Between Chelsea reclaiming the top spot in the table and breaking a WSL record for consecutive wins, Manchester City putting up seven goals over Brighton & Hove Albion last Sunday, and new signings making immediate impacts on their squads, there’s a lot happening in the FA Women’s Super League.

While depth is proving to be more important than anything else amidst a slew of make-up games, superstars can still be the deciding factor in any given contest. And with five games set to take place this weekend, we’ve got you covered on who to look out for.

PERNILLE HARDER, CHELSEA

Chelsea vs. Tottenham

Sunday, January 31st at 7:30 am ET

Lifting Chelsea to victory in a match against Aston Villa last Wednesday was Pernille Harder, who added a goal in the 68th minute to put her team up 3-0. Harder has been consistent in every contest she has appeared in this season, with Wednesday’s game being no exception, as the Blues went on to score a fourth and keep their opponent scoreless.

When Harder is in sync with teammates Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby, and Bethany England, Chelsea’s offense is nearly unstoppable, and they have the record to back it. Altogether, the Blues have scored an impressive 34 goals against their opponents this year, and on Wednesday, the high-caliber squad broke the WSL record for the longest unbeaten streak with 32 games.

At the center of it all? Pernille Harder. A threatening presence in the attacking third, Harder has contributed four goals to Chelsea’s total while notching two assists.

Still not impressed? Announced earlier this month, Harder was named the Women’s World Player of the Year by World Soccer, with the magazine citing her eye-popping stats — 38 goals in 33 games across all competitions, nine of those goals being in the Champions League — and her status as the most expensive female player in the world (Chelsea paid a €300,000 fee to Wolfsburg for the young star) as two major factors in their decision to honor her. To put it quite frankly, we agree with their choice.

If Chelsea is going to continue its unbeaten streak against Tottenham on Sunday, expect to find Harder at the center of the action.

 

STEPH HOUGHTON, MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City vs. West Ham United

Sunday, January 31st at 9:00 am ET

An unsung hero in Manchester City’s most recent victory, center back Steph Houghton logged two goals as City overwhelmed Brighton & Hove Albion last Sunday by a score of 7-1. Though the pair of goals were Houghton’s first of the 2020/2021 season, any defender that scores not one but two goals in the same match has achieved quite the feat — one that Houghton made look like part of her everyday routine.

 

 

In her time with Manchester City, the 32-year-old has scored 9 goals and led her team to two FA Women’s Cups, three Continental Cup successes, and the FA Women’s Super League title.

With so many titles under her belt, Houghton is nothing short of impressive — and she also captains both City and the English national team, a testament to her leadership on and off the field. In fact, Sunday’s contest marked Houghton’s 150th appearance in the FAWSL, making her the first player to reach such a milestone. And what better way to celebrate than by scoring a brace?

Manchester City has finally edged into third place in the table with last Sunday’s win, a mere five points separating them from second-place Manchester United. United has played twelve matches as opposed to City’s eleven, a factor that could prove to their disadvantage as the season winds down. City will need to rely on the consistency of veterans like Houghton when making up the five-point difference, and the captain’s recent performances indicate that she can and will deliver.

Manchester City will be taking on 10th place West Ham United this Sunday, a game they desperately need to win in order to remain superior to Arsenal and stay competitive in the fight for a top-three finish. Tune in at 9:00 am ET to catch Steph Houghton leading the charge.

 

LEAH GALTON, MANCHESTER UNITED

Manchester United vs. Everton

Sunday, January 31st at 9:30 am ET

Also hitting a milestone in her career this past weekend was Leah Galton, who recorded her 50th appearance in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Birmingham City on Sunday. Galton has been outstanding as of late, scoring a goal against Birmingham to bring her season total to six goals in twelve games played. As a result of her efforts, Galton was named the Player of the Month for December after scoring four goals in only three matches.

In a post-game interview following the win over Birmingham, United manager Casey Stoney had high praise for Galton and her performance, calling her “one of the best”:

“I think Leah is one of the best left-wingers in the country, if not the best at what she does,” she said. “She’s powerful, she’s quick and can go one-on-one. She can get in the box and score. I think she influenced the game heavily and it was really great to see. We knew [Birmingham City] would be really organized and hard to break down, and Leah created quite a few chances.”

With their undefeated streak snapped by Chelsea two weeks ago, Manchester United will almost certainly be looking to to climb back into first place with a series of wins. The Reds are slotted to take on Everton this weekend, with the odds seemingly in their favor as Everton has dropped three of their last five contests. Should Chelsea lose to Tottenham this weekend, United can easily slide back into first place with a win and three points on Sunday.

All things considered, United has a lot at stake this weekend — and the team will need to utilize Galton’s agility, scoring abilities, and sharpness on the ball to achieve the result they are gunning for.

After cancelling their 2020 championship game and going 11 months without play, the NWHL has battled back to host a two-week, rapid-fire season at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.

It may have felt like solving a Rubik’s Cube missing some of its stickers, but interim league commissioner Tyler Tumminia managed to pull together the logistics necessary to schedule a season and bring six teams together into a COVID-19 compliant bubble environment, all while managing to secure broadcast rights for the semifinals and Isobel Cup championship game, which will air live on NBCSN. This will be the first time a major cable network in the U.S. has aired women’s professional hockey.

Tumminia told the network, “It’s a huge learning curve,” but it’s one she appears to be surmounting quite well.

 

RIVETERS’ WITHDRAWAL IS FIRST MAJOR HURDLE

The league experienced its first major setback on Thursday, January 28th, when the Metropolitan Riveters were forced to withdraw from the tournament in compliance with COVID-19 protocols after a number of players tested positive for the virus.

It’s a disappointing end to the Riveters’ season. Led by captain Madison Packer, the league’s fourth highest scorer a year ago, the team’s one week on the ice was less than they’d hoped for but thrilling nonetheless. Key roster changes, paired with their physical style of play, had them ranked third in the standings following wins over Toronto and Connecticut.

Outside the COVID scare, the league has also been dealing with the fallout from an ongoing internet fued between Barstool CEO Erika Nardini and friends of the league. Nardini has been an outspoken supporter of the NWHL, while fans and journalists inside the space have called for the league to disown the connection, leading the league to issue a statement after Nardini attacked her “haters” in an online video.

BOSTON UNDERWHELMS, TORONTO OVERACHEIVES

Heading into the tournament, analysts predicted The Boston Pride would take home the Cup, having closed out last season with a 23-1-0 record before their chance to unseat the Minnesota Whitecaps in the championship game was cancelled due to the pandemic. The power-packed team has remained largely intact, with depth on every line and unfinished business driving their determination. That said, in sports as in life, there’s no such thing as a sure thing. The Pride currently sit at No. 5 after an unlikely loss to lower ranked Connecticut on Wednesday night.

