Consider the guard changed

The eight-team postseason picture continues to take shape, with the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm securing spots over the weekend and the Indiana Fever (for the first time since 2016!) and Phoenix Mercury clinching last night. Those squads join the NY Liberty, Connecticut Sun, and Minnesota Lynx, all three of whom punched their tickets last month.

• That leaves one spot still up for grabs with just over two weeks to go in the regular season, and the sprint to the finish is poised to be a wild one with four teams still fully in contention for that last spot. Popcorn at the ready.

Both Taurasi and Cloud were charged with their seventh technical fouls of the season over the weekend, but Taurasi had her foul rescinded, making her eligible for last night’s 74–66 win over the Atlanta Dream.

• Under WNBA rules, a player is suspended for one game after they reach seven technical fouls — a foul that does not involve physical contact, such as unsportsmanlike conduct — and then suspended an additional game for every two technical fouls following.

• The rule is hitting Phoenix especially hard, with standout Kahleah Copper also one tech away from reaching the limit. Needless to say, watch this space.

Stop us if you heard this one before, but rookie phenoms Reese and Clark set more records over the long weekend. Chicago Sky rook Reese broke the WNBA single-season rebounding record on Sunday, surpassing recently retired Sylvia Fowles’ 2018 mark of 404.

• And player of the week Clark kept the pedal to the metal in the Rookie of the Year race, grabbing the Indiana Fever single-season rookie scoring record also on Sunday.

• P.S. The gals are making these jaw-dropping headlines with seven regular-season games still to go. We are not worthy.

🥇 Cue Harry Styles because the American para triathletes racked up eight medals during yesterday’s events. Shining extra bright? Hailey Danz (PTS2), Chris Hammer (PTS5), and Grace Norman (PTS5), who all crossed the finish line first to win gold.

• Meanwhile, swimmer Christie Raleigh Crossley won their first gold in women’s 100m backstroke S9 and Ezra Frech had a golden debut, claiming the top prize in men’s 100m T63.

🏸 Nineteen-year-old Americans Jayci Simon and Miles Krajewski won the country’s first-ever para badminton medal, earning silver in mixed doubles.

🦽🏉 The US wheelchair rugby team battled hard but suffered a heartbreaking 48–41 loss to Japan in the gold-medal game yesterday. That said, the red, white, and blue are still bringing home a seventh consecutive Paralympic medal. Silver linings, literally.

🐎 Team USA dazzled at the Chateau de Versailles, as five-time Paralympian Rebecca Hart took home gold in the para-equestrian individual event grade III, while Fiona Howard topped the podium in the grade II event, in her Paralympic debut no less. Giddy up.

🥉 Good things really do come in threes for American Susannah Scaroni, who captured her third medal of the Paris 2024 Games, a bronze in the women’s 1500m T54 event.

🦽🏀 Team USA men’s wheelchair basketball dominated France 82–47 in the quarter-finals, setting up a semis clash with their neighbors to the north, Team Canada, tomorrow.

• But first, the women’s squad will look to record a quarter-final win of their own when they take on Great Britain today at 10 a.m. ET. Buckets on buckets.

🏐 And last but certainly not least, thanks to a straight-set win over Italy, Team USA women’s sitting volleyball will meet Brazil in tomorrow’s 12 p.m. ET semi, serving for a chance to play in the gold medal game.