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Tag: Women’s Sports

  • Reese D’Ariano embraces role as youngest player on USA field hockey’s World Cup roster

    Reese D’Ariano embraces role as youngest player on USA field hockey’s World Cup roster

    Reese D’Ariano’s field hockey journey began at the swimming pool.

    The youngest of three children, Reese was always put into the same sports as her two older brothers. One day, when accompanying her mother, Jodie, and her middle brother Landon, to his swim practice, the mother of one of Reese’s friends mentioned a field hockey clinic being held at a nearby high school.

    Rather than staying to watch her brother swim, eight-year-old Reese picked up a field hockey stick.

    The following nine years of Reese’s career led her to representing the United States as a member of the women’s national team at the indoor and outdoor Pan American Cups, Indoor World Cups, Women’s junior World Cup, and the U18 and U16 National Teams for Four Nations Tournaments.

    Now, at 17 years old, the West Chester native is playing on her biggest stage yet. Reese will compete at the FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands from Aug. 14-30. Team USA will play its first game on Aug. 15 against Argentina.

    Reese is the youngest player to make the U.S. women’s national team. But before any accolades or national team appearances, her journey continued at the pool.

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    While her brother was practicing, Reese and her mother would go to the multipurpose fields nearby to work on drills. Coming straight from school, she would carry her stick and a bag of balls with her, watching videos and analyzing the game.

    “Obviously, the progression was slow if you saw it day to day,” Reese said. “But as the weeks and months went on, it was a pretty drastic change in how I progressed.”

    Her progression eventually landed her a spot on the national team.

    The forward/midfielder noted that while it’s cool to acknowledge her role as the youngest player and the only high school student on the team in this tournament, she doesn’t think about it too much.

    “People have graduated from college, and I walked in, [a few] weeks ago, saying ‘I just got my license, guys, stay off the roads,’” Reese said. “Everything’s just really lighthearted about it because I’m just as an equal member of the team as anybody else.”

    Reese D’Ariano first stint with the U.S. national team came at age 12, when she played on the U16 team for a series against Canada in Vancouver.World Sport Pics / USA Field Hockey

    Playing alongside older teammates isn’t new for Reese, whose club career with the WC Eagles saw her playing with older age groups from the time she was 10. As one of the top field hockey clubs in the nation, the environment challenged her, Jodie said.

    “I’m not surprised by anything that she’s achieved,” Jodie said. “I always say she’s built differently.”

    An athlete herself, Jodie D’Ariano ran track at Stanford and her husband, Frank, played soccer at The College of New Jersey. Reese’s brother, Ryan, golfed at West Chester University and Landon swims at North Carolina State. Jodie said she has tried to match her kids’ efforts by giving them the best opportunities she could within their respective sports.

    Reese’s first big opportunity in field hockey came in 2022, when she was put on the U16 team at age 12 for a series against Canada in Vancouver. A year later, in 2023, she was 13 playing at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in South America, where she earned the Junior Player of the Tournament Award.

    Currently enrolled at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, a cyberschool, Reese said she’s sacrificed the “normal” high school experience in favor of field hockey.

    Making the switch to cyberschool around eighth grade has given Reese the flexibility to train in the Netherlands in the fall. In turn, Jodie said field hockey has taken her and her family to incredible places, including Belgium in August, when she and her husband will travel to watch Reese play in the World Cup.

    “We try to get to everything that she’s in,” Jodie said. “It’s a small window of time that you get to see kids compete, so obviously, I want to take advantage of it.”

    With Team USA, Reese has played in 17 international matches as a member of the senior national team. She has won two gold medals, one at the 2025 Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria, where she was the top goal scorer of the tournament, and another at the 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup in Calgary, Canada, where she was awarded the most valuable player of the tournament and top goal scorer.

    She earned two silver medals at the 2026 Junior Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile, and the 2025 Pan American Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay. Her one bronze medal comes from the 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.

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    But playing in a senior World Cup is a big step up, says Team USA head coach David Passmore.

    “The whole size and scale of the event is enormous,” Passmore said. “But I think the other thing is that we also need to not overexpect too much from her too soon. I don’t want to place any additional pressure than her own standards, [which] bring enough pressure on herself.”

    This year marks the first time since 2018 that the U.S. women’s national team qualified for the World Cup. Only two players on the roster have prior experience in the tournament. However, others have competed on the Olympic stage. Regardless of their previous background, Passmore expects each of the players to come away with a new experience.

    “When you come away from something, a big event like that, you understand the whole mental side of the game, the preparation, the need to also be relaxed, because being relaxed helps you make better decisions,” Passmore said. “[Reese] will bring that towards the rest of her career and hopefully it will help her in her career with the USA national team as well.”

