The story of the past week in the WNBA was injuries. Diana Taurasi and Natasha Howard were the notable additions to a growing list of sidelined players, opening the door for more movement in the league standings.

With a full slate of competitive games ahead, we’ll see which teams take advantage. Before that, let’s dive into the latest edition of the power rankings.

12. Indiana Fever (1-7) —

The Fever didn’t have an easy schedule last week, but they didn’t show many signs of progress, either. In their three losses, they averaged 74.7 points for and 99.7 points against, including giving up 113 points to the Aces on Friday — a Las Vegas franchise record.

11. Los Angeles Sparks (2-2) —

This ranking might not feel fair after the Sparks picked up two straight wins over a preseason favorite in the Sky, but Chicago is severely shorthanded as Candace Parker and Allie Quigley work their way back from injuries. Los Angeles’ depth for the season also took another hit when No. 7 draft pick Jasmine Walker suffered a season-ending ACL tear.

10. Washington Mystics (2-4) -1

The Mystics have picked up their game over the past week and Tina Charles again played like an MVP candidate in a close loss to Connecticut. Even with Myisha Hines-Allen back in the fold, however, their short bench continues to raise concerns.

9. Dallas Wings (1-4) -2

Yes, Dallas has dropped four straight games. Yes, they’re still averaging 90.4 points per game, second most in the WNBA. Yes, they’re getting Allisha Gray and Satou Sabally back shortly from the 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. No, I’m not worried about them.

8. Chicago Sky (2-4) -3

It hasn’t been pretty for the Sky since Parker and Quigley went down and Stefanie Dolson left to represent Team USA in the 3×3 qualifying tournament. Dolson’s on her way back and Parker appears closer to returning than Quigley does. No matter the timelines, Chicago has to clean up its possession and defense, as it currently leads the league in turnovers (20.8 per game) and averages the third-most personal fouls (20.7).

7. Minnesota Lynx (1-4) +1

Napheesa Collier is back, Layshia Clarendon is signed, Sylvia Fowles continues to tear it up and the Lynx are showing marked signs of improvement after starting the season 0-4. In their win over Connecticut on Sunday, they out-rebounded and out-shot the Sun from 3, two areas where they’ve otherwise struggled this season.

6. Phoenix Mercury (3-3) —

Diana Taurasi is expected to miss at least three more weeks with a sternum fracture, making it even more difficult to know what this team is all about after six games. If Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kia Nurse step up like they did Saturday against Dallas, scoring more than 20 points each, Phoenix can manage until Taurasi returns.

5. Atlanta Dream (4-2) +5

Offense has always been the Dream’s calling card, and the most promising development of their 3-0 week was the way they spread the wealth. Eight or more players got on the board in each of their three wins. Courtney Williams also looks more comfortable in her role as the go-to scorer, averaging 21 points over that stretch, and No. 3 pick Aari McDonald grows with each game.

4. New York Liberty (5-2) -2

The Liberty didn’t play their best basketball Saturday against Atlanta and still came close to winning in overtime. The good news is Sabrina Ionescu won’t shoot much worse than the 18.2 field goal and 28.6 3-point percentages she finished with Saturday, and New York continues to shoot lights out from deep as a team, leading the league at 43.2 percent.

3. Las Vegas Aces (5-2) +1

The Aces’ offense is starting to fire on all cylinders and will add Kelsey Plum back into the lineup after she helped the U.S. qualify for the Olympics in 3×3. Las Vegas’ two straight games of 100-plus points did come against the last-place Fever, but that they are a league leader in nearly every scoring category except 3-pointers is no joke.

2. Connecticut Sun (6-2) -1

The Sun’s only losses this season have come against the red-hot Storm in overtime and a Lynx team on the rise. There’s not much reason to worry when Jonquel Jones and DeWanna Bonner continue to get theirs, but I do wonder if they’ve messed with a good thing by replacing Natisha Hiedeman with Briann January in the starting lineup.

1. Seattle Storm (5-1) +2

The biggest question for the Storm is how they respond to new head coach Noelle Quinn after Dan Hughes retired over the weekend. The odds are good the transition goes smoothly given Quinn’s long ties to the organization, in which case Seattle is once again the team to beat.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is heating up, with a pair of Top 10 matchups headlining the first annual ACC-SEC "Showdown at the Net" event on Wednesday.

Recent conference realignment has seen the SEC and ACC emerge as volleyball strongholds alongside the Big Ten, with the two Power Four rivals laying claim to seven of the current Top 10 teams.

