Star transfer Hailey Van Lith is going to be tasked with a number of jobs for LSU basketball this season.

The 22-year-old senior will be playing both guard positions, according to Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. While Van Lith traditionally has been a shooting guard, she’s also learning to be a point guard, Mulkey told Baton Rouge’s WBRZ.

“I’ve got returning players that played point last year with Alexis Morris,” Mulkey said, noting that it was actually Van Lith who wanted to learn to play the point.

“What Hailey wanted when she came here was for me to teach her the point guard position and for her to be able to do both,” Mulkey said. “Now as the season progresses, if she ends up being the true point guard and that’s where she stays then so be it. But right now I need Hailey to do both. I need her to play the point but I also need her to go back to what she’s been doing on the wing a lot because she’s a natural at that position.”

Of course, the No. 1-ranked Tigers are stacked in both guard slots. Flau’jae Johnson leads the contingent, alongside Last-Tear Poa and Kateri Poole, who are versatile guards in their own right. They also added Aneesah Morrow in the offseason, and are bringing on top prospects in Mikaylah Williams and Angelica Velez.

Still, the flexibility will be beneficial for Van Lith as she moves on to her professional career, which both she and Mulkey know. And at LSU, Van Lith is learning to not take as many shots.

“She’s a kid that shot a lot [at Louisville] because she needed to,” Mulkey said. “I think she’s quickly learning ‘I don’t have to take as many shots when I’m surrounded with these many kids that are around me that can score the ball as well.’”

To Mulkey, there are two types of point guards: those that are game managers and those that score. Van Lith, she says, is one of those that will likely be a scoring point guard.

“I think Hailey, when she is at the point, will be a scoring point guard because you don’t want to take that away from her,” she said. “But teaching her the little things, transition defense being one of them, she’s got to now change her mindset that, ‘I don’t pick up the ball in the back court. I’ve got to be the one back directing traffic like a center fielder.’ Those are the little things with playing point that the average person doesn’t understand.”

Sportico released its 2025 tennis prize money tracker late last week, and three of the annual cross-tour rankings' Top-5 earners hail from the WTA.

With $8.21 million in total 2025 earnings so far, newly minted Wimbledon winner Iga Świątek came in third behind ATP Tour giants Carlos Alcaraz ($10.63 million) and Jannik Sinner ($9.04 million).

Just behind Świątek sit reigning US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka ($7.13 million) and 2025 French Open winner Coco Gauff ($5.95 million) in fourth- and fifth-place, respectively.

Even more, a total of six women's tour standouts occupy slots in the Top 10, with Mirra Andreeva ($4.15 million), Madison Keys ($3.96 million), and Jasmine Paolini ($3.79 million) joining the previously trio in that upper echelon.

The gender parity on the list is a direct result of the fact that all four of the sport's Grand Slams boast equal prize money between the men's and women's competitions — a shift that began with the 1973 US Open and saw full adoption across the quartet of tennis majors with the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.

Now approaching two decades of Grand Slam equal pay, pro tennis players enjoy one of the highest in-competition earning potentials across all women's sports.

This year's tennis prize money rankings are far from locked in, however, as the 2025 US Open steps into its second round on Wednesday — with a record-setting $90 million total purse on the line to boost players' spots on the list.

Should world No. 1 Sabalenka defend her title — or if No. 2 Świątek or No. 3 Gauff emerges victorious in the season's final Grand Slam — a WTA player could launch herself to the top of the 2025 earnings list.

The No. 3 Las Vegas Aces are on an historic tear, extending the league's longest winning streak this season to 11 games by defeating the No. 12 Chicago Sky 79-74 on Monday night — becoming the second team to clinch a spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs in the process.

Despite a 30-point performance from Chicago guard Ariel Atkins, plus double-doubles from Sky center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Angel Reese, the Aces emerged victorious behind guard Jackie Young's team-leading 22 points.

MVP contender A'ja Wilson and veteran guard Chelsea Gray also added 18 and 14 points, respectively, to fuel the Las Vegas win.

"They've been resilient," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said following Monday's game. "It's been a really tough stretch…you're getting beat up and you've got to maintain, you have to play through it."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The Aces haven't dropped a game since August 2nd's 53-point blowout loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, racking up seven wins over teams currently in postseason positions as they climb the WNBA standings.

As for the already-eliminated Sky, Chicago did have one big reason to celebrate on Monday night, as the team raised the jersey of retired WNBA legend Candace Parker into the rafters during a halftime ceremony complete with remarks from current Phoenix Mercury star and 2021 WNBA champion Kahleah Copper.

"Today we celebrate you," Copper said to her former teammate. "You gave this game everything. Your time, your body, your heart. You didn't just play the game — you set records, you broke barriers, and you left your mark in ways stats can't fully compare."

How to watch the Las Vegas Aces this week

The No. 3 Aces have their work cut out for them as they shoot for 12 straight wins during their visit to the No. 2 Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.

The clash tips off at 7:30 PM ET with live coverage airing on NBA TV.

The No. 5 New York Liberty stopped the skid on Monday, as the reigning WNBA champions claimed a tight 81-79 victory over the No. 11 Connecticut Sun with 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart back the starting lineup.

Following her 13-game absence due to a bone bruise, Stewart scored a team-leading 19 points on Monday, offsetting Sun guard Leïla Lacan's game-high 22 points as already-eliminated Connecticut tried to play spoiler in Brooklyn.

"She's just got this relentlessness about her that can rub off on her teammates," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said of Stewart's influence. "She's got the highest motor I've ever seen in a player that just keeps going and going."

The Liberty have struggled with availability all season, losing guards Sabrina Ionescu (foot injury) and Natasha Cloud (nose fracture) to injury in the run-up to Stewart's return as the team slid down the standings.

However, Ionescu joined Stewart in returning to the Liberty court on Monday, with Cloud reportedly on track to rejoin the New York lineup later this week.

With games against the No. 10 Washington Mystics, No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, and No. 7 Golden State Valkyries looming over the next week, the Liberty are hoping their best basketball is still in front of them.

"We're in an uphill battle right now and it's not going to get any easier," Stewart said of the team's upcoming schedule.

How to watch the New York Liberty this week

The No. 5 Liberty will next take the court on Thursday, when New York will host the No. 10 Mystics at 7 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.

With the current CBA expiring in just over two months, Front Office Sports reported Monday that the prospect of the WNBA and the players' union (WNBPA) reaching a deal before the October 31st deadline is "increasingly unlikely."

"As we approach the 60-day mark, the league's lack of urgency leaves players wondering if it is focused on making this work or just running out the clock," WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson told FOS in a statement. "Fans do not want that. They are with the players in demanding a new standard for the W."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

While this year's CBA negotiations have been rocky, the inability to reach a deal in time doesn't necessarily crush the league's immediate plans.

Should they not come to an agreement, the parties will have the option to extend the original deadline in order to avoid an immediate work stoppage — so long as both the WNBA and the WNBPA sign off on the move.

There is precedent for a negotiation extension, with the WNBA and WNBPA pushing the deadline for the 2019 CBA back 60 days to allow for more time to hash out details — a move that ended in an agreement ahead of the 2020 season's free agency period.

However, the WNBA is under added pressure to turn things around.

With expansion teams in Toronto and Portland joining the league in 2026, the clock is ticking for the league to schedule and issue rules for the impending expansion draft.

Until the next CBA lays out the newly negotiated terms surrounding both expansion and free agency, the incoming Tempo and Fire will continue waiting in roster-building limbo.

Ultimately, the WNBA will do everything it can to avoid a strike, but the league will have to balance priorities as rapid growth competes with player demands.