The Utah Jazz have extended their losing skid to three games with a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The final score was 114-123.
Utah
NWSL Power Rankings: Banda’s Pride No. 1, winless Utah sink
It’s Monday, and another week of NWSL action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.
Who’s climbing the table? Who’s in free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 4 to come up with this week’s order of all 14 teams in the league. Let’s dive in.
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Washington Spirit, 5 p.m. ET
Orlando are still the team to beat after defeating Seattle Reign 1-0 on Saturday. Orlando’s quality across multiple lines shined in Barbra Banda’s 41st-minute goal: Marta found left-back Kerry Abello, who then carried the ball to midfielder Summer Yates on the left wing. Yates then unbalanced Seattle’s defense on the dribble before slotting in a crisp assist to Banda, waiting patiently in front of goal. Orlando were outshot 13 to 7 (and 5 to 4 on target), but goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse (freshly returned from international duty with England) made five essential saves to keep a clean sheet and secure Orlando’s continued run at the top of the NWSL.
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Houston Dash, 7:30 p.m. ET
In what’s turned into a bit of a trend early this season, Kansas City scored their goals early (Debinha in the 16th minute, followed by Lo’eau LaBonta from the penalty spot), then stood firm defensively in the second half as they weathered San Diego’s attack. The Wave held 70% of possession and outshot Kansas City 7 to 0 in the second half, requiring Current keeper Lorena to make four saves (compared to Kailen Sheridan’s two) to walk away with a clean sheet.
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Orlando Pride, 5 p.m. ET
In their first game back from international duty, Jonatan Giraldez opted to rest Trinity Rodman and Leicy Santos in the first 45 as things stayed fairly even in Louisville. They both emerged for the second half and it didn’t take long for Santos to score a beautiful goal from a free kick to make it 1-0. Just over 15 minutes later, English defender Esme Morgan dropped a dime on Ashley Hatch’s head that the in-form striker (who became NWSL’s fifth-highest goal-scorer all-time just before the international break) scored to seal a 2-0 victory and finish the weekend on top of the golden boot race. Next weekend may not be so easy; they head to Florida to play the first-place Orlando Pride next.
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 10:30 p.m. ET
By beating Houston 3-1, Angel City ended the weekend as one of just three undefeated teams after four matchdays. Alyssa Thompson is in hot form: after setting up two goals in two games for the United States, Thompson returned to club duty by scoring her third goal of the year and collecting an assist. Angel City’s rookie class is also making their mark. Macey Hodge, 23, opened the scoring and Riley Tiernan, 22, made it 2-0 in the 29th minute, then went on to assist 20-year-old Thompson’s goal. In a game where all three goal scorers are under 23, it’s easy to get excited about Angel City’s fresh look this season. But they’ve got a challenging three weekends ahead: next up is Seattle at home. After that, they play first-place Orlando Pride and third-place Washington Spirit in back-to-back weekends on the road.
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Angel City, 10:30 p.m. ET
Gotham returned from the international break sitting toward the bottom of the table, with no wins and just one goal after three matchdays. But they came out firing against a floundering North Carolina Courage. Spanish forward Esther González netted a first-half brace, and rookie left-back Lilly Reale made it three before half-time in a resounding and sorely needed first win of the season.
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Racing Louisville, 3 p.m. ET
San Diego picked up a second-straight loss after falling 2-0 to Kansas City at home in California. However, first-place Orlando Pride and second-place Kansas City in back-to-back to weekends are a tough two games to handle, especially so early in the season. And neither result immediately reflects how well San Diego did in both performances. San Diego has the building blocks to have a stronger season, and there’s some easier challenges on the horizon: Louisville next, followed by Chicago Stars.
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Portland Thorns, 10 p.m. ET
Seattle also picked up a second-straight loss over the weekend. And like San Diego, it was against one of the best teams in the league: Orlando Pride. They held off the reigning champs and limited them to a 1-0 victory, with only Banda breaking through. Next up? They host their old friends from Portland.
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Seattle Reign, 10 p.m. ET
Portland still can’t figure out what kind of year they’re going to have (or who will score their goals this season). But they picked up their first win of 2025 in a 1-0 victory against the last-place Utah Royals. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress. Reilyn Turner, 22, scored her second goal of the year to seal it, marking just three goals in four match days for the Thorns, who averaged 2.2 goals a game when they won the Championship in 2022. They’ve got a Cascadia rivalry battle next weekend, and travel to Seattle with a lot of questions looming over the year.
