Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series previewing the top five girls basketball players in the Class of 2023. The series counts down to No. 1 and aligns with the start of the 2022-23 high school season. Click here to see the latest rankings from the Class of 2023. Counting down: No. 5 Hannah Hidalgo | No. 4 Aalyah Del Rosario | No. 3 Jadyn Donovan | No. 2 Juju Watkins | No. 1 Mikaylah Williams.

There’s a common misconception in basketball that bigs are one-dimensional. That they’re effective in the post but limited to it. That they’re slower than most and don’t have the handles to take defenders one-on-one.

Perhaps that’s why everyone loves a big guard — it’s exciting to see a player defy the norm.

Aalyah Del Rosario, whose game has notes of Candace Parker’s, is high school basketball’s best reminder of what a post player can be with her strong court vision, elite rebounding abilities and calm confidence when double- or even triple-teamed.

After spending two years at Trenton Catholic (N.J.), it didn’t take long for Del Rosario to transition to a successful career at The Webb School (Tenn.).

She’s averaged double figures in each of her three high school seasons thus far. As a junior last year, she helped lead Webb to a state championship while collecting regional MVP honors, earning a selection to the all-tournament team and being named a 2022 TSSAA Division II-A Miss Basketball finalist.

Coach’s analysis

This season, Del Rosario and her Webb teammates have the opportunity to earn back-to-back-to-back state titles under head coach Matt Shewmake.

“Aalyah is a generational-type player,” Shewmake said. “She’s 6-foot-6, she moves well, she’s all the tangible measurables that any college coach or professional coach is going to get excited about. Nobody has one of her.

“She requires a lot of defensive attention and has earned that.”

Webb’s roster boasts multiple Power 5 commits. There’s no shortage of talent, which has fostered a mutual understanding that, in some games, others might shine brighter. Del Rosario is more than capable of dropping a 20- or 30-piece, but her enthusiasm for sharing the success is indicative of both her character and her ability to thrive at the next level.

“Aalyah’s got a great team around her,” Shewmake said. “She can really find some comfort and confidence in that. She’s completely bought into that, into understanding that she’s got great players around her that pick up the load, and she hopes that they double her because that means one of her very talented teammates is wide open.”

The coaching staff recognizes Del Rosario as a source of stability for Webb.

“She’s a great person. She’s a great teammate,” Shewmake said. “Her teammates love her, no distractions there. She is what she is. She’s solid every day — the same person, the same smile, always giving out hugs.

“She’s an easy teammate to have and an easy person to coach.”

Catching up

Del Rosario is the newest member of LSU’s 2023 recruiting class. She chose the Tigers on Oct. 25 over North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. In Baton Rouge, she’ll develop under head coach Kim Mulkey, who has recruited and produced 11 first-round WNBA Draft picks.

Webb will also send starting point guard Angelica Velez to LSU next year.

“That’s a win-win there,” Shewmake said. “Kim’s getting a very talented player, and Aalyah’s getting to be coached by one of the most talented and most successful coaches in the history of our game who’s developed pros, who’s developed post players, whether it was Lauren Cox, or Kalani Brown or [Brittney] Griner. There’s a long list of post players that have gone to Kim Mulkey and gotten better and went on to have fruitful professional careers.

“If Aalyah will put in the work and be coached and submit to being coached by Kim, which I have no reason to think that she wouldn’t, she’ll be another one on that list.”

100% Committed…LSU BOUND! #GeauxTigers🐯

🎥 @MovingPictureny pic.twitter.com/F2gyP1R7VZ

— Aalyah Del Rosario (@del_aalyah) October 25, 2022

LSU is assembling one of the nation’s top recruiting classes in the 2023 cycle. Del Rosario is the second top-10 recruit in the Tigers’ class, following the commitment of No. 1 overall recruit Mikaylah Williams. Also committed are Velez and wing Janae Kent, the top prospect in Illinois.

Over the summer, Del Rosario, who has dual-citizenship in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, won gold with the United States U18 national team. Across six games in the tournament, she averaged 7.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

At the end of October, she signed with SIG Sports and agent Boris Lelchitski, who represents more than 30 WNBA players and Olympians.

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.