logo
WNBA fashion, growth on display at The Collective's All-Star party with USA TODAY Studio IX

WNBA fashion, growth on display at The Collective's All-Star party with USA TODAY Studio IX

USA Today3 days ago
INDIANAPOLIS — WNBA All-Star weekend has been a vibe. Fans have converged on the hoops capital of the United States and immersed themselves in the W and it's growing popularity.
"It's so cool," Fever guard Lexie Hull, who participated in the 3-point contest on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, told USA TODAY Studio IX. "I know our team, our front office, everyone with the Fever, has been working really hard to put together a really awesome weekend.
"And to have a lot of the W players and the fans filling the stadium, every restaurant and every hotel, it's awesome."
Many of those players, along with team owners, general managers and other sports business VIPs celebrated all things WNBA, fashion and the culture of women's sports Friday night at an All-Star party hosted by Wasserman's The Collective in partnership with Ally Financial and USA TODAY Studio IX.
Hull walked the red carpet into The Bemberg, a members-only club where the event was held, along with the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings — dressed head to toe in Coach — and the Seattle Storm's Gabby Williams. Notre Dame phenom Hannah Hidalgo and Olympic volleyball medalist Jordan Thompson also attended.
Thompson said it is "amazing" to watch the growth of women's sports. She hopes that volleyball can capitalize.
"Especially in the WNBA, it's just starting to skyrocket," said Thompson, who will begin play in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Championship this fall. "It's kind of exciting, because, as a volleyball player, it's a vision of where we could be one day, and hopefully sooner rather than later."
The growth in women's sports has happened for many reasons including the talent, personality and style of the women playing. But they have experienced significant buy-in from companies who understand the power of collaboration with leagues like the WNBA and NWSL. Ally Bank was an early sponsor of women's sports, helping get the NWSL championship moved to primetime on CBS.
"For us, it made a lot of sense to enter the women's (sports) space in a big way," Stephanie Marciano, Ally's head of sports and entertainment marketing, said. "We felt there was a lot of impact we could make, specifically on the media side. Because there's a number of data metrics that prove that there was a huge visibility and coverage gap in women's sports."
Ally divides it's advertising dollars 50/50 between men's and women's sports media. Wasserman believes it's a blueprint many other companies will follow as the popularity of women's leagues continues to grow and sports like women's volleyball and soccer take off. Another one starting to make some noise? Girls flag football, which is being added as a sport in high schools across the county."When you see billionaires coming in, multiples of them, to invest in teams, not only in the W, but across other women's sports," Thayer Lavielle, The Collective's managing director said, "they have had proven success at making a lot of money. People are seeing the return in the value."
Lavielle said the women's sports space is a community where people work collaboratively, which is unique. Her advice to brands that want to support "this rocket ship" is simple.
"Come in, the water's warm. Do it. Invest now," Lavielle said "Everything will continue to go up."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Jonquel Jones leads Liberty rally past Caitlin Clark-less Fever in her first game back from injury
Jonquel Jones leads Liberty rally past Caitlin Clark-less Fever in her first game back from injury

Yahoo

time12 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Jonquel Jones leads Liberty rally past Caitlin Clark-less Fever in her first game back from injury

It wasn't easy or always pretty. But Jonquel Jones' return to the New York Liberty Tueday night was a success. Jones had missed nine straight games after aggravating a sprained right ankle on June 19. The former MVP and 2024 Finals MVP returned Tuesday night to lead the Liberty in scoring and rebounding as New York rallied past and Indiana Fever team playing without Caitlin Clark for a 98-84s win. Jones opened the game's scoring with a catch-and-shoot corner 3 in the first minute. She then proceeded to miss the rest of her first-half field goal attempts in a 1-for-7 start from the floor, clearly still rusty from her long layoff. A Fever team playing without Clark took a 46-42 lead into halftime over the reigning WNBA champions and extended that edge to 67-60 late in the third quarter. But Jones rediscovered her stroke. And New York's defense held Indiana scoreless for a 4:50 stretch to seize control of the game. Indiana didn't score again in the third quarter after taking its 67-60 lead with with 2:24 remaining. The Liberty ended the quarter on a 9-0 run for a 69-67 lead entering the fourth. New York extended that run to 13-0 in the fourth quarter before Indiana's scoring drought ended 2:26 into the fourth quarter with a Natasha Howard free throw. By then, New York's lead had extended to 73-66, and the Liberty never relinquished control. Jones hit multiple 3-pointers during the run and finished the night with 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Liberty in both categories. She shot 5 of 13 from the field, including a 3-of-7 effort from long distance. Jones' effort overcame a 29-point performance from Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell, who took on a larger-than-usual role on offense with Clark sidelined by a groin injury that she aggravated before the All-Star break.