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. KC Current, 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston picked up their second loss of the season in a 3-1 defeat to Angel City at home. They had their chances and certainly got the ball into the final third, but looked slightly deflated at times, and made sloppy mistakes that the visitors punished. Next up they hit the road to face second-place Kansas City at CPKC Stadium, where the hosts still have only lost one game in their history (and that loss came against 2024’s record-setting champions, Orlando Pride).
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. NC Courage, 7 p.m. ET
Bay was caught sleeping early against the Chicago Stars. Brazilian forward Ludmila, fresh from international duty, took no more than five minutes to score the first of two goals in a 2-1 loss to Chicago at home. If it wasn’t for Abby Dahlkemper’s goal-line heroics, it would have been three. With nearly 70% of possession but half the shots on target, Bay fans may wonder why their team didn’t produce more against Chicago. But the home team struggled to break open a compact Chicago once they’d fallen behind.
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Utah Royals, 9:30 p.m. ET
Brazilian forward Ludmila returned from the international break in fine form, putting two first-half goals (both assisted by Jameese Joseph) past a struggling North Carolina squad to help seal a 2-1 win in California. That’s the team’s first win of the year and brings their total goals tally up from one to three. Here’s hoping Ludmila keeps that form going, while coach Lorne Donaldson figures out more plans of attack.
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. San Diego Wave, 3 p.m. ET
Louisville lost 2-0 at home to the third-place Washington Spirit but produced more opportunities than the scoreline shows. They fired off more shots — though slightly fewer on target — than their visitors, forcing Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury to come up with a few big saves to keep a clean sheet. Despite their potential, they also finished the weekend with the fewest total goals scored (two) so far this season.
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Bay FC, 7 p.m. ET
Things we didn’t expect: Sean Nahas’ Courage squad struggling this bad so early this season. North Carolina has all the tools to be a strong, playoff-bound team in 2025, but they still haven’t won a single game yet and only Utah sits below them in the standings. Spanish forward González put two first-half goals past them and rookie Reale added a third to make it 3-0 by the end of the first half in a 3-1 defeat in New Jersey.
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Chicago Stars, 9:30 p.m. ET
Utah held their own against Portland at home on Saturday, but fell 1-0 with a goal from Turner and finished the weekend in last place in the standings. Four weekends in, and they’ve yet to pick up a win, something only North Carolina has in common. Next weekend, they’ll host the Chicago at home in one of their easier upcoming tests despite the Stars’ fresh victory. If they don’t collect something from that meeting, the season could get quickly out of control.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the night:
Defense folds again under Curry takeover
Utah controlled the first half of this game. At one point they held a 12 point lead.
But at 37 years old, Steph Curry can still do some amazing things. Curry went for 20 points in the third-quarter, frazzled the Jazz, and they never really recovered after that. Part of this was Curry being the greatest shooter of all time, but part of it was Utah struggling to defend at the point of attack and off screens. They weren’t particularly physical, particularly attached, or particularly effective at shrinking Curry’s space. It’s same story from most night’s this season.
The Jazz are a solid offensive team – 16th best in offensive rating to be exact. They continue to lead the league in sharing the ball with a 72% assist rate and have weapons at every level, especially when Walker Kessler returns. But they are still the worst defensive team in the league at 30th in defensive rating. This is good news for pro-tank fans, but bad for the Jazz becoming a competitive team under this core.
Who is Utah’s third piece
Keyonte George is clearly playing at an All-Star and Most Improved Player of the Year level. He finished tonight with 22 points and nine assists. His third-year jump is real and he’s solidified himself as a core of the franchise moving forward.
Lauri Markkanen is still playing at an All-NBA level. He finished tonight with 35 points and five rebounds. He’s one of the best scorers in the league this season and a great companion next to George.
When both of Utah’s stars are playing, it’s easy to convince yourself that the Jazz just need one more core player to pop to enter win-now mode. But it isn’t very clear who that player is. Is it Ace Bailey? Maybe, but that will take another two-three seasons to find out. It’s clear it’s not Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, or any other role player on the roster. It’s a shame that Walker Kessler is out for the season, because if the shooting was real, he might be a suitable answer.
The truth is that the next core piece is probably not on the roster right now. Let’s hope that comes from the draft if the Jazz keep their pick.
A note on tonight’s whistle
Praising the referees is usually not something people like to read about, especially when the Jazz lose. I’m doing it anyway, apologies.
