Red-hot Kennedy Burke leads league in 3-point shooting
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA. tRY IT NOW
Kennedy Burke poured in four 3s in Thursday's win against the Sparks.
It marked the second time this season she's drained four shots from deep. She finished with 12 points in her fourth start this season.
Advertisement
Burke is shooting a whopping 50.7 percent from behind the arc this season, which is the highest mark in the league among players who've attempted at least 50 shots from 3-point range.
Burke has been so impressive that Natasha Cloud has launched a campaign for her to participate in this year's 3-point shooting contest during WNBA All-Star weekend later this month.
Kennedy Burke celebrates during the Liberty's 89-79 win over the Sparks on June 3, 2025.
Getty Images
Advertisement
Burke blushed and smiled at Cloud's assertion. Asked whether she would want to partake in the annual event, Burke said she hasn't really thought about it.
'I don't know,' Burke said. 'I just want to play, honestly. Just be the best player for my teammates, be a good teammate. So, I mean, that's not something that I'm really focused on. I just want to focus on taking it day by day, staying present.'
A new public art installation honoring the 2024 WNBA champions was unveiled Thursday on the plaza at Barclays Center.
Advertisement
'The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions,' created by renowned artist LaToya Ruby Frazier, tells the story of 10 of the 12 players who contributed to last year's title run.
Each 3D frame includes a 9-foot-tall portrait of a player in their Liberty uniform on one side and an image of the same player with their chosen family on the other. There's also text panels that feature first-person testimonies from the voice of a loved one.
Frazier hopes the portraits are 'beacons of women's leadership and the power of sisterhood.
Advertisement
'This collaboration extends beyond fandom and the spectacle of sport; it's an act of celebrating and bearing witness to the full humanity of these championship players — their struggles, their triumphs, their lives outside the arena,' Frazier said in a statement. 'I'm interested in creating a bridge between fans and the team, deepening a sense of compassion and commanding the dignity and respect the team deserves.'
This is the first of what Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai hopes to be many public art installations outside Barclays in the coming years.
Sandy Brondello and Cheryl Reeves were named the head coaches for this month's All-Star game.
Brondello is set to coach Team Napheesa Collier and Reeves will head Team Caitlin Clark.
Sandy Brondello looks on during the Liberty's win over the Sparks.
Getty Images
The Lynx are the No. 1 team in the league, sitting at 15-2. The Liberty are second at 12-5 with a .706 win percentage.
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was in line to join Reeves until the Wings knocked off Phoenix on Thursday, dropping his team to 12-6 on the season (.667.)
Advertisement
Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, both of whom were named starters this week, will join Brondello in Indianapolis.
All-Star reserves are scheduled to be announced Sunday.
Cloud was ecstatic to learn Philadelphia is joining Detroit and Cleveland in the WNBA's upcoming expansion.
Advertisement
'For my hometown team, the Sixers, to truly invest into a W team, that's always been my dream to have an organization for the city, it's going to be so important,' Cloud said.
Cloud will be 38 when Philadelphia is expected to begin to play in 2030.
She doesn't know whether she'll still be playing. But she said she'd entertain the idea of working in the team's front office if an opportunity presented itself.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
Four Nittany Lions make preseason All-American teams
In a preseason that has contained the most hype for the Nittany Lions in over two decades, Penn State continues to dominate preseason All-American teams. The AP just released their teams yesterday and Penn State's dominance was almost certainly felt. Four Nittany Lions ultimately ended up landing on their teams, with three first-team selections and one second-team selection. That ties them with Texas for most first-team selections in the country and finally gives them a second-teamer after the same three players had been selected to the first teams of several other publications. The three players in question that again made the first team are defensive tackle and breakout star of last season Zane Durant, offensive lineman Olaivevega Ioane, and star running back Nicholas Singleton. Backfield running mate Kaytron Allen slots into the second team. This marks Durant's fifth preseason All-American team selection across five publications, Ioane's sixth, and Singleton's fifth. This is Allen's second second-team selection, but it is still notable that one of the deepest squads somehow don't have the subsequent depth on All-American preseason teams. Despite some snubs however, the fact that Durant, Ioane, and Singleton have represented the team so strongly must feel good for Penn State fans. Durant had a breakout 2024 that saw him tied for first amongst defensive tackles and sacks with three and third in TFLs with 11. Ioane was an All-Big Ten second team selection last year and helped the Nittany Lions have one of the most efficient offenses in the country, leading the nation in first downs. And people don't have to be told about both Singleton and Allen, as both could be on the precipice of being Nos. 1 and 2, respectively on Penn State's all-time rushing leaders charts. They already are 1 and 2 in terms of returning FBS players, so why not go for a program record and leave a major legacy behind? These preseason All-American selections do bolster their odds. Most importantly, this gives Penn State bragging rights within the conference. In fact, the only other Big Ten squad to even have multiple first-team selections was No. 3 Ohio State, landing both Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs on the first team. Not even those selections can slow Penn State's mojo however. Let's see if these selections prove the Associated Press right.
