Every night is girls’ night
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Hey, what’s up, hello!
The postseason fun rages on in the PWHL, NHL, and NBA, the WNBA is so back, and the rest of the sports world is serving up must-see action to boot. Feeling spoiled as we catch up on all the hits from the weekend.
— Dallas Wings superstar Paige Bueckers, who scored 20 in her squad’s’ 107–104 Saturday dub against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever — the first season opener in WNBA history where both teams scored over 100 points. Setting the tone.
🏒 No. 4 seed Ottawa Charge eliminate No. 2 Boston Fleet, punch ticket to second straight Walter Cup Finals
Four games and one double-overtime (OT) later, the Charge will once again compete for the PWHL’s shiniest trophy, defeating the Fleet 4–3 in OT yesterday behind Michela Cava’s game winner.
- Will this be the first all-Canadian teams final? Not if the two-time defending champ Minnesota Frost have their way — puck drops for the win-and-advance Game 5 between the Frost and No. 1 Montréal Victoire tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
🏒 Carolina Hurricanes complete back-to-back sweeps, advance to Eastern Conference Final
The storm surge continued when the Canes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 in OT on Saturday, their eighth straight playoff win. Carolina’s just the fifth NHL team and the first since 1985 to start the postseason 8-0. Now, they could have up to 11 days off (!!!) as they await their next opponent.
- Speaking of, the other Eastern Conference Final contender will be either the Montreal Canadiens (up 2-1 after last night’s spicy 6–2 win) or Buffalo Sabres. Expect the Canes to watch Game 4 closely tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
- The Minnesota Wild (down 2-1) gave the Colorado Avalanche a taste of their own medicine on Saturday, setting up tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 4; the Anaheim Ducks (tied 2-2 after yesterday’s dub) return to the ice vs. the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. ET.
🏀 NY Knicks sweep Philadelphia 76ers, winning by a whopping 22 points on average
Not wanting to be left out of the spring cleaning, the Knicks crushed the Sixers 144–114 yesterday in a series-clinching Game 4. NY knocked down an NBA playoff record–tying 25 three-pointers en route to a postseason franchise-record 144 points. Buckets on buckets.
- Elsewhere, the defending champ Oklahoma City Thunder (up 3-0) have a chance to author a sweep of their own tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET after the Luka Dončić–less LA Lakers struggled to match OKC’s attack in Saturday’s lopsided 131–108 loss.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers (down 2-1) showed signs of life in a 116–109 Saturday win over the Detroit Pistons as tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Game 4 looms; the Minnesota Timberwolves (tied 2-2) capitalized on a Victor Wembanyama ejection to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114–109 last night.
WNBA
🏀 Every night is girls’ night
The GIST: At long last, the Toronto Tempo made their WNBA debut over the weekend, a long-awaited women’s basketball moment in the Great White North. Just in case you couldn’t see through the happy tears (same), let’s catch you up on the rest of the W action.
🃏 Defending champ Las Vegas Aces flip the switch: Saturday’s 99–66 loss to the Phoenix Mercury was…uninspired, giving shades of last season’s flat start. But this year’s turnaround came much faster — no text required. The Aces used 19 points from four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and another 22 off the bench from Chennedy Carter to top the LA Sparks 105–78 yesterday.
🐣 Checking in on the rookie class: Two debutants made some early statements. The Minnesota Lynx’s Olivia Miles joined an exclusive club in her W debut, dropping 21 points, eight assists, three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in Minnesota’s nailbiting 91–90 loss to the Atlanta Dream. Talk about stuffing the stat sheet.
- Over on the West Coast, Seattle Storm multi-hyphenate Flau’jae Johnson has been electric, averaging 14 points through two games, including a 16-point showing in yesterday’s 89–82 win over the Connecticut Sun.
🍿 Game to watch: Atlanta Dream vs. Dallas Wings — tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET: Three of the biggest names in basketball — Atlanta’s walking double-double Angel Reese and Dallas’ duo of the aforementioned Bueckers and Azzi Fudd — will clash in this early-season battle of title contenders. Can’t wait.
🏀 The Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery yesterday, securing the No. 1 pick in a very deep draft class. This was likely the last draft lottery under the current system, which rewarded tanking squads like the Wiz. Guess it was worth it.
👀 In other offseason NBA news, Toronto Raptor Brandon Ingram underwent heel surgery on Friday, but is expected to recover in time for next season’s training camp.
- Elsewhere, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reportedly agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Warriors and will remain the highest-paid coach in the league.
🎓🥎 Get you a player who can do it all. Just over a month after winning a national title with UCLA women’s basketball, Bruins utility player Megan Grant broke the NCAA softball single-season home run record, belting her 38th of the year on Saturday. So ready for the postseason.
⚾ After putting up a whopping 14 runs in Saturday’s win, the Toronto Blue Jays offense went quiet yesterday, suffering a 6–1 series finale loss to the LA Angels. Next up: an American League East clash with the Tampa Bay Rays starting tonight at 7:07 p.m. ET.
🏒 Nineteen-year-old Macklin Celebrini will captain Canada’s World Hockey Championship team, an enormous honor for the youngster as the squad prepares to compete in the international tourney later this month.
⚽3️⃣ Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored the first hat trick in club history yesterday, helping KC blank the Chicago Stars 3–0.
⚽ The NSL’s Montreal Roses remain undefeated through their first three games after defeating AFC Toronto 1–0 yesterday behind forward Elyse Bennett’s game-winner.
🏆⚽ Barcelona clinched their second consecutive La Liga title yesterday, a historic and emotional 2–0 El Clásico win against Real Madrid highlighted by Marcus Rashford’s fantastic free kick goal.
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.