Tonight’s crew chief was the fan-favorite Bill Kennedy. He was joined by 16-year veteran Kevin Cutler and 6-year veteran Simone Jelks. The crew did two things that I haven’t seen much of this season:
(1) The crew did not penalize defenders for simply existing while offensive players generated contract. Keyonte George, for one, was someone who struggled with this. George (smartly) has learned that the NBA has decided that offensive players can initiate contact at will, enter the established space of the defender, and be rewarded with free throws. It’s partly why he’s shooting 7.4 free throws a game. In my opinion, this is bad for basketball.
To be clear, I don’t blame George for doing this. The most talented players at manipulating this part of the game are elite scorers in the league (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Austin Reaves, for example). But tonight, the crew didn’t reward George, Curry, Butler, or Markkanen with any of these types of plays and I think it led to a more competitive, faster, and more enjoyable watching experience.
(2) The crew treated Draymond Green like every other player when it comes to technical fouls. It’s no secret that Green gets a much longer leash than most when it comes to berating the officials. Watching him get two technicals after complaining on a meaningless play was nice to see, for once.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lani White scored 25 points to lead Utah past No. 8 TCU 87-77 in overtime Saturday night.
Reese Ross added 15 points and Maty Wilke had 12 for the Utes. Evelina Otto finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Utah (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) made 13 3-pointers and shot 56.5% from long distance.
Olivia Miles had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace the Horned Frogs (14-1, 2-1). Marta Suarez added 23 points and 11 rebounds. TCU shot just 37% from the field, including 9 of 39 from 3-point range.
White forced overtime by making a 3-pointer that tied it 67-all with 12 seconds left in regulation. Utah never trailed in OT and went up 76-69 with 2:47 left after White capped a 9-2 run with her fourth outside basket.
TCU used a 7-0 spurt to erase a four-point deficit in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Suarez and Donovyn Hunter put TCU up 66-64 with 49 seconds remaining.
Ross had a chance to tie it on two free throws with 33.3 seconds left, but missed both. Miles made one of two foul shots with 22 seconds to go before White tied it.
Utah took advantage of cold shooting by the Horned Frogs to pull ahead in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Suarez were TCU’s only field goals over an eight-minute stretch. The Utes scored on three straight possessions, culminating in a layup from Wilke, to take a 52-48 lead.
Miles made back-to-back baskets to put the Horned Frogs back up 58-56. Utah used a 7-0 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Ross, to go ahead 63-58 with 4:32 left in regulation.
Up next
TCU hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Utah plays at Kansas on Wednesday.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The judge in Utah’s redistricting case filed a ruling making it possible for the Legislature to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, but not without a strong rebuke of their process.
On Friday, Judge Dianna Gibson ruled partially in favor of the Legislature’s most recent request in the redistricting case, certifying its August 25th ruling as final in order to allow them to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
However, she strongly denied their request to enter a final judgment and end the case, saying, “This case is far from over.”
MORE | Utah Redistricting:
File – Utah Congressional Redistricting Maps (Image: KUTV)
“Quite literally – this Court is between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. This entire case is not ‘final,’” Gibson wrote in the ruling. “But the Court agrees that the important legal issues decided by this Court and reflected in each of its rulings … should be reviewed by the Utah Supreme Court as quickly as possible.”
Gibson said it was the legislative defendant’s “duty to seek appellate review” regarding any of her interlocutory, or non-final orders, within 21 days of the rulings. She said they repeatedly claimed they would but never did.
Now, they are requesting she finalize the case, or at the very least one of her orders, to allow them to file an appeal.
Because Gibson does not want to delay appellate review, she agreed to certify the August 25, 2025 Ruling and Order as final.
“Every Utah voter, every Utah congressional candidate and arguably every Utah citizen is impacted by this case. Issuing a final ruling – on even a portion of this case – ultimately serves the public’s interest and will lead to a faster resolution of the entire case,” she wrote.
The redistricting case dates back to 2018, when voters passed a ballot initiative to create a commission to redraw the congressional district boundaries.
State legislators repealed the ballot initiative in 2020, and attempted to draw their own congressional map the following year.
This prompted a lawsuit, which has led to several rulings, including the one on August 25th, which declared that the Utah Legislature violated voters’ rights by approving congressional boundaries that split Salt Lake County.
“Until there is a final decision on these legal issues from our Supreme Court, there will be a cloud on Utah’s congressional elections and an open question regarding the power of the Legislature and the power of the people,” Gibson wrote in her most recent ruling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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