The Champions League final is fast approaching. Chelsea vs Barcelona: two teams who have yet to win the coveted trophy, and who are each looking to wrap up their wildly successful seasons. 

These are the players who will decide which team walks away with the biggest trophy in Europe.

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 🤝

⚽️ @ChelseaFCW vs @FCBfemeni
🗓 Sunday 16 May
⏰ 21:00 CET
🏟 Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg

Who’s lifting the #UWCL🏆 in Sweden?

#UWCLfinal

— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) May 5, 2021

Asisat Oshoala, Barcelona 

It became apparent early on in Asisat Oshoala’s career that she was a player to watch. In her teen years, she impressed for F.C. Robbo and River Angels, two clubs in her native country of Nigeria. Her breakout year in 2014 saw her lead Nigeria to the final of the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Nigeria ended up losing 1-0 to Germany, but Oshoala was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player of the tournament and the Golden Shoe for being the tournament’s top scorer. A couple of months later, Nigeria won the 2014 African Women’s Championship, and Oshoala was again awarded the Golden Ball. 

She became the first African player to play in England when she signed for Liverpool in 2015, and a year later, she moved to Arsenal, winning the FA Women’s Cup with the Gunners. After a short stint in China with Dalian W.F.C., where she won two league championships, she was acquired on a loan deal by Barcelona in the middle of the 2018/19 season. 

Oshoala’s performances at Barcelona have cemented her as one of the world’s best. In her first season, she failed to win any hardware with the club, despite having a fantastic individual season, scoring seven goals in her seven league appearances. Barcelona came second in the Primera División, losing the top spot to Atlético Madrid. 

The club had a chance to win their first-ever UEFA Women’s Champions League that season; however, they lost 4-1 to the ever-dominant Olympique Lyonnais. Regardless, Oshoala made history that night, becoming the first Barcelona player and African player to ever score in a Women’s Champions League Final and the first Nigerian to score in any Champions League final, men’s or women’s.

The winner from the 3⃣ talented nominees for African Women's Player of the Year is...

Asisat Oshoala! 🏆#CAFAwards2019 pic.twitter.com/5buHOw3NjV

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 7, 2020

In her second season, she was an integral part of the club, winning both the Primera División and Copa de la Reina. This season, Barcelona are on track to once again win the league, having won every single league game thus far, putting them at a perfect 75 points, with 127 goals scored in 25 games. Their ticket to the Champions League final came from victories in the quarter-final against Manchester City and the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain.

Oshoala, as a striker, is one of the deadliest poachers in the game. When she’s in the box, she consistently finishes plays by challenging the opposition defenders for the ball and betting on herself in 1vs1 situations against the goalkeeper. 

Every team has struggled to contain her in the Champions League thus far. Chelsea will need to buck the trend if they want to win.

Lieke Martens, Barcelona

Even if Chelsea can successfully isolate Oshoala, they’ll still have to worry about Barcelona’s star midfielder Lieke Martens. 

Martens spent the first eight years of her career playing all around Europe, accumulating different tactics from different coaches that allowed her to become the versatile player she is today. 

The Dutch native began her career in Holland with Heerenveen in 2009 before moving on to VVV-Venlo the following year. She then moved to Belgium to play for Standard Liege, where she won the Super Cup in 2012. 

Martens then went on to play for Duisburg in Germany and for Goteborg and Rosengärd in Sweden, where she won the Cup and Super Cup with the latter in 2016. 

She also made her senior national team debut in 2011 after becoming the top scorer at the U–19 Euros in 2010. With the senior national team, she then scored the Netherlands’ first-ever Women’s World Cup goal in 2015, at the age of 22. 

She became one of Barcelona’s most high-profile signings in 2017 and since then has continued to impress. The same month, she led the Netherlands to their first international trophy after they beat Denmark 4-2 in the final of the 2017 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She was named the tournament’s best player and was awarded not only the Golden Ball but also the Bronze Boot. 

