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FIBA: Jones rejoins Praha for EuroLeague Ladies recreation in opposition to Venezia

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FIBA: Jones rejoins Praha for EuroLeague Ladies recreation in opposition to Venezia

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For Czech basketball club ZVVZ USK Praha, simply competing in EuroLeague Women isn’t enough. The storied club is one of the competition’s few regular participants and gone to the semifinals or further in seven of the last nine EuroLeague Women seasons.

Expectations for Praha are high once again for 2024-25. Prior to group play, FIBA.com slotted Praha at No. 4 in its preseason power rankings, citing a level of roster continuity that’s rare in EuroLeague Women, and an opening-week hiccup against Valencia Basket Club wasn’t particularly worrisome, given that several of the team’s mainstays had yet to join the club.

One of those players, center Brionna Jones, is now back with the team. Jones, who has played for Praha since 2019, is joined in the frontcourt by Ezi Magbegor (who also has yet to make her 2024-25 EuroLeague Women debut) and newcomer Isabelle Harrison. The trio should give Praha the luxury of having three established veterans in its frontcourt, which is something few other clubs in the competition will have an answer for.

In Week 3 of group play, Praha will meet an up-and-coming Umana Reyer Venezia club that has been impressive thus far. Venezia, which last competed in EuroLeague Women in 2022, is off to a 2-0 start, breezing past UNI Győr and making a big statement against Valencia. Venezia, too, has plenty of talent up front, with Awak Kuier and Lorela Cubaj currently combining to average 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and three steals per game.

Is Venezia for real? This key Group D matchup against Praha will be a great early-season test for the youngsters playing for the Italian club. It’s just one of many EuroLeague Women games we’ll be watching this week. They’ll all be streamed live and for free on FIBA’s EuroLeague Women YouTube channel.

Wednesday, October 23

ÇBK Mersin (2-0) vs. Olympiacos B.C. (0-2)

When: 11:30 a.m. ET

Where: Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Marine Johannès, Natasha Howard, Karlie Samuelson, Yvonne Anderson, Iliana Rupert, Marine Fauthoux, Regan Magarity (ÇBK Mersin); Kyra Lambert, Ivana Raca, Rebecca Tobin (Olympiacos B.C.)

Matchup details: Mersin has looked sharp out of the gate, winning both of its first two games by double figures, and while it’s still early, it’s looking like the Turkish club is primed to run away with things in Group B. Olympiacos is going to have to tighten up its defense if it’s going to have any chance at slowing Mersin down; through two weeks, the Greek club is allowing 90 points per game, which is the most in the competition, and it hasn’t been able to generate nearly enough offense to compensate.

Fenerbahçe Opet (2-0) vs. KGHM BC Polkowice (1-1)

When: 1 p.m. ET

Where: City Sports Hall in Polkowice, Poland

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Ariel Atkins, Emma Meesseman, Tina Charles, Gabby Williams, Julie Allemand, Nikolina Milic, Sevgi Uzun (Fenerbahçe Opet); Alexis Peterson, Amanda Zahui B., Rennia Davis, Emma Cannon (KGHM BC Polkowice)

Matchup details: Fenerbahçe has looked every bit of the juggernaut it is on paper through the first two weeks, leading the competition in points per game (82.5) and field goal percentage (53.5 percent) as well as steals per game (13.5). Polkowice presents a challenge, however, especially if its last game against Villeneuve-d’Ascq means anything: The Polish club racked up 29 assists on 32 made baskets and shot 55.2 percent from the field, with Cannon leading the way with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Basket Landes (1-1) vs. Beretta Famila Schio (1-1)

When: 2 p.m. ET

Where: Palasport Livio Romare in Schio, Italy

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Destiny Slocum, Leïla Lacan, Sam Fuehring (Basket Landes); Kitija Laksa, Jasmine Keys, Janelle Salaün (Beretta Famila Schio)

Matchup details: Landes has struggled to score the basketball thus far in group play, averaging just 53.5 points per game through two weeks, and that’s not going to cut it against Schio, which has been one of the competition’s most explosive teams early on. Salaün currently leads Schio in both scoring (21.5) and rebounding (9.0). Keep an eye on Lacan, too; while Salaün likely won’t be matched up against her individually, the two players represent the future of French basketball, and even at their young age, they may be the most important players to their respective EuroLeague Women clubs.