While the Whitecaps, the reigning champions from the midwest, will predictably put up a good fight (currently 3-0 and the only unbeaten team in the bubble), the verdict is still out on how the league’s newest team, the Toronto Six, will fare.

On Tuesday, January 26, fans saw a preview of what this team can produce when they beat the Pride 2-1, securing the franchise’s first win, with goals from Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Brooke Boquist in the third period helping them pull ahead of Boston. With hockey legend Digit Murphy leading the charge, the team is certainly making a name for themselves, especially after backing up their fist win with another over Buffalo.

CONNECTICUT CONTINUES TO UPEND EXPECTATIONS

The Cinderella story of the tournament is likely to be the Connecticut Whale. A perennial underdog, this season is giving Connecticut the chance to continue developing their core while integrating new players added in the offseason.

The changes are certainly paying off, as the Whale undercut the Pride this week, beating Boston for the first time since 2018. Though the Pride were without their captain, Jillian Dempsey, who had to sit out the game due to an undiagnosed injury sustained in Tuesday’s game, the Whale’s Emma Vlasic proved her prowess as an impact player, assisting in the team’s first three goals before scoring one of her own.

Connecticut faces off against the Minnesota Whitecaps tonight, Thursday, January 28. If the Whale can topple the Whitecaps, the Isobel Cup is firmly in their reach.

At the bottom of the current standings are the Buffalo Beauts, playing with little to lose at this point. Their top two scorers from a season ago, Corinne Buie and Taylor Accursi, are gone, leaving them to rely on less familiar faces. Luckily, that includes rookie Autumn MacDougall, who nearly netted a hat trick against Toronto during Wednesday night’s game.

TORONTO EXPANSION GIVES NWHL MOMENTUM

Lake Placid bears witness not only to the first women’s hockey bubble season, but also the debut of the Toronto Six, the newest NWHL expansion team and the second team to join the league’s growing cadre in its seven year history.

The Toronto Six follows the addition of the Minnesota Whitecaps, who joined the league during the 2018-2019 season, increasing the “Founding Four” franchises to Toronto’s eponymous six. As a bonus, addition of Toronto also creates the opportunity for a regional rivalry, giving the Buffalo Beauts a neighbor to the north to contend with.

Growth is always a good sign, but for the NWHL, moving into Canada, especially into Ontario, where the Toronto Maples Leafs boast a $1.5 billion valuation, is more than merely expanding internationally. It’s an opportunity with huge upside under the right management. Entering the GTA brings exposure to a market with a strong hockey fan base, but also one that has lost three CWHL teams in the past. The potential is there to grab hockey-loving hearts, but the Six will have to deftly avoid the management issues that befell previous leagues and teams.

Unlike previous groups, the NWHL is hoping to leverage a business model based around individual ownership for all six of its teams (Boston and Toronto are currently the only teams that are privately owned).

In April, Toronto franchise president (and current head coach) Digit Murphy told The Ice Garden: “I really like this next generation with the franchise model they’ve brought in,” adding, “when you start having franchise owners, they have a vested interest. It’s easier than the league owning it, because it’s tough having a league own all those teams in all those markets.”

 

NWHL PUTTING ONE SKATE IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

Though professional women’s hockey has quite a few hurdles to clear as athletes and managers work to make it a viable professional sport (as it rightfully should be), the NWHL’s successful expansion in Canada, ongoing whubble experience, and growing mainstream media coverage are all things to applaud and reasons to be hopeful.

The NWHL Isobel Cup Semifinals will air live on NBCSN on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET. The network will air the NWHL Isobel Cup Final on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET, with live coverage also streaming exclusively on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

You can also catch regular season games on the league’s Twitch channel.

Only three matches took place during Matchweek 13 in the FA Women’s Super League, as the remaining matches were postponed due to weather. For the first time all season, something other than COVID put the league on pause, with several fields freezing over in the cold.

The next few matches for the league will all be games that have been postponed from as far back as Matchweek 5. Should there be no more postponements, the FAWSL will get back on schedule on February 6th with Matchweek 14.

This matchweek and the upcoming rescheduled games are essential to the title race, as managers will be tasked with ensuring that players don’t get burned out given the abundance of minutes they’ll be playing in a short amount of time. And as games begin to stack up on the calendar, it’s now, more than ever, that teams with the deepest squads are proving to have the advantage.

 

ASTON VILLA’S SIGNINGS ALREADY MAKING AN IMPACT

First up this weekend was Aston Villa hosting Reading at Bescot Stadium. Villa, who are 11th in the league, went into this match as underdogs against their opponents, who are in sixth with 14 points.

Reading started strong, opening the scoring in the third minute when Angharad James was able to head the ball in from close range.

From then on, Reading controlled the first half, getting a couple more shots on target that were saved by Lisa Weiß. In the second half, however, Villa came out much more robust and were able to withstand the pressure. 12 minutes into the half, Villa won a freekick, and new signing Mana Iwabuchi was able to get on the end of it, scoring in her debut.

Reading scored a second through Rachel Rowe, but Villa remained in the game and scored a late equalizer through Diana Silver, with Iwabuchi providing the assist.

Iwabuchi’s fantastic debut showed that Villa was right in adding more depth up front. They also had a full bench, with eight players, allowing Gemma Davies to make three substitutions, including Silva who scored the equalizer.

Reading, on the other hand, haven’t made a signing this transfer window and did not have a full squad, with only six players on the bench. After the match, manager Kelly Chambers said that the draw felt “like a loss” and that “[t]he second half doesn’t even come into contention if you put the first half to bed. That cost us today.” Her team, unfortunately, could not keep up with the intensity, and it resulted in a loss of points.

 

MANCHESTER UNITED RECLAIM THE TOP SPOT

Birmingham City faced the same problem when they travelled to Leigh Sports Village to face Manchester United. Unlike Reading, Birmingham were not the favorites in this match, as United have spent the year at the top of the table. But when United came into a match with an almost full squad (eight players on the bench), while Birmingham could only afford four players on the bench, it made it seem like United had the game won before the first whistle blew.

United did indeed win the match 2-0, with goals from Leah Galton and Ella Toone. And while they struggled offensively, and lacked creatively for large spells, defensively United were solid, with Birmingham only managing two shots compared to the host’s 23.

With the win, Manchester United returned to the top of the FAWSL standings, having now played two more games than Chelsea.

 

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION IN NEED OF REINFORCEMENTS

While Birmingham are another team whose situation has become more dire due to a lack of available players, Brighton & Hove Albion have clearly been hit the worst, and their 1-7 loss against Manchester City proved that. This month, seven Brighton players have gone into self-isolation, while a few key players remain out due to injuries.

Their squad has been so depleted that head coach Hope Powell decided to recall 21-year-old Bethan Roe, who Brighton had loaned to Championship side Charlton Athletic back in August of 2020. It’s a sign that the club is doing everything they can to find enough fit and available players.