    Reese D’Ariano is committed to play field hockey at North Carolina under Chadds Ford native Erin Matson.World Sport Pics / USA Field Hockey

    As one of the top recruits for the class of 2027, Reese is committed to play for Chadds Ford native Erin Matson, head coach of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

    But first, she’s focused on competing in the World Cup, and then, finishing high school.

    “I just look at it as just another tournament, another opportunity to show what I’ve been working for, and what the team’s been working for,” Reese said. “Stepping on the field for the World Cup is a big deal, but I think having the experience that I have, I’m going to be much more calm and prepared for the moment.”

  • Mo’ne Davis made opening day history for the Women’s Pro Baseball League, and a crowd back home watched her in action

    Mo’ne Davis made opening day history for the Women’s Pro Baseball League, and a crowd back home watched her in action

    Despite rain delays, technical difficulties, and the hurdles of modern-day sports streaming, fans packed into Two Locals Brewing Co. in University City on Saturday night to witness the debut of the Women’s Pro Baseball League halfway across the country.

    The Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights played the WPBL’s inaugural game in front of a sold-out crowd at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill. The Queens feature Philadelphia’s own baseball icon, Mo’ne Davis.

    Davis had a crowd of family, friends, and supporters at the watch party, which was hosted by The Stoop Pigeon, a group that hosts women’s sports watch parties in Philadelphia. The family-friendly party had barbecue, raffles, games, and even cutouts of Davis’ face to celebrate not only her achievements, but the historic moment for women’s sports.

    “It’s amazing to see people are coming out to support Mo’ne Davis,” Jen Leary, the founder of The Stoop Pigeon, said. “We got here at 4 o’clock, and people already were lining up, which tells you a lot about, A, her impact on the state, but B, the want and need to support women’s sports.”

    The Stoop Pigeon can trace its roots to Watch Party PHL, a monthly WNBA watch party group, and plans to open a brick-and-mortar location this year.

    Over a decade removed from her Little League World Series moment, Mo’ne Davis is poised to make history again

    Davis has been a history-maker in the sport for years, starting with her legendary Little League World Series game in 2014, when, with the Taney Dragons, she became the first girl to win and pitch a shutout. Davis, alongside many other women in the sport, had spent years being the only girl on the team — most recently for the Indianapolis Clowns of Banana Ball.

    At first, Davis didn’t believe there even was going to be a professional women’s baseball league.

    But others in her corner had no doubt, cheering as she appeared on the screen.

    “Oh yes, yes, yes, I always knew she was going to do something great like this,” her longtime mentor and step-uncle, Tyrique, said. “She’s got that fire in her … I aspired to be a ballplayer myself, so I taught her everything that I knew about pitching. Actually, I told her how to throw these nine different pitches, and that’s how it all started when she was a kid. Plus, she’s good — she’s really good.”

    As if to prove his point, Davis scored the first run in WPBL history, on a two-run single by Maggie Foxx in the top of the first inning. The Heights answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame and led for much of the game, but the Queens rallied with a four-run seventh and won, 10-8.

    The energy was shared at Marsha’s, the South Street women’s sports bar, which also hosted a watch party for the WPBL debut.

    “As women’s sports grow in popularity, it’s important to have spaces to promote them,” Helen Ehrlich, Marsha’s PR coordinator and a patron, said. “We want to give people not only a place to watch them, but to really celebrate these people at the top of their field.”

    Former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Maybelle Blair (left) and the Los Angeles Queens’ Elodie O’Sullivan share a moment before the inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League game against the New York Heights on Saturday in Springfield, Ill. Lexie Knight

    Spectators at Marsha’s and The Stoop Pigeon expressed frustration over the inaccessibility of many women’s sports games. The WPBL largely is available on ESPN Select (a new name for ESPN+), with a 11 games also being televised by Scripps Sports Network. Not knowing where to find games is an issue in other leagues, too, such as soccer’s NWSL, which is broadcast on several networks, including its direct-to-consumer platform.

    “We want women’s sports to be accessible everywhere,” Leary said. “Whether that’s at Stoop Pigeon or in your homes, we need to show that the demand is there.”

  • Over a decade removed from her Little League World Series moment, Mo’ne Davis is poised to make history again

    Over a decade removed from her Little League World Series moment, Mo’ne Davis is poised to make history again

    When Mo’ne Davis heard that there was going to be a professional women’s baseball league, she couldn’t believe it.

    “I thought it was fake at first,” Davis said. “I just thought it was a fan’s idea of wanting to see a women’s baseball league.”