Casademont Zaragoza (1-1) vs. Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM (0-2)

When: 2 p.m. ET

Where: Palacium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Markeisha Gatling, Helena Pueyo, Tanaya Atkinson, Stephanie Mawuli (Casademont Zaragoza); Shavonte Zellous, Kelsey Bone, Carla Leite, Maïa Hirsch (Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM)

Matchup details: It’s still early, but Villeneuve-d’Ascq isn’t looking as strong as it did last season, when it made the EuroLeague Women championship game. Hirsch, the club’s best interior defender, continues to nurse an ankle injury, and the team has allowed 171 points total in the first two weeks of group play. Things won’t get any easier in Group C against Zaragoza; Pueyo, in particular, is playing terrific basketball on both ends of the court, shooting 61.1 percent from the floor and averaging 2.5 steals per game.

UNI Győr (0-2) vs. Valencia Basket Club (1-1)

When: 2 p.m. ET

Where: Pabellón Fuente de San Luis in Valencia, Spain

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Cyesha Goree, Virag Kiss (UNI Győr); Alina Iagupova, Stephanie Mavunga, Yvonne Turner, Raquel Carrera, Leticia Romero, Bernadett Határ, Alba Torrens (Valencia Basket Club)

Matchup details: Valencia was upset last week by Venezia, but faces a good opportunity to get back on track in Group D against Győr. There’s a clear disparity in talent in this matchup, and even though Valencia hasn’t established the chemistry it will need to compete for a EuroLeague Women title just yet, Győr is going to need for shooting luck on both sides of the basketball to have much of a chance.

Thursday, October 24

Perfumerias Avenida (1-1) vs. DVTK HUN-Therm (1-1)

When: 12 p.m. ET

Where: DVTK Aréna in Miskolc, Hungary

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Arella Guirantes, Sika Koné, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Arica Carter (Perfumerias Avenida); Kaila Charles, Aleksa Gulbe (DVTK HUN-Therm)

Matchup details: DVTK earned a signature win last week that mirrored much of what made it a successful team last season (namely on defense), holding a potent Schio offense to 63 points. Avenida, too, bounced back after a frustrating opening week, cruising past Landes by nearly 30 points. The matchup on the wing between Charles and Guirantes will be one to watch, while DVTK will need a big game from its frontcourt against Koné (13 rebounds in 22 minutes last week).

ZVVZ USK Praha (1-1) vs. Umana Reyer Venezia (2-0)

When: 1:30 p.m. ET

Where: Palasport Taliercio in Venice, Italy

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Brionna Jones, Isabelle Harrison, Maite Cazorla, Valeriane Ayayi, Maria Conde, Emese Hof (ZVVZ USK Praha); Awak Kuier, Lorela Cubaj, Kamiah Smalls (Umana Reyer Venezia)

Matchup details: Group D looked like it would be a slugfest from the opening draw, but not many expected Venezia to be ahead of both Praha and Valencia in the standings at any point in the season. Both frontcourts are among the most talented in the competition, but Praha has the clear edge in experience, and with Jones back in the fold it figures to once again be one of the strongest rebounding clubs in EuroLeague Women. If Praha has one weakness, it’s ball security; should Venezia be able to force anywhere near the 18 turnovers Praha is currently committing per game, it will have a chance to improve to 3-0.

Žabiny Brno (1-1) vs. Tango Bourges Basket (1-1)

When: 2 p.m. ET

Where: Palais des Sports du Prado in Bourges, France

How to watch: FIBA YouTube live stream

Notable players: Elissa Cunane, Eliška Hamzová (Žabiny Brno); Amy Okonkwo, Morgan Green, Pauline Astier, Kariata Diaby (Tango Bourges Basket)

Matchup details: This is a key matchup in Group B, with Mersin the hands-down favorite and having already comfortably beaten both of these teams. Thus, head-to-head wins will be especially important for both Brno and Bourges. Cunane is currently averaging a double-double (14.8 points and 10 rebounds per game) for Brno, while Okonkwo and Diaby are combining to average 26.5 points per game for Bourges; Astier, however, may be the best player on the floor, should her averages of 14.5 points and 7.5 assists per game hold.

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2024 MLS Cup Playoffs are underway

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2024 MLS Cup Playoffs are underway

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The GIST: The quest for the 2024 MLS Cup is officially underway, but while you’ll have to wait until Friday to see Lionel Messi’s MLS postseason debut with Eastern Conference top-seed Inter Miami CF, fantastic postseason footy is already…afoot. Let’s kick it.

How it works: The playoffs begin with a whirlwind 48-hour single-elimination Wild Card round, which began last night and wraps tonight. The Wild Card operates like the NBA’s play-in tournament and sees the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences battle on their respective coasts to clinch the final two Round One spots.