Brighton faced Manchester City with five players on the bench and a starting XI that contained quite a few non-regular starters. The match was essentially only played for the sake of appearance, as Manchester City, who were fantastic, and wholeheartedly deserved the win, ran circles around their opponents.

Unfortunately, Brighton did not have the grounds to ask the Football Association to have their matches postponed since they technically have not gotten to a point where they hit all of the FA’s requirements regarding COVID-19 to cancel matches. (Even that is a point of controversy.)

Given the current circumstances, the opportunities for upsets are growing few and far between. Bigger clubs would be advantaged even in normal circumstances; with so many players being shuffled in and out, they’re almost impossible to overcome given their depth. It’s a trend to keep an eye on as the season continues, and one that could carry over into next season as well.

After a two-week January camp culminating in a pair of matches against Colombia, if anyone was wondering what shape the USWNT was in following an unpredictable and turbulent 2020, well, wonder no more.

With ten goals scored in the span of two games, which saw the return of Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd after nearly a year off the pitch, as well as the highly-anticipated debut of newly-minted U.S. citizen Catarina Macario, the USWNT looked dominant in their first showing of 2021.

 

RAPINOE AND LLOYD HAVEN’T MISSED A BEAT

After watching the U.S. face off against Colombia, any viewer would be forgiven for thinking that former captains Rapinoe and Lloyd had been playing throughout this past year. Per Andonovski, after undergoing a knee scope surgery — which ended up being more severe than initially thought — Lloyd rejoined the team as one of the most fit players on the roster and proved it in 90 minutes against Colombia on Monday and in an additional 27 minutes on Friday. Though she couldn’t quite finish a goal of her own, Lloyd assisted for sisters Sam and Kristie Mewis in the team’s first match and another for Midge Purce in the 86’ on Friday for the team’s sixth and final score of the game.

Rapinoe clocked a total of 108 minutes of playing time with 45 in the first half of the Monday match and another 63 to close out the week. Like Lloyd, Rapinoe picked up right where she left off with the team, walking away with a brace on Friday after deftly finishing a goal off of a deflection from Emily Sonnett in the 35’ minute before again finding the back of the net on a penalty kick after Sam Mewis drew a call inside the box.

The veterans weren’t the only ones making headlines, as Macario not only marked her first start with the senior team, but followed it up with her first goal off a crisp assist from Ali Krieger in the third minute of Friday’s game. Midge Purce followed suit, bookending the match with her first international goal to conclude the week.

Of course, fans won’t soon forget Mewis Monday as the sisters monopolized the score sheet in the team’s first match against Colombia. Younger sister Sam Mewis scored her first career international hat trick, before Kristie closed out the game with a textbook left-footed volley to the back of the net.

 

VLATKO ANDONOVSKI IS BEGINNING TO LEAVE HIS MARK

Taking over for Jill Ellis following the 2019 World Cup, manager Vlatko Andonovski was initially going to have only a few months to assemble his roster for the Tokyo Olympics. The postponement of the games due to COVID has now given him the chance to bring the team together on multiple occasions and, to use his signature phrase, “layer in the details.”

Watching both matches last week, it’s becoming much more clear what Andonovski means by layering in the details, as the team pressed high in the attacking third, disrupted Colombia’s short pass attacking style, and worked out its set pieces.

January camp ends, however, with the same major question dogging Andonovski as before: how will he whittle down a roster boasting more than two dozen world class players to a mere 18 for the Olympics?

Though he’s a pro at delivering consistent and diplomatic responses to any journalist hoping to crack his thinking, Andonovski has made one thing clear: he does not view this team as one in need of drastic change. In an October interview with The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf, he stated, “I’ve said all along, this team doesn’t need reconstruction… but they do need to evolve… other teams are not staying where they’re at, they’re getting better, too, so we’ve got to be ahead of the curve.”

Andonovski’s consistent messaging around focusing on the details and finessing what already exists suggests he may be leaning towards an Olympic roster anchored largely by those veterans who won the 2019 World Cup. If that’s the route he takes, it’s not likely to shock many.

While Andonovski took over a team with a strong internal ethos and a culture steeped in excellence, he’s clearly started to find ways to create marginal yet significant changes. In his first concrete contribution, he reinstated Becky Sauerbrunn — who he coached in Kansas City — as captain, a title she previously held in 2016 and 2017. Sauerbrunn is a player Sam Mewis dubbed her “moral compass,” stating in a pre-game press conference that “whatever she’s doing is what I know is right, so I should probably do the same thing.”

 

TOKYO OLYMPICS: WHO’S A LOCK, WHO’S ON THE FRINGE?

While Andonovski won’t name names just yet, Julie Foudy shared her Olympics analysis during Friday’s halftime show on ESPN. Per Foudy, all eyes are on the bubble players who will round out a roster that she believes will include goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher; defenders Abby Dahlkemper, Crystal Dunn, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Emily Sonnett; midfielders Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, and Sam Mewis; and forwards Tobin Heath and Christen Press. Foudy also named forwards Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe as “probable” selections.

Foudy’s overall prediction leaves room for three more players, one of which will be another keeper, most likely Ashlynn Harris. And based on this week’s performance, one has to think that Macario has a solid chance of making the cut, particularly given U.S. Soccer’s efforts in expediting her request for FIFA eligibility, which she was awarded during camp.

For the remaining spots, Andonovski has a solid bench of younger players to choose from, including Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith, who did not see playing time against Colombia due to injuries. It is also no secret that Andonovski respects the NWSL as a proving ground for talent. Having served as a head coach since the league’s inception in 2013 before rising to the manager role for the USWNT, Andonovski is familiar with all of the league’s top players. He drafted and coached Kristie Mewis at FC Kansas City, and in November cited her performance in both the NWSL Challenge Cup and Fall Series when calling her into camp. Could a strong SheBelieves Cup performance send both Mewis sisters to Tokyo?

Lynn Williams likewise scored her 10th international goal against Colombia and is a one-time NWSL MVP. Expect her to be well in the mix when Vlatko sits down to decide on his forwards.

For an 18 player roster, versatility will be key, which Andonovski leaned into this week by playing Crystal Dunn — who he called “the most versatile player on the field” — at both left back as well as the number 11 attacking position. Macario also showcased her creativity and confidence on the field playing in both the 11 and 9 spots across both games.

Purce, too, took a turn up top, subbing in for Williams in the 68’ minute during Friday’s match. Having played both up front and on the backline for her club Sky Blue, she could be another versatile player providing roster flexibility.

The ability to play in multiple positions isn’t just imperative given the limited number of players, but also crucial as the Olympic schedule gives teams only two days off in between games. Flexibility in the roster will give Andonovski depth in multiple positions despite the roster limit. Though some may assume that this schedule could hinder older players, Andonovski does not seem to share that sentiment, having told Kassouf, “I would not count those senior players out.” Based on last week’s lineups, he means it.