    Then she saw Kelsie Whitmore (the first woman to play in a MLB partner league) sign on as a player and former baseball and softball standout Alex Hugo sign on as an adviser and thought, “OK, this might actually be a thing.” After confirming that the Women’s Pro Baseball League was actually happening and being encouraged to think about it, the Philadelphia native and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy graduate joined the 600-plus women trying out August 2025 to be considered for the draft that fall. From there, she was drafted 10th overall by the Los Angeles Queens.

    Now preparing for the sold-out opening day on Saturday in Springfield, Ill., Davis, a center fielder, is ready to pave the way for what she hopes is years of pro women’s baseball to come.

    The league currently has four teams: the Los Angeles Queens, the Boston Hunters, the New York Heights, and the San Francisco Firebells. The season consists of 30 games, running through Sept. 6, followed by two weeks of playoffs to determine the inaugural champion. Players from 11 countries and territories ranging from ages 18-40 are ready to take the field at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, which will host every game this season.

    Mo’ne Davis makes her return to pro baseball | from 2025

    Though the league is all-new, the players share a love for a sport that often lacked opportunities for women.

    Davis has been a pioneer in the sport since her legendary Little League World Series game in 2014, when, with the Taney Dragons, she became the first girl to win and pitch a shutout. More recently, she took her skills to Banana Ball with the Indianapolis Clowns, where she’s spent the summer throwing trick pitches and dancing on the field, and she’s ready to bring what she’s learned to the WPBL.

    “In Banana Ball, we’re so used to just keeping people entertained,” Davis said. “But it’s all the same sport, and, at the end of the day, it’s all about still being able to have fun.”

    There has been growing interest in women’s baseball. MLB hosts annual girls’ baseball training camps, such as the Trailblazer Series and the Elite Development Invitational, that are growing in numbers every year.

    Davis says it’s important to remember that as the sport grows, they are following in the footsteps of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran from 1943 to 1954.

    One of the AAGPBL players was Jeneane “Lefty” DesCombes Lesko, who pitched for the Grand Rapids Chicks in 1953 and 1954. Like many of the women in the WPBL, DesCombes grew up learning baseball and loving the game without many opportunities to play. Now 91 years old, she is cautiously optimistic about the future of the sport.

    “I’m just really anxious to see how many people actually attend,” Lesko said.

    The Women’s Lacrosse League is preparing to make history in the Philly area. To Mayor Parker, ‘it’s about opening doors.’

    Lesko and Davis want to see more publicity for the WPBL and its players. Davis believes that having the games in a central location will help build a community around the sport, and that the Queens can become a “fan favorite” by showing off their personalities on the field and on social media.

    “I think that’s the biggest thing, is having someone relate to you that can allow this to grow and want more people to watch because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, that person — I agree with what they’re saying, I agree with their lifestyle,’ whatever the case may be.” Davis said.

    Mo’ne Davis believes her team, the Los Angeles Queens, can become a “fan favorite.”Women's Pro Baseball League

    Lesko also emphasized the importance of supporting young girls in baseball to continue to propel interest and opportunities at the professional level.

    “My real dream has always been that every girl has the opportunity to play baseball, that they have that option,” Lesko said. “We haven’t even begun to tip the iceberg to really concentrate on finding all these girls who were brought up that way and can play baseball.”

    It’s been over 70 years since the nation has had a professional women’s baseball league, but Lesko and Davis show that there are great opportunities for girls and women in the sport.

    “When you finish and you’ve done the very best you could in sports — just like the men, you have friends forever.” Lesko said, reflecting on her pro career. “It’s been the greatest thing in my life, actually. I have a family, and I have another family, and that’s the baseball family.”

  • South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito teases two new programs — including a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ theme

    South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito teases two new programs — including a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ theme

    This season, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is branching out for her programs.

    Previously, her coach, Yulia Kuznetsova, would suggest the music and choreograph the programs for Levito, 19, who grew up in Mount Holly and lives in Mount Laurel.

    For the 2026-27 season, Levito announced on social media that three choreographers had created her programs. Her short program will be to the song “Memória” by Rosalia, choreographed by Lori Nichol and Carolina Kostner. Levito went to Canada to learn that program.

    Her free skate will be to the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean, choreographed by Benoit Richaud.

    Skaters used to keep programs strictly under wraps until their first competitions in late summer or early fall. Sometimes, their final costumes wouldn’t be ready yet and they would skate in older costumes or elevated practice clothes.

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    But now, program announcements are more like movie trailers, getting fans eager to see what’s coming. This has been especially true after the Olympics this past winter in Milan, Italy. Many skaters have retired — or in the case of pairs and ice dance, switched partners. Some talked about taking a year off. A small number of skaters, including Levito, toured in prominent shows such as Stars on Ice.

