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Kahleah Copper, Sky’s ’emotional leader,’ takes them to the brink of WNBA Finals

Chicago Sky guard and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper is an unrestricted free agent. (Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Sky faced their biggest deficit of the game with 8:06 remaining in the fourth quarter Sunday. After Kaila Charles’ jumper extended the Sun’s lead to seven in Game 3 of a WNBA semifinal series tied at one, the Sky needed an answer for Connecticut’s offensive momentum.

Kahleah Copper lamented her lack of energy after Chicago’s loss in Game 2. The Sky’s “emotional leader,” as coach James Wade referred to her after the game, took that feeling into Sunday’s game, leading the Sky’s 86-83 comeback win over the Sun with nine points in the fourth quarter.

“Kah’s energy was infectious,” Wade said. “She was really good everywhere — defensively, offensively, when we needed big plays. Her and [Allie] Quigley made them and it kept us in the game.”

Copper led all scorers with 26 points, tying her season-high, on an efficient 9-for-14 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. None of those points were more important than in the middle of the fourth quarter, when it looked like the No. 1 Sun might pull away behind DeWanna Bonner’s slick shooting and the latest act in Alyssa Thomas’ comeback tour.

Copper started chipping away at the Sun’s lead with just under seven minutes left in the game.

She hit a long jumper and drove the lane for a layup to pull the Sky within three. After Azurá Stevens gave Chicago a one-point lead with a layup at the 4:10 mark, Copper delivered the dagger, putting Connecticut in a hole it wouldn’t escape.

The 6-foot-1 forward went hard to the basket, beating Jasmine Thomas one-on-one and drawing the foul on the basket to energize her teammates and the crowd at Wintrust Arena. With Copper’s three-point play, the Sky took a 78-74 lead.

“She was the recipient of some of our schemes, but she took advantage of it and had a great night and was really a spark for them,” Sun coach Curt Miller said of Copper. “You see why throughout the regular season she was their leading scorer.”

Copper has been with the Sky since 2017, playing under Wade since he took over as head coach in 2019. It wasn’t until last year during the WNBA’s bubble season that Copper became a full-time starter and her potential was finally on full display. The Rutgers product averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2020, up from her previous season-high averages of 7.1 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Copper, 27, carried that momentum into this season, serving as one of Chicago’s many threats next to Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker.

“When Kah is like that, it’s hard not to just jump on board with her. It’s so contagious,” Vandersloot said. “She’s obviously a very special athlete, but when she is like that emotionally, she’s so much fun to play with.”

“I love the and-ones, but I think it’s just the little stuff that she does that people don’t notice, like getting through screens really quick, getting that huge defensive rebound where [Briann] January had to foul her,” Parker said. “It’s been really fun and new for me to jump on that energy.”

With the Sky now one win away from the WNBA Finals, Copper is taking her role especially seriously. She and the Sky not only feel like they’re playing their best basketball right now — they also look around the room after a win like Sunday’s and believe they have all the right pieces to win the first championship in franchise history.

“Sloot said something in the locker room just a couple seconds ago about her enjoying my and-one more than me,” said Copper, seated next to Parker and Vandersloot during the postgame press conference. “That is the ultimate leadership. The piece that we need in order to win a championship is celebrating others.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can out there, just be that person for us.”

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

JWS to Host 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend Event Featuring Captain Napheesa Collier

Graphic for Just Women's Sports event with Lisa Leslie at 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend.
The JWS WNBA All-Star Weekend activation tips off on July 19th. (JWS)

Just Women’s Sports is heading to WNBA All-Star Weekend with its most ambitious event presence yet.

JWS will tip off a multi-faceted WNBA All-Star activation in partnership with Famous Footwear on Saturday July 19th from 2 PM to 6 PM, located at 110 South Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis.

JWS’ partnership with Famous Footwear includes a multi-part activation designed to merge back-to-school excitement with All-Star energy.

Graphic for JWS podcast Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.
JWS is bringing a live taping of "Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie" to WNBA All-Star Weekend. (JWS)

"Between the Lines" live taping headlines WNBA All-Star event

The activation will also feature a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

The exclusive taping brings WNBA stars Napheesa Collier, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull to the stage. Subsequently, these basketball icons will highlight the WNBA’s evolution and cultural resonance, while JWS captures the best moments across its social platforms.

“WNBA All-Star has become the crown jewel of the women’s sports calendar. We’re thrilled to be showing up in a major way across the entire weekend,” said Just Women’s Sports CEO Haley Rosen.

“This is a chance to celebrate and accelerate the strides the W has made in recent years as it’s cemented itself in the cultural landscape.”

Graphic image of the JWS x Famous Footwear WNBA All-Star Weekend tunnel walk.

Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel lands in Indianapolis

The star-studded activation features player interviews, exclusive giveaways, fan contests, and more. It is also free and open to all WNBA fans. Visitors will be greeted by a Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel — and the first 50 fans will be given a gift-card to Famous Footwear for their back-to-school needs.

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and her son recently visited a Famous Footwear store to shop sneakers and talk all things style, school, and sport. The behind-the-scenes content will roll out as part of a broader back-to-school campaign later this month.

“As big fans of women’s sports ourselves, and knowing how much it means to our customers, we are thrilled to partner with JWS for All-Star Weekend,” said Holly Campbell, senior vice president of marketing at Famous Footwear.

“This activation provides a unique opportunity for us to engage with other sports fans directly fostering connections and creating fun memories during such an exciting time for the league.”

Marta Weighs 2027 World Cup as Brazil Hunts 2025 Copa América Title

Legendary Brazil captain Marta runs across the pitch during a 2025 match.
Marta unretired to join Brazil at the 2025 Copa América tournament. (Paulo Dias/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Though international retirement did not stick for Brazil legend Marta, with the 39-year-old currently captaining her world No. 4 national team at the 2025 Copa América tournament, her World Cup future remains in question.

Brazil will be hosting the 2027 event — the first ever held in South America — with the record-breaking attacker turning 41 years old a few months before the World Cup's June 24th kickoff.

"I don't know whether I'll still be playing in 2027 or whether I'll be fit," she told Brazilian outlet Globo on Sunday.

"I still have a very strong desire to be a mother. So, I might wake up one day and decide to call my doctor to see if it's still possible. If it is, then bye, I have to go."

Should she decide to compete, Marta will join fellow Brazilian icon Formiga in logging seven total World Cups — the most of any athlete, man or woman, in soccer history.

In the meantime, the country's all-time leading goalscorer is currently working to help claim Brazil's ninth overall Copa América trophy.

Though early in the 2025 tournament, the Seleção is already on their way to a fifth straight title, opening their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of No. 48 Venezuela on Sunday.

"Brazil is the favorite, and we know it," said Marta. "We know our responsibility to bring home the title." 

How to watch Marta in the 2025 Copa América tournament

In their second of four group-stage matches, No. 4 Brazil will play No. 105 Bolivia at 5 PM ET on Wednesday.

The match will air live on FS1.

WNBA Expansion Team Portland Reignites Original “Fire” Name

A graphic of the revived Portland Fire team name.
The 2026 WNBA expansion team is leaning into its roots by reviving the original team name, the Portland Fire. (Portland Fire)

Portland's original WNBA team name is back, with the 2026 expansion side announcing the return of the the Portland Fire moniker on Tuesday — the name held by the city's first WNBA squad from 2000 to 2002.

With details including a "Rose on Fire" emblem— a nod to Portland's "Rose City" nickname — the city-specific nods in the new logo seek to capture Portland's identity.

"[It's] an important heritage," team interim president Clare Hamill told The Athletic this week. "The opportunity to bring the Portland Fire back, reborn, was 100 percent — creatively and for the brand and for fans — the way to go."

While the team is still searching for its head coach and general manager, excitement is growing, with fans anteing up to the tune of over 10,000 season-ticket deposits since the WNBA awarded the franchise last fall.

"Portland has long stood at the forefront of women's sports, and with nearly 11,000 season ticket deposits to-date, this community has made it clear they're ready to embrace the return of women's professional basketball," said Lisa Bhathal Merage, a co-founder of RAJ Sports — the ownership group of both the WNBA team and the NWSL's Thorns. "We're proud to reignite the Portland Fire."

In addition to the Portland Fire, the Toronto Tempo will hit WNBA courts next season, with three more expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia set to tip off in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.

2025 Euro Quarterfinals Take the Pitch

Italy's Elisabetta Oliviero celebrates a goal with her teammates during a 2025 Euro match.
The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off with Italy facing Norway on Wednesday. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off on Wednesday, with the eight remaining contenders sitting just three wins away from becoming champions of Europe.

While every win-or-go-home game promises excitement, a few of this week's matchups hold extra intrigue:

  • No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): After winning Group A last week, a wobbly yet talented Norway side will kick off the 2025 Euro quarterfinals against second-place Group B team Italy — a squad with a proven ability to hit a counterpunch should they go down early.
  • No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England, Thursday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Sweden looked utterly dominant in their 4-1 dismantling of Germany to win Group C on Saturday, and their reward is a date with the reigning champions, who bounced back from an early loss to France.
  • No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland, Friday at 3 PM ET (FOX): The 2023 World Cup champs have looked like the favorites to win it all by cruising through Group B, while a stoppage-time goal last Thursday sent the tournament hosts to their first-ever Euro quarterfinal.
  • No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany, Saturday at 3 PM ET (FOX): France emerged unscathed from the notorious "Group of Death," earning the Group D winners an advantage of momentum over a German side reeling from their 4-1 group-stage loss to Sweden.

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