Two games into the best-of-five 2024 WNBA semifinals, and the back-to-back defending champion Aces are staring down elimination while the Lynx evened the score last night.

With Friday's Game 3 offering a venue change, Las Vegas will need every ounce of their home-court advantage to continue their playoff run, while Minnesota's aim will be to silence the Connecticut crowd.

Aces on the brink of elimination after Game 2 loss

Tuesday's second-straight loss, an 88-84 defeat by the No. 1 seed Liberty in Brooklyn, has No. 4 seed Las Vegas on the brink of playoff elimination. The Aces are now the first reigning champions to ever fall to a 0-2 deficit in a WNBA playoff series.

Las Vegas has yet to conquer the Liberty this season, falling a franchise record-tying five straight times to same opponent, all after defeating New York in the 2023 WNBA Finals.

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New York's Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson led their teams in scoring with 24 points each, while Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot provided a crucial spark off the bench. 

Should Las Vegas turn things around when the series moves back to Nevada on Friday, they'd become the first team to ever bounce back from 0-2 to reach the WNBA Finals.

Aces guard Chelsea Gray put a positive spin on the challenge, saying "I love being in the history books, so might as well try to start there. That's going to be our mentality."

Lynx level up with Game 2 semifinal win in Minnesota

No. 2 seed Minnesota evened their semifinal score with No. 3 seed Connecticut on Tuesday, earning a 77-70 win in Minneapolis to send the series back East at one victory apiece.

Courtney Williams led the Lynx in scoring with 17 points, while a physical Minnesota defense held the Sun to less than 40% shooting from the field.

In the loss, Sun forward DeWanna Bonner became the third all-time leading scorer in WNBA postseason history. She also inked her name into the league record books as the player with the most appearances in playoff history at 83 games and counting.

Friday kicks off a guaranteed two-game run in Connecticut, with the home side on a mission to reach the Finals for the first time since 2022.

How to watch Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals

Las Vegas and Minnesota will look to pick up critical wins in Friday's Game 3, with the Aces facing a must-win scenario in front of what promises to be a rocking home crowd.

The Lynx will travel to Connecticut for a 7:30 PM ET tip off on Friday, October 4th, followed by a Liberty vs. Aces showdown in Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET. Both games are scheduled to air on ESPN2.

The third Grand Slam of 2025 is officially underway, as the world's top tennis stars hit the grass courts in London for the annual Wimbledon Championships on Monday.

World No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková enters as the Slam's reigning champion, with all of the WTA's current Top 10 — none of whom have ever won at Wimbledon — looking to dethrone the 2024 victor.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula looks to be an early frontrunner, as the US star picked up steam following her defeat of No. 4 Iga Świątek 6-4, 7-5 in Saturday's championship match of the 2025 Bad Homburg Open, a Wimbledon tune-up tournament.

A 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, Pegula has already earned three titles this year, gaining significant momentum as she hunts a career-first Grand Slam trophy.

"[Pegula has] an amazing game, and showed it throughout the tournament," Świątek said following Saturday's loss. "Hopefully, we will have many more finals together."

The first day of 2025 Wimbledon action saw No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka cruise through her first-round match against Canada's No. 194 Carson Branstine in straight sets, while No. 8 Madison Keys battled to a narrow three-set victory over Romania's No. 58 Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova played the most dominant first-round match of the Slam, ousting Kazakhstan's No. 33 Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-0 to open her tournament run.

Italy's No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, a 2024 Wimbledon finalist, also kicked off her 2025 run with a win, downing Latvia's No. 402 Anastasija Sevastova in three sets on Monday afternoon.

Pegula will open her campaign against Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto on the second day of first-round action at 6 AM ET, with Świątek, 2025 French Open champ No. 2 Coco Gauff, and 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist No. 10 Emma Navarro also rounding out Tuesday's bill.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

The 2025 Wimbledon women's tournament runs through the July 12th championship.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

The Minnesota Lynx are back on the prowl, after the return of MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier from injury fueled the WNBA-leaders to two straight weekend wins.