    But it was a big transition season and a time when many people forget about winter sports.

    Levito has said that she’s barely been home in months. Along with the tour and Canada, she returned to Italy to participate in Richaud’s Peak Ice Camp in Courmayeur.

    She also may start the season without her final costumes. Despite releasing a video on Instagram that includes a thumbnail of her in a pirate costume, that is not what she will be wearing. In an interview on Peak Ice Camp’s YouTube page, she said she called costume designer Lisa McKinnon to discuss her new programs and that it would be a minute before they could move forward.

    “Benoit proposed the idea of pants” for Pirates, Levito said, “and I was like, ‘No.’”

    She also suggested she might start the season later than usual because she still needs to heal from an injury she sustained in a bad fall during Stars on Ice.

    Levito released a portion of her free skate step sequence on Instagram, and her programs are the subject of much speculation on social media. She is known as an elegant, balletic skater with beautiful spins and a lot of personality.

    Pirates of the Caribbean music is considered overdone. There is a long list of skaters who performed to Pirates, including 2008 U.S. champion Mirai Nagasu, Spain’s Javier Fernandez (a two-time World champion and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist), eight-time Polish champion Ekaterina Kurakova.

    But certain pieces of music are used frequently in skating for a reason. In the case of Pirates, it is lively and fun. Richaud also is a popular choreographer for a reason, and there is room for him to have made Levito’s Pirates different and special.

    A look at Isabeau Levito’s costumes over the years

    Richaud, a French former ice dancer, is one of the hot choreographers of the moment. At February’s Olympics, he worked with 16 skaters from 13 countries and was frequently seen with them in the kiss and cry, wearing jackets from different countries. His skaters included American ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, French skater Adam Siao Him Fa, and Georgian skater Nika Egadze.

    Nichol, who is Canadian, also has been a hot choreographer. She created many fan-favorite programs for Michelle Kwan and more recently two-time Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama. She works often with Kostner, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist from Italy.

    Levito has said that she wants to increase her difficulty and is eager to eventually land a triple axel and a quadruple jump, whether or not she does them in competition.

  • The Women’s Lacrosse League is preparing to make history in the Philly area. To Mayor Parker, ‘it’s about opening doors.’

    The Women’s Lacrosse League is preparing to make history in the Philly area. To Mayor Parker, ‘it’s about opening doors.’

    The summer of unforgettable sports moments in Philadelphia is far from over, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was excited Wednesday for the next event coming to town.

    Parker and local youth lacrosse players gathered at Dock Street South to celebrate the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League championship, which is Aug. 15 (5 p.m., ESPN) at the Union’s Subaru Park in Chester.

    “For a long time, women’s sports were treated as an afterthought, a smaller version of the real thing,” said Rachael DeCecco, a USA Lacrosse Hall of Famer and Broomall native who’s the senior vice president of the PLL and WLL.

    “Every young girl who’s going to watch this league will understand, without ever having to be told, that this is a real path, a real career, a real sport worth playing at the highest level. And there is no better place to host this historic first-ever WLL championship than right here in Philadelphia.”

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (center) speaks at an event celebrating the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League championship coming to the Philly area.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    The Philly area is a hotbed for women’s lacrosse. Of the WLL’s four teams — the Maryland Charm, California Palms, New York Charging, and Boston Guard — 18 players and two coaches have ties to the region.

    Three of those players — California Palms defender Katie Detwiler (Devon, Archbishop Carroll) and the Maryland Charm’s McKenzie Blake (Haddonfield) and Abby Bosco (Penn) attended Wednesday’s event. Also in attendance was Tina Sloan Green, the former Temple women’s lacrosse coach who has been breaking barriers in field hockey and lacrosse since the 1970s.

    Now 82, Green said the formation of the WLL, which is in its second season, is her legacy.

    “I can’t even believe it,” Green said. “I grew up here and was the only Black female playing the sport. So this means so much to me because I know that my grandchildren, and their children, will get opportunities.”

    Tina Sloan Green opened doors in multiple sports. The NCAA is honoring that legacy. | from 2024

    Parker also discussed wanting to create more opportunities in women’s sports. Discussions about hosting the WLL championship, as well as bringing a WNBA team to Philadelphia — which will happen in 2030 — have been on her radar since her days as a City Council member from 2015 to 2022.

    “We’re proving every year that our interests are in building and growing professional women’s sports in the city of Philadelphia. We’re doing it in a tangible way. We’re at the table,” Parker told the crowd. “This championship, to me, is about more than competition. It’s about opening doors. And in a city like Philadelphia, I can’t begin to talk about the importance of Black and brown young women being able to know that this sport, too, is for them.”

