The WNBA is going with a shooting stars competition instead of its skills challenge, pairing one former great with a current player in the league on Friday night as part of All-Star weekend.
Seattle will be represented by Lauren Jackson and Flau’jae Johnson. Washington will have Elena Delle Donne partnered with Shakira Austin. Dallas, which started out as a franchise in Detroit, will pair Jessica Shepard with Deanna Nolan. Minnesota will have Rebekkah Brunson playing with Courtney Williams.
Each team will also include a standout high school player from Nike EYBL, bringing together three generations of women’s basketball in one competition.
The Nike EYBL participants are Jezelle “GG” Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley. Honorary general managers for the WNBA All-Star Game, Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, will serve as designated passers, with Cooper distributing the ball to two teams and Weatherspoon passing it to the other two teams.
The format is a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition features shots ranging from a layup to a 3-pointer, with the two teams posting the highest scores in the opening round advancing to the championship round.
The shooting stars winners will get $15,000. Each competitor will receive $7,500.
Last year the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.
The league announced the participants of the 3-point contest on Tuesday.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Washington Mystics' Shakira Austin (0) shoots on Toronto Tempo's Isabelle Harrison (21) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Toronto on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz went 3 for 3 and was a homer away from the cycle to help the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the New York Mets 4-3 on Wednesday.
Christian Yelich drove in two runs and Logan Henderson matched a career high with nine strikeouts for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which took two of three from New York. Marcus Semien and Brett Baty homered for the Mets, who are last in the NL East.
Ortiz hit a two-run triple in the second inning, singled in the fourth and had a ground-rule double in the sixth before walking in the eighth. He also made a diving stop of a grounder by A.J. Ewing and threw to first for the final out.
Ortiz is batting .373 (19 of 51) since July 4, improving his season average from .201 to .239.
Henderson (4-1) allowed five hits and two runs without walking anyone in five innings. He faced a Mets lineup missing five-time All-Star Juan Soto, who got the day off.
Francisco Alvarez singled home Tyrone Taylor with two outs in the ninth before Trevor Megill got his 16th save in 18 opportunities. Megill's streak of 15 straight scoreless appearances ended.
Ortiz's triple was a fly to right that Baty misjudged. The ball fell just out of Baty’s reach at the warning track, bringing home two runs to make it 2-1. Yelich then singled home Ortiz.
Baty said the ball tailed on him, calling it “a play that has to be made.”
New York’s Christian Scott (3-2) struck out six and allowed three runs, four hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Mets: Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.74 ERA) pitches Friday's series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, who haven't announced a starter.
Brewers: Host Colorado starting Friday. The scheduled starters for the opener are Milwaukee's Shane Drohan (5-3, 3.20) and Colorado's Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4, 4.76).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
New York Mets' Brett Baty hits a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich (22) high-fives third base coach Matt Erickson (68) after hitting an RBI triple as umpire Jansen Visconti (52) looks on during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe reacts to the final out of the eighth inning made by second baseman Brice Turang in a baseball game against the New York Mets Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Milwaukee Brewers' Joey Ortiz hits a ground-rule double during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