Her contributions to Barcelona, both in Primera División and in the Champions League, have earned her a multitude of individual honours, including the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award and The Best FIFA Women’s Player. 

As mentioned prior, Martens is an exceptionally well-rounded player with the versatility to play both on the wing and in midfield. Her unpredictability is a nightmare for opponents, and her ability to read the game allows her to dictate the play and tempo of the match in favour of her side. She is also disciplined enough to put in a shift defensively and make sure that the opponent’s attackers do not have any number advantage.

🎥 Torna a vibrar amb el memorable doblet de @liekemartens1 des d'un altre angle #ForçaBarça #UWCL pic.twitter.com/voIUXyPfVg

— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) May 3, 2021

Her positional awareness, dribbling ability and speed are aspects of her game that can push Barcelona over the line to win their first-ever Champions League trophy. 

Fran Kirby, Chelsea

Barcelona may be stacked, with players like Oshoala, Martens, Alexia Putellas, Vicky Losada, and Jennifer Hermoso. But so is Chelsea. 

Fran Kirby has been one of their most dominant players since she signed for the London club in 2015. 

Kirby has always been a goalscorer. Prior to Chelsea, she played for Reading, her hometown club, and in forty-two appearances, she scored 68 goals, averaging 1.6 goals a game. When she signed for Chelsea, expectations were high. 

And these expectations were met. With the club, Kirby has won six trophies, including four FA Women’s Super League titles, the most of any team. 

With England, Kirby was a standout in the team’s third-place finish in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada and was an integral part of the Lionesses win in the SheBelieves Cup in 2019. 

Kirby is another one of those extremely versatile players who can play multiple positions. Initially, Kirby was an attacking midfielder, playing in the number 10 role, which occupies the space right behind the forward players. Her job was to make plays and connect the team’s midfield to the forward strikers. However, over the years, she has been deployed as second striker often, playing more in the penalty box and supporting the number nine in scoring goals. 

'And a Champions League final for Chelsea!' 🔥@FranKirby sealing it for the Blues! 😍 pic.twitter.com/oli4kEBqgA

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 4, 2021

Kirby has scored 23 goals this season, with six of them being in the Champions League, the most out of any Chelsea player. Barcelona will have to work tirelessly in defence if they don’t want to concede a goal that Kirby is involved in. 

Pernille Harder, Chelsea

It’s hard to talk about Kirby without talking about Harder, who have been partners in crime on the pitch for Chelsea this season. We already know that Sam Kerr will be a difference maker in the Champions League final, but Harder’s play may have a greater impact on Chelsea’s success. 

Harder spent the early days of her career in her home country of Denmark. Playing primarily as a striker at IK Skovbakken, she scored 22 goals in 27 appearances. By 2012, after five years of playing in Denmark, she decided to move to Sweden to play for Linköpings. Her performances in the Damallsvenskan (Swedish League) are what got her international recognition. In two seasons, she won three trophies and won the Damallsvenskan’s Forward of the Year and MVP award twice. 

By 2016, several clubs had shown interest in acquiring Harder, and in January of 2017, she became a VfL Wolfsburg player. Harder was part of a larger project at Wolfsburg, with the club signing several high-profile players in hopes of being a consistent force in German football and in the Champions League. 

Harder’s time at Wolfsburg did lead to domestic domination. The club won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal double in the four consecutive seasons that Harder was a part of the team, with Harder winning the league Golden Boot in two of those seasons. However, Wolfsburg were no match for Lyon, and they lost to the French club in two separate Champions League finals. 

Despite coming second in both 2018 and 2020, Harder impressed during all her Champions League campaigns with Wolfsburg, winning two UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Awards and two UEFA Champions League Forward Awards. 

With her performances in Germany, it was no surprise that she became the world’s most expensive women footballer after signing for Chelsea in September of 2020. The world-record fee saw Harder come to London and join a star-studded attack that includes Kirby, Kerr, and Bethany England. 