  • Round One is best-of-three and begins on Friday, possibly lasting until November 10th. In Round One, the winner of each Wild Card game will face the top seed in their conference, the No. 2 seed will play the No. 7 seed, and so on.
  • After that, it’s back to single-elimination for the Conference Semis and Finals, with the winning teams from the East and West battling for the MLS Cup on December 7th. The soccer truly never stops.

The Wild Card games: No. 9 Atlanta United clinched the Eastern Conference Wild Card berth last night, topping No. 8 CF Montréal 5-4 in penalties after the Canadian squad’s tremendous second-half comeback evened the score at 2–2 in regulation. It’s all about how you finish.

  • Wednesday is for the West Coast with No. 8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC taking on the No. 9 Portland Timbers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
  • Though the ever-consistent Whitecaps are the higher seed, the game will be played in Rose City due to a scheduling conflict, giving the inconsistent but recently victorious Timbers an unexpected postseason pick-me-up.



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FIBA: Watch your favourite WNBA stars compete within the EuroLeague

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FIBA: Watch your favourite WNBA stars compete within the EuroLeague

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October 18

EuroLeague Women: Week 2 takeaways

Several stellar performances from backcourt players highlight the second week of EuroLeague Women action, leading to a few surprising outcomes. At the same time, favored teams, including Fenerbahçe, sailed to easy wins.

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The Liberty Clinch WNBA Championship

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The Liberty Clinch WNBA Championship

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Capping their sixth WNBA Finals campaign, the New York Liberty earned their first-ever championship in Sunday’s 67-62 winner-take-all overtime thriller.

As the last original WNBA franchise still playing to book a title, the Libs — who won the league’s inaugural game in 1997 — lifted the WNBA’s 28th trophy in front of a record-breaking sellout home crowd in Brooklyn. 

“It means everything to me,” said New York star Breanna Stewart, who grew up in Syracuse and attended Liberty games as a kid. “I wanted to come here and I wanted to be the first.”

“I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city,” Stewart said after the game. “It’s going to be bonkers.”

The path to the WNBA Championship

Fueled by last year’s disappointing championship loss to the Las Vegas Aces, New York led the league in the regular season with an impressive franchise-tying record of 32-8. 

After sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the first round, New York redemptively ousted the Aces in four semifinals games. The Liberty’s Finals foe was the only team to defeat them multiple times this year — 2024 Commissioners Cup winners Minnesota.

In what was arguably the most competitive series to date, the 2024 Finals were marked by record-setting come-from-behind wins, game-winning shots seemingly scripted in Hollywood, and, after offensive power in the first four tilts, a defensive masterclass in the deciding Game 5.

2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Hones led the Liberty with 17 points in Game 5. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Liberty stars show out in Championship win

Behind her team-leading 17-point, six-rebound Game 5 performance, Jonquel Jones earned the Finals MVP crown. 

“I could never dream of this,” said Jones after the game. “You know how many times I’ve been denied, it was delayed. I am so happy to do it here.”

Co-signed by the Barclays Center crowd chanting her name, the championship-clinching game’s unofficial sixth player was Nyara Sabally. In her biggest showing ever in a Liberty uniform, Sabally’s spark off the bench added 13 clutch points and seven rebounds to New York’s total. 

Minnesota’s defense did a lot to stifle the Liberty, holding New York to a 10-point first quarter — their most dismal opening all year. The Lynx also kept New York shooters to just two-for-23 from behind the arc. 

A large part of suppressing the Libs came from Minnesota’s success in keeping New York’s Game 3 heroes Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu decidedly quiet on Sunday, smothering their respective efforts to 4-for-15 and 1-for-19 from the field.

Despite their offensive struggles, both contributed elsewhere. Ionescu added eight assists and seven rebounds to her five points and Stewart showed out on defense with 15 rebounds alongside her 13 points. 

New York’s gritty 7-2 overtime run ultimately put the game out of Minnesota’s reach. Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who posted an historic playoff run, fouled out in the game’s final seconds. 

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve reacts to a call in the 2024 WNBA Finals
The Liberty outshot head coach Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx 25-8 from the line in Sunday’s championship game. (David Berding/Getty Images)

Lynx coach Reeve slams officiating in Finals loss

After the loss, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve had words for the officials that kept the Lynx from clinching in regulation play.

In a game that saw New York outshoot the Lynx 25-8 from the free throw line, the Lynx unsuccessfully challenged a controversial shooting foul called on Alanna Smith at the end of regulation. That ruling gave New York’s Stewart the pair of free throws that sent the game into overtime.