Noticeably missing from this camp were Alex Morgan, Christen Press, and Tobin Heath, who are all predicted to rejoin the team for the SheBelieves Cup. As Andonovski continues to polish the edges, the upcoming February tournament will give him a solid opportunity to add their skills back into the rotation as the team continues to develop the set pieces they’ve become known for while implementing new passing and player patterns.

 

THE SHEBELIEVES CUP SHOULD OFFER MORE CLARITY

To their credit, Colombia showed glimmers of their potential over the course of two games, however, the USWNT will face teams in the upcoming SheBelieves Cup that are much closer to the level of competition they are set to face in Tokyo. The rosters for those games, and the accompanying starting lineups, will be a much stronger indication of who is headed to the Olympics, should the show still go on this summer.

Though the fate of the Tokyo Olympics remains up in the air, if they do take place this summer, it’s likely safe to say that USWNT fans will see an Olympic team that closely resembles the 2019 World Cup roster. It could be one final ride for the team’s core ahead of an expected roster overhaul following the games.

With that said, this is a team overflowing with talent, and there are still ample opportunities for younger players to prove they belong in Tokyo. And as coach Andonovski stated in Friday’s post-game press conference, “ultimately, the best ones will go.”

Another year, another excellent season of college basketball, right?

Normally, we’d be fiercely debating over the rankings of the top teams, arguing over who deserves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Instead, everyone’s just hoping to make it to the tournament safely, so that the season will be allowed to end in fireworks and (fanless) fanfare in San Antonio, with the long-awaited return of March Madness.

It’s no secret that the NCAA very badly needs the tournament to be played, even as a growing number of teams choose to cancel their seasons. While some teams are just trying to string together multiple games at this point, the top teams are all jostling for tournament seeds.

The lack of marquee non-conference games and the on again, off again scheduling makes it difficult to evaluate even the best teams. How do you compare a narrow win against a worse opponent to not playing at all? Do we rank teams at top strength or try to identify which teams are best prepared to weather the absence of their starting point guard or even their coach?

It’s harder than ever to rank the top teams, but that only means we have to look even closer at the stats. Ignoring the headlines in order to follow the numbers, here are the six teams with a real shot at the 2021 national championship.

 

LOUISVILLE IS READY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

It would be tough to look past Louisville (14-0 ACC), who last week passed their first real test as the new No. 1 team, beating then-No. 23 Syracuse 67-54. Through the rest of the season, Louisville will want to show that it can handle playing on the road (the team has only gotten four road games in, the last one a two-point nail-biter against Wake Forest) and move up in the NET, where they are currently ranked fifth. Winning should take care of both. Add that to a team with the fourth-best field goal percentage in the entire country (49.0%) and Louisville is set up to find tournament success, regardless of their opponents.

Reigning ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans has continued to play phenomenal basketball and is averaging 19.5 points and 4.6 assists per game. The other three Cardinals in double figures are Hailey Van Lith (13.2) Kianna Smith (12.8) and Olivia Cochran (12.5). Van Lith and Cochran are both freshman tied for the team high with an impressive 6.4 rebounds per game. Louisville might not have expected them to contribute so much in their first year, and we might not have expected Louisville to be the No. 1 team at this point in the season, but as we head into February, they’re every bit deserving of the top seed.

 

UCONN LOOKS DOMINANT (AGAIN)

The top-ranked team in the all important NET, No. 3 UConn (10-0 Big East) is once again looking like a prohibitive favorite. In the entire nation, the Huskies are first in field goal percentage (53.5%) and scoring margin (37.3). The offense is clicking for 87 points and 22.3 assists per game, while the defense is holding opponents to below 50 points per game and 30% shooting.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa has established herself as a leader on and off the court, epitomized by her 65.3% field goal percentage and 2.1 blocks per game. And the latest headline-grabbing performance by freshman Paige Bueckers — 3-for-14 shooting but the will to hit a clutch 3 on a rolled ankle against Tennessee, and of course the eight rebounds and seven assists — is just more evidence of why the expectations for her were so high before she even played a game.

Bueckers is averaging a team-high 17.1 points and 2.9 steals per game as well as the nation’s 33rd most assists per game (5.1). The average NET rating of the teams UConn has beaten is 108, better than all but three other teams in the AP top 10, and convincing evidence that the Huskies are ready for a deep tournament run.

 

NC STATE: THE OTHER UNDEFEATED ACC SQUAD

Although they have only seen the court twice in 2021, No. 2 NC State (11-0 ACC) is still a tournament threat. Emerging from COVID quarantine, the Wolfpack looked rusty in a 89-87 win over Virginia Tech, needing to rally from 14 points down in the fourth quarter. They were without their star player, however, as Elissa Cunane is recovering from COVID. In the team’s previous game (all the way back on January 3rd against Boston College) Cunane didn’t even miss a shot en route to a perfect 9-of-9 from the field for a season-high 24 points.

Cunane has been superb all year long with a 58.2% shooting rate that is the 18th best in the entire sport, and Kayla Jones is right there at 57.3%. Between the efforts of Cunane, Jones, Jakie Brown-Turner and Jada Boyd, NC State averages a nation-high 33.8 defensive rebounds per game, with all four players averaging at least 5.7 rebounds per game. That defensive hustle and offensive efficiency should let the Wolfpack run with anyone. They’ll need both for their biggest game of the year: a February 1st showdown with No. 1 Louisville.

 

SOUTH CAROLINA IS FINDING THEIR GROOVE

As Aliyah Boston finds her footing, South Carolina (12-1 SEC) is looking more and more like the team everyone had ranked No. 1 preseason. Boston scored 26 with 16 rebounds and six blocks against then-No. 15 Arkansas only to return the very next game with a triple double, 16-11-10, against then-No. 22 Georgia. The reigning National Freshman of the Year is beginning to assert herself as a dominant big on both ends of the floor.

For most of the season, Zia Cooke has carried the scoring load, averaging 15.9 points per game. Nevertheless, in three straight games facing Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, Cooke failed to reach double digit scoring. The Gamecocks still managed to win those games by an average of 30 points, and Cooke responded with 16 in the win over Georgia as Dawn Staley’s team showed how dominant they could be with all cylinders clicking.

The NCAA’s NET metric ranks South Carolina third on the strength of their 7.6 blocks per game (1st) and 19.9 rebound margin (2nd). For a team with the highest aspirations, the plan is coming into focus: dominate in the paint and score by committee.

