The NWSL is just over halfway through the regular season as they head into a two-week break. Teams played yet another week with multiple replacement players as international tournaments continued.

For the first time in a long while, the JWS power rankings feature movement from every team (find last week’s power rankings here). The Portland Thorns jump back into first, Kansas City move into a season-best fourth, and the bottom five teams are a jumble. Adding to the chaos is the fact that two of the top four teams from last week’s NWSL standings suffered losses, and one game was postponed.

Here are this week’s power rankings.

12. North Carolina Courage (2-5-2) -1

The Courage did not play this week. Their match against Angel City FC on Friday was postponed until Sept. 14 due to COVID-19 protocols. Their drop in the power rankings is a result of other teams moving ahead of them.

11. Racing Louisville FC (2-5-5) +1

There is something about playing the No. 1 San Diego Wave that lights a fire under Racing Louisville. They could have easily overtaken the Wave for a second time this year in what ended up as a 0-0 draw on Friday. The thrilling match of penalty shot saves and goal-line clearances was in Louisville’s favor as they controlled 53 percent of the possession and dominated in the second half especially.

10. NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-6-0) -1

With a 5-0 loss to the Portland Thorns on Saturday, Gotham FC now has the most losses (six) in the league despite having played the second fewest games. Somehow they had more possession at 53 percent and finished with a 79 percent passing accuracy, and still they were unable to create any dangerous scoring chances.

9. Washington Spirit (1-5-7) -1

“Washington caused a lot of problems,” Orlando Pride acting head coach Seb Hines said after their 0-0 draw Sunday. Despite Washington’s disappointing record, the statement is on brand for the Spirit, who give opponents some of the toughest competition they’ve faced this year. The Spirit controlled most of Sunday’s match in the attacking third and created plenty of chances that they weren’t able to put away. The lack of a finishing touch has been detrimental for them this season and is holding them back in these power rankings.

8. Orlando Pride (3-5-4) +2

Despite an otherwise disappointing season for the Pride, July hasn’t been a bad month for them. In their last three games, they’ve gone 1-0-2, most recently tying the Washington Spirit 0-0. Despite being outshot 17-4, Orlando should have had a couple of goals by halftime, especially on Darian Jenkins’ breakaway. In the second half, they worked together as a unit to read Washington’s plays. It’s clear this team has been growing over the past few games.

7. Angel City FC (5-4-2) -2

Like the Courage, Angel City didn’t play this week and has been surpassed by other teams as a result.

6. Houston Dash (5-4-3) +1

The biggest takeaways from the past week are that the Dash are the most dramatic team in the NWSL when it comes to score lines. and that acquiring Ebony Salmon was a darn good trade. Formerly with Louisville, Salmon scored a hat trick for her side in their 4-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars, who were No. 2 at the time of the match. The outcome was probably the least expected of the week, but not necessarily surprising. Since the beginning of June, the Dash have also recorded a 5-0 win, a 4-0 loss and a 4-3 win, making them one of the most unpredictable clubs in the league. For now, the decisive win bumps them up a spot in the power rankings.

5. OL Reign (4-3-5) -1

Tobin Heath’s short but much-anticipated debut with the Reign wasn’t enough to secure any points on Sunday. The team’s 1-0 loss to Kansas City was an even game, however, with the lone goal coming from a penalty shot. The Reign put a lot of pressure on the Current’s defense, and their own defense registered five blocks and 13 interceptions. They weren’t able to produce as many good scoring chances, with their forwards not controlling the attacking third in the way they’re capable of.

4. Kansas City Current (5-4-3) +2

The Current’s hashtag, #TealRising, couldn’t tell the story any better. A 1-0 win over the OL Reign on Sunday extended their winning streak to three and unbeaten streak to seven, vaulting them even further up the standings. Lo’eau Labonta’s penalty kick was the deciding goal, but the Current showed offensive flair throughout the game and goalkeeper AD Franch made a couple of big saves to keep Kansas City on the front foot.

THAT'S. OUR. KEEPER.

📽 the highlight reel you've all been waiting for: @ADizzle23 pic.twitter.com/EVOhyrReR8

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) July 19, 2022

3. San Diego Wave FC (6-3-4) +1

The Wave played the most exciting draw the league has seen all season against Racing Louisville on Friday. The points could have easily gone either way after the high-tempo affair. Although the stats leaned in Louisville’s favor, San Diego was the stronger side in the first half. They lost their grip in the second, but goalkeeper Carly Telford kept her team in the game, making six big saves across the 90 minutes.

