UConn women’s basketball continues to feel the absences of some of its top stars, falling to No. 6 Louisville 69-64 on Sunday.

Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith each recorded 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for Louisville. Of her 16 points, Van Lith scored 10 in the fourth quarter to lead the Cardinals (11-1) past the Huskies (6-3) in Sunday’s Women’s Hall of Fame Showcase.

“I know what everybody’s going to say, that they were shorthanded and everything,” head coach Jeff Walz said after the game. “And they’ve had some injuries, there’s no question about that. But they’re still a pretty good ball club and I was really pleased with how we fought, how we hung in there.”

Ahlana Smith contributed 11 points as the third Cardinal to finish the game in double-digit scoring.

While the Huskies are undeniably not the same team without the likes of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd on the court, UConn has shown flashes of being a contender, taking down UCLA 71-61 on Dec. 11. They still have senior Christyn Williams, who contributed 10 points Sunday, and transfer grad student Dorka Juhász, who has put up double digits in each of her last two games, including 15 points and eight rebounds on Sunday. There’s also freshman Caroline Ducharme, who had 24 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s loss. Following the game, Auriemma commended Ducharme on her “mental toughness.”

“I don’t think it was her blazing quickness or her ability to get off her feet and play above the rim,” Auriemma said when talking about what he liked about Ducharme during the recruiting process. “There was a mental toughness part that I find very rare in today’s players. She has it. And then she has a sneaky way of getting points on the board.”

Despite leading for the entire first half, UConn let the Cardinals get back in the game in the second. Withe loss, the Huskies have dropped three games before January for the first time since 2004.

Bueckers, who is out for at least eight weeks after having surgery to repair an anterior tibial plateau fracture in her left knee, was seen glancing up at the scoreboard after the game.

.@UConnWBB's Paige Bueckers glances up at the scoreboard as she leaves the court after UConn lost to @LouisvilleWBB 69-64 in the Hall of Fame Classic. Bueckers is out for eight weeks with an injury. For @hartfordcourant @alexaphilippou #bleedblue pic.twitter.com/umjXqFaEuU

— Cloe Poisson (@cloepoisson) December 20, 2021

Until players return from injury, UConn’s depth is an issue: Louisville had 22 bench points, led by Smith’s 11, compared to UConn’s four.

“We needed more contributions from more people for sure, and we didn’t get them,” Auriemma said. “You’re not going to beat a really good team without that. I wish I had an answer, but I don’t. I guess I’m supposed to have the answers, but I don’t.”

The good news is that Fudd and Nika Mühl could be returning soon. On Friday, Auriemma said the two players “are coming along great” and the hope is to start working them back into the lineup after the holiday break.

UConn, which fell to No. 11 in the nation on Monday and out of the AP Top 10 for the first time since 2004-05, returns to the court on Dec. 29 against Marquette. Louisville is back in action against Boston College on Dec. 30.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.