THE EVE EDITION
AFTERGLOW | SAT OCT 17
Atlanta led 64-61 at Chase Center with a little more than three minutes left in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, and Gabby Williams was playing through a knock to her knee. The Dream never scored again. Williams, who had scored 16 in the second quarter, went to the line and kept going back, making six free throws in the last 2:15, the last of them with 4.1 seconds to play, and the Valkyries won 68-64 on a 7-0 run built entirely on free throws. A team that averaged 91.3 points in the regular season scored eight in the fourth quarter.
The rest of Saturday ran on breakthroughs. Maja Chwalińska beat a top-10 player for the first time, and it was Iga Świątek, while Sonay Kartal, ranked 170th, joined her in the Wuhan final. Anna Morris finished a treble no woman had managed at one world championships, OL Lyonnes went top in France with four goals in Paris, and Washington clinched a playoff place by beating Gotham.
The night kept going on the other side of the world. Ruoning Yin came from two back to win in Shanghai again, the Kiwi Ferns needed a late try to beat Fiji, and Buze Diriba ran the fastest women’s marathon Amsterdam has seen.
Williams Takes Game 1 for Golden State
Gabby Williams scored 26 points, 16 of them in the second quarter, and made six free throws in the final 2:15 after a knock to her knee as the #2 Golden State Valkyries beat the #4 Atlanta Dream 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center. Atlanta led 64-61 with a little more than three minutes left and never scored again. Golden State closed on a 7-0 run built entirely at the line. Williams put the Valkyries ahead for good at 1:18, Kiah Stokes made one of two with 23.8 seconds left, and after Allisha Gray missed a 3-pointer for the lead, Williams sealed it with 4.1 seconds to play.
Gray scored 19 for Atlanta and went 8-for-8 from the line in her return from a left-hand injury, and Angel Reese had 14 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. The Dream averaged 91.3 points in the regular season and scored eight in the fourth quarter. Golden State is 4-0 against Atlanta this year, and Game 2 is Monday at Chase Center.
Chwalińska Beats Świątek to Reach the Wuhan Final
Maja Chwalińska won the all-Polish semifinal 7-5, 6-1 over #7 Iga Świątek for her first WTA 1000 final and her first career win over a top-10 opponent. Świątek recovered from an early break to lead 5-3, but Chwalińska saved two set points in the ninth game and won four straight games to take the set. Świątek took a medical timeout for a leg problem, and Chwalińska won 10 of the last 11 games. The #16 seed reached the Roland Garros final this year and has 17 tour-level wins in 2026, after four in her career before it.
Sonay Kartal beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) to become the lowest-ranked player to reach a Tier I or WTA 1000 final since an unranked Jennifer Capriati at Hilton Head in 1990. Ranked 170th and two tournaments back from a six-month back injury, she has beaten #9 Belinda Bencic, #15 Jasmine Paolini and #5 Elina Svitolina this week. Wuhan will crown a first-time WTA 1000 champion.
Morris Wins a Third Gold in Shanghai
Anna Morris and Erin Boothman won the madison for Great Britain at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, giving Morris her third gold of the week after the team pursuit and the omnium. She is the first woman to win all three at one world championships since the women’s madison joined the program in 2017. Britain and France each gained a lap late, Boothman won the second-to-last sprint to open a nine-point lead, and the British pair finished on 40 points to France’s 33.
Millie Couzens beat teammate Josie Knight by 0.497 seconds in an all-British individual pursuit final, and Germany’s Pauline Grabosch won the 1 km time trial in 1:04.572 for her first individual world title. Britain leads the championships with six gold medals.
Bremer Scores All Three as Köln Beat Hamburg
Pauline Bremer scored a hat trick as 1. FC Köln beat Hamburger SV 3-1 at the Franz-Kremer-Stadion. She finished Laura Vogt’s pass in the 19th minute and a Laura Feiersinger setup six minutes later, and Köln took the 2-0 lead into halftime. Hamburg lost Magou Doucouré to a second yellow card in the 74th minute and still pulled one back two minutes later through a deflected Svea Stoldt shot, but Bremer restored the two-goal margin in the 85th.
Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen and stayed third, ahead of their hosts. Estrella Merino Gonzalez scored directly from a corner in the 14th minute, and Frankfurt captain Laura Freigang equalized in the 64th at the end of a one-touch move.
Olivia Smith Rescues a Point for Arsenal
Olivia Smith curled in a 66th-minute equalizer to give Arsenal a 1-1 draw with promoted Birmingham City at the Emirates Stadium, but the Gunners are winless in five league matches. Océane Hurtré, the league’s Player of the Month for September, put Birmingham ahead on the counter in the 53rd minute, running onto Neve Herron’s long pass and lifting the ball over Misa Rodríguez. Arsenal took 27 shots and put four on target. Alessia Russo headed against the post before halftime, and Sophie Baggaley kept out Lisa Baum and Lotte Wubben-Moy after the break.
Arsenal have six points from six games, while leaders Manchester City, on 15, and second-place Chelsea, on 13, both play at home on Sunday. The point lifts Birmingham, still looking for a league win, provisionally to 11th.
Real Madrid Back to Second After Beating Espanyol
Real Madrid answered a 7-0 loss at Barcelona with a 3-1 win over Espanyol at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, moving back into second in Liga F on 16 points, two behind Barcelona, who have a game in hand. A Sara Däbritz cross drifted in beyond Meri Muñoz in first-half stoppage time, Lineth Beerensteyn doubled the lead in the 70th minute after hitting the crossbar early, and substitute Felicia Schröder dribbled through for the third in the 80th. Bicho scored in added time for Espanyol, whose four-match unbeaten run ended.
Athletic Club rose to third by beating Valencia 1-0 on a Valencia own goal, and Valencia are still without a point. Costa Adeje Tenerife won 4-0 at Badalona for a third straight win, two of the goals from Carlota Suárez inside 22 minutes, and Granada won 3-2 at Logroño behind two from Bárbara López.
OL Lyonnes Rout PSG to Go Top Alone
OL Lyonnes won the meeting of France’s two unbeaten clubs 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, with every goal inside the first hour. Melchie Dumornay headed in Selma Bacha’s cross within three minutes, and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, PSG’s all-time leading scorer before she left for Lyon, headed in a Jule Brand cross in the 39th. Vicki Becho’s deflected shot made it 3-0 three minutes after halftime, and Salma Paralluelo finished Wendie Renard’s flick in the 59th. PSG have now lost 11 straight meetings with Lyon.
Lyon lead with 15 points and 31 goals from five matches, three clear of PSG and Paris FC, who won 4-0 at Toulouse. Strasbourg scored three times in the last 11 minutes to win 3-1 at Lens, and Nantes won for the first time this season, 2-0 at Saint-Malo.
Hosts Morocco Open With Four Goals
Morocco opened the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 4-0 win over New Zealand in Rabat, scoring four times in 25 minutes after a scoreless first half. Sonia Abajiou broke through in the 57th minute, a deflection went in off New Zealand captain Eden Chaytor in the 70th, Imane Dhissi added the third and Hiba Youssoufi converted a penalty in the 82nd. The hosts outshot New Zealand 39-2.
Germany came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1, with Mia Kuhn scoring the winner after Argentina’s Oriana Bralo was sent off on video review, and Morocco and Germany meet Tuesday for control of Group A. Korea DPR, the two-time defending champion, routed debutant Puerto Rico 6-0, and Poland beat Nigeria 2-1.
Harvard Stays Perfect in the Ivy League
#5 Harvard was held scoreless for a half by Brown goalkeeper Ellie Parker, then scored three times after the break to win 3-1 in Providence. Emily Bronckers finished Evie Smith’s pass early in the third quarter, Mia Karine Myklebust answered almost at once for Brown, and Lara Beekhuis restored the lead with 31 seconds left in the quarter. Sage Piekarski added the third off Smith’s second assist. Harvard outshot Brown 18-4, Parker made nine saves, and the Crimson are 11-1 and 5-0 in the Ivy League with nine straight wins.
