LOS ANGELES — Backup point guard and Brittney Sykes are two phrases not often heard together, but the six-year veteran thrived in the role Tuesday night, leading the Los Angeles Sparks to a 93-91 nail-biting win over the Dallas Wings. Sykes played the position for the second consecutive game in the absences of the injured Jordin Canada and Kristi Toliver, who completed her assistant coaching duties last Thursday after the Dallas Mavericks were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.

Sykes got to the basket at will against the Wings, scoring a season-high 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting, which included seven layups. The 28-year-old guard also was 9-for-11 from the charity stripe, marking her most free-throw attempts as a Spark.

“Shoutout to ‘Fish’ for our offseason pickups, because that’s honestly what’s giving me the space to go and drive,” Sykes said after the game, referencing the attention shooters Katie Lou Samuelson and Lexie Brown get on the perimeter and that Liz Cambage receives in the paint. Head coach and GM Derek Fisher acquired all three during the WNBA offseason, raising expectations for the Sparks after two straight seasons of disappointing finishes.

In the Sparks’ 85-83 win Sunday in Minnesota, Sykes attempted just two field goals but did get to the line for six free-throw attempts. Fisher said he is continually encouraging Sykes to be aggressive, even when she’s playing point guard.

“When she sees gaps, she needs to attack and try to get to the front of the basket,” Fisher said. “We’re starting to see the potential she has to impact us offensively, and that really starts to create a balanced team that we’ve always wanted to have.”

Sykes heeded Fisher’s advice, spending much of her 26:53 on the court driving to the rack. This led to six assists, tied for Sykes’ most helpers in a Sparks uniform, and a 60-36 advantage for L.A. in points in the paint.

Fisher credits’ Sykes experience playing in Australia this past winter for her effectiveness at the point. After frequently handling the ball with the University of Canberra Capitals in the WNBL, her confidence in the role has grown even further with additional reps in the past two games.

“You’ve really seen her come into her own,” Fisher said. “We, for sure, plan to continue to explore it.”

Sykes’ most critical assist of the night came with 36 seconds left to play, when the guard crossed over Allisha Gray en route to the basket and appeared poised to try her eighth layup of the game. Instead, when Isabelle Harrison committed to Sykes, the Sparks guard made a perfect left-handed pass to an open Cambage for an easy lay-in and a 90-85 lead.

ONE FIVE WITH THE ASSIST😤💪#TimeToShow | @BrittBundlez pic.twitter.com/lrJwWBXgQ4

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) June 1, 2022

Despite holding a five-point advantage with 36 ticks on the clock, the Wings cut the deficit to 93-91 and then got the ball right back with 5.5 seconds left after Sykes was called for a questionable offensive foul as L.A. tried to inbound. On the ensuing play, Arike Ogunbowale was fouled. After missing her first free-throw attempt, she was whistled for a lane violation after pump-faking what would have been her second try.

Following the victory, Sykes was interviewed on the court and hugged comedian and Sparks superfan Leslie Jones. Seeing this, a group of teenage girls ran down the sideline to the corner of the court, where the night’s leading hugger also met them with hugs.

Prior to Wednesday’s game, Fisher said that it felt like his team had played “every minute of every day” thus far this season. On Thursday, the 5-6 Sparks will enjoy a rare break before preparing for Sunday’s matchup with the Phoenix Mercury, and the star of the game has big plans for her day off.

“Sleep, eat, sleep,” Sykes said with a smile. “Maybe a little NormaTec (a compression device for recovery and rehabilitation).”

Joshua Fischman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. He has covered basketball for Vantage Sports and Hoops Rumors and served as co-host of “On the NBA Beat” podcast. Joshua received his master’s in Sports Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @JJTheJuggernaut.

No. 3 South Carolina basketball suffered a blow this week, as top transfer Ta'Niya Latson exited the Gamecocks' 96-55 win over Providence with a lower leg injury on Sunday.

"She's smiling," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said of Latson immediately following the game, offering an optimistic injury update. "She got treatment all through the second half."

The star senior guard, who turned 22 years old last Friday, joined South Carolina after leading Division I in scoring with Florida State last season.

This year, Latson's 16.9 points per game trails only sophomore forward Joyce Edwards's 21.4-point average on the Gamecocks' scoresheet.

