WNBA

Swin and Tamika sat down to revisit and relive many matchups, as well as a memorable meeting in college on the biggest possible stage.

New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb knew that he and first-year coach Walt Hopkins would have to make some tough decisions on the team's roster this year. The WNBA and the players' union decided that teams would have to get their rosters under the salary cap by Tuesday so that players could start getting paid on June 1. It's left many teams with tough decisions on who they will cut and little time to figure it out.

WNBA teams will have to get their rosters down to 12 by May 26 so players can get paid starting June 1, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The WNBA offered rookies health benefits starting May 1. Veteran players receive year-round benefits.

''I feel really good about how things are now evolving and settling,'' Engelbert said in a phone interview. The postponement of the Tokyo Games gives the league more of a chance to have a full season. ''We haven't taken off the table having a full season while other scenarios have a reduced amount of games,'' the commissioner said.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Las Vegas Aces center JiSu Park will sit out the 2020 WNBA season to train in her home country of South Korea this summer.

WNBA rookies will start receiving health benefits beginning this week, a move that comes while camps and the season remain suspended indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic. Medical benefits usually are offered once training camp starts, but first-year players will be covered starting Friday. ''Given the unique nature of this crisis, rookies and other new players currently under contract will receive full health benefits beginning on May 1, while veterans, who already receive year-round health benefits, will not have any break in their coverage,'' WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

A move to a new team for the first time in her career might have convinced Seimone Augustus to play past this season . Augustus signed with the Los Angeles Sparks on Feb. 20 after playing her entire 14-year career with the Minnesota Lynx. ''To be honest, my mind is kind of open to coming back,'' Augustus said on a conference call from her home in Louisiana on Friday.

The Dallas Wings have waived forward Kaela Davis after three seasons. Davis was the 10th overall pick by the Wings in 2017 WNBA draft, soon after South Carolina won the national championship game in Dallas.

All-Star Liz Cambage has re-signed with the Las Vegas Aces, the team announced Wednesday. The 6-foot-8 Australian center was acquired before last season from the Dallas Wings. ''Last year, the Aces and Liz took a chance on one another, and it worked out better than we both could have imagined,'' coach and president of basketball operations Bill Laimbeer said in a statement.

The WNBA draft drew its second-highest television audience. The draft, held virtually last Friday because of the coronavirus, averaged 387,000 viewers on ESPN, up 123% from last year's draft. ''This year's WNBA draft was truly a collaborative effort between the league and ESPN, under an unprecedented set of circumstances, to ensure that the top athletes in women's college basketball were given the platform they deserve,'' said Carol Stiff, ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions.

Chicago Sky center Stefanie Dolson announced that she tested positive for the coronavirus, making her the first known Chicago professional athlete to contract COVID-19. Dolson said in a video that aired Friday night during ESPN's broadcast of the WNBA draft that she and her ''whole family'' tested positive about a month ago, the Chicago Tribune reported. ''This virus has hit pretty close to home,'' said Dolson, who, along with Los Angeles Sparks guard Sydney Wiese, is one of two WNBA players known to have contracted the virus.

The Dallas Wings had been focused on the 2020 WNBA draft for about two years, and went into the night with three of the top seven picks. ''I think when we look back five or 10 years from now, we're going to realize how important tonight was in terms of the amount of talent that we added to what I consider to be a very good, already existing talented young group of players,'' Greg Bibb, the team's president and CEO said Friday night. Oregon 6-foot-4 forward Satou Sabally, one of three juniors to forego their last year of college eligibility for the draft, was picked by the Wings second overall.

Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, as expected. When she’ll play for the New York Liberty is unclear. With sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was a draft Friday night like no other with players in their own homes instead of a central location, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced selections from her home in New Jersey, holding up the jersey of the player being chosen.

It will be no surprise if Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft Friday night by the New York Liberty. The Ducks guard, who was the consensus player of the year, has been projected as the Liberty's choice since the team won the draft lottery. ''I've talked to their coach a little bit, and he's been awesome,'' Ionescu said during a Zoom call earlier this week.