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    At the end of her speech, Parker invited the youth lacrosse players in attendance to join her in reciting her signature chant, “one Philly, a united city; one America, a united nation,” before leading an “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant and laughing with the players about spelling it correctly this time.

    One of the young players in the crowd was Shiyann Werts, a lacrosse player and rising junior at Germantown Academy. Werts fell in love with the sport in sixth grade after being introduced to it at the Thomas K. Finletter School, where the Harlem Lacrosse program provides year-round academic and athletic support.

    Since then, she has seen the sport’s popularity grow.

    “It makes me really kind of emotional,” Werts said. “I’ve been seeing all the news on lacrosse, and it’s getting the recognition that I think it deserves. I’m really excited to see what the WLL will bring to that.”

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    Werts hopes to play college lacrosse, and the opportunity to play professionally after graduation is becoming a realistic pathway for female athletes who previously had few options to continue competing after their NCAA careers ended.

    “I think it’s just super crazy growing up in the area,” Detwiler said. “When we were growing up, we didn’t have any of this. We played in college, and then it was on to the real world. So I think it’s really good for them to see what could be possible someday. It’s awesome to see.”

    The WLL and the city are working together to ensure the championship reaches all parts of the community. The league is donating 2,500 tickets to nonprofit organizations, youth programs, and community groups.

    Youth lacrosse players listen as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks during a news conference on Wednesday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Ashley Walkowiak, executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women, echoed the hopes of the room that the championship is only the beginning of the impact women’s professional sports can have on Philadelphia.

    “Seeing the first WLL championship hosted right here in Pennsylvania is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we invest in expanding opportunities,” Walkowiak said. “Philadelphia has long been a place where history is made, and this championship continues that legacy. But it is more than a game. It’s a celebration of talent, leadership, and the growing momentum around women’s athletics.”

  • Our favorite looks from WNBA All-Star Weekend, from Breanna Stewart’s family fit to A’ja Wilson’s gown

    Our favorite looks from WNBA All-Star Weekend, from Breanna Stewart’s family fit to A’ja Wilson’s gown

    Some of the world’s best women’s basketball players were in Chicago for the WNBA All-Star Game, and, as usual, the fashion didn’t disappoint.

    The WNBA orange carpet on Friday had heads turning to get a glimpse at this year’s All-Stars ahead of Saturday’s game. From top rookies like Azzi Fudd to superstars like Paige Bueckers, the All-Stars pulled out all the stops.

    A’ja Wilson

    Playing for “Team Spoon” in the All-Star Game, the Las Vegas Aces center stunned on the orange carpet in one of the most formal looks of the evening. Alongside a bedazzled basketball, the sheer all black attire was chic, cool, and confident — all attributes of the four-time WNBA MVP, eight-time All-Star, and three-time champ with the Aces, including the 2025 crown.

    Flau’jae Johnson

    Ahead of the Shooting Stars competition on Friday, Johnson arrived in a matching denim set with faux sticky notes with affirmations like “be intentional” and “out work your excuses.”

    The rapper and Seattle Storm rookie said in an interview on the orange carpet that they were for “some positive energy and big four energy.”

    Azzi Fudd

    Fudd, who was this year’s first overall pick in the WNBA draft, stepped onto the orange carpet with a cool street style pairing a black leather bralette and distressed jeans with a casual gray blazer. With a Coach Tabby bag to match, the Dallas Wings rookie was fitted to make history when she became the first rookie to win Friday night’s three-point contest, scoring 30 out of 40 possible points.

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    Paige Bueckers

    Fudd’s teammate, the second-year fan favorite Bueckers pulled out the stops with another iconic carpet look for her second WNBA All-Star Game.

    Donning an ever-chic slicked-back bun and shades, the guard wore a sleeveless light blue button-up with a tan tie and baggy trousers, with crisp white Air Force 1s completing the basketball star’s ensemble.

    Kahleah Copper

    The All-Star Game had some local flair, too. North Philly native Kahleah Copper pulled up to the Windy City — her WNBA home for seven seasons — in a silver-studded suit. The five-time All-Star was one of multiple players wearing the street style brand GRÉVYI, with the logo etched onto the cuff.

    After starring at Prep Charter, Copper took her talents to Rutgers and the W, where she’s played for the Washington Mystics, Sky, and now the Phoenix Mercury.

    Breanna Stewart

    In perhaps the most adorable look of the night, the New York Liberty star stepped out on the carpet with her whole family in matching fashion.

