Today’s results:

The Sun throttled the Sky, 87-54, to clinch the third seed and eliminate their opponents from playoff contention.

The Dream downed the Liberty, 78-67, to snap the final playoff spot.

The Mystics squeaked by the Fever, 92-91, but missed the playoffs.

The Sparks beat the Lynx, who were without two starters, 68-51.

The Aces ran by the Wings, 98-84.

The Storm routed the Mercury, 89-70.

….And the playoff bracket is set:

 

WNBA team news:

A record crowd of 20,711 took in the game in D.C. this evening.

Chicago is out of the playoffs, and now the hard part begins.

LA’s dud owners need to buy into the hot WNBA, or sell the team.

WNBA player news:

Tina Charles became the league record-holder for both rebounds and double-doubles tonight.

What we got wrong about Caitlin Clark.

DiJonai Carrington is always authentic.

Correspondent Vicki L. Friedman delves into Marian Washington’s new autobiography

by Vicki L. Friedman

The cover of Marian Washington’s new autobiography.

“I grew up on a bus.”

I thought I heard wrong. Marian Washington was telling me about her early life in a conference call with Ascend Books. I was asking a few questions about her background in hopes of becoming the co-author to her autobiography that was long overdue.

“What was that?”

“I grew up in a bus.”

I spoke to the publisher the next morning and asked what he heard. “It sounded like she said bus,” he admitted. “Might make for a good part of the story.”

“FIERCE: My Fight for Nothing Less” was released on Sept. 6 – available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Rally House locations in Lawrence, Kansas, and multiple other outlets.

“The lessons unpacked in this book are incredible,” said Dawn Staley, the Naismith Hall-of-Famer, one of several testimonials in the along with those from Tara VanDerveer, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Venus Lacy, Teresa Edwards, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Donna Lopiano, Brenda VanLengen and Tamecka Dixon.

Lynette Woodard, also in the Naismith Hall of Fame, wrote the Afterword.

Many with even a strong sense of women’s basketball history might only know that Marian Washington…

Team USA poses after receiving their gold medals. FIBA photo.

Team USA won their eighth-straight gold medal Sunday with a hard-fought 67-66 win over France.

With a gold medal in Paris, the USA Women’s National Team claimed the longest Olympic gold medal streak in a traditional team sport, passing the USA Basketball Men’s National Team, who won seven straight gold medals from 1936-1968.

It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Americans were able to claim gold thanks to a balanced effort from both the starters and the bench players.

A’ja Wilson led her team with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, and Kahleah Copper came up huge off the bench with 12 points. She scored 10 in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.

The fourth quarter was a battle. USA and France traded buckets throughout and neither team led by more than one possession until the final minute. The last sequences defined the game began when Wilson hit a jumper that bounced off the top of the backboard and into the basket to put Team USA up 58-55 with 3:11 left. Gabby Williams, who finished with 19 points, then answered with two free throws. 

Copper scored on a driving layup, to put the USA up three with 1:19 left in the game. A minute later, Breanna Stewart blocked a 3-point attempt from France…

Rickea Jackson is defended by Kate Martin Friday at Crypto.com Arena. Ryan Sun/AP photo.

The Los Angeles Sparks quelled a rally by the Las Vegas Aces to close out a 98-93 overtime win Friday, and snap a franchise-tying record eight-game losing streak.

Dearica Hamby lead the charge against her former team, with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Aari McDonald put up a career-high 23 points for the Sparks’ first win since June 9, when they beat the Aces.

“I’m super-proud of this group tonight,” coach Curt Miller said. “They just played with a toughness and grittiness from start to finish.”

The matchup, which featured 15 ties and 17 lead changes, began with a 7-0 Las Vegas run. Los Angeles answered with their own 7-0 run, and trailed by just 3 points to end the quarter. In the second frame, the visitors got into foul trouble, and the Sparks limited Aces star A’ja Wilson to just 2 points, while ending the period on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point advantage into the break.

The hosts picked up where they left off in the third, running up a 15-point lead. But Las Vegas got hot in the fourth, using a 7-0 run to take a 75-74 lead with 5:44 remaining. A Wilson bucket put her team up 84-82, but Los Angeles forward Stephanie Talbot’s shot, with 3 seconds to go, tied the game and…

The USA 2024 Olympic team: Brittney Griner, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper and Napheesa Collier, back row; Jewell Loyd, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, middle row; Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Alyssa Thomas and Diana Taurasi, bottom row, USA Basketball photo.