“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul,'” she told reporters. “Bring it on. Bring it on. Because this s— was stolen from us.”

“If we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that it was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed,” Reeve remarked.

Notably, complaints about officiating and lopsided foul calls have been raised throughout the Finals. And not just from Reeve, who also spoke on the disparity after Game 3.

New York head coach Sandy Brondello made the same plea after Friday’s Game 4 saw foul calls favor Minnesota, saying “I know Cheryl talked about it last time, but we got no calls today… All we want is fair, OK. So if we are getting hit, that’s a foul.”

Ultimately, while acknowledging Minnesota’s disappointment, Reeve’s appeal focused on the need for fair calls to ensure fair play. “This is for a championship,” Reeve said. “For both teams, let [the players] decide it.”

“This s— ain’t that hard,” she added. “Officiating, it’s not that hard.”



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WNBA: How Jonquel Jones, the Liberty’s distinction maker, received Finals MVP

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WNBA: How Jonquel Jones, the Liberty’s distinction maker, received Finals MVP

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From the very start of this series, it was abundantly clear that the New York Liberty’s advantage was their size.

Going up against the league’s best defense in the Minnesota Lynx, it felt like nobody on the Liberty could make a shot for most of this series. However, Jonquel Jones was able to provide New York with key baskets when the flow of their offense was disturbed.

Perhaps no moment best defines this statement more that New York’s first points of Game 5. After going almost four minutes without scoring, it felt like New York was tense and feeling the pressure, so having a safety valve like Jones to throw the ball into and generate efficient post offense was the secret to ultimately staying poised and weathering the storm.

The importance of JJ’s offensive rebounding

One of the most critical aspects of Jones’ game was her impact on the rebounding differential. Minnesota entered the series with a reputation for defensive versatility, yet vulnerable to size and physicality. New York would finish the series with more than twice as many offensive rebounds as Minnesota, which, in a series this closely contested, was the difference between winning and losing multiple games. Jones consistently tipped the scales in New York’s favor on the boards.

With neither team was able to generate a ton of offense, these extra possessions were crucial. Minnesota was switching for most of this series on defense, which meant the rebounding opportunities were there if a smaller guard ended up on Jones, which is exactly what happened in the final seconds of regulation in Game 5, where Jones gave New York another offensive possession by fighting three Lynx players to force a jump ball after Breanna Stewart’s missed free throw.

Jones’ big 3 in Game 3

Another significant part of Jones’ MVP performance was her timely 3-point shooting. While primarily known for her size, Jones’s ability to stretch the floor with her range is what makes her unique at the center position, and in the Finals, she hit one of the biggest shots of the series that may have been forgotten.

Prior to Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winner in Game 3, the Lynx took a four-point lead with two minutes to go. It was Jones’ huge 3 that kept the Liberty within striking distance, but also took the heart of the Lynx just as they felt like they have taken the momentum and secured a Game 3 win in front of their home crowd.

Throughout the series, when Minnesota was in rotation or overwhelmed on dribble penetration, Jones calmly stepped out to the perimeter and punished them with huge 3s. This forced Minnesota’s defenders, especially their bigs, into uncomfortable positions, opening up driving lanes for her teammates.

JJ’s top-notch defense

While Jones’ offensive contributions were vital, her defense in space, particularly in pick-and-roll situations, might have been the biggest reason she won Finals MVP. Minnesota’s offense, led by Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier, thrived on creating mismatches in the pick-and-roll. But Jones, despite her size, was able to defend out in space.

After Game 1, New York was switching most pick-and-rolls. Jones’ ability to switch onto Williams and contain her in space was a huge reason why Williams and Minnesota struggled to find offensive rhythm throughout the series. Every time Minnesota tried to exploit her in the pick-and-roll, thinking they could pull her away from the basket and attack her off the dribble, Jones showed that she was more than capable of handling those matchups.

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello used her in almost every scheme imaginable, whether to hedge, switch, trap or play drop coverage. Her presence deterred Minnesota from getting good looks at the rim, and when they did, Jones’ ability to recover or contest shots at the rim proved invaluable.

Jonquel was the difference maker

Jones’ performance in the 2024 WNBA Finals was a testament to her all-around game. New York may have had the size advantage going into the series, but Jones was truly the difference maker on both ends, helping New York prevail in what will be remembered as the greatest WNBA Finals matchup ever.

