In women’s college basketball, west coast players often have an extra chip on their shoulder from the perception that left coast teams just aren’t given as much respect as east coast programs. Stanford star Haley Jones felt it during their 2021 National Championship run. 

“I think at Stanford, we’re always kind of seen as an underdog. Even though we were the number one overall [seed] it’s still like, ‘Oh, but are they gonna win?’” she voiced to NCAA Digital. “You know ‘west coast basketball’ or whatever. I think we proved ourselves last year and we still have more to do this year.”

This Haley Jones bucket was smooth 😯

Stanford trying to hold on to the 4Q lead vs. Louisville

(via @ncaawbb)pic.twitter.com/pDC2gMKt7X

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 31, 2021

Historically speaking, eastern and southern schools have qualified for the NCAA tourney and Final Four at much higher rates than their Pacific facing counterparts. Of the 44 programs that have been to a Final Four, only 8 are located west of the continental divide, and only two of those teams (Stanford and USC) have ever won the title.

But in the last five years, the west coast’s tide has been steadily rising (no climate change pun intended). Since 2016, the Pac-12 boasts the most Final Four appearances, the most NCAA tournament wins, and the highest tournament winning percentage of any conference. At least half of all Pac-12 teams have qualified for the tournament for four consecutive years compared with the two or three that typically did a decade ago. And three additional non-Stanford schools have now qualified for the Final Four. Oregon State and Washington made it in 2016, and Arizona joined Stanford last spring for the first ever all Pac-12 Championship game.

ARIZONA UPSETS UCONN ‼️

Wildcats beat Huskies, 69-59 to advance to the national title game

Aari McDonald: 26 PTS & 6 REB pic.twitter.com/ya7Rp4OOjv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 3, 2021

In their bid to defend their title, the Stanford Cardinal are returning 12 of 13 from their championship roster, including 2021 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Haley Jones and “Super Senior” Anna Wilson, who’s taking advantage of the NCAA’s Covid-19 policies and returning to play for Coach Tara VanDerveer for an extra season.

Arizona, on the other hand, has an enormous hole to fill after Aari McDonald went third overall in the WNBA draft, having risen to college basketball stardom during the Wildcats’ run to the NCAA title game last year. McDonald had 109 assists on the season, 69 more than the next highest player on the team, and averaged 20.6 points per game. Only one of her teammates, returning forward Cate Reese, averaged double-figure scoring alongside her at 10.9 points per game. 

Adia Barnes will have depth at the 2, 3, and 4, but a much shallower roster at the point and center. Without obvious answers to where their scoring and playmaking production will come from, the floor is open for untapped potential to rise to the surface, but the process will likely be felt in the win-loss column.

Queens of the court. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/8awgZEV0UA

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) October 29, 2021

Up in Eugene, the Oregon Ducks are looking to sustain momentum from a productive year of rebuilding after the 2020 WNBA draft took their Big Three (Sabrina Ionescue, Satou Sabally, and Ruthy Hebard) and Covid-19 robbed them of their best chance in school history for a national title. Now Coach Kelly Graves has a front court centered on 6’7” junior Sedona Prince and Satou’s younger sister, Nyara Sabally, who led the Ducks in points and rebounds last season. Graves’ sophomore court general, Te-Hina Paopao, did an impressive job filling the gap left by Ionescue until a right foot injury caused her to miss the last month of the season. A year of chemistry building and experience for their underclasswomen have many expecting a solid upswing from Oregon.

UCLA has been another Pac-12 program to put themselves on the national map in recent years. They have qualified for five straight NCAA tournaments and had made it to four straight Sweet 16’s before getting knocked out by Texas this past year in the second round. Heading into 2021-22, they have five new faces to replace three significant contributors who graduated, most notably Michele Onyenwere, who went on to earn WNBA Rookie of the Year after a fantastic season with the New York liberty. Their prospective depth, along with the continued stellar output of junior guard Charisma Osborne, should help Cori Close’s squad battle Oregon for that second-place spot in the Pac-12, assuming Stanford wins the conference.

It’s almost here folks! I can’t wait to journey with @UCLAWBB this year. pic.twitter.com/VA64w0ndV4

— Cori Close (@CoachCoriClose) October 29, 2021

Oregon State and Washington State will also look to repeat as NCAA tourney selections as the rest of the conference will continue paddling onto the wave of the Pac-12’s rising stock.

Whether west coast teams are actually undervalued is mostly irrelevant (apart from NCAA tourney seeding bias). But there’s no denying that the college game benefits when the Haley Joneses, Charisma Osbornes, and Sedona Princes play like they have something extra to prove while representing their west coast campuses. And chances are good we’ll get to see more than one of them take their team on a deep run come March Madness 2022.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.