With the 2025 WNBA season looming, teams have been adding preseason competitions to their upcoming training schedules, offering fans and players alike an early taste of both new squads and revamped rosters.
For those excited about the Golden State Valkyries, preseason will offer a first glimpse of the expansion team in action, with the franchise set to face the LA Sparks and Phoenix Mercury prior to their official WNBA debut.
WNBA returns to school for international exhibitions
Like the Valkyries, most teams will supplement their preseason camps with exhibition games against fellow WNBA squads. Two, however, have booked road tilts against the Brazil national team into their 2025 season prep.
Both Indiana and Chicago are strategically tapping into markets connected to their biggest stars, with the Fever traveling to Caitlin Clark’s alma mater, Iowa, for their May 4th bout with Brazil.
Two days earlier, the international visitors will contend with the Sky at LSU — the collegiate stomping grounds of Chicago star Angel Reese.
Adding even more flavor to the Sky's matchup is Kamila Cardoso. The Chicago center is also a rising star for Brazil, meaning the May 2nd tilt will pit her against her national squad teammates.
This wave of exhibitions at NCAA sites comes on the heels of last year's preseason success, which saw Las Vegas defeat Puerto Rico at Aces superstar A'ja Wilson's college home of South Carolina.
While Unrivaled and NCAA tournaments will keep women’s basketball in the spotlight, the WNBA’s 29th season is fast approaching — and teams appear eager to flex their refreshed rosters well ahead of the league's May 16th opening day.
Sun deny Mabrey's trade request
One WNBA player who is likely not overly excited to report for training camp on April 27th is guard Marina Mabrey, who asked for a trade from the Connecticut Sun on February 5th. On Tuesday, team president Jennifer Rizzotti told Sportico that the Sun have denied Mabrey’s request.
Mabrey started the 2024 season with Chicago — a team she joined in February 2023 as a restricted free agent from Dallas — before landing in Connecticut last July after filing a midseason trade request.
"We knew at the time that she had already forced her way out of two teams, so it was a bit risky for us to trade for her," said Rizzotti, reflecting on her decision to roster Mabrey despite her trade-request track record. "But we felt like it was worth it."
In this instance, however, Mabrey asked to exit a Sun team that is wildly different from the 2024 WNBA semifinalist squad she joined last July. Head coach Stephanie White left to join the Fever after the 2024 season wrapped, and this offseason has seen Connecticut offload their entire starting playoff roster — including Alyssa Thomas, DiJonai Carrington, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones — via trades and free agency losses.
"The coach parted ways. No free agents returned and they are doing all they can to try and force Marina to stay when she clearly doesn't want to be there. It's interesting," Mabrey’s agent told ESPN.
As for the Sun, they're hoping to see Mabrey succeed alongside newly added Connecticut players like Tina Charles, Natasha Cloud, and Diamond DeShields.
"The reasons that we have for not trading Marina are rooted in positivity," Rizzotti explained. "It's rooted in a desire to build around her, have her here, have her be the catalyst for what we want to do offensively."
The WNBA announced Thursday that Indiana guard Caitlin Clark is the 2024 Rookie of the Year, giving the Fever back-to-back ROTYs after Aliyah Boston's 2023 win.
Nearly mirroring Boston's unanimous election, Clark garnered 66 of the 67 votes. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, whose season was cut short due to a wrist injury, received the remaining first-place vote.
"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season," Clark said in the Fever's statement. "I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds."
Clark's rookie season is one for the record books
This year has been all gas, no brakes for the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick. During the regular season, Clark led all rookies in scoring at 19.2 points per game and topped the league with 8.4 assists per game and with 122 total three-pointers.
In July, the 2024 All-Star became the first rookie in WNBA history to ever put up a triple-double. Not satisfied with that, Clark recorded a second one in early September.
She ultimately inked her name into the league's history books with multiple records, including single-season and single-game assists, and single-season rookie scoring.
In the Fever's first .500 season in eight years, Clark helped Indiana to a 20-20 record after a sputtering 1-8 season start. As a result, the Fever made their first postseason run since 2016.
The franchise also smashed viewership and attendance records thanks in large part to Clark's popularity. Indiana home games ultimately drew over 90,000 more fans than the league's previous home attendance season record, set at 250,565 by the Liberty in 2001.
First-year stars join Clark on WNBA All-Rookie Team
The 2024 All-Rookie Team also dropped on Thursday, with Clark, Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Rickea Jackson, and Leonie Fiebich all getting the nod.
Reese, Clark's biggest ROTY competition before her season-ending injury, claimed records of her own in her abbreviated first campaign. The 2024 All-Star now holds the league's record for consecutive double-doubles, the single-season rebound mark, and boasts the WNBA's highest rebound average in history.