    Her wife, Marta Xargay Casademont, a retired Spanish professional basketball player who also spent two seasons with the Mercury, and two children sported black and blue ensembles. Both women wore deep-cut blazers, and Stewart sported matching shorts and pearls.

    Nneka Ogwumike

    The award for most colorful and sparkly on the orange carpet goes to Ogwumike. The Los Angeles Sparks forward dazzled in a green and purple asymmetrical dress, a cascade of fringe highlighting the ensemble that was complete with simple heels and diamond studs.

    Rhyne Howard

    Howard had one of the most impactful looks of the night, decked out in purple in support of lupus awareness, a tribute to a close friend. The Atlanta Dream guard wore a custom suit with fine embroidery. Both legs were inscribed with a lilac “Think Within,” matching with beaded basketball hoops on each side of the chest. An autism awareness logo stood out on the back tying together Howard’s motivations before she headed out onto the court.

    Angel Reese

    Ahead of her third All-Star Game, the Atlanta Dream star donned baby pink from head to toe. Complete with a feathered shawl trailing right down her pink platform heels, Reese was surrounded by an air of confidence entering the game, in which she was a forward for Team Coop.

    Honorable mention: Ellie the Elephant

    Of course, one orange carpet guest who stood out more than the rest.

    Ellie, the New York Liberty mascot and social media sensation, strutted on the orange carpet wearing a custom dress with her name on the side. Her nails and hair matched in the Liberty’s green, and the outfit was tied together with hoops and a New York-themed Coach Tabby bag. The best-dressed elephant around, Ellie was giving the pros a run for their money.

  • Fans from Philly and beyond gather to watch the WNBA All-Star Game: ‘It’s really come a long way’

    Fans from Philly and beyond gather to watch the WNBA All-Star Game: ‘It’s really come a long way’

    Jessica Shoulders is a WNBA fanatic, and she has maintained her love for the “W” since 1999. Naturally, she is excited that Philadelphia is getting a team in 2030 — just don’t expect her to root for them.

    Before the WNBA All-Star game on Saturday, Shoulders was one of two guests at Marsha’s, a women’s sports bar on South Street, to sink a free throw on a miniature basketball hoop. Her prize? A vintage San Antonio Stars Becky Hammon jersey. Shoulders was excited, but she made sure to quickly clarify to onlookers that she was not a Stars fan or a fan of the Las Vegas Aces — the team Hammon now coaches.

    “I’m loyal to the Lynx,” Shoulders said.

    And that won’t change for a free jersey, or even a new team coming to town.

    “Cheryl Reeve has my heart,” she added, referring to the Minnesota team’s coach and president, who grew up in Gloucester County and graduated from La Salle. “And Olivia Miles — Rookie of the Year — I don’t care what anybody says, she’s been out here balling out. First to be able to get 500 points in 21 games.”

    Fans take in the WNBA All-Star Game at Marsha’s, a women’s sports bar on South Street, on Saturday.Conor Smith

    In Marsha’s, where a crowd gathered to watch Teresa Weatherspoon’s Team Spoon defeat Cynthia Cooper-Dyke’s Team Coop, 129-120, Shoulders was not the only fan planning to stay loyal to their current team come 2030.

    “I could never switch allegiance,” said Em Friedman, a Golden State Valkyries fan who recently moved to Philadelphia. “But I can have a second favorite.”

    In April, the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors formally approved a WNBA expansion team in Philadelphia after it was announced in June 2025. Like the 76ers, the franchise will be owned and operated by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. The team also will share a new South Philadelphia arena with the Sixers and Flyers that is scheduled to open in 2031.

    One person who will ditch her WNBA squad for the still-unnamed Philly team is Marsha’s owner Chivonn Anderson, who currently claims the New York Liberty.

    “Oh no, they’re done,” Anderson said. “Like, they’re out the door. We got a lot of love to give in a small amount of time, but as soon as we get our own team, I think we will become fierce rivals.”

    WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert: ‘The future of the W has never been brighter’

    ‘Share their story’

    Before opening Marsha’s, Anderson struggled to find a space to watch and celebrate women’s sports. The tipping point for her came in 2019 when she got into an argument with a Philadelphia bartender over putting the women’s soccer World Cup final on one of the bar’s televisions.

    “A couple of years later, I had the opportunity to purchase the building here, the liquor license, and all the business assets to create this space where we highlight professional athletes,” Anderson said. “These women that sacrifice pretty much everything in their lives to get to this ultimate platform. We’re just here to share their story with everybody.”

    Philly isn’t just a great sports town; it’s a great women’s sports town | Opinion

    The bar’s namesake comes from queer civil rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, who is best known for helping lead the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Since opening, Marsha’s has hosted events ranging from a deadlift competition to tarot card readings. Following the free-throw contest, Saturday drew in a crowd that was locked into the All-Star Game from start to finish — for good reason.