#8 Duke won 1-0 at #16 Louisville on Alaina McVeigh’s first-quarter redirect of a Julia Boehringer drag-flick, then defended all seven Louisville penalty corners. Kaiya Chepow made three saves for her sixth clean sheet, and Duke, 11-3 and 6-1 in the ACC, has beaten ranked opponents five straight times.
Spirit Clinch a Playoff Place Against Gotham
Lucia Di Guglielmo’s first goal for the Washington Spirit, a 70th-minute finish off a deflected cross, beat Gotham FC 1-0 at Audi Field and clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season. Ann-Katrin Berger kept Gotham level for most of the afternoon with five saves, including a diving stop on Trinity Rodman’s header in the 43rd minute, and Washington hit the crossbar two minutes after taking the lead. The crowd of 19,215 saw the Spirit beat Gotham for the first time in two years, ending a five-match winless run in the rivalry. Gotham still leads the Shield race with 55 points and two matches left, and Washington has 52.
San Diego Wave FC moved between them on 54 points with a 2-1 win at the North Carolina Courage, clinching a home quarterfinal. Melanie Barcenas scored in the fourth minute for an NWSL single-season record for a teenager, and Trinity Byars chipped Kailen Sheridan for her 11th goal. Haley Hopkins scored twice as Kansas City won 2-0 at Utah to move into fourth, and Angel City came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Denver, leaving the Summit 10th and below the playoff line.
Ohio State Splits at Minnesota
#1 Ohio State answered Friday’s 6-2 loss at #3 Minnesota with a 6-5 win at Ridder Arena. The Buckeyes were up 3-0 just 16 seconds into the second period on a goal from Mira Jungåker and two from Joy Dunne, but Minnesota scored four of the next five, and Sarah Paul gave the Gophers their first lead at 5:27 of the third. Dunne completed her hat trick at 10:58, and Hilda Svensson scored the winner 42 seconds later. Ohio State outshot Minnesota 46-34, and Hannah Clark made 40 saves.
#6 Northeastern beat #4 Quinnipiac 5-1 on the day the Bobcats raised their ECAC banner. #7 Princeton swept #8 UConn by scoring three times in the last 6:27 of regulation, two with an extra attacker, and winning 6-5 on Chloe Brinson’s overtime power-play goal. Rosalie Tremblay scored four as #2 Wisconsin beat Minnesota State 12-1.
Nebraska Gives Up a Set and Stays Perfect
#1 Nebraska lost a set in Big Ten play for the first time this season, then gave #13 Purdue nothing else in a 25-13, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 win at John Cook Arena. Purdue ended Nebraska’s run of 26 straight sets with a 6-0 burst for an 18-11 lead in the second, but the Huskers held the Boilermakers to .133 hitting for the night and broke the fourth set open with nine straight points from 8-8. Teraya Sigler had a career-high 15 kills, Olivia Mauch dug a career-high 21, and Bergen Reilly finished with 44 assists, 15 digs and five blocks. Nebraska is 19-0 and 8-0 in the Big Ten and has won 61 straight regular-season home matches.
#15 Penn State answered Friday’s five-set loss at UCLA by sweeping USC at Galen Center, and #14 BYU won its fifth straight match in sweeps at Arizona to reach 15-1 and 7-0 in the Big 12. #21 Minnesota hit a season-high .451 in a sweep of Maryland, and #22 Michigan State closed the third set at Northwestern on a 7-0 run and won in four.
Perris-Redding Scores Three as the Eagles Beat Italy
Georgie Perris-Redding scored three tries as the United States beat Italy 36-27 in the WXV Global Series at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas. Hope Rogers scored twice in five minutes to make it 26-5, and Perris-Redding completed her hat trick seven minutes into the second half for a 33-10 lead. Italy then scored twice in three minutes, the second with Telesi Uhatafe in the sin bin, to close to 33-22, before Bella Vogel’s 77th-minute penalty restored a two-score lead. Both teams scored five tries, and the kicking decided it: Vogel made five of her six attempts, while Italy converted one of its five tries.
