Happy Friday, squad. We hoped you enjoyed a little basketball breather these past few days, cause starting tomorrow, HOOPS ARE BACK.
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@TexasLonghorns
We wanted more upsets, and we got ‘em.
- A trio of No. 6 seeds — Oregon, Michigan, and Texas — are all headed to the Sweet 16 after each knocked off a favored No. 3 seed.
- The bracket is still top heavy, however, with the top eight seeds advancing for the third straight tournament.
Best game so far: No. 2 Texas A&M’s 84-82 OT victory over No. 7 Iowa State.
- The Aggies never led until overtime, when sophomore Jordan Nixon put the team on her back, hitting a game-winning shot at the buzzer to push A&M through.
Of note:
- Baylor (the still-defending champs) are in their 12th consecutive Sweet 16 after beating their first two opponents by a total of 91 points.
- Geno Auriemma is back from quarantine and will be on the bench for the most anticipated game of the weekend: UConn vs Iowa, aka freshman Paige Bueckers vs freshman Caitlin Clark.
- The NCAA is hiring a law firm to conduct an independent review of gender disparities in its championship protocols… Uhhh. Do we really need lawyers to know what went wrong?
JWS salutes: Tiana Mangakahia. Her career at Syracuse may be over after the Orange were bounced by UConn, but Mangakahia is still a champion in our books.
- After overcoming breast cancer, Mangakahia returned to the court this year and led the NCAA in assists per game.
- "I'm proud of myself,” she said, in an emotional postgame conference. “It was really difficult to come back, and I just don't feel like I was the same, but I would just say that I'm proud of myself.”
Tune in: It’s going to be a hoops-filled weekend.
Saturday:
- No. 5 Iowa vs No. 1 UConn: 1:00pm ET on ABC
- No. 6 Michigan vs No. 2 Baylor: 3:00pm on ABC
- No. 4 Indiana vs No. 1 NC State: 6:00pm on ESPN2
- No. 3 Arizona vs No. 2 Texas A&M: 8:00pm on ESPN2
Sunday:
- No. Georgia Tech vs No. 1 South Carolina: 1:00pm on ABC
- No. 5 Missouri State vs No. 1 Stanford: 3:00pm on ABC
- No. 6 Oregon vs No. 2 Louisville: 7:00pm on ESPN
- No. 6 Texas vs No. 2 Maryland: 9:00pm on ESPN
Go deeper: Reseeding the Sweet 16 (Just Women’s Sports)
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Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Barcelona put the entirety of Europe on notice, thrashing Man City 3-0 in the opening leg of the Champions League Quarter-Finals.
Elsewhere:
- Chelsea 2, Wolfsburg 1: Sam Kerr outdid herself with this no-angle goal.
- Lyon 1, PSG 0: Wendie Renard’s 86’ minute penalty proved to be the difference.
- Bayern 3, Rosengård 0: A clinical win from Bayern, in which three different players scored.
Up next: Second leg of the Quarter-Finals is next Wednesday and Thursday.
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3/ The world’s best player(s)
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Matt McNulty/Getty Images
The best soccer player in the world today? It’s Sam Mewis, according to ESPN:
- Sam Mewis (Man City/USWNT)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea/Australia)
- Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal/Netherlands)
- Pernille Harder (Chelsea/Denmark)
- Lucy Bronze (Man City/England)
- Crystal Dunn (Portland/USWNT)
- Dzsenifer Marozsan (Lyon/Germany)
- Julie Ertz (Chicago/USWNT)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway)
- Debinha (North Carolina/Brazil)
Passing the torch: for much of the past decade, the title of “best in the world” was co-owned by Christine Sinclair (the all-time leader in international goals) and Marta (6x FIFA World Player of the Year).
- Both are still going strong, but it’s clear a new generation has taken command: all 10 of ESPN’s top players are under 30.
- FWIW: Both Chelsea and Manchester City have nearly as many players (7) in the Top 50 as the NWSL has in total (8).
