Propelled by monster performances from Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano, No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball escaped an upset in an overtime contest with Drake on Sunday.

And while the Hawkeyes celebrated the 92-86 victory in Clark’s hometown, there was a feeling of déjà vu – and not the good kind.

Because while their comeback was exciting, it also heralded back to many of Iowa’s games last year, and to this common storyline: Clark and Czinano were a dynamic scoring duo, but where were the rest of the Hawkeyes?

When Iowa was bounced by Creighton in the NCAA tournament, the issue that plagued them all season came front and center in their downfall. Clark and Czinano take on too much, and other Hawkeyes need to step up.

Against Creighton, Clark finished with 15 points, while Czinano had 27. No other Iowa player scored more than 6 points.

Against Drake, the scoresheet looked similar, as Clark and Czinano combined for 64 of Iowa’s 92 points. The only other Hawkeye who hit double digits was McKenna Warnock, who finished with 11.

Is this a new season with the same issues for the Hawkeyes?

Iowa has played three games, winning all three, and against Evansville and Southern, Iowa had more offensive contributors. Those teams, though, aren’t on the same level as Drake.

The Bulldogs are getting votes in the AP Top 25 poll, and a game against No. 22 Nebraska on Saturday might give a better indication of how good Drake really is. Led by sophomore Katie Dinnebier with 24 points, all five Bulldog starters finished in the double digits in scoring. They also held Clark to 9-for-28 shooting (32%), well below her 2021-22 average of 45.2%.

By the time the season ends, don’t be surprised if we see Drake with a few upsets to its name and a chance at an NCAA tournament bid. So Drake is a good basketball team, but that just underlines the concern over Iowa’s depth.

Clark and Czinano can’t do it all, and despite the initial look of the box score against Drake, there is potential for a few other players to step up going forward.

McKenna Warnock

The 6-foot-1 senior has made her name over the last three seasons as an elite rebounder, and against Drake, she surpassed Chase Coley to set Iowa’s rebounding record. Warnock also had 11 points, the only other double-digit scorer for Iowa, and she posted that mark while battling foul-trouble.

Last season Warnock averaged 11 points per game, and through three games this season, she’s averaging 10.3. Still, she’s had big scoring bursts, scoring over 20 points four times last season.

If the Hawkeyes can get even a couple more buckets per game from Warnock, taking her average up to around 15 points, that could make a difference. If she’s more of a threat, then opponents will have to devote more defensive resources to Warnock, opening things up for Clark, Czinano and hopefully making way for more scoring from other Hawkeyes.

Gabbie Marshall

The senior guard has never been a big scorer, averaging 6.9 points over her career, but there has been one offensive bright spot for Marshall: 3-point shooting. She’s off to a slow start this year (2-for-12), but the senior is at 40.8% for her career.

Last season she attempted around four 3-pointers per game, a number that hasn’t changed this season. But it should. Marshall needs to be more aggressive in shooting, because good things happen for the Hawkeyes when she’s making 3s. Against Drake, she made two 3s in the third quarter, which is when Iowa mounted its comeback to retake the lead.

Molly Davis

At this point in the season, Davis is a question mark. She transferred to Iowa after three successful seasons at Central Michigan. In the MAC, she had scoring success, leading her team with 18.6 points per game. But so far at Iowa, Davis is averaging 5.3 points per game in 25 minutes of action per contest.

Ideally, Davis will adjust to playing with the Hawkeyes and bring some of the scoring she did for Central Michigan to the court. But so far, that hasn’t happened.

Hannah Stuelke

If you’re an Iowa fan, here’s the player to be most excited about. It’s possible for Warnock and Marshall to increase their scoring averages, but as seniors, who have been averaging similar numbers every season, it’s not likely.

Stuelke, on the other hand, can become a third scoring option for the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-2 freshman was ranked No. 45 in the nation coming into the season.

Named Miss Iowa Basketball during her senior season at Washington High School, she averaged 29.1 points in her final year, topping the entire state of Iowa. Scoring doesn’t always translate from the high school level to college, but Stuelke brings plenty of promise.

She scored 10 points in the season opener against Southern, then 14 against Evansville. The freshman had a harder time with Drake, finishing with 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting. It might take a while to settle in when it comes to higher-level competition, but Stuelke is playing about 15 minutes per game, and coach Lisa Bluder seems to trust her. Her natural scoring ability should develop as the season goes on, and by the time March Madness arrives, don’t be surprised to see her playing a big offensive role for the Hawkeyes.

The USWNT is getting the band back together this October, as manager Emma Hayes tapped a number of veteran faces in a 26-player roster for the team's upcoming three international friendlies on Wednesday morning.

