If the Seattle Storm are the best team in the league, and they have certainly looked the part in jumping out to a 10-1 record, who comes next?

On Saturday, we saw Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and  Minnesota dominate with convincing victories, and at 8-2, 7-3, and 7-3 respectively, they each have a case to make as the next best team.

First, the Aces, who are on a torrid stretch for the best 10-game start in franchise history and are currently on a seven game winning streak. Las Vegas is first in the league in field goal percentage and rebounds. Meanwhile, opponents are shooting 28.7% from beyond the arc.

It’s not just defense, however, as A’ja Wilson is battling to stake her claim as the best offensive player in the game. She is averaging over 20 points per game with 8.5 rebounds, all while shooting 49% from field. The one-two punch with Angel McCoughtry has been exceptional so far. McCoughtry is sitting at 15.4 points per game and shooting 57.1% from the field.

???? Best buckets from @angel_35 in the @LVAces W! #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/2suEFhFtCW

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 12, 2020

Through the first five games, Jackie Young had just 27 points and one game in double figures. Since then, she’s figured something out, as Young has 15, 15, 17, 16, and 16 in her last five outings. All of that has come for Young while playing off the bench. If those three can continue to play at their current level, Las Vegas can challenge the Storm.

The Aces have already beaten both Los Angeles and Minnesota in the short season. The win against the Lynx came on Thursday by 10. In the game against the Sparks, Wilson and McCoughtry combined for 50 points. Young added 15 more, while the rest of the team combined for 21.

Sparks fans, however, will be quick to remember that Nneka Ogwumike didn’t play in that game, and this past Saturday was just another reminder of what she can do. She went for 17 points on 8-of-9 from the field, playing in her usual, absurdly efficient manner. On the season, the 2016 MVP is averaging 12.6 points per game.

The other (two-time) former MVP on the Sparks roster is off to another phenomenal start. Candace Parker is nearly averaging a double-double, and her 3.7 assists per game are the second most on the team. While Chelsea Gray is facilitating and scoring, she has not been as consistent a shooter as in past seasons, when she typically shot well above 40%. Some of that could just be lingering rust, and if Gray can find her stroke during the second half of the season, the Sparks could be primed for a deep playoff run.

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— WNBA (@WNBA) August 15, 2020

A true title contender, Los Angeles boasts a strong starting five, depth, and an abundance of scorers. As a team, Los Angeles is second in 3-point percentage and Riquna Williams showed why on Saturday, draining 7-of-12 for 21 points. Despite playing off of the bench, she has been the team’s leading scorer, shooting 50.8% from beyond the arc, more than 10% above any season in her career. The Sparks can also turn to Seimone Augustus or Brittney Sykes off the bench for scoring, making this a well-rounded team.

Also active on defense, the Sparks are second in steals and have forced the most turnovers of any team. Because of their fast pace on offense, where they lead the league, Los Angeles is both scoring and letting up the most points of any team. The Aces are right behind the Sparks in pace, at second. And on the other end of the spectrum is Minnesota, the slowest-paced squad in the league. Rather than a defect, this speaks to the preferred style of the Lynx.

Like the Sparks, Minnesota also has a caveat for their loss to Las Vegas. Sylvia Fowles, who was putting up MVP-like numbers up to that point, missed nearly the entire game with injury. In their first game without Fowles, Minnesota had no trouble putting up points in a commanding win over the New York Liberty. The Lynx kept all five Liberty starters under double digit scoring while four of their own five starters reached that mark.

Fowles is now out indefinitely with a calf strain, after missing two games earlier in the season due to the same injury. The Lynx will need Napheesa Collier and rookie Crystal Dangerfield to step up in her absence, and so far, they have. Against the Liberty, Collier had her second straight 20+ point outing, scoring 26, one shy of her career best, while adding 13 rebounds and five assists. Dangerfield, meanwhile, scored 22 for the second-highest scoring output of her young professional career.

.@PHEEsespieces just shimmied her way to Western Conference Player of the Week.

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— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 17, 2020

The Lynx, whose dynasty dominated the past decade, will need to rely on some new faces. Collier’s 14.9 points and nine rebounds per game are impressive, but she can’t be expected to drop 20 every night. And while the return of Odyssey Sims should give the team a boost, they’ll also need rookie Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to play beyond her years and for Lexie Brown to sustain what is now a career-best season.

Minnesota is leading in the categories they need to, including ranking first in offensive rebounds. Their opponents are shooting a second-worst 42.4% from the field. Still, with all the young talent, Minnesota needs to prove it can compete with and beat the best teams in the league. All three losses have come against Seattle, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, but by an average of more than 17 points.

Behind Seattle, the Sparks, Aces, and Lynx are two through four in defensive rating. And at this point, that is exactly how I would rank these four teams.

US skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is officially back, clinching her spot on Team USA's 2026 Winter Olympics roster this week behind stellar recent performances on the sport's World Cup tour.