 

DON’T COUNT STANFORD OUT YET

No team has faced a more challenging schedule than No. 6 Stanford (12-2), but the Cardinal nonetheless held on to the top spot in the AP poll for six weeks before faltering in an uncharacteristic lack of focus against Colorado, before then losing to then-No. 6 UCLA. While the team won’t make excuses, it’s worth noting that Stanford has played just one game in its home gym of Maples Pavilion while living out of hotels since early December. And when you look at their opponents, only South Carolina has more quality wins.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer, who passed the legendary Pat Summitt to become the winningest coach in the sport earlier this season, has compiled another talented squad with the hopes of winning a national championship for the first time since 1992. VanDerveer will need Haley Jones to continue to play every position 1-4, Cameron Brink to limit her fouls so that she can see more floor time as an intimidating interior presence and lethal outside shooter, and Kiana Williams to hit shots at a higher rate. No one, however, will be more important than Anna Wilson, whose defense has been the cornerstone of the team’s identity as it navigates the best conference in the country. Despite their two losses, Stanford still has the talent and the coaching to win it all this year.

 

BAYLOR: THE STILL-DEFENDING CHAMPS STILL HAVE A CHANCE

All over the nation’s leaderboard despite their two losses, No. 9 Baylor (10-2 Big 12) cannot be counted out just yet. No team does a better job on the boards (+20.4), and only UConn has been outscoring its opponents by more than Baylor’s 35.1 points per game. The offense has enough ball movement to rank first with 24.7 assists per game and the defense is staunch enough to hold opponents to 29.5% from the field.

With the sixth-highest NET rating despite an uncharacteristic loss to Iowa State, Baylor has shown the signs of a team affected by the pandemic. Head coach Kim Mulkey missed time with COVID-19, as did guard DiJonai Carrington and forward Caitlin Bickle, who both did not play in the loss to Iowa State which snapped a 61-game home winning streak. Given the lack of practice time leading up to the game, Mulkey was not shocked by the result. Even less surprising was Baylor’s dominant win over Oklahoma State in response.

Nalyssa Smith has averaged a double-double with 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds playing just under 30 minutes per game. DiDi Richards is 13th nationally with 6.1 assists per game, and Carrington is 22nd with 3.0 steals per game. They may not generate the headlines, but Baylor is simply too good to ignore, and they’re a team no one will want to face when it comes to tournament time.

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on January 29th, three days after Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other victims perished in a helicopter crash on January 26th, 2020.

NOW, CHAMPIONSHIPS COME AND GO. THERE’S GOING TO BE ANOTHER TEAM THAT WINS ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP, ANOTHER PLAYER THAT WINS ANOTHER MVP AWARD. BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT LAST GENERATIONS, YOU HAVE TO HELP INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION... THAT’S WHEN YOU CREATE SOMETHING FOREVER. AND THAT’S WHAT’S MOST BEAUTIFUL. — KOBE BRYANT (1978-2020)

The last few days have been unlike any I can recall in my time as a sports fan. Like many, I’ve now spent hours staring at the internet in a state of shock, pouring over every highlight and tribute I can find, and I still find it hard to believe that Kobe Bryant is gone. Seeing “1978-2020” next to his name just doesn’t make any sense. I doubt it ever will.

To be honest, words seem painfully cheap at the moment. But as someone from Los Angeles who grew up cheering for Kobe and the Lakers, I feel compelled to try and articulate what he meant to my hometown, how he inspired LA, myself, and so many other fans and athletes around the world.

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I was 3 years old when Kobe was drafted. For the next 20 years, I had the privilege of growing up in the audience of an athlete mastering his craft, night in and night out. I can still remember crowding around the TV with the rest of my family during his 81-point game. I remember watching him sink two free throws with a ruptured achilles as though it were only a blister. There were so many nights when I threw my homework aside to catch the 4th quarter of a game, knowing it was Mamba time. And I can’t tell you how many times I watched the replay of Kobe refusing to flinch when Matt Barnes pump-faked in his face.

Even in a sport full of larger-than-life personalities, and in a city overcrowded with celebrities, Kobe stood apart. His commitment to basketball was both incomparable and utterly infectious. It didn’t matter that I was a young girl playing soccer. He was still a role model, someone who taught me and many others that if you want to be great, there’s no such thing as doing too much.

As the tributes have begun to pour in over the last few days, it’s been astonishing to note the extent of Kobe’s influence. First there were the NBA games that followed on Sunday. For someone whose unapologetic competitiveness famously alienated so many of his teammates, Kobe was idolized by his peers in a way few athletes have ever been. He wasn’t just an inspiration, but a mentor to many, in and beyond the basketball world.

I’ve frankly never seen an athlete with a platform like Kobe’s give as much as he did to women’s sports. He cheered for the USWNT, he cheered for the WNBA, he cheered for women’s tennis, he cheered for women’s college basketball. And he didn’t just use his celebrity to bring these sports attention. He made real, lasting relationships with numerous female athletes, from Sabrina Ionescu to Naomi Osaka, Sydney Leroux to Elena Delle Donne. He built facilities where he invited them to train and learn from him. He coached his daughter’s basketball team. He believed in these athletes, and he made sure that they knew it. The outpouring of collective grief from the women’s sports world these last few days is entirely unprecedented. There’s no other athlete that meant this much to other athletes.

Kobe’s fanatic obsession with greatness slowly transformed into a drive to spread success as far as he could. Nowhere was this more evident than in his relationship with his daughter, Gianna. I’m gutted just thinking about the fact that they were on their way to play and coach together. My heart aches for the Bryant family and for every other family involved in the crash.

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Gianna, or Gigi, was supposed to grow up, go to UConn, and carry the Bryant legacy into the WNBA. Only 13 years old, she already had the Mamba mentality. And of all of Kobe’s retirement endeavors, none, not even the Oscar, came close to matching the incredible joy he showed in coaching his daughter. It was beyond powerful to watch an all-time great, in real time, pass along his confidence, strength, and self-belief to his proclaimed Mambacita. The fact that the helicopter was on its way to a basketball game, and was carrying multiple players and their parents, only underlines the deep tragedy of the accident.

Inevitably, you can’t tell Kobe’s story without mentioning his rape accusation. Like so many, I find it nearly impossible to reconcile the Kobe of 2003 with the Kobe of 2020, father to four girls and mentor to countless female athletes. Being a fan of Kobe has always meant trying (and usually failing) to reconcile these seemingly disparate characters. In this matter, his death provides little to no clarity.

Ultimately, I think we have to be willing to hold complicated views of complicated people. No accomplishment on or off the court will make the details of Kobe’s case any less sickening. In the same vain, it’s impossible to stand witness to the endless stream of grief and tribute that’s engulfed the sports world over these last few days and not feel awed by the transformative impact one person can have on so many others.

Kobe’s death is a painful reminder of just how emotionally invested we are in sports — more so than most of us even understand. But our grief gives us away. And while on the surface it might seem almost silly to see so many grown adults, myself included, mourning the loss of an athlete we never personally knew, the reality is that we don’t need to meet our heroes for them to have an impact on our lives. We just need to see a glimmer of our own struggles embodied and magnified in theirs. We just need to be reminded as often as possible of the heights that human audacity can achieve.

