Hope your weekend was as hype as Kansas City Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta’s epic goal celebration that broke the internet on Friday.

• More reason to be hype? We have two exciting GIST announcements lined up for this week, and the first one’s dropping tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled, but until then, let’s scroll.

I don't give myself the freedom of sitting back just yet and looking on at all that I've achieved in my career because there is so much work still to be done both inside the ring and out, but I am proud of my resilience in getting this far.

The GIST: Two down, two to go. After a weekend of record-setting action, the WNBA semifinals are halfway set. Next up, two decisive Game 3s to round out the final-four field. *bites nails*

Who’s through: The No. 1 Las Vegas Aces punched their ticket to the semis by thumping the short-handed No. 8 Phoenix Mercury 117–80 on Saturday, taking the series 2-0. How’d they do it? By going all in on three-pointers. The Aces set a WNBA record by scoring 23 threes in the rout. Damn, indeed.

• Vegas will face the No. 4 Seattle Storm, who closed out their series against the No. 5 Washington Mystics with a 97–84 win yesterday. Many expected this matchup to go all three games, but Seattle rained on that parade, with all five starters scoring in double figures.

Who’s going to Game 3: The No. 2 Chicago Sky clearly took their stunning Game 1 upset loss personally, throttling the No. 7 NY Liberty 100–62 on Saturday to send the series to a winner-take-all battle tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

• The Sky lived up to their defending champs status in Game 2 — their 38-point victory was the largest in postseason history. But the Libs will gain a huge boost with home court advantage tomorrow.

• Elsewhere, the No. 6 Dallas Wings blocked out the No. 3 Connecticut Sun 89–79 yesterday to secure Wings’ first-ever franchise postseason W since relocating from Detroit. They’ll head back to Dallas for Wednesday’s Game 3 at 9 p.m. ET. Must-see TV.

The GIST: Friday brought a rare win in the ongoing fight for trans rights in sports — pending legal challenges from parents, a Utah judge reversed the state’s law that banned trans girls from participating. More of this, please.

The context: Families of three transgender student-athletes filed a lawsuit in May, claiming that the ban, which went into effect in July, violates the state constitution’s guarantees of equal rights.

• The victory comes after reports last week that the Utah High School Activities Association investigated a female athlete’s gender, without telling the athlete or her parents, after she finished first at a state-level competition.

• The reason for the investigation? Complaints from parents of the girls who finished second and third. There are no words.

The details: The new rules replacing Utah’s ban aren’t exactly perfect. Trans girls will now go before a state commission to determine their eligibility on a case-by-case basis. And that panel of political appointees will be permitted to assess the child’s height and weight in their decision making.

• But compared to an outright ban, this victory is a “huge relief,” and one that comes just as the school year is set to begin.

Zooming out: Utah was among at least 12 states with laws banning trans women or girls in sports under the thinly veiled guise of “protecting women’s sports.” After a long stretch of discrimination and bigotry, this victory is worth celebrating, even as the work continues.

🤸 Gymnastics: Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey made their elite competition return at this weekend’s U.S. Gymnastics Championships, but it was Konnor McClain who beamed with senior women’s all-around title glory. From tragedy to triumph, we’ll likely see McClain at October’s World Championships.

• On the men’s side, Brody Malone continues to raise the bar, defending his 2021 U.S. all-around title and earning one of five World Championship roster spots, where he’ll be joined by second-place finisher Donnell Whittenburg. Flippin’ awesome.

🎾 Tennis: France’s Caroline Garcia ended her nearly five-year WTA 1000 title drought with a straight sets victory over Czechia’s Petra Kvitová in yesterday’s Western & Southern Open final. And it came in record-breaking style, as Garcia became the first qualifier to win a WTA 1000 tourney.

• As for the men, after returning from over a year of injury leave, Croatia’s Borna Ćorić triumphed over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win his first Masters 1000 tournament yesterday. A comeback king.

⛳ Golf: American Patrick Cantlay hoisted the PGA BMW Championship trophy for a second straight year by tapping in a clutch birdie on the 17th hole yesterday. Now sitting in second place in the FedEx Cup standings, Cantlay could become the first-ever repeat PGA Tour champ when the playoffs continue this week. Time will tell.

⚾ Baseball: While the Little League Baseball World Series rolls along, MLBers had a chance to shine in last night’s annual Little League Classic which saw the Baltimore Orioles knock out a 5–3 win over the Boston Red Sox in Williamsport, PA. Sliding to success.

The GIST: The WNBA playoffs are officially off and running, and, as mentioned, the Aces and the Storm are the first teams to advance after taking down their opponents in two games. While we wait for the other matchups to wrap, it’s time to crown our first Player of the Series. And the award goes to…

The player: Las Vegas star Chelsea Gray! Gray posted 27 points in just 25 minutes during her Aces’ semifinals-sealing rout on Saturday. Even more impressive, she was nearly perfect along the way, draining seven of the eight three-pointers she took. That’ll certainly do.

What’s next: Gray and the Aces will enjoy some well-deserved rest before they gear up for Sunday’s semis. Want to gear up yourself? Check out Under Armour’s full collection of women’s hoops products. You’ll be ballin’ like Gray in no time.

While the U.S. administration works to bring wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner home via a prisoner swap, former NBAer Dennis Rodman — who considers himself an informal international diplomat — announced yesterday that he’ll attempt to visit Russia to assist in Griner’s release. Stay tuned.

This video with late Stanford soccer captain Katie Meyer’s parents discussing their daughter and KatiesSave.org — a foundation dedicated to bringing suicide awareness and mental health support to college campuses.

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