🤕 INJURY UPDATES

On April 29, rookie guard Georgia Amoore suffered a knee injury at Washington Mystics practice. The team announced that she will miss the 2025 season and return sometime in 2026.

Sadly, Katie Lou Samuelson has also torn her ACL, the Storm announced. As Roberta and Erica discussed in the last episode of Tempestade Talk, Samuelson was expected to help the Storm spread the floor by shooting perimeter.

For a team with no clear shooting guard, there were already concerns about getting enough offense to be a contender. This injury may signal a need to explore roster additions.

Our thoughts are with Georgia and Katie Lou, and we hope they return to the court as soon as possible.

ACL injuries have been prominent in women’s soccer and have started to become more prominent in women’s basketball. If ACL injuries are more common among women athletes, what role do training staff play in mitigating their prominence, or improving recovery?

Other injury news:

• Amoore’s teammate, Aaliyah Edwards, sustained a lower back contusion and will be reevaluated in two weeks

• Caitlin Clark missed the Indiana Fever’s first preseason game with a lower leg injury. She is not expected to miss a significant amount of time, if any.

• In Las Vegas, Aces center Megan Gustafson will be out indefinitely after suffering a left leg injury at practice on April 28

⛹🏽‍♀️ A FEW CONTENDERS

As we draw closer to the beginning of preseason, all eyes are once again on Indiana. The Fever had a tremendous off-season as they revamped their roster by acquiring DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson, and Sophie Cunningham in addition to new head coach Stephanie White.

All the roster additions bring years of big game experience to Indianapolis, and when you combine them with the Big 3 of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, it has Fever fans dreaming big.

At Fever Media Day, Clark spoke about the new additions to the roster and what they might be able to do this season:

The Fever had a better-than-expected 2024 and might have a special 2025 if everything goes according to plan.

In Minnesota, the Lynx are looking to turn the page on a heartbreaking end to a dream 2024 season. Cheryl Reeve and the team have likened this year to 2017, the season they won a WNBA title after a heartbreaking end to the Finals the year before at the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks. The Lynx’s passing, clutch play, and all around excellence made them one of the best teams in the W in 2024 and they’ll look to build on that and repeat their success in 2025.

The New York Liberty retooled this offseason and looks even more versatile than last year. A lot of the versatility comes from the backcourt, and specifically veteran guard Natasha Cloud.

“I’m excited to see the lineup combinations a Tash Cloud can unlock,” general manager Jonathan Kolb told media at an event at Barclays Center Saturday morning.

The 2019 WNBA champion is a proven two-way guard and will work in tandem with Sabrina Ionescu. However, that doesn’t mean the Liberty’s first-ever first overall pick will simply slot in as the shooting guard.

Ionescu told Black Rosie Media on Friday that she wants to have the ball in her hands. This will make for an intriguing lineup, or combinations, as Kolb noted. For Cloud, this poses several problems for opponents.

“Who are you gonna guard?” she told BRM Friday. The vision is there, but it is a matter of execution. Erica and I will discuss this and more in an upcoming episode of Gotta Get Up: A Podcast for New York Liberty Fans.

With teams like the Fever and Lynx loading up on talent, repeating as champions will be daunting. Early returns from Training Camp are New York is up to the task

🗓️ UPCOMING GAMES

Here’s the WNBA Preseason Slate through Wednesday, May 7:

📰 WHAT WE’RE READING!

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in women’s basketball.

Here’s what we’re reading:

• Opportunity abounds for New York Liberty role players in title defense by Lucas Kaplan for NetsDaily

• Can A’ja Wilson repeat her historic 2024 WNBA season? by Chelsea Leite for Breakaway

• Australian Basketball Players’ Association secures historic CBA with WNBL by Lukas Petridis for The Next

• Rena Wakama looks to make her mark in the WNBA after excelling on Olympic, international stages by Maggie Hendricks for Yahoo Sports

• ‘Sinners’ Is Set in Clarksdale, Where There’s No Theater. Locals Are Asking for a Screening. by Aallyah Wright for Capital B News

💰 MONEY MOVES - EXCLUISVE INTERVIEW

LIBERTY X LIBERTY!

It’s been an amazing run for the New York Liberty since capturing their first WNBA championship last Fall, and as we head into the new season, they’ve got a new partner with a familiar ring to it!

On May 1, the New York Liberty and Liberty Mutual Insurance announced a multiyear partnership that begins this season. The two organizations will partner to create social media content, in arena moments, and all sorts of goodies featuring Limu Emu (and Doug) and Ellie the Elephant!

I had a chance to talk to Catherine Carlson, Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships for BSE Global (the Liberty’s parent company) and asked her what goes into a good partnership:

In our conversation, Carlson noted that the Liberty’s attendance is up 64 percent year-over-year, an 80 percent increase year-over-year in corporate partners, and has secured an additional 25 partners for the 2025 season.

At Tuesday’s practice, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello mentioned that the franchise was looking to get better, evolve, and level up in all aspects of the organization.

As Carlson noted, that authenticity is essential to a good partnership. You want to work with people and organizations that see the world the way you and your customers do and align with your values. It creates a synergistic relationship where everyone wins , you get to reach even more people, and you get to create something special.

“As the WNBA continues to grow,” Jenna Lebel, Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Chief Marketing Officer for US Retail Markets said.

“We are thrilled to be part of this momentum and to connect with fans who share our values of community and empowerment.”

📰 WHAT WE’RE READING!

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in women’s basketball.

Here’s what we’re reading:

• Opportunity abounds for New York Liberty role players in title defense by Lucas Kaplan for NetsDaily

• Can A’ja Wilson repeat her historic 2024 WNBA season? by Chelsea Leite for Breakaway

• Australian Basketball Players’ Association secures historic CBA with WNBL by Lukas Petridis for The Next

• Rena Wakama looks to make her mark in the WNBA after excelling on Olympic, international stages by Maggie Hendricks for Yahoo Sports

• ‘Sinners’ Is Set in Clarksdale, Where There’s No Theater. Locals Are Asking for a Screening. by Aallyah Wright for Capital B News

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