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And in the case of Kobe, his impact on our lives will continue through the profound influence he had on his fellow athletes, male and female, across all sports. More than the trophies, or the records, or his place on any “all-time” list, Kobe’s legacy will be defined by those athletes who continue to channel his spirit in their own pursuits of greatness.

Kobe first gained notoriety for his unapologetic obsession with being historically significant. But as he grew older, he clearly began to realize that it was his relationships rather than his records that would allow him to continue to change the game well after his playing days were through. Kobe still had so much more to give, and Gigi still had her entire life to turn his gifts into her own.

In memory of all those who were lost in the accident: Kobe and Gianna Bryant; John and Keri Altobelli, and their daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton; Christina Mauser; and Ara Zobayan.

Our many condolences to their friends and families.  

After the “Wubble” season triumphantly concluded in mid-October, with zero positive Covid-19 cases and a 68% increase in viewership, a large portion of the W’s players began their annual voyage to leagues across the globe, where they earn the bulk of their annual basketball income.

Surprisingly, the ongoing pandemic had little effect on the total number of athletes who went overseas this “off season.” Both this year and the one before, roughly 90 WNBA players took their skills abroad. It appears the substantial income (relatively speaking) and valuable court time were too important to pass up. As the WNBA’s reigning points leader, Arike Ogunbowale, explained to Breanna Stewart on a recent pod episode of Stewie’s World, “I’m still young and I need to make money and there’s a lot of money overseas for me.”

 

STEWART AND OGUNBOWALE: WNBA STARS GETTING BUCKETS IN RUSSIA

Both Stewart and Ogunbowale are playing in Russia this winter. While Stewie feels much the same way as her counterpart, she also emphasizes the need to get minutes on the court since her 2019 Achilles rupture.

“For me it’s like, coming back from an injury, I can’t imagine not playing basketball just by choice,” she tells her listeners. “I want to be able to play as much as possible. In the situation where in our country so many people are unemployed, if we have a job, we need to take that job and go and do what we need to do.”

Someone may want to tell Stewie her “recovery” appears well behind her given the outstanding season she had in Bradenton, Florida. She placed fourth in the league in scoring, fifth overall in blocks, and won her second WNBA Championship in three years with the Seattle Storm.

Unfortunately for Stewart, and all her colleagues abroad this year, the risk of Covid-19 is very real. Stewie tested positive within a week of arriving in Russia despite strict travel precautions and safety measures from her UMMC Ekateringburg team. Luckily, she had no symptoms and was able to return to play after a thorough quarantine period. Alongside the contagion risk is a wide disparity in players’ confidence in their team’s testing protocol.

“It’s pretty much up in the air for us to be honest. There was like weeks and weeks I went without getting tested and another week I got tested like three times,” Ogunbowale laments to Stewie.

Within Russia, Stewart’s UMMC Ekateringburg has been a ridiculous gold mine of WNBA talent. Alongside Stewie, who has a claim to being the best player in the world, is Brittney Griner (6x WNBA All-Star), Emma Meeseman (2019 WNBA Finals MVP), Jonquel Jones (2x WNBA All-Star) and WNBA power couple Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley (aka The Vanderquigs).

Quigley, a three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time 3-point contest champ, and Vandersloot, an assist queen who set a new single game assist record (18) this past season, both play stateside for the Chicago Sky.

Even with all that talent, it’s actually Ogunbowale’s Dynamo Kursk squad, which includes NY Liberty center Amanda Zahui B, that has the best record in the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League. They sit at 12-1, while UMMC, though undefeated, is only 11-0.

 

WNBA PLAYERS’ NEW FAVORITE DESTINATION: TURKEY

Russia’s track record of recruiting some of the best WNBA talent goes way back. (For an entertaining look inside the world of Russian women’s basketball, check out this 30 for 30 podcast featuring Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi discussing their years playing together for a kind but crooked team owner in Moscow.) But while Russia attracts some of the WNBA’s biggest stars, it’s the aptly-named Women’s Basketball Super League in Turkey that attracts the largest number of WNBA players.

This year almost 30% of all those playing overseas are in Turkey. With roughly three WNBA players per team, it’s the place to go if you want non-stop competitive minutes on the court. Second overall 2020 draft pick from Oregon, Satou Sabally, and her stacked Fenerbahce team, which includes Kayla McBride, Kia Vaughn, Jasmine Thomas, and Kiah Stokes, currently hold the top spot in the league with a 17-0 record.

In the WNBA, both Sabally and Ogunbowale play for the Dallas Wings. (If you’re a fan of young, talented teams which have the potential to make the jump to serious league contender will before anyone really expects it, then keep your eyes on Dallas.) Several of Sabally and Ogunbowale’s Wings teammates are likewise honing their craft internationally this year. Allisha Gray, Bella Alarie, Ty Harris, and sharp-shooter Katie Lou Samuelson are all WNBA players currently hooping overseas.

After not following in her two older sisters’ Stanford footsteps and playing for rival UConn instead, Samuelson and her older sister Karli are finally able to play some family ball this year on Team Avenida in Spain.

LIZ CAMBAGE LOOKS READY FOR HER WNBA COMEBACK

Hopping down to the southern hemisphere, Australian-born Elizabeth Cambage spent 2020 putting on a clinic in the Australian Women’s National Basketball League after receiving a medical exemption for the WNBA 2020 bubble season. Cambage and her Melbourne-based Southside Fliers won the league championship in mid-December on the shoulders of the 3x WNBA All-Star’s 23.5 PPG and 8.7 rebounds per game.

The Las Vegas Aces 6’8” center is one of a handful of Australians in the WNBA. Alongside last year’s league MVP, A’ja Wilson, Cambage looks ready to help lead the Aces to another Finals run in 2021.

Fellow Aussie and Seattle Storm back-up guard Sami Whitcomb left the Wubble prior to the Finals in order to make it home to her wife in time for the birth of their first child. A week or so later, she watched from her hotel room as her teammates beat Cambage’s Aces in three straight to win their fourth WNBA Championship, tying them with the Minnesota Lynx and the legendary Houston Comets for most all-time league titles.

 

SOME WNBA PLAYERS TOOK THE OFFSEASON OFF

Whitcomb, who usually plays the off-season either in Europe or Australia, is taking a break this year to be with her new family of three. She isn’t the only veteran player sitting this international season out.

While the total number of players abroad held steady, there are several athletes who went overseas last year but decided against it this season. Among them are DeWonna Bonner, Jewell Loyd, Sydney Weise, Teira McCowan, Ariel Atkins, and Bria Hartley, to name a few.

 

AND SOME COULD STILL HEAD ABROAD

If you’re a Minnesota Lynx fan, keep your nose to the grindstone to hear whether 2020 Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield and 2019 Rookie of the Year (and co-host of a gem of a podcast) Napheesa Collier head overseas later this winter or spring.

