There are two undisputed truths when it comes to LSU women’s basketball.

1. The Tigers have played a weak schedule, void of any true tests so far this season.
2. Angel Reese is one of the best players in the country.

The combination of these truths makes it difficult for Reese to truly showcase her talent. Through 12 games (and 12 wins) for LSU, Reese is averaging a double-double and is one of two players to record one in all of her team’s contests. The second is Lauren Gustin of BYU, though the Cougars have played 11 games to LSU’s 12.

Reese is sixth in the country with 24.6 points per game, first with 14.6 rebounds per game and 12th with a 63.5 shooting percentage. She’s been LSU’s top scorer in eight of their 12 games, and the top rebounder in all but one.

Those are Player of the Year numbers.

But those performances have not come against Player-of-the-Year competition.

Up to LSU’s 87-55 win over Oregon State on Sunday, the Tigers’ opponents list was as follows: Bellarmine, Mississippi Valley State, Western Carolina, Howard, Northwestern State, George Mason, UAB, SE Louisiana, Tulane, Lamar and Montana State. The Tigers are winning their games by an average of 44 points per game, and while other top-25 teams are testing themselves, the No. 11 team in the country is not.

LSU has yet to play a ranked team, whereas every other top-25 team has taken on another top-25 squad at some point this season. The Tigers’ opponents are also low on the NET rankings, with only two teams they’ve played so far (Tulane and Oregon State) ranking in the top 100, three in the top 200 (Montana State, UAB and George Mason) and the rest sitting at 269 or below.

It’s hard to take LSU seriously with its slate of opponents, which unfortunately for Reese, makes it hard to take her seriously as a POY candidate.

Angel Reese Takes It Coast to Coast 🏝️

📺 https://t.co/n0rQXmVq6m pic.twitter.com/gTE3NTXvWF

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) December 19, 2022

Regardless of the circumstances, Reese is doing everything she can to get her name in the conversation. On Sunday, the sophomore forward put up her best numbers against the Beavers, the best team LSU has played so far at 64th in the NET rankings. Reese finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead her team to victory.

Reese has played against elite competition before, just not as a Tiger. She played two seasons at Maryland, improving over her freshman and sophomore years before transferring to LSU in May. In her first season at Maryland, Reese averaged 10 points, six rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in 15.1 minutes of playing time. She increased those numbers to 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds as a sophomore, while also contributing 1.1 blocks in 25.9 minutes per contest.

As a Tiger, Reese has continued her double-double prowess while adding 2.9 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

She played arguably her two best games at Maryland against the best competition the NCAA has to offer . She had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to South Carolina last December, and then 25 points and nine rebounds in a loss to Stanford in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. There’s no reason to think she won’t have similar success this year in an LSU uniform, but POY awards can’t be given based on assumptions, so she’ll have to prove it when the time comes.

Angel Reese went off. 😤

(h/t @OptaSTATS) pic.twitter.com/aeSAYDScwB

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 15, 2022

Another positive for Reese is consistency. Even against low-level teams, players have bad games, but the forward has had a similar output in every game with the double-doubles to prove it. Reese is shooting an efficient 63.5 percent from the field, a mark that puts her at 12th in the country. She’s not forcing shots nor completely dominating the ball, though both would be easy to do in blowout games. Instead, she’s letting the game come to her and making the most of her opportunities.

Reese has a legitimate shot at the Player of the Year award despite her team’s cakewalk schedule. LSU is an AP top-25 team, meaning she gets plenty of eyes on her each week, and they have upcoming SEC games against No. 21 Arkansas and No. 1 South Carolina. If Reese has big performances against those teams — especially against the Gamecocks and reigning POY Aliyah Boston on Feb. 12 — her case for this year’s award becomes even more compelling.

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

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.

• Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.

• Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.

• Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.

• Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

• No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.

• No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.

• No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

This season's NWSL Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

After helping Gotham to a first-ever NWSL championship in 2023, González earned the league's Best XI Second Team honors last year before launching a red-hot campaign this season.

The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham in 2025, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

"Above all, it's about how I've felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC," González said in Thursday's team announcement. "Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham's colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Gotham's continued investment underlines the 32-year-old's case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge one-third of the way through the 2025 NWSL season.

González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring outpacing many of her peers.

Other players crafting strong 2025 NWSL MVP resumes include Kansas City's 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and comeback star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

Following a dominant 2024/25 campaign, Chelsea FC will look to cap their historic run by completing a domestic treble on Sunday, when they'll battle Manchester United for a third season trophy in the 2025 FA Cup final.

After securing the 2024/25 League Cup in March amidst an unbeaten run to a sixth-straight WSL title, the Blues will close out their season against the league's third-place finishers, the Red Devils, in London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Should Chelsea secure the 2025 FA Cup, they will add a second domestic treble to their resume after clinching their first trio of trophies in the 2020/21 season. This time, however, they could do so in undefeated fashion.

"We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten," said first-year Blues manager Sonia Bompastor. "To end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season."

Manchester United hunts second straight FA Cup trophy

Standing between Chelsea and the treble are 2024 FA Cup champions Manchester United, who will take aim at their only trophy of the season partly behind the play of 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Man United enter as the game's undisputed underdogs, having dropped both their WSL regular-season matches against Chelsea in narrow 1-0 defeats.

Even more, the Red Devils must overcome a particular tough stretch of play, facing more than a month without a victory on their schedule.

Man United's last win was their 2-0 FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester City on April 13th, with the Red Devils suffering a pair of losses and recording two draws to close out WSL play.

That said, United has experience downing the Blues on the FA Cup stage, ousting Chelsea from last year's semifinals en route to a club-first FA title.

Remarking that Manchester United "are a really strong team," Bompastor pointed out that the Red Devils "don't concede a lot of goals, and we need to remember that."

"You only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day."

How to watch Chelsea play Manchester United at the FA Cup final

The 2025 FA Cup final between Chelsea FC and Manchester United will kick off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage of the match will begin at 8:20 AM ET on ESPN+.