The honeymoon is over for Aerial Powers and the Minnesota Lynx.

One season after becoming a mainstay in the starting lineup, the 29-year-old forward is averaging just 9.6 minutes per game. When one social media user wondered about her absence from a recent game, Powers responded that she looked forward to her fans coming to see her play next season “with another organization.”

Powers signed with the Lynx in 2021. While injuries marred her first season in Minnesota, she started 31 games in 2022 and led the team in scoring with 14.42 points per game.

In 2023, though, her role has been limited. After missing four weeks with a sprained ankle, she has played just seven of 12 games since her return on July 20. She scored 12 points in 16 minutes on Aug. 20, but then did not play at all in Minnesota’s Aug. 22 win against the Dallas Wings.

She will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Per Her Hoops Stats, she is earning $201,984 in 2023.

“That’s a lot of money to pay someone who you’re not playing,” WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes said on the latest episode of her “Queens of the Court” podcast.

Swoopes tried to make sense of Powers’ limited minutes for the Lynx.

“I just feel like there’s a lot going on there, which is weird, because they could use her,” she said. “When I look at that, I’m like, Aerial Powers on one wing, Diamond Miller on another wing, with Napheesa Collier — make it make sense, because I don’t understand it.”

Thank you so much. I look forward to them coming to see me play next year with another organization 😊 https://t.co/ofIbzxwVDC

— LIQUID | Aerial Powers (@aerial_powers23) August 20, 2023

Powers discussed her situation further on a recent Twitch live stream, saying of her free agency: “Everybody knows I ain’t staying here.”

She also said “a few teams” pursued her ahead of the Aug. 7 trade deadline, but “everybody” has to agree in order for a trade to go through. As it stands, she remains with the Lynx, who are jostling for a playoff spot.

So Aerial Powers was actually live on Twitch while sending her earlier tweet pic.twitter.com/oCJss50Pc2

— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) August 20, 2023

The world No. 2 USWNT returned to winning form on Sunday, avenging Thursday's upset loss to No. 23 Portugal by capping the pair's two-game friendly series with a 3-1 victory.

USWNT midfielder Olivia Moultrie led the charge, securing a brace within the opening 10 minutes before second-half sub Sam Coffey flicked in a 77th-minute corner kick to cement the 3-1 scoreline.

"[US head coach] Emma [Hayes] said before the game, 'I don't care what the result is, but no matter what, I want it to feel like we played like us,'" said 20-year-old Moultrie postgame.

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Hayes significantly shifted away from Thursday's struggling lineup, replacing eight starters and relying on a starting XI with an average age of 21.7 years old — including teenaged midfielders Lily Yohannes and Claire Hutton.

Defender Emily Sonnett captained the squad, and her 111 senior team caps singlehandedly outranked the other 10 players on the field, whose USWNT appearances combined totaled just 100 matches.

"You can't cut a corner to success, and you can't cut a corner with development," said Hayes, impressed by the young group's growth since falling to both Brazil and Japan earlier this year.

"I think last game was a blip," Hayes continued. "And that, for me, is not something I expect to be happening on a regular basis."

How to watch this week's USWNT friendly

The No. 2 USWNT will close out October's international window with a friendly against No. 33 New Zealand in Kansas City on Wednesday.

The match will kick off at 8 PM ET, live on TNT.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.