On Sunday night, the college basketball season came to a close with Stanford defeating Arizona 54-53 in the 2021 National Championship game. It was a physical, gritty, and low scoring game – the lowest scoring National Championship game since 2010.

From start to finish, this was a defensive tournament. In the seven post-Sweet 16 games, only one team scored more than 70 points. And defense is exactly what the National Championship came down to, with Stanford holding Arizona to 28.3% from the field and Aari McDonald to 5-21. 

Stanford won with a team effort, but there were plenty of impressive individual performances to go around this tournament. From 30-point scoring efforts to shot-blocking defensive anchors, this is our 2021 All-Tournament Team:

Paige Bueckers, Guard, UConn

With 1:30 left against Arizona, Paige Bueckers came off a screen and nailed a three-pointer two steps behind the three point line. “Don’t go away yet!” ESPN announcer Ryan Ruocco yelled into the microphone. Forget that the Huskies trailed by five points in the Final Four. Forget that Bueckers was a freshman. Forget that she had shot just 4-12 up until that point. Behind Bueckers, UConn could come back to win this thing. 

They didn’t come back to win, but Ruocco’s reaction was a testament to Bueckers’ poise, her patience, and her performance all tournament. Despite her age and the circumstances, every game felt within reach with Bueckers on the floor. 

What makes Paige Bueckers so great? It’s the swag for @s10bird 😤 pic.twitter.com/YHPEO3vpn4

— ESPN (@espn) April 2, 2021

Her shining moment came in UConn’s Elite Eight matchup versus Baylor, a game in which she dropped 28 points – the second-most Baylor allowed to an opposing player all season. Despite three freshmen playing major minutes, Bueckers led this relatively inexperienced UConn team to the Final Four with averages of 21.6 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. 

Aari McDonald, Guard, Arizona

You could go on and on about Aari McDonald’s play during March Madness. It was hands down the best performance by any player in the tournament and, probably, the best stretch of games in her entire career. She single-handedly willed the Arizona Wildcats to a NCAA championship appearance. It wasn’t just the program’s first trip to the title game – it was their first time making it out of the Sweet 16. All behind the speedy McDonald.

AARI MCDONALD IS ON 🔥@ArizonaWBB goes up by nine. #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/IHkGMvogWP

— ESPN (@espn) April 3, 2021

McDonald’s success came down to her ability to make threes. In regular season games where McDonald made three or more three-pointers, the Wildcats went 5-0. During the NCAA tournament games, McDonald made three or more three-pointers in each of Arizona’s victories over Texas A&M, Indiana, and UConn. It added a whole different dimension to her game. When defenders backed up, she nailed the jumper. When defenders stepped up, she blew by them – and there’s not a single player in the country who can keep up with McDonald. 

On a smaller note, it was also one of the best rebounding stretches of McDonald’s career. After logging zero rebounds in the opening round, she averaged 7.4 rebounds per game over the next five games – including two double-doubles. Often undersized, everyone on the Wildcats had to attack the glass – and that started with McDonald.   

Haley Jones, Guard, Stanford

Haley Jones’ job was to inbound the ball. But when Lexie Hull missed the layup, the ball trickled out from a scrum of rebounders. With 35 seconds left in the clock, Jones scooped it up and hastily fired it away. This long, contested mid-range jumper would put Stanford ahead by one point, and send them to the National Championship game.

MADNESS!

HALEY JONES FOR THE LEAD!!!! #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/cYPEY6Cj9c

— ESPN (@espn) April 3, 2021

Two days later, she would make another game-deciding shot against Arizona. With a little more than two minutes remaining, Jones would power through the defense for an and-one bucket, putting the Cardinal up by four, and sealing their championship victory. 

Those were the two biggest shots of the entire tournament.

But Jones’ impressive postseason performance included more than just those two buckets. As Stanford’s leading scorer Kiana Williams struggled, combining for 13 points in the entire Final Four, Jones emerged as the team’s go-to playmaker, averaging 20.5 points per game over that same span. She posted up smaller players, handled the ball in the half-court, and went 5-8 from beyond the arc, after making just one three-pointer the entire regular season. When Stanford needed a bucket, it was Jones who stepped up.

Christyn Williams, Guard, UConn

Paige Bueckers stole the headlines, but one could argue that Christyn Williams actually outperformed Bueckers during March Madness. After scoring 11 and 13 points to start the tournament, Williams would finish it with three straight 20-point games, the longest streak of her career. That included a 27-point outburst against Iowa, a game in which Williams looked like the best player on the floor – a floor that included both Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. Against Arizona, Williams was the only player who could consistently find her shot, scoring 26 points on 7-17 from the field.