The win reversed both previous meetings, Italian victories at the 2021 Rugby World Cup and at WXV in 2023, and keeps the Eagles unbeaten in the series after September wins in Dublin and Cardiff. The teams meet again Saturday at GEODIS Park in Nashville, and the United States closes the series against England on October 30 in Harrison, New Jersey.
Liberty Wins a 10th Straight
#23 Liberty beat Kennesaw State 2-0 for its 10th straight win, matching Southern Illinois for the longest winning streak in Division I. The Flames outshot the Owls 21-2 and won the corners 5-0. Carly Keene redirected Halle Engle’s ball across the goal in the 23rd minute, and freshman Audrey Heustis scored her first career goal in the 77th, putting in the rebound after Gabby Garnett’s shot came off the post, a goal first ruled offside and given on review. Ainsley Leja and Peyton Huber shared a third straight shutout, and Liberty, 12-2-1 and 5-0 in Conference USA, has allowed one goal in league play.
#16 Utah State outshot Fresno State 25-4 in Logan and had to settle for 0-0. Jessie Reiss made seven saves for Fresno State, and a late Aggies goal was ruled out for offside. Utah State is 11-2-3, still unbeaten in the Pac-12 and 36 games without a loss at Bell Field, the longest active home run in the country.
Hayashi Free Kick Wins It for City in Wellington
Melbourne City opened its title defense with a 2-1 comeback at Wellington Phoenix in a rematch of May’s Grand Final. Makala Woods, who had already hit the crossbar, put Wellington ahead from close range in the 51st minute. Melina Ayres, back at City for the first time in almost a decade, leveled from the penalty spot in the 73rd after Emma Main fouled Taylor Ray, and Momo Hayashi struck a free kick over Victoria Esson in the 87th after debutant Kelli McGroarty won the foul. Malena Mieres kept City in it with saves from Grace Jale, Indiah Page-Riley and an 82nd-minute Abby Erceg header.
Adelaide United’s India Breier, on in the 79th minute, scored straight from a corner in the 88th to draw 2-2 at Sydney FC. Sydney led twice, through debutant Asha Sutton and Riley Cohn, while starting six players making their A-League debuts.
Moné Keeps the World Title in a Mask
Mercedes Moné retained the AEW Women’s World Championship against Thekla in Orlando, landing a second Moné Maker after Thekla countered the first into a near fall. Moné wrestled in a protective mask over the nose she broke in winning the title at Wembley Stadium, and Thekla went after it, driving her into the apron and the barricade and nearly winning with a curb stomp. Moné tore off the mask late and hit Thekla with it behind the referee’s back. It was her second defense and their first singles meeting.
Persephone kept the TBS Championship in a four-way, pinning Hyan with a top-rope moonsault after Queen Aminata and Dani Luna each had a pin broken up, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. joined her in the ring afterward. Lena Kross and Megan Bayne of Divine Dominion beat Skye Blue and Julia Hart on the pre-show.
García Goal Keeps Monterrey on Top
Lucía García scored in the eighth minute, and Monterrey beat Cruz Azul 1-0 at Estadio BBVA to stay first in Group A of the Liga MX Femenil Apertura and extend its lead in the overall table. Cruz Azul had the best chance to draw level, a penalty just after the hour, and did not convert it. Rayadas have won 10 of 11 matches and lead the league with 30 points, a week after coming back from 3-1 down at halftime to beat América 4-3.
Tigres, second in Group A, and Group B leader América both have 25 points and play Sunday. Cruz Azul stayed on 15, sixth in Group A, and Puebla and Tijuana drew 1-1 at Estadio Cuauhtémoc, where Kader Hançar scored for Tijuana in the 60th minute.
Kiwi Ferns Need a Late Try to Beat Fiji
New Zealand trailed Fiji at halftime and needed Leianne Tufuga’s try with three minutes left to win 18-12 in Newcastle. Stacey Waaka, the Olympic sevens gold medalist, scored two minutes into her Test debut, but Fiji, in its first World Cup match, led 12-4 after Losana Lutu scored the country’s first try at the tournament and Sienna Laing added another. Waaka’s second try made it 12-10 at the break, the first time the Ferns had trailed at halftime of a World Cup match against anyone but Australia. Two penalty goals put New Zealand ahead, and Raecene McGregor’s cross-field kick found Tufuga.
