UConn gets it done | Unrivaled preps the playoffs | Man City sacks coach
The Huskies are Big East champions once again, as UConn won their fifth straight title last night, plus Unrivaled's postseason arrives and more news to know
UConn gets it done
UConn won their fifth straight Big East tournament on Monday. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)
The Huskies are Big East champions for the fifth year in a row, as No. 3 UConn took down No. 22 Creighton 70-50 last night behind star senior Paige Bueckers’s 24-point game.
Bueckers made UConn history with the win, becoming the first Husky to pick up three Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards after capping her college career with a perfect 66-0 conference record.
“For her to be able to constantly come up with these kind of performances, time and time again, she just has that thing that those kinds of players have,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters after Monday’s game.
Big picture: UConn’s expected Big East dominance saw them hold steady in Monday’s AP Poll update, while UCLA jumped three spots to re-claim No. 1 after defeating now-No. 4 — then No. 2 — USC in Sunday’s Big Ten title match.
South Carolina rose from No. 5 to No. 2 after beating former No. 1 Texas on Sunday, finding themselves in a neck-and-neck race with UCLA for the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
Texas dropped No. 5, though the Longhorns remain a likely candidate for one of the NCAA’s four No. 1 seeds come Selection Sunday.
Cinderella loading: No. 7 Duke got the Top 10’s biggest boost, leaping four spots after upsetting now-No. 9 NC State to lift last weekend’s ACC tournament trophy.
No. 8 Notre Dame, once the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, continues to slide, dropping two spots after their conference tournament defeat in the semifinal round.
Bottom line: The AP Poll is just one college basketball metric, but with conference realignment impacting competitiveness across the NCAA, few teams are guaranteed top-seeded national tournament standing — no matter how high they climb.
Unrivaled sets the playoff picture
The Lunar Owls and Rose BC earned Unrivaled’s top two playoff seeds. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Unrivaled sounded the buzzer on its inaugural 3×3 season on Monday, bidding farewell to two teams as the league’s top four clubs prepare for postseason action.
Both Mist and Phantom BC were eliminated from playoff contention, sending stars like Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart and Phantom center Brittney Griner packing after the teams struggled to find their footing on the 3×3 court.
Big picture: However, the show goes on for the Lunar Owls, Rose, Laces, and Vinyl, with the playoffs set to tip off on March 16th.
The Lunar Owls enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed, taking on No. 4 Vinyl BC — the final team to qualify on the last day of the regular season.
As the No. 2 seed, Rose BC will battle the Laces in the second of two single-elimination semifinals.
Rose remains the only team with a win against the Lunar Owls this season, with Unrivaled co-founder, top-scorer, and 1v1 tournament champion Napheesa Collier making the No. 1 seed the team to beat.
Bottom line: Sunday’s semifinal action will set the stage for Monday’s winner-take-all championship showdown, with the league already proving to be a smash hit regardless of who takes home the crown this season.
Manchester City sacks coach
Former manager Gareth Taylor joined Manchester City in 2020. (Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
WSL side Manchester City parted ways with manager Gareth Taylor on Monday, just five days before the club faces table-leaders Chelsea in Saturday’s League Cup final — and nine days before they meet Chelsea once again in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Former City coach Nick Cushing — who led the team from 2013 to 2020 — will take over interim manager duties for the remainder of the season.
Big picture: Taylor’s dismissal follows a number of big-name WSL coaching changes, with Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall and Liverpool’s Matt Beard both exiting the league this season.
Eidevall has since taken over as head coach for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, while any rumored links between Taylor and the Wave’s SoCal rival Angel City appear to be overblown.
The road ahead: Sitting 12 points behind Chelsea, the fourth-place club’s 2024/25 WSL title hopes have dimmed, but they remain very much in the running for the League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League honors.
In addition to next week’s non-WSL clashes, City will take on Chelsea again on March 23rd for a regular-season matchup and then once more to wrap up the Champions League quarters on March 27th, with the Citizens staring down an unusual gauntlet against one of the world’s top clubs.
Bottom line: With two months left in the regular season, the pressure for top WSL teams to properly challenge Chelsea’s years-long dominance is mounting — and some coaches appear to be bearing the brunt of those ambitions.
'Sports Are Fun!' takes over Tampa
‘Sports Are Fun!’ with Kelley O’Hara is bringing the fun to the Final Four. (JWS)
JWS is heading to Tampa, hosting a live recording of Sports Are Fun! with soccer legend Kelley O’Hara on Thursday, April 3rd ahead of the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
Hosted by Olympic gold medalist Kelley O’Hara, Sports Are Fun! brings together top athletes, media personalities, and sports insiders to break down the biggest headlines in women’s sports — all with a little extra fun.
This exclusive Final Four event adds to the madness, with O'Hara, co-hosts Greydy Diaz and Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ bringing interactive moments, surprise guests, and behind-the-scenes access to the biggest weekend in college basketball.
“There’s never been a better time to be a women’s sports fan, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring Sports Are Fun! to Tampa during the Final Four,” says O’Hara. “The energy around this weekend is going to be electric, and we’re giving fans a front-row seat to be part of it.”
Be there: Tickets are $20 and include a complimentary drink and JWS party favor. Get yours now.
College hoops ratings soar
ESPN’s South Carolina vs. UConn broadcast drew 1.8 million viewers this season. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
ESPN’s women’s college basketball coverage has exploded across all platforms, with regular-season viewership up 3% from last year’s record-breaking run — and up 41% from the 2022/23 season.
ESPN reported that 2024/25’s overall ratings proved to be their highest since the 2008/09 season, with 2.9 billion minutes of women’s college basketball content consumed.
Big picture: While this year’s regular-season peaks outdrew last year’s top matchups, ESPN also saw significant growth in steady viewership, with a record 15 broadcasts drawing over 500,000 viewers.
UConn’s big win over South Carolina attracted the season’s biggest audience, with an average 1.8 million fans tuning in last month.
Due to network partnership deals, ESPN is still missing the rights to Big Ten coverage, while the SEC continues to pull in the heaviest numbers.
Ilona Maher scores Adidas deal
Maher signed a multiyear contract with apparel giant Adidas last week. (Adidas)
USA Rugby star Ilona Maher has signed a multiyear deal with Adidas, the sportswear giant confirmed on Friday, with the Olympic bronze medalist and prominent TikToker coming off a successful stint with Premiership Women’s Rugby’s Bristol Bears.
“I’m particularly excited to reveal a new boot for the women’s game in the coming months — so keep your eyes peeled for that,” Maher said in a statement, teasing her role as the face of an upcoming Adidas women’s rugby boot launch campaign.
“Ilona is not only a world-class athlete, but also a phenomenal role model,” added Kerryn Foster, GM specialist sports at Adidas. “Her work off the pitch highlighting important issues around women’s participation in sport, makes her an inspiration for the next generation of rugby players.”
Quote of the day
“There's an emphasis on me having fun during this last postseason run, just enjoying it, just embracing it.”
Paige Bueckers
on winning the Big East tournament championship in her final year at UConn.