While the full extent to Latson's injury and her potential time off the court is still unknown, any absence exacerbates the team's injury woes, as South Carolina lost standout forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending injury before the 2025/26 campaign tipped off — with the Gamecocks battling additional availability limits throughout their roster all month.

That said, with the recent returns of forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer from concussion protocol, the Gamecock bench is significantly less sparse, with both returnees impacting Sunday's South Carolina victory with a double-double.

Even more, Staley's squad will see additional roster relief when 18-year-old French center Alicia Tournebize joins the team midseason.

How to watch South Carolina basketball this week

The No. 3 Gamecocks will open the new year by tipping off their SEC slate on Thursday, when South Carolina hosts unranked Alabama at 2 PM ET.

The clash with the Crimson Tide will air live on SEC+.

The world's tennis stars are preparing to open 2026 play in Australia this weekend, with top WTA and ATP leaders on Team USA gearing up to defend their United Cup title starting this Friday.

The two-time champion US enters as the No. 1 seed in the fourth edition of the hard-court tournament, bolstered by the return of world No. 3 Coco Gauff to lead Team USA's six-player United Cup contingent.

With each tournament bout consisting of one WTA singles match, one ATP singles clash, and one mixed-doubles competition, Gauff notably claimed a straight-sets victory over Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek to secure the 2025 title for the US.

"I'm super excited," the 21-year-old star said prior to this year's United Cup. "I had such a good time in my first year playing with the team, and I'm looking forward to going back."

With the 2026 Australian Open beginning in less than two weeks, the United Cup pits 18 national teams against each other as players from both the women's and men's tours tune up for next year's Slams.

Fellow WTA Top-10 stars Świątek and Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini will join Gauff on the 2026 United Cup court, while fan favorite No. 16 Naomi Osaka will feature for tournament debutant Japan.

Also battling for national pride will be two winners of last season's WTA awards, with 2025 Newcomer of the Year No. 18 Vicky Mboko joining Team Canada and 2025 Comeback Player of the Year No. 11 Belinda Bencic competing for Switzerland.

How to watch the 2026 United Cup

The 2026 United Cup runs January 2nd through 11th, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.

The No. 3 Minnesota Frost are looking to skate up the PWHL table, as the reigning back-to-back champs hope to make up ground before the third-year league breaks for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Eight games into the 2025/26 season, the Boston Fleet top the PWHL standings with 19 points, trailed by the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres with 14, while the No. 4 Montréal Victoire sit one point behind the Frost with 11.

"Our league is good. Every game is going to be close," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said last week. "It's just about getting better and keep accumulating points."

With the league's original six teams largely off to a hot start, there's only a few weeks left before players hang up their PWHL jerseys for February's Winter Games.

Teams outside the current playoff chase are also making a statement, as New York Sirens forward Casey O'Brien scored her first pro goals to power the sixth-place squad past the No. 5 Seattle Torrent 4-3 on Sunday — becoming the first rookie to record a hat trick in PWHL history in the process.

"We've been putting in a lot of work in practice and video, focusing on the little things," O'Brien said postgame. "Tonight felt like the payoff."

How to watch this week's PWHL action

The puck drops on the final 2025 PWHL matches on Tuesday, when the No. 3 Minnesota Frost visit the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres at 7 PM ET, airing live on Prime.

Closing out the year on Wednesday, the No. 6 New York Sirens will host the No. 7 Vancouver Goldeneyes at 1 PM ET, with live coverage airing on MSG Network.

San Diego made roster waves this week, as the 2022 NWSL expansion team announced on Monday that founding goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan is leaving the franchise in a mutual contract termination.

Sheridan joined the Wave ahead of the club's inaugural year, making 87 appearances over four seasons while registering nine shutouts in the team's 2023 Shield-winning campaign.

"Kailen has been an integral part of this Club since day one," Wave sporting director Camille Ashton said in a Monday statement. "We thank her for the contributions to this Club and this city and wish her the best in the next chapter of her career."

While San Diego hunts for a new starting keeper, they pointed to the future by also announcing the signing of Florida State defender Mimi Van Zanten on Monday.

Van Zanten is fresh off her second NCAA championship in three seasons, building youth experience with the USWNT before joining the Jamaica senior women's national team.

"Her championship experience and ability to contribute on both sides of the ball make her a strong addition to the Wave," Ashton remarked about the 20-year-old.

Ultimately, while San Diego has long had an aggressive transfer market approach, the move away from their 2023 Shield-winning core raises questions about the future of the Wave roster.