With the 2021-22 college basketball regular season coming to a close, attention has turned to end-of-year awards, especially that of National Player of the Year.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has been vocal with her take that forward Aliyah Boston is the front-runner for the honor. In recent weeks, much attention has been given to Iowa sophomore Caitlin Clark, who is leading the country in points per game, assists per game and triple-doubles, but whose team has lost six more games than the 25-1 Gamecocks have.

“I think it’s a combination of several things, and I am speaking from having been in the game for a while and having seen how the media portray certain No. 1 teams in the country, certain Player of the Year candidates,” Staley tells Sheryl Swoopes on the latest episode of NETLIFE. “And now that I find myself being the coach of the No. 1 team in the country, and who I know is the No. 1 player in the country in Aliyah Boston, it’s a lot different.”

The Gamecocks coach says she has seen firsthand the media campaigns for past Player of the Year winners Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson, and the marked difference between the coverage of them and Boston.

“I don’t think we’re being covered as much as other No. 1 teams in the country have been covered,” Staley says. “I am, however, looking at Aliyah Boston as the National Player of the Year because I know what she’s done, I know what she’s doing, and she’s done it at a consistent basis.”

The junior is averaging 16.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game for South Carolina, which has held onto the No. 1 ranking all year long.

Staley, referencing an earlier NETLIFE conversation with former Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, believes that national media is hardwired to cover UConn after the program’s 11-NCAA championship dynasty.

“ESPN, they are the decision-makers of women’s basketball … they choose who is going to be the person, the team,” the coach says. “UConn is their comfort zone, and their ratings are much better because that’s who they have pushed for decades, and rightfully so. I’m not taking anything away from UConn — they have been tremendous, they have been the team of the decade.”

Swoopes adds that she sees race playing a role in the media bias.

“Dawn Staley is the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Dawn Staley is a Black woman, Dawn Staley’s team is a Black team … to me, that’s not what ESPN wants to promote, that’s not what they want to talk about,” Swoopes says. “I feel because of that, Aliyah Boston, in my opinion, she is Player of the Year, but I think that’s why Aliyah Boston is not getting talked about, promoted as much.”

While she feels compelled to campaign for Boston, Staley hopes that women’s basketball can evolve past singular storytelling.

“I don’t want to be a one-person narrative when our game is comprised of so many great players,” Staley says.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s women’s basketball writers picked Boston as their consensus pick for Player of the Year.

Listen to the full conversation between Swoopes and Staley, as well as a conversation with South Carolina attorney Butch Bowers, on NETLIFE.

USC basketball star JuJu Watkins won't take the court this year, with the junior guard announcing Sunday that she'll miss the entire 2025/26 NCAA season while continuing to recover from injury.

"These last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest, and reflection," Watkins posted to social media on Sunday. "Following the advice of my doctors and trainers, I will sit out this season and fully focus on continuing to recover so I can come back to the game I love."

Watkins tore her right ACL in the second-round of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament, just days after earning her second straight All-American nod.

The reigning Player of the Year's 23.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game were instrumental in leading the Trojans to the 2024/25 Big Ten regular-season title.

Though ACL recovery timelines can vary, recent history has shown that taking a measured, methodical approach can make an athlete's return even more powerful — an outcome that Watkins is clearly banking on.

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While Watkins remains key to the longterm USC game plan, the Trojans' 2025/26 season hopes are still very much alive on the heels of back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.

That said, with the additional loss of USC alums Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall to the WNBA, there are big shoes to fill on the roster — though the Trojans did snag this year's No. 1 high school recruit Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson to boost their lineup this season.

"While we will certainly miss her impact on the court, [Watkins] continues to play a vital role in our program as a leader and teammate," said USC manager Lindsay Gottlieb. "The strength and maturity she has shown through this process is a reflection of who she is, and we know the Trojan Family will continue to rally behind her."

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury are headed to their first WNBA Finals since 2021, clinching their spot in the 2025 season finale after sweeping a two-game semifinals homestand against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx with Sunday's 86-81 Game 4 win.

The Mercury are now the first team in WNBA Playoffs history to battle back from multiple 14-point deficits in a single series, with Phoenix star forward Alyssa Thomas putting up a team-leading 23 points to complete Sunday's comeback win.

"No one has had expectations for us except ourselves," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts said following Game 4. "The pride and the togetherness for such a new group, it's pretty impressive."

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After ceding a 20-point lead in Game 2, the Lynx's championship prospects took an even bigger hit on Friday, as leading scorer Napheesa Collier exited Game 3 with a serious ankle injury that left her sidelined for Sunday's big Game 4.

"You just want it for the people around you," said Minnesota guard Kayla McBride, who posted a game-leading 31 points in Sunday's loss. "You want it for the people who grind with you every single day, good days, bad days, bus rides, locker room."

"In pro sports, it doesn't get any better than what we have in our locker room," McBride continued. "I would feel [this emotion] one hundred times over to be with the people that I've been with."

While Minnesota's season is officially over, No. 4 Phoenix will now await the winner of Tuesday's semifinal Game 5 between the No. 6 Indiana Fever and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces, with the best-of-seven 2025 WNBA Finals set to tip off on Friday.

The championship dreams of the injury-plagued Indiana Fever are still alive after the No. 6 seed held off the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces 90-83 in Sunday's Game 4, forcing a winner-take-all decider in the 2025 WNBA semifinals.

Following an 84-72 Game 3 loss that saw Indiana fall behind 2-1 in the best-of-five series last Friday, Fever center Aliyah Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell stepped up on Sunday, putting up a combined 49 of Indiana's 90 points.

"The desperation and the urgency that we play with when we're in those positions has been exactly what we need," Fever head coach Stephanie White said postgame.

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As for Las Vegas, the fired-up Aces expressed frustration after Sunday's upset loss, with officiating issues continuing to take center stage throughout the 2025 WNBA postseason.

"[Indiana] shot 34 free throws, and we shot 11," Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters, with game-leading scorer A'ja Wilson adding that Boston alone shot 13 free throws — more than Las Vegas's entire team.

"I did appreciate it was a little tighter call, but tighter on both ends would have been nice," continued Hammon.

How to watch Indiana vs. Las Vegas in Game 5 of the semifinals

The No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever will close out the 2025 WNBA semifinals with a high-stakes Game 5 clash in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The action tips off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN2.

Minnesota competed without their sideline leader in Sunday's 86-81 Game 4 semifinals loss, as the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury ousted the No. 1 Lynx while head coach Cheryl Reeve served a one-game suspension following her ejection from Friday's Game 3.

In the dying seconds of Friday's 84-76 loss, a collision caused Minnesota star Napheesa Collier to collapse with an ankle injury.

In reaction, Reeve ran onto the court as her staff worked to restrain her, earning the Lynx boss her second technical foul of the game for confronting the officials.

"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f—ing malpractice," Reeve said after the game.

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In a Saturday statement, the league said that Reeve's suspension stemmed from "aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, [and] failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection," as well as "inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference."

Officiating has been under fire throughout the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with coaches like Golden State Valkyries' boss Natalie Nakase and Las Vegas Aces leader Becky Hammon expressing concerns about the quality and consistency of postseason calls.

"If this is what the league wants, okay, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating," said Reeve.

With support from the National Basketball Referees Association, the three-person officiating crew from Friday's Game 3 in Minnesota also oversaw Sunday's Game 4 between the No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever in Indiana.