    New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, playing for Team Spoon, won MVP honors in the tightly contested match. Jones logged 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Notably, she became the first player in WNBA history to win league MVP, Commissioner’s Cup MVP, Finals MVP, and All-Star MVP.

    “The atmosphere here is amazing,” Marsha’s patron Molly Coulter said. “The All-Star Game is a really exciting moment, and we’re going to be Philly fans when we finally get our team here, but we like seeing the stars. I like seeing the camaraderie on the court, honestly, like everyone having fun together.”

    Diane Richardson and Yolanda Laney give New York’s WNBA title some Philly flavor | from 2024

    Not everyone packed in Marsha’s for the game was from the area.

    Kathleen Bennett, a 16U baseball coach, was visiting Philadelphia for the first time for a tournament. The Syracuse, N.Y., native knew the All-Star Game was on, so she went searching for somewhere to watch it with others.

    “I heard that there was a really cool sports bar, a place to go to watch women’s sports,” Bennett said. “I knew that the All-Star Game was tonight, and so I wanted to check it out and be a part of the scene.

    “The WNBA is really the first prominent women’s professional sports league. It really had some staying power, and I can remember when it first started. Watching the [Houston] Comets back then. They were the team to beat. It’s really come a long way.”

  • WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert lauds league’s growth at All-Star Weekend: ‘The future of the W has never been brighter’

    WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert lauds league’s growth at All-Star Weekend: ‘The future of the W has never been brighter’

    The last time the WNBA All-Star Weekend was in Chicago, four years ago, commissioner Cathy Engelbert remembered the event being smaller.

    Back in Chicago this weekend for the All-Star festivities, the league is celebrating its 30th season, and Engelbert said the weekend has been the “largest, most immersive, and most accessible,” in its history.

    The rapid growth of the league was among several topics Engelbert discussed in a news conference before Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game. Notably, Engelbert announced that in the 2027 season, the WNBA will be launching a full centralized replay center.

    “This is one of the most significant investments we’ve ever made in our basketball operations,” said Engelbert, a Collingswood native. “This investment of tens of millions of dollars will help bring greater consistency, efficiency, and transparency to our officiating process while continuing to improve the quality of the game.”

    While the league is finalizing details, Engelbert said it will leverage some of the NBA’s replay center capabilities while adding its own innovations.

    The WNBA has received a constant stream of backlash for its officiating. Other significant current issues include cybersecurity and player harassment, which Engelbert also addressed on Saturday.

    On Tuesday, Engelbert met with players to address all three of these issues and said she collected feedback and ideas from the players. She emphasized that player safety will always be the league’s top priority, on and off the court.

    “The racism, the misogyny, the homophobia, the harassment, and threats directed to our players has no place in sport or anywhere else,” Engelbert said. “This is their workplace. … The WNBA is built on inclusion and respect, and those values have defined this league for 30 years, and it will continue to define us for the next 30.”

    Player experience was one of the pillars Engelbert mentioned the league investing in. Fan experience was the other.

    The plan, Engelbert said, is to continue to build on the current momentum the league is experiencing.

    “We have big plans, and if the first half of the season has shown us anything, it is that the future of the W has never been brighter,” Engelbert added.

    Engelbert shared that this has already been the most-watched WNBA season — and it’s at its halfway point. There have also been 29 games that have averaged over 1,000,000 viewers, the most ever at this point in the season. Last season had 11 games reach that milestone.

    In addition to the streaming numbers, attendance has increased 16% from this point last year, said Engelbert, with more than 2.2 million fans attending games.

    “When we entered this season, we did so in the strongest position in league history, coming off a historic CBA, starting a new era of media partnerships, record franchise valuations, two new expansion teams coming in this year, and excitement around the league at an all-time high,” Engelbert said. “Those milestones are marking the beginning of the next chapter of WNBA growth. And since opening night, we’ve been building on that momentum on the court.”

    North Philly’s Kahleah Copper gets fifth All-Star Game nod

    Those new expansion teams are the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, which joined the league this season. In 2028, Cleveland will become the newest expansion team in the league, followed by Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.

    Will Engelbert be around as commissioner to see these plans come to fruition?

    Questions about Engelbert’s future with the league have been raised with her contract expiring at the end of the season. When asked about it Saturday, the commissioner did not offer a direct response.

    “I’m so blessed to be at the helm of this league during this incredible hypergrowth period, so blessed that these players are putting the product on the court they are every night, that they stand for the values that the W has long sought for,” Engelbert said. “So I will just continue to do my job, execute the strategy, because it has been working, make sure we listen to the players, communicate with the players. And so [I] absolutely just love this league and [am] blessed to have had the career I had before and the career I have now.”

