A third of the way into the WNBA season, we have continued to see key signings, players activated to rosters, coaching changes and broken records.

The Las Vegas Aces have earned the top spot in this week’s JWS Power Rankings following a dominating win over the Los Angeles Sparks in their only game last week. The Aces are still without Jackie Young as she recovers from an ankle injury, but they have not skipped a beat on offense, leading the league in scoring at 91 points per game.

The Seattle Storm have now won three in a row, and yet it still doesn’t feel like they have reached their full potential. Meanwhile, not much seemed to change for the Sparks after they parted ways with Derek Fisher as head coach and general manager. In their first game under interim coach Fred Williams, the Sparks were routed by the Aces and fell to ninth in the league standings at 5-8. This team has the sheer talent to turn its season around, but finding stability and chemistry is the first step toward righting the ship.

The New York Liberty are getting reinforcements and looking more like a contender every day. Marine Johannès, added to the roster last week, gives the Liberty another playmaker and scoring option in the backcourt. Sabrina Ionescu became the first player in WNBA history to record a triple-double in just three quarters against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, giving her the second triple-double of her career and growing confidence as the franchise player many predicted her to be.

In Minnesota, the bad news keeps coming for the Lynx, who will be without Sylvia Fowles indefinitely due to a cartilage injury in her right knee. Minnesota heads into a new week on a three-game losing streak and last in the WNBA standings at 3-11. In better news for the team, Damiris Dantas has returned and Nikolina Milić continues to play well, finishing with 23 points in the Lynx’s heartbreaking loss to the Fever on Sunday.

Mercury: Taurasi and Diggins-Smith elevate their play

After raising the alarm bells with seven straight losses, the Phoenix Mercury have now won three in a row. The streak would be four if not for their heartbreaking 92-88 loss to the Connecticut Sun on June 3, when Phoenix was in control but the Sun stormed back down the stretch to take the game. As challenging as this season has been for the Mercury without superstar Brittney Griner, they seem to have found a bit of a rhythm that’s allowed them to grind out wins.

What’s changed? Offensively, the Mercury are averaging 90 points in their last three games compared to 79.8 points in their first 10. Much of that can be attributed to the increased production from Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi (who earlier in the season drew attention for other reasons, having to be separated after getting into a skirmish on the Mercury bench in May).

Diggins-Smith, leading the team with 19.2 points per game, has increased her output from 17.1 points to 24.6 points per game in Phoenix’s last three wins. After missing a pair of games with an illness, Diggins-Smith has raised her intensity, determined to do whatever it takes to keep Phoenix in the win column.

The same can be said for Diana Taurasi, who celebrated her 40th birthday last week. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer continues to show us why she is arguably the greatest player in league history.

Below, we compare Taurasi’s numbers in the Mercury’s last four games versus the early-season stretch that included their seven-game skid. Not only is Taurasi playing more minutes now, but the Mercury have also increased their pace of play and are finding ways to get Taurasi more shot attempts.

Last four games vs. first nine games

Points per game: 23.5 — 13.2
Minutes per game: 35.0 — 28.8
Shot attempts: 16.2 — 10.6
3-point shot attempts: 10.5 — 7.3

Here is a look at a quick action Phoenix will run in the half court out of the high post between Taurasi and Diggins-Smith. It forces defenses to pick their poison between the pair and gives Diggins-Smith the ability to isolate one-on-one against a switch. Diggins-Smith dumps the ball down to Taurasi and receives the quick pitch back. At the same time, Mercury center Tina Charles is looking to step in and screen for Taurasi cutting away from the ball, i.e. a flare screen.

In this scenario, the Mystics switch and Natasha Cloud is locked in on Taurasi as the flare screen is not actually set. Diggins-Smith briefly catches Alysha Clark on her heels, capitalizing on the defensive miscue with an open 3 and a crucial four-point play to help seal the game for the Mercury.

https://t.co/SaCqApBqXU pic.twitter.com/Zu8oCHkw7v

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) June 13, 2022

While the Mercury are 10th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 86.5 points per game this season, they have improved slightly from 87.2 points per game allowed in their first 10 games to 84 in their last three. Phoenix’s ability to sustain this momentum will be tested on the road this week against the Mystics, Fever and Wings.

A frustrating stretch for the Dallas Wings

The Wings have lost five of their last six, including three in a row, after starting the season 5-2. Four of those five losses have come within six points or fewer.

Frustrations have seemed to mount during the stretch, with Arike Ogunbowale being issued a technical for kicking the scorer’s table against the Sparks and getting ejected for kicking a basketball into the stands on Sunday against the Storm. The Wings’ third-leading scorer, Marina Mabrey, has missed the last two games with a nose injury and health and safety protocols, and Satou Sabally went down with a knee injury mid-way through Sunday’s game.

Teaira McCowan has become increasingly involved in the Wings’ system over the last two weeks, averaging close to 13 minutes per game. Prior to that, the recently acquired 6-foot-7 center was playing only 7.5 minutes per game for Dallas. In the Wings’ loss to Seattle on Sunday, McCowan played a season-high 17 minutes and posted season-highs in points (13), rebounds (six), free throws made (7-for-7) and blocked shots (two).

With McCowan on the floor, the Wings slow down a bit, forcing them to execute more intentionally in the half court and find ways to manufacture deep paint touches. McCowan grabbed five offensive rebounds for the Wings on Sunday, which led to the bulk of her scoring on putbacks.