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
Alabama football 2025 season preview, predictions: Jam Miller
You could certainly make an argument that few players on the Alabama Crimson Tide's 2025 offense are more key to the unit's success this fall than Jam Miller. Alabama's returning leading rusher, the Crimson Tide however will be without Miller to begin the 2025 season, as the running back recently suffered an injury that will likely result in missing time. Looking at the overall impact of Miller when healthy however, it's clear that the veteran running back will be a big part of Alabama's success in 2025, and should be among college football's best at the position when on the field. Here is a preview of the 2025 season for Alabama running back Jam Miller. Jam Miller player information Jam Miller career stats A senior, Miller is currently entering his fourth season of college football at Alabama, and has appeared in a total of 40 games from 2022-24. Over the past three seasons, Miller has rushed for a combined 1,092 yards and 10 scores on 219 attempts, while also hauling in 21 receptions for 227 yards and two more touchdowns. Jam Miller 2024 stats Miller's 2024 season was likely his best yet at Alabama, appearing in all 13 games for the Crimson Tide a year ago. During his junior campaign, Miller rushed for 668 yards and seven touchdowns on 145 attempts, while also hauling in 16 receptions for 155 yards and another score. Jam Miller recruiting ranking Coming out of high school, Miller was considered as the nation's No. 87 overall prospect in the 2022 class, as well as the No. 6 running back nationally, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. A four-star prospect, Miller was also ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the state of Texas where he attended Tyler Legacy High School, and committed to Alabama back in Nov. 2021 by flipping from Texas. Jam Miller 2025 season outlook While injured to start the season, Miller will be Alabama's starter and No. 1 option at running back when back to full health. Named to the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list, Miller is coming off a career-year, and even despite injury to start the season, could still eclipse those totals in 2025. An experienced player, Miller should make a significant impact in both the rushing and receiving game, and will also be running behind one of college football's top offensive lines, something that should benefit the senior. A potential 1,000-yard back option, expect a strong season from Miller once again, and for the Alabama running back to potentially receive honors at seasons end such as All-SEC. Jam Miller 2025 season prediction Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Indianapolis Star
42 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
LOST GYMS: 'When you watch the movie Hoosiers, it was all that here and more' in Freetown
FREETOWN – The origin of the Freetown gym — how it came to be, how it was utilized and how it remains a center of this quiet community of 370 people in Jackson County — is a story of small town Indiana and the state's growing love affair with high school basketball. The year was 1930. For several years previously, the Freetown basketball teams practiced on a dirt court in the schoolyard or in a small gym that had been converted for basketball by Sherman Berry, a local businessman. Berry, the owner of flouring mill in Waymansville, hired Freetown carpenters Bill Cornett and James Huber as engineers to construct the new gymnasium, built from the materials of the old Tobrocke flour mill. In 1930 and '31, during the height of the Great Depression, Freetown children watched their fathers haul the timbers into town and stack them next to Berry's sawmill, then construct the gym, complete with dressing rooms, showers and a furnace. 'It was as loud as any gym you would go to today,' said Russell Fritz, a 1955 Freetown graduate. 'I don't think you could hold a candle to the atmosphere here. When you watch the movie 'Hoosiers', it was all that here and more.' Berry owned the gym, renting it to Freetown for games and practices, along with neighboring Houston and Van Buren Township until it turning it over the school in 1948. The gym was not only a home for basketball, though. It hosted graduation commencements, proms and senior plays. During World War II, bond rallies were held in the gym. In 1944, when Freetown's own Robert McKinney was killed in action in Italy, hundreds attended his funeral service in the gym. 'I have often wondered what our town would have been like without the gym because so many things went on there,' Irene Forgey McNiece told the Jackson County Banner in 2003. 