Alex Morgan has finally broken through.

Entering the San Diego Wave’s game against the Portland Thorn on Saturday, Morgan had not scored in her previous eight NWSL matches.

Then, in the 38th minute, Morgan headed the ball from 10 yards out into the back of the net, giving the Wave a 2-0 lead that would turn into the final result. The goal came on a cross from Christen Westphal.

“She hits great crosses, so I knew I needed to be there at the right place at the right time,” Morgan told CBS at halftime.

talk to 'em alex 🫡 pic.twitter.com/GKd9NTpBiy

— x - San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) October 1, 2023

Morgan looked pleased after the goal: She hugged her teammates with a relieved look on her face.

The goal also had postseason implications for the Wave. The victory marked the end of a two-game losing streak for the team, and helped San Diego clinch a spot in the NWSL playoffs.

“All-around, it was a huge performance from every single one of us,” midfielder Danielle Colaprico told the media afterward.

Morgan had last scored May 20, in the Wave’s 3-0 victory over Houston, and then she was held scoreless for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s four-game World Cup run.

She turned a corner Saturday against Portland. In addition to the goal she scored, she helped draw defenders away from Kyle Carusa earlier in the half, leading to Carusa being open for a goal.

“Because it’s Alex Morgan, they needed to make sure,” Carusa said. “What a lovely pass. Because it made my shot so much easier.”

The Wave enter their final two games of the regular season atop the NWSL standings and in line for a bye in the first round of the postseason.

San Diego hosts the North Carolina Courage next Saturday, and then finishes the regular season Oct. 15 at Racing Louisville.

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.

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After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.

"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."

All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.

Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.

USWNT star defender Naomi Girma made her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut this weekend, with Chelsea FC's million-dollar signing taking the pitch during the UK club's tough 4-1 semifinal loss to reigning champion Barcelona on Sunday.

Despite joining the WSL leaders on a world-record $1.1 million transfer fee from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave in January, injury hampered Girma's impact on the Blues, as the Stanford grad appeared in just one regular-season WSL match before exiting with a knock to the calf back in March.

Returning from that injury, Girma subbed in at the 81st minute on a mission to protect Chelsea's relatively tight 2-1 scoreline on Sunday.

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Despite her efforts, a quick goal from center back Irene Paredes coupled with a 90th-minute strike from forward Clàudia Pina secured Barcelona the win — plus a significant lead going into this weekend's deciding second-leg semifinal match.

"Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they're known for," said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze after the match.

"The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo. We wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us."

How to watch the Chelsea at theChampions League semifinals

Girma will have another chance to earn her check this Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Barcelona in the second leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League semifinal round.

The match kicks off at 9 AM ET, with live coverage on DAZN.

The NCAA basketball transfer portal window officially closes on Wednesday, after an active period saw top players unafraid to jump ship — even if that means joining a rival team.

After the portal window shuts, athletes can no longer declare their intention to transfer, though there's no official deadline for accepting admission to a new school.

Former UCLA rising senior Londynn Jones is the latest to switch sides, taking her 35.1% three-point shooting to the Bruins’ fiercest Big Ten competition by committing to crosstown rival USC on Tuesday.

The SEC — arguably the sport's powerhouse conference — has also seen significant movement in recent weeks, with Ole Miss landing ex-Ohio State standout Cotie McMahon and ex-Mississippi State guard Denim DeShields — WNBA veteran Diamond DeShields’s little sister.

Maryland is also cleaning up, signing ex-Duke star guard Oluchi Okananwa and Indiana center Yarden Garzon to the Terps' 2025/26 roster.

Meanwhile, 2025 national championship runner-up South Carolina added former Mississippi State big Madina Okot on Monday, after securing ex-Florida State guard and Division I's 2024/25 scoring leader Ta’Niya Latson earlier this month.

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Another transfer portal superstar considers a jump

As the stars begin to settle, all eyes are on South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley as she weighs her options ahead of her junior year.

Like UCLA-to-USC transfer Jones, the Columbia, South Carolina, product could opt to go the rival route, with rumors of Fulwiley seriously eyeing SEC foe LSU currently making the rounds.

All in all, while the player pool will be finalized on Wednesday, it could take days, weeks, or months to round out NCAA basketball rosters, as teams continue courting athletes in the portal before the 2025/26 season tips off.

No. 2-seed Oklahoma won their third NCAA gymnastics championship in four years on Saturday, topping fellow finalists No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 7 Missouri with an overall score of 198.0125.

With seven titles since 2014, Oklahoma regains its reputation as the sport's current dynasty, finishing atop the podium after falling short of a three-peat last year.

"Our theme wasn't redemption this year at all," Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler told reporters after Saturday's victory.

"Does it make it sweet? Yes, but this team was capable of this last year. We just failed. And people fail all the time. They fail every day. And we talk about [it] all the time that the glory is in getting back up again."

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Freedom allowed Oklahoma to reclaim NCAA gymnastics crown

Last year, the then-defending champion Sooners stumbled in a shocking loss in the national semifinals, a fate the 2024 champion LSU squad similarly suffered last Thursday, when the top-seeded Tigers failed to advance to the final meet of 2025.

Between overcoming the semifinals hurdles themselves and seeing LSU ousted — arguably Oklahoma's biggest competition entering the weekend — the Sooners were able to breathe easier and enjoy their last competition of the season.

"After advancing, and we got to today, we were free," said senior Audrey Davis. "We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics."

That freedom had the Sooners leading the charge, finishing their first rotation on beam tied with eventual runners-up UCLA before taking full control of the meet — Oklahoma grabbed a second-rotation lead on the floor and never relinquished it.

As for the rest of the field, Missouri earned a program-record third-place finish in their first-ever NCAA final, while nine-time champions Utah closed their season in fourth.

For Oklahoma senior Jordan Bowers, the final weekend of her collegiate career was one for the books.

In addition to the team title, Bowers won the individual all-around competition during Thursday's semifinals — a day that also crowned LSU’s Kailin Chio (vault), Missouri’s Helen Hu (beam), and UCLA's Jordan Chiles (uneven bars) and Brooklyn Moors (floor) as national apparatus champions.

"Just truly a fairytale ending," Bowers said on the ABC broadcast. "I'm so freaking proud of this team, and I'm so proud to be a Sooner."