Natasha Howard had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on Tuesday night as the Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final.

The Fever were missing All-Star guard Caitlin Clark, who has been sidelined since June 24 with a strained groin. That didn’t slow down the Fever, who overcame an early 13-point deficit with balanced scoring and a stout defensive performance against the team with the best record in the league.

Minnesota had its worst offensive performance of the season, shooting 34.9% from the floor and making 4-of-16 3-pointers after averaging 9.4 3-pointers this season.

Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points while Aliyah Boston, Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell each scored 12 points.

Alanna Smith led Minnesota with 15 points. Napheesa Collier had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Courtney Williams added 11 points but had six of the team’s 16 turnovers.

Smith hit a 3-pointer and made an acrobatic layup to cap a 12-0 run that gave Minnesota an 18-9 lead.

The Lynx stretched their lead to 27-14 early in the second quarter. But they were held scoreless for the final 8:17 of the half, gong 0 for 10 from the floor as the Fever stormed back. Cunningham hit a pair of 3s as Indiana closed the quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 32-27 lead at the half.

The Fever built their lead to double figures as Howard scored 10 points in the third quarter and the Lynx never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

When Minnesota rallied to cut their deficit to 60-51 midway through the fourth quarter, Cunningham buried her third 3-pointer of the night to silence the crowd and send the Fever on their way.

College

The University of Pennsylvania says it will update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and apologize to female athletes “disadvantaged” by Thomas’ participation on the women’s swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case.

The U.S. Education Department and Penn announced the voluntary agreement Tuesday. The case focused on Thomas, the transgender swimmer who last competed for the Ivy League school in Philadelphia in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title.

The department investigated Penn as part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to remove transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, finding the college violated the rights of female athletes.

Under the agreement, Penn agreed to restore all individual Division I swimming records and titles to female athletes who lost out to Thomas and send a personalized apology letter to each of those swimmers, the Education Department said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Penn website showed other athletes holding the school’s top times in Thomas’ freestyle events. The site was annotated with a note that read, “Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season.”

“While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules,” Penn President J. Larry Jameson said in a statement. “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

As part of the settlement, the university must also announce that it “will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs” and it must adopt “biology-based” definitions of male and female, the department said.

In his statement, Jameson said Penn has always been in compliance with NCAA and Title IX rules as they were interpreted at the time, and that the university has never had its own policies around transgender athlete participation. The school has followed changes to eligibility guidelines as they were issued earlier this year, he said. The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes in February, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it a victory for women and girls.

Volleyball

The Cuban women’s national volleyball team was denied a chance to play in a tournament in Puerto Rico following the new visa restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Cuban Volleyball Federation said last week that the team, comprising 12 athletes, a referee and several coaches, had their visa request denied and will be unable to attend the tournament later this month.

“The disappointment is huge because I train every day, every hour of training is leading up to this and dedicate myself to it,” national team player Laura Suarez told The AP.

Cuba was scheduled to play in the NORCECA Women’s Final Four tournament in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The tournament includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica and it awards ranking points toward qualification for the Volleyball Nations League.

Boxing

Jake Paul has entered the World Boxing Association’s cruiserweight rankings, making the YouTuber-turned-boxer eligible to fight for a world title.

The WBA slotted Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) at No. 14 in the latest edition of its rankings late Monday night, two days after Paul beat 39-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision in Anaheim, California.

The WBA’s decision to rank Paul likely means the sanctioning body would allow him to fight WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez, who won his latest title defense in the penultimate bout in Anaheim. The fighters have not agreed to a deal, but Paul and Ramírez stared each other down during the post-fight news conference.

NFL

The Miami Dolphins are acquiring Darren Waller from the New York Giants, about a year after the veteran tight end announced his retirement from the NFL.

The Dolphins are sending a conditional 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Giants for a 2027 seventh-rounder and the 32-year-old Waller, who will come out of retirement to play in Miami on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed.

Soccer

Bay FC reached new contract agreements with five players Tuesday ahead of the opening of the NWSL free agency window.

Goalkeeper Emmie Allen, defender Joelle Anderson, defender Maddie Moreau and midfielder Jamie Shepherd all signed two-year agreements through 2027 with a mutual option for 2028.

In addition, forward Catherine Paulson has been signed to a new contract through the end of the 2025 season.