It Taste Sweet ???? #Sweet16 #JustKeepDancing pic.twitter.com/WPfFwBbghh

— H O L L Y W O O D ???? (@ChennedyCarter) March 18, 2018

The Atlanta Dream just about won the lottery with Chennedy “Hollywood” Carter falling to the 4th spot in the WNBA draft. With Tiffany Hayes opting out of the 2020 season, Carter will see time early and often. She is a sharp handler who averaged over 20 points per game throughout her three year career at Texas A&M. Just in case she needed higher expectations, legendary PG Sue Bird touted Carter as the draft pick most likely to star in the league. NEED WE SAY MORE?

 

SATOU SABALLY, FORWARD, #0, DALLAS WINGS

.@_BonnBonn ➡️ @satou_sabally

???? Exhibit A ????#RISE pic.twitter.com/f7sgVO6BCl

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 21, 2020

After giving up her own senior year at Oregon, Satou Sabally was the second pick overall in the 2020 draft. Standing at 6’4’’, her post presence and rangy shooting abilities will be called upon early by a young Dallas Wings roster. At Oregon, Sabally thrived in a system run by (you guessed it) Sabrina Ionescu. Will she be able to step up for a relatively inexperienced Wings side? If she does, the German native is definitely one to watch as a sleeper ROY contender.

 

RUTHY HEBARD, FORWARD, #24, CHICAGO SKY 

A force to be reckoned with.@RuthyHebard24 is the Katrina McClain national power forward of the year. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/fRnIoT82Ir

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) April 6, 2020

The final part of the 1-2-3 Oregon Ducks punch, Ruthy Hebard was selected 8th overall in the 2020 draft after compiling a 68.5 field goal percentage in college. Joining a veteran Chicago Sky roster this season, Hebard is only going to get better and better as she learns from the likes of Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Diamond DeShields. We expect Hebard to shine in valuable minutes as she continues to develop her game without being forced to carry a team.

 

TYASHA HARRIS, GUARD, #52, DALLAS WINGS 

Do your thing, rook! ????@TyHarris_52 went off tonight vs. Phoenix.

No looks ✅
Stepback treys ✅
Buzzer beaters ✅#RISE pic.twitter.com/HFjRRS9zYC

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 22, 2020

After breaking every single South Carolina assists record, Tyasha Harris became the 7th overall pick in the 2020 draft and the third pick by the Dallas Wings. The selfless point guard is one who constantly looks to set her teammates up for success. With the Wings drafting young and signing new shooting talent in Katie Lou Samuelson and Marina Mabrey, Harris will have ample opportunities to start racking up assists as she dishes the ball to a promising Wings squad.

 

JAZMINE JONES, GUARD, #23, NEW YORK LIBERTY

Future Liberty guard Jazmine Jones shoots over future Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu after a pick from future Liberty big Kylee Shook. pic.twitter.com/sZvv33eTwh

— Justin Carter (@juscarts) April 18, 2020

The third rookie to be drafted by New York Liberty, Jazmine Jones is a young (but talented) guard on an extremely young (but extremely talented) Liberty team. Averaging 14.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while at Louisville, Jones will have to adapt her game quickly to compete. She has both the drive and work ethic to do so, and has already signed with Tarbes Gespe Bigorree to play overseas once the WNBA season ends. While all eyes will be on Ionescu, Jones will be one of six other rookies on the Liberty squad who will be pressed into serious action in their first years as pros.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.