HOUSTON — Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is set to start a new quarterback in Friday’s game at Houston – a redshirt sophomore who was listed as the team’s third-string QB less than a week ago.

But it’s not because Colorado’s other two top quarterbacks played poorly or got injured.

Sanders instead is going off of his gut – and what he saw in last week’s 31-7 win against Delaware, when he gave a tryout of sorts to Ryan Staub, then the third-string QB. Staub entered the game with 45 seconds left in the first half and the Buffaloes leading 10-7. By the time he left the game in the second half, the Buffs were up 31-7 after Staub threw touchdown passes of 21 and 71 yards.

Staub played like a gunslinger with a killer instinct, outplaying Colorado’s previous starter, Kaidon Salter, and the previous No. 2 quarterback, freshman Julian Lewis.

Though Sanders declined to confirm this week that Staub would start tonight against Houston (2-0) tonight for Colorado (1-1), several signs and statements indicate he will. It could be his big chance.

Follow along here for updates, news and highlights from the Colorado vs. Houston matchup:

When is Colorado vs Houston game?

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 12 from TDECU Stadium in Houston.

How to watch Colorado vs Houston

The game will be televised on ESPN and also is available on Fubo.

Watch Colorado vs. Houston on Fubo with a free trial

Colorado vs Houston odds

College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook; Odds updated Sept. 11. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Spread: Houston (-4.5)
Moneyline: Houston (-200), Colorado (+165)
Total: 45.5 points

Announcers for Colorado vs Houston

ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Anish Shroff will call the game along with former Houston quarterback Andre Ware, the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner. They will be joined by sideline reporter Paul Carcaterra.

Colorado injury update

Wide receiver Omarion Miller is expected to be out a second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Running back Dallan Hayden could make his season debut if he comes back from a hand injury.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Ryan Staub, who started the season as Colorado’s third-string quarterback, is now poised to become the team’s new starter.
Former interim head coach Mike Sanford, who originally recruited Staub, believes he is the best quarterback on the roster.
Despite being overlooked in favor of a transfer and a top recruit, Staub chose to remain at Colorado and work for his chance.

A former University of Colorado interim football coach has been predicting this would happen for quite some time.

It’s kind of a crazy story: Ryan Staub, who started the season as the third-string quarterback at Colorado, is now on track to become the new No. 1 QB for Colorado under coach Deion Sanders. Staub might even run away with the job if he performs well in Colorado’s next game Friday at Houston.

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He’s that good, said Mike Sanford, who served as Colorado’s interim coach before Sanders was hired in December 2022. Sanford said he’s been “predicting this for kind of a while” based on his knowledge of Staub and how he stacks up against the other two top quarterbacks at Colorado.

“My take is he’s the best quarterback of the three, period, no matter how they got there,” Sanford said in an interview this week with USA TODAY Sports. “The world of football still comes down to a meritocracy, and whoever’s the best ultimately is going to have the opportunity to get out there and play.”

Sanford recruited Ryan Staub to Colorado before Deion Sanders

Sanford, now the coach at Valor Christian High in Colorado, has an admitted bias: He’s the coach who recruited Staub out of Southern California and helped persuade him to commit to Colorado about 10 months before Sanders arrived in Boulder. Sanford also counseled Staub after Sanders brought his son Shedeur with him to quarterback the Buffaloes in 2023 and 2024.

Sanford was let go by Colorado after the team finished 1-11 in 2022. But Staub stuck with his commitment and served as Shedeur’s backup in Sanders’ first two seasons at Colorado.

For those outside the program, this made Staub easy to overlook. He rarely played except for a 23-17 loss at Utah in the final game of 2023, when Shedeur sat out with a fractured back.

Then when Shedeur left for the NFL, Colorado installed two newcomers in front of Staub for 2025: Transfer Kaidon Salter, who led Liberty to a 13-1 season in 2023, and Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a four-star freshman recruit.

Sanford still believed. He just wasn’t sure Staub would get an opportunity.

