Bethania De La Cruz entered her second Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season last month on a mission. She wouldn’t have 2021 inaugural champion Jordan Larson standing in her way, but she would have to overcome new challengers to one-up her runner-up finish from last season.

De La Cruz surged to the top of the leaderboard about halfway through the season and gained separation from her contenders in the final week to win the AU crown with a league-record 4,652 points.

The outside hitter from the Dominican Republic also led the league with 233 kills and 18 service aces, both of which surpassed her 2021 season totals.

“We had new players coming into our league,” De La Cruz said over the phone Monday. “And so I knew that I needed to take another approach in so many ways, but I made sure that I executed every game.”

Some of those newcomers found their way toward the top of the leaderboard this year. Dani Drews led the league in Week 1 and again in Week 3 before De La Cruz assumed control and never looked back. Drews ended up in third place. Natalia Valentin-Anderson took second with 3,337 points and a league-leading 543 assists. Cassidy Lichtman and Nootsara Tomkom, who was just behind Valentin-Anderson with 533 assists, finished fourth and fifth.

In all, half of the top-10 finishers were playing their first AU season. And many of those who returned improved upon their performances from last season.

Lichtman jumped from 24th to fourth place. Sheilla Castro, despite playing only four weeks of the season, finished eighth and with a higher points total than she had last year.

All of the athletes, De La Cruz said, benefited from having fans in attendance after last year’s pandemic-fueled bubble season.

“We played for the fans, and so for the public to be there, it brought such a big emotion for us, every match that we played,” she said. “We were able to see the great talent that this game brings like Dani Drews, who just excelled very well, and other players, we were able to see their talent and what they were able to bring to the league.”

FYI- Betty DID break the record for single-season kills tonight🖐️@bdelacruz18 | 📺 @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/EOdcVKT7DF

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) April 17, 2022

Like other AU mothers, De La Cruz was also able to have her son, 12-year-old Fer, with her this season, providing her with a sense of comfort and normalcy during the five-week competition.

“It was a really great atmosphere, as well as experience, for him and me,” she said. “He was not only able to be with me at all times, but he was able to be around the game, get to know our players, get to know and learn about the game of volleyball and be around this great atmosphere.”

Every week under AU’s unique points system, the leaderboard shifts and players change teams. Elected captains select their teams for the three-game weekly series in a draft.

The format makes winning the AU season especially challenging. On top of having to form a draft strategy, players approach each week with a different game plan based on who their teammates are.

De La Cruz excelled under the pressure this season. Not only did she set a points record as AU champion, she also earned a league-leading 13 MVP honors and set records in single-match leaderboard points (477), single-match kills (27) and single-match aces (four).

De La Cruz, 34, found something special in each of the five groups she took the court with this season. She remembers her Week 2 team, in particular, and the symbolism of players from varying backgrounds coming together for a common goal.

“We had six players from different countries out there playing together as one, and that was really great and special for me,” she said.

“One thing that I really like is that I was able to create a great strategy and become successful this season.”

Emma Hruby is an associate editor with Just Women’s Sports.

Saturday's hotly anticipated matchup between the world No. 1 USWNT and No. 2 England at London's Wembley Stadium was short on fireworks, as the two international powerhouses settled for a 0-0 draw.

The US snagged the stat sheet's edge on possession, overall shots, and shots on target, but the rival squads combined for just four shots on frame — three from the States and one from the Lionesses — throughout the cagey clash.

"Our mentality is that we have to be better than that," US boss Emma Hayes said after the match. "And that is what we will be demanding from the team."

A USWNT first cap and a possible final match

Hayes fielded an experienced backline and midfield on Saturday, with nine 2024 Olympic gold medalists in the USWNT's starting XI. The two starters not on last summer's Paris roster were forwards Alyssa Thompson and Emma Sears, who headed up a youthful frontline as the team's Triple Espresso trio took this camp off of international duty.

One of the Paris gold medalists may have made her final USWNT start. No. 1 goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher recorded her 69th international clean sheet in Saturday's draw after announcing her impending national team retirement last week.

On the other hand, USWNT youth star Ally Sentnor earned her first senior team cap on Saturday after entering late in the second half. The 20-year-old is now the eighth player aged 21 or younger to appear for the USWNT in 2024, the most in a calendar year since 2002.