The 41-year-old made headlines two weekends ago when she became the oldest Alpine Ski World Cup winner since the circuit's 1967 inception, taking first in the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on December 12th — her 83rd World Cup victory.

"Every single thing that I could do to be faster, I did," said Vonn after winning the downhill event. "And now, now this is what happens. You get the reward."

Vonn is continuing to rack up the rewards, claiming podium finishes in four of the five total races she's competed in so far this season, earning another second-place downhill finish in St. Moritz before taking third in both downhill and the Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, last weekend.

As for her fifth World Cup race, Vonn clocked in at a still-impressive fourth.

"Four podiums in five races, I couldn't really be any happier," the Olympic gold medalist said in response.

Those finishes have the US ski legend sitting at No. 1 in the World Cup downhill standings and No. 3 in the Super-G — with her downhill ranking putting her far enough ahead to guarantee Vonn one of the four Team USA roster spots at the 2026 Olympics.

"Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication," said US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, confirming Vonn's Team USA qualification in a Tuesday statement. "She's proven once again that elite performance isn't just about past success, it's about rising to the moment, race after race."

Success spurs Vonn to extend final competitive season

Returning to competitive skiing in November 2024 following her retirement in February 2019, Vonn spent part of her five-year hiatus undergoing and recovering from a titanium knee replacement that ultimately returned her to the slopes.

Though Vonn previously planned to retire immediately after February's Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, she's now setting her sights on completing the World Cup circuit in March — though that will officially be the end of the road for the US icon.

"I feel like I'm rolling the dice enough as it is, being 41 and putting myself through this," Vonn told The Athletic. "So this is a one-season, final season."

That said, she'll look to add to her trio of Olympic medals before hanging up her competitive skis.

"For Cortina, things are looking pretty f—ing awesome."

The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.

"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."

While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.

With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.

Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.

The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.

The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.

Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.

The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.

Monday's AP Top 25 Poll featured few dramatics, as the Week 8 tally reflected another consistent slate from the 2025/26 NCAA basketball elite with only one shift in the Top 10 and marginal movement at the bottom.

Undefeated TCU keeps making gains, rising one spot to tie Oklahoma at No. 8 after taking down Big 12 foe Kansas State 77-55 behind senior guard Olivia Miles's 29-point performance on Saturday.

On the other hand, a 90-64 loss to No. 1 UConn on Saturday saw Iowa skid three spots, with the now-No. 14 Hawkeyes falling to a 1-2 record against ranked opponents this season.

Outside the relatively stationary Top 10, some blue chip programs are threatening to exit the AP Poll entirely after dropping ranked games last weekend.

Baylor experienced the greatest slide, dropping seven spots to No. 22 after falling 61-60 to Big 12 rival and rankings newcomer No. 21 Texas Tech on Sunday — the Bears' third loss in their season's four ranked games so far.

Tennessee saw a similar dip, plummeting six spots to No. 23 after losing to a surging No. 13 Louisville 89-65 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

The ranked action returns on Sunday, as No. 4 UCLA visits No. 19 Ohio State at 2 PM ET, live on the Big Ten Network.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 8

1. UConn (12-0, Big East)
2. Texas (14-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (12-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (11-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (13-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (10-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (13-0, Big Ten)
T8. TCU (13-0, Big 12)
T8. Oklahoma (12-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (13-0, Big 12)
11. Kentucky (12-1, SEC)
12. Vanderbilt (12-0, SEC)
13. Louisville (12-3, ACC)
14. Iowa (10-2, Big Ten)
15. Ole Miss (12-2, SEC)
16. UNC (11-3, ACC)
17. USC (9-3, Big Ten)
18. Notre Dame (9-2, ACC)
19. Ohio State (11-1, Big Ten)
20. Nebraska (12-0, Big Ten)
21. Texas Tech (14-0, Big 12)
22. Baylor (11-3, Big 12)
23. Tennessee (8-3, SEC)
24. Michigan State (11-1, Big Ten)
25. Princeton (12-1, Ivy)

USWNT star Catarina Macario could be on the move, with ESPN reporting Monday that numerous interested NWSL teams may make a play for the 26-year-old Chelsea FC forward in 2026.

Macario's contract with the reigning six-time WSL champions expires on July 1st, though FIFA regulations allow her to sign with a new club as early as January, with other European clubs expected to join hopeful NWSL teams in the race.

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Despite leading the USWNT with eight goals in 2025, Macario did not dress for Chelsea's recent UWCL league-phase finale against Wolfsburg last week, with the attacker starting just six of the Blues' 11 WSL matches so far this season.

Should an NWSL club make an offer, its viability could hinge on the league's current salary cap dispute, with the Board of Governors suggesting the adoption of a "High Impact Player" rule to help teams keep or attract big names.

However, the NWSL Players Association came out against the mechanism last week, pushing instead to raise the overall cap to match any potential special relief.

Though a Macario NWSL deal is mere speculation at the moment, leagues on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to grapple with the demands of retaining or drawing top talent in the increasingly competitive — and expensive — global women's game.