“I didn’t know he’d get that chance, that legitimate chance, because his arrival to CU didn’t follow the narrative to CU that probably a lot of people want with the current CU program, which is a five-star (recruit) or major transfer who had been a really significant player,” Sanford said.

Deion Sanders gave him that chance last week in a 31-7 win at home against Delaware.

Ryan Staub’s unlikely shot under Deion Sanders

Colorado listed Staub as the No. 3 quarterback behind Salter and Lewis before both of the team’s games this season. Salter was the only quarterback who played in the season opener against Georgia Tech, a 27-20 loss. After that, Sanders said Lewis would get his first college playing time against Delaware, which he did when he came off the bench for two drives in the second quarter, both of which ended in punts.

But then came the unexpected twist. As part of a tryout of sorts, Sanders put in Staub with 45 seconds in the first half, with the Buffs leading 10-7. Staub missed on his first two passes. But then he took over, completing a 31-yard pass and then a 21-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left before halftime. Then on his team’s first drive after halftime, he hurled a third-down pass for a 71-yard touchdown. By the time he left the game, the Buffs were up 31-7 after he led them on three touchdown drives in four possessions.

“This is a real-life story that’s happening right before your eyes,” Deion Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday.

Sanders said his goal in the Delaware game was to give each quarterback two series initially and then “somebody was going to come out of the pack.”

Sanders wouldn’t confirm if Staub would start at Houston Friday but acknowledged Staub has been getting a majority of the practice reps this week. He also said after the game last week that he had made up his mind about his next move at quarterback. “I’m not lost for direction,” he said.

Ryan Staub’s origin story at Colorado

Staub played high school football at West Ranch High in Stevenson Ranch, California, north of Los Angeles. It’s close to Interstate 5 near Six Flags Magic Mountain and is situated in a “dang wind tunnel,” as Sanford remembers it when he visited him there as Colorado’s offensive coordinator under then-head coach Karl Dorrell.

“I went out there to watch him throw,” Sanford said. “He was sweet, man, really, really good throwing session, did not miss throws. … I was super impressed that here’s a guy who’s not super tall (6-foot-1) and doesn’t have massive hands, and he just consistently was just piercing into headwinds, piercing it and throwing super accurate passes to two or three of his high school receivers. He just didn’t miss.”

Staub wasn’t highly recruited but got some scholarship offers, including from Arizona before committing to Colorado. He led his high school team to a 19-4 record as a starter and had 5,422 yards passing along with 687 yards rushing on 66 carries. Besides his throwing ability, Sanford admired his humble but confident character and marveled at his running ability.

‘I was shocked at how he was willing to put his face in the fan and get physical,’ Sanford said.

Staub then waited his turn at Colorado even though it didn’t look like it would ever come.

He could have transferred for a better chance elsewhere but didn’t. Why not?

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Staub said after the Delaware game. “I kind of fell in love with the process. I really enjoyed being here. I enjoyed being in this building under our coach. … I didn’t really know where I was at. I stuck my head down and just decided to keep working. And I got rewarded for that.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

CHICAGO — Another title, or at least a third consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals, seemed to be a given as the New York Liberty opened the season with nine straight wins, most of them decisive.

And then the injuries piled up.

Jonquel Jones missed almost two weeks with a sprained ankle. And then another month when she aggravated the injury. Breanna Stewart missed a month with a bone bruise. Natasha Cloud missed a game after breaking her nose. Sabrina Ionescu just returned Tuesday after missing four games with a toe injury. Nyara Sabally has played only 17 games this season because of knee issues.

Put it all together, and this week was the first time since late May the defending champions have had their full squad available. The Liberty head into the playoffs with their starting lineup having played 12 full games together.

“I’ve been in this league for quite some time as a player and a coach, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in this situation with so many players in and out. Especially your key players,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said before Thursday night’s regular-season finale against the Chicago Sky.

“I’m confident in this team when we’re full,” Brondello added. “I think we’ve shown that when we’ve had a full team that we can beat anyone, but we still have to play really good basketball.”

If there’s a team built to weather a season like this, it’s the Liberty. Though they are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and have to go on the road to start their best-of-three series against Phoenix, there’s no one in the WNBA that is going to take New York lightly.

