The weekend of June 14-15 was a weekend to make history and to squander history. A former HBCU player-turned-coach wins the United Football League championship, Angel Reese records her first triple-double of her career, and the Indiana Fever ended the New York Liberty’s chance for the best start in WNBA history.
HBCU alum-turned-coach Shannon Harris makes history
Shannon Harris, a former Tennessee State football star, is in a state of unadulterated bliss after making history on Saturday, June 14. The interim head coach of the (Washington) DC Defenders became the first HBCU alum to coach a professional football team in the United States to a league championship title.
Harris’ Defenders demolished the Michigan Panthers and their league MVP, Bryce Perkins, steamrolling to a 52-19 lead in the third quarter en route to a 58-34 victory.
Indiana Pacers blew a chance to control NBA Finals
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers floundered a great opportunity to take chokehold control of the NBA championship by squandering a late lead to lose game 3 of the Finals.
Up 2-1 in the best-of-7 series, the Pacers were leading the Oklahoma City Thunder 87-80 in the 4th quarter. Only one team has ever come back from a 3-games-to-1 deficit in the history of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavs of 2016, when they were led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Instead of closing out the game, however, the Pacers were outscored by the Thunder, 31-17, in the 4th quarter, lead by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points, to win the game 111-104, enabling the Thunder to tie the game at 2 games apiece heading back to Oklahoma.
Angel Reese records her first career triple double
Angel Reese, the most polarizing player in the WNBA and a lightning rod for impassioned debate among fans, is adding to the positive rhetoric about her. And she continues to add to the record books.
On Sunday, the Bayou Barbie recorded her first triple-double in a resounding Chicago Sky victory over the Connecticut Sun, 78-66. Angel finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Meanwhile, WNBA star Reese manages to siphon off the fan hating and trolling into a money-making venture by trademarking the pejorative term “Mebounds” that detractors use to denigrate the Bayou Barbie’s tendency to grab her own misses.
@angelreese10 💋
A’ja Wilson barred from playing due to concussion protocol
Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson will miss her third game in a row after sustaining a concussion during the Las Vegas Aces’ 97-89 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, June 11. The two-time champion, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and 3-time MVP — who also won the Olympics MVP during Team USA’s gold medal win — will also miss the game Sunday night against the Phoenix Mercury.
Aces coach Becky Hammon said there is no timetable for Wilson to return. But she was ecstatic about the Aces’ come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday, 88-84, lead by Jackie Young’s 28 points and Jewell Loyd’s 21.
Indiana Fever end the New York Liberty’s undefeated season
The New York Liberty and Minnesota stormed out of the gate of the 2025 season by starting off the season 9-0, which sets the franchise record. The Liberty were trying to best the 13-0 start that was set by the Minnesota Lynx in 2016 when they were led by the legendary Maya Moore.
But without the services of 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, who was injured, they were no match for the Indiana Fever on this night, losing 102-88. Caitlin Clark led the Fever with 32 points, while Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 34 in the losing effort.