🗣 Christyn Williams is a certified bucket

27 points and counting. pic.twitter.com/xkuk01Wdjc

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 27, 2021

Williams’ ability to explode to the basket added a whole different dimension to the UConn offense. And, as we saw, an aggressive Christyn Williams is one of the best scorers in the entire country. 

Cameron Brink, Forward, Stanford

How can someone who averaged just 19.5 minutes per game and nine points make the All-Tournament team? There’s no question that Zia Cooke, Moon Ursin, NaLyssa Smith and Lexie Hull all deserve spots on this list. But Cameron Brink deserves her spot as well, because without her, Stanford wouldn’t be celebrating a championship right now.

DENIED by Cameron Brink!

It's a close one between South Carolina and Stanford on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/EdvkTZQ6Pb

— espnW (@espnW) April 2, 2021

Stanford rode their defense to a third NCAA title, and that defense revolved around the rim protection of Brink. Whenever Brink came onto the floor, the game felt a little different. The opposing team’s drivers grew a little more hesitant, while their bigs were less efficient. Take Stanford’s Sweet 16 matchup against Missouri State. Despite only logging just 10 minutes, Brink recorded five blocks, swatting away 45.5% of the opponent’s two-point shots when she was on the floor. Over the course of the tournament, Brink averaged four blocks per game. Against South Carolina, she had six, and every one of them counted. 

When Brink wasn’t blocking shots, she was misdirecting them, or at least forcing ball handlers into pull-up mid-range shots. The most prominent example was Aari McDonald, who shot just 1-12 on two-pointers against the Cardinal. Cameron Brink may have only played half of the matchup, but she set the tone defensively, each and every game, for the eventual national champs.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.

Former Stanford leading-scorer Kiki Iriafen is set to join star rising sophomore JuJu Watkins at USC next year, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. 

The 6-foot-3 forward is coming off a breakout season with the Cardinal, where the then-junior led Stanford to the Sweet 16 with an average of 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Walking away with the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award and a spot on the All-Pac-12 team, Iriafen entered the portal at the close of last season and was subsequently ranked second on ESPN’s 2024-2025 transfer ranking list.

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At USC, Iriafen will play out her senior year alongside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association’s 2024 National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins, forming what could be an explosive partnership for the Trojans as they look to build momentum going into next season. The Southern California side advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994 this year, ultimately falling to UConn in a heated 80-73 battle.

Iriafen wasn’t the only one making choices this past week. LSU guard Hailey Van Lith officially announced her own transfer to TCU on Friday, while Princeton standout Kaitlyn Chen committed to UConn for her final year of college eligibility. Other big names still weighing their options are Oregon State's Talia Von Oelhoffen and Raegan Beers, as well as UNC's Deja Kelly.

With conference realignment on the horizon and team fit a contending factor, the NCAA women's basketball transfer portal has been busier than ever. And while transfers can bolster many types of college programs, this particular offseason has seen talent-rich programs growing even richer.

Legendary WNBA superstar Candace Parker announced her retirement from professional basketball on Sunday, effective immediately.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," she wrote in an Instagram post. "The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

The Las Vegas Aces forward was in the midst of rehabbing a right ankle injury and a left foot fracture after missing part of the 2023 season.

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One of women's basketball's most prominent trailblazers, Parker popularized the play of a "big guard." A back-to-back NCAA National Championship winner with Tennessee, she was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. She was named both WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in her debut season with the league. 

Parker exits the pros a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time league MVP, seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time NCAA champion, in addition to many more individual accolades. Throughout her 16-year career, she averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. She remains the only player in WNBA history to earn three WNBA titles with three different teams: LA in 2016, Chicago in 2021, and Las Vegas in 2023. 

In her announcement, the 38-year-old implied the physical toll of league play was a driving factor in her ultimate decision to walk away from the game, despite recently signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas.

"This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating," she wrote. "It’s no fun playing in pain (10 surgeries in my career) it’s no fun knowing what you could do, if only…it’s no fun hearing 'she isn’t the same' when I know why, it’s no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.

"I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped," she continued. "I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special."

Fans weren’t the only ones shocked by Parker’s surprise retirement. In a reaction captured on video, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart responded to the news with a jaw-dropped, eyebrow-raised "What? Wow." 

Yet while the Naperville, Illinois native’s time on the court might be over, Parker says she isn't leaving the world of basketball anytime soon.

"This is the beginning," she wrote. "I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball."