Indiana women’s basketball just keeps getting better.

Since Teri Moren took over as coach in 2014, the Hoosiers have been on an upward trajectory. They’ve made back-to-back Sweet Sixteens. And despite losing key players to graduation, this year’s squad is Moren’s best yet.

Thursday’s 78-65 victory over No. 2 Ohio State put No. 6 Indiana atop the Big Ten with an 18-1 record and marked the program’s fourth win over a top-10 team this season. It also begged the question: Just how good is this IU squad?

Good enough for a No. 1 seed? Good enough for a Final Four?

Yes and yes.

Our fourth top-ten win of the season!

Highlights from our home victory against Ohio State. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/swYahQN3qe

— Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) January 27, 2023

The Hoosiers have plenty of challenges left in the Big Ten. Caitlin Clark and No. 10 Iowa – who beat them three times last season – are looming, with clashes set for Feb. 9 and the season finale on Feb. 26.

But if Indiana continues to play like it did against Ohio State, and against No. 13 Michigan days prior, it’s hard to imagine anyone else sitting atop the Big Ten when the season is over.

Indiana lost three key players from last season: Ali Patberg, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Aleksa Gulbe. So the immediate success of this year’s squad was somewhat surprising. But a closer look at the Hoosier personnel brings it all into focus. The makeup of this team is that of a title contender.

Whether or not Indiana can reach its potential in March remains to be seen. But right now, it’s easy to envision a path to the Final Four.

Success, for the Hoosiers, starts with Mackenzie Holmes.

The senior was a force last season, but she was hampered by injury as Indiana headed into the tournament. This year, she’s healthy and virtually unstoppable in the paint. Holmes is averaging 22.1 points per game (seventh in the country) and 8.1 rebounds per game, and she is shooting 68.2% from the field (third in the country).

She’s the centerpiece on which Indiana’s offense relies, and she opens the floor for the rest of her squad.

Hoosiers… KEEP BRINGING THE HEAT🔥🔥🔥!!!⚪️🔴 https://t.co/3BJ6Rz28BO

— Mackenzie Holmes (@kenzieholmes_) January 27, 2023

After Holmes, the Hoosiers start three guards who average around 12 points per game. Yarden Garzon, Sydney Parrish and Grace Berger make defending Indiana difficult because they are all scoring threats.

The trio is also versatile with the ball. Berger has perfected the mid-range jumper, but she can also go all the way to the hoop and is reliable from 3-point range (44.4%). Garzon is an exceptional long-range shooter at 49.5%, and transfer Parrish has developed from just a shooter at Oregon to a player who can attack and create off movement.

Meanwhile, fifth starter Chloe Moore-McNeil has developed into a skilled passer and floor general, leading Indiana with 5.3 assists per game.

The Hoosiers are likely to pick up a couple more losses before the season is out. The Big Ten is too good for any team to get through with just one loss. But that schedule will serve them well in March.

In 2021, the Hoosiers advanced to the Elite Eight. In 2022, it was the Sweet Sixteen.

As for 2023? It could be Indiana’s year.

Incoming Matildas boss Joe Montemurro revealed a new setback in the return of Australia captain Sam Kerr from injury on Monday, disclosing that the Chelsea striker has recently undergone an additional surgery unrelated to her January 2024 ACL tear.

"I think there were some complications," Montemurro told Australia's Channel 10 about the 31-year-old attacker's status this week. "There was a subsequent intervention, but I do believe she is now back running."

"It was something completely different [to the ACL injury]. I think the knee is fine," Montemurro continued.

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Montemurro, who took the reins of the Matildas this week following a year-long stint leading European club titan OL Lyonnes, did not detail a specific timeline for Kerr's return.

However, the Australia captain is likely to miss the world No. 16 team's upcoming three summer friendlies against No. 38 Slovenia and No. 57 Panama.

That said, though Montemurro has yet to directly connect with Kerr, the Australia boss did state that "there's nothing to worry about, she's on track."

"By all reports, she's focused on getting back and she's focused on being back at her best, knowing that there's an exciting tournament coming up," the new Matildas manager said, referencing the 2026 Asian Cup.

"So with that attitude, I expect to see a fantastic Sam Kerr."

This week's 2025 French Open quarterfinals set up the clay-court Grand Slam's semifinals, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka taking on three-time defending champ No. 5 Iga Świątek while No. 2 Coco Gauff faces wild card No. 361 Loïs Boisson on Thursday.

