Atlanta Dream co-owner Renee Montgomery has adopted a vision for the revamped Dream that transcends the WNBA and even the gym.

While mingling with hundreds of Atlanta-based youth athletes for a day of drills, games and giveaways at Gateway Arena on Saturday, Montgomery had a moment of clarity for her long-term approach to the Dream’s rebuild inside and outside of competition.

“We don’t want to just only excel on the court — we want to excel in the community, we want to excel as an organization,” Montgomery told Just Women’s Sports during The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation’s Sports Matter Giving Truck #SportsMatterDay. “I love what DICK’s is doing getting in at the ground level, ages six through 18 are here, so that’s a large range of teenagers, kids, people that are trying to stay in sports, people that are trying to figure out if they want to be in sports.”

That ground-up approach has become familiar within the Dream organization.

A year after real estate developer Larry Gottesdiener bought the Dream from former owners Kelly Loeffler and Mary Brock, forming an ownership group with Montgomery and Suzanne Abair, the team overhauled its front office and roster this offseason.

“Everything’s new, literally everything is new, but that’s how you start over and that’s how you build,” said Montgomery, the first former WNBA player to become part owner of a franchise. “We wanted to build from the ground up and build a foundation, and so that was our whole intention this offseason.”

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Atlanta finished second-to-last in the WNBA last season with an 8-24 record and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. It didn’t take long for Montgomery and the ownership group to start making their mark on the team’s direction.

In September, the Dream hired former NFL executive Morgan Shaw Parker as their President and COO. The next month, they named former WNBA player and Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tanisha Wright as head coach. A couple of weeks later, they made arguably the biggest coup of all, hiring two-time WNBA Executive of the Year Dan Padover away from the Las Vegas Aces to serve as the team’s general manager.

“When we got the team last year, it was about 45 days before the season started, and we couldn’t really put our imprint on the team how we wanted to,” Montgomery said. “But now, a year later, we are really starting to see the Atlanta Dream we wanted to be.”

A critical element in the Dream’s rebuild this season is rookie Rhyne Howard, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 draft. Long considered to be one of the most pro-ready players in this year’s draft class, Howard led Kentucky to new heights and is already showing what she can bring to Atlanta, scoring 15 points on 50 percent shooting in her preseason debut.

The Dream also nabbed Michigan star forward Naz Hillmon with the 15th pick on draft night after she unexpectedly fell to the second round.

“We started out with the No. 1 pick with Rhyne Howard, and then we got the steal of the draft with Naz Hillmon, who has a motor, is a workhorse,” Montgomery said. “We were ecstatic. As it was getting closer and closer to our pick, we were holding our breath, and so really excited to get who we wanted to get.”

Montgomery believes Howard and Hillmon will be good fits on the court and in the locker room, where the Dream also have some rebuilding to do after a tumultuous 2021.

Last July, the Dream indefinitely suspended former No. 4 draft pick Chennedy Carter after an incident during a game against the Aces, which was later reported to be a verbal argument between Carter and Courtney Williams. As the episode hung over the team, Williams was at the center of a video that surfaced in October showing her and teammate Crystal Bradford throwing punches outside of an Atlanta club. The WNBA later suspended Williams and Bradford for their role in the fight, and all three players have since left the Dream.

With many new faces and more time to build, Montgomery is eager for Wright to make her mark on the team’s culture.

“Our goal was just to build a culture here with the Atlanta Dream, so we want great players, but we want great players that are also going to be aligning with our same views and values,” she said.

Atlanta hopes a fresh philosophy will lead to a better finish this season. Montgomery, however, isn’t letting the immediate results cause her to lose sight of the long-term mission.

“Of course we want to win, but for me, it’s how we are playing, how we are building this thing. Is there growth every week? Are we staying in the same spot? Those are the kind of things that I am looking to see from our team,” she said. “The wins and losses are going to take care of themselves at a certain point, but right now, we have to build this thing the right way.”

The Dream will play their final preseason game on Sunday against the Connecticut Sun before kicking off their regular season against the Wings in Dallas on May 7.

“I want people to understand that this is going to be a completely different experience than people have experienced before with the Atlanta Dream,” Montgomery said. “We really just expect people to visibly see the difference in what we are trying to build here with the Atlanta Dream.”

Clare Brennan is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

The New York Liberty appear to be back on track, with the reigning champs leapfrogging the Phoenix Mercury to reclaim the No. 2 spot in the WNBA standings on Wednesday night.

Led by a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double from star forward Breanna Stewart, the Liberty punched a 98-77 win over a Caitlin Clark-less No. 6 Indiana Fever, as the 2025 WNBA All-Star captain remains day-to-day with a groin injury.

With Wednesday's victory, New York is now riding a three-game winning streak into All-Star weekend — and there's even more good news is on the horizon for the Liberty with starting center Jonquel Jones expected to return from her ankle injury after the break.