With her size and strength, McCowan has the ability to duck in, establish two feet deep in the paint, turn and finish at the rim. Dallas should look to get the former No. 3 overall pick even more moving forward.

Afternoon Tea, anyone? pic.twitter.com/M5BnBaQnEM

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) June 12, 2022

Week 6 Power Rankings

1. Las Vegas Aces (11-2) +1
2. Chicago Sky (9-4) +1
3. Connecticut Sun (10-4) -2
4. Seattle Storm (8-5) +1
5. Washington Mystics (9-6) +1
6. Atlanta Dream (7-6) -2
7. Phoenix Mercury (5-8) +3
8. Dallas Wings (6-7) -1
9. New York Liberty (5-9) +2
10. Los Angeles Sparks (5-8) -2
11. Indiana Fever (4-12) +1
12. Minnesota Lynx (3-11) -3

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

Team Poland lifted the 2026 United Cup trophy on Sunday, but the historic win brought new concerns as world No. 2 Iga Świątek appeared rattled while closing out the Australian Open tune-up.

While her compatriots closed out the fourth edition of the international team tournament with wins that secured two-time runner-up Poland its first-ever United Cup title, Świątek stumbled at the finish.

The 24-year-old capped the singles competition with back-to-back defeats, dropping her semifinals match against US star No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets on Saturday before falling 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Switzerland's No. 10 Belinda Bencic on Sunday — a loss that saw the six-time Grand Slam winner seeking treatment between sets.

"Everything is fine. Just super sore," Świątek said following Poland's 2026 United Cup win, downplaying her fitness concerns. "First tournament of the year, it causes the body [to feel] a bit differently than during the season."

With the first Grand Slam of 2026 looming — the only one standing between Świątek and a Career Grand Slam — the Polish phenom and her peers will have a week to recover before taking the Australian Open hardcourt in Melbourne at 7 PM ET on Saturday.

With qualifying play wrapping midweek, the 2026 Australian Open will reveal each player's path in the main draw, which will stream live at 10:30 PM ET on Wednesday at ausopen.com.

Fresh faces are shining on the 3×3 basketball court, as Unrivaled newcomer Breeze BC holds their own against veteran competition, riding a 2-1 record through their first three games of the 2026 season.

First-year guard Paige Bueckers leads the team with 18.3 points per game, with the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year also sitting third in the offseason league in assists with 7.0 per game.

It's not only Bueckers impressing from the young Breeze squad, however, as second-year Unrivaled vet Rickea Jackson and league debutant Dominique Malonga are posting 17.3 points per game so far, putting the pair at Nos. 11 and 12 among the league's 45 star players — just behind Bueckers at No. 9.

"I feel like we just stick together," said Jackson. "Our chemistry is insane for us to just [now] be playing together."

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Experience did win out on Sunday, though, as reigning champion Rose BC's Chelsea Gray dropped 37 points on the young stars to secure her team's 3-0 record with a 73-69 victory.

Gray currently leads Unrivaled with 31.7 points per game, hitting two game-winners in the first week of play as Rose BC tops the Season 2 standings.

How to watch Breeze BC in Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball

Breeze BC will return to the Unrivaled court next weekend, tipping off their Saturday matchup against Vinyl BC at 8:45 PM ET on truTV before taking on the Mist at 8 PM ET next Monday, airing live on TNT.

The WNBA CBA deadline came and went on Friday, leaving the league and the players union in a status quo holding pattern while negotiations drag on.

The WNBA and WNBPA are continuing talks under the conditions of the previous CBA, without a moratorium on offseason activity like qualifying offers to restricted free agents.

The league originally set the opening to begin free agency conversations for January 11th, allowing teams to now start sending offers through January 20th — though those proposed deals must abide by the terms of the expired CBA.

Amidst the deluge of one-year deals inked last offseason in anticipation of a renegotiated CBA — and the significant compensation bump likely to result from a new agreement — nearly all WNBA veterans are now free agents, with reports indicating that players aren't eager to sign contracts under the old CBA.

This year's free agency period also hinges on the league's expected two-team expansion draft, with incoming franchises Portland and Toronto unable to build their rosters due to the ongoing CBA delays.

Though the WNBA is reportedly not yet considering locking out the players, the WNBPA recently reserved the right to formally authorize a work stoppage through a strike measure, saying the "WNBA and its teams have failed to meet us at the table with the same spirit and seriousness."

Unranked Notre Dame made a statement last weekend, as the Fighting Irish took down No. 22 North Carolina 73-50 to earn their second ranked win of the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season on Sunday.

While guards Cassandre Prosper and Vanessa de Jesus bolstered Notre Dame with 17 and 16 points, respectively, junior star Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish's charge, putting up 31 points as well as snagging six steals in the afternoon matchup.

"Hidalgo was a real problem," Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart said postgame. "Obviously, she disrupted us in all ways, I think most of those 27 points off turnovers was because of her."

After a volatile offseason, the Irish saw their 85-week AP Top 25 streak end earlier this month following back-to-back losses to ACC foes Georgia Tech and Duke — but Notre Dame has since rattled off two straight wins to potentially re-enter the rankings conversation.

"I'm challenging them in practice," said Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey. "We're learning from our mistakes, and we're getting better. That's what I love. This group allows me to do that."

How to watch Notre Dame basketball this week

Notre Dame will face another tough test on Thursday, when the unranked Irish host a surging No. 10 Louisville at 6 PM ET, airing live on ACCN.