SEATTLE — Ohio State and UConn’s meeting in Seattle was a collision of two teams that had been battered and beaten down by the regular season. But in the postseason, they found new life.

One had history on its side. The other, a little March magic and a nightmare-inducing defense.

The Huskies had been to 16 straight Elite Eights and 14 Final Fours in a row. Ohio State has been to just one Final Four and three Elite Eights. The last came in 1993, one year after coach Kevin McGuff had graduated from college.

March Madness is chaotic, but it’s also poetic. And Ohio State’s 73-61 win over UConn had equal parts of both.

Chaotic because of the Buckeyes’ intense pressure defense. They forced 25 turnovers, snagged 13 steals and had 23 points off the UConn miscues, including 14 on the fast break.

Poetic because, despite their historical differences, UConn and Ohio State took similar paths to the Sweet 16.

The 11-time national champion Huskies always have monumental expectations. This season was no different. But before it even started, Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady were sidelined with injuries. Caroline Ducharme, Dorka Juhász and Azzi Fudd followed. Then came five losses — not exactly a collapse, but unprecedented for a team that’s lost only 26 times in the last decade.

Ohio State came into the season ranked No. 14 in the country, but after winning 19 straight, the Buckeyes jumped up to No. 2, officially raising expectations. Then Madison Greene’s season ended with a knee injury, and Jacy Sheldon was sidelined after just five games. Rebeka Mikulasikova, who was in the midst of her best season yet, also got banged up.

But when March came around, both teams found themselves in better spots. UConn relished the return of Fudd, and Ducharme and Juhász were finally healthy. Sheldon was back for Ohio State and, though limited, Mikulasikova was also available.

After going through hell and back, both teams had a chance at the Elite Eight. On Saturday in Seattle, UConn jumped out to a 17-9 lead, before Ohio State climbed back to control the pace and trajectory of the game.

Eighteen of UConn’s 25 turnovers came in the first half. The Huskies knew the press was coming, and they prepared for it in practice. But in person, it was panic-inducing, and their offense shut down.

“They were all over the floor,” Juhász said. “I think we were just — nobody wanted the ball. Nobody was trying to get open and break that press.”

The press, plus a 23-point performance from Buckeyes freshman Cotie McMahon, made the difference in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. After 16 years of appearances, the most successful team in the country would not be in the Elite Eight.

.@OhioStateWBB's @cotiemcmahon23 1st half.🥶

⚡️18 PTS
⚡️3 REB
⚡️2 AST

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/K8ieep4ow5

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 25, 2023

What does it mean?

It means the better team — Ohio State — won. It means an incredible streak was broken. But as far as the future of UConn’s women’s basketball is concerned, the loss means virtually nothing. Next year, the Huskies will be contenders once more.

And as Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff pointed out in the postgame press conference, Paige Bueckers, one of the top players in the country, was sitting on the bench. Next year she will be on the court.

“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” Auriemma said. “And it’s just a matter of time. It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later.”

Sooner came in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena with Sue Bird, one of the greatest Huskies of all time, in attendance. Her streak of 20 seasons in the WNBA just ended, too, in retirement. And with the end of UConn’s 16 straight Elite Eight appearances came the end of Ohio State’s 30 seasons without one. One streak ended with tears, another with smiles.

UConn’s streak ending doesn’t mean the end of UConn basketball as we know it. The Huskies will still get top recruits, including two top-20 incoming freshmen next season and another top-5 recruit in 2024. They will still play in Final Fours, still win titles. But other teams are joining the party. UConn’s loss offers a reminder of how special the program’s run truly was — something even the coach of the team that took them down can understand.

“They certainly have had incredible success that no one will ever match again as a program,” McGuff said. “But they have a really good team this year. They just started getting healthy at the right time. So I think we beat one of the best teams in the country today.”

Chaos, poetry, joy and anguish. One team moving on, one team going home. Two streaks broken. All at the same time.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Expansion team WNBA Golden State has officially brought on New York Liberty assistant GM Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager, the team announced in a Monday afternoon statement.

The move marks one of the first major personnel hires for the highly anticipated franchise, set to begin league play in 2025. Nyanin will oversee all basketball operations for the Bay Area addition, including building out the roster, shaping the team, and developing talent. 

Nyanin joins team president Jess Smith and senior vice president of marketing and communications Kimberly Veale in the WNBA Golden State front office.

"Ohemaa is the perfect fit to lead our WNBA basketball operations as we prepare for our inaugural season in 2025," Warriors co-executive chairman and CEO Joe Lacob said in the release. "As we moved through the GM hiring process, it became more apparent each day how impressive and well-versed Ohemaa is in all facets of the business, and as a person."

