Gabby Williams led France to a redemptive place on the podium, notching 17 points and eight rebounds. Endene Miyem and Sandrine Gruda added to France’s tally, contributing 16 and 14 points each.
The 2025 NWSL season begins with a 2024 Championship rematch in the March 7th Challenge Cup. (Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
The NWSL released its full 2025 schedule on Wednesday morning, locking in 190 league contests across all competitions.
The 2025 Challenge Cup will set the stage on Friday, March 7th with a 2024 NWSL Championship rematch between the title-winning Orlando Pride and runners-up Washington Spirit.
One week later, the official 2025 NWSL Kickoff weekend will see all 14 teams in action as the 182-game regular season gets underway. Each club will play a total of 26 regular-season matches, split equally between home and away contests, before the league's eight top teams will battle through seven playoff games in November.
A mid-summer break begins in late June with a CBA-mandated week-off. The pause extends one month through July to allow for international play. That's when certain national team players will compete for their countries in confederation tournaments while clubs will be free to schedule friendlies. No additional NWSL tournaments will occur during that window.
In one minor adjustment from the league's earlier calendar announcement, the 2025 regular season will be played over 26 weeks (rather than 25) to mitigate the need for midweek games.
The shift also accommodates for the return of Decision Day, which is making a comeback for the first time since 2023. In the popular format, all teams will compete simultaneously to close out the regular season on Sunday, November 2nd.
Angel City launched themselves into the playoffs on NWSL Decision Day 2023. (Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
Moves up season excitement
With playoff positioning often coming down to the wire, capping the regular season with a Decision Day can dramatically up the stakes and increase excitement for the impending playoffs.
In another move to capitalize on fandom enthusiasm, the NWSL has added a dedicated rivalry weekend to its 2025 calendar. From August 8th through 10th, old feuds like the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign's Cascadia Clash will share the spotlight with newer grudges like Angel City and San Diego's SoCal Classic.
NWSL Championship foes Orlando and Washington with meet again in March's 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup. (Fernando Leon/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
How to watch the 2025 NWSL season
Entering the second year of the league's blockbuster broadcast deal, 160 total games will air across Prime Video, ION, ESPN, and CBS platforms this season, with the remaining 30 matches streaming on NWSL+. International distribution is still in negotiations.
Starting the NWSL's 2025 action is the Challenge Cup between Orlando and Washington, which begins at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 7th, streaming live on Prime Video.
Two concurrent matches will kick off the 2025 regular season at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 14th: Houston will face Washington on NWSL+, while Orlando takes on the newly branded Chicago Stars FC on Prime Video.
Dee Lab
Jan 21, 2025
South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley Signs Blockbuster Contract Extension
Dawn Staley is now the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
South Carolina boss Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball history on Friday, when the three-time national champion inked a contract extension worth over $25 million to remain with the Gamecocks.
At an annual salary of $4 million — plus a $500,000 signing bonus and a yearly $250,000 escalator — the deal locks in Staley through the 2029/30 season.
A significant bump from her previous $3.2 million annual payday, the new contract sees Staley leapfrog over UConn legend Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey to top the league in compensation.
Calling her "a once-in-a-generation coach," athletic director Jeremiah Donati noted that Staley "has elevated the sport of women's basketball on the national level and here on campus, and I am excited that she will be representing our University for many years to come."
Since taking the helm in 2008, Staley has led South Carolina to 630 wins, 16 SEC titles, and 12 straight NCAA tournament appearances including five Final Fours and three national championships.
After taking South Carolina to an 128-4 record since her previous contract extension in 2021, this new agreement all but squashes any rumors about the coach's departure.
Despite a clause releasing Staley from an early departure penalties should she exit for a WNBA or NBA job, the legendary college leader has no intentions to leave Columbia.
"I will never leave here to go take another college job," Staley told reporters after the No. 2 Gamecocks' Sunday win over then-No. 13 Oklahoma. "[And] I don't have a passion for the next level. I don't. I would've been gone."
As the Hall of Famer continues setting the on-court NCAA standard in her 17th season with South Carolina, Staley's record-breaking contract both reflects the sport's overall rising stock and pushes for even more investment in the game.
Pledging to prove the impact of supporting both her and the game itself, Staley committed "to continuing to be an example of how an investment in women’s basketball is one that will pay off for everyone."
Dee Lab
Jan 21, 2025
Coco Gauff Suffers Quarterfinal Upset, Exits 2025 Australian Open
No. 3 Coco Gauff fell 7-5, 6-4 to No. 11 Paula Badosa in Tuesday's quarterfinal. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
World No. 3 Coco Gauff exited the 2025 Australian Open on Monday night, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Spain's No. 11 Paula Badosa in the Grand Slam's quarterfinal round.
Gauff's recent improvements seemed to fade in her first loss of the year, which saw the 2025 United Cup champ record 41 unforced errors, including 28 missed forehands and six double-faults.