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Celebrating PLL Day: Six Years of Reworking Skilled Lacrosse

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Celebrating PLL Day: Six Years of Reworking Skilled Lacrosse

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October 22nd is known as PLL Day which serves as a day of reflection on the ways the Premier Lacrosse League has truly morphed the game of lacrosse into what it is today, only six brief years from its inception. Since its first season, the PLL took the sport right to the utter pinnacle and brought new eyes, professionalism, and innovation to the sport. What began as a bold leap into curing professional lacrosse has become the defining force in how the game is viewed, played, and enjoyed. Today should be a day of praise for everything this league has achieved and moved the needle on across the professional landscape of lacrosse.

We have become so accustomed to what the PLL offers the professional landscape simply because time has passed. With fans now fully acclimated to the PLL and its product on and off of the field, we sometimes forget all the ways the PLL has improved the landscape of professional lacrosse. I wanted to celebrate PLL Day by highlighting some of those things that we have taken for granted over the last six years.

The PLL has opened up a lot of exposure for lacrosse. Up until the PLL was created, media exposure had been thin for the sport to reach many new fans. Thanks to major media deals set up with NBC Sports and ESPN, the PLL brought lacrosse into living rooms. That made it a heck of a lot easier for people to catch games from across the nation or easily online. With added exposure, lacrosse has found itself in a position where it’s able to extend its reach beyond traditional markets and bring in new fans, taking the game closer to the mainstream. This has been one of the standout aspects when it comes to the PLL that has really paved the way for growing the game for newer audiences.

The other major shift the PLL has brought to the sport is in professionalizing the experience for the athlete. Rather than having to juggle multiple jobs, as was often required of professional lacrosse players of the past, the PLL gives out decent salaries, health benefits, and revenue-sharing chances to keep its players satisfied. Though players will still work other jobs, it’s much easier now than it has ever been to invest one’s entire life into the sport of lacrosse, which is what you want to see on the professional scene. This has allowed these athletes to focus fully on their lacrosse careers, enhance performances, and develop overall. Major League Lacrosse set the bar on what it means to be a professional field lacrosse player, but with the PLL has set a new standard on what it means to be treated as full-time professionals with resources to match such support for success.

Another factor that made the PLL different from other professional leagues that came before it is the tour-based model. Rather than being tied into city-based teams, the league brings the games to location markets across the country. This meant the league was able to reach new markets and new fans who otherwise never would have had an opportunity to see any live professional lacrosse games. The model has been instrumental in expanding the sport’s national reach for the fact that fans in non-traditional areas of lacrosse get to see the excitement of a live game. Even as the league looks to move towards a more traditionalist home-and-away weekend setup, the tour model was one of those innovative takes that kept the game open to the world outside those few cities.

In tandem with these structural changes, the PLL had equally managed to make the intrinsic game faster and more exciting due to a succession of pioneering rule changes: shot clock, two-point arc, and smaller team rosters mean the pace of play quickens and therefore becomes more exciting. These changes not only made the game more appealing to the current enthusiasts of lacrosse but also to people who enjoy other fast-paced games like basketball and hockey. It allows players to have a faster, calculated, and interesting game in return.

Other areas in which the PLL has had success are in their absolute focus on digital content for fan engagement. The league has really utilized platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter for content creation in all forms, from highlights and behind-the-scenes footage to stories of athletes that keep fans connected with their favorite players. This digital-first approach has given the PLL its rabidly passionate and highly-engaged fan base, especially among the younger crowds who consume the bulk of their sports content online.

It is hard to exaggerate the role of the PLL over the past six years because, in so many ways, everything about how professional lacrosse is presented to the fans and also to the athletes has changed. By bringing new life to the sport with its embrace of visibility, improving the experience for the players, and innovating the game, it arguably might set it up for more growth and success. Celebrating PLL Day, we pay homage to how far the sport has come and will also be shaped in years to come by this league.



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The whole lot you want to understand concerning the 2024 AU Professional Volleyball season

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The whole lot you want to understand concerning the 2024 AU Professional Volleyball season

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🏐 The background

AU Volleyball is part of the broader Athletes Unlimited (AU) network, which includes softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and basketball events. AU launched in 2020 with softball as its debut sport, introducing an innovative player-centric format under which athletes compete fantasy-style to accrue individual points.

That’s right, AU (currently) operates outside of the traditional, city-based, team format. There are no fixed squads (teams generally change weekly), top-performing players become captains who draft their own teammates each week, and the winner is the individual player that accumulates the most points based on their performance at the end of the season

  • AU plays a crucial role in the women’s sports landscape by giving athletes domestic pro opportunities that were previously unavailable. Quite literally game-changing.

