All Scores

NCAA Coach of the Year: Top 5 candidates at midseason

Kara Lawson has led Duke to a 15-1 record and a No. 16 ranking halfway through the season. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With teams now halfway through conference play, the 2023 college basketball landscape is starting to take shape. That means we have a better idea of which teams could make a run in March, which players have the best cases for the Player of the Year award and who the frontrunners are to take home Coach of the Year honors.

Here are Just Women’s Sports’ top five candidates for Coach of the Year at this point in the season.

Shauna Green, Illinois

If the Coach of the Year race ended today, Green would be the clear frontrunner. And unless something goes terribly wrong for her team in the next couple of months, I don’t see that changing. In her first season at the helm, Green has taken Illinois from just seven wins in 2021-22 to a 14-3 record so far in 2022-23, including an upset win over No. 12 Iowa on New Year’s Day. Illinois has also worked its way into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2000, settling in at No. 24 in week 10.

Green has done an excellent job of working in transfers like Makira Cook from Dayton and Genesis Bryant from NC State with players who were already on the team when she took over, such as Adalia McKenzie and Jada Peebles. Meanwhile, junior forward Kendall Bostic is thriving in her second season after transferring from Michigan State, averaging 10.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Green clearly knows how to get the best out of her team, and she’s a coach they want to play for. If Illinois’ turnaround wasn’t evidence enough, Cook and Brynn Shoup-Hill both transferred from Dayton when Green got the Illinois job in order to join her new team.

Kevin McGuff, Ohio State

This college basketball season has been defined by injuries, and Ohio State hasn’t escaped the unfortunate trend. Against South Florida, Madison Greene endured a season-ending knee injury for the second year in a row, and the Buckeyes have been playing without senior guard Jacy Sheldon since the fifth game of the season. She’s currently in a walking boot with a week-to-week return status. Despite what they are missing, McGuff has his team at No. 3 in the country with an undefeated record. South Carolina and LSU are the only other undefeated teams at this point in the season.

The Buckeyes have also won in a variety of ways, from a 84-67 blowout win over No. 16 Oregon to a 17-point come-from-behind win over Illinois on Sunday. I don’t anticipate Ohio State maintaining its undefeated record through a difficult Big Ten slate, but they have a good chance to win the conference and be a force in March. Until then, McGuff deserves serious props for what he’s done so far.

Kara Lawson, Duke

Duke started last season strong with an upset over Iowa that turned heads, but the season ended in uneventful fashion, with a 17-13 record and a 10th-place finish in the ACC. The Blue Devils had a lot of talent last season after Lawson signed eight transfers and two freshmen in 2021, but they couldn’t put it together consistently over the course of the year. This season, Duke is doing what the team anticipated when Lawson took the helm. The Blue Devils are 15-1 with a No. 16 ranking, and their lone loss came at the hands of No. 3 UConn before Azzi Fudd went down with an injury.

Lawson has made the best of the transfer market, finding players that fit her system and complement each other. Duke’s top three scorers — led by Celeste Taylor, who joined the team from Texas in 2021 — are all transfers.

img
Utah is having a historic season under coach Lynne Roberts. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports

Lynne Roberts, Utah

Utah finished last season with a 21-12 record and a late season-surge that included a second-place finish in the Pac-12 tournament and a first-round March Madness win over Arkansas. This season, the Utes have picked up where they left off, and Roberts has them reaching new heights. Utah is 14-1, with an impressive 124-78 win over then-No. 16 Oklahoma in November. The team also reached No. 8 in the AP Poll for the first time in program history.

Roberts secured Alissa Pili, one of the most impactful transfers in the country, prior to the season, and the former USC player is delivering with 19.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In her eighth year at the helm, Roberts has also guided one of the best offenses in the country. The Utes’ 87.3 points per game rank fourth in the nation and their 19.5 assists per game rank sixth.

Teri Moren, Indiana

After losing Ali Patberg, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Aleksa Gulbe to graduation, it was hard to imagine Indiana not having a drop-off from last season. Then, when Grace Berger was injured against Auburn in late November, things looked even less promising for the Hoosiers. Despite those obstacles, Moren has led Indiana to a top-10 ranking and a 15-1 record.