Champions League final. Here we come!!! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/eaVD7KucUL

— Pernille Harder (@PernilleMHarder) May 4, 2021

Harder has taken Chelsea to the next level; she is a creative and game-intelligent forward who makes her mark through excellent positioning, intricate passing, and on-target shooting. She has the ability to play as a forward, a second striker, or an attacking midfielder.

Chelsea have already won three trophies this season, and both Harder and Kirby have been integral to the team’s success. Barcelona will have to work as a unit to be defensively sound in order to keep the Chelsea offense out.

Tune in: Champions League final is Sunday, May 16th at 3:00pm ET.

The first-ever Unrivaled Basketball playoffs delivered both on and off the court, with Rose BC’s championship victory over Vinyl BC drawing the largest TV audience the offseason league has seen in 3×3 play to date.

An average of 364,000 viewers tuned into Monday’s final, peaking at 385,000 fans and marking a 99% increase over Unrivaled’s record-breaking regular-season average audience of 221,000.

Including the league's postseason success, Unrivaled capped its inaugural season having aired the 10 most-watched women’s basketball broadcasts in the history of broadcast partner TNT Sports.

In total, Unrivaled reached an impressive 11.9 million viewers across its two-month regular-season and postseason run — including the league's first-ever in-season 1v1 tournament.

That head-to-head competition ultimately drew the league's top performing tilt, with the final between runner-up Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards and eventual 1v1 champion and Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier averaging 377,000 viewers with a 398,000-fan peak.

"We’ve built an incredible foundation," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told reporters once the season wrapped. "Based on what the viewership is, now it’s our job to [ask] 'how do we grow that a bit?' We’re very proud about where we stand in the women’s sports ecosystem of viewership."

Unrivaled bags more big wins in inaugural season

Outside of TV viewership, Unrivaled also scored high social media engagement numbers, which have been a key metric for the league since its outset.

This season saw the league generate more than 589 million owned and earned social media impressions, and the pool of Unrivaled athletes collectively grew their own personal accounts by nearly one million followers in less than three months.

Perhaps most importantly for the players, the league followed through on its promise to prioritize athlete compensation, shelling out over $8.65 million in player salaries and performance bonuses from both Monday's championship and last month's 1v1 tournament.

With the offseason league designed primarily as a TV product, both Unrivaled and TNT will carry 2025’s wins far into their six-year partnership’s future — all while the WNBA will look to capitalize on the league’s ratings successes as its own May 16th season-opener nears.

As the 2025 NCAA tournament tips off this week, few Women's March Madness teams have had a more remarkable run than No. 1 overall seed UCLA.

The Bruins only lost two regular-season games this year, a streak that led to a Big Ten conference tournament title, and, eventually, top-ranked entry into this weekend’s tournament start. By securing the first No. 1 overall seed in program history, this group of UCLA players has already proven themselves the most successful in school history — with additional hardware firmly on the horizon.

But junior Kiki Rice has preferred to keep things in perspective, as she told Just Women’s Sports in the quiet days between the regular season’s end and the postseason's launch.

“The reality is we lost two games the entire year, and that's a pretty good record: 27-2,” she said matter-of-factly. “I think most people would be pretty happy with that.”

UCLA did, however, launch their Big Ten tournament campaign with unfinished business, having fallen twice to crosstown rival USC to cede the regular-season conference title. While they got their revenge in the Big Ten tournament title game, UCLA head coach Cori Close wasn’t shy about wanting to meet the Trojans one more time — at the NCAA Final Four in Tampa.

A Final Four battle would give UCLA the ability to draw even with JuJu Watkins and the Trojans this season, claiming the biggest bragging rights of all. But Rice knows that once-in-a-lifetime opportunities start with everyday consistency.

“It’s about resetting, and how we can move on, get better, and learn,” she said. “How we individually can be better for our teammates and be better for our coach.”