USA Basketball announced today the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s National Team, which will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, set for July 26-Aug. 11, 2024. The team is highlighted by 12 athletes with extensive USA Basketball experience including Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), who will make a record sixth straight Olympic appearance, and nine athletes who have already earned at least one Olympic gold medal.

In addition to Taurasi, the 2024 USA Women’s National Team includes Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) and Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces).

The squad has a combined 15 Olympic gold medals, 18 FIBA Women’s World Cup titles and 55 WNBA All-Star appearances. The team also boasts eight…

USA Basketball announced today the 2024 USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team, which will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. 

The four-member roster includes Cameron Brink, Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith. The roster was selected by the USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team Committee.  

“It is an honor to announce the USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team,” said Jay Demings, USA Basketball 3×3 national team director and member of the USA Basketball 3×3 women’s selection committee. “It is an exciting process to put a roster together that will represent the country on a global stage. We are thankful for all the athletes who attended training camps or participated in 3×3 competitions on the journey to Paris 2024.”  

Each member of the team has both USA Basketball 5-on-5 and 3×3 experience. The four athletes attended the recent 2024 USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team training camp in Springfield, Massachusetts, and played in the subsequent FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Springfield Stop.  

Additionally, the team features three members of the 2023 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team – Brink Burdick and Van Lith – who won the gold medal at the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup. Additionally, Burdick was on the U.S. squad…

Aari McDonald and Cameron Brink. LA Sparks photo.

The Los Angeles Sparks enter unchartered territory this season, and how they will finish is anyone’s guess.

As they seek to return to the playoffs after a three-year absence, they do so with a reconstructed roster that is largely absent of star power. They are also battling some early injuries, which is reminiscent of the way that their 2023 campaign began.

But with two top-five draft picks, some solid veterans and quality roster candidates on hand, coach Curt Miller is entering his second year in Los Angeles with optimism and enthusiasm.

“We’re excited,” he said. “We know who we are. We know we’re in the build process and may be undervalued and underappreciated, but we’re going to get to work every day and try to put as good a product as we can on the floor.”

The Sparks lost 2012 No. 1 draft pick Nneka Ogwumike, who signed with the Seattle Storm over the winter, and they appear to have also parted ways with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike, who is not listed on the team’s training camp roster. A team spokesperson declined to comment on her status with the organization.

Returning starters include Layshia Clarendon and Azura’ Stevens, but Stevens broke her arm during the winter, playing in China, and will miss at…

Tara VanDerveer answers questions from the media during her retirement announcement press conference April 10. Stanford Athletics photo.

From today’s press conference at Stanford, as Tara VanDerveer spoke to the media about her retirement from coaching:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We’ll start with opening remarks from Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics Bernard Muir. He’ll then turn it over to Tara who will offer an opening statement and then we will open it up to questions for you all. Bernard? 

BERNARD MUIR: Thank you all for coming. Just hard to believe, Tara — you can sit down for a little bit. (Laughter). 

I had a chance to visit with Tara quite a few times yesterday, and obviously this is a monumental moment for Stanford, for the athletic department, and certainly women’s basketball. But Tara, on behalf of our coaches, our student-athletes over the years, just thank you. That’s all we can say and say repeatedly. 

At some point in time, we will honor your legacy and we will hold that for now, but today is just a chance to express our gratitude for all you’ve meant to this community, all you’ve meant to Stanford, to women’s basketball, to college sport in general, and we’re so appreciative. 

With…

Kate Martin is fouled by Aaliyah Edwards in the first half. Morry Gash/AP

If this season is eventually remembered as the year women’s basketball broke out, it’s NCAA Tournament may be dubbed the rematch round.

Iowa squeaked by traditional power house UConn, 71-69, in Friday night’s second semifinal, to set up a date in the Championship game with two-time champion South Carolina. Earlier, the Gamecocks handily beat NC State, 78-59, to earn the right to meet the Hawkeyes in what will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal, in which Iowa stunned the two-time champs in the upset.

Hannah Stuelke lead the Hawkeyes against the Huskies with 23 points, and Caitlin Clark finished with 21.

Nika Muhl spearheaded the UConn defense by locking down the nation’s top scorer in Clark in the first half. Clark, who averages almost 30 points per game, was held to just 6 points on 7-18 shooting, including 3-11 from the three-point line. The Huskies also forced 12 turnovers, as they stole the ball 11 times to take a 32-26 advantage into the locker room at the break.

Clark ignited in the third quarter, and Iowa rallied to tie the score 5 different times in the half. With 9 seconds remaining, UConn forced a turnover. But as Paige Bueckers was trying to run to catch the inbound ball for the…