CHICAGO — From Candace Parker’s banked 4-pointer to, of course, Sylvia Fowles’ dunk, there were plenty of dazzling plays in the 2022 All-Star Game on Sunday.

Here are five things that stuck out from Team Wilson’s 134-112 victory over Team Stewart and the All-Star Weekend festivities as a whole.

Allie Quigley’s 3-point dominance

After Allie Quigley won her fourth 3-point shooting contest on Saturday — becoming the first WNBA or NBA player to do so — Parker said the competition should be renamed the “Allie Quigley Invitational.” She was right.

All-Star weekend results should generally be taken with a grain of salt. The competitions are supposed to be fun, and players usually take it easy on defense so as not to risk injuries (although A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum did not adhere to that when doubling Aces teammate Jackie Young on Sunday), but the 3-point contest is different.

Fatigue plays a factor when going through five racks of five balls, plus two DEW ZONE balls, in just 70 seconds. Plus, the winner has to complete the feat twice. Even the best of shooters have off days, and the chances of that happening in a 3-point contest when the circumstances are unfamiliar is pretty high.

When faced with all of those factors, Quigley’s continued dominance shows just how elite her shooting skills are.

LIGHTS. OUT.@alliequigley BECOMES THE FIRST FOUR-TIME 3-PT CONTEST CHAMPION IN WNBA OR NBA HISTORY‼#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/Nfqy73ds0a

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 9, 2022

After saying she wouldn’t compete again after last season’s contest, Quigley insists she’s done for good this time. Winning one more in Chicago — where she plays for the Sky, and 35 miles from her suburban hometown of Joliet, Ill. — was the perfect way to cap her 3-point contest career.

“I’m 100 percent, 120 percent done,” she said with a smile. “This is it.”

Fans should have seen fun Skills Challenge format in person

The idea to pair Nike Nationals EYBL players with WNBA participants during Saturday’s All-Star events was genius. Not only does that level of exposure help promote the game to young athletes, but it also gives fans a glimpse of the future.

Sabrina Ionescu and NC State verbal commit Zoe Brooks put on a great show in the skills challenge, but they did so in McCormick Place, a convention center in downtown Chicago, as opposed to the Sky’s 10,387-seat home arena. So, why weren’t the contests open to the public?

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Wintrust Arena was already booked when the league chose Chicago as the host city, and that security concerns were also a factor. Chance the Rapper’s free concert on Saturday was similarly closed to fans after the recent wave of mass shootings, including in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

“Even having an outdoor festival at this very crazy time, as you see shootings and people driving into restaurants with outdoor diners and things like that,” Engelbert said.

The commissioner added that she thought Saturday’s events were a “great show,” and she understands the frustration expressed by fans.

“Last year, we didn’t have it. The year before, we didn’t even have an All-Star Game, so we’re kind of just trying to build what All-Star Weekend will look like,” she said.

However the league plans to build the event next season, it has to be accessible to fans. The product was great, and more people should have seen it.

Sylvia Fowles shines in last All-Star Game

Kelsey Plum deservedly won MVP, but Fowles easily had the play of the game. With 4:12 left in the second quarter, the 14-year veteran stole the ball from Jackie Young and ran it all the way down to the other end, where she threw down a one-handed dunk. She also dunked in her first All-Star Game in 2009, so doing it at 36 years old in her last was pure poetry.

When she got the steal, Fowles said the crowd’s energy gave her enough of a boost to complete the play.

“I think I just heard the momentum of the crowd,” she said. “I probably heard a couple of benches and seen a couple of faces on the other team and I was like, just go for it. It was just in the moment. I didn’t really think about it.”

🔨 SYLVIA FOWLES 🔨

The steal and the SLAM in her final #WNBAAllStar Game! pic.twitter.com/U5xfickXsN

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 10, 2022

Fowles, who is set to retire at the end of the season after a storied 15-year career, also scored the contest’s first points on a designed play for a 3-pointer. In her career, Fowles has only attempted one other shot from long range, which she also made.

“They had been hyping me the whole time because it was the first shot of the game,” Fowles said. “But I mean, getting out of your comfort zone a little bit, having fun, I think that’s what’s most important about this weekend.”

Kelsey Plum came to play

In her first All-Star Game, Las Vegas Aces guard Plum took home the MVP trophy after scoring 30 points, which tied Maya Moore’s 2015 record.

For fellow guard Sue Bird, Plum’s performance was unsurprising. She was on a plane when captains A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart drafted their teams for the All-Star Game, but said she thought Plum should have been the first pick.

