When the Las Vegas Aces played the New York Liberty, it was supposed to be the game of the season. Supposed to be a drag-it-out, fight to the finish. Supposed to be a preview of the WNBA Finals to come — and maybe it was.

But instead of a down-to-the-wire contest, it was a blowout. The Aces completely dominated the Liberty with a 98-81 victory. The game was billed as the “Battle of the Superteams,” but it wasn’t a battle, and there weren’t two superteams on the court. There was just one team that was much, much better than its opponent.

Which begs the question, “Can anyone beat the Aces?”

In a single game, sure. The Connecticut Sun already did it, handing the Aces their lone loss of the season. But in a playoff series, it’s hard to imagine anyone stringing together enough wins to stop Las Vegas from repeating as WNBA champions.

Let’s start with the obvious: the roster. The reason the Aces fall into the superteam category is because their starting five is that of an All-Star Game. MVP A’ja Wilson, former MVP Candace Parker, Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, Most Improved Player Jackie Young and All-WNBA First teamer Kelsey Plum. A simple list of those names is impressive, but it’s how they come together that makes Las Vegas so dominant.

The win over New York proves it’s not enough to have stars on the court. The Liberty have their own awe-inducing starting lineup with former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, WNBA assists leader Courtney Vandersloot, former Most Improved Player Betnijah Laney and All-WNBA second-teamer Sabrina Ionescu.

Here’s the difference: New York looked like an All-Star team, and Las Vegas looked like a championship team.

The Liberty still look like a collection of stars playing on the court but not playing together, while the Aces are a unit, dripping with team chemistry.

They know how to feed the hot hand — it’s why Wilson, Plum, Young and Gray routinely rotate as the team’s leading scorer in any given game — and how to exploit defensive matchups.

Against the Liberty, Plum’s 18 points led the way, as the Aces focused on guard play and beating defenders off the dribble. Plum and Young were able to break down their defenders with quick first steps, while also using switches on screens to their advantage. The Liberty couldn’t stay in front, which created lanes for attacking and, in turn, opened up the entire offense.

In other situations, the Aces can use Wilson as their anchor and run offense through last season’s MVP. They have options, and they know when to use them.

Big sis @Candace_Parker with the breakout pass to lil sis @_ajawilson22 is what you need on your timeline#PhantomCam x @LVAces pic.twitter.com/FIvoJ1i6TU

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 30, 2023

Then there’s the defense. Becky Hammon has been very vocal about wanting more out of her team on the defensive end, and she’s getting it. The Liberty are averaging 87.5 points per game this season — second in the league behind the Aces — but Las Vegas held them below that average on Thursday night.

Individually, the Aces also contained Stewart and Ionescu to outputs well below their season averages. Stewart scores 22.1 points per game and is nearly impossible to stop, but Vegas held her to 16 points. And Ionescu reached less than half her season average of 15.3, contributing seven points in the loss.

That’s been a theme this season: The Aces hold their opponents to 77.7 points per game, which is second in the league. That, combined with their explosive offense, has Vegas winning their games by a WNBA-leading average of 15.5 points.

Of course, it is possible to beat Las Vegas. The Sun did it, with a 94-77 win in their second meeting of the season on June 4. In that game, two major statistics stand out.

First, the Sun kept Vegas off the glass. Averaging 34.8 rebounds per game this season, the Aces pulled down just 26 in that loss compared to 34 from the Sun. But rebounding isn’t actually one of the Aces’ major strengths. They are 7th out of 12 teams in that category, so keeping them off the boards doesn’t mean an automatic chance at victory. In fact, Las Vegas recorded just 27 rebounds against the Liberty.

The biggest factor in the Sun’s victory was DeWanna Bonner, who scored a career-high 41 points on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Four players have scored over 40 points in a game this season — Jewell Loyd, Arike Ogunbowale, Stewart and Bonner — so it’s not exactly a common feat. The Sun needed a superhuman performance to top Las Vegas, and that’s not something that teams can conjure up on a nightly basis.

So, yeah, the Aces are beatable. But just barely.

The Liberty game only served to prove that Las Vegas is by far the best team in the WNBA, and it’s going to take a special string of games for anyone to stop the defending champs from repeating.

