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USWNT holds off Australia

The USWNT remains unbeaten in 2025, holding off Australia 2-1 to secure their second SheBelieves Cup win on Sunday behind goals from Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams) and Michelle Cooper.

• The US swapped out their entire starting XI from Thursday’s opening win over Colombia — the first time the team has rotated all 11 players from game-to-game since 2000.

• As the team’s new-look roster continues to take shape, 19-year-old starter Claire Hutton earned her first USWNT cap in the victory while 19-year-old Gisele Thompson got her first USWNT start.

Big picture: Hutton is the 15th player to debut under manager Emma Hayes — who joined the team in May 2024 — competing alongside five other starters with less than five senior team caps.

• Biyendolo opened scoring less than a minute into the match, giving the relatively inexperienced US group an edge before second-half substitute Cooper notched her first-ever international goal to seal the deal.

• However, the US weathered continued pressure from the Matildas, yielding back a goal in the 80th minute by late sub Michelle Heyman — Australia’s only shot on target.

Bottom line: “We played a high quality team, a very experienced team, so for our players to produce a result like that is a really healthy indicator of our program and the talent pool that we have available to us,” Hayes said after the game.

• The Cup concludes on Wednesday, with the US next playing a winner-take-all final against Japan for a chance at yet another SheBelieves title.

• The USWNT must beat Japan to lift the Cup, while surging Japan can get away with a draw thanks to tournament goal differential.

NC State upsets the Irish

The NCAA saw a No. 1 team humbled for the second-straight week on Sunday, as top-ranked Notre Dame fell to No. 13 NC State 104-9 in a double-overtime thriller.

• NC State’s guards led the pack, as sophomore Zoe Brooks scored 33 points, backed up by 20 points from Aziaha James and a near triple-double from Saniya Rivers.

• “We wanted to win this game really bad, and we did everything we could to win,” Brooks told reporters after the game.

How it happened: The Irish forced the first overtime period with a clutch three-pointer from senior Sonia Citron, but Notre Dame couldn’t execute down the stretch to hold off the Wolfpack’s upset campaign.

• Irish sophomore Hannah Hidalgo finished the game with 26 points, but began to fade before eventually fouling out without an overtime score contribution.

Big picture: With their 19-game winning streak snapped, Notre Dame is likely to cede the No. 1 spot in this week’s AP Poll update — setting the stage for a possible fourth top-ranked team this season.

• 2020/21 marks the last time four different women’s college basketball teams claimed the No. 1 spot in a single season, while no season has featured more than four No. 1 teams since the Poll’s 1976 inception.

Bottom line: This year, the NCAA’s biggest defining factor has undoubtedly been parity, with a number of talented teams able to pull off an upset at any given time.

• With March’s win-or-go-home reality just weeks away, title contenders have almost zero room for error as a single mishap could soon send them packing.

WNBA roster swaps continue

WNBA transactions revved back up last week, as the Washington Mystics sent two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the No. 3 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft — putting the Mystics in control of the third, fourth, and sixth 2025 draft picks.

• In return for the Mystic’s last-remaining 2019 title-winner, Washington also gets a 2027 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick swap.

• “Ariel has made a tremendous impact on this league since her rookie year,” Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca said in a team statement. “As one of the league’s top defensive specialists and a consistent scorer, she is a threat on both ends of the floor who will help us build a playoff-contending team in Chicago.”

Big picture: With headline-making trades dominating the news cycle and a game-changing CBA on the horizon, teams across the league have been weighing the potential upside of a high draft pick with speeding up postseason ambitions via a more experienced roster.

• Some, however, are attempting to do both, with Seattle — who currently the this year’s No. 2 pick — signing former Fever forward Katie Lou Samuelson last week, after she mutually parted ways with Indiana.

Bottom line: Teams shooting for deep 2025 runs are now facing a key decision — are they building toward the future, or is the future is now?

• Two of the league’s four lottery picks have already exchanged hands, with eight weeks to go before April 14th’s WNBA Draft.

Sports are a numbers game. And whether it's shattering PWHL attendance records or dropping triple-doubles on the college court, there's never been a better time to celebrate the most powerful moments in women's sports.

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Nations League off to shaky start

UEFA Nations League’s first matchday saw a few regional heavy-hitters shaking off the dust this weekend, as reigning Euros champs England settled for a 1-1 draw against Portugal while perennial contenders Germany similarly split points with the Netherlands 2-2.

• Defending Nations League winners Spain earned a wild victory against Belgium, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to take all three points 3-2.

Big picture: Established in 2022, the Women’s Nations League has acted as the continent’s qualifying tournament for the Euros, World Cup, and Olympics.

• With records wiped following last year’s rollercoaster Olympic qualifiers, early Nations League matches now serve as a key window into the fast-approaching 2025 Euros — in addition to a heated competition in their own right.

Staley pens a memoir

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is now an author, with the celebrated WNBA vet and NCAA head coach announcing the May 20th release of Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three on Friday.

• The memoir recounts Staley’s journey from the Philadelphia projects to winning Olympic gold, WNBA All-Star nods, and multiple NCAA championships with South Carolina.

• “Number one I just got tired of people asking me,” Staley said of her decision to write the book. “Two, I had to do it before I forgot everything, and three, I think the season that we had last year made me really thankful for what I described as an uncommon favor or career.”

Number of the day

400-200-100-50

In Saturday’s 86-47 win over Butler, UConn forward Sarah Strong became the first freshman to register 400 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists, and 50 steals this season.