2. Chicago Red Stars (5-2-5) -1

A 4-1 defeat to the Dash wasn’t expected when the Red Stars went into the game tied for the fewest losses in the league. When forward Mallory Pugh was sidelined with an injury during the Challenge Cup, the Red Stars had a tough time finding the back of the net, and the problem resurfaced with Pugh away at the Concacaf W Championship. Chicago had 21 shots against Houston but couldn’t find the back of the net.

1. Portland Thorns FC (5-1-6) +1

The Thorns are becoming the rulers of blowout victories. Even with players out on international duty, they’ve demonstrated an undeniable amount of depth, with five different players scoring in Saturday’s 5-0 shutout of Gotham FC. The Thorns join the Reign with the most shutouts in the league (six) as they move to second in the standings. Setting the new league record on Saturday for the three fastest goals scored after kickoff (10:13), they also top the NWSL with 29 goals and are the only team with a double-digit goal differential of plus-19.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

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.

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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.

USWNT regulars Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson furthered their cases for Olympic inclusion with their respective club victories on Saturday and Sunday.

After a roller coaster of a week that saw former Thorns head coach Mike Norris reassigned and a flurry of last-minute roster reshufflings as Friday's trade window closure loomed, the NWSL sprung to life over the weekend with standout performances from ninth-place Portland and third-place Chicago, among others.

After her blocked attempt at goal set up a volleying sixth-minute opener from veteran Christine Sinclair — now the only player in history to record a goal in all 11 NWSL seasons — Smith swiftly netted her own in the 27th minute off a breakaway run that eluded Houston's backline. The goal represented Smith's third of the season as well as her 35th for the Thorns, ultimately leading to the home side's first win of the season in a 4-1 routing of the Dash.

But that wasn't Smith's only stat of the evening. The star forward also lapped former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr to become the youngest player to reach 50 NWSL goal contributions across all games, chalking up 40 goals and 10 assists at the age of 23 years and 254 days.

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"Obviously it feels good to get a win," said Smith in a post-match press conference. "But this is the standard the Thorns have always had. So a win is great, but a win is the expectation — we're hungrier than ever after the way we started."

170 miles up the road, Lumen Field similarly showcased some promising Olympic prospect footwork on Sunday. In Chicago's 2-1 victory over the lagging 13th-place Seattle Reign, striker Mallory Swanson racked up an impressive counterattack assist on fellow forward Ally Schlegel's fourth-minute goal. Swanson went on to find the back of the net herself before halftime, lacing an explosive ball into the top corner in the 31st minute, her second of the season after returning from a lengthy sidelining injury.

Speaking of injuries, fellow USWNT favorites Alex Morgan and Tierna Davidson were not as fortunate as their national squad teammates this weekend. Each exited their club matches early, Morgan with an ankle knock in San Diego's loss to Orlando and Davidson with an apparent hamstring incident early on in Washington's win over Gotham.

LSU came out on top at the 2024 NCAA women's gymnastics championship in Fort Worth on Saturday, besting Cal, Utah, and Florida to capture their first-ever title.

The Tigers' win was far from a landslide. LSU took the first rotation handily thanks to 2024 All-Around winner Haleigh Bryant's team-leading 9.9375 backed by four additional 9.9+ scores from her teammates. But Utah then responded with three strong beam performances of their own, causing the Red Rocks to slide confidently into second place by the end of the second rotation.

By the halfway point, all four teams fell within .288 points of one another before Utah overtook the pack with a dominant floor showing after three rotations. LSU then went on to ace the beam event with Konnor McClain's meet-leading 9.9625 score, coming away with the highest collective score ever awarded to the event in NCAA championship history. The achievement propelled the Tigers to victory, ensuring them the title after the final rotation.

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"This team is full of individuals that have incredible character and integrity and love for each other and all the things you hear from coaches when they sit at a podium like this in a moment of victory, but I promise you it's a real thing," said LSU coach Jay Clark in a post-meet press conference. "I'm just so happy for them."

Contributing to Saturday's atmosphere of excitement was the absence of last year's champion and this year's heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners. Hot off earning the highest team score in NCAA history just last month, the top-ranked Norman squad suffered a shocking loss in the semifinals, where five major mistakes contributed to a third-place finish and a season-low team score of 196.6625.

With Oklahoma out, it was truly anyone's game.

"Every team was out there fighting for their lives — all four teams, it could have gone any of four ways out there," Clark told reporters. "As much as I feel for what happened to Oklahoma in the semifinals, I think it made for a championship that became so packed with emotion because every team out there believed they could do it. It was just tremendous."

LSU is now the eighth program in the sport's history to earn an NCAA women's gymnastic championship.
They share the honor with Georgia, Utah, UCLA, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, and Michigan.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

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