All Scores

Ex-WNBA star Liz Cambage signs $1 million contract to play in China

(Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Liz Cambage is returning to the basketball court. The former WNBA star has signed a three-month contract worth $1 million to join Chinese team Sichuan.

The contract is set to begin next year, per a report from an Australian newspaper, includes significant bonus clauses in addition to the base salary.

Cambage, who left the WNBA in July 2022 after a fallout with the Los Angeles Sparks, has criticized the U.S. league for its low salaries. The WNBA supermax salary for 2024 is set at $241,984, a quarter of what Cambage is set to make for her stint in China.

Conflict on and off the court marred Cambage’s time with the Sparks. Reports emerged of Cambage criticizing teammates, expressing discontent with her role on the team and taking a jersey number from a teammate. The 32-year-old center also had a falling out with the Australian national team following allegations of racism toward the Nigerian national team.

Cambage signed with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod, a team in Israel’s Division I league, in March.

Her next international gig is a return to familiar territory for Cambage, who has spent significant time playing in China. She joined the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association back in 2012, and she also has played for the Beijing Great Wall and Shanghai Swordfish. Her last stint in China was with the Shanxi Flame from 2018 to 2019.

“I have always loved my time in China and I am really looking forward to getting out onto the court again,” she told Australia’s Herald Sun. “It’s one of the strongest leagues in the world and I have played many seasons there over the years.”

Angelina, Morgan Weaver Avoid Season-Ending Injuries

nwsl Portland Thorns forward Morgan Weaver
Portland Thorns forward Morgan Weaver has been cleared of season-ending injury concerns. (Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports)

Two NWSL teams avoided some major setbacks on Thursday, as both Portland’s Morgan Weaver and Orlando’s Angelina were cleared of season-ending injuries after undergoing scope procedures earlier this week. 

Angelina has been described by her club as "week-to-week," while Weaver has been placed on Portland’s 45-day injury list. 

The Thorns won their May 4th game without Weaver 2-1, continuing their season turnaround, while the Pride remain one of two unbeaten teams in the NWSL.

In other injury list news, Christen Press posted a video on Thursday of her running with a trainer and doing drills, providing further updates on her road back from a June 2022 ACL tear.

Angel City coach Becki Tweed has told reporters that Press is back with the team, but has not issued a timetable for her return to the field.

New WNBA Team Reportedly Coming to Toronto in 2026

wnba 2023 canada exhibition game in toronto
After seeing huge success with preseason games in Canada, the WNBA is setting its sights north of the border. (Jordan Jones/NBAE via Getty Images)

A group led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum will bring a new WNBA franchise to Canada, CBC Sports reported early this morning. 

Set to begin play in 2026, the team will be owned and operated by Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Inc. Tanenbaum is a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, Argos, and Marlies. He originally explored an expansion team via MLSE, but was turned down by other members of the board. 

The Toronto addition will be the WNBA's 14th team. It follows the Bay Area's WNBA Golden State, which will debut in 2025. 

An official announcement is expected May 23rd in Toronto, according to reports. 

"We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets but have no news to report at this time," a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement. Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports group, meanwhile, told CBC Sports that his organization has “no update at this time.”

In April, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that Toronto was among the cities being considered for WNBA expansion.

The WNBA has a growing footprint in Canada, as the league's held wildly successful exhibition games north of the US border for the last two seasons. 

In 2023, a preseason matchup between Chicago and Minnesota sold out Toronto’s 19,800-capacity Scotiabank Arena. This past Saturday, the league drew more than 16,000 fans to Edmonton for a preseason showdown between LA and Seattle.

The Toronto team will reportedly play at Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000-seat arena which is currently home to the Marlies as well as Toronto’s PWHL franchise.

Las Vegas Aces Make White House Return After Back-to-Back WNBA Titles

president biden with las vegas aces a'ja wilson at white house 2023 wnba championship celebration
President Joe Biden welcomed A'ja Wilson and the rest of the 2023 WNBA Champion Aces back to the White House. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The Las Vegas Aces took to the White House yet again on Thursday to celebrate their 2023 WNBA championship victory

The decorated team was hosted by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden, marking the first time the Bidens have welcomed the team personally.

Last year, Harris hosted the Aces after the Bidens were unable to attend due to a last minute conflict. Harris applauded the team for their 2022 win, pointing to the "grit and determination" they showcased en route to their WNBA Finals win over Connecticut. 

The Aces won back-to-back championships in 2023, becoming the first WNBA franchise to repeat the feat since 2002. More impressively, they did so without 2022 Finals MVP Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes, both of whom were sidelined with injuries for the title-clinching Game 4. Star forward A’ja Wilson ended up claiming the 2023 Finals MVP honors.

Following the team’s White House visit, the Aces will visit Wilson’s alma mater South Carolina for an exhibition game against the Puerto Rico women's national basketball team. According to head coach Becky Hammon, the unconventional matchup came about when other WNBA teams lacked interest in facing the reigning champs in preseason play.

"We just started kind of building from there," Hammon told the Las Vegas Review Journal. "It’s really cool for players to go home, and that’s where she’s from. She’s the centerpiece of our whole organization."

Kelsey Plum jokingly called Wilson the "mayor of South Carolina" before citing the trip as an opportunity to build team chemistry ahead of their season opener against Phoenix on Tuesday.

"We have some new pieces, and we’re just trying to figure out where our rhythm is," Plum said, referring to recent roster prospects like Iowa grad Kate Martin, among others. "Because when the season starts, it happens fast."

PWHL Toronto Shuts Out Minnesota in ‘Incredible’ First-Ever Playoff Game

pwhl toronto hockey team
Leading PWHL goalscorer Natalie Spooner split the scoring tally with captain Blayre Turnbull in Wednesday's match. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Toronto’s Professional Women's Hockey League team skated to victory Wednesday night, kicking off the league's first playoff match with a 4-0 win over visiting Minnesota.

Natalie Spooner — the league's leading regular season goalscorer with 20 goals in 24 games — opened things up with the first playoff goal in PWSHL history at 9:47 of the first period, later notching an assist in front of Coca-Cola Coliseum's 8,473 fans. Captain Blayre Turnbull followed up Spooner's efforts with two goals of her own, securing the game's final point with just 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

In the defensive end, goalie Kristen Campbell put a stop to all 26 shots fired her way. With game one behind them, Toronto has pulled ahead of Minnesota 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

"It's what I believe I expect and I think what the group expects as well," head coach Troy Ryan said in postgame remarks. "Being everything we thought it would be, I think the atmosphere was incredible. I think our performance was pretty good and I think it's a great stepping-stone for us to continue to build on for this series and hopefully moving forward.

For Turnbull, the win came as a result of weeks of regular season preparation, adding that the team was "proud" of its execution throughout their first playoff game. 

"The whole season we’ve been building and building waiting to get into playoffs and trying to find our game every week and get better so that when players arrived, we are ready to go," Turnbull said. "I think there’s still a few areas that we can keep improving on, but overall, we’re pretty happy with where we’re at, so we’re excited to get back on the ice for game two."

The postseason outing continues a record-breaking regular season for the young league. In total, the PWHL set six attendance records for women’s hockey this year, with nearly 400,000 fans showing up to watch the inaugural teams take the ice over the 72-game season.

Toronto will face Minnesota at home once more in Game 2 of the series on Friday, before the teams move to Minnesota for Monday's Game 3. 

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.