As a result, Badosa advances to her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, a marked comeback after a 2023 injury nearly ended her career.
"I would never think that, a year after, I would be here," Badosa said post-match. "I've been through a lot."
Sabalenka's 25-set Australian Open win streak was snapped on Tuesday. (Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sabalenka looms after quarterfinal victory
Badosa moves on to face back-to-back defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, as the world No. 1 sets her sights on becoming the first three-peat Australian Open women's champ this century.
Sabalenka advanced past No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an early Tuesday morning quarterfinal to reach her 10th major semifinal in her last 11 Grand Slams.
The 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory didn't come easily, though, as Pavlyuchenkova managed to snap the 26-year-old's 25-set Australian Open winning streak which dates back to her 2023 final win.
"I’m really glad that at some point I was able to put myself back together," said Sabalenka about the tough match. "I was able to keep fighting, keep trying, and I was able to turn around this match. It was a really difficult one."
No. 19 Madison Keys has emphatically ousted two Top-10 contenders at the 2025 Australian Open. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
US players to close out Australian Open quarterfinals
The Melbourne Slam's remaining two quarterfinals each place a US tennis star in the spotlight on Tuesday.
Fresh off ousting No. 10 Danielle Collins and No. 6 Elena Rybakina in the third and fourth rounds, No. 19 Madison Keys will square off against No. 28 Elina Svitolina for a shot at the semis. This will be Keys's first match against the Ukrainian since taking a two-set victory over Svitolina in Adelaide in January 2022.
The nightcap pits three-set specialist No. 8 Emma Navarro against perennial contender No. 2 Iga Świątek, marking the second-ever meeting — and first since 2018 — between the 23-year-olds.
The Polish phenom has yet to drop a set all tournament, and has seemed near-unbeatable after losing just four games across her last three matches. That said, Navarro has proved she just won't quit, leading the WTA in three-set contests over the last year — and gritting out a 24-9 record in the same span. Consequently, the longer Tuesday's match runs, the more it will likely favor the US star.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open this week
No. 19 Madison Keys will clash with No. 28 Elina Svitolina starting at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with No. 8 Emma Navarro's bout against No. 2 Iga Świątek beginning at 9 PM ET.
Both Tuesday quarterfinals will be broadcast live across ESPN’s platforms.
Dee Lab
Jan 21, 2025
Ohio State Falls as NCAA Basketball’s Unbeaten List Shrinks
Penn State ended Ohio State's unbeaten streak on Sunday. (Penn State Athletics)
This weekend's NCAA basketball action saw unranked Penn State earn their first ranked win in almost four years against Big Ten foe Ohio State on Sunday, ending the then-No. 9 OSU's unbeaten run.
Though Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon and guard Chance Gray led the back-and-forth battle with 19 and 18 points, respectively, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Nittany Lions, who snapped a seven-game losing streak with the 62-59 victory.
The Buckeye loss also narrows the DI undefeated team list down to two. Only No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 LSU remain unbeaten this season.
Star guard Madison Booker led No. 7 Texas past No. 8 Maryland in Monday's NCAA basketball lineup. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
Big Ten teams tackle Top 25 clashes
Monday's inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic featured two Big Ten/Big 12 matchups, opening with top-ranked UCLA welcoming No. 25 Baylor back to the AP Poll with a 72-57 defeat.
The Bruins took off to 17-2 lead in the first quarter. The Bears then failed to get past star UCLA center Lauren Betts, who put up a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds, and a program-record nine blocks.
The weekend's top-ranked match closed out the Classic, with No. 7 Texas star Madison Booker posting 28 points to lead the Longhorns to a dominant 89-51 win over No. 8 Maryland.
While the Terrapins’ 26 turnovers and silence from beyond the arc didn’t help the Big Ten team's case, injuries to top scorers accounted for at least some of Maryland's downfall. The Terps lost junior Bri McDaniel to a season-ending ACL tear last week, before senior Shyanne Sellers exited Monday's second quarter with a knee injury of her own.
How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball games this week
In a battle for redemption after tough weekend losses, Big Ten foes No. 8 Maryland and No. 12 Ohio State will face off at 6 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on BTN.
Though the week's marquee matchup belongs to two teams atop the SEC. Undefeated LSU will take on defending NCAA champions No. 2 South Carolina at 8 PM ET on Thursday, live on ESPN.
AP Top 25 NCAA Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 12
1. UCLA 2. South Carolina 3. Notre Dame 4. USC 5. LSU 6. UConn 7. Texas 8. Maryland 9. TCU 10. Kansas State 11. Kentucky 12. Ohio State 13. North Carolina 14. Duke 15. Oklahoma 16. West Virginia 17. Tennessee 18. Georgia Tech 19. Alabama 20. NC State 21. Michigan State 22. California 23. Minnesota 24. Michigan 25. Baylor
