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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today
1. The Liberty Put Minnesota on the Brink 😲
The WNBA playoffs opened with an upset. Breanna Stewart had 34 points and 12 rebounds as the No. 8 Liberty beat the No. 1 Lynx, 91-75.
The higher-seeded team won the other three Game 1s, including Las Vegas behind A’ja Wilson’s 38 points and 16 rebounds, while Atlanta and Golden State also picked up wins on Sunday. (Yahoo Sports)
WHY IT MATTERS: There’s not much room for a slow start in a best-of-three series. New York now has a chance to knock out the top-seeded Lynx in Game 2, while the Aces, Dream, and Valkyries can also advance with one more win.
The Aces-Fever and Lynx-Liberty series are back Tuesday, with Dream-Mystics and Valkyries-Wings on Wednesday.
🗳️ Do you think the Liberty will knock out the No. 1 Lynx?
2. A’ja Wilson Leads the AP Awards 🏆
The Associated Press handed out its 2026 WNBA awards Sunday, with A’ja Wilson earning Player of the Year for the third straight season. Angel Reese was named Defensive Player of the Year, Olivia Miles took Rookie of the Year, Jessica Shepard earned Most Improved Player, Janelle Salaün received 6th Player of the Year, and Cheryl Reeve was named Coach of the Year.
WHY IT MATTERS: These aren’t the WNBA’s official awards, which will be announced throughout the playoffs. But the AP honors give us an early look at how a national media panel viewed the season.
Wilson also did something no one else has done. This is her fourth AP Player of the Year award overall, the most since the award began in 2016, and she’s the first player to win it three years in a row.
3. The WNBA’s Growth Continued in 2026 📈
The 2026 WNBA regular season wrapped up with another year of record attendance. A record 3.79 million fans attended games this season, up 20.5% from last year, while average attendance climbed 5% to a record 11,474 per game.
TV audiences grew, too. ESPN averaged 1.4 million viewers, up 17% from 2025, while CBS was up 9%. (Front Office Sports)
WHY IT MATTERS: The huge jumps we saw a couple of years ago were always going to be difficult to repeat, but the growth continued in 2026. Expansion helped boost total attendance this year, but even without the two new teams, attendance grew about 3%.
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OVERTIME ⏱️
Tough Break: Fever guard Ty Harris will miss the rest of the season after breaking her left fibula in Thursday’s regular-season finale against Minnesota.
Change in LA: The Los Angeles Sparks parted ways with head coach Lynne Roberts after two seasons, both ending without a playoff appearance.
Hoops in the Sun: South Carolina and College of Charleston played a preseason exhibition outdoors at Credit One Stadium on Daniel Island.
🗳️ Poll Results from Friday: We asked if you thought we’d see an upset in the First Round, and 89% of you said yes. The No. 8 Liberty are now one win away from making that happen after taking Game 1 against the No. 1 Lynx.
