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Sue Phillips, Morgan Cheli bring varsity connection to U17 national team

Team USA’s Morgan Cheli is one of 12 players who will take the court for the U17 national team Saturday in Debrecen, Hungary. (Courtesy of USA Basketball)

Coach Sue Phillips first remembers meeting Morgan Cheli at a USA Basketball skills academy when the guard was only in elementary school.

She’s also had her in math class and coached her at Archbishop Mitty High School in California.

This past season, the sophomore Cheli led the Monarchs in all categories during a powerful 30-2 season. Now, just over a month after the end of the school year, Phillips and Cheli will pick up right where they left off, but this time for the USA Basketball U17 Women’s National Team, which begins play at the FIBA U17 World Cup on Saturday in Debrecen, Hungary.

“It was a great year,” Cheli said. “You know, I wish we would’ve ended it a little stronger, but that’s our call to get back to where we were. I’m looking forward to next season.”

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Team USA coach Sue Phillips has amassed more than 760 wins at Archbishop Mitty High School and has sent 50 players to the next level. (Courtesy of USA Basketball)

Cheli and eleven others among the top players from the classes of 2023 and 2024 will attempt to bring home the gold medal. For Phillips, it’s the fifth coaching assignment with USA Basketball. Last summer, she guided the U16 national team to an undefeated record and a gold medal in Mexico.

Returning from that U16 national team are 2023’s Madison Booker, Breya Cunningham, Jadyn Donovan, Juju Watkins and Jada Williams, as well as 2024’s Jaloni Cambridge. The team also boasts names such as Hannah Hidalgo and Mikaylah Williams, the unanimous No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 who recently committed to LSU. Sunaja Agara, MacKenly Randolph and Kennedy Umeh round out the roster.

“It’s an incredibly talented group this year,” Phillips said. “A versatile combination of young women who can score at all three levels. They can wreak havoc defensively as well. It’s a really fun group to coach, and I think we’ll play an exciting brand of basketball.”

Though Phillips has garnered much success with Team USA, she carries nearly 30 years of experience coaching and teaching math at Archbishop Mitty. She herself is an alumna of the school and basketball program.

“[Teaching math is] what pays the mortgage, let’s be clear!” Phillips said with a laugh.

It’s also greatly impacted her coaching style.

“Empathy and teaching are such integral parts of your interactions,” Phillips said. “Watching film and starting with mistakes is like me handing back your quiz in our math class. You missed Nos. 7 and 15. We have the opportunity to walk through this, so that when we have our test — or playing on the world stage — we have the chance to remedy that error.”

Having the ability to draw parallels between teaching and coaching allows Phillips to diffuse difficult situations. While it may be embarrassing or disheartening to make a mistake, Phillips finds that approaching it with a growth mindset can make all the difference.

“The only way you are gonna get better is if we address those setbacks, those oversights, whatever you want to call them,” Phillips said. “It’s a great way to approach learning, especially during the lowlights. During the highlights, everyone’s having fun with it. But we shouldn’t shy away from opportunities to learn.”

At Archbishop Mitty, she has amassed more than 760 wins and sent 50 players to the next level. This past season, Phillips, Cheli and the rest of the Monarchs team won four championships and finished as state runners-up to champion Sierra Canyon, where Watkins and Randolph attend high school.

Phillips also runs her own non-profit, the San Jose Cagers, a girls AAU club program in the South Bay. It began in 2007 when a former student, Danielle Robinson (now of the Indiana Fever), and her mother spoke to Phillips about the lack of an AAU team in the area. The Cagers have teams for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade teams, as well as three high school teams.

“It’s another way to provide a program that is intended for skill development and a platform for college recruitment,” Phillips said. “It’s about growing the game at the youngest of levels.”

It was in seventh grade when Cheli played for the Cagers that she first started to connect with Phillips.

“I got to know her through Cagers,” Cheli said. “We started building our relationship then. I got to learn more about Mitty and her program. One of the deciding factors was that I would get to play for her. She would help develop me to get me to where I wanted to go.”

With the choice to attend Archbishop Mitty, Cheli paved her own path.