  • North Philly’s Kahleah Copper is heading to the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game as a replacement selection

    Kahleah Copper is an All-Star after all.

    Copper, a North Philly native and Phoenix Mercury guard, was named as a replacement player by WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert just days before the league’s All-Star Weekend tips off in Chicago.

    Copper will replace the injured Kelsey Plum on “Team Coop.” Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, the All-Star general managers, drafted players to “Team Coop” and “Team Spoon,” while Becky Hammon (Las Vegas Aces) and La Salle alumna Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) will coach the teams. The All-Star Game is Saturday (8:30 p.m., 6abc).

    This is Copper’s fifth All-Star nod after getting named to the game in four consecutive seasons (2021 to 2024). She’s leading the Mercury in scoring at 20.5 points per game — which is good for seventh in the league and the second-most of her career —along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Over her 11-year career, which includes seven seasons with the Chicago Sky, she’s averaging 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

    Copper rose to WNBA stardom in 2021 with the Sky as she led them to their lone WNBA title and was named Finals MVP. She was traded to Phoenix in 2024 and is now in her third season in the desert.

    This past offseason, the former Prep Charter and Rutgers standout had the opportunity to show off in the place it all began when three-on-three league Unrivaled came to Philadelphia for its first tour stop.

    “There’s so many people that just kind of stepped into my life,” Copper said in January as she led her teammates around her hometown, “and did stuff for me, literally not looking for anything in return. … For them to see me now, like I really made it because of y’all. That’s tough. That’s fire.

    “Everybody literally planted little seeds for me to be who I am today. That’s why it’s so special.”

    Kahleah Copper shares North Philly with Unrivaled teammates

    Copper wasn’t the only star with local ties to get a nod on Tuesday. Wilmington native Elena Delle Donne will participate in the Shooting Stars competition (8 p.m. Friday, ESPN), representing the Washington Mystics.

    In the timed shooting competition, in which players representing Washington, Minnesota, Seattle, and Dallas/Detroit, have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from spots around the court, WNBA legends will be paired with a current player and a high schooler from the Nike EYBL circuit.

    Delle Donne, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, is paired with current Mystics center Shakira Austin and could be joined by another local as Wilmington’s Jezelle “GG” Banks and Philly’s Ryan Carter are among the EYBL players. Banks, who’s attending the St. James Performance Academy in Washington, D.C., is the No. 4 player in ESPN’s Class of 2027 rankings, while Carter, a rising senior at Friends’ Central, is the No. 12 player in ESPN’s rankings.

  • Phoenixville native Tyler Nase is announced as head coach of Penn’s women’s rowing program

    Phoenixville native Tyler Nase is announced as head coach of Penn’s women’s rowing program

    Tyler Nase is the new head coach of women’s rowing at Penn, the school announced Friday.

    Nase, a Phoenixville native and graduate of La Salle College High School, will take over the program after former head coach Bill Manning resigned in May to focus on his health.

    Nase will begin his duties starting on Monday.

    Nase most recently served as the head coach of the men’s lightweight program at Cornell. Under Nase, Cornell finished sixth at the 2026 Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship.

    Nase’s coaching career started at Penn in 2017, where he served as an assistant coach for the men’s lightweight program. He became the head coach at Cornell in 2022.

    Nase is a former Olympian who trained and competed with the U.S. team from 2013 to 2016. He rowed in the men’s lightweight coxless four race at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

    Before becoming an Olympian, Nase rowed at Princeton, helping lead the Tigers to an Intercollegiate Rowing Association varsity lightweight eight title in 2010.

    “Twenty years ago, my rowing career began on the Schuylkill, and my coaching career began right here at Penn, so stepping into this role feels like coming home,” Nase said in Penn’s release. “I’ve witnessed what this program is capable of, and I’m excited to be a part of it. Women’s rowing is one of the largest and most competitive sports in college athletics — the female equivalent of college football in scale and depth.

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    “Penn has the foundation for success: a world-class boathouse, a phenomenal body of water in the Schuylkill, and an amazing strength and conditioning facility in the Greene Family Intercollegiate Strength and Conditioning Center, all right in the heart of Philadelphia.”

    Penn finished seventh at this years’ Ivy League championship, with its third varsity eight boat earning bronze.

    “Coming into this role, I want to listen first, then lead,” Nase said. “My goal is to build a program where every athlete feels heard, supported, and pushed to become the best version of herself on and off the water. This next chapter is about continued development and growth for our athletes and for this program.”