The team's European-based players are stepping back into the spotlight, after Hayes chose to rest stars Lindsey Heaps, Lily Yohannes, Emily Fox, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Catarina Macario during the summer.

However, sidelined Chelsea defender Naomi Girma will sit this one out as she continues to recover from a calf injury.

The roster also highlights the return of favorites Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, and Jaedyn Shaw, as Hayes also calls up 24-year-old San Diego Wave defender Kennedy Wesley for the first time.

As next fall's qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup quickly approach, Hayes is narrowing the field from her previous developmentally focused roster-building strategy.

"I think this was the one camp I had to make some really hard decisions, and that's the place I wanted to be in," Hayes told reporters on Wednesday morning. "It's the build for [World Cup] qualification for next year."

With an average age of 24.6, the latest squad reflects the US's youth movement, though Lavelle's return helps boost the average international experience from 18.4 caps in this summer's USWNT roster to 27.3 appearances on Hayes's October lineup.

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The October 2025 USWNT roster

• Goalkeepers: Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)

• Defenders: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Lilly Reale (Gotham), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave)

• Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Sam Meza (Seattle Reign), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes)

• Forwards: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Catarina Macario (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea)

How to watch the October USWNT friendlies

The world No. 2 USWNT will first take on No. 23 Portugal at 7 PM ET on October 23rd and at 4 PM ET on the 26th, before closing out the international window against No. 33 New Zealand at 8 PM ET on October 29th.

All three friendlies will air live on TNT.

The 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League action returns on Wednesday, kicking off another week of league-phase play as WSL titans Chelsea search for their first UWCL win of the season.

The Blues settled for a disappointing 1-1 draw with FC Twente last week, despite outshooting the Dutch club 20-9 while holding 65% of possession.

"When I analyze the games, I think we are creating a lot, which is the most important thing," said Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor. "But the most difficult thing in football is to score goals. We need to stay confident and keep trying."

"Sometimes, when you're able to be clinical, you kill the opposition’s hope a bit sooner," Bompastor continued, hoping to supercharge the Blues' offense ahead of their Wednesday afternoon clash with French side Paris FC.

Other UWCL heavy hitters will also feature on Wednesday's pitch, as Barcelona, Wolfsburg and OL Lyonnes all look to continue their winning ways after major victories in last week's opening slate.

The rest of the 18-club league phase will conclude the second matchday on Thursday, when fellow WSL powerhouses Manchester United and defending Champions League winners Arsenal return to the UWCL pitch.

How to watch Chelsea vs. Paris FC in Champions League play

Chelsea will host Paris FC in London for their second league phase match at 3 PM ET on Wednesday.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.

South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley isn't sure about the NBA, as the venerated NCAA sideline leader told media this week that, after taking an interview with the New York Knicks earlier this year, she doesn't see the men's pro league hiring a woman coach anytime soon.

"No, I don't," the 55-year-old responded when asked on Tuesday if she thought there'd be a woman NBA coach in her lifetime. "And I hope I'm wrong."

"If the Knicks have a five-game losing streak, it's not going to be about the losing streak, it's going to be about being a female coach," she explained. "So you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to ignore those types of instances when you're going to look to hire a female coach."

Earlier this year, Staley — who also interviewed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021 — admitted that she would have taken the Knicks job if New York offered it to her.

"I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open," Staley told Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and retired WNBA icon Candace Parker on their "Post Moves" podcast in August.

As it stands, Staley remains open to using her NBA interview experiences to help any future woman coach — or men's team — navigate the pitfalls of breaking that glass ceiling.

"It's not just about hiring the first female NBA coach," explained the South Carolina boss. "[There will be] questions that you don't have to answer if you're a male coach."

"I've got all the information," Staley offered. "Come see me, because I'll [prepare you] for the interview."

Incoming 2026 WNBA expansion side Portland sprung a leak this week, prematurely introducing NBA assistant Alex Sarama of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the inaugural head coach for the Fire on LinkedIn early Tuesday morning before pulling the post.

Shortly following the retracted news, the Fire did official announce that WNBA veteran Ashley Battle will join the team as VP of basketball operations, strategy, and innovation.

Per a Front Office Sports report, Portland is currently on track to announce Sarama's hiring in the coming days, though the parties are still working to finalize a contract.

Sarama falls in line with the WNBA's recent turn to the NBA pipeline, with the Phoenix Mercury bringing on head coach Nate Tibbetts from the Orlando Magic in 2023, the Las Vegas Aces tapping Becky Hammon from the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and Hammon herself hiring now-Golden State Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase from the LA Clippers in 2022.

Sarama also has experience with Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec, after both spent time working for the British Basketball League's London Lions.

While the rollout might have come early, Portland now has their basketball staff in place as the WNBA enters an uncertain offseason dictated by tense CBA negotiations.