All Scores

WNBA training camp: Which rookies will get their shot?

Naz Hillmon greets Cathy Engelbert after being selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Dream. (Evan Yu/Just Women’s Sports)

WNBA teams open training camp Monday, and most teams have released their training camp rosters as they start to gear up for the season.

Both drafted and undrafted rookies will look to make their mark as they compete for the few spots available on already competitive WNBA rosters. Each team can carry a maximum of 12 players into the season.

Atlanta Dream

In addition to drafting Rhyne Howard as the No. 1 overall pick and selecting Naz Hillmon at No. 15, the Atlanta Dream signed Georgia guard Que Morrison to a training camp contract Tuesday.

The Dream are one of the few teams in the league that could see competition at multiple positions ahead of the team’s first WNBA season under head coach Tanisha Wright. The Dream have 16 players listed on their roster ahead of training camp.

Chicago Sky

The Sky added undrafted rookies Lexi Held and Kayla Wells to their training camp roster. Held spent four seasons at DePaul, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists in her senior season. Wells spent five seasons at Texas A&M, averaging 15.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 2021-22.

The Sky’s roster stands at 22 players. In addition to Held and Wells, Rhode Island’s Emmanuelle Tahane joins the Sky as an undrafted rookie.

Fifth-year player Imani McGee-Stafford and second-year player Kysre Gondrezick will also attempt to make the Sky roster, which is returning much of its 2021 championship team.

Connecticut Sun

The Sun picked up three undrafted rookies in addition to draftees Nia Clouden, Kiara Smith and Jordan Lewis.

Alexus Dye, Delicia Washington and Aleksa Gulbe were all signed to training camp contracts by the team. The team’s total training camp roster sits at 20 players.

Another looking to compete for a spot on the 12-player roster is Taj Cole, who was signed by the team at the beginning of the Athletes Unlimited basketball season.

Dallas Wings

The Wings finalized their training camp roster Thursday, with draftees Veronica Burton, Jazz Bond and Jasmine Dickey all featured.

Destinee Walker, a 2021 Dallas training camp signee, and Morgan Bertsch, a 2019 Dallas draft pick, will also compete for spots on the roster.

Indiana Fever

In addition to a plethora of draft picks Monday, the Fever announced that they had signed undrafted rookie Erin Whalen out of Dayton to a training camp contract.

The Fever will be looking to fill many holes during the preseason, with plenty of opportunities to make the regular season roster. They carry 22 players into their preseason training camp.

Las Vegas Aces

The Aces have some key training camp additions, including Sydney Colson and Kalani Brown out of the Athletes Unlimited season.

They also added six rookies during Monday’s draft ahead of Becky Hammon’s first season as a WNBA head coach. The team waived one player ahead of the draft, bringing its training camp total to 16.

Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles reloaded during the offseason, including the key addition of Liz Cambage. The team also acquired Lexie Brown from the Sky and added Jordin Canada from Seattle.

The Sparks drafted Rae Burrell, Kianna Smith, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Amy Atwell. They carry a roster of 18 into the preseason.

Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx finalized their training camp roster Wednesday, signing draftees Kayla Jones and Hannah Sjerven. Undrafted rookies Chloe Bibby, Cece Hooks and Moon Ursin were also added to the roster.

The status of Napheesa Collier, who due to give birth to her first child in May. Collier has expressed interest in returning for what will be Sylvia Fowles’ final season but her game-readiness could be a factor.

The Lynx are carrying 20 players on their training camp roster.

New York Liberty

New York has announced that first-round pick Nyara Sabally will not play the upcoming season, and neither will third-round pick Sika Kone. Second-round pick Lorela Cubaj will look to make the 12-player roster on a team that also boasts Stefanie Dolson and Michaela Onyenwere.

The Liberty will have 14 players in training camp without Sabally and Kone.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury’s roster has little room thanks to the offseason additions of Diamond DeShields and Tina Charles. But the absence of Brittney Griner – without any knowledge of when she could return from being detained in Russia – certainly hangs over the team.

Leaonna Odom, Jennie Simms, Kiana Williams and Kristine Anigwe are all signed to training camp contracts and will be looking to make the regular season roster. A total of 18 players are on the roster heading into the Mercury’s training camp, the team’s first under new head coach Vanessa Nygaard.

Seattle Storm

On Thursday, the Storm announced the signing of undrafted rookies Raina Perez, Jenna Giacone and Paisley Harding to training camp contracts. Perez joins NC State teammate and Storm draftee Elissa Cunane in Seattle.

Ahead of what is likely to be Sue Bird’s final season, the Storm are carrying 19 players into training camp, including draftees Evina Westbrook and Jade Melbourne.

Washington Mystics

The Mystics carry No. 3 pick Shakira Austin into preseason, as well as second-round pick Christyn Williams and undrafted rookie Jennifer Coleman out of the Naval Academy.

International players Lee Seul Kang and Rui Machida also join Washington. The team is carrying 18 players into training camp.

USWNT to face Costa Rica in final Olympic send-off

uswnt sophia smith and tierna davidson celebrate at shebeilves cup 2024
The USWNT will play their final pre-Olympic friendly against Costa Rica on July 16th. (Photo by Greg Bartram/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

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.

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.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA start to serve as 2024 Olympic tryout

Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christie Sides during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024
The talented Fever rookie is still in the running for a ticket to this summer's Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.

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.

WNBA teams make history with 2024 season ticket sell-outs

Arike Ogunbowale on the wnba court for the dallas wings
The Dallas Wings are now the third team to sell out their entire season ticket allotment in WNBA history. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.   

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.

Nelly Korda ties LPGA record with fifth-straight tournament win

Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning The Chevron Championship
Nelly Korda poses with her trophy after acing her fifth-straight tour title at The Chevron Championship on Sunday. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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.

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.

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