Papua New Guinea leads New Zealand’s group after beating France 58-4 in Port Moresby. New Zealand hosts France in Christchurch on October 25, and Fiji meets the Orchids next.
Yin Wins Shanghai Again
Ruoning Yin closed with a 4-under 68 at Sheshan to win the Buick LPGA Shanghai by one stroke over Hye-Jin Choi, her second title at the event in three years and the seventh of her LPGA career. Yin started the day two back, and Choi, who had led after every round, bogeyed the seventh and eighth holes. Yin drew level with a birdie at the 10th, went ahead with a birdie at the 16th and added another at the 17th. Choi birdied the last to finish at 10 under, a shot short of a playoff, and is still without an LPGA win in 124 starts.
Yin finished at 11-under 277 for her second win of the season, after the FM Championship in August. Amy Yang was third at 8 under and Rio Takeda fourth at 7 under, and the tour moves on to the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea on Thursday.
Gillespie Takes the Points Race on the Last Night
Lara Gillespie won the points race on the final day of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, finishing on 42 points to Amalie Dideriksen’s 37, with Shari Bossuyt third on 35. Bossuyt lapped the field alone and led for much of the race, Gillespie and Dideriksen each answered with a lap of their own, and Gillespie was the strongest of the three in the sprints that settled it. It is the Irish rider’s second world title, after last year’s elimination race, and she leaves Shanghai with a gold and a silver from the scratch race.
Alina Lysenko, racing as a neutral athlete, won the keirin by fractions over Lea Sophie Friedrich, and Emma Finucane took bronze, her third medal of the week after silvers in the sprint and the team sprint.
Hanan Turns Back Her Sister at Home
Hanan kept the Wonder of Stardom Championship against her younger sister, Hina, beating her in 19:40 at Light Cube Utsunomiya with the wrist-clutch backdrop hold for her fifth defense. The sisters grew up in Shimono, in Tochigi Prefecture, and had not met with a title at stake since 2022. Hina turned the match with a neckbreaker and an STF and kept going after Hanan’s neck, adding a modified facebuster and a splash, but Hanan weathered it and hit two backdrop holds before the finish in front of a full house of 792.
Rina of HATE, the 5★STAR GP winner and another Shimono native, beat former World of Stardom champion Utami Hayashishita in the semi-main event with a package piledriver into a shrimp hold, then kicked her when she reached for a handshake. Hanan has held the white belt for 175 days.
Diriba Sets the Amsterdam Record
Buze Diriba won the Amsterdam Marathon in a course record of 2:16:10, breaking the 2:16:52 Yalemzerf Yehualaw ran in 2024 and taking more than three minutes off her personal best. In cold, wet weather the leaders were 48 seconds behind record pace at 25 kilometers, and Diriba found a finishing sprint that defending champion Aynalem Desta could not match, carrying enough speed into the Olympic Stadium to get under the mark. She arrived with only the fourth-fastest best in the field, the 2:19:34 that won her Frankfurt a year ago.
Desta was second in 2:17:06, 31 seconds faster than her winning time last year, and 2023 champion Meseret Belete was third in 2:18:05 as Ethiopians took the first six places. Mikky Keetels was the top Dutch finisher, in 14th.
LAST LIGHT
Peniche is waiting on the ocean. Two women’s quarterfinals were surfed at Supertubos on Saturday before conditions forced a stop: Caitlin Simmers beat Carissa Moore 11.50-8.93, and Bettylou Sakura Johnson edged wildcard Kika Veselko 7.43-7.34 to set up a semifinal between them. Teresa Bonvalot, who knocked out the season leader on Friday, still has Lakey Peterson to surf whenever the event resumes, with Molly Picklum and Erin Brooks to follow.
Nobody plays for the WNBA title again until Monday, so Sunday belongs to everyone else, and its first act is already under way in Wuhan.