We’re nearly a month into the WNBA season, and due to injuries and international commitments, we still haven’t seen some teams at full strength.

What we have had are competitive matchups and thrilling finishes, with three games this past week ending on last-second 3-pointers.

We only hope you can find as much excitement in this week’s edition of the JWS power rankings.

12. Indiana Fever (1-9) —

The Fever have lost five in a row and their smallest margin of defeat during that streak was 15 points against the Storm. Indiana is scoring the fewest points per game in the league (74.7) and surrendering the most (89.6). You have to wonder when coach Marianne Stanley will start giving first-round draft picks Kyrse Gondrezick and Lauren Cox more playing time.

11. Chicago Sky (2-7) -3

The only losing streak worse than Indiana’s is Chicago’s. The Sky have lost seven straight games since winning their first two and they’ve yet to play any of the top three teams in the league. Their defense has kept them in games and given them a chance to win, but turnovers and inefficient shooting continue to plague them.

10. Washington Mystics (2-5) —

The Mystics have the individual talent to keep up with some of the best teams, which explains how they played both the Sun and Aces close this past week. But when you’re shooting as many 3-pointers as Washington does — currently leading the league with 29.1 attempts per game — you have to connect on more than 32.4 percent of them to close out games.

9. Los Angeles Sparks (4-3) +2

The Sparks’ wins have come against the two worst teams in these power rankings. They’ve tightened up their defense since surrendering 90-plus points in each of their first two games, but they haven’t been tested as much as other teams. Amanda Zahui B. should at least help the Sparks improve on the glass, where they rank last in the WNBA.

8. New York Liberty (5-4) -4

The Liberty are pin-balling around these power rankings, and you might disagree with their placement here given they’re sixth in the actual league standings. For the middle tier, I accounted for head-to-head results, common opponents and strength of schedule. For New York and Atlanta, who have similar track records up to this point, it comes down to the fact that the Liberty have lost three straight, with one of those losses being to Atlanta.

7. Atlanta Dream (4-4) -2

The Dream dropped two straight to the Lynx since going on a four-game winning streak, which is more excusable now that the Lynx are looking like the team many believed to be a contender. The Dream are still scoring at will and third-leading scorer Chennedy Carter should return to the lineup this month after missing two games with a hyperextended elbow.

6. Dallas Wings (3-5) +3

The Wings get the award for the best team with the worst record. Each of their losses this season have been by single digits and they’ve played the Storm — No. 1 in our power rankings — close every time, which translated to a win over Seattle on Sunday and makes you believe more are coming. They’re a young team, but their bench is deeper than most.

5. Minnesota Lynx (3-4) +2

This is why I wasn’t sleeping on the Lynx when they lost four straight to open the season. Napheesa Collier has given the team a jolt of confidence in her return, not only getting hers but also drawing defenders to take some of the pressure off her teammates. Crystal Dangerfield is also settling into her role as the first player off the bench, giving Minnesota another weapon.

4. Phoenix Mercury (5-3) +2

The Mercury haven’t been overpowering opponents, but they’re showing the value of their veteran lineup by closing out tight games. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner are averaging 24.3 and 18.7 points per game, respectively, during Phoenix’s three-game win streak. That Kia Nurse is looking more comfortable, too, is only a good sign for this team while it waits for Diana Taurasi to return.

3. Las Vegas Aces (7-3) —

When you have six players who can step up and lead you to victory on any given night, as the Aces do in their starting lineup plus Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum off the bench, you’re set up for success. They showed that this past week, holding on to defeat the Liberty and Mystics despite suffering defensive breakdowns at times.

2. Connecticut Sun (8-2) —

We’ve written before about the powerhouse offensive duo of Jonquel Jones and DeWanna Bonner. An underrated aspect of the Sun’s surge this season is their defense, which is giving up the fewest points per game in the WNBA and consistently winning on the glass. That could be what sustains them while Jones misses at least four games for EuroBasket.

1. Seattle Storm (7-2) —

If there’s anything for the Storm to worry about, it’s that no one outside of their Big 3 of Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird has emerged as a consistent offensive weapon. That was evident in their loss to the Wings on Sunday, when the most any other player scored was four points. The good news is those three have already led them to seven wins and the role players are bound to improve.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.