ALYSSA THOMAS

Breanna Stewart scored 17 points and the United States raced out to an early lead to put away Canada 83-43, advancing to the gold-medal game of the World Cup for the fourth consecutive tournament.

Brittney Griner anchored a dominant frontcourt that made the U.S. women’s basketball team the favorites in any international tournament.

Alyssa Thomas had 13 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to help the United States beat Serbia 88-55 in the quarterfinals of the women’s World Cup.

Nirra Fields scored 17 points and Shay Colley added 11 to help Canada beat France 59-45 in the women’s basketball World Cup.

Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in her debut for the United States, which beat Belgium 87-72 in its World Cup opener.

Alyssa Thomas had the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history to help the Connecticut Sun stave off elimination by beating the Las Vegas Aces 105-76 in Game 3.

A’ja Wilson had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Las Vegas Aces to an 85-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

The Connecticut Sun might be down one game in the WNBA Finals after losing their first series opener of the postseason, but they haven’t lost confidence thanks to a stringent defensive effort in Game 1.

A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun 67-64 on Sunday in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals The Aces staved off a late run by the Sun, who erased a seven-point deficit with 1:24 left when Alyssa Thomas hit back-to-back shots to pull Connecticut within three.

Jonquel Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Connecticut Sun overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, beating the Chicago Sky 72-63 in the decisive fifth game of the semifinal series and advancing to the WNBA Finals.

DeWanna Bonner and Courtney Williams each scored 19 points to help the Connecticut Sun rout the Chicago Sky 104-80 and force a decisive Game 5 in their WNBA playoffs semifinal series.

Candace Parker had 16 points and 11 rebounds while Kahleah Copper added 15 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Connecticut Sun 76-72 in Game 3 of the WNBA playoffs semifinals.

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart is the first two-time winner of The Associated Press WNBA Player of the Year award.

Following Brittney Griner’s sentencing in Russia to nine years in prison Thursday, WNBA players, coaches and fans locked arms and tried to send the American basketball star strength during a moment of silence.

The New York Liberty are currently two games out of a spot in the WNBA playoffs.

Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman will get a chance to play before their home fans as the trio was selected as reserves for the WNBA All-Star Game on July 10 in Chicago.

The New York Liberty are a work in progress.

Becky Hammon vowed before the season tipped off that the Las Vegas Aces would be shooting more 3-poitners this year.

The WNBA semifinal playoff series are knotted at a game apiece and both could go the full five games based on the historic and gritty performances thus far.

Jonquel Jones is no stranger to winning Associated Press WNBA awards.

The WNBA enters the final week of the regular season with many playoff positions still to be decided as well as the final postseason berth.