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Kelsey Plum ‘gets her s— together’ to push Aces to brink of WNBA title

Kelsey Plum broke out of her slump in the Aces’ Game 2 win over the Sun. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS – Kelsey Plum isn’t back. Chelsea Gray wants to make that clear.

Plum isn’t back, because that would imply that she left. She didn’t.

The All-Star guard may have been in a shooting slump in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals – she finished with just six points compared to her season average of 20.2 – but she still did all the little things necessary to help the Las Vegas Aces secure a win over the Connecticut Sun.

“There wasn’t points being added but she was getting assists. She was guarding Courtney Williams, a dynamic scorer,” Gray said. “There were things that she was still doing that kept her on the floor and I think that’s the growth, too, not just like, she’s back and she’s hitting shots. She’s been who we needed her to be. We need her out there on the floor.”

Then, in Tuesday’s Game 2, Plum was able to put it all together again. She did the little things and she did the big things, scoring 20 points in an 85-71 victory over the Sun at Michelob Ultra Arena to put the Aces one win away from their first WNBA championship.

The Washington alum finished the game with 20 points. Plum made just one 3-pointer – she averages 3.1 per game, the most in the WNBA – but that didn’t matter. She was able to get to the hoop whenever she wanted, and Plum made six buckets in the paint while also going 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

She took what the defense gave her and avoided forcing shots from long range.

“They really want to congest the lane, so I think we play higher, wider, set good screens, have good angles and make good reads,” Gray said of subverting the Sun defense. “Once we have good spacing, we can get a lot of different things in the paint or kick out for shooters.”

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(Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Aces didn’t make many of those long-range shots – they were 6-for-26 (23.1%) from 3-point range – but Plum’s ability to get to the basket made up for it.

The Sun could not stay in front of the guard, and that caused their defense to fall apart. When she wasn’t finishing shots or drawing fouls, Plum was creating opportunities for others, as evidenced by her seven assists.

Even when she didn’t directly assist on a play, her driving ability caused the Sun defense to shift and create space for players like A’ja Wilson, who had 26 points, and Gray, who had 21.

And the threat of Plum knocking down shots from distance was enough to keep the Sun defense honest, even if she hasn’t gotten hot just yet.

“You have to respect her 3-ball,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “You don’t want to let her just shoot the 3, even though she’s been a little off this series. Just the threat of her, you don’t want to let her get rolling from there. So she’s fast, she’s fast with the ball. And I just wanted to use her, tell her she needed to live in the paint, and we live with whatever she does in there.”

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(David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

When Plum finds a groove, the Las Vegas offense elevates to another level, according to Wilson. So the WNBA MVP made it her mission to light a fire in Plum before Game 2.

And Wilson wasn’t afraid to use fiery language to get her point across to the Aces’ regular-season scoring leader.

“I told her she needed to get her s— together,” Wilson said matter-of-factly. “At the end of the day that’s what she needs to do: Make sure she understood that we need her to make shots. I know it sounds harsh. But KP is a pro, and she went out there and took care of business.”

In addition to the pointed pep talk from Wilson, Plum also chatted with her psychologist before the game, something she does often.

“I talk to him all the time,” she said of her conversation with her psychologist, “(We talked about), like the ways different people approach when you’re ‘in a slump.’ I got people praying over me, I got people rubbing my hand, I got people trying to encourage me, I got people cussing me out. But everyone wants to win, you know, so really, actually I welcomed it very much.”

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(David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Plum has shot just 25% from 3-point range during the postseason. Despite still averaging 17.4 points over her team’s eight playoff games, the lack of production from long range is unusual for the sharp-shooter.

But her performance thus far in the WNBA Finals speaks to the guard’s overall growth. A season ago, she may have gotten frustrated with her lack of production from beyond the arc. She may have started forcing shots.

Instead, she found open teammates. She defended. She set screens. And she made it a priority to attack the basket.

Her perseverance paid off in a big way.

“I don’t think anything necessarily that I’ve done differently, you know, just my same routines,” she said. “I eat the same thing. I go to bed at the same time. Sometimes shots fall, sometimes they don’t, and for me I feel like it’s been a growth opportunity to how I can impact the game in other ways besides shooting the ball.”

She didn’t have to do anything differently, because whether she’s making 3-pointers or contributing to her team in other ways, Kelsey Plum is still Kelsey Plum. And that’s a player the Aces can’t live without.

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

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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