Not if they’re smart, that is.

The Liberty returned four starters from the team that won the WNBA title last year, while adding Cloud to the starting lineup. That means all five of New York’s starters have won at least one WNBA title.

The depth beyond the starting five is scary-good, too. Sabally and Kennedy Burke were on New York’s team last year. Marine Johanes, who gets significant minutes off the bench, was part of the France team that won the silver medal at last year’s Paris Olympics.

And the Liberty got a late-season boost when they added Emma Meesseman last month after she led Belgium to the EuroBasket title. Meesseman, who played with Cloud on Washington’s 2019 title team, has scored in double figures in all but three of her 17 games with New York.

“We have a locker room that really understands what it takes to go long and to win a championship,” Jones said.

“Experience is, ultimately, the name of the game and having pros invested who have been here before,” she added. “I don’t know if I can necessarily put it into words, but more experienced teams tend to do really well.”

The Liberty lost in the WNBA Finals in 2023, to the Las Vegas Aces. Don’t discount that experience, either, Ionescu said.

“We know what it takes to win, we know what it takes to lose,” she said. “I think that just helps.”

With New York’s playoff seed locked and the Sky limping to the end of yet another dismal season, Brondello used Thursday night’s game as a chance to build chemistry. Give the starters quality minutes together and get everyone some time on the floor.

The starters all played 19 minutes or more, with Ionescu going the longest at 26 minutes. Brondello cleared her bench late in the third quarter, and every Liberty player got at least 10 minutes.

“I will say, where we are now with a healthy team, we’re going to be so much better in the postseason because of all that adversity that we hit in the middle of the season,” Cloud said. “I’m a big, firm believer in the adversity along the way shapes you for your purpose.”

Even if it didn’t, the Liberty didn’t have much choice in the matter. Injuries are a fact of life in sports, unfortunate as they may be, and teams don’t get to choose when they happen.

All you can do is weather the storm the best you can.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for the year that we had,’ Ionescu said. ‘You can kind of use it one or two ways: As an excuse to not come out and compete and just kind of let that be what the year is going to look like, or you can use it to help you moving forward and equip you to better handle the adversity that’s to come. That’s the way that we’re looking at it.

“It’s going to tell a great story, no matter how it turns out to be.”

Best of all, after a season filled with adversity, every single member of the Liberty will have a hand in writing it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Week 2 of the NFL kicked off Thursday night with the Commanders and Packers squaring off. Green Bay controlled the game and came away with a 27-18 win.

Some of you may have wondered whether you should stream “Bill” Crosky-Merritt. Hopefully, you didn’t, as he finished with just four carries for 17 yards.

Streaming decisions early in the season are never easy. It’s tough to bench someone you drafted in the sixth round in favor of a player taken in the 10th or picked up off waivers. For the most part, that’s still fine. You drafted those players expecting them to carry you throughout the season. One or even two weeks shouldn’t change that mindset.

However, if you waited on quarterback or tight end, or if your flex is a weak spot, looking for streaming options is a smart move. With that in mind, here are 10 solid streamers for Week 2.

*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues.

Fantasy Football Streamers for Week 2

Quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bengals limited Cleveland to 14.2 fantasy points in Week 1, but that was against the Browns’ offense. The Jaguars should produce more, especially with a stronger performance expected from both Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.

Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Smith faces the Chargers, who just allowed 26 fantasy points to Patrick Mahomes, and that was without Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.

If there’s one thing we know about Smith, it’s he likes to sling the ball. He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in two of the last three seasons and was on pace to do it again in 2023 before missing two games. He opened 2025 strong, throwing for 362 yards in Week 1.

The Raiders are likely to be playing from behind against Los Angeles, which should force Smith into another high-volume passing day.

Running Backs

Just under the 50% rostered mark, Benson is in a prime spot this week. Even though he had four fewer carries than James Conner in Week 1, he outgained him 69-39 on the ground.