And when it comes to volleyball, AU is already the longest-running pro indoor league in the US. Now in their fourth year of existence and following the renewal of their ESPN media deal, they’re poised to capitalize on the record-breaking college fandom and post-Olympic hype.

⚙️ How it works

Everything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball season

Source: AUProSports/X

The AU Pro Volleyball season is a five-week, 44-player party in Mesa, Arizona, with 30 games scheduled between October 3rd and the November 4th grand finale.

While each game is team vs. team, the ultimate goal is to rack up as many individual points as possible. Players accumulate points if their team wins sets or matches, through individual stats like aces, kills, and digs, or by being voted a Top 3 game MVP by fellow players and members of the free-to-join Unlimited Club (aka volleyball fans like you).

  • In the end, the top point-earner across all five weeks takes the title. Every moment counts.

After Week 1, every Friday marks the start of a new series of games, where the league’s top four point-getters are crowned captains and handpick new squads for the week ahead. Expect to see several recently graduated college standouts mixing it up with veterans and Olympic stars in what is AU’s most competitive roster to date.

🤩 The star power

Everything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball seasonEverything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball season

Source: AU Pro Sports

Morgan Hentz, libero: This Stanford alum is so good at digging, she should have been cast in Holes. In her two seasons with AU, Hentz has racked up two Defensive Player of the Year awards, the league record for digs in a single match (25), and the longest win streak in the history of any AU sport (tied at 11 matches). Rumor has it, she’s never lost a game of The Floor is Lava.

Bethania de la Cruz, outside hitter: The 2022 AU champ would have contended for last year’s title too, but she missed four games to help her native Dominican Republic qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. If you see this fourth-year vet lining up a hit, duck — she leads the league in career kills.

Brooke Nuneviller, outside hitter: A first-team All-American during her time at Oregon, Nuneviller’s a stone-cold killer who knows how to finish strong: She ended last season, her first with AU, on an eight-match streak of double-digit kills to snag the third spot on the leaderboard. If she can keep up that clip in her sophomore season, she’s a serious threat to take the crown.

Alisha Childress, setter: Setters run a team’s offense, and Childress is as steady as they come. From her three straight NCAA championships at Penn State to her 2016 Olympic bronze medal with Team USA, her resume is chock-full of accolades.

📣 An interview with Morgan Hentz

Everything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball seasonEverything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball season

Source: AU Pro Sports

This league isn’t just revolutionary for its fans — it’s also changed the game for the country’s best players. We chatted with the aforementioned Hentz to learn more about what it’s like to play for AU (her responses have been lightly edited for space and clarity).

Q: You’ve already found a lot of success in this league. What are you looking forward to most this season?

A: Every single year, there’s been an increase in the level of play, which has been super fun to see and be a part of…I really enjoy getting to know all of the players here, not just on the court, but off the court as well.

  • The relationship aspect of AU is my favorite part about the league. You might be playing against someone one night…but then as soon as the game’s over, you might be in the locker room with them.

Q: The league’s set-up is so unique. What’s it like competing against your teammates?

A: Everyone is friends — I’m going into my third official season with AU, and I have never seen drama off the court. I think players here are just really excited and grateful for the opportunity to be in the U.S. You get players who have played [pro] all over the world, and AU has given them the opportunity to come back to the States and play in front of friends and family on U.S. soil.

Q: Volleyball is booming in the U.S. What changes have you seen in the game as part of this broader women’s sports movement?

A: I think volleyball has been getting more coverage with time, especially at the NCAA level. It’s amazing for the growth of the sport. It’s super fun to watch when it’s streamed on a broader network and given the coverage it deserves.

  • I’m hoping that the fan base that the NCAA has created will transfer over to the professional side, especially when fantastic college players graduate and transition over to these pro leagues getting started here.

Q: Why should fans get invested in AU Pro Volleyball?

A: It’s fast-paced, it’s fun, and the talent level is off the charts. You’re not going to be bored for a single point, and just the unique format of it is fun to learn about. I think you get to know players on an individual level since teams are changing frequently.

  • AU also gives athletes an amazing platform to use their voices, specifically with charitable causes they really care about. Whatever your win bonus is at the end of the season, AU matches that and gives it to the cause that you’re playing for.

📺 How to tune in

Everything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball seasonEverything you need to know about the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball season

Source: AU Pro Sports

It all starts with tomorrow’s season-opening draft, when the Series 1 captains — Hentz, de la Cruz, Nuneviller, and setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson — choose the teams they’ll go into battle with later this week.