She added two key players in the offseason, including Israeli phenom Yarden Garzon and Oregon transfer Sydney Parrish, who is from Indiana. Against all odds, the Hoosiers have managed to maintain their excellence from last season, and somehow might be even better this year.

Honorable mentions

img
Dawn Staley's Gamecocks have held onto the No. 1 ranking since preseason. (G Fiume/Getty Images)

Dawn Staley, South Carolina

Staley’s team is too similar to last season for her to be seriously considered for the award, but she still deserves a mention. Maintaining excellence is a challenge, and having the country’s top team two years in a row isn’t just dumb luck. Staley is making it happen with the reigning national champions.

Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey, UConn

No team has struggled with injuries and adversity quite like the Huskies have this season. Yet, they’ve managed to stay at the level we are accustomed to seeing, with a No. 4 ranking and a 13-2 record. Auriemma and Dailey have split coaching duties, so unless there is a way for them to win the award together, the Coach of the Year award will likely go to another candidate.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

NWSL Week 10 Primed to Shake Up the Standings

17-year-old Kimmi Ascanio celebrates her third NWSL goal with her San Deigo teammates Perle Morroni, Kristen McNabb, and Delphine Cascarino.
The San Diego Wave are unbeaten in their last five NWSL games. (Howard Smith/Getty Images)

In a season packed with parity, the NWSL enters its 10th weekend of the 2025 season with just seven points separating No. 2 San Diego from No. 12 Houston on the table — meaning a single win or loss could dramatically shift the standings.

The slate is a bit lighter this weekend with No. 4 Portland and No. 8 Gotham's trip to the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup knockouts, where the Bats will face Liga MX side Tigres UANL tournament final shortly after Portland's third-place match against Club América on Saturday (Paramount+).

Their absence leaves room for other NWSL clubs to leapfrog the Thorns and Gotham on the league table, with only No. 1 Kansas City's position secure given the Current's four-point lead over the Wave.

What to watch in the 10th weekend of the 2025 NWSL season

No. 6 Seattle Reign vs. No. 5 Washington Spirit, 10:00 PM ET on Friday (Prime): The Reign hosts a Spirit side with a 4-0-0 road record on the season and a high-octane offense that's scoring nine goals in their last three matches. Meanwhile, Seattle's 2025 campaign has featured only eight total goals across their nine matches.

No. 14 Chicago Stars vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, 7:30 PM ET on Saturday (ION): While the league-leading Current is safe atop the NWSL table this weekend, their match is still full of question marks as Kansas City is without several key players, including MVP frontrunner Debinha, after a spat of injuries last weekend.

No. 2 San Diego Wave vs. No. 9 North Carolina Courage, 10:00 PM ET on Sunday (CBS Sports): The Wave are riding the league's best record (4-0-1) over the last five games, but the Courage is also on the rise, coming to Seattle on a 3-0-1 stretch and achingly close to a lift above the playoff line.

With San Diego's 17-year-old midfielder Kimmi Ascanio blasting three goals in the last four games and North Carolina attacker Jaedyn Shaw — the Wave's original teen scoring phenom — returning for the first time to face her former club, Sunday's closing NWSL match could be rife with youth firepower.

Fever, Liberty Ride Thursday Wins into Head-to-Head WNBA Weekend Clash

Fever star Caitlin Clark lays up a shot during Indiana's win over Atlanta.
Clark finished with 11 points and six assists despite shooting 0-for-5 from three. (Joe Boatman/Getty Images)

The Indiana Fever and New York Liberty will bring winning momentum into their first season clash on Saturday, with each claiming victories in Thursday night's WNBA action.

First, the Fever avenged their lone 2025 season loss, defeating the Dream 81-76 on Atlanta's new home court on Thursday after narrowly falling to the Georgia squad in Indianapolis two days earlier.

Forward Natasha Howard led Indiana with 26 points, with guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark posting 17 and 11 points, respectively.

After missing the Fever's first two games with a right ankle sprain, guard Sophie Cunningham came off the bench to put up nine points, six rebounds, and three assists in her season debut on Thursday.

Notably, Clark — no stranger to historic streaks — saw her three-point stretch end in Thursday's win, with the second-year Fever star going cold from beyond the arc for the first time in her WNBA career.

Clark's five three-point misses snapped a 140-game sharpshooting streak that dates back to a matchup against Purdue her sophomore season at the University of Iowa — the only NCAA game in which she failed to make a three.