There are also mumblings that number one overall 2020 draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu, is considering going abroad soon to get some playing time. Ionescu missed most of her rookie season after severely spraining her ankle in just her third professional game. The injury robbed us all of the dream of what Ionescu’s rookie WNBA season could have been, especially after she dropped 33 points in her second game. It was also salt in the wound of 2020 after the pandemic first robbed us of watching Ionescu and her Oregon Ducks compete for a NCAA Championship.

Then there’s a long list of vets who have closed the book on their year-round playing days: Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, Elene Della Donne, Sylvia Fowles, Skylar Diggins-Smith, etc. But the one vet we’d love to hear any and all whispers about getting back to the court? The one and only Maya Moore.

If 2021 is going to redeem the dumpster fire that was 2020, re-gifting the world the honor of watching Moore do her magic on the hardwood would be a fantastic start.

That may just be a pipe dream, the result of too many hours in quarantine. But while the pandemic has turned normal life upside down for most Americans, the year-round grind of the WNBA’s biggest stars remains a constant. And though we love catching highlights on Twitter, we can’t wait to see them all stateside for this next WNBA season.

Our weekly January transfer roundup is back, and since last week, two clubs have signed significant players that should make an immediate impact on how the rest of the season plays out. If you haven’t, be sure to check out our week one and week two roundups in order to catch up on all the deals made so far.

 

BIRMINGHAM CITY

Birmingham’s second signing of this window is Irish international Ruesha Littlejohn. The 30-year-old striker has signed a contract that’ll keep her at the club until the end of the season.

Littlejohn has an abundance of experience under her belt, having played in the FAWSL for Arsenal (2010), Liverpool (2011-2012) and West Ham (2019-2020). She’s coming to Birmingham after a season at Leicester City in the FA Women’s Championship.

It’s clear that Birmingham are looking not only to add experience but depth to their squad. The team, who finished last season in 11th, and were almost relegated, are now currently in eighth, a massive jump in improvement over the past year. While they’re more or less safe from the relegation zone, if the club wants to compete with those above them, they need more players for Carla Ward to choose from for her starting XI as well as players who are able to make a difference off the bench.

Birmingham are two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in seventh, and four behind Reading in sixth. However, because Birmingham have had quite a few matches postponed, they have played one less game than Tottenham, and three less than Reading. These games in hand could make a huge difference, and if Birmingham can win even a couple of these games, they are suddenly in a position in which they are competing with Everton for a spot in the top half of the table.

Birmingham’s efforts to deepen their squad were likewise bolstered by the acquisition of Emily Murphy on loan from Chelsea. Just 17 years old, Murphy is a promising prospect who gives the club another option at forward this season.

Both Littlejohn and Murphy were included in the club’s starting eleven during their 0-0 draw against Brighton Hove & Albion on Sunday, making it clear that they’ll both be expected to make an impact straight away.

MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City have only made one signing so far, but it’s a big one. They announced that USWNT defender Abby Dahlkemper would be joining the club on a contract that runs until 2023, making her the third American to join the team after both Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle joined back in August of 2020.

This will be Dahlkemper’s first stint in England. Prior to her signing with City, she was a standout defender for the North Carolina Courage. While the Courage retain Dahlkemper’s NWSL rights, it’s a massive loss for the club with which she’s won five trophies.

Saying that this is a big coup for Manchester City would be an understatement. Dahlkemper is one of the best defenders in the world, and both her club achievements and her accomplishments with the USWNT (six trophies including the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup) solidify that.

This is also a huge signing for City, as they’ve been crying out for a defender all season. The club, who are in fourth place with 21 points, are still very much in the title race along with rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea. City have been dominant and exciting this season, especially going forward, but they have had some problems at the back. Dahlkemper could be vital to fixing these issues.

The transfer window ends on the 28th, and everyone will be watching to see what last-minute deals clubs will be making before the window closes. Check back next week to find out all about the final additions.

To play or not to play?

That is the question currently facing every sports league, but especially college basketball, as the NCAA works feverishly to hold the 2020-2021 season together amidst spiralling game postponements and cancellations caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only are individual games at risk, but the pool of available teams continues to shrink as programs decide to cancel their seasons entirely. To date, three Power Five women’s teams (Duke, UVA and Vanderbilt) have withdrawn, joining SMU as well as the Ivy League schools who cancelled the current winter sports season in November, eliminating an entire conference from NCAA competition.

As the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle season rapidly re-arrange themselves and outright disappear, teams find themselves having played only half as many games compared to this time last year. Game preparation has also become a struggle as teams face last minute match-up and travel changes in order to comply with COVID-19 protocols.

The domino effects from COVID have impacted schools nationwide, forcing NC State, Villanova, Providence, UConn, and many others to go on pause until conditions have been cleared for safe play.

On January 14, #23 ranked Syracuse — who had been on pause for weeks — had to postpone its matchup against Georgia Tech, its fourth conference game in a row, due to exposure. The team returned to play on Sunday, January 17, defeating the University of Miami, before topping North Carolina on Tuesday, a game that was originally slated for December 31, 2020.

Baylor University, the 2019 and therefore still-defending NCAA champions, resumed play on Saturday, January 15 after being on pause since January 5, with coach Kim Mulkey returning to the court after contracting COVID over the holidays. The Lady Bear’ pause forced them to cancel their hotly anticipated game against then-No. 4 UConn on January 7 and postpone matchups against Kansas State and Kansas.

Stanford, meanwhile, the No. 1 team in the country until this past weekend, has essentially been on the road since late November due to Santa Clara county restrictions.

As teams across the country experience the reality of playing through a pandemic, in a season which started late, and which has continually been re-routed as it stumbles through the winter, many are beginning to wonder whether it’s worth it.

Mulkey didn’t hold back when asked how she felt about playing the season, stating, “The NCAA has to have the almighty dollar from the men’s tournament. The almighty dollar is more important than the health and welfare of me, the players or anybody else.”

UConn coach Geno Auriemma responded to Mulkey’s comments, saying, “I don’t know that anything that she said was completely off the charts wrong. However, having said that… the almighty dollar has a lot to do with what we are doing. And without the men’s NCAA tournament, there’s a lot of things that happen in the NCAA that don’t happen.”

The two coaches are circling on an undeniable truth: the NCAA was financially unprepared to lose the revenue it would have amassed from the 2020 tournament, and as professional leagues have successfully built bubbles in order to host modified seasons and tournaments, it’s safe to assume that the NCAA feels it can (and must) accomplish a similar feat for the tournament this year.

Ethically speaking, asking un-paid athletes to play out a season as cases of COVID-19 spike is dubious, to say the least. Players are being asked to risk their own health while also eliminating all contact with anyone outside of their teams. Student athletes have never been paid for their work; now they can’t even see their families.

