BROOKLYN, NY — The day before the Liberty took the Barclays Center court for the last time this season, in a game they had to win to remain in the playoff hunt, coach Walt Hopkins organized a film session.

The Liberty came out of the Olympic break in mid-August with control of their own destiny. Instead, they lost nine of 10, including a 29-point thumping by the No. 1 Sun on Wednesday, and entered Friday night’s regular season finale against the Mystics with their postseason chances hanging on by a thread.

So on Thursday, Hopkins took them through a film session where everything was on the table. The players and coaches aired frustrations, held each other accountable and bought into the team-oriented culture they’re building in New York.

“I think that one of the reasons that they’ve continued to respond well all season is that they really do trust one another, they trust the staff,” Hopkins said before the game. “So the primary focus for them is not just that we’re doing this for now, but we’re doing this because we’re building something. Every single game matters and the way that we play matters.”

The Liberty came out Friday night and played for the present and the future, holding off a resurgent Mystics team in the second half to win 91-80 in front of their home crowd.

For the Liberty to earn their first playoff berth since 2017, they need both the Mystics and Sparks to lose Sunday and they would advance with the head-to-head advantage.

The way Hopkins and the players talked after the game, Sunday’s results are not top of mind. For them, Friday night’s game was about proving to themselves that they’re capable of executing when the stakes are highest. Whether they carry those lessons into a postseason or next season, they walked away feeling proud of their effort and growth.

“We were faced with an opportunity to say, ‘Not this time. Not tonight,’” guard Sami Whitcomb said after the game. “We’re establishing that level of excellence we want to move forward with.

“Hopefully it’s the postseason for us where we get to really expand on that, but if it’s not, we’ve set the tone for us moving forward.”

Whitcomb has been a revelation for the Liberty since they acquired her and Natasha Howard in a trade with the Seattle Storm in February. Howard led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds Friday night, while Whitcomb tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.

Whitcomb and Howard bring experience and championship pedigree to the Liberty, with five WNBA titles between them. Hopkins has leaned on them and Betnijah Laney to set the tone for this young team. Leading Rookie of the Year candidate Michaela Onyenwere, for one, has taken the veterans’ advice to heart.

“You can grow apart, you can break apart — our team has never done that,” Onyenwere said. “We’ve had every reason to do that in these hard games and we haven’t done that, so I think that says a lot about our team morale and team chemistry.”

The team’s support has been especially valuable for Sabrina Ionescu, who battled through injury and adjusting to the point guard role this season.

On Friday night, Ionescu looked like the player the Liberty drafted first overall in 2020, the one who left the University of Oregon as one of the most decorated college players of all time. She filled up the stat sheet with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds, helping the Liberty close out the game with eight points in the fourth quarter while rallying the fans with her energy.

. @sabrina_i20 put on for the city tonight! 🗽 pic.twitter.com/FNeuSIl1Y8

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) September 18, 2021

Ionescu’s play was one of many reasons the Liberty are bullish about their future.

“I think that the way we lost the games down the stretch was very much what young teams do,” Hopkins said. “Just give us a little time. We’re gonna be a problem.”

“Whatever happens the rest of the season, I don’t think it really matters,” Ionescu said. “At the end of the day, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but it’s only the beginning. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for this team.”

Decorated Iowa basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced her retirement on Monday, with assistant coach Jan Jensen next in line to take over the head coaching position.

Bluder retires as the winningest women’s basketball coach in Big Ten history, amassing 528 wins and five Big Ten tournament titles over her 24 years. During her time at the helm, Iowa made 18 NCAA tournament appearances, including back-to-back trips to the National Championship with star guard Caitlin Clark. 

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"It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family," Bluder wrote in a statement. "And to lead a women's basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives."

She spent the last few years coaching the remarkable Caitlin Clark. The eventual No. 1 overall pick in April’s WNBA Draft, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in D-I basketball, men’s or women’s, this past season, winning back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year awards under Bluder's leadership. 

In a tweet posted Monday, Clark reacted to Bluder’s retirement by thanking her.

"Simply no one better at building a team," Clark wrote. "Thank you for believing in me more than anyone. Enjoy retirement, coach. Very much deserved."

Bluder said Monday that her decision to retire came as she began preparing for the offseason. The longtime coach has previously said she was taking it year-by-year.

"After the season ended, I spent time with our student-athletes and coaches reviewing the season and preparing those moving on for what comes next," Bluder said. "With that also came personal contemplation about what this journey has meant to me, how to best champion this program and what the future looks like for my family and me. After then taking some time away with my husband, David, it became clear to me that I am ready to step aside.

"There is never an ideal time to retire, and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players. But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women's basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program's biggest champion."

Bluder's coaching tenure dates back to 1985, when she coached at St. Ambrose University for six seasons before accepting a head coaching job at Drake in 1991. During her nine years in Des Moines, Bluder led the Bulldogs to four Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000) alongside three regular season titles (1997, 1998, 2000).

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Assistant head coach Jan Jensen has been tapped to take over the role at Iowa, having worked shoulder to shoulder with the outgoing Bluder for a major part of her career. After playing under Bluder at Drake, Jensen moved on to join her former coach off the court as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs.