Sentnor is now one of only two USWNT players to earn their first caps in London's iconic Wembley Stadium, joining Thompson, who earned her debut at 17 years old in October 2022.

How to watch the USWNT vs. the Netherlands international friendly

The USWNT rounds out their European trip against the Netherlands on Tuesday at 2:45 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.

NCAA basketball teams traveled to off-campus mini-tournaments during last week's Thanksgiving break, with results showing that some teams feasted while others fought over leftovers.

Reigning national champions South Carolina went on a redemption tour at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, while Notre Dame struggled at the Cayman Islands Classic.

Notre Dame drops two NCAA basketball games in a row

Following last week's huge win against title contender No. 6 USC, then-No. 3 Notre Dame hit an unexpected skid over the weekend, falling first 76-68 to then-No. 17 TCU on Friday before further stumbling 78-67 against unranked Utah on Saturday.

Star guard Hannah Hidalgo's 27 points weren't enough to topple the Horned Frogs, who saw center Sedona Prince and guards Hailey Van Lith and Madison Connor put up a combined average of almost 20 points in the Friday battle.

Similarly, though Notre Dame junior guard Sonia Citron's 22 points made her the only player on either team to sink more than 16 points on Saturday, the Utes' team effort won the day. Seven Utah athletes drained at least five points, with four notching double-digits.

"I just thought today our depth hurt us with our foul trouble, and consecutive games back-to-back against two really good teams," head coach Niele Ivey said of the Irish's first successive losses since 2021.

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South Carolina bounces back in style

On the other hand, then-No. 4 South Carolina bounced back big time from their first regular-season loss since 2022 on Thursday, defeating then-No. 15 Iowa State 76-36 to right the ship after last weekend's UCLA upset.

The Gamecocks' defense controlled the floor throughout the first half, allowing just nine points from the Cyclones while nine different South Carolina players scored.

Only four Iowa State players put up points in the matchup, with sophomore star Audi Crooks shooting far below her season average at just 13 points.

"Obviously, there were some lapses in the UCLA game that weren't characteristic of us," commented South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "That is our nemesis — to be able to lock in on both sides of the ball and not have as many lapses or put them on the free-throw line as much as we did."

South Carolina continued making a statement on Saturday, when 11 Gamecocks — including seven double-digit scorers — combined to handily defeat Purdue 99-51.

Early season losses shake up NCAA basketball rankings

With five teams from last week's AP Top 10 already racking up early non-conference losses, Monday's Top 25 reflected the chaos.

Notre Dame plummeted seven spots to No. 7 thanks to their stalled weekend offense, while South Carolina leveled up to No. 3 with their weekend wins. After suffering the 40-point blowout loss to the Gamecocks, Iowa State took the week's second-biggest tumble, dropping five spots to No. 20.

UCLA maintained their grip on No. 1 after complementing last week's upset over reigning champs South Carolina with three additional wins, with No. 2 UConn holding steady just behind the Bruins.

The week's biggest riser was TCU, whose victory over the Irish launched them eight spots to No. 9 — the program's first-ever Top 10 ranking.

Boosting the Big Ten to a league-leading nine ranked teams this week is poll season debutants and state rivals No. 23 Michigan and No. 24 Michigan State, who make their first AP appearances since 2023 and 2021, respectively.

How to watch NCAA women's basketball this week

Monday's rankings raised the stakes in this week's matchups, with two Top 10 games emerging on Thursday's docket.

First, No. 4 Texas will put their undefeated season on the line against the skidding No. 10 Notre Dame at 7 PM ET. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

Then, No. 3 South Carolina will host new-No. 8 Duke, who'll take aim at the Gamecocks' win-streak recovery at 9 PM ET, also airing on ESPN.

This weekend saw the PWHL's second season hit the ground running with new rules, overtime upsets, and a bevy of goals punctuating opening-day wins for Toronto, Montreal, and New York.

With an elongated 2024/25 schedule including a Takeover Tour hitting nine non-market cities, the second-year league aims to harness and build on last season's momentum while eyeing 2025/26 expansion.

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New PWHL 'No Escape' rule means more goals

Part of capitalizing on last year's success is an effort to increase excitement via more goals on this season's ice. To do so, the league debuted its "No Escape Rule" over the weekend, which bars players from being subbed off in the first penalty-kill face-off.