As for now-No. 3 Phoenix, New York's gain is the Mercury's loss, as their Wednesday clash with the league-leading Lynx ended 79-66 in Minnesota's favor while injured Phoenix stars Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper rode the bench.

Expansion upstart Golden State has also started to skid, leaving the Valkyries entering the break at No. 9 with three consecutive losses — including a 67-58 stumble against the No. 4 Seattle Storm on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the No. 8 Las Vegas Aces have begun to regroup, entering the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak behind 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson and her combined 71 points and 26 rebounds over the last two games.

With the second half of the 2025 season tipping off following this weekend's All-Star festivities, momentum will be at a premium as early performances roll into postseason trajectories.

World No. 13 Italy advanced to the 2025 Euro semifinals on Wednesday, defeating No. 16 Norway 2-1 in dramatic fashion to make it past the tournament's quarterfinals for the first time since 1997.

Captain Cristiana Girelli played hero, scoring both of Italy's goals — including a 90th-minute game-winner to successfully avoid extra time.

"I felt something different, something special," Girelli said following the match. "I have seen in the eyes of my teammates a special light."

Norway, however, faced a disappointing tournament exit, after captain Ada Hegerberg missed a penalty before scoring the team's lone goal in the second half.

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Next on the 2025 Euro quarterfinals pitch are No. 6 Sweden and No. 5 England, as the European heavyweights face off in one of the round's most-anticipated matchups.

Sweden topped Group C with three emphatic wins, setting them up to take on the runners-up of the competition's notorious "Group of Death" — the reigning Euro champion Lionesses.

England enters the matchup on a two-game winning streak, picking up points against the No. 11 Netherlands and No. 30 Wales after falling to No. 10 France to open group play.

"They're relentless when it comes to tournament football," England captain Leah Williamson said of the Tokyo Olympic silver medalists. "They're just a very organized team."

How to watch Sweden vs. England in the 2025 Euro quarterfinals

The 2025 quarterfinals continue with Sweden taking on England at 3 PM ET on Thursday, live on FOX.

The WNBA has set the scene for this weekend's 2025 All-Star Game, laying out a handful of special rules meant to liven up the on-court action.

The game will introduce four major changes: a four-point shot, a 20-second shot clock, live-play substitutions, and automatic points for free throws.

While four-point shots aren't a new All-Star Game invention, last year's matchup between the WNBA All-Stars and Team USA did not feature them.

To sink a four-point shot on Saturday, the shooting player must have contact with one of the four marked circles on the court, located 28 feet from the rim.

With four seconds taken off the shot clock to speed up the game, All-Star squads will also be able to make a one-player substitution while the ball is in play — so long as the team in question has possession in their backcourt.

As for the "No Free-Throws" rule, free-throw shooting will only occur in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, plus the full length of any overtime period(s).

Prior to the final two minutes of regulation, players will be automatically credited the maximum available point(s) incurred by the foul.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

Women won big at Wednesday's 2025 ESPY Awards, with star athletes from across women's sports earning top honors for outstanding performances over the past year.

Leading the charge was seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles with ESPYS for both Best Athlete, Women's Sports and Best Championship Performance for her trio of golds at last summer's Paris Games.

"Six-year-old me, who first started tumbling on my parents' sofa in the living room, is floored to be standing before you right now," Biles shared in one of her speeches.

Biles's Team USA teammate Suni Lee, who brought her doctor to the awards, won Best Comeback Athlete after battling kidney disease to return to top the Olympic podium.

The night's Best Breakthrough Athlete was USA Rugby star and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher, who used part of her speech to encourage young women and girls, telling them to "Take up space. Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar. And never tone it down."

Also snagging honors as the top athletes in their respective sports were Coco Gauff (Best Tennis Player), Caitlin Clark (Best WNBA Player), Katie Taylor (Best Boxer), and JuJu Watkins (Best College Athlete, Women's Sports).

Meanwhile, USWNT icon Alex Morgan and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi shared this year's Icon Award in recognition of the new retirees' impacts on their respective sports.

"Our mission has always been very similar," Morgan said in her acceptance speech alongside Taurasi. "We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it."

Off-court efforts earn 2025 ESPY Awards

Sports leaders whose impact surpassed the proverbial playing field also took home trophies on Wednesday night.

In recognition of her foundation's commitment to promoting diversity and providing tennis opportunities to underserved communities, US legend Sloane Stephens won this year's Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Later, Penn State volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley earned a standing ovation alongside her Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

Schumacher-Cawley, who became the first woman to helm a national title-winning volleyball team by leading her Nittany Lions to the 2024 NCAA Championship last December, did so while battling breast cancer.

"Cancer changed my life, but it didn't take it," said an emotional Schumacher-Cawley. "It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit, and it didn't take my team."