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.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.