Sylvia Fowles made her final regular-season appearance in Chicago on Sunday. While the Lynx fell to the Sky behind a game-sealing dagger from Courtney Vandersloot, the contest still held special meaning for Fowles, who is set to retire at the end of the season.

The matchup served as a homecoming for Fowles, who was selected second overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA draft. The 36-year-old played with Chicago for seven seasons before joining the Minnesota Lynx in 2015.

A throne (recliner 😅) fit for a legend.

Welcome back, @SylviaFowles. And thank you. 💙#skytown pic.twitter.com/CLtkKqsqSF

— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) June 26, 2022

The Sky celebrated Fowles’ final stop at Wintrust Arena. Ahead of the game, Chicago presented Fowles with a framed Sky jersey with her name and number, as well as a recliner and a knitting kit to help her relax in her retirement. The team also played a video tribute for the star center.

After the game, Fowles received a personal gift from Candace Parker’s mom. Sara Parker appeared to present the Lynx icon with a scrapbook after the game. Fowles and Parker have a storied rivalry that dates back to their days at LSU and Tennessee, respectively, when they battled it out in the SEC.

Such a beautiful moment. @Candace_Parker's mom gave @SylviaFowles a gift at the end of her last regular season game in Chicago. CP and Syl have had some incredible battles over the years. Two of the greatest ever. #WNBATwitter #Skytown pic.twitter.com/wLhupSpGON

— Alexis (@alexishoopss) June 27, 2022

Vandersloot, who played with Fowles in Chicago from 2011-2014, also paid tribute to her after Sunday’s contest, telling reporters that Fowles “laid the foundation” for the Sky.

“She was one the originals when I was here, and she was young, and she was all about winning,” said Vandersloot of Fowles. “Her intensity taught me a lot. She just wanted to win at all costs, and I think that’s what makes her really, really special is that she’ll do anything for the team, anything to win, and everywhere she goes, she wins, and she’ll continue that after her career.”

The No. 3 UCLA Bruins rose to the occasion on Monday, looking like 2025/26 NCAA basketball championship contenders as they took down the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners 73-59 in Sacramento.

Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens made the difference for the Bruins, leading all scorers with 20 points while opposing defenses limited both UCLA center Lauren Betts and Oklahoma big Raegan Beers to single digits.

Bruins forward Angela Dugalić also put up a standout performance, coming off the bench to score 16 points and snag 15 rebounds on Monday.

"There are so many weapons that I feel like it's hard for the defense to choose what to take away," Kneepkens said ahead of Monday's matchup. "What makes this team special is that any night could be someone's night."

Monday's clash with UCLA also served as the national broadcast debut of Oklahoma freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez, with the No. 1 high school basketball recruit seeing her first Top 10 NCAA matchup as a Sooner.

Chavez had a slow start against the experienced Bruins, registering 11 points, three assists, and two rebounds across her 32 minutes on the court.

How to watch UCLA basketball this week

The heat continues for No. 3 UCLA on Thursday, when the Bruins will host the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels at 9 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

Newly formed offseason league Project B is stocking up, with Phoenix Mercury star forward Alyssa Thomas becoming the second big-name WNBA player to sign with the overseas venture ahead of its anticipated November 2026 debut.

Thomas follows Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike in joining Project B, a traveling tournament-style competition reportedly offering players significant pay raises into the seven- and even eight-figure echelon — as well as equity stakes in the league.

Thomas will still feature in the 2026 season of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball this January, with the launch of Project B expected to conflict with Unrivaled's third season in 2027.

With salaries reportedly topping both Unrivaled and the WNBA, Project B's funding sources came into question after Ogwumike's announcement last week.

In February, The Financial Times named Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund as a league investor, though Project B co-founder Grady Burnett denied those claims to Front Office Sports last week.

However, the league is working with event partner Sela, a known subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, though Burnett was quick to qualify that "Sela is one event partner that we pay money to. We do not have any dollars coming from them."

With the first season of Project B set to field 66 players, expect more high-profile signings to continue as the new venture adds to the increasingly crowded WNBA offseason space.

The PWHL is hitting the road once again, with the newly expanded third-year league adding seven new markets to the 2025/26 season's neutral-site Takeover Tour.

Across 16 regular-season matchups running from December 17th through April 7th, the pro hockey upstart will visit Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Washington, DC, for the first time, with Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, and Québec City returning to this season's lineup.

"The passion and support from fans, and the enthusiasm from cities eager to engage with our league, have fueled our ambition to grow the Tour for Season Three," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said in Monday's league statement.

The inaugural 2024/25 PWHL Takeover Tour drew 123,601 fans across nine games, setting a new US pro women's hockey single-game attendance record when a crowd of 14,288 packed Detroit's Little Caesars Arena in March.

The success underlines the sport's booming popularity, with PWHL expansion teams Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes joining the league's founding six clubs later this month after serving as Takeover Tour stops last season — setting a precedent for potential future markets.

"We're going to expand at least two to four teams next year," Scheer recently told members at an Ottawa City Council meeting. "We are in growth mode, and this league is exploding."

How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour

The 2025/26 Takeover Tour ticket pre-sale kicks off on Thursday, with host markets opening general sales to all tour dates via thepwhl.com at 10 AM local time on Friday.

The NWSL dropped its end-of-year award shortlists on Monday, as the league gives standout players and coaches props for a quality 2025 regular season.

Back-to-back Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga is up for her second straight NWSL MVP award, with the Current star joined by San Diego Wave forward Delphine Cascarino, Gotham striker Esther González, North Carolina Courage attacker Manaka Matsukubo, and fellow Kansas City forward Bia Zaneratto as international front line stars swept the 2025 MVP shortlist.

Matsukubo is also up for 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year alongside Kenza Dali (San Diego), Debinha (Kansas City), Claire Hutton (Kansas City), and Olivia Moultrie (Portland).

Following a record-breaking 2025 NWSL Shield win, the Current received a league-leading eight nominations, with the aforementioned Chawinga, Zaneratto, Debinha, and Hutton joined by Goalkeeper of the Year nominee Lorena, Coach of the Year candidate Vlatko Andonovski, and Defender of the Year shortlisters Kayla Sharples and Izzy Rodriguez.

Notably, the defending champion Orlando Pride is the only club in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs to field zero end-of-season nods, while only Matsukubo, Rookie of the Year nominee Riley Tiernan (Angel City), and Defender of the Year candidate Avery Patterson (Houston Dash) represent teams finishing below the postseason cutoff line.

How to vote for the 2025 NWSL Awards

A weighted scale of players (40%), coaches and leadership (25%), media (25%), and fans (10%) will determine the 2025 NWSL award winners as well as the league's Best XI First and Second Teams, all of which will be revealed in a live ESPN2 broadcast at 5:30 PM ET on Wednesday, November 19th.

Fan voting for the 2025 NWSL Awards is open until 8 PM ET on Wednesday, November 12th.

The 2025 NWSL Award Shortlists

• Most Valuable Player: Delphine Cascarino (San Diego Wave), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current), Esther González (Gotham FC), Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage), Bia Zaneratto (Kansas City Current)

• Midfielder of the Year:  Kenza Dali (San Diego Wave), Debinha (Kansas City Current), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns)

• Defender of the Year: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Izzy Rodriguez (Kansas City Current), Kayla Sharples (Kansas City Current)

• Goalkeeper of the Year: Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Lorena (Kansas City Current)

• Rookie of the Year:  Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC), Riley Tiernan (Angel City)

• Coach of the Year: Vlatko Andonovski (Kansas City Current), Adrián González (Washington Spirit), Beverly Yanez (Racing Louisville)