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As Candace Parker elevates her game again, there are no words

Parker had a team-high 22 points in the Sky’s win in Game 2 of the semifinals Wednesday. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Before taking the court for Game 2 of the semifinals against the Connecticut Sun, Candace Parker and Allie Quigley took a moment to reflect on their careers.

The two veterans have 28 years of WNBA experience between them, and last year they won a title together. The difficulty of capturing a championship isn’t lost on them.

“It took her eight years to get to the Finals,” Parker said. “It took me eight years to get to the Finals. You have an opportunity, this team has an opportunity. We can’t not seize the opportunity.”

Two games into the best-of-five semifinals series, Parker has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

In Chicago’s Game 1 loss Sunday, she was a high-voltage bright spot, finishing with 19 points, 18 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and four steals. And in Game 2 on Wednesday night, she willed the Sky to an 85-77 win with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Parker has been a key piece to the Sky’s success all season, but she’s reached a new level in the postseason. Her points per game are up from 13.2 in the regular season to 16.8 in the playoffs, and her rebounding average has increased from 8.6 to 11.4.

While Parker tries to bring the same level of intensity to every contest, she admits that the playoffs have always added an extra spark to her game.

“This time of year is my favorite,” she said Wednesday, her face lighting up. “It’s so much fun. I remember in college, coach (Pat Summitt) getting mad at me in the regular season because I just couldn’t wait to get to the NCAA Tournament. And it’s the same with the WNBA playoffs.”

What’s more, the NCAA Tournament and the WNBA Finals appear to love her back.

At Tennessee, Parker won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008. And though it took her eight years to reach her first WNBA Finals with the Sparks, Parker now has two championships and a Finals MVP trophy to her name.

But the 14-year pro wants at least one more, and the first step to securing a third WNBA title is getting past the Sun in the semifinals.

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Parker and Courtney Vandersloot are looking to repeat as WNBA champions. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Game 1 proved to be a wake-up call for the Sky despite a dominant individual performance from Parker. Chicago lacked the balance it has had all season, with just three reaching double-digit scoring — Parker (19), Kahleah Copper (13) and Emma Meesseman (10).

In Game 2, Parker was a force once again, but so were the rest of her teammates. All five Sky starters finished in double figures and Chicago shot 50.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, a huge increase from the 35.3 percent from 2 and 26.7 percent from 3 they posted on Sunday.

“I don’t think we had the right mentality in Game 1,” Parker said. “I think we were relaxed in shootaround and in film. That whole day I didn’t think we had the right mentality, and it showed.”

On Wednesday, the Sky looked like themselves from the start. And by the end of the first quarter, they held a 10-point advantage.

They made extra passes, cut hard to the rim and found open shooters. When the Sky are playing their game, it’s a beautiful brand of basketball.

The Sun get no joy out of that beauty. It’s a cause for concern as the series heads to Connecticut for Game 3 on Sunday.

Curt Miller has preached the importance of his team creating a messy, chaotic game. To win the series, the Sun need to stop Chicago’s offensive flow, something they failed to do in Game 2.

“They were getting everything they wanted,” Sun guard Natisha Hiedeman said. “We didn’t come out with the same energy. We were stagnant a little bit.”

After Parker’s heroic effort in Game 1, the Sun put an emphasis on guarding her. But like the rest of the Sky, she got everything she wanted.

And when Parker gets going, it’s bad news for opponents. That’s something Sun coach Curt Miller knows well. He was an assistant for the Sparks in 2015, a year before he became the head coach for Connecticut and six years before Parker left the team in free agency to join the Sky.

Parker was already in the prime of her career and just one season away from winning her first WNBA title, but according to Miller, the Parker he sees today at 36 is in some ways a better version than the Parker he coached at 29.

“Her fitness and strength, and the intangibles that she’s added late in her career is impressive,” he said. “She is really fit and plays with a really high motor. She’s physical. She just doesn’t take plays off anymore, and it is just impressive to watch.”

Parker recorded her 25th 20-point playoff game on Wednesday, adding another accolade to an already long list of accomplishments. In the postgame press conferences, reporters did their best to glean information about Parker’s greatness from her teammates.

“She’s had so many different great games,” Meesseman said. “And even if she’s having less stats, she is still doing so many great things on the court, like being a great leader. So, I don’t think there are enough words.”

Then, Meesseman cracked a smile: “I think that’s your job,” she said to reporters, “To find the words.”

But what can you write that Parker hasn’t already said on the court?

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

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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