Minnesota first outlasted the No. 4 Atlanta Dream 96-92 in overtime on Friday before thumping the last-place Connecticut Sun 102-63 on Sunday, with Collier racking up 49 points over the two-game span.

Collier's bounce-back couldn't have come at a better time, as the WNBA announced Sunday that the Lynx forward will captain the 2025 All-Star Game alongside Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

"It's really cool," Collier said of the news. "I went from never being a starter to captain."

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Both Collier and Clark will have an early chance to test their leadership skills in Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game, when the defending champs Minnesota Lynx will take on first-time finalists Indiana.

With a second straight title on the line, red-hot Minnesota hold the advantage coming into the Commissioner's Cup final, but a healthy Clark could make all the difference for up-and-down No. 8 Indiana.

Meanwhile in the WNBA standings, as the Lynx continue to hold court at the top, this weekend saw the Mercury overtake the Liberty at No. 2, thanks in large part to Phoenix's 106-91 Friday victory over New York.

Along with Sunday's 90-81 loss to the Dream, the reigning champs have dropped five of their last seven games, as now-No. 3 New York struggles without injured center Jonquel Jones.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final

While the other 11 league teams rest until Thursday, the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever will take Tuesday's court in a battle for the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup.

The in-season tournament's grand finale will tip off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on Prime.

The world No. 1 USWNT earned another lopsided result against No. 25 Ireland on Sunday, handing the Girls in Green a second straight 4-0 loss despite extensive lineup changes on both sides.

Veteran forward Lynn Biyendolo opened the scoring in her first match as USWNT captain, followed by first-ever senior team goals from both debutant defender Izzy Rodriguez and attacker Yazmeen Ryan.

Second-half USWNT sub Alyssa Thompson found the back of the net in the 86th minute to finish padding the 4-0 scoreline over Ireland.

With one more friendly against No. 8 Canada set for Wednesday, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes rotated all 11 starters on Sunday, trusting bubble players to overcome inexperience to produce a result.

"The level has been set to be relentless in the pursuit of performing and progressing," Hayes said after the game. "It's not about understanding everything in our playbook, but developing the confidence and bravery to deliver."

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The victory also marked the USWNT's 600th program win, with midfielder Sam Meza joining Rodriguez in picking up the 23rd and 24th first caps of the Emma Hayes era.

"I feel like everyone is not only trusting the process, but carrying out all the things we ask them to do," said Hayes of her new additions. "Everybody showed themselves so well."

Though the US keeps stretching its depth and coming out on top, the need to develop strong connections on the pitch could force tough roster decisions in the future.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against rivals Canada on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash in Washington, DC, will air on TNT.

The WNBA made a splash on Monday morning, announcing an expansion plan that will see the league officially grow to 18 teams by 2030, with new franchises joining from Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

Subject to approval by the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors, the league expects to add Cleveland in 2028, with Detroit following in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

With existing NBA ownership groups backing all three cities, the league chose the trio because of "market viability, committed long-term ownership groups, potential for significant local fan, corporate, media, and city and state support, arena and practice facilities, and community commitment to advancing the sport, among other factors."

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Notably, while Monday's news will bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia for the first time, the announcement represents a return for the league to both Cleveland and Detroit.

The Ohio city hosted one of the league's inaugural teams, the Rockers, from 1997 to 2003, while the Detroit Shock joined the WNBA in 1998, eventually relocating to Tulsa in 2010 before becoming the Dallas Wings in 2016.

Monday's WNBA expansion plan also follows the already announced incoming teams in Toronto and Portland, both set to tip off next season, as well as 2025 newcomer Golden State.

Each of the three incoming clubs in Monday's announcement paid a $250 million expansion fee — five times the $50 million that Golden State paid in October 2023.

"This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league's extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women's professional basketball," said commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "I am deeply grateful for our new owners… for their belief in the WNBA's future and their commitment to building thriving teams that will energize and inspire their communities."