women's basketball's most prominent trailblazers, Parker popularized the play of a "big guard." A back-to-back NCAA National Championship winner with Tennessee, she was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. She was named both WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in her debut season with the league. 

Parker exits the pros a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time league MVP, seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time NCAA champion, in addition to many more individual accolades. Throughout her 16-year career, she averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. She remains the only player in WNBA history to earn three WNBA titles with three different teams: LA in 2016, Chicago in 2021, and Las Vegas in 2023. 

In her announcement, the 38-year-old implied the physical toll of league play was a driving factor in her ultimate decision to walk away from the game, despite recently signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas.

"This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating," she wrote. "It’s no fun playing in pain (10 surgeries in my career) it’s no fun knowing what you could do, if only…it’s no fun hearing 'she isn’t the same' when I know why, it’s no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.

"I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped," she continued. "I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special."

Fans weren’t the only ones shocked by Parker’s surprise retirement. In a reaction captured on video, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart responded to the news with a jaw-dropped, eyebrow-raised "What? Wow." 

Yet while the Naperville, Illinois native’s time on the court might be over, Parker says she isn't leaving the world of basketball anytime soon.

"This is the beginning," she wrote. "I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball."