The New York Liberty sneaked into the playoffs on the final day of the WNBA regular season thanks to two results going their way.

After the Liberty snapped their eight-game skid and beat the Washington Mystics on Friday night, they needed both the Mystics and Sparks to lose on Sunday to earn the eighth seed in the playoffs based on the head-to-head advantage. The Lynx took care of business against the Mystics and the Wings downed the Sparks, sending the Liberty to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Many of the Liberty players were watching the action closely, according to their social media accounts, and celebrated accordingly.

Jazmine Jones was quick to thank Wings guards Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale on Twitter. Ogunbowale led Dallas with 20 points, while Mabrey had 16 points and five assists in the win.

Let’s goooo!!! #DallasWings Marike great game !! @DallasWings @mmabrey1 @Arike_O pic.twitter.com/CfwOYxZb3b

— Jazmine Jones (@Jazmine_Jones4) September 19, 2021

New York’s Jones, Reshanda Gray, Michaela Onyenwere and DiDi Richards celebrated over Instagram Live.

Reshanda Gray, Jazmine Jones, Michaela Onyenwere, and DiDi Richards are celebrating the Liberty’s first playoff berth since 2017 over on IG Live. 🔥🗽 #OwnTheCrown #SeafoamPostSzn #WNBA pic.twitter.com/R8Eu13x1CL

— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) September 19, 2021

The entire Liberty team appeared to be locked in to see what their fate would be on Sunday.

Michaela Onyenwere, DiDi Richards, and Reshanda Gray are watching the game together in an apartment, while Natasha Howard is watching Wings/Sparks on her phone at a (very late) brunch right now. Whole team is locked in to the action! #OwnTheCrown #WNBA https://t.co/d5NfyVqYqf pic.twitter.com/Or843FvKfG

— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) September 19, 2021

Sabrina Ionescu posted in celebration, with the caption: “Playoffs bound, locked in…”

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A post shared by Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i)

Onyenwere then summed it all up in two words.

STAYIN ALIVE! 😤

— michaela onyenwere 🤍 (@monyenwere_) September 19, 2021

USC women's basketball is stocking up, bringing on their third No. 1 high school prospect in four years with top-ranked Saniyah Hall committing to the Trojans on Friday.

Set to join the team for the 2026/27 season, Hall follows in the footsteps of 2023 top recruit JuJu Watkins and Class of 2025 No. 1 prospect Jazzy Davidson.

USC reportedly beat out both North Carolina and UCLA in the race to secure a commitment from Hall.

The Northeast Ohio product will close out her high school career at SPIRE Academy, returning to her home state following a junior-year campaign with Montverde Academy in Florida.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who turned 17 years old on Wednesday, has also seen significant international success, first helping Team USA earn gold in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.

Hall added a 5x5 gold medal to her collection earlier this month, when the then-16-year-old set records en route to securing Team USA the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup title.

Her US U19-record 19.9 points per game — plus team-leading averages of 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.9 steals across the competition's seven games — saw the starter named tournament MVP following the July 20th championship victory.

Shortly after returning Stateside, Hall visited USC, announcing her NCAA basketball commitment almost immediately after leaving campus.

"I would say it felt like home. I loved all of my teammates," Hall told ESPN's NBA Today on Friday. "The girls there are so fun to be around."

Embattled ex-Canada women's national team coach Bev Priestman has officially left the country, relocating to New Zealand to manage A-League Women's side Wellington Phoenix FC.

"We're really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football," Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said in the club's announcement. "We all know she's had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we're really comfortable with this appointment."

In addition to her firing from Team Canada, Priestman served a one-year suspension from all football-related activities, finishing that mandatory moratorium this month.

FIFA issued the suspension after determining that Priestman was guilty of spying on opponents via illegal drone use during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"For me, I didn't feel safe, that's being brutally honest," she told reporters this week, commenting on the drone scandal's local fallout. "It was very difficult for my family and I have to live with that. I have to wear that."

The Wellington Phoenix — the lone New Zealand club competing in the top-flight Australian league — finished the 2024/25 season ninth out of 12 teams, with the young club soon setting their sights on a deeper run in their fifth season behind Priestman.

"It feels like Christmas Day to me to come back," said Priestman, whose wife, Wellington Phoenix FC academy director Emma Humphries, is a former New Zealand national team player. "I know I have to earn the trust of everybody. And I'll be working hard to do that."

Retired three-time WNBA champ Candace Parker weighed in on the current state of the league this week, making waves on her newly launched podcast Post Moves alongside fellow host and current Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston.

With CBA negotiations in full swing, Parker called this year's All-Star Game a missed opportunity for the players, although 2025 All-Star Boston challenged that perspective.

"You all cannot come out there with those shirts of 'Pay Us What You Owe Us' and then do that in the All-Star Game," Parker said, referencing the midseason matchup's lack of competitive edge.

"An All-Star Game, when we have another game in two days, I think that it's okay to go out there, hoop, and have some fun," Boston countered.

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Parker later sounded off on her recent viral moment ranking Chicago Sky star Angel Reese as "C tier" during a Complex Sports interview.

"Are you taking Angel above Paige [Bueckers]? Are you taking Angel above Arike [Ogunbowale], are you taking Angel above Sabrina [Ionescu] or Kelsey [Plum] or Caitlin [Clark] or A'ja [Wilson] or Napheesa [Collier] or Breanna [Stewart]?" Parker asked. "No. That does not make her a bad player."

"Do I think [Reese] could be up there? Yes.... Is she there now? No. And this is in no way, shape, or form hating," she said while calling out the need for objective criticism in the WNBA.

How to listen to Parker and Boston on "Post Moves"

Parker and Boston's new podcast Post Moves will drop a new episode across all major podcast platforms — including Spotify, Apple, and YouTube — every Wednesday.

Wednesday's WNBA action brought the heat, as the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx took down the No. 2 New York Liberty 100-93 in the first 2024 WNBA Finals rematch of the 2025 season.

"Fans were excited to see this matchup, and I thought they were treated to a heck of a basketball game," Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said after the home win.

Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier and guard Kayla McBride played hero, putting up 30 and 24 points, respectively, to help lift the Lynx over injury-plagued New York — despite Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu's game-leading 31-point performance.

"It could have been anybody walking in here — we just weren't going to lose two home games in a row," echoed McBride, referencing Minnesota's upset loss to the No. 5 Atlanta Dream on Sunday.

The result leaves the Liberty skidding on a three-game losing streak while ballooning the Lynx's lead in the WNBA standings to five games.

The reigning champs did manage to hang onto the No. 2 spot, however, as the No. 3 Phoenix Mercury also fell on Wednesday, dropping 107-101 to No. 6 Indiana.

With the win, the Fever are now on a three-game winning streak, despite injured star Caitlin Clark looking on from the sideline.

The No. 5 Dream are also back in the win column with an 88-85 Wednesday victory over the No. 11 Dallas Wings, drawing level with the No. 4 Seattle Storm at 16-11 on the season.

How to watch the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx this week

New York will aim to reset during their visit to the last-place Connecticut Sun at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, live on ION.

Elsewhere, Minnesota is gearing up to tip off against the No. 7 Las Vegas Aces at 3 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage on ABC.