The matchup is even better. Carolina just gave up 143 rushing yards to Travis Etienne Jr. The Panthers’ run defense looks no better than last year, so both Conner and Benson could have strong outings.

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs continue to use Hunt in a 50-50 split with Isiah Pacheco, even though the results have been mixed. That keeps Hunt in play as a sneaky value some weeks.

This could be one of them. Kansas City will still be without Rice and possibly Worthy. Even if Worthy suits up, he may not see his normal workload. That could shift the offensive focus toward the run game and give Hunt added usage as both a runner and receiver.

Wide Receivers

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots

Boutte’s Week 1 usage was encouraging. He ran the most routes for New England, tied for the team lead in targets, and posted a 17.4-yard average depth of target.

This week he faces Miami, which struggled badly against Daniel Jones and the Colts. If there’s a matchup for Boutte to repeat his Week 1 production, this is it.

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland gets Baltimore, which just allowed 53.8 fantasy points to Buffalo’s wideouts. The Browns won’t put up those kinds of numbers, but the Ravens secondary is showing the same problems it had in 2024, when it allowed the second-most points to receivers.

Tillman’s usage in Week 1 was strong, and there’s no reason to expect a step back. Yes, Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in targets, but don’t count on that being the norm.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs

This is more of a deep-league option, but if Worthy is out, JuJu gets a significant boost.

He saw five targets in Week 1 and caught all of them, even while Marquise Brown commanded 14 targets. If Worthy misses the game, expect a more balanced target share with JuJu more involved.

Tight Ends

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

How can you not like what you saw from Fannin in Week 1? The overall touches may go down, now that defenses will know to look for him on the field, but it feels like the Browns want to find ways to get Fannin the ball.

You should want a tight end who is on the field and not relegated to just being a blocker as much as Fannin was in Week 1.

It’s hard not to like what we saw from Fannin in Week 1. His touches may dip now that defenses know what is coming, but the Browns clearly want to get him involved.

At tight end, you want someone on the field and running routes, not stuck blocking. Fannin checks that box.

Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Smith emerged as Pittsburgh’s top pass-catching tight end, but many still doubted it on draft day. One week in, he out-snapped Pat Freiermuth and doubled his target total.

When streaming tight ends, target volume is king. Smith should continue to be the safer play.

Defense

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals draw Carolina, which turned the ball over three times and managed just 10 points against Jacksonville in Week 1.

Arizona fell short last week in what looked like a good spot against New Orleans, but that was a tough cross-country road trip. Back at home against a shaky Panthers offense, the Cardinals are a strong Week 2 streamer.

Appearing on ‘Fox & Friends,’ President Donald Trump discussed his visit to Yankee Stadium for the anniversary of 9/11 on Thursday, including his thoughts on Yankees star Aaron Judge, who has the ‘biggest forearms’ Trump has ever seen.

Trump took pictures in the Yankees’ clubhouse and addressed the team before the game, marveling at how big and muscular the 6-foot-7 Judge was in person, something he reiterated the morning after.

‘(Judge) is some strong guy. He had the biggest forearms – you know I’ve seen weightlifters – I’ve never seen arms this big,’ Trump told the Fox News hosts. ‘And he’s a fantastic person.’

Judge, the two-time AL MVP winner, hit two home runs in the Yankees’ 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx.

‘The fans were really nice,’ Trump joked Friday. ‘You never know what you’re going to get in a New York ballpark.’

Trump, who was friends with late owner George Steinbrenner, said attending the game was like ‘old times’ and that the Steinbrenner family ‘has been fantastic with me.’

Former Syracuse women’s basketball star Tiana Mangakahia has died after a fight with cancer, her family announced on social media.

Mangakahia was 30.

‘Tiana was a shining light who touched the lives of everyone she met with her kindness, strength, and warmth. She fought right till the very end, showing courage and grace beyond words,’ the family wrote. ‘Though our hearts ache without her, her legacy and the love she gave will stay with us forever.

Mangakahia, originally from Australia, transferred to Syracuse in 2017 after spending two years at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and led the nation in assists, earning first-team All-ACC honors.