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

Over two decades after first hitting theaters, Bend It Like Beckham is on track for a sequel, Gurinder Chadha — the director and co-writer of the 2002 women's soccer blockbuster film — confirmed on Saturday.

"I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game," she told Deadline late last week.

Though the new script is still in development, Chadha is aiming to collaborate again with co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges and hoping to lure the original cast — led by actors Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley — back to set.

With women's football booming both in England and beyond, London-based Chadha has been ruminating on a Bend It Like Beckham follow-up for the last two years.

"I [initially] didn't want to do anything because I didn't have a story. And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I’m inspired," the filmmaker explained. "It's my very clear wish to bring the characters back very, very soon. Women's football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it."

"Bend It Like Beckham" sequel snags assist from USWNT boss

As part of her development process, Chadha is consulting with major players in the women's soccer space — including USWNT manager Emma Hayes, whom Chadha met at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May.

"[Hayes's] insights into the world of football at her level are invaluable," noted Chadha.

As for Hayes, assisting Chadha is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the decorated London-born women's soccer coach.

"I cried in the cinema watching the film because I felt just like [the main characters] Jess and Jules," Hayes told Deadline. "There was no hope for women's football in Britain then so I was going to the States to try my luck."

"Twenty-three years ago I could never have dreamed of how much that film changed the women's game, and now I have the best job in the world: head coach of the US women's national team."

The Bend It Like Beckham sequel is aiming for a 2027 debut to coincide with both the 25th anniversary of the original film's UK opening and the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham became the latest WNBA player on the mic this week, as the outspoken athlete launched a new podcast on sports media personality Colin Cowherd's The Volume network.

Entitled "Show Me Something" in reference to the two hosts' Missouri roots, the podcast features the seven-year WNBA veteran as well as her former high school classmate and current Summer House reality star West Wilson.

"We're definitely going to hit on the WNBA, a huge topic in sports right now, and then Bravo, clearly, but pop culture, food, fashion, travel... we really do talk about anything," Cunningham said about the variety of topics she'll be discussing with her childhood friend on their podcast. "Our love language is, like, s—t-talking."

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

In this week's first episode, the 2025 Fever addition did not hold back, immediately digging into the ongoing discourse surrounding superstar teammate Caitlin Clark.

"There's really good, well-known people in our league. I'm not discrediting them," Cunningham said. "But when people try to argue that [Clark's] not the face of our league, or if our league would be where we're at without her, you’re dumb as s—t. You’re literally dumb as f—k."

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

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

USC reportedly beat out both North Carolina and UCLA in the race to secure a commitment from Hall.

The Northeast Ohio product will close out her high school career at SPIRE Academy, returning to her home state following a junior-year campaign with Montverde Academy in Florida.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who turned 17 years old on Wednesday, has also seen significant international success, first helping Team USA earn gold in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.

Hall added a 5x5 gold medal to her collection earlier this month, when the then-16-year-old set records en route to securing Team USA the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup title.

Her US U19-record 19.9 points per game — plus team-leading averages of 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.9 steals across the competition's seven games — saw the starter named tournament MVP following the July 20th championship victory.

Shortly after returning Stateside, Hall visited USC, announcing her NCAA basketball commitment almost immediately after leaving campus.

"I would say it felt like home. I loved all of my teammates," Hall told ESPN's NBA Today on Friday. "The girls there are so fun to be around."

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

"We're really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football," Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said in the club's announcement. "We all know she's had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we're really comfortable with this appointment."

In addition to her firing from Team Canada, Priestman served a one-year suspension from all football-related activities, finishing that mandatory moratorium this month.

FIFA issued the suspension after determining that Priestman was guilty of spying on opponents via illegal drone use during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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

The Wellington Phoenix — the lone New Zealand club competing in the top-flight Australian league — finished the 2024/25 season ninth out of 12 teams, with the young club soon setting their sights on a deeper run in their fifth season behind Priestman.

"It feels like Christmas Day to me to come back," said Priestman, whose wife, Wellington Phoenix FC academy director Emma Humphries, is a former New Zealand national team player. "I know I have to earn the trust of everybody. And I'll be working hard to do that."