When the Seattle Storm held on in the fourth quarter to upset the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the semifinals on Sunday, A’ja Wilson — the Aces’ best player — hadn’t heard her name called over the loudspeaker in a while.

In the 76-73 loss, Wilson made just three shots, her second-lowest total of the season. That statistic sounds bad on paper, and in reality, it’s even worse. With 10 shot attempts, and only one in the fourth quarter, Wilson’s offensive presence was virtually non-existent for the Aces.

The MVP candidate leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game, and does so in an efficient manner, making 50 percent of her shot attempts. But on Sunday, Wilson finished with just eight points on 30 percent shooting as her team fell at home to the No. 4-seeded Storm.

Wilson has been the focal point of the Las Vegas offense all season, but the Aces failed to get her involved in a big way and, as a result, enter Game 2 on Wednesday in a 1-0 hole.

Let’s break down Wilson’s performance by quarter.

First quarter

Seattle started the game hot, jumping out to a 26-15 lead, while the Aces made just four shots in the opening 10 minutes. Wilson didn’t record a single point in the first quarter, but she did have four attempts, her highest total of the four periods.

Wilson is a capable shooter in the midrange and from long range, averaging 37.3 percent from the 3-point line this season, but her best basketball is played in the paint. She scores 65.1 percent of her points from inside the arc, averaging a league-high 12.1 attempts per game from 2-point range and making 6.4 of them.

But in the first quarter on Sunday, Wilson took two jumpers from the free-throw line — one of which was blocked — and attempted two 3-pointers. In total, she had seven touches, none of which came in the paint and three of which were to help set up the Aces’ offense rather than take to the rim herself.

Second quarter

The second period was Wilson’s most productive of the contest, as she scored six points and helped the Aces cut the deficit from 11 points to seven.

She had eight touches, with five coming in scoring position and two in the low-post position. Wilson scored on both post-ups. On the first, she faked middle, took a one-dribble spin to the left side and finished over Magbegor as Seattle guard Stephanie Talbot came over to help. Her second made shot was on a two-dribble step-through to beat fellow MVP candidate Breanna Stewart.

🅰️ Bucket!@_ajawilson22 // #RaiseTheStakes pic.twitter.com/2MC6DIHsA7

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) August 28, 2022

Her other three touches in scoring position resulted in a missed jumper, two free throws and a whistle on Talbot that sent her to the bench with three fouls and led to an inbounds play for the Aces.

Third quarter

The Aces started to claw their way back into the contest during the third quarter, and they trailed by three points going into the final frame. But they continued to neglect their centerpiece, which led to disjointed and inconsistent offense.

Wilson doesn’t need to shoot on every possession, but she does need to be involved. If Wilson catches in scoring position, the Storm have to react, often sending multiple defenders to help. That leads to openings for the rest of the Aces players and high-quality shot attempts.

But in the third quarter, Wilson had four touches and only two in scoring position. The first led to a double team and a tie-up, while the second resulted in a bucket as Wilson caught the ball at the free-throw line and drove past Stewart.

Fourth quarter

As the Aces fought to take the lead or force overtime in the fourth quarter, their top offensive player had one shot attempt. It was the only time she got the ball in scoring position and one of just four total touches for Wilson in the final period.

Las Vegas took its first lead with 6:15 left in the game as Riquna Williams knocked down a 3-pointer. From there, the lead evaporated as Jewell Loyd capped a 26-point performance with 11 points and an assist in the final five minutes of play. Kelsey Plum missed two looks from 3-point range in the last 25 seconds, and the Storm closed out the victory on the road.

The Aces will have a very hard time advancing to the Finals or winning a WNBA championship without Wilson’s constant involvement. Their game starts with Wilson in the paint, and that’s what will drive them to success. After learning their lesson on Sunday, Las Vegas needs to emphasize getting her post touches early and often in Game 2.

The Aces have lost consecutive games just three times this season, so expect Coach of the Year Becky Hammon to make adjustments and find ways to get Wilson more involved. Otherwise, Las Vegas will likely be facing a similar outcome Wednesday.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.

A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.

"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.

Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.

"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."

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The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.

No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

The world No. 1 USWNT will close out their summer international break against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, facing North American rival No. 8 Canada for the first time this year.

"It's never friendly, you know? It's always like a final," US midfielder Sam Coffey told media earlier this week. "We all know each other super well."

"I'm really excited to be a part of it again for our younger, newer players," she continued. "I think it's going to be a huge learning opportunity on what representing this crest means."

The Northern neighbors are the USWNT's most frequent opponent, with the US entering the pair's 67th meeting with a 53-4-9 all-time record against Canada.

Wednesday's matchup will also mark Canada's first US clash under new head coach Casey Stoney, who joined the team in January following her abrupt June 2024 dismissal by the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.

As for US boss Emma Hayes, she'll be looking for yet another refreshed set of starters on Wednesday after swapping out all 11 players between the team's two friendlies against Ireland last week.

"It's a testament to players and staff alike that we can rotate to different groups like we did last game, and everybody's understanding [the tactics] to varying degrees," Hayes said on Tuesday.

With months to go before the next USWNT camp in October, Wednesday's showdown serves as the last chance for bubble players to prove their worth, all while the team aims to cap the summer window with a big win over their longtime rivals.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against Canada at 7:30 PM ET in Washington, DC.

Live coverage of the clash will air on TNT.

The Indiana Fever lifted their first trophy since 2012 on Tuesday night, winning the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup with a 74-59 upset victory over reigning Cup champs Minnesota — all while injured star guard Caitlin Clark watched from the sidelines.

To snag the win, Indiana leaned on balanced scoring, with forward Natasha Howard's 16-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Fever's five double-digit shooters.

At the same time, the Fever employed a shutdown defense, limiting the Lynx to their lowest point total of the season.

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Beyond the $500,000 payout, Tuesday's win gives the 8-8 Fever a momentum boost as the team continues contending with both high-profile departures and the limited availability of their floor general.

"We have a resilient group, you know?" Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the game. "They're tough, mentally and physically, they pull for one another. I'm just really proud."

"It felt good to get a win under gut-check circumstances," echoed guard Kelsey Mitchell. "To have so much going on and still stay consistently for each other, it was beautiful. It felt really amazing."

As for the league-leading Lynx, the Commissioner's Cup loss won't impact Minnesota's regular-season WNBA standings — and they’ll hope to build on the learnings from last night's ego blow.

Minnesota also has a bit of history one their side, as the last two Commissioner's Cup runners-up went on to win the WNBA Championship in the same year.

"We have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made, the way we showed up, the way we prepared, and make sure we don't do it again," said Lynx center Alanna Smith.

How to watch the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx this week

Neither 2025 Commissioner's Cup contender will have much time to reflect on Tuesday's game, as both Indiana and Minnesota will dive back into regular-season WNBA play on Thursday.

The Fever will host the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET, airing on Prime, before the Washington Mystics visit the Lynx at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham turned heads on Tuesday, criticizing the latest WNBA expansion plans in light of ongoing WNBPA CBA negotiations.

Cunningham drew ire from some fans after expressing skepticism about the WNBA awarding expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland over other possible cities, while also suggesting that the league might be growing too quickly.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" she told reporters ahead of Indiana's Commissioner's Cup win. "I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast."

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

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Elsewhere, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally also voiced her expansion concerns on Tuesday, calling on the WNBA to keep player support at the forefront when adding expansion teams.

"We really have to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now," she told reporters. "Maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment in their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can't really be sustained."