“Cheli’s older siblings attended another local private school in the area,” Phillips said. “But Morgan played club for us, and she and her folks really connected with my staff and I. And we had a player at Mitty, Haley Jones, who Morgan would watch. I think when you watch a player like that thrive and flourish, you say, ‘Geez, I would love to be in that kind of situation.’”

At 6-foot-1, Cheli is versatile. She’s an elite shooter and has the ability to play everything between point guard and power forward depending on what’s needed of her. She has the ability to fill several roles while on the court in Hungary.

But in order to uphold the integrity of the tryout process, Phillips did not speak on Cheli to anybody on the selection committee.

It was important to Phillips that Cheli was treated like everybody else. She was an applicant; not necessarily a name thrown around at the highest level until this spring. However, once she received her tryout invitation, she stepped up. At one point during camp, Cheli led the group in assists and finished with double-digit rebounds.

“It was nice to have that familiar face there as a comfort that going in, I knew somebody,” Cheli said.

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Team USA's Morgan Cheli was in seventh grade when she first played for coach Sue Phillips' San Jose Cagers AAU team. (Courtesy of USA Basketball)

“We kept our distance.” Phillips said. “All of a sudden, we moved to the finalist stage, and I realized she had a real shot. I have no say on the selection process. She earned it. She’s put the time in. She’s continued to make personal sacrifices to make basketball a priority, and over the course of two years, she’s emerged as one of the top players in her class.”

Just as she does on the Archbishop Mitty roster during the school year, Cheli will add to a team packed with talent when Team USA takes the court in Hungary.

“I’m so fortunate to have made the team,” Cheli said, “and it’s really incredible to have my high school coach as my coach here as well. It’s pretty special.”

Expectations are high for Team USA, which opens play against Mali, but Phillips believes in the process and path to reach gold.

“On paper, we are arguably one of the contenders to win gold,” Phillips said. “To be clear, until we take the floor to compete, it still remains to be seen. We are certainly striving to make our mark at the World Cup, but we have to demonstrate our abilities to be the best team on the floor for a particular day.”

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also writes about college basketball for Blue Ribbon Sports and covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

JWS to Host 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend Event Featuring Captain Napheesa Collier

Graphic for Just Women's Sports event with Lisa Leslie at 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend.
The JWS WNBA All-Star Weekend activation tips off on July 19th. (JWS)

Just Women’s Sports is heading to WNBA All-Star Weekend with its most ambitious event presence yet.

JWS will tip off a multi-faceted WNBA All-Star activation in partnership with Famous Footwear on Saturday July 19th from 2 PM to 6 PM, located at 110 South Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis.

JWS’ partnership with Famous Footwear includes a multi-part activation designed to merge back-to-school excitement with All-Star energy.

Graphic for JWS podcast Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.
JWS is bringing a live taping of "Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie" to WNBA All-Star Weekend. (JWS)

"Between the Lines" live taping headlines WNBA All-Star event

The activation will also feature a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

The exclusive taping brings WNBA stars Napheesa Collier, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull to the stage. Subsequently, these basketball icons will highlight the WNBA’s evolution and cultural resonance, while JWS captures the best moments across its social platforms.

“WNBA All-Star has become the crown jewel of the women’s sports calendar. We’re thrilled to be showing up in a major way across the entire weekend,” said Just Women’s Sports CEO Haley Rosen.

“This is a chance to celebrate and accelerate the strides the W has made in recent years as it’s cemented itself in the cultural landscape.”

Graphic image of the JWS x Famous Footwear WNBA All-Star Weekend tunnel walk.

Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel lands in Indianapolis

The star-studded activation features player interviews, exclusive giveaways, fan contests, and more. It is also free and open to all WNBA fans. Visitors will be greeted by a Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel — and the first 50 fans will be given a gift-card to Famous Footwear for their back-to-school needs.

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and her son recently visited a Famous Footwear store to shop sneakers and talk all things style, school, and sport. The behind-the-scenes content will roll out as part of a broader back-to-school campaign later this month.

“As big fans of women’s sports ourselves, and knowing how much it means to our customers, we are thrilled to partner with JWS for All-Star Weekend,” said Holly Campbell, senior vice president of marketing at Famous Footwear.

“This activation provides a unique opportunity for us to engage with other sports fans directly fostering connections and creating fun memories during such an exciting time for the league.”