Chicago coach James Wade jokes that he might have an advantage in the WNBA's virtual draft Friday night despite picking from France where it will be after midnight when the Sky make their first choice. Wade worked from a hotel room in Hungary during last year's draft as the Russian team he coaches in the winter was in the European Final Four when the event was taking place in New York. Wade and the Chicago ownership group discussed him returning to the windy city for the draft, but they suggested that he should be with his family in France since it was uncertain when the season would be starting.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Associated Press had a panel of WNBA coaches and general managers hold a mock draft over the course of the season. This is the final installment with the draft on Friday.

The New York Liberty traded All-Star Tina Charles to the Washington Mystics on Wednesday as part of a three-team deal. New York received the 12th pick in the WNBA draft from Washington as well as the ninth and 15th picks from Dallas. The Liberty also received Tayler Hill from the Wings and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from the Mystics.

The Dallas Wings and Oregon Ducks are primed for a big night. But will we see any of these players make a roster?

From one No. 1 pick to a soon-to-be other No. 1.

The New York Liberty logo is getting an update for the first time since the team joined the WNBA 24 years ago in the league's inaugural season. The Liberty are moving away from the orange-and-blue color scheme that was associated with their previous owner, New York Knicks owner James Dolan, to a logo that includes black, white and a pale green similar to the Statue of Liberty. The new colors are similar to those used by the Brooklyn Nets, who are owned by the group that bought the Liberty last year.

We all know Sabrina Ionescu. Here are more names to know at the 2020 WNBA draft.

The Wisconsin grad spent six season in the WNBA. Now, she's coaching men at a Minnesota school with an enrollment of 1,700.

Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler and her husband are selling off all individual stocks following allegations of insider trading related to a private coronavirus briefing.

Dana White is forcefully moving ahead with UFC 249 on April 18 despite the coronavirus pandemic. One fighter has already dropped out.

Arella Guirantes is headed back to Rutgers instead of choosing to enter the WNBA draft. Oregon's Satou Sabally, Texas A&M's Chennedy Carter and UConn's Megan Walker have submitted their paperwork to enter the draft. While its been common place for years for underclassmen to enter the NBA draft early, the WNBA has seen more eligible underclassmen players do it over the past few seasons, including last season's No. 1 pick, Jackie Young.

The WNBA season will not start on time next month because of the coronavirus pandemic, and when it begins is unclear. The league announced Friday it will delay the season for an indefinite period. Training camps were to open on April 26 and the regular season on May 15.

The WNBA team's co-owner released more detailed transactions in retail and PPE gear while under public scrutiny for alleged insider trading.

Dallas Wings center Imani McGee-Stafford will forego the next two WNBA seasons to pursue a law degree. McGee-Stafford said through the Wings on Monday that she has been accepted into a program at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles that features an accelerated law school curriculum. “While I am saddened to step away from such a big part of my life, I'm also excited for this next chapter," McGee-Stafford said, also expressing her thanks to Wings officials for being understanding and supportive of her decision.

Which WNBA team put together the best season ever? Vote on it in our Best Ever bracket series.

The WNBA draft will be a virtual event this year. ''The WNBA draft is a time to celebrate the exceptional athletes whose hard work and dreams are realized with their selections in the draft,'' WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. Logistics of the draft are still being worked out with ESPN although Engelbert confirmed she would announce the picks that night on the league's broadcast partner's network.

Former Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler is suing the WNBA team saying she was fired for raising complaints about inappropriate sexual relationships involving the team president and a managing partner, not for using a racial slur. The Sparks say Toler was fired on Oct. 4 following a profanity-laced postgame tirade that included using a racial slur a few days earlier following a playoff game. In the suit filed Tuesday for gender discrimination, Toler said if she were a man, she would still be employed by the team.

Maya Moore has always been known for hitting the big shot on the grandest stage. A judge on Monday overturned the 1997 burglary and assault convictions of a Missouri man, Jonathon Irons, whose case has been championed by the WNBA star to the point she stepped away from her career to help the family friend. Cole County Judge Dan Green found the defense for Irons provided enough evidence to prove he was wrongfully convicted, a decision first reported by the Jefferson City News-Tribune.

Sue Bird is returning to the Seattle Storm for a 19th season after re-signing with the team Tuesday. Bird missed all last season after undergoing knee surgery. The last time she was on the court for Seattle, Bird was leading the franchise to its third WNBA title in 2018.