Nyanin was with the Liberty for more than five years, most recently serving as the team’s assistant general manager. Prior to that, she spent five years as the assistant director of the women’s national team at USA Basketball, helping to oversee team operations through gold medal wins at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

"I am truly honored to be chosen as the first general manager of WNBA Golden State," Nyanin said. "Throughout the interview process, it was clear that bringing a WNBA team to the Bay Area was meticulously thought out and those involved are motivated changemakers who will be proactive in growing the league. I look forward to joining this franchise and building a competitive basketball team that the fans deserve."

In a July 2023 profile published by The Next, Liberty assistant coach Roneeka Hodges described Nyanin as the New York team's “Ms. Make-it-Happen."

"She’s a jack of all trades," added Hodges, while Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb paid Nyanin a particularly prophetic compliment.

"She needs to be a general manager in this league," Kolb said. "Full stop, it needs to happen, and that’s her goal."

Chelsea began Sunday with their WSL title hopes a distant dream... before closing out the weekend right back in the thick of the title chase.

The Blues made a last-ditch effort to claim their fifth consecutive Barclays WSL title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over relegation-bound Bristol City. The victory came after a visiting Arsenal upset current table-toppers Manchester City at Joie Stadium, besting the home side 2-1 on back-to-back goals from Stina Blackstenius. With the win, the third-place Gunners re-opened the door for Chelsea to finish level at the top of the table on points.

Chelsea remains second in the standing, with 49 points to Manchester City's 52. But the barrage of goalscoring over the weekend could be enough to overtake City's potential tiebreak advantage in goal differential, leaving even coach Emma Hayes in awe.

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Chelsea holds a game in hand, but the Blues will need to win their May 15th match against Tottenham to give them a shot at the title. Should they take all three points, the title race will come down to the final weekend, when Chelsea squares off with Manchester United while City faces Aston Villa on Saturday, May 18th. 

Set to take over the USWNT in June, Hayes acknowledged the likelihood of finishing out her time at Chelsea with zero trophies, after losing in both the Conti Cup final and UWCL semifinal last month. But for now, her initial pessimism has subsided.

"Let me be clear, it's not f*****g over," Hayes said after coaching her last home match with Chelsea on Sunday. "There's no time for sentimentality, all work drinks are canceled. There's a title to be won.

"This group of players taught me something so special this week — that you never ever give up."

A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday. 

Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views. 

In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."

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"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.

"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."

On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.

Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.

The Caitlin Clark WNBA era has officially begun, with the star-studded rookie making her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday. 

Clark scored a team-leading 21 points — including five threes — and recorded a game-high 16 points at the half. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who got the last word for Dallas, knocking down a splashy buzzer-beating three-pointer in front of the sold-out crowd to deliver the Wings the 79-76 win.

"I think there's gonna be a lot to go back and look at and learn from, because a lot of it is kind of different from college," Clark said shortly after the Fever's loss. "Just from, you know, a technique standpoint or you know, scheme standpoint, and what we do is not always always going to be the same. So I think those are the biggest things, but I think overall, I just played really hard and that's always something to be proud of."

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For Clark, the biggest transition challenges lie in WNBA's physicality and talent levels. 

"No matter who steps into the game, you can never really relax, because that’s how competitive the league is," she added.

Fever coach Christie Sides also commented on's Clark on-court adjustment in her postgame remarks. Noting that the team will have to take steps to protect their star as she navigates the W's upgraded athleticism, Sides shared that at one point in the game, Clark was "completely gassed" and called for a sub. 

"We have to do better, we can't let her get to that point," Sides said. "She just won't be able to last and the way people are guarding her — I mean, she's seeing a double team, she's seeing hard hedges, they're being real physical with her. That's how it's going to be for her. And so we've got to make sure we're doing what we can to protect her so she's able to go into fourth at the same level she is in the first."

Clark wasn't the only rookie making their pro debut in Dallas that night. Ohio State ace Jacy Sheldon racked up six points and one rebound in her 13 minutes on the court (plus an unfortunate viral moment), but the breakout performance of the night went to Jaelyn Brown, a Cal grad who went undrafted in 2020 and spent the last few years playing overseas. On Friday, she carried the Wings to the finish line with 21 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting.

After the game, Brown attested that she's "ready to compete" in an atmosphere that she "belongs in."

"I just try and treat it as any other game," she continued. "The crowd was amazing, it’s a little different from overseas, a little bit, but it’s the same game. I just [came] out there with a calm composure and did what I can do."