In Wednesday morning's highly anticipated all-American showdown, Gauff survived a tight 6-7(6) 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal battle with fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys to punch her semifinals ticket.

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Shortly thereafter, Boisson's historic Cinderella run continued as the 22-year-old French up-and-comer took down heavy favorite No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets — after pulling off a huge Round of 16 upset of US star No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Monday.

Boisson — the youngest French semifinalist at any Grand Slam in 26 years and the first woman to make the penultimate round in her major tournament debut since 1990 — will leap to at least No. 68 in the next WTA rankings thanks to her Roland-Garros performance.

"I don't think it's a miracle," said Boisson of her unexpected Grand Slam debut. "It's just the result of hard work. Nothing else."

On the other side of the 2025 French Open bracket, both Sabalenka and Świątek cruised through their Tuesday quarterfinal matches to reach Thursday's semis, but their toughest match lies ahead.

Despite beating Sabalenka in five out of six previous meetings on clay, Świątek hasn't reached a major tournament final since her 2024 Roland-Garros win.

"I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," said Sabalenka about her upcoming date with Świątek.

How to watch the 2025 French Open semifinals

Sabalenka and Świątek will kick off the 2025 French Open semifinals at 9 AM ET on Thursday, with Gauff and Boisson taking the court shortly after the first semi concludes.

Both matches will are live on TNT.

The puck has officially dropped on the PWHL expansion process, with existing teams releasing protected players lists as incoming 2025/26 franchises Seattle and Vancouver begin to build rosters.

The teams' exclusive signing window opened Wednesday morning and runs through Sunday, with the 2025 Expansion Draft set for Monday evening.

Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each from the league's unprotected and free agency pool this week.

Regardless of how many athletes the franchises choose to sign, the expansion process requires that the new teams grow their rosters to 12 total players by the end of Monday's draft, before completing their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the June 24th PWHL entry draft.

The six founding PWHL clubs could only list three protected players for this week's signing window and next week's expansion draft, forcing some difficult roster decisions.

The Boston Fleet did not opt to add captain Hilary Knight to the protected players list — despite the 35-year-old leading the league in scoring this season — with New York's Alex Carpenter and Toronto's Sarah Nurse also headlining the unprotected list.

With growth front-of-mind, the PWHL Players Association also announced that its members voted late last week to publicly disclose their salaries — a move expected to aid negotiations during this week's signing window.

"This will be a tool for players as they consider opportunities across the league," PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood told The Athletic.

The Lone Star State is now ruling the 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS), with the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders taking the NCAA softball field for the national tournament's best-of-three championship series for the first time on Wednesday night.

No. 6-seed Texas reached the final round with a 2-0 semifinal win over SEC foe No. 7 Tennessee on Monday, while No. 12 Texas Tech denied defending champion Oklahoma a chance to extend their historic record, ending the No. 2 seed's hunt for a fifth straight NCAA title with a dramatic 3-2 semifinal ousting.

Pitching will take center stage throughout the championship series, as the regional rivals each boast a stellar ace in the circle in Texas Tech transfer junior and this season's National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady and Texas star sophomore Teagan Kavan.

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Texas packs experience against Cinderella Texas Tech

While both programs are searching for their first-ever national championship, the more experienced Longhorns have the edge entering this week's competition.

This year marks Texas's eighth overall trip to the WCWS and the Longhorns' third championship series appearance in the last four years, having fallen to Oklahoma in both 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech is still blazing trails through brand-new territory, adding a WCWS finals debut to an already-historic 2025 run that included the Red Raiders' first Super Regional appearance and win, and first-ever WCWS berth.

The Longhorns also own this season's head-to-head record over the Red Raiders, snagging two wins over Texas Tech in February.

However, while Kavan threw both those games, including an 11-0 run-rule victory, Canady only featured in one — a narrow 2-1 extra-inning Texas Tech loss in which the deciding run crossed on a throwing error.

Though the Red Raiders are technically the underdogs of this week's championship series, the likely pitchers' duel between Canady and Kavan means that the 2025 WCWS title is anyone's for the taking.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship series

The best-of-three 2025 WCWS championship series between Texas and Texas Tech starts on Wednesday, with Game 2 set for Thursday and, if necessary, a winner-take-all final tilt on deck for Friday.

All of the 2025 WCWS championship series clashes will begin at 8 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.