The Connecticut Sun announced Monday that they have acquired former UConn star Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in a trade with the Seattle Storm. The Storm will get the Sun's second-round pick in the 2021 draft in return. The 26-year-old averaged 5.5 points for the Storm last season and 5.3 points over her five years in the WNBA, which included a championship in 2018.

Seimone Augustus has left the Minnesota Lynx after 14 seasons to join the Los Angeles Sparks. The All-WNBA guard Augustus was a key piece of four championship teams in Minnesota, which drafted her with the first overall pick out of LSU in 2006. With Maya Moore on hiatus from the sport and Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson retired, the Lynx are in rebuilding mode.

It's been a busy week for Stefanie Dolson. The free agent said that she never considered going anywhere else and always wanted to stay in Chicago. Dolson started all 34 games for Chicago last season, averaging 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and one steal in 25 minutes per game.

The Connecticut Sun acquired guard Briann January from Phoenix on Wednesday in a three-way deal that sent fan favorite Courtney Williams to the Atlanta Dream. The Sun also get a second-round draft pick from the Mercury. Phoenix received 6-foot-2 forward Jessica Breland and 6-1 forward Nia Coffey from Atlanta.

The Mystics re-signed the forward on Monday. Having one of the top players in the world back for the upcoming season gives us a lot of options in how we play,'' Mystics coach and GM Mike Thibault said. ''It's a great feeling for a coach to have a Finals MVP and a league MVP in Elena Delle Donne lining up opposite each other on the court.

PHOENIX (AP) -- All-Star center Brittney Griner is staying in the desert.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Wings acquired former UConn player Katie Lou Samuelson on Friday along with a 2021 first-round draft pick from the Chicago Sky for Azura Stevens.

The Seattle Storm has re-signed Breanna Stewart. After missing the 2019 WNBA season because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon, Stewart made her return to the court on Jan. 27, 2020, as a member of the United States women's national team in an exhibition game against her alma mater, Connecticut. ''At first, it was about getting back on the court, that was the motivation,'' Stewart said in a statement.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Dream have added more size and experience to their front line by signing two-time WNBA All-Star forward Glory Johnson.

Kristi Toliver is ready for her second go-round in Los Angeles. The two-time WNBA champion signed as a free agent with the Sparks on Monday, leaving Washington, where she helped the Mystics win their first title. Toliver said the decision to returnk to Los Angeles was partly financial.

Skylar Diggins-Smith is going to Phoenix to join Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. The Dallas Wings traded the four-time All-Star to the Mercury on Wednesday for the No. 5 and 7 picks in the 2020 WNBA draft and Phoenix's 2021 first-round pick. The Wings then sent the 2021 pick the team acquired in the deal to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Astou Ndour.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Lynx hired Rebekkah Brunson as an assistant coach, as the WNBA's all-time leading rebounder announced her retirement on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne signed a four-year contract Tuesday to stay with the Washington Mystics after leading the team to its first league championship.

The Connecticut Sun were one win away from a WNBA title last season. The team added a big piece for potentially getting that extra victory on Tuesday by trading for DeWanna Bonner. The Sun sent the Phoenix Mercury three first-round draft picks for the All-Star wing.

USA Basketball will have a team of WNBA players available to qualify for 3-on-3 at the Olympics. Kelsey Plum, Allisha Gray, Katie Lou Samuelson and Stefanie Dolson headline the 11 players invited to a training camp this week in Chicago. From the pool, the selection committee will choose four women to represent the U.S. at the qualifying tournament in India from March 18-22.

Angel McCoughtry is headed to Las Vegas and Kristi Toliver is going back to Los Angeles on the first day that WNBA free agents can sign with new teams. ''Viva Las Vegas, baby!'' McCoughtry said before heading back to Russia, where she plays during the WNBA offseason for Dynamo Kursk. ''I am truly honored for the opportunity to continue my career and make my return to the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Dream have added size to their lineup by acquiring center Kalani Brown from the Los Angeles Sparks for guard Brittney Sykes and center Marie Gulich.

Comments like the ones Morris made after Wednesday's game are tired.