'You could call it Freetown's hub.' The 1924-25 team won the only sectional championship in Freetown history, helping to spur the need for a gym. Fred Brock took over as coach the following year and would later be succeeded by Edgar Sprague, a 1924 Freetown graduate who would go on to coach and teach in the Freetown system for 46 years. Freetown was home to several quality teams after the gym opened in 1931. For the 1947-48 season, upgrades were for an electronic scoreboard and expanded dressing rooms with showers in the basement of the building. Previously, the wooden scoreboard reflected only the minutes remaining. The timekeeper signaled the end of the game by firing a blank pistol or blowing a horn by mouth. Sprague coached Freetown from 1932 to 1948, missing three years due to his service in World War II. He was instrumental in bringing Crispus Attucks, all-Black Indianapolis school having difficulty scheduling games, to play games at Freetown (Freetown also played at Attucks). During games against rival Vallonia and Attucks, fans climbed the roof to watch the games through the windows. 'There were quite a few of them up there, too,' 1948 graduate Dean Zike said several years ago. 'Not everybody could get in those big games.' Attucks was not well known at the time as the powerhouse program it would become during the 1950s when the Tigers won three state championships and featured one of the state's all-time great players in Oscar Robertson. Years later, after Attucks won its second state championship, Attucks coach Ray Crowe was guest speaker at Freetown's athletic banquet. Fritz was not yet in high school at the time but was in attendance the night Attucks first came to play at Freetown. 'Fred Brock (then the principal) told them they could come down here,' Fritz said of Attucks, which also played small schools like Medora, Vallonia and Clearspring. 'This place was packed. They had people standing on the roof and looking in. They continued to play for several years because of the friendship between Ray Crowe and Fred.' That Freetown team, led by left-handed post player Bill Brown, finished 18-7 but lost by 20 points to Seymour in the sectional championship game. There was intermittent success to follow for the Spartans, who won the 1957 Jackson County championship — still noted on a sign on the outskirts of town. The next year, Freetown made it to the sectional championship but lost to host Seymour, 74-58, and finished 20-4. By the late 1950s, the Freetown gym was rarely used for home games. The Spartans mostly used the larger, more modern gym at Cortland. 'It was a pretty good gym compared to what everybody else had,' said Bill Mann, a 1953 graduate, said of the Freetown gym. 'It had a good floor in it. When you bounce the ball, it would bounce back to you. This was a good gym. You couldn't seat a lot of people but it seated enough I guess.' Freetown graduated its final class of 16 seniors in 1964 before consolidating into Brownstown Central. 'Nobody wanted the school closed because it was hard on the town,' Fritz said. 'The town goes downhill a little bit when you lose your school.' The gym remained. It continued to serve as a community hub for many years, undergoing a $550,000 renovation with the aid of a grant in 2003. The grant allowed the community repair the east side of the gym, which was beginning to collapse. 'Some people complained about (the renovation) when it was done, but they were glad after it was done,' Fritz said. 'That money was available for grants and we could apply for it, so that's what we did. It was well worth it. It's a good feeling that it's still around. Everything in today's society is just thrown away. It could have been torn down just as easily when we got the grant to have it done.' When the renovation was complete, Fritz said one former player — who was originally against the idea of refurbishing the gym — sat in a corner of the gym in tears when it was complete. 'He sat down there and just cried,' Fritz said. 'It was a good thing we did it. It will be good for a lot of generations, I think.' The Freetown Elementary School was closed in 2011, another tough blow to the small community. But the gym remains a constant source of pride, still hosting annual class reunions, family reunions and community events. And, yes, the occasional basketball game. Just like Sherman Berry, Bill Cornett and James Huber would have hoped nearly 100 years later. 'They are getting a lot out of it,' Mann said. 'It did a lot of good for the community.'