Before her senior season at Syracuse, she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery. She sat out the 2019 season, but returned to the Orange in 2020 and averaged 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

After graduating, she played in Russia and Australia, including the Women’s National Basketball League in her native country, but retired from the sport after the cancer returned in 2023.

‘The WNBL is deeply saddened by the passing of athlete Tiana Mangakahia, who has died at the age of 30 after a courageous battle with breast cancer. ‍Tiana’s basketball journey was defined by resilience, determination, and an unwavering love for the game,’ the WNBL said in a statement.

Last week, Mangakahia posted on social media that her health had taken ‘a negative turn’ and was ‘experiencing significant physical decline.’

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The 2025 WNBA regular season is in the books.

The highly-anticipated 2025 WNBA playoffs have arrived and the first-round matchups are officially locked in. It came down to the final game of the season to determine the seedings and matchups.

Will the defending champion New York Liberty repeat, following in the footsteps of the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces in 2022-23? Can the Minnesota Lynx claim the title they say was stolen from them in 2024 for their first since 2017? Or will the Atlanta Dream or Golden State Valkyries hoist the WNBA championship trophy for the first time in franchise history?

The journey to the title starts Sunday. Here’s a look at the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs (all best-of-three series), including projected starting lineups, head-to-head records and X-factors for each matchup:

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx (34-10) vs. No. 8 Golden State Valkyries (23-21)

Minnesota won the regular-season series vs. Golden State, 4-0.

Minnesota Lynx starting lineup

Head coach: Cheryl Reeve

6 Bridget Carleton | F 6′ 2′ – Iowa State
8 Alanna Smith | F 6′ 4′ – Stanford
10 Courtney Williams | G 5′ 8′ – South Florida
21 Kayla McBride | G 5′ 11′ – Notre Dame
24 Napheesa Collier | F 6′ 1′ – UConn

Golden State Valkyries starting lineup

6 Kaila Charles | G 6′ 1′ – Maryland
12 Iliana Rupert | C 6′ 4′ – France
13 Janelle Salaun | F 6′ 2′ – France
14 Temi Fagbenle | C 6′ 4′ – USC
22 Veronica Burton | G 5′ 9′ – Northwestern

Why Minnesota Lynx could win

The Lynx have been on a mission this season coming off a controversial 2024 WNBA Finals loss to the Liberty. Minnesota not only has best the record in the league with a franchise-best 34 wins, the Lynx are in sole possession of the top-ranked offense and defense this season. Eight teams in WNBA history have accomplished both in the same season and seven went on to win a title. Napheesa Collier’s leadership has been paramount to the Lynx and her efforts landed her in the MVP conversation as she’s averaging career-highs in points (23), field-goal percentage (52.6%) and blocks (1.6). She ranks in the top 10 in points, field-goal percentage, rebounds, blocks and steals per game. The Lynx scored the highest amount of points (86.4 per game) and have held opponents to the third-lowest (77.2 ppg) this season.

Why Golden State Valkyries could win

Golden State became the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs in its inaugural season and set an all-time WNBA attendance record, selling out all 22 regular-season home games at Chase Center. Can the Valkyries take their record-breaking season a step further and secure their first playoff win or title? Golden State won’t be at full strength following a string of injuries, but the Valkyries haven’t lost their gritty nature that makes it hard for any team to score. Golden State, which has the fourth-best defensive rating, is holding opponents to the fewest overall points (76.4), the fewest points in the paint (28.8) and the lowest field-goal percentage (40.4%) in the league this season.

X-factor: Lynx at Target Center

Target Center has been a huge X-factor for the Lynx. Minnesota began the season on a 14-game home winning streak and finished with a league-best 20-2 record in Minneapolis. (Only the Dream and Storm have defeated the Lynx at home.) That’s why it was important for the Lynx to lock in the No. 1 overall seed to secure home-court advantage for the duration of the postseason. If the Lynx are able to handle business at home (like they’ve done all season), expect lots of post-victory ‘electric slide’ celebratory dances.

