Just when you think the loss of Aliyah Boston next year will alter the college basketball landscape, the South Carolina women’s basketball team reminds you just how deep its talent runs.

Dawn Staley’s prowess on the recruiting trail has been evident over the last few weeks, the Gamecocks’ well of talent also has shown up on the court — particularly in the performance of freshman Ashlyn Watkins.

Watkins, who was the No. 12 prospect in the nation coming out of high school, threw down the first dunk in South Carolina history Thursday in the team’s 85-31 road win over Clemson.

ASHLYN WATKINS OH MY GOODNESS!!! PUT THIS ON REPEAT!

📺: ACCN, https://t.co/1PPdzEpNBD pic.twitter.com/hEvvX6lkvv

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) November 18, 2022

Watkins becomes the ninth player in NCAA history to dunk in a women’s college basketball game, joining former college stars such as Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles and Brittney Griner.

The move shouldn’t come as a surprise from the player who won the McDonald’s All-American Dunk Contest in March. She said Thursday on the broadcast that she’s practicing her dunks “any chance that I can get.”

“Every time I have a fast break I just look around to see if I have the opportunity, and I had the opportunity,” Watkins told the ACC Network broadcast.

Staley said that while she knew Watkins was capable, the dunk still came as a surprise.

“She wasn’t really dribbling the ball up the floor smoothly. She kind of rolled it a bit and I thought she was just gonna put it up over the rim,” Staley said. “I’ve seen her do it a million times, but never on this level in front of me with her on our team, so that was cool.”

For senior guard Zia Cooke, who led the Gamecocks with 15 points in the win, Watkins’ dunk was a first.

“I walked up to her and was like, ‘Do you even know what you just did?’ … That was my first time ever seeing a girl dunk in a game live in action,” Cooke told GamecockStop. “It was definitely shocking to me to see.”

Gotham FC is cleaning house, following up Monday's splashy Jaedyn Shaw trade with even more roster moves as the No. 6 NWSL club prepares for a major playoff push.

The Bats officially fulfilled defensive midfielder and 2023 NWSL champion Nealy Martin's trade request on Tuesday, sending her to Angel City in exchange for $85,000 in intra-league funds.

"More than anything I want to thank the Gotham community for taking a chance and believing in me," Martin said in a club statement. "I gave my heart and soul to this club, and a piece of me will always remain in NJ/NY."

Martin's departure is just one recent roster shift, with Gotham also loaning out recently acquired forward Princess Ademiluyi as they look to incorporate Shaw — and her league-record $1.25 million transfer fee — into their system.

Gotham is banking on long-term success from the 19-year-old, signing Ademiluyi from WSL mainstay West Ham United through the 2029 season before sending the England youth national team attacker for further development with USL Super League side Fort Lauderdale United FC on Tuesday.

Big-name NWSL signings tend to create a domino effect, and as long as they have the money, now is the time for mid-table teams like Gotham to trade as the 2025 season inches closer to crunch-time.

The No. 8 Seattle Storm clinched the final spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs by the skin of their teeth on Tuesday, taking down the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries by a narrow 74-73 margin to avoid leaving their postseason fate in the hands of the No. 9 LA Sparks.

The Storm outscored Golden State 21-12 in the fourth quarter to overcome a second-half Valkyries lead and seal the victory, with Seattle guard Erica Wheeler's team-high 17 points leading the charge off the bench.

"To be able to seize the moment, take care of business on home court against a team who is trending really positively, shows a lot of resiliency," said Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after the playoffs-clinching win.

The Storm's triumph was ultimately the Sparks' downfall, as LA fell just short of the postseason finish line despite claiming an 88-83 upset win over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.

"The league is as good as it's ever been," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said postgame. "There's not a year in the history [of the WNBA] where 21 wins doesn't get you into the playoffs."

LA's elimination not only brightens Seattle's 2025 hopes, but it also bolsters their future, with the Storm owning the draft lottery-bound Sparks' 2026 first-round pick thanks to a blockbuster offseason trade.

With all eight 2025 playoff teams locked in, there's still plenty to play for as squads battle for the remaining postseason seeding in Thursday's four-game regular-season finale.

The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with a last-minute media deal causing broadcasts Stateside to generate confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league's big-name US talent pool took the pitch.

First, in Friday's 2025/26 season kick-off match, ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of six-time defending WSL champion Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City.

Then on Saturday morning, skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal's 4-1 victory over the recently promoted London City Lionesses.

Notably, the WSL media rights extension deal with ESPN+ — the 2024/25 US carrier of the top-flight UK league —came together at the very last minute.

As such, the WSL left fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all promotions in the lead-up to the 2025/26 season's opening weekend — possibly missing out on a big Stateside moment as USWNT stars like Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, Emily Fox, and Alyssa Thompson kick off their club campaigns in the UK.

"The delays weren't about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing," former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.

"Of course, nobody wants a broadcast deal announced only hours before kickoff. That's not ideal," she continued. "But continuing the [ESPN] partnership makes great sense."

USWNT prospect Jaedyn Shaw is on her way to New York City, with ESPN reporting late Monday that the No. 11 North Carolina Courage is sending the rising NWSL star to No. 6 Gotham FC in an intra-league-record $1.25 million trade deal.

North Carolina's return nearly doubles the NWSL's previous $600,000 transfer record, set when the No. 1 Kansas City Current acquired forward Ally Sentnor from the last-place Utah Royals in early August.

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As for Shaw, this will be her second major move this year, after the attacker requested a trade to the Courage from the San Diego Wave last January — a deal in which the Wave received a combined $450,000 in allocation money and fees.

During her time in San Diego, Shaw shattered the NWSL record for most goals scored by a teenager, but the now-20-year-old has only logged three in her 10 starts for North Carolina this season.

With this trade to Gotham, Shaw will exit a Courage side sitting three spots below the postseason line as North Carolina regroups following the abrupt firing of head coach Sean Nahas.

She instead will join a NJ/NY side in the midst of a serious playoff push, with ESPN reporting that Gotham is going all in on Shaw with plans to sign the young talent through the 2029 season.