30 PTS and a flurry of triples 🔥

Kelsey Plum set an All-Star Game scoring record (30 PTS) on her way to winning her first #WNBAAllStar MVP award! pic.twitter.com/CH4I5FZVp8

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 10, 2022

“You just knew Plum was going to come in this game and be super hungry,” Bird said. “That’s just who she is. I think she’s in a great place physically, mentally and things are starting to click for her.

“I got to see this firsthand at the University of Washington. When she has her confidence, it’s really tough to stop her and that’s what you’re seeing right now — just a really confident player.”

Brittney Griner continues to be the focus of WNBA players

It’s been 140 long days since Brittney Griner was detained in Russia, and the WNBA continues to push for her return home as she stands trial on drug charges.

Skylar Diggins-Smith dedicated her pregame outfit to Griner, wearing a sweatshirt with her friend and teammate’s face printed on the front. Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, was courtside, and the players all wore Griner’s name on their jerseys.

This is for you BG.

✖️ @SkyDigg4 pic.twitter.com/dQHiqIkE3h

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 10, 2022

Griner, who was named an honorary All-Star, remained on everyone’s mind all weekend.

“We are all in this fight together to bring her home,” Stewart said. “And I think that when you have, like Sue (Bird) said earlier, those strength in numbers, it makes a bigger splash and we get attention and we are getting people’s attention and we need to continue to ask President Biden and the White House to bring her home.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

US tennis star and world No. 12 Amanda Anisimova continued her breakthrough 2025 Wimbledon run on Thursday, taking down No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to punch a ticket to her first career Grand Slam final.

"This doesn't feel real right now," Anisimova said after winning the 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal thriller. "I don't know how I pulled it out."

"It was such a rollercoaster match," the 23-year-old told ESPN. "[Sabalenka] is such a tough competitor, and I really had to give it my all to fight there to get the win."

As the first US player to reach a Wimbledon final since Serena Williams in 2019 — and the youngest from the US since Williams' 2004 run — Anisimova's meteoric 2025 rise comes just 18 months after she took an extended mental health break from tennis.

"A lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game," she said. "So just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself, that's been incredibly special to me."

Anisimova's semifinal win also continues a unique pattern for her home country, as Saturday's championship match is now the fourth straight Grand Slam final to feature a US player — a streak dating back to No. 3 Jessica Pegula's 2024 US Open championship appearance.

Even more, should Anisimova emerge victorious on Saturday, she'll join 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys and 2025 French Open winner No. 2 Coco Gauff in continuing a US sweep of this year's Grand Slams.

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Anisimova to face Świątek in 2025 Wimbledon final

To do so, however, Anisimova will have to defeat five-time Grand Slam winner and world No. 4 Iga Świątek in what will be the pair's first-ever senior-level match on Saturday.

Like Anisimova, the 24-year-old Polish phenom is on an unexpected Wimbledon run, as the London Slam's grass courts have historically hampered the clay-court specialist.

That said, Świątek dominated her Thursday semifinal against Switzerland's No. 35 Belinda Bencic, booking her spot in Saturday's title match in two quick 6-2, 6-0 sets.

"Tennis keeps surprising me," she said after the match. "I thought I had experienced everything on the court, but I hadn't experienced playing well on grass. That's the first time."

"Honestly, I never even dreamt that it was possible for me to play the [Wimbledon] finals, so I'm just super excited and proud of myself," Świątek added.

As for Anisimova, she's taking her championship match against the decorated Świątek in stride.

"I'm sure it'll be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special," said the rising US star.

"Obviously I haven't been in a Grand Slam final before, but I've experienced a lot of moments similar and a lot of high-stakes matches," Anisimova noted. "I'm just gonna go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what’s on the line."

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon championship match

With this year's tournament guaranteed to crown a first-time Wimbledon champion, Anisimova will battle Świątek for the London Slam's trophy at 11 AM ET on Saturday.

The final will air live on ESPN.

Legendary USWNT attacker Tobin Heath officially announced her retirement from soccer on Thursday, nearly three years after playing her final professional match.

"Over New Year's, I actually came to the full acceptance that I wasn't going to be playing," the 37-year-old explained on her podcast, The RE-CAP Show.

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In her 13 years with the senior national team, Heath — widely regarded as one of the most technical players in US history — earned two World Cup titles (2015, 2019) and three Olympic medals (gold in 2008 and 2012, and bronze in 2021).

Across her 181 USWNT caps, the 2016 US Soccer Athlete of the Year logged 36 goals and 42 assists, making her final appearance for the States on October 26th, 2021.

At the club level, Heath spent seven seasons with the Portland Thorns, helping the team to NWSL Championships in 2013 and 2017, as well as the 2016 NWSL Shield.

While her career also included European stints with the Première Ligue's PSG as well as WSL sides Manchester United and Arsenal, Heath ended her pro run with the 2022 NWSL Shield-winning Seattle Reign, playing what would be her final soccer match on August 14th of that year.

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Injury ends Heath's soccer career

The end of Heath's career is not what the creative, nutmegging winger anticipated.

"I thought I was literally going to be peeled off the field," Heath told The Athletic on Wednesday.

However, a 2022 serious left knee injury left Heath unable to play soccer — even at a casual level — ultimately forcing her retirement.

"I tried f---ing everything to get back, I spent tens of thousands of dollars and [had] two surgeries, one crazy surgery," Heath said on her podcast. "And the whole time I believed I was going to get back."

"Football is a 360-degree sport, and I can't do it," she told The Athletic. "So that part is the hardest part. The actual playing of soccer is gone."

Heath still working to lift up women's soccer in retirement

Despite coming to terms with the end of her on-pitch career, Heath isn't leaving the world of soccer anytime soon, helping lead the newly launched World Sevens Football and joining FIFA's technical study group for the men's Club World Cup.

Elevating football — particularly the women's game — is a pursuit that began for Heath with the Portland Thorns.

"[Portland] showed what women's sports could be," she explained. "I was dreaming of the world that I wanted to create."

The 2019 World Cup run then solidified that mission, with the USWNT adding a fourth star to their crest while also facing a pressure-cooker of expectations amid political tension and a contentious fight for equal pay.

"You can't feel what we felt...and not believe that you're doing something so f---ing important for the world," said Heath.

"You feel that responsibility — and that's what it is — and you want to keep carrying that responsibility as far forward as you can."

USWNT and Chelsea FC forward Mia Fishel is officially heading back to the States, with the Seattle Reign announcing that the 24-year-old signed with the NWSL club on Thursday.

The multi-year deal will see Fishel join Seattle through the 2029 season on a contract reportedly worth nearly $2.5 million — the largest cumulative deal in NWSL history.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring Mia into our squad," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey in a club statement. "Mia's ability to disrupt defenses, finish in different ways makes her a dangerous addition to our group."

"Mia is a player with tremendous upside — a goal-scorer with presence, creativity, and a drive to keep growing," added Reign GM Lesle Gallimore.

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Notably, though the Orlando Pride originally drafted the San Diego product and UCLA alum in 2022, this week's move will see Fishel make her domestic debut, with the young talent opting to start her pro career in Mexico.

In her single season with powerhouse Tigres UANL, Fishel notched 17 goals in 17 games to become the first foreign athlete to win the Liga MX Golden Boot, all while leading the team to a league championship.

Following her Liga MX success, Fishel signed with Chelsea, spending two seasons with the WSL champions — though a February 2024 ACL tear limited the young attacker's impact on both club and country over the last 16 months.

Nicknamed "Big Fish," the NWSL debutant has big plans for her upcoming lengthy tenure with Seattle.

"I knew coming to the States, I'm gonna be on a team for the long run," Fishel told reporters. "I wasn't expecting to just hop from team to team. Like, no, I want to put stakes in the ground. I want to eventually lead this team."

This weekend's WNBA slate will see the No. 8 Indiana Fever aiming to right the ship, as the once-projected postseason contenders try to make a push prior to next weekend's 2025 All-Star break.

Despite seeing Caitlin Clark return from injury on Wednesday, the Fever will enter the weekend on a two-game losing streak.

"You should look yourself in the mirror and find ways you can get better, and then come back to practice tomorrow, and play again on Friday," Clark said after Indiana's 80-61 Wednesday loss to Golden State.

There's no immediate assist in the Fever's upcoming schedule, however, as they kick off the weekend against an Atlanta side that feeds on mismatches in the paint:

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): The Dream can put any team in a blender with their size and stretch capabilities, and Indiana will need solid three-point shooting to upend Atlanta.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 9 Las Vegas Aces, Saturday at 4 PM ET (CBS): The short-handed Aces will hope to pounce on Golden State's mercurial road form, as Las Vegas tries to keep climbing the standings following a middling season start.

• No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 3 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): An injury-hampered New York will try to hold on against the formidable Dream, as the reigning champion Liberty keep battling while waiting for starters to return.