Lynx vs. Valkyries schedule

Game 1: Valkyries at Lynx 1 p.m. ET Sunday (ESPN)
Game 2: Lynx at Valkyries, 10 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Valkyries at Lynx TBD Friday (ESPN2)

No. 2 Las Vegas Aces (30-14) vs. No. 7 Seattle Storm (23-21)

Las Vegas and Seattle tied in the season series, 2-2.

Las Vegas Aces starting lineup

Head coach: Becky Hammon

0 Jackie Young | G 6′ 0′ – Notre Dame
1 Kierstan Bell | F 6′ 1′ – Florida Gulf Coast
3 NaLyssa Smith | F 6′ 4′ – Baylor
12 Chelsea Gray | G 5′ 11′ – Duke
22 A’ja Wilson | C 6′ 5′ – South Carolina

Seattle Storm starting lineup

Head coach: Noelle Quinn

3 Nneka Ogwumike | F 6′ 2′ – Stanford
4 Skylar Diggins | G 5′ 9′ – Notre Dame
5 Gabby Williams | F 5′ 11′ – UConn
13 Ezi Magbegor | F 6′ 4′ – Australia
20 Brittney Sykes | G 5′ 9′ – Syracuse

Why Las Vegas Aces could win

No team is hotter than Las Vegas. After stumbling to a 5-7 start to the season, the 2022 and 2023 WNBA champions rebounded in epic fashion and closed the regular season on a 16-game win streak, marking the longest in franchise history. The Aces show no signs of cooling down, especially with MVP front-runner A’ja Wilson leading the league in points per game (23.4) and blocks (2.3) per game.

Why Seattle Storm could win

The Storm haven’t made things easy on themselves this season — as the last team to clinch a playoff spot following a dreadful stretch, which included a six-game losing streak — but you can never count out their formidable defense. Seattle leads the league in steals (8.5 per game) and blocks (5.1), with Gabby Williams leading the league in total steals (99) and Ezi Magbegor (96) leading in total blocks. Fourteen-year veteran Nneka Ogwumike has turned in yet another efficient season, averaging 18.3 points (ninth-best in the league) while shooting 51.9% from the field.

X-factor: Jewell Loyd hitting her stride

Six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd got off to a slow start this season, averaging 11 points at the WNBA All-Star break, marking her lowest output since her rookie campaign in 2015. Aces head coach Becky Hammon decided to move Loyd to the bench, which she was on board with and benefitted from. Loyd exploded for seven of the Aces’ 22 3-pointers in a blowout win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday to lock in the No. 2 seed. Look out if Loyd continues to play like this.

Aces vs. Storm schedule

Game 1: Storm at Aces, 10 p.m. ET Sunday (ESPN)
Game 2: Aces at Storm, 9:30 ET Tuesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Storm at Aces, TBD Thursday (ESPN2)

No. 3 Atlanta Dream (30-14) vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever (24-20)

Atlanta and Indiana tied the season series, 2-2.

Atlanta Dream starting lineup

Head coach: Karl Smesko

00 Naz Hillmon | F 6′ 2′ – Michigan
3 Jordin Canada | G 5′ 6′ – UCLA
10 Rhyne Howard | G 6′ 2′ – Kentucky
15 Allisha Gray | G 6′ 0′ – South Carolina
24 Brionna Jones | F 6′ 3′ – Maryland

Indiana Fever starting lineup

Head coach: Stephanie White

0 Kelsey Mitchell | G 5′ 8′ – Ohio State
1 Odyssey Sims | G 5′ 8′ – Baylor
6 Natasha Howard | F 6′ 3′ – Florida State
7 Aliyah Boston | C 6′ 5′ – South Carolina
10 Lexie Hull | G 6′ 1′ – Stanford

Why Atlanta Dream could win

The Atlanta Dream recorded a franchise-high 30 wins this season, doubling their win total from last season, and their success is due to the ability to dominate both sides of the ball with the second-best offensive (108.2) and defensive (99.2) rating in the league. Not only does Atlanta have the most rebounds (36.6 per game) this season, it’s holding opponents to the second-fewest points per game (76.8). Guard Allisha Gray is also averaging a career-high 18.4 points and guard Rhyne Howard became the ninth player in WNBA history to record 100-plus 3-pointers in a season.