Go deeper: Why Sam Mewis is (or will soon be) the best player in the world (Just Women’s Sports)
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4/ The USWNT’s latest roster
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Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
The USWNT has announced their roster for a pair of upcoming games in Europe against Sweden (April 10) and France (April 13):
- Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell, Casey Murphy, Alyssa Naeher.
- Defenders: Alana Cook, Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Kelley O’Hara, Margaret Purce, Becky Sauerbrunn, Emily Sonnett.
- Midfielders: Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Kristie Mewis, Samantha Mewis.
- Forwards: Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith, Lynn Williams.
Notable omissions: Tobin Heath, Casey Krueger, Mallory Pugh, Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris.
- Coach Vlatko Andonovski said all five are still in contention for Olympic inclusion. Heath, Krueger and Pugh are recovering from injuries, while Harris and Krieger are still working back into fitness.
The 300 club: Carli Lloyd currently has 299 caps.
- If she earns her 300th in Europe, she will become just one of three players in international soccer history – women's or men’s – to play 300 times for their country, joining former teammates Kristine Lilly (354) and Christie Pearce Rampone (311).
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5/ AU Volleyball Leaderboard
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@TeamVKTRY
The final week of the AU Volleyball season is here, and Jordan Larson is running away with the individual competition.
The leaderboard today:
- Jordan Larson: 3857 pts.
- Bethania De La Cruz: 3229 pts.
- Karsta Lowe: 3079 pts.
- Brie King: 2855, pts.
Up next: Games resume Saturday and run through Monday.
- Team King vs Team De La Cruz: 6:00pm ET.
- Team Lowe vs Team Larson: 8:30pm ET.
- Watch on: AU’s Twitch, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
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6/ Sabrina Ionescu’s second act
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Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Sabrina Ionescu, “The Next Queen of New York,” graces the cover of SLAM 231.
- Almost a year ago, Ionescu’s historic college career came to an unceremonious end when COVID-19 kept her Oregon Ducks from getting a shot at the NCAA title.
- An ankle injury in her third pro game likewise derailed Ionescu’s rookie year in the WNBA.
Now, the former No. 1 pick is ready for a do-over:
- “I think not playing this last season actually kind of gave me more fuel to the fire in my desire to really focus on what’s important, the people that are important in my life, and just to be ready for the next season.”
Why it matters: Ionescu is a walking triple-double, for starters. More importantly, she’s hoping to break what’s been an inconvenient trend.
- Historically, big-name hoopers have had a difficult time maintaining their celebrity once they leave college.
- A year ago, Ionescu was the biggest name in college hoops. Now, she has to both remind everyone how good she can be while also establishing herself in the W.
Go deeper: read the full profile here.
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@POTUS
Midge Purce and Megan Rapinoe dropped by the White House Wednesday to visit the President and first lady on Equal Pay Day.
What they said: Rapinoe spoke out on the gender pay gap and the USWNT’s ongoing fight with U.S. Soccer.
- "What we continue to learn is that there's no level of status and there's no accomplishment or power that will protect you from the clutches of inequality."
- "The USWNT has won four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals... We have filled stadiums, broken viewing records, sold out our jerseys. And yet, we're still paid less than our male counterparts."
Midge Purce then stepped up and gave the case for JWS. Well, she talked about the need for investment. And it was music to our ears:
- “When men began sports leagues, they were supported by billions in tax payer subsidies. They were prioritized in media and afforded time to grow.”
- “I have watched and joined a league of women who are remarkable at their craft. And together we have asked for the same grace that was extended to men in the formative years of their leagues: true investment.“
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Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images
- The Olympic torch relay has begun its 121-day journey across Japan, starting in Fukushima, the area that was devastated by an earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors in 2011.
- Former UFC champ Miesha Tate is coming out of retirement. She’ll fight Marion Reneau on July 17th.
- Abby Erceg and Denise O’Sullivan have both signed new, two-year contracts with the North Carolina Courage.
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Hey squad. We’re throwing ourselves an alley-oop here: a new Yahoo Sports piece focused on the business of women’s sports features a few of your favorite JWS teammates.
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