All Scores

How the Aces came from behind to win a WNBA playoff classic

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 04: Chelsea Gray #12 of the Las Vegas Aces reacts against the Seattle Storm during the third quarter of Game Three of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at Climate Pledge Arena on September 04, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Becky Hammon positioned herself behind the microphone and shook her head.

“It was a hell of a game,” the Las Vegas Aces coach said of her team’s WNBA semifinal contest. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something like that. The back and forth, it was a battle.”

A few minutes later, she racked her brain again.

Hammon played in 450 WNBA games during her 16 seasons between the New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars. Then she spent eight years as an assistant coach alongside Gregg Popovich with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. But in all her years of professional basketball, she can recall no game that tops the 110-98 overtime win her Aces secured over the Storm on Sunday in Seattle.

“I can’t think of a back-and-forth between two heavyweights like this game,” she said. “I mean, it was just big shot after big shot after big shot. You get two players that are in the prime of their careers, MVP candidates (Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson) just going at it. You really can’t draw it up any better from a spectator viewpoint.”

No script or screenplay can compare to what basketball fans witnessed Sunday.

The game didn’t start that way. The Aces opened on a tear, building a 15-point lead late in the second quarter. But the Storm refused to go down easy. Not on their home court. Not with Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart. Not in the playoffs.

So, they made a comeback.

A Stewart layup with 4:48 left in the third quarter tied the game at 52. From there, the battle was on. The teams traded baskets and leads for the next 14 minutes and 38 seconds.

img
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

With 11.3 seconds left on the clock in regulation, though, the Storm seemed to have victory in hand. Jewell Loyd had sunk two free throws to give her team an 89-85 lead. The Aces would need two possessions to catch up to Seattle, and time was running out.

But Hammon was not ready to concede. She called a timeout and drew up a play. And the Aces executed it to perfection.

“All season I’ve had the luxury of being able to draw something, and stuff they’ve never seen before and they can go out and do it,” Hammon said. “That’s a skill set and a luxury, because I can kind of read what they are doing defensively and draw the play accordingly.”

Riquna Williams cut off a screen at the top of the key and swished a 3-pointer for the Aces. Bird threw up her hands, frustrated with the defensive effort from the Storm.

Williams averaged just 6.7 points this season, but she proved the ideal player to catch and shoot in that situation. She finished with 14 points off the bench for Las Vegas, including a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc.

Then, with 2.9 seconds left to play, Wilson — who led the Aces with 34 points and 11 rebounds — drove to the hoop, completing a step-through that gave her team a 90-89 lead. But the five-point swing wasn’t enough to close out a win. Instead, Bird drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to put her team back up 92-90, forcing the Aces to call another timeout and draw up another play.

This time Jackie Young played the hero, scoring a layup for the Aces as time expired to send the game to overtime.

“They scored five points in five seconds,” Bird said of the Williams and Wilson buckets. “I understand that the last plays are going to stick out because they’re dramatic and exciting, and I’m sure it was great TV, but we were up four.”

In between the Williams 3-pointer and the Wilson score in the paint, Seattle’s Tina Charles — who shoots 88.5 percent from the line — missed a pair of free throws. That, combined with Seattle’s missteps on defense, allowed Las Vegas to force overtime.

Once the extra period started, the excitement of the back-and-forth affair transitioned to all-out dominance from the Aces.

“That was a lot of momentum,” Chelsea Gray said. “We said in the huddle that the momentum was on our side, and going into overtime we were ready. We came out locked in for those five minutes.”

img
Chelsea Gray scored a playoff career-high 29 points. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Gray spearheaded the attack, scoring eight points in the last 2:06 of overtime and helping the Aces outscore the Storm 18-6 in the frame. She finished the game with 29 points, a new playoff career high, as well as 12 assists and five rebounds.

“Chelsea is special in certain situations,” Hammon said. “What a luxury. You can just give her the ball and she is going to make something happen.”

As a unit, the Aces showed balance and poise down the stretch, the combination of which makes them a favorite to win the WNBA title — though three other formidable teams would like to challenge that notion, including the Storm.

In overtime, Las Vegas went 6-for-9 from the field, with a well-rounded offense that included three 3-pointers and three makes around the rim. Gray, Plum, Wilson and Kiah Stokes all scored in the period.

The Storm also displayed balance in regulation, with six players in double figures, but that didn’t translate into overtime in the same way the Aces’ attack did. Seattle went 3-for-10 in extra time, getting four points from Stewart and two from Loyd.

Because the Aces kept their cool through a frantic finish to regulation and then dominated overtime, they snagged the road win in a hostile environment. They also grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-five series and took one step closer to the WNBA Finals.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to stay locked in,” Wilson said. “We are playing in a hard place to play, but that’s how champions are born.”

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.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.