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How Jackie Young has taken her game to the next level: WNBA Film Room

Jackie Young has found the confidence to shoot from deep for the 7-1 Aces. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Nearly two and a half weeks into the WNBA season, we are getting more clarity on the makeup of the league. Key players returned to their teams in the past week, like Kayla McBride to Minnesota and Kahleah Copper to Chicago, giving us a better understanding of how those sides will look closer to 100 percent.

We’re also seeing a clearer separation between the consistent rosters — Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky — and the organizations that are still figuring out their team dynamics — Minnesota Lynx, Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the past week of WNBA action.

Jackie Young is playing like an MVP and MIP

I have always considered Jackie Young to be the X-factor for the Aces with the way she can impact the game offensively and defensively. Young is playing the best and most efficient basketball of her career so far this season, leading the 7-1 Aces in scoring and sitting third in the league with 19.3 points per game.

The 6-foot guard, with her quiet demeanor, often flies under the radar on a flashy Las Vegas team, and what she does on the floor does not always show up on the stat sheet. But when you look at the numbers, Young has cemented herself as a focal point of an offense that’s thriving under first-year head coach Becky Hammon.

One of the biggest differences with Young’s play in her fourth WNBA season is her production from beyond the 3-point line. Prior to this year, her offensive game centered on getting into the paint and creating shots closer to the rim. She averaged under one 3-point attempt a game a year ago. Now, she’s showing off an expanded skill set and a scorer’s mentality, with the confidence to be a major threat from the perimeter.

2021 vs. 2022 Stats

Scoring: 12.2 — 19.3
3-point %: 25 — 50.0
3-point attempts: 0.6 — 3.0
FG %: 50.5 — 56.4
Assists: 3.2 — 3.9
Steals: 1.1 — 1.8
Minutes: 31.8 — 33.4
FG attempts: 9.6 — 11.8

Young’s offensive evolution is evident when looking at her shot chart in the Aces’ 93-87 win over the Lynx last week versus one from a game against the Lynx last season. On Thursday, she finished with a season-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from the 3-point line.

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The Connecticut Sun haven’t skipped a beat

The Sun dropped their first game against the New York Liberty without Courtney Williams and DeWanna Bonner but have been rolling ever since, winning their last four in a row to move into second place in the WNBA standings.

With their roster now fully intact, the Sun are showing how hungry they are for their first championship. For Connecticut, it always starts with discipline on the defensive end of the floor. The Sun lead the league with 11.6 steals per game and a 90.5 defensive rating, and they are holding their opponents to a league-low 72.2 points per game.

While their stingy defense has become their identity, the Sun’s offensive production through five games impresses me the most. Playing at a much faster pace this season, Connecticut leads the league with 27.4 points per game off turnovers and is second with 86.8 points per game. They also lead the league with 11.4 offensive boards per game and are second with 14 second-chance points a game, indicating how important it is for their half-court execution to score in transition.

The Sun have a wealth of weapons who can go off on any given night, but much of the offensive firepower we are seeing early on can be attributed to Alyssa Thomas. Returning at full strength this season after having surgery on a torn Achilles tendon last year, Thomas currently leads Connecticut with 19 points per game and is shooting a career-best 60.7 percent from the field. Thomas’ reemergence combined with Courtney Williams’ return to Connecticut have helped the Sun thwart their opponents with an up-tempo game.

Here is a look at the Sun’s production in a few key areas this season compared to last.

2021 vs. 2022 Stats

Points per game: 79.7 (8th) — 86.8 (2nd)
Offensive rebounds: 9.7 (3rd) — 11.4 (1st)
3-point %: 35.7 (4th) — 39.3 (2nd)
FG %: 44.4 (5th) — 45.1 (4th)
Steals: 7.8 (3rd) — 11.6 (1st)

Play of the week

Kayla McBride had been in the U.S. for less than 32 hours after flying from Istanbul to Los Angeles to join the Lynx for tipoff against the Sparks last Tuesday. McBride exploded for 24 points, going 4-for-7 from the 3-point line to lead the Lynx to their first win of the season. This was the final play drawn up for McBride in a timeout that ultimately put Minnesota ahead by three.

The Lynx executed this action to near perfection, and McBride did a great job of reading the handoff. Depending on how Brittney Sykes and Nneka Ogwumike defended it, Minnesota had several quick options out of the action.

Option 1: Dribble handoff to drive or open pass. Option 2: McBride reads how the defense is playing them and can flare back for an open look. Option 3: If the defense over-commits to McBride, Shepard might be able to face up and attack off the dribble herself, draw the defense and potentially kick it to open shooters.

Ultimately, Sykes and Ogwumike hesitated for a brief second when Shepard had the ball, leaving McBride with an open cut to the rim. She handled the pass and finished a reverse layup to avoid a trailing Sykes block.

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Week 3 Power Rankings

  1. Las Vegas Aces (7-1) +1
  2. Connecticut Sun (4-1) +2
  3. Chicago Sky (3-2) —
  4. Washington Mystics (5-2) -3
  5. Seattle Storm (3-3) +4
  6. Dallas Wings (4-2) +1
  7. Atlanta Dream (4-2) -2
  8. Phoenix Mercury (2-4) -2
  9. Minnesota Lynx (1-6) +3
  10. Los Angeles Sparks (2-5) -2
  11. New York Liberty (1-4) —
  12. Indiana Fever (2-6) -2

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

USWNT to face Costa Rica in final Olympic send-off

uswnt sophia smith and tierna davidson celebrate at shebeilves cup 2024
The USWNT will play their final pre-Olympic friendly against Costa Rica on July 16th. (Photo by Greg Bartram/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA start to serve as 2024 Olympic tryout

Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christie Sides during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024
The talented Fever rookie is still in the running for a ticket to this summer's Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

WNBA teams make history with 2024 season ticket sell-outs

Arike Ogunbowale on the wnba court for the dallas wings
The Dallas Wings are now the third team to sell out their entire season ticket allotment in WNBA history. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

Nelly Korda ties LPGA record with fifth-straight tournament win

Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning The Chevron Championship
Nelly Korda poses with her trophy after acing her fifth-straight tour title at The Chevron Championship on Sunday. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.

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