  • Then, the season tips off with a Thursday doubleheader starting at 8 p.m. ET on VBTV and Bally Sports RSNs. From there, anything can happen. ESPN networks will be your go-to for most of the season, so tune in and buckle TF up.



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WNBA: Did Liberty’s Brondello out-coach Lynx’s Reeve within the Finals?

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WNBA: Did Liberty’s Brondello out-coach Lynx’s Reeve within the Finals?

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WNBA coaching is often framed as a tight-knit camaraderie. Competition lives, and dies, on the court. Respect is mutual and well-advertised. However, it’s safe to say that the New York Liberty’s Sandy Brondello and Minnesota Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve are a bit tired of eyeing each other from the sidelines.

Last time the coaches met in a dual-elimination game, their rosters looked different. Liberty supernovas Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, proudly donning Team USA jerseys, were taking their orders from Reeve. Brondello and her Australian pack perched on the opposite sideline. As experienced as the Opals were, their talent paled in comparison to the red, white and blue. Reeve and Team USA blazed towards the gold medal game, while Brondello and the Aussies fell into bronze. Not even three months later, Brondello found herself matched up with the WNBA Coach of the Year once again.

Forward thinking

Ten years after winning her first WNBA Championship as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, Sandy Brondello has returned to the promised land.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

The untrained eye may discredit Brondello’s coaching feats under the context of her resources. She’s got Stewart, Ionescu and Jonquel Jones? Of course she should win! Well, when Ionescu shoots 1-for-19, Stewart shoots 4-for-15 and Jones shoots 5-for-10, a Game 5 victory is an undeniable feat of generational game management.

One of the most prominent successes of Brondello’s Game 5 was her determination to enable New York’s role players—something that Reeve wasn’t able to replicate. Through Game 2, reserves on both teams had combined for less than 12 percent of the series total points. Game 3 and 4 followed suit. However, on Sunday night, it was clear that Brondello would be going home empty if she didn’t trust her supporting cast. Her Big 3 was struggling.

Amidst her team’s inefficiency, Brondello turned to an unexpected face: Nyara Sabally. The sophomore German forward averaged a hair under five points per game this season, and had only scored three baskets through the first four games of the Finals. She only played five and nine minutes in the first two games, respectively. So why Sabally?

Brondello knew she needed to go big. Coming out of halftime, New York slowly incorporated a scarcely-before seen lineup of three forwards. Sabally, Stewart and Jones. 6-foot-4, 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-6. Minnesota has size to match, but Reeve wasn’t willing to test their synergy. Instead, the Lynx decided to stay small and hope that their guards could body up against the New York skyscrapers. Sabally wreaked havoc on mismatches. She recorded 13 points and seven rebounds on 71 percent shooting. She also prevented Napheesa Collier from hunting mismatches on guards. Three forwards on the court meant three defenders capable of sticking with Collier in one-on-one coverage. Even if she scored, it wouldn’t be easy.

With points at a premium in overtime, Sabally intercepted an elbow entry pass meant for Collier, taking it 72 feet for a transition layup that gave New York a two possession lead. Even with three minutes left, that steal was the dagger.

Sabally deserves the praise for her own heroics, but Brondello’s lineup abstraction took the Liberty through the finish line. Most coaches would willingly die, wrapped in the comfort of their own stars, refusing to experiment with a championship on the table. Comically-bad shooting percentages weren’t enough to make Brondello waive the white flag. She took to the drawing board with 20 minutes left in the series, and went home with a trophy to show for it.

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NWSL Weekend Video games See Gotham Win, Chawinga’s twentieth Function

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NWSL Weekend Video games See Gotham Win, Chawinga’s twentieth Function

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Capping their sixth WNBA Finals campaign, the New York Liberty earned their first-ever championship in Sunday’s 67-62 winner-take-all overtime thriller.

As the last original WNBA franchise still playing to book a title, the Libs — who won the league’s inaugural game in 1997 — lifted the WNBA’s 28th trophy in front of a record-breaking sellout home crowd in Brooklyn. 

“It means everything to me,” said New York star Breanna Stewart, who grew up in Syracuse and attended Liberty games as a kid. “I wanted to come here and I wanted to be the first.”

“I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city,” Stewart said after the game. “It’s going to be bonkers.”

The path to the WNBA Championship

Fueled by last year’s disappointing championship loss to the Las Vegas Aces, New York led the league in the regular season with an impressive franchise-tying record of 32-8. 

After sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the first round, New York redemptively ousted the Aces in four semifinals games. The Liberty’s Finals foe was the only team to defeat them multiple times this year — 2024 Commissioners Cup winners Minnesota.