All eyes on women's basketball — and UCLA

As the profile of women’s basketball rises at an exponential rate year after year, many college programs have benefited from the broader spotlight. But winning remains one of the best promotional tools available, and UCLA doubled down on that prospect, signing star transfer Lauren Betts last season in a move that culminated in back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances. 

This year, though, the Bruins want more. And as the team’s star power continues to emerge, anything seems possible.

Rice has been one of those stars. Literally — she starred in ESPN’s 2024 docuseries Full Court Press, giving fans a chance to see behind the curtain into what makes the 21-year-old tick. And while Betts pulls defensive focus on the court, Rice can make the offense sing. She leads the team in assists and steals per game, carrying a heavy load when games get tough.

As a young player making a name for herself, Rice enjoys the off-court attention. But she’s not immune to the pressure that accompanies greater scrutiny.

“It’s been a lot,” she reflects. “But it's also been something that me, and I think the rest of my teammates, we wanted. It's part of being in women's sports at this time, where it's really growing so much.”

She described the national attention as a welcome change. With attendance, TV viewership, brand deals, and other KPIs on the rise, the Bruins know it’s time to seize the moment. 

“This is what we deserve,” Rice said resolutely. “Let's take advantage of it, and be thankful for it.”

Rice embraces the spotlight on and off the court

But if success on the court fuels exposure off the court, Rice understands the importance of balancing the bigger picture with remaining focused on the task at hand. And that mindset especially rings true in the era of blockbuster NIL deals.

“I want to take advantage of all these opportunities,” she said. “But they take time, and that's time away from school, that's time away from personal relaxation and reset time. That's time away from being in the gym.”

Rice has garnered attention from countless brands over the course of her college career. That includes signing with Jordan Brand as their first-ever NIL contract in 2022. Since that milestone, she’s gone on to work with major players in the women’s sports ad space like Buick, Dove, Neutrogena, and Beats by Dre, among others.

“I've definitely gotten more used to it,” she continued. “But I wouldn't say it's always easy”

March Madness AT&T ad highlights UCLA stars

Today’s student-athletes are expected to keep up with their studies and stay fit on the court, while also participating in the larger sports cultural conversation via brand partnerships and media appearances. That’s why fans will see Rice’s face throughout the tournament — and not just sweating it out in UCLA blue and gold.

When the game cuts to commercial, you might spot Rice starring in a new AT&T TV ad alongside Betts, promoting the sport both Bruins love to play. She even got a chance to flex a few comedy muscles onscreen, saying that her experience in front of the camera was nothing but positive.

“To be part of such a high quality production and film that commercial, I had a great time doing it,” she said, adding that Betts has been a friend she can lean on when the balancing act that is modern-day college sports gets too stressful. 

“I feel like she kind of understands, and is going through something very similar,” Rice says of her teammate and AT&T co-star. 

Getting UCLA tournament ready from the inside-out

She also credits her family as a major source of support, even if they're many miles away on the East Coast, where Rice became one of the country's top high school prospects. And over the years, she’s taken personal responsibility in creating her own stability. She learned from experience the cadence required to not let fatigue set in at the end of a grueling basketball season.

Rice especially prioritizes taking care of her body, as March’s schedule sees games in quick succession. But she also grounds herself in the moment, viewing March Madness as not just a point of pressure, but one of opportunity.

“We've been talking about the NCAA tournament and Big Ten tournament all season long,” said Rice. “It's just like we talk about in practice: We have a new new season ahead of us, two new seasons coming up.”

But for all Rice’s individual and collective achievements so far, when the Bruins tip off against Southern University on Saturday, the pursuit of greatness begins anew. From falling just short of a regular-season title to edging out USC in the Big Ten tournament, Rice is eager to put a winning stamp on an already historic UCLA season.

“At the end of the day, we're just trying to win,” she said. “We don’t have that long, so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

US women’s rugby stole the spotlight this week, as incoming domestic league Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) prepares for its first-ever season while USA Rugby gears up for a newly announced series of home friendlies.