"I love Jan to death," 2019 Naismith Player of the Year Megan Gustafson told The Gazette. "She deserves this, and she’s ready for it."

Gustafson's former Iowa teammate, post player Monika Czinano, echoed the sentiment. 

"It’s the perfect succession line, in my opinion," Czinano said. "She’s one of the main reasons for my development. She’s ready for it."

The 28th WNBA season starts tonight, and one of the week's most anticipated games will be played without two of its biggest stars. 

Phoenix center Brittney Griner and Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray are currently both sidelined with injuries, unfortunately missing out on the head-to-head clash that officially kicks off the 2024 season.

Griner is out with a left foot toe fracture, the Mercury announced on Monday. She’ll be out for an unspecified amount of time, and will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks. 

Brittney Griner will be out due to a toe fracture and will be re-evaluated in the upcoming weeks, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/0ivATLzxlu

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) May 13, 2024

The 6-foot-9 starter is a major loss for Phoenix, as she added some much needed size to the guard-heavy roster. The team is scheduled to play eight games throughout the month of May, including two against defending champs Las Vegas along with a road game against the stacked New York Liberty. 

Gray, meanwhile, has been ruled out for the Aces’ season opener. She injured her foot during the WNBA Finals last season and spent much of training camp rehabbing the lingering knock. The former Finals MVP recently signed a contract extension with Las Vegas.

"We'll be reevaluating her daily, but also probably in a couple of weeks," head coach Becky Hammon said. "She's a little dinged up right now, so we'll take that one step at a time."

The Aces square off against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday at 10 PM ET.

Arsenal Women's Football Club (Arsenal WFC) announced early Tuesday that they will play 11 matches at Emirates next season, making the North London Premiere League hub their official home.  

A total of eight Barclays Women's Super League (WSL) games are to be played inside Emirates, as well as three UWCL fixtures, should the team qualify for the Champions League. And if they reach the Champions League knockout rounds, those games would also be also played at Emirates.

The team’s other regular season matches — including domestic cup games — will be played at Meadow Park, the team’s longstanding home pitch in Borehamwood. 

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The news follows Monday’s announcement that the club would part ways with star striker Vivianne Miedema at the end of the 2023/24 season.

"There’s great passion for our women’s team right across our club," said Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar in a statement. "We are one club, with a vision to win major trophies across our men’s and women’s teams. This move supports this ambition and we can’t wait to continue this amazing journey with our supporters." 

"The next step in our journey is to make Emirates Stadium our main home for Arsenal women," AFC chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said. "We're looking forward to giving more supporters the chance to watch our women's team play. This is part of a collective drive across the club to take the women's game forward and support sustainable growth of the game so it can thrive in the long term."

This past season, Arsenal WFC hosted six WSL matches at Emirates, drawing an average crowd of 52,029 ticket-holders, selling out the stadium twice, and setting three WSL attendance records along the way. They currently hold the domestic attendance record for a WSL game, with 60,160 fans turning out to see the home side defeat Manchester United in February. 

The WSL's previous attendance record was also held by Arsenal, with their December win over Chelsea drawing 59,042 fans. 

"To everyone who has followed us so far, thank you. You have played a key part in our progress and growth, helping us write this story," said head coach Jonas Eidevall. "Next season, Emirates Stadium becomes our main home and we're all excited to play in front of bigger crowds every week. We can’t wait to see you all there."

The 28th WNBA season is finally here, and it's set to be one of the biggest yet — which also makes for some pretty entertaining narratives.

Leading the way are the Las Vegas Aces, who are vying for their third-straight WNBA championship. It’s only ever happened once in league history, when the Houston Comets ticked off four back-to-back titles wins from 1997-2000. Led by 2023 Finals MVP A’ja Wilson, the Aces look poised to have a go at making history.

Over in Indiana, Caitlin Clark has arrived as one of the most hyped WNBA rookies in a decade. There are massive expectations of both Clark and the Fever this season, with Clark a favorite to win Rookie of the Year — and possibly having good odds to win league MVP. 

Only one player has ever won MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same year: Candace Parker in 2008. But both Clark and her teammates are keeping things in perspective.

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"To create championship culture, you've got to build relationships with your teammates, get to know them," Clark said at last week's Fever media day. "We're a young team for the most part. Building that chemistry and being able to click on court are the biggest things."

The New York Liberty made it all the way to their first WNBA Finals since 2002 last year, but at times looked discombobulated as the "superteam" worked to establish on-court chemistry. Similar cracks appeared during preseason, when the seasoned squad conceded a near 50-point loss to the Chicago Sky.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Sun are hunting down their first-ever WNBA trophy — and to finally put to bed their "always a contender, never a champ" reputation.

There’s also excitement in Chicago, where rookie rivals turned teammates Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese are gearing up to put on a show (as soon as Cardoso's shoulder recovers, of course). Speaking of rebuilding, Washington is entering its post-Elena Delle Donne era, and their future without the one-time franchise player has yet to be determined.

Both Dallas and Atlanta remain fan favorites, as each aim to make deeper runs this year. Out west, Phoenix and Seattle also look to return to form, eyeing postseason glory after major offseason acquisitions. And Los Angeles and Minnesota are betting the house on the youth, stocking their rosters with young, hungry talent in an attempt to foster some on-court fire.