In what was arguably the most competitive series to date, the 2024 Finals were marked by record-setting come-from-behind wins, game-winning shots seemingly scripted in Hollywood, and, after offensive power in the first four tilts, a defensive masterclass in the deciding Game 5.

2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Hones led the Liberty with 17 points in Game 5. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Liberty stars show out in Championship win

Behind her team-leading 17-point, six-rebound Game 5 performance, Jonquel Jones earned the Finals MVP crown. 

“I could never dream of this,” said Jones after the game. “You know how many times I’ve been denied, it was delayed. I am so happy to do it here.”

Co-signed by the Barclays Center crowd chanting her name, the championship-clinching game’s unofficial sixth player was Nyara Sabally. In her biggest showing ever in a Liberty uniform, Sabally’s spark off the bench added 13 clutch points and seven rebounds to New York’s total. 

Minnesota’s defense did a lot to stifle the Liberty, holding New York to a 10-point first quarter — their most dismal opening all year. The Lynx also kept New York shooters to just two-for-23 from behind the arc. 

A large part of suppressing the Libs came from Minnesota’s success in keeping New York’s Game 3 heroes Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu decidedly quiet on Sunday, smothering their respective efforts to 4-for-15 and 1-for-19 from the field.

Despite their offensive struggles, both contributed elsewhere. Ionescu added eight assists and seven rebounds to her five points and Stewart showed out on defense with 15 rebounds alongside her 13 points. 

New York’s gritty 7-2 overtime run ultimately put the game out of Minnesota’s reach. Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who posted an historic playoff run, fouled out in the game’s final seconds. 

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve reacts to a call in the 2024 WNBA Finals
The Liberty outshot head coach Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx 25-8 from the line in Sunday’s championship game. (David Berding/Getty Images)

Lynx coach Reeve slams officiating in Finals loss

After the loss, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve had words for the officials that kept the Lynx from clinching in regulation play.

In a game that saw New York outshoot the Lynx 25-8 from the free throw line, the Lynx unsuccessfully challenged a controversial shooting foul called on Alanna Smith at the end of regulation. That ruling gave New York’s Stewart the pair of free throws that sent the game into overtime.

“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul,'” she told reporters. “Bring it on. Bring it on. Because this s— was stolen from us.”

“If we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that it was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed,” Reeve remarked.

Notably, complaints about officiating and lopsided foul calls have been raised throughout the Finals. And not just from Reeve, who also spoke on the disparity after Game 3.

New York head coach Sandy Brondello made the same plea after Friday’s Game 4 saw foul calls favor Minnesota, saying “I know Cheryl talked about it last time, but we got no calls today… All we want is fair, OK. So if we are getting hit, that’s a foul.”

Ultimately, while acknowledging Minnesota’s disappointment, Reeve’s appeal focused on the need for fair calls to ensure fair play. “This is for a championship,” Reeve said. “For both teams, let [the players] decide it.”

“This s— ain’t that hard,” she added. “Officiating, it’s not that hard.”



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New York Liberty down Minnesota Lynx in OT to clinch first WNBA name

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New York Liberty down Minnesota Lynx in OT to clinch first WNBA name

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 The Liberty celebrate winning the WNBA Championship. New York Liberty photo.

NEW YORK (AP) — As confetti fell and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared through the arena, the New York Liberty celebrated the end of a long odyssey.

The team that always fell short, starting from their days in Madison Square Garden, through detours to Radio City Music Hall and Westchester County Center, finally found their way to the top.

Start spreading the news, indeed: There’s finally a pro basketball champion in New York again after a 67-62 overtime win over Minnesota in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday night.

“I’ve been manifesting this moment for awhile, There’s no feeling like it,” Breanna Stewart said. “Credit to Minnesota, they gave us a tough series. The fans have been amazing everywhere we’ve gone. To bring a championship to New York, first ever in franchise history it’s an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city. It’s going to be bonkers.”

Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals five times before, losing each one, including last season. This time they wouldn’t be denied, although it took an extra five minutes.

With stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling on offense, other players stepped up. Leonie Fiebich started off OT with a 3-pointer, and then Nyara Sabally, who finished with 13 points, had a steal for a layup to make it 65-60 and bring the sellout crowd to a frenzied state.

“Whoever scores in overtime first usually wins,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.

Minnesota didn’t score in OT until Kayla McBride hit two free throws with 1:51 left. The Lynx missed all six of their field goal attempts in overtime. After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds left, her 18th miss on 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.

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