New York, on the other hand, couldn't miss from deep on Thursday, with the Liberty breaking the WNBA regular-season record with 19 three-pointers in their 99-74 win over the Chicago Sky.

Eight Liberty players contributing to the new three-point mark, with guards Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke leading the charge with four threes each in respective 18- and 17-point performances.

The impressive sharpshooting landed the reigning WNBA champs in the regular-season history books, but New York's 19 threes still trail the overall league record of 23, drained by the Las Vegas Aces in a 2022 playoff game.

How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever this weekend

The Liberty will put their 2-0 record to the test in Indiana on Saturday, tipping off against the one-loss Fever at 1 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on CBS.

Arsenal, Barcelona Chase History in 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Final

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League trophy, medal, and game ball sit on the Estádio José Alvalade pitch in Portugal.
Arsenal and Barcelona will meet in Saturday’s 2024/25 Champions League final. (Florencia Tan Jun - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final kicks off on Saturday, as underdogs Arsenal and defending champs Barcelona each chase history in a head-to-head clash at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Spanish titans aren't just hunting their third European championship in a row — a victory keeps Barcelona's hopes of completing a second straight quadruple alive with their Copa de la Reina finale looming next month.

To do so, however, they'll have to outlast the only English team to ever lift the European trophy, a feat Arsenal accomplished back in 2007.

Making their first Champions League final in 18 years, this season's Gunners are scrappy, boasting an explosive offense that led the league in scoring behind joint-WSL Golden Boot winner Alessia Russo.

The WSL runners-up bounced back from three first-leg deficits against Häcken FC, Real Madrid, and OL Lyonnes en route to the championship match — leading Barcelona star midfielder Aitana Bonmatí to call their appearance "a surprise."

"They absolutely deserve it, because scoring four goals against [eight-time Champions League winners] Lyon in the second leg is not easy at all," the back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner told ESPN. "I congratulate them for that because I think it was a big surprise, but a well-deserved one."

On Saturday, the pair will square off for the first time since 2021, when Barcelona defeated Arsenal twice in Champions League group-stage play.

"It's going to be a tough game — it's a final," said Barcelona defender Caroline Graham Hansen. "You just have to be prepared to leave your heart and soul out there and see who the better team on the day will be."

How to watch the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final

Arsenal and Barcelona will battle for European glory at 12 PM ET on Saturday, with the Champions League grand finale streaming live on DAZN.

Injury Blast Hits Kansas City Current as Season Ends for Defender Alana Cook

Kansas City center back Alana Cook battles Orlando striker Barbra Banda for the ball during a 2025 NWSL match.
Cook tore her left knee's ACL, MCL, and meniscus in last Friday's NWSL match. (Dustin Markland/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL's Kansas City Current officially placed defender Alana Cook on the Season Ending Injury list on Thursday, after the center back tore her left ACL, MCL, and meniscus in last Friday's 1-0 win over Orlando.

Since joining the Current in a 2024 midseason trade from Seattle, the 28-year-old starter has anchored the backline of her new team to the tune of 10 shutouts in 19 matches.

The injury is also a setback to Cook's USWNT return, with the defender logging her 30th cap and first international minutes since October 2023 just last month.

"Alana has made a big impact for our club on and off the pitch in a short period of time, and our hearts absolutely break for her," said Kansas City head coach and Cook's former USWNT boss Vlatko Andonovski in a club statement.

"Throughout her career, Alana has proven to be determined, resilient, and disciplined with an optimistic spirit," he continued. "We are confident she will carry those same attributes into her recovery process. The team will stand by her every step of the way, and we eagerly await the day she is able to join us on the pitch again."

Kansas City attack also suffers injury losses

Cook's season-ending knock wasn't the only blow to the NWSL-leading Current, as attacking midfielder Debinha and striker Temwa Chawinga also exited Friday's pitch with injuries. With five goals each, both are currently in a four-way tie for second in the Golden Boot race.

Andonovski told the media on Wednesday that while 2024 MVP Chawinga is still undergoing evaluation, Debinha "is not probably going to be back until after the summer."

With both being considered 2025 MVP frontrunners, the losses may leave fans wondering how long Kansas City can maintain their spot atop the league.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.