Aureimma, for his part, said he believes the vast majority of athletes would prefer to play. Whether that’s true or not, it’s clear that many players view this season, truncated as it may be, as an opportunity to join their WNBA counterparts in speaking out against racial injustice in the US. The calendar may be uncertain, but these players know they still have a platform they can use to advocate for change.

Before the first game of the 2020-21 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks issued a statement via Twitter addressing how they planned to protest the national anthem. In it, they shared their season’s theme of “what matters,” expressing their unconditional support for one another, the conversations they have had as a unit, and the decision for the majority of the team to sit for the anthem in order to “shine a light on the need for racial equality, social justice and ending systemic racism in our country.”

Tennessee joined South Carolina in protest with all but one of the Lady Vols kneeling during the anthem before their first conference game, which fell just after the deadly riot and attack on the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6. The team has also worn black shooting shirts during their warm ups this season.

Lady Vols senior Rennia Davis stated that kneeling was “a decision we made in the moment,” adding “with everything going on, especially recently in Washington, that’s what we saw fit to do. The people on the team who saw fit to support that, they did. And the ones who didn’t, they supported us in a different way.”

It’s not just players speaking out. Coaches, too, are using their platforms to condemn racial injustice and support their teams. Asked about her activity on social media, where she has routinely responded to both current events and various followers, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told The Athletic, “It’s not just about X’ing and O’ing. It’s about teaching, growing, learning and being that example for our players, because we can’t have sports blinders on.”

She continued, “there’s a world going on outside of us that we play a part in — whether or not people want us to shut up and dribble. There’s a world out there that, between these dribbles, things are happening that impact us.”

Of course, wanting to use their visibility to advocate for change hasn’t spared teams from dealing with COVID. Ahead of their home opener against East Tennessee State University in December, Vanderbilt announced via social media that the team would stay in the locker room during the anthem this season “to mourn and commemorate the racial injustices that have been taking place in the United States.”

This week, Vanderbilt announced that they would stop playing their season, after both COVID and injuries depleted their roster, which was already thin due to pre-season opt-outs.

As of now, March Madness is still a go, with the NCAA confirming this week that it expects to stage the entire tournament in San Antonio. The NCAA has waived the .500 rule, which typically requires schools to have a winning record in order to qualify for an at-large selection. Schools will be required to have played 13 games against other DI schools to qualify for team selection, however, the NCAA has also announced that it will accept eligibility waiver requests from schools which cannot meet this threshold.

At this point, with most teams having played somewhere between seven (UConn) and twelve (Louisville) games, the NCAA’s strategy seems to be to just get to San Antonio and hope for the best.

There will be no shortage of lessons learned when the NCAA looks back on this time, and while the fate of March Madness and the remainder of the 2020-21 season is still prey to an uncontrolled pandemic, one thing is certain: athletes understand the power of their platform. They haven’t let the virus overshadow the racial and political reckoning facing the United States. And whether or not they should be playing, the fact is a new precedent has been set, one that is certain to outlast the pandemic.

The captain of the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team, Naomi Girma was recently voted the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. Girma also plays for Stanford University, with whom she won the NCAA Championship in 2019 as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.  

Congrats on the big award. Can you talk about what it meant to you to be named the 2020 Young Player of the Year?

It was an honor, and I think it was just a really cool way to end this year and award all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes. We talked before camp, and I feel like I’ve just been working and trying to find the time to compete. Sadly, we didn’t get to play in the fall, but hopefully the team gets a season in the spring. But I was just really thankful and humbled to get the award, especially with Trinity [Rodman] and Mia [Fishel] having great years as well.

Coming out of national team camp in October, what do you think were your biggest learnings from playing with the USWNT?

It was an amazing experience, and I think I learned a lot from watching the older players and watching the more experienced defenders. Just seeing the little movements, and the way they communicate, and how everything is done with intention—I learned a lot just from watching them, which was really cool.

And from the coaches, we went through a lot of defensive shapes and the things we focus on when we’re defending in the box, and I think it was cool to be exposed to the language that they use and the specifics behind everything. Because although it’s a similar style throughout these national teams, the details are really emphasized there. I think learning those was really, really beneficial for me.

What kind of feedback did the coaches give you coming out of camp?

I think just being a younger player, a lot of times the things that separate us are the details. We talked a lot about that and just obviously being comfortable in that environment and just feeling like you belong and using your voice there, which I think I did a decent job of, for my first camp, but obviously that’s something that improves with experience.

15 former Young Player of the Year Award winners have gone on to play in a World Cup for the US. Does that bring pressure or excitement?

Oh wow, I did not know that. I think it brings excitement. Obviously, they didn’t win it and then just make the World Cup team. A lot of work went in behind it. And I think this is a cool step to take along the way, but this isn’t ultimately the end of where I want to get. So I think it motivates me to keep working and especially after going to that camp. Keep seeing or focusing on the little details I can work on.

How’s everything going? Are you on break still from school?

We just reported to campus a few weeks ago. But I tore my ACL, so I’ve kept it pretty low key so far.

Oh man. So are you on the path of recovery now? Did you have surgery and everything?

Yeah. It happened after camp. Sometimes you have to wait a while for your ACL to get the surgery, but luckily I wasn’t super swollen, so I got it the next week after I found out.

What does the timeline look like for you now?

I’m definitely out for winter or spring, whatever happens, but I can play in the fall, which I’m happy about. We are supposed to have a spring season, but it is still unclear. We’re currently having to deal with Santa Clara County restrictions, so we’re very limited in what we can do. I’m not sure if you’ve seen, but women’s basketball and men’s basketball are just continually on the road, because they can’t come back to Santa Clara County. So for now, we’re waiting for the county to lift those mandates, and then we’ll see.

Obviously everything is up in the air, but individually, what are your goals for the next year? 

Going into 2021, I just want to attack everything. That’s something I’ve been thinking about throughout rehab. After such a high of getting invited to camp, it was such a disappointment, but I’ve just been focusing on how I approach PT and my treatment and rehab and things like that.

As I start progressing, I want to do every little thing at each step of the way to make sure I can come back fully fit. And then I’m really looking forward to my senior season in the fall. I just want to be fully ready to compete and play with my teammates and lead the team.

You’re a year out from graduating, but have you given any thoughts to what your plans are afterwards? You could easily be the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick in the NWSL draft in 2022. 

Yeah, I mean, I’ve definitely thought about it, but I think for now, I’ve just been focusing on my rehab instead of thinking too far ahead past my senior season. Especially being injured, I feel like it gets overwhelming to think about that too much.

Was there anything else that you wanted to mention about the award and the excitement around that? 

I would just like to say how thankful I am to the Ethiopian community in my area. I grew up playing with them, and I’m just happy they’ve been with me along the way. I know this was really exciting for them too, because it’s a product of everyone’s hard work. So I’m just really grateful. And being given the award was just a huge blessing amongst a lot of other things happening.