Reese's Chicago teammate, center Cardoso, also put up stunning rookie season numbers, ultimately leading all first-year players with an impressive 52.1% field goal percentage. Meanwhile, forward Jackson made an immediate impact on the Sparks's stat sheet as the team's second leading scorer.
The Liberty's Fiebich is a WNBA rookie, but the 24-year-old German's overseas career already earned her MVP honors in Spain's pro league. Her All-Rookie Team honor is based on Fiebich's regular-season play, but she's still making key contributions in New York's ongoing WNBA postseason run.
Kamilla Cardoso will not make her regular season WNBA debut with the Chicago Sky for some time, with the Chicago Sun-Times reporting Monday that she's expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks with a shoulder injury.
The No. 3 overall pick in last month’s WNBA Draft suffered the knock in the team’s preseason game this past Friday. She hasn’t fully participated in practice since, and will await reevaluation while undergoing recovery measures.
That timeline means that she won't be suiting up for the team’s May 15th season opener, with her potential return estimated around June 17th. Depending on her status, Cardoso might miss up to 13 games total, an absence that could have a serious impact on team development.
Fellow Sky rookie Bryanna Maxwell — drafted by Chicago No. 13 overall this year — will also be out three to four weeks with a knee injury.
"They’re working their butts off to get better and get themselves back into it," Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile. "This is a long season. We want to make sure we take care of each player."
Cardoso is coming off of an undefeated NCAA national championship run with South Carolina, where she was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. A two-time national champion, the 6-foot-7 center racked up six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes of Friday's 92-81 loss to the Lynx before exiting the game due to injury.
A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday.
Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views.
In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."
"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.
"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."
On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.
Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.
Top-ranked South Carolina was up by three points against No. 11 Utah with just under five minutes left in the game. Te-Hina Paopao dribbled up the court to the elbow and released a jump shot.
Her shot dropped into the hoop. Three minutes later, Paopao had the ball in the key again. She dribbled closer and closer to the basket and was approaching traffic. She lifted her arms to shoot as she ran, and her shot fell into the hoop again as her arm hung in the air.
Paopao’s last-minute points kept her team afloat in a difficult matchup. The game remained close until the final buzzer, but Dawn Staley’s squad secured the victory against Utah, 78-69, to remain undefeated this season.
The Gamecocks faced their toughest challenge of the year against Alissa Pili and the Utes. Pili dropped 21 points in the first half, and she only played 13 of the 20 minutes after getting into foul trouble.
Kamilla Cardoso got into foul trouble herself after being called for three charges on Jenna Johnson, who put on a foul-drawing clinic against the defensive powerhouse.
When Pili returned to the court in the second half, she did so in her usual form. Pili rained buckets on South Carolina, finishing the game with 37 points, a career-high. No other Utes came close to her offensive contributions, and the only other Utah player to reach double-digits was Dasia Young with 10 points.
The Gamecocks spread the love on the scoreboard with four players in double-digits and 26 bench points.
South Carolina was plagued by turnovers in its closest game of the season. Utah forced 23 turnovers and collected 11 points in transition, but they weren’t enough for the Utes to earn their first win against a first-ranked squad.
South Carolina dominated Morgan State on Wednesday night, but did so with a different starting lineup than previous games.
Both Kamilla Cardoso and Raven Johnson started from the bench in favor of Sakima Walker (in place of Cardoso) and freshman guard Tessa Johnson (in place of Raven Johnson).
Following the game, head coach Dawn Staley gave insight into the decision, noting that both had broken a team rule.
“They broke a team rule. They took it on the chin, we kept it moving, we’re good,” she said. “Nothing long-lasting.”
Ultimately, Staley said she “liked” putting out a different starting lineup, as it allowed for some different looks. Tessa Johnson finished with 16 points, while both Johnson and Cardoso finished in double-digits off the bench.
“I think we gained some valuable minutes, valuable instances for, like a Tessa,” Staley said. “Tessa is right there. She just needs more opportunities to play, and it gave her an opportunity to play. [Te-Hina Paopao] playing the point just solely, I thought she did a great job running the team, keeping it simple. And they were able to just bank some threes and open the floor up for us.”
No. 1 South Carolina only allowed 19 points in its rout of Mississippi Valley State on Friday, setting a program record for the fewest points allowed in a game.
The Devils actually opened the game with a lead. They sank the first basket, and then the Gamecocks came to life. They went on to win, 101-19 — an 82-point margin.
Seven South Carolina players registered double-digit numbers on the scoresheet, including Kamilla Cardoso, who put up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cardoso has four double-doubles in the Gamecocks’ five games. MiLaysia Fulwiley led her squad in the score column with 17 points.
Cardoso’s stifling defense no doubt played a part in South Carolina’s victory. The six-foot-seven senior batted down five blocks, a third of her team’s total. The Gamecocks forced 19 turnovers and collected 20 points off the takeaways.