Putting their reputations to the test, the conferences launched the two-day "Showdown at the Net" series this season, with 14 SEC vs. ACC games taking place at campuses nationwide while the four top contenders face off in the event's two-game spotlight showcase in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Wednesday doubleheader will first pair the SEC's No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats against the ACC's No. 7 Pitt Panthers before their respective conference standouts take the court as the No. 2 Texas Longhorns face the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.

The battle between the Longhorns and Cardinals — a rematch of the 2022 national championship game — will be particularly tense, as both squads enter the match without a single loss on the young 2025 season.

How to watch "Showdown at the Net" NCAA volleyball tournament

No. 3 Kentucky and No. 7 Pitt will kick off Wednesday's top-tier college volleyball clashes at 6:30 PM ET before No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Louisville square off at 9 PM ET.

Both games will air live on ESPN.

Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko made WNBA history on Monday, becoming the winningest first-year manager on record after the No. 3 Dream earned their 29th victory of the season by defeating the No. 11 Connecticut Sun 87-62.

With Monday's result, Smesko surpassed the previous 28-win record set by former LA Sparks head coach Michael Cooper in 2000 — and boosted his position in the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year race in the process.

Notably, while coaches like Cooper spent years as an assistant in the pros before leading a team, Smesko entered the 2025 WNBA season without any experience on the professional sidelines, with the Atlanta Dream hiring the 54-year-old following Smesko's 22 years helming the college team at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Smesko is now one of several new coaches seeing quick success at the sport's top level — with even more WNBA milestones looming on the horizon.

"It's nice that we're winning and that we're in a good position for the playoffs," Smesko said following Monday's victory. "Those types of [records] don't have a lot of meaning for me. The meaningful part is coming up: Are we going to be the best prepared for the playoffs?"

How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday

While it might not matter too much to Smesko, with one game left in the Atlanta Dream's 2025 regular season, he has the opportunity to pad his new record even more and finish the year with an even 30 wins on Wednesday.

The Dream will close out their 2025 regular season with a rematch against the Sun at 7 PM ET, with live coverage of the game airing on WNBA League Pass.

Sky star Angel Reese watched from the sidelines as No. 12 Chicago fell 92-61 to the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, ruled out with a back injury after serving a half-game suspension on Sunday for making "statements detrimental to the team" last week.

Back pain that has troubled the forward throughout the second half of the 2025 WNBA season, with Reese opting to sit out Tuesday's clash despite earlier expectations that she would take the court.

"After warm-ups, she communicated that she just wasn't feeling it physically," Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said, after previously telling reporters he expected Reese to play. "She reported that pain, and so we wanted to hold her back."

Reese's relationship with the organization has been under a microscope since the 23-year-old criticized team leadership in last week's Chicago Tribune interview, prompting high-profile reactions from both within the league and beyond.

"Chicago is probably the worst-run organization in the league. You're gonna suspend your best player just because she's putting pressure on you to get better? That was embarrassing to see," an anonymous WNBA exec told the Dallas Hoops Journal in response.

"She got in trouble for telling the truth. And I feel like women, especially Black women, are over-policed in this league," Sports Are Fun co-host Greydy Diaz said on this week's episode. "If you really look at Chicago and its history, ownership, front office — it's been a disaster for years. You've had star players leave over and over…. I think they need to clean house in Chicago."

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How to watch the final 2025 game for the Chicago Sky

Should her pain subside, Reese will suit up for the Chicago Sky's season finale on Thursday — though the league sophomore has already hit the requisite minimum number of game appearances to officially qualify as the WNBA's rebounds-per-game leader this year.

The No. 12 Sky will close out their 2025 campaign against the No. 5 New York Liberty at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

Gotham FC is cleaning house, following up Monday's splashy Jaedyn Shaw trade with even more roster moves as the No. 6 NWSL club prepares for a major playoff push.

The Bats officially fulfilled defensive midfielder and 2023 NWSL champion Nealy Martin's trade request on Tuesday, sending her to Angel City in exchange for $85,000 in intra-league funds.

"More than anything I want to thank the Gotham community for taking a chance and believing in me," Martin said in a club statement. "I gave my heart and soul to this club, and a piece of me will always remain in NJ/NY."

Martin's departure is just one recent roster shift, with Gotham also loaning out recently acquired forward Princess Ademiluyi as they look to incorporate Shaw — and her league-record $1.25 million transfer fee — into their system.

Gotham is banking on long-term success from the 19-year-old, signing Ademiluyi from WSL mainstay West Ham United through the 2029 season before sending the England youth national team attacker for further development with USL Super League side Fort Lauderdale United FC on Tuesday.

Big-name NWSL signings tend to create a domino effect, and as long as they have the money, now is the time for mid-table teams like Gotham to trade as the 2025 season inches closer to crunch-time.