In the lead-up to the kickoff of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England this August, the world No. 9-ranked Eagles will be playing a pair of tune-up friendlies, taking on No. 11 Japan in Los Angeles on April 26th before facing No. 2 Canada in Kansas City on May 2nd.

The national team will then play a final send-off match against No. 16 Fiji in Washington, DC, on July 19th before heading to London for the 10th edition of the international tournament.

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Momentum continues with new women's rugby league

The Eagles' pre-World Cup tour aims to continue the sport's momentum that the team initially sparked during last summer's Olympic bronze medal-winning run in Paris.

That standout performance prompted increased demand for more consistent women’s rugby programming in the States, with longtime proponents of the sport welcoming fresh fans into the fold with hopes of continuing to grow the game in the US.

Some of the increased demand will be met by WER, as the new league formalized its sanctioning agreement with USA Rugby earlier this week in anticipation of their March 22nd kick-off.

With six teams representing the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, and the Twin Cities, WER will play a three-month regular season before contesting the league's first playoffs.

"We are confident that the start of WER will be a key moment in the growth of the sport," said WER president Jessica Hammond-Graf in a statement. "We can’t wait for fans to experience the excitement and intensity of high-level, professional women’s rugby in the US."

How to buy tickets to US women's rugby games

Tickets to the Eagles’ World Cup send-off tour go on sale March 28th, while fans hoping to catch WER’s debut season can purchase seats online now.

With the March Madness No. 1 seeds evenly split between the Big Ten and SEC, April’s Final Four becoming a conference tournament championship rematch doubleheader is very much on the table.

The quadrants led by SEC tournament finalists South Carolina and Texas share one side of the bracket, meaning the Gamecocks and Longhorns could meet before the 2024/25 NCAA championship game in an all-conference semifinal.

Similarly, crosstown rivals UCLA and USC top the other two quadrants, putting the LA teams on course for all-Big Ten semifinal.

Both conference pairs have already faced off three times this season, with South Carolina holding a 2-1 2024/25 record over Texas and USC riding into the Big Dance with the same record over UCLA.

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Other top teams hunt rematches with NCAA No. 1 seeds

Before the No. 1 seeds lock in on any all-conference semis, however, they must advance past other elite contenders — some of whom have recent beef with the quadrant queens.

No. 3 seed Notre Dame — the only team to fail to snag a No. 1 March Madness spot after reaching the AP Poll's top ranking this season — awaits a possible 2024/25 rematch with Texas in the Elite Eight round, with the Irish eyeing a second season victory over the Longhorns after toppling Texas 80-70 in December.

As for No. 1-seed USC, the Trojans sit on a collision course with No. 2 UConn, setting up what could be a second-straight Elite Eight battle between the pair. The Huskies won last year's encounter 80-73 behind 28 points from superstar Paige Bueckers, before falling to eventual tournament runners-up Iowa in the 2023/24 Final Four.

That said, USC already defeated UConn once this season, with sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins putting up 25 points in the the Trojans' narrow 72-70 December win.

For these potential non-conference games, the rematches are somewhat by design, as top programs try to stack their schedules with the NCAA's best teams each season, both to challenge their rosters and to build their NCAA tournament resumes.

"If you play a good enough schedule, you're always going to run into somebody you've already seen," explained legendary UConn head coach Geno Auriemma earlier this week.

While bracket busters could impede an all No. 1-seed Final Four, no team seeded lower than No. 3 has ever won an NCAA championship, meaning at least a few of these top-tier rematches are likely in the coming weeks.

How to watch the Women's March Madness tournament first round

No. 6-seed Michigan and First Four winner No. 11-seed Iowa State open the tournament, tipping off March Madness at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN2.

The first top seed to take the court in Friday's 16-game slate is South Carolina, who will face No. 16-seed Tennessee Tech at 4 PM ET before UCLA closes out the night against First Four winner No. 16-seed Southern at 10 PM ET.

Both No. 1-seed games will air live on ESPN.