Nope. Nope. Nope.@Kamillascsilva probably pic.twitter.com/vZn0q5yS0v
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) November 24, 2023
Te-Hina PaoPao returned to South Carolina’s lineup against Mississippi Valley and she contributed significantly to her team’s success. She is one of the seven players that reached double-digit scoring numbers with 10 points on the night and she grabbed 8 rebounds.
“It makes a big difference to have someone like Pao who’s always cool, calm and collected,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said to Greenville News. “You have to guard her, and she doesn’t take bad shots. It was great to have her back on the floor.”
Sh’Diamond McKnight led the Devils in scoring with eight points. Her squad shot just 12% from the field and they scored just seven points in the second half.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese headline the watchlists for end-of-season Player of the Year awards.
The Iowa guard and LSU forward are coming off career seasons, as Clark swept the national awards but Reese and the Tigers beat the Hawkeyes in the national championship game. Both are among the front-runners for the Naismith Trophy and the Wade Trophy, two of the most prestigious individual honors in women’s college basketball.
The watchlist for the Naismith Women’s Player of the Year award includes 50 names. While Clark is the lone representative for Iowa, LSU leads all schools with four players: Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith.
UConn has three players on the list in Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards and Azzi Fudd. Other notable names include Stanford’s Cameron Brink, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
The watchlist for the Wade Trophy, presented by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, includes just 16 players, listed below. LSU leads with three, and UConn and Virginia Tech have two each.
Wade Trophy: 2023-24 preseason watchlist
- Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech
- Cameron Brink, Stanford
- Paige Bueckers, UConn
- Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa
- Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
- Rori Harmon, Texas
- Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
- Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
- Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
- Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State
- Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
- Aneesah Morrow, LSU
- Alissa Pili, Utah
- Angel Reese, LSU
- Hailey Van Lith, LSU
South Carolina basketball has a new look for the 2023-24 season.
The Gamecocks graduated all five of their starters, including the quartet often dubbed “The Freshies.” WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, alongside Zia Cooke and Brea Beal, started in nearly every game since their freshman seasons, and they leave big holes to fill in their absence.
Still, head coach Dawn Staley is excited for the next group to step into the starting roles.
“It’s a totally new starting five starting from scratch, so I’m excited,” she said. “I’m excited to see how they come out and play, and what they can do when they’re put under that pressure.”
Leading the new starting five are senior center Kamilla Cardoso and junior Raven Johnson. The Gamecocks also added two key transfers in the offseason in Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker.
Young talent, including Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, also could factor in, as both have shown promise during preseason. Either way, Cardoso has been tasked with becoming a bigger leader on the team.
“Kamilla has to step into the role of being our dominant post on the inside,” Staley said. “She’s very very unselfish, and at times, much like Aliyah, she’ll pass out to people who shoot half her field goal percentage, and you can’t do that. You have to bet on yourself sometimes … We want Kamilla to be a leader.”
Team USA took home silver at the FIBA AmeriCup, falling to Brazil in the championship game, 69-58.
Rickea Jackson led the United States in that game with 17 first-half points. She finished with a game-high 22 points, adding eight rebounds, one steal and a block. LSU star Angel Reese had four points and six rebounds for the squad, which featured a roster full of college stars.
Reese finished the tournament with three double-doubles and 78 rebounds through seven games. Jackson, meanwhile, led Team USA in scoring during the tournament and earned a spot on the All-Star Five.
“All the credit to Brazil, they have a ton of experience,” Jackson said. “They’ve been together for many years and for this USA team to come down here, only being together for two weeks and still making it to the championship game, just says a lot about our toughness and our grit. We’re a very young team, but I feel like we showed we can hang with anybody.”
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso starred for Brazil, scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game to help clinch the gold medal for her team.
It was the USA’s second loss to Brazil during the tournament, following a loss during group play. Other than those two games, the U.S. went undefeated in the tournament. Head coach Kamie Ethridge praised her players Sunday, noting that they were part of a “young team.”
“I hope they take away that they shouldn’t back down to anybody. USA Basketball shouldn’t be satisfied with gold, that’s just in us. We need to win gold,” she said. “But we put this team in a position that was almost an impossible thing that we were asking them to do, and they almost did it anyway.”
Reese called it a “blessing & honor” to play for Team USA during the offseason before she gears up for a title defense with LSU.
“Such a blessing & honor to play with this team!” she wrote. “Even though we fell short, I loved every moment of being able to represent my country! BACK TO WORK!”
Such a blessing & honor to play with this team! Even though we fell short, I loved every moment of being able to represent my country! BACK TO WORK!🇺🇸❤️ https://t.co/bKlMGlnZCl
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) July 10, 2023