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Brenda Frese: Maryland still adjusting to new roster, as DePaul loss shows

(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Maryland women’s basketball is still dealing with last season’s losses.

The No. 14-ranked Terrapins lost 76-67 to DePaul on Friday, as they couldn’t find a solution for Aneesah Morrow. Morrow had a game-high 22 points alongside 10 rebounds, one of three Blue Demons players to record a double-double.

Keke Rimmer had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Jorie Allen added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Darrione Rogers neared a double-double, with 12 points and nine assists.

From start to finish, Maryland struggled to keep up as DePaul shot 11-of-30 from 3-point range and grabbed 52 rebounds.

“It was a tough first half for us,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said postgame. “Very cold shooting, a lot of quick shots, way too many threes for us. I credit DePaul. They’re a great team. I thought they punched first and never looked back. They were the aggressive team the entire time in the game.

“I thought we came to life in the third quarter and made some plays, but they just continued to respond. . . . They didn’t even flinch when we were able to cut that lead.”

Maryland’s Faith Masonius attempted to help her team to the comeback in the fourth quarter, finishing with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The score was 47-45 in the final period after the Terrapins held the team to 25 percent shooting in the third, and they took the lead with a little over seven minutes to go in the fourth.

But it wasn’t enough.

“The game of basketball really is a game of runs,” Masonius said. “When we had the opportunity to get stops and turn them into scores, it’s really important for us to escalate that and keep our foot on the gas. The first half we just didn’t play our game, and at that point, it was a little too late.”

In the first half, the team shot just 25.7 percent. They finished shooting 31.6 percent. That, combined with the fact that DePaul was able to solve the Maryland defense, led to the team’s second loss of the season.

“They have a tremendous inside and outside game,” Frese said of DePaul’s offense. “With Morrow being so aggressive and such a dynamic scorer in so many ways, and their ability to take 30 threes and shoot 37 percent from the three-point line. Just the ability with their offensive identity to spread you out on offense.”

College rivals Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso drafted to the Chicago Sky

Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso are now teammates. (Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

The Chicago Sky made a splash in Monday night’s WNBA draft, taking Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in the first round. 

South Carolina’s Cardoso, who was the 2024 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, went third to the Sky. The day before, the team had swapped picks with the Minnesota Lynx to land the No. 7 pick as well, which they used on Reese, the 2023 Final Four MOP.

Now, the two will team up in Chicago after battling each other in both college and high school

"She’s a great player, and I’m a great player. Nobody's going to get no rebounds on us," Cardoso joked afterwards, while Reese expressed excitement about playing under new Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

"Being able to be a Black woman and as a head coach, and everything she's done at the NBA level, I just knew everything they were bringing to the table," Reese said of the Sky. "Player development is something that I was looking for and they looked for in me. I'm super excited for this move."

The duo will inevitably be a great one for Chicago – and a scary one for opponents. Former NBA star and Chicago Sky co-owner even wrote on social media after, welcoming the duo to Chicago.

“The foundation is set,” he wrote.

Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Indiana Fever — a ‘perfect fit’

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 15: Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall pick by the Indiana Fever during the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark is officially a member of the Indiana Fever, with the Iowa superstar going No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft on Monday night. 

Clark has been the consensus top pick since declaring for the draft on February 29, a few weeks before the onset of Women's March Madness. But for her, the call up was still full of emotions. 

"When you're just sitting at a table waiting for your name to be called, that really allows the emotions to feed you," Clark said. "You're with your family — obviously, playing a basketball game, I'm not out there with my family — so sharing that moment with them and enjoying it, and people that have really had my back and believed in me more than anyone, is super special."

Clark wasn't the only one pausing to take in the moment. As fans and commentators noted during the broadcast, it took a little more time than usual for Indiana to announce their pick — Fever GM Lin Dunn later told the media that she spent 15 to 20 seconds ensuring Clark's card adhered perfectly to league regulations before handing it over. She didn't want anything to get in between her team and a player she calls a "perfect fit."

"She's from the Big Ten, the Midwest — is there any place better for her than Indianapolis, Indiana?" Dunn said. "I think this is the beginning of us getting back on track to win another championship."

Clark echoed the sentiment.

"That's definitely our goal, is to get back to championship habits," Clark said. "For myself, I can't imagine a more perfect fit, a better place for me to start my professional career, an organization that really just believes in women's basketball and wants to do everything the right way. So I couldn't be more excited to get there."

She’s also particularly excited about linking up with former collegiate rival Aliyah Boston.

"Going to an organization that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players in the entire world, my point guard eyes just light up at that," Clark said of the former South Carolina star. "She's going to make my life easy."

Clark's four-year contract with the Indiana Fever has been reported at $338,000. Kicking off at the league's guaranteed first-year base salary of $76,535, it jumps to $97,582 by 2027.

In the hour following Indiana's official pick, sporting goods brand Fanatics sold out of the superstar player's No. 22 Fever jersey in nearly every available size. Each jersey retails for $99.99.

Caitlin Clark dunks on Michael Che in surprise SNL appearance

(Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, which quickly went viral.

The Iowa star showed up on the show’s Weekend Update segment to playfully call out Michael Che’s history of making jabs at women’s sports.

It started when Che joked that Iowa should replace Clark’s retired No. 22 “with an apron.” 

When Clark entered, Che said that he was a fan. But Clark wasn’t convinced – especially not when co-host Colin Jost brought the receipts of Che’s jabs.

“Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said, before making him read some jokes of her own in retaliation. Clark finished her segment by shouting out the WNBA greats that came before her. She then got in one final dig – bringing Che a signed apron as a souvenir. 

When Che promised to give it to his girlfriend, Clark delivered her last playful dig of the night.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, Michael,” she said.

Afterward, SNL castmember Bowen Yang told People that the 22-year-old and teammates Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and Jada Gyamfi – who joined her at Studio 8H – “were so cool.”

“She's so charming and witty,” Yang said. “They were just the most stunning, noble people.

“Athletes just have this air about them. They know they're amazing. I mean, these are people who have numeric attachments and values to their performance. That's something that comedians never have.”

Portland Thorns, in uncharted territory, start NWSL season winless

Portland has started the season winless through four games for the first time. (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

The Portland Thorns continue to struggle to start the NWSL season, falling 2-0 to the North Carolina Courage over the weekend to remain winless through their first four games. 

It’s uncharted territory for Portland, who has never started the NWSL regular season without a win in four games before.

Following the loss, defender Becky Sauerbrunn voiced her frustrations with the start. 

“It’s hard to find a lot of encouraging things, but what I find encouraging is that people are frustrated,” she said. “People are pissed off that we’re not doing well. We care, and I think that’s really important.” 

She also added that while the team will reflect individually, “there’s going to be no finger pointing.”

“We’re going to look at ourselves and figure out what we should have done, or I should have done better,” she said. “There is a list of things that I could have done better, and I’m going to make sure I know every single thing and watch this game back.”

The Thorns currently sit at the bottom of the league table with just one point, having allowed 10 goals – tied for the worst in the league. They’ve yet to lead in a match. And as questions grow, attention turns to head coach Mike Norris. 

Norris is in his second year as head coach of the club after leading the team to a second-place finish in the regular season last year. When asked about the possibility of pressure growing after the unprecedented start, Norris said that the pressure has been there “from day one.”

“I cannot be driven by my day-to-day and the longer vision of the pressure of the job,” he said. “We’ve got a belief in how we want to play, how we operate. We’ve got to stick with the process of that. While we do it, we have to review and see what is working, what’s not working.

“I’ll be showing up for the team and being there for what they need from me as we approach getting back together as a group next week.”

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