Only One Playoff Spot Remains

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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today

Talk about a productive weekend. Four more teams punched their playoff tickets over the weekend as Atlanta, Indiana, New York, and Washington clinched spots. Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix were eliminated, leaving just one postseason spot up for grabs between two teams.

👉 See the current WNBA standings

WHY IT MATTERS: The final playoff spot is down to the Dallas Wings and the Portland Fire. The Wings have the edge with a 6.5-game lead, but the Fire will continue to battle. Fittingly, the two teams face each other this Tuesday in Arlington, where Dallas can lock up the No. 8 seed with a win.

Portland has a new resident. The team introduced their new team mascot Rose, a glitter-breathing dragon that is a creative take on existing Portland city lore. (Portland Fire)

👉 See Rose in action

WHY IT MATTERS: Mascots add another layer of fun to the in-arena experience, especially for families, while giving teams another recognizable piece of their identity. For a new franchise like Portland, there’s also room to get creative from the start and turn a character like Rose into another source of team merchandise and pride for the passionate Fire fan base.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NCAA a stay last Friday, reversing a previous order that had opened the door for athletes who began college in 2022-23 to return for a fifth season. (ESPN)

WHY IT MATTERS: The back-and-forth over NCAA eligibility rules is far from settled. Friday’s ruling applies to a class-action lawsuit led by a Northern Colorado men’s basketball player and returns those athletes to the NCAA’s current eligibility rules while the case continues. Other lawsuits in other states are still playing out, which means the uncertainty for athletes and college rosters isn’t going away yet.