Marta Weighs 2027 World Cup as Brazil Hunts 2025 Copa América Title

Legendary Brazil captain Marta runs across the pitch during a 2025 match.
Marta unretired to join Brazil at the 2025 Copa América tournament. (Paulo Dias/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Though international retirement did not stick for Brazil legend Marta, with the 39-year-old currently captaining her world No. 4 national team at the 2025 Copa América tournament, her World Cup future remains in question.

Brazil will be hosting the 2027 event — the first ever held in South America — with the record-breaking attacker turning 41 years old a few months before the World Cup's June 24th kickoff.

"I don't know whether I'll still be playing in 2027 or whether I'll be fit," she told Brazilian outlet Globo on Sunday.

"I still have a very strong desire to be a mother. So, I might wake up one day and decide to call my doctor to see if it's still possible. If it is, then bye, I have to go."

Should she decide to compete, Marta will join fellow Brazilian icon Formiga in logging seven total World Cups — the most of any athlete, man or woman, in soccer history.

In the meantime, the country's all-time leading goalscorer is currently working to help claim Brazil's ninth overall Copa América trophy.

Though early in the 2025 tournament, the Seleção is already on their way to a fifth straight title, opening their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of No. 48 Venezuela on Sunday.

"Brazil is the favorite, and we know it," said Marta. "We know our responsibility to bring home the title." 

How to watch Marta in the 2025 Copa América tournament

In their second of four group-stage matches, No. 4 Brazil will play No. 105 Bolivia at 5 PM ET on Wednesday.

The match will air live on FS1.

WNBA Expansion Team Portland Reignites Original “Fire” Name

A graphic of the revived Portland Fire team name.
The 2026 WNBA expansion team is leaning into its roots by reviving the original team name, the Portland Fire. (Portland Fire)

Portland's original WNBA team name is back, with the 2026 expansion side announcing the return of the the Portland Fire moniker on Tuesday — the name held by the city's first WNBA squad from 2000 to 2002.

With details including a "Rose on Fire" emblem— a nod to Portland's "Rose City" nickname — the city-specific nods in the new logo seek to capture Portland's identity.

"[It's] an important heritage," team interim president Clare Hamill told The Athletic this week. "The opportunity to bring the Portland Fire back, reborn, was 100 percent — creatively and for the brand and for fans — the way to go."

While the team is still searching for its head coach and general manager, excitement is growing, with fans anteing up to the tune of over 10,000 season-ticket deposits since the WNBA awarded the franchise last fall.

"Portland has long stood at the forefront of women's sports, and with nearly 11,000 season ticket deposits to-date, this community has made it clear they're ready to embrace the return of women's professional basketball," said Lisa Bhathal Merage, a co-founder of RAJ Sports — the ownership group of both the WNBA team and the NWSL's Thorns. "We're proud to reignite the Portland Fire."

In addition to the Portland Fire, the Toronto Tempo will hit WNBA courts next season, with three more expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia set to tip off in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.

2025 Euro Quarterfinals Take the Pitch

Italy's Elisabetta Oliviero celebrates a goal with her teammates during a 2025 Euro match.
The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off with Italy facing Norway on Wednesday. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off on Wednesday, with the eight remaining contenders sitting just three wins away from becoming champions of Europe.

While every win-or-go-home game promises excitement, a few of this week's matchups hold extra intrigue:

  • No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): After winning Group A last week, a wobbly yet talented Norway side will kick off the 2025 Euro quarterfinals against second-place Group B team Italy — a squad with a proven ability to hit a counterpunch should they go down early.
  • No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England, Thursday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Sweden looked utterly dominant in their 4-1 dismantling of Germany to win Group C on Saturday, and their reward is a date with the reigning champions, who bounced back from an early loss to France.
  • No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland, Friday at 3 PM ET (FOX): The 2023 World Cup champs have looked like the favorites to win it all by cruising through Group B, while a stoppage-time goal last Thursday sent the tournament hosts to their first-ever Euro quarterfinal.
  • No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany, Saturday at 3 PM ET (FOX): France emerged unscathed from the notorious "Group of Death," earning the Group D winners an advantage of momentum over a German side reeling from their 4-1 group-stage loss to Sweden.

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