Very demure, very mindful

The GIST: Today marks exactly one month until the end of the WNBA regular season, and the playoff push is just heating up, after fiery games dominated the weekend slate ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline. Ball so hard.

NY Liberty clinch the season’s first playoff berth: The Libs are postseason bound for the fourth consecutive year after locking in one of eight playoff spots with Saturday’s 79–67 win over the two-time defending champ Las Vegas Aces.

• The top of the league seafoam stars have been glowing thanks to standout play from Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones, with Ionescu dropping a team-high 23 points in their win over the Aces, while Jones contributed a double-double.

Cailtlin Clark–led Indiana Fever surging: All-Star rookie Clark proved she really is that girl with back-to-back standout performances in the Fever’s two weekend wins.

• First, she scored 29 points in Indy’s 98–89 Friday win over the Phoenix Mercury, then broke the league rookie assist record yesterday in her squad’s impressive 92–75 victory against the Seattle Storm. We see you, C-squared.

Connecticut Sun sell out first-ever women’s pro basketball game at Boston’s TD Garden: The second-place team in the W sold 19,156 tickets to tomorrow’s 7 p.m. ET game against the LA Sparks, which will be played at the Boston Celtics’ home venue in front of the biggest crowd in franchise history. A historic day in the Hub.

The GIST: The third annual Tour de France Femmes crossed the finish line yesterday, with Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma (pronounced Nye-vya-doma) edging out defending champ Demi Vollering of the Netherlands by just four seconds to win the yellow jersey. Here’s a breakdown of the week-long race by the numbers, s’il vous plaît.

3: Niewiadoma finished third during both the inaugural 2022 race and last year’s edition, finally reaching the top of the podium this time around. Third time really is the charm, huh? 

4: The four-second difference between Niewiadoma and Vollering (who put up a thrilling fight) was the narrowest margin of victory in the history of the women’s and men’s Tour races. Truly down to the wire.

9: The tour will expand from eight stages to nine next year, compared to the 21 raced on the men’s side. Tour de France Femmes organizers aren’t “closing the door on any possibilities” of future expansion, but are moving cautiously to ensure the longevity of the event.

14: As in a whirlwind 14 days for American cyclist Kristen Faulkner, who went immediately from winning the United States’ first road race Olympic gold in 40 years (not to mention a second gold in the team pursuit), to the top American finisher at the Tour de France Femmes. Casual.

Feeling a void after the USWNT’s golden run? Not to worry — there are only four sleeps between you and the NWSL returning from their month-and-a-half break.

• Every NWSL team sent at least one player to this summer’s international stage, and they’re all back in action stateside this upcoming weekend. Here are the best matchups on the docket:

Houston Dash vs. Orlando Pride — Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video: The Pride haven’t lost in regulation all season, but can that unreal streak survive a 47-day pause? As for the Dash, they struggled in the first half of the season, making this a prime opportunity to gain some momentum.

NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Portland Thorns — Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on CBS: These squads are neck-and-neck near the top of the leaderboard and have a whopping eight USWNT members between them (aka nearly half of the gold medal–winning roster). Absolute cinema.

Washington Spirit vs KC Current — Sunday at 12 p.m ET. on CBSSN: Speaking of the top of the standings, these are two of the league’s top-performing teams, and when they go head-to-head, there’s bound to be fireworks. LFG.

NYC’s biggest sporting event of the year, the US Open, is just around the corner. Before the sport’s stars, like reigning champ Coco Gauff and her pal, Ben Shelton, start swinging for the largest purse in tennis history, you can catch the duo playing together at tomorrow’s US Open Mixed Madness presented by IHG Hotels & Resorts charity event.

• Tickets are still available for the 7 p.m. ET mixed doubles matchup, where the besties could face Aryna Sabalenka and Taylor Fritz. Secure your seat now.