Why the Indiana Fever could win

If this season has taught us anything, it’s that the Fever are resilient. The Fever have had a carousel of players this year after losing five (!) for the season due to injuries, none greater than the loss of guard Caitlin Clark, who played in 13 games this year. Indiana may be down, but it’s not out. The Fever closed the regular season on a three-game win streak, including an impressive 83-72 win over the league-leading Lynx on Sept. 9. (To be fair, Minnesota was without Napheesa Collier.) Indiana is averaging 84.9 points per game (third-best in the league) behind Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.

X-factor: Brittney Griner off the bench

Atlanta coach of the Year candidate Karl Smesko recently moved veteran center Brittney Griner to the bench for the first time in her career, a risky move that has paid off. Atlanta’s bench has only averaged 19.2 points per game, fourth-worst in the league, but Griner’s addition has added another dimension to the Dream’s bench. Griner had 17 points and four blocks off the bench in the Dream’s regular-season finale win over the Connecticut Sun.

Dream vs. Fever schedule

Game 1: Fever at Mercury, 3 p.m. ET Sunday (ABC)
Game 2: Mercury at Fever, 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Fever at Mercury, TBD Thursday (ESPN2)

No. 4 Phoenix Mercury (27-17) vs. No. 5 New York Liberty (27-17)

Phoenix won the regular-season series vs. New York, 3-1.

Phoenix Mercury starting lineup

Head coach: Nate Tibbetts

0 Satou Sabally | F 6′ 4′ – Oregon
2 Kahleah Copper | G 6′ 1′ – Rutgers
4 Natasha Mack | C 6′ 4′ – Oklahoma State
8 Monique Akoa Makani | G 5′ 11′ – Cameroon
25 Alyssa Thomas | F 6′ 2′ – Maryland

New York Liberty starting lineup

Head coach: Sandy Brondello

9 Natasha Cloud | G 5′ 10′ – St. Joseph’s
13 Leonie Fiebich | F 6′ 4′ – Germany
20 Sabrina Ionescu | G 5′ 11′ – Oregon
30 Breanna Stewart | F 6′ 4′ – UConn
35 Jonquel Jones | C 6′ 6′ – George Washington

Why Phoenix Mercury could win

The Mercury’s depth is its superpower. Phoenix leads the league in bench points per game (24.9), with the second unit being led by the likes of Sami Whitcomb and DeWanna Bonner — who was part of the Mercury’s 2014 championship team that was coached by Brondello. Any player can go off and the Mercury thrive when sharing the ball — the Mercury are 13-0 when at least five Mercury players score in double figures. Don’t forget about the Mercury’s defensive prowess. They have the third-best defensive rating (99.9) in the league, the team’s best since 2019.

Why New York Liberty could win

The New York Liberty’s title defense hasn’t gone as scripted, as a series of injuries has forced New York to field 10 different starting lineups. The Liberty’s Big 3 of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu have played 15 games together this season, going 12-2 during that span. The championship core is back to healthy heading into the playoffs. Experience is on their side. The Liberty returned six players from their championship team, while 34.9% of the Mercury’s minutes have been played by rookies. The addition of former WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman has yielded instant dividends, as she’s averaging 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 12 games in New York.

X-factor: Mercury’s 3-point shooting

The Mercury have a significant advantage when their 3-point shot is falling. Phoenix is 12-1 this season when shooting 40% or better from the 3-point line and have recorded a league-leading four games with 15 or more 3-pointers, including 18 made 3-pointers in a win over the Liberty on June 27. The Mercury should feel right at home at PHX Arena after securing home-court advantage and get a boost from the home crowd. Their devoted fanbase is called the X-factor, after all.

Mercury vs. Liberty schedule

Game 1: Liberty at Mercury, 2 p.m. ET Sunday (ESPN)
Game 2: Mercury at Liberty, 8 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN)
Game 3: Liberty at Mercury, TBD Friday (ESPN2)

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