Angel Reese makes WNBA history with latest double-double streak as Sky fall to Lynx
Angel Reese makes WNBA history with latest double-double streak as Sky fall to Lynx

Yahoo

time12 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Angel Reese makes WNBA history with latest double-double streak as Sky fall to Lynx

Angel Reese is on a double-double streak once again. The Chicago Sky star recorded her 10th-straight double-double on Tuesday night in their 91-68 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. That made her the first player in WNBA history to rack up multiple streaks of at least 10 straight games with a double-double. Reese's current streak dates back to their loss to the Atlanta Dream on June 22, when she had 10 points and 19 rebounds. There are actually just five games this season in which Reese has fallen shy of that mark. She entered Tuesday's game averaging 14 points and 12.6 rebounds per contest. Reese went on a 15-game double-double streak last year in her rookie campaign with the Sky. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last summer and finished in second in the Rookie of the Year race behind Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. They Sky went just 13-27 last season, missed the playoffs and parted ways with head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. Reese dropped 11 points and 11 rebounds in their blowout loss to the Lynx on Tuesday night, which marked their first game back from the All-Star break. She secured her double-double midway through the fourth quarter after driving in and sinking a tough contested layup in the paint. Reese also picked up her seventh technical foul of the season in the loss. If she's assessed another one, she'll face an automatic one-game suspension from the league. But despite her double-double, the Lynx still rolled to the dominant win. All five of their starters finished in double figures, with both Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride putting up 19 points a piece. They shot nearly 45% from the field as a group and held the Sky to just 12 points in the third period while breaking the game wide open. That pushed the Lynx to 21-4 on the season, and a perfect 13-0 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Kamilla Cardoso also had a double-double for Chicago with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Kia Nurse finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Those two, along with Reese, were the only players to hit double figures for the Sky. The Sky now sit at 7-16 on the season, which is the third-worst record in the league ahead of only the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun. Reese and the Sky will be back in action next on Thursday against the Seattle Storm.

Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics 93-86 for 3rd straight win
Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics 93-86 for 3rd straight win

Yahoo

time12 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics 93-86 for 3rd straight win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dearica Hamby had 24 points and 14 rebounds for her 48th career double-double, Rickea Jackson scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Washington Mystics 93-86 on Tuesday night. Los Angeles (9-14) has won three straight games, including back-to-back victories over Washington (11-12), before and after the All-Star break. Los Angeles led 81-78 before scoring nine straight points, capped by Hamby's baseline jumper with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter for a 12-point lead. Kelsey Plum sealed it on a long 3-pointer with 49.1 left. Plum finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers for Los Angeles. Jackson made four of the Sparks' 13 3s. Brittney Sykes led Washington with 18 points and Shakira Austin added 17. Kiki Iriafen scored 13. Sonia Citron, Washington's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, finished with seven points, five assists and three steals. Citron did not attempt her first field goal until midway through the third quarter. Washington was held to just nine points in the second quarter and trailed 40-35 after opening the game on an 18-3 run. It was the second-lowest point total allowed by Los Angeles in a quarter this season. Sykes made a fast-break layup with 0.2 seconds left in the third to tie it at 67-all. The Mystics were outscored 26-19 in the fourth. ___ AP WNBA:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store