By keeping defensive specialists on the bench during early power-play moments, the PWHL is addressing the fact that defense ruled the day last season.

Though too early to properly assess, the weekend's trio of opening matchups served six power-play goals on 19 attempts, fully doubling last season’s efficiency rate.

Sceptres start second PWHL season with Boston beatdown

Toronto and Boston kicked off 2024/25 play, with Fleet captain Hilary Knight registering the league's first goal of the season three minutes into the Saturday afternoon game. Unfortunately, that would be Boston's only tally, as last season's regular-season champs took control to best the Fleet 3-1.

The Sceptres did so without the league's leading scorer, 2023/24 Billie Jean King MVP winner Natalie Spooner, who is still working back from knee surgery following her postseason injury last May.

In her stead, Sarah Nurse notched Toronto's equalizer, with Emma Maltais sending in the eventual game-winner late in the first period. Hannah Miller's power-play goal in the game's waning minutes cushioned the Sceptres' offense-heavy victory.

Overtime takes center ice to open PWHL season

The weekend's other two games needed additional time to decide a winner, with Saturday night's tilt culminating in Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin registering the game-winner in a shootout victory over the Ottawa Charge.

Still locked in a 3-3 tie following a scoreless overtime, Poulin's fifth-round penalty goal broke the stalemate to give the Victoire its first-ever shootout win in franchise history.

"To get that first win, it feels good to be at home, getting to have that shootout win," the 33-year-old star known as "Captain Clutch" noted after the game. "We just gotta keep going and don't take it for granted."

Notably, Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer made a massive season-opening statement in the loss, saving 42 of the 45 shots she faced to put the league's offensive lines on notice.

The biggest upset of the weekend went to New York, who defeated inaugural champions Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. After conceding a bullet from Frost forward and 2023/24 Rookie of the Year Grace Zumwinkle 21 seconds into the game — the fastest goal in PWHL history — the Sirens kept answering to end regulation in a 3-3 tie.

With their own blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment, New York clinched the win 19 seconds into overtime, when rookie Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, found veteran star Alex Carpenter, who buried the game-winning goal.

How to watch the PWHL this week

The PWHL will be all over the ice this week prior to their mid-December international break for the Euro Hockey Tour.

In the three midweek bouts, Toronto will take aim at hosts Ottawa at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage on the PWHL's YouTube channel.

The puck will also drop on both of Wednesday's matchups at 7 PM ET, when Minnesota will visit Boston as each battles for a season-first win while overtime victors New York and Montreal face-off to remain undefeated. Both games will stream live on YouTube, with additional regional coverage for their respective matchups on NESN in Boston and MSG Network in New York.

After stellar performances for both club and country, Orlando Pride star striker Barbra Banda is the 2024 BBC Women's Footballer of the Year, becoming the eighth player across the annual award's 10 editions to earn the trophy ​on Tuesday.

At just 24 years old, Banda became the highest-scoring African player in Olympic history this past summer, registering four goals — including her third Olympic hat trick — despite Zambia's group-stage elimination.

In her first season in the league, Banda finished the 2024 NWSL season second in scoring with 13 regular-season goals. She led the Pride to their first-ever Shield and Championship wins, claiming the Championship MVP trophy with her title-winning goal. Plus, with four postseason goals, Banda set a new NWSL playoff scoring record.

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The fans' favorite footballer

Fans ultimately select the annual BBC Footballer of the Year award by voting on a five-player shortlist. That shortlist is determined by a large panel of international soccer experts, including coaches, players, administrators, and independent journalists. The panel chose this year's nominees based on their performances from September 2023 to August 2024.

Though usually heavy with UK-based athletes, this year's field lacked any club or country connection with the nation. To claim the award, Banda beat out fellow finalists Aitana Bonmatí and Caroline Graham Hansen of Barcelona FC, and fellow NWSL standouts Sophia Smith (Portland) and Naomi Girma (San Diego).

Banda is now just the second winner in the award's decade-long history without a connection to England. She joins two-time victor Ada Hegerberg, a Norwegian national and striker for Lyon, in that elite club.

A surprised Banda was quick to share credit with her Orlando teammates upon hearing the news, telling the Pride, "I'm just dedicating this award to every one of you guys who has been there for me."