They'll never bring her down.

USWNT crushes the competition

The USWNT hit the ground running on Thursday, taking down Colombia 2-0 to kick off the 2025 SheBelieves Cup with a bang.

• Chelsea FC star Catarina Macario opened the scoring with her first international goal in almost three years, before U-20 standout Ally Sentnor put the game out of reach with a screamer of a first senior goal.

• “Everybody is super happy, super proud, and I'm sure everybody back at Chelsea is too,” US head coach Emma Hayes said of Macario, as the striker continues her return from a 2022 ACL tear that saw her miss the 2024 Olympics.

Big picture: Hayes’s decision to feature less experienced players payed off, with the young squad touting numerous first caps, starts, and contributions.

• 17-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes excelled in her first USWNT start, springing the ball forward in pursuit of Macario’s opening goal and standing out creatively amid a US midfield that registered 500+ completed passes.

• USWNT debutante Tara Mckeown notched her first senior assist in setting up Sentnor’s closing goal, with Hayes calling Sentnor’s efforts “tenacious on both sides of the wall.”

Old pros: Alongside all the firsts, the USWNT also got the chance to celebrate veteran leadership, beginning with a salute to national team mainstay Emily Sonnett’s 100th cap.

• The versatile defender went on to captain the team as the starting center-back, with Sonnett now having played in all 10 SheBelieves Cups — more than any other player.

Takeaway: Hayes emphasized the need for the USWNT to develop its future, but Thursday’s performance showed that the future might be closer than originally expected — especially in light of the big names missing from this window’s USWNT roster.

A shaky Australia awaits

Last night’s victory put the USWNT second in the SheBelieves Cup standings, trailing Japan on goal differential after the Nadeshiko toppled Australia 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.

• Japan’s Mina Tanaka scored a brace in the contest, while the 2023 World Cup hosts failed to register a single shot on goal.

Next up: The US now travels to Arizona to take on the Matildas on Sunday, with heavy rotation expected as players look to rejoin their club teams in good shape — whether they’re in preseason or full swing.

• “[NWSL players] are not conditioned in terms of games, and of course that in itself doesn’t lend as the most favorable factor going into this,” coach Emma Hayes said of her US-based players earlier this week. “But we’re not here to make excuses.”

• Hayes also indicated that she plans to rotate the two rostered goalkeepers throughout the tournament, with Jane Campbell earning the first start on Thursday.

Game on: Sunday’s battle could see a reinvigorated Australia, as they aim to bounce back from the bottom of the SheBelieves table.

• “It was a pretty huge wake-up call,” said Matildas head coach Tom Sermanni. “It was one of those games where we were outplayed, basically from the start straight to the finish in every department.”

• The USWNT last played Australia in late July 2024’s Olympic group stage, beating the Matildas 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Tune in: The USWNT kicks off against Australia on Sunday at 5 PM ET, with live coverage on TBS.

NCAA teams scramble for seeding

College basketball’s regular season is down to nine final games, with conference tournament seeding hanging in the balance as top teams try to build up some March Madness momentum.

• Thursday’s string of upsets proved that nothing is guaranteed, as No. 11 Duke fell to unranked Louisville 70-62 while unranked Indiana downed No. 8 Ohio State 71-61.

View from the top: No. 1 Notre Dame has the chance to lock down the ACC regular-season title on Sunday, when the Irish take on No. 13 NC State at 12 PM ET on ESPN.

• After last weekend’s success in South Carolina, ESPN’s College Gameday will be onsite to broadcast the consequential ACC clash’s official pregame show.

Final push: No. 7 LSU’s season is also on the line, as the Tigers try to keep their dwindling conference title hopes alive against No. 14 Kentucky in Sunday’s 4 PM ESPN closer.

• To claim the SEC’s No. 1 seed, LSU would also need both No. 2 Texas and No. 6 South Carolina to stumble in their regular-season home stretch.

Bottom line: The regular season’s wind down can provide insights far beyond the conference tournaments, as any upsets this week could spell busted brackets — or unexpected surges — come March.

Unrivaled eyes the playoffs

Unrivaled 3×3 tips off another round of doubleheaders tonight, as the offseason league paves a path toward its first-ever postseason.

• With just four of the league’s six teams making the March 16th playoff cut, notching wins late in the regular season could make all the difference for squads shooting for a postseason boost.

• In the event of any final regular-season ties, Unrivaled will determine playoff seeding first by head-to-head records, followed by point differentials.

Taking stock: The league also announced plans for its end-of-season awards, which will include MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and both first and second-team honors.

• A combination of media, Unrivaled coaches and players, and a fan vote will decide the winners.

Tune in: After slow starts, the Mist and Phantom BC currently sit one game beneath playoff contention — but they’ll both have an opportunity to make up ground this weekend.

• The Mist take on fourth-place Vinyl BC tonight at 8:15 PM ET, live on TNT, before Phantom BC squares off against Vinyl BC on Saturday at 7 PM ET, with live coverage on TruTV.

BHM Spotlight: Blake Bolden

Every Friday in February, JWS celebrates Black History Month by spotlighting a prominent Black figure in women's sports history.

Blake Bolden is a hockey pioneer, making history as the first Black woman to play professional ice hockey after being selected No. 5 overall by the Boston Blades in the 2013 CWHL draft.

• After winning the now-defunct Canadian pro league’s Clarkson Cup with the Blades in 2015, Bolden went on to become the first Black woman to compete in the now-shuttered NWHL after signing with the Boston Pride in late 2025.

• Bolden led the Pride to the NWHL’s inaugural Isobel Cup in 2016, later closing out her tenure on the ice with the Buffalo Beauts, where she earned 2019 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year in her final season.

• After hanging up her skates, Bolden signed on as the growth and inclusion specialist and pro scout for the Los Angeles Kings — the first woman of color to ever scout in a pro men's hockey league and the NHL’s second-ever woman scout.

Bottom line: A skilled and proven winner, Bolden remains involved in hockey at the highest levels as a scout, analyst, and vocal advocate for ice hockey equity.

• “I quickly learned that this wasn’t just about me,” she told The Players’ Tribune in 2021. “This was about everybody else coming behind me. I decided to do more and be more for those girls who waited for me after the game.”

Toronto Tempo land a GM

The WNBA’s 14th franchise is gearing up for its 2026 debut, with the Toronto Tempo introducing former WNBA and college standout Monica Wright Rogers as their inaugural general manager on Thursday.

• A two-time WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx and three-time collegiate All-American at Virginia, Wright Rogers’s resume lists coaching and front office stints at both the college and pro level, most recently serving as the Phoenix Mercury’s assistant general manager.

• “The unique combination of experience that Monica will bring to this team is incredible,” said Tempo president Teresa Resch in a release. “She's a proven champion who understands the game from so many different perspectives.”

Number of the day 

5

Five of Utah Royals striker Ally Sentnor’s six professional goals were scored from outside the box — including her first USWNT goal on Thursday. Bangers only.