The North Carolina Courage moved on to their first NWSL Challenge Cup final after defeating the Kansas City Current 2-1 on Wednesday. They will play the Washington Spirit, who advanced in a penalty shootout following a controversial end to their match against OL Reign.

The Courage struck first against the current on a penalty kick by Debinha in the 19th minute. Diana Ordoñez added to the lead with 10 minutes to go in the half, making it 2-0 for the away team.

It was Ordoñez’s first NWSL goal in her first professional start after being drafted in the first round of the 2022 draft out of Virginia. She was assisted by Kerolin, who signed with the club prior to the season after spending two seasons with Madrid.

“It’s awesome, I was very, very excited,” Ordoñez said. “From what I’ve been starting to learn about [Kerolin’s] game…I feel like I never know whether she’s going to cross or going to shoot. But my thought process is always like ‘I need to be on the other end of this in case it does come across the goal,’ and it worked out. Came right to me.”

KEROLIN ➡️ ORDONEZ@kerolinnicolii weaving her way through the @thekccurrent defense 👀@TheNCCourage | #CourageUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/YWgrEikJEI

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 5, 2022

The Current made a charge in the second half, with forward Kristen Hamilton adding one for the home team with 10 minutes remaining in the match. But they could not complete the comeback.

“This one hurts for sure,” Current captain Desiree Scott said. “I think when you dig that big of a hole it’s hard to come out of it. But give full credit to our squad for that do-or-die attitude.”

But Hamilton added that she thought that the game would go a long way in helping the Current, who made the Challenge Cup knockout stages in just their second season as a club. While there is a mix of youth and veteran presence on the team, experience is a key factor in higher-level games.

“It meant a lot for us to have that first meaningful game for the club,” Hamilton said. “But it’s good to have those types of games on your belt, to kind of feel the atmosphere or feel what it’s about.

“What it takes to play games like this, It’s not easy to go in and start with the energy and anticipation around it. It’s a different type of game. You learn from every game you play in an environment like this.”

The Courage also continue to learn more about themselves as they go, returning to an NWSL final for the first time since winning the NWSL title in 2019 and after a tumultuous 2021.

“First half, I thought we were really good,” coach Sean Nahas said. “Obviously to go up 2-0 and play some pretty good football. The second half was completely [Kansas City], but the important thing is we didn’t break. We bent, but didn’t break. And to solidify that result against a good team, you know, I couldn’t be any prouder of the group.”

Courage defender Carson Pickett said that reaching the final is “crazy.”

“Getting back to being in a final this early seems a bit crazy,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like a preseason tournament, it feels like the real deal. To get Washington back at home, it’s perfect timing and a perfect place. We’re so excited. We can’t wait to get back home and play on our home turf and have our fans in the stands.”

The USA women's hockey team came out on top over the weekend, kicking off the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada by dominating their northern neighbors, outscoring them by an impressive 10-2 margin across the pair's first two games.

US forward Abbey Murphy emerged as a series star, scoring a natural hat trick in the team's 4-1 win in Cleveland on Thursday — the first three-goal turn by a USA player against Canada since team captain Hilary Knight did so at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship.

"I told [Murphy], 'You set the bar pretty high,'" said Knight, who added her own hat trick to the mix in Saturday's 6-1 victory in Buffalo.

"I love how we showed up," the 36-year-old continued. "We've been working like dogs since August and to get rewarded for our work, and see situations that we need to work on."

Notably, while the USA brought their entire 2025 world championship-winning roster to the first two Rivalry Series games, Canada chose to evaluate some fresh faces while resting a number of standout veterans, including their No. 1 goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens — a fact that should temper the sting of adding two big losses to their now four-game skid against the US.

With women's hockey taking over Milan at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February, the last two 2025 Rivalry Series matchups will more likely see both sides testing their final rosters for Italy.

How to watch the final games in the 2025 Rivalry Series

Canada will welcome the USA for the last two matchups in the 2025 Rivalry Series, with the puck dropping in Edmonton, Alberta, at 9 PM ET for both the December 10th and 13th clashes.

Both games will air live on the NHL Network.

The LPGA is bringing star power to Florida this week, as a wealth of women's golf talent — and one basketball superstar — tee off at the 2025 edition of The ANNIKA.

Kicking off the event on Wednesday was the annual Pro-Am, with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark headlining the field for the second straight year.

World No. 2 golfer Nelly Korda once again joined Clark through her first nine holes, as Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull served as guest caddies.

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The four-day professional tournament will then tee off on Thursday, though current world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul will not be in attendance for the second year in a row.

Korda, however, will lead the charge to both defend her 2024 title and secure her first win of the 2025 LPGA season — as well as add to her full trio of trophies collected at The ANNIKA.

Four other Top-10 players will look to upend Korda's back-to-back bid, including No. 3 Miyu Yamashita, No. 6 Charley Hull, No. 9 Mao Saigo, and No. 10 Lottie Woad.

With the 2025 CMA Group Tour Championship capping the LPGA season later this month, The ANNIKA will also see golfers on the bubble — like US stars Rose Zhang and 2023 champion Lilia Vu — try to snag enough points to make the end-of-year tournament's final 60-player cut.

How to watch The ANNIKA 2025 LPGA tournament

Coverage of the fifth edition of The ANNIKA continues through Sunday, airing live on the Golf Channel.

The No. 3 UCLA Bruins rose to the occasion on Monday, looking like 2025/26 NCAA basketball championship contenders as they took down the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners 73-59 in Sacramento.

Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens made the difference for the Bruins, leading all scorers with 20 points while opposing defenses limited both UCLA center Lauren Betts and Oklahoma big Raegan Beers to single digits.

Bruins forward Angela Dugalić also put up a standout performance, coming off the bench to score 16 points and snag 15 rebounds on Monday.

"There are so many weapons that I feel like it's hard for the defense to choose what to take away," Kneepkens said ahead of Monday's matchup. "What makes this team special is that any night could be someone's night."

Monday's clash with UCLA also served as the national broadcast debut of Oklahoma freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez, with the No. 1 high school basketball recruit seeing her first Top 10 NCAA matchup as a Sooner.

Chavez had a slow start against the experienced Bruins, registering 11 points, three assists, and two rebounds across her 32 minutes on the court.

How to watch UCLA basketball this week

The heat continues for No. 3 UCLA on Thursday, when the Bruins will host the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels at 9 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

Newly formed offseason league Project B is stocking up, with Phoenix Mercury star forward Alyssa Thomas becoming the second big-name WNBA player to sign with the overseas venture ahead of its anticipated November 2026 debut.

Thomas follows Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike in joining Project B, a traveling tournament-style competition reportedly offering players significant pay raises into the seven- and even eight-figure echelon — as well as equity stakes in the league.

Thomas will still feature in the 2026 season of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball this January, with the launch of Project B expected to conflict with Unrivaled's third season in 2027.

With salaries reportedly topping both Unrivaled and the WNBA, Project B's funding sources came into question after Ogwumike's announcement last week.

In February, The Financial Times named Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund as a league investor, though Project B co-founder Grady Burnett denied those claims to Front Office Sports last week.

However, the league is working with event partner Sela, a known subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, though Burnett was quick to qualify that "Sela is one event partner that we pay money to. We do not have any dollars coming from them."

With the first season of Project B set to field 66 players, expect more high-profile signings to continue as the new venture adds to the increasingly crowded WNBA offseason space.