Propelled by monster performances from Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano, No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball escaped an upset in an overtime contest with Drake on Sunday.

And while the Hawkeyes celebrated the 92-86 victory in Clark’s hometown, there was a feeling of déjà vu – and not the good kind.

Because while their comeback was exciting, it also heralded back to many of Iowa’s games last year, and to this common storyline: Clark and Czinano were a dynamic scoring duo, but where were the rest of the Hawkeyes?

When Iowa was bounced by Creighton in the NCAA tournament, the issue that plagued them all season came front and center in their downfall. Clark and Czinano take on too much, and other Hawkeyes need to step up.

Against Creighton, Clark finished with 15 points, while Czinano had 27. No other Iowa player scored more than 6 points.

Against Drake, the scoresheet looked similar, as Clark and Czinano combined for 64 of Iowa’s 92 points. The only other Hawkeye who hit double digits was McKenna Warnock, who finished with 11.

Is this a new season with the same issues for the Hawkeyes?

Iowa has played three games, winning all three, and against Evansville and Southern, Iowa had more offensive contributors. Those teams, though, aren’t on the same level as Drake.

The Bulldogs are getting votes in the AP Top 25 poll, and a game against No. 22 Nebraska on Saturday might give a better indication of how good Drake really is. Led by sophomore Katie Dinnebier with 24 points, all five Bulldog starters finished in the double digits in scoring. They also held Clark to 9-for-28 shooting (32%), well below her 2021-22 average of 45.2%.

By the time the season ends, don’t be surprised if we see Drake with a few upsets to its name and a chance at an NCAA tournament bid. So Drake is a good basketball team, but that just underlines the concern over Iowa’s depth.

Clark and Czinano can’t do it all, and despite the initial look of the box score against Drake, there is potential for a few other players to step up going forward.

McKenna Warnock

The 6-foot-1 senior has made her name over the last three seasons as an elite rebounder, and against Drake, she surpassed Chase Coley to set Iowa’s rebounding record. Warnock also had 11 points, the only other double-digit scorer for Iowa, and she posted that mark while battling foul-trouble.

Last season Warnock averaged 11 points per game, and through three games this season, she’s averaging 10.3. Still, she’s had big scoring bursts, scoring over 20 points four times last season.

If the Hawkeyes can get even a couple more buckets per game from Warnock, taking her average up to around 15 points, that could make a difference. If she’s more of a threat, then opponents will have to devote more defensive resources to Warnock, opening things up for Clark, Czinano and hopefully making way for more scoring from other Hawkeyes.

Gabbie Marshall

The senior guard has never been a big scorer, averaging 6.9 points over her career, but there has been one offensive bright spot for Marshall: 3-point shooting. She’s off to a slow start this year (2-for-12), but the senior is at 40.8% for her career.

Last season she attempted around four 3-pointers per game, a number that hasn’t changed this season. But it should. Marshall needs to be more aggressive in shooting, because good things happen for the Hawkeyes when she’s making 3s. Against Drake, she made two 3s in the third quarter, which is when Iowa mounted its comeback to retake the lead.

Molly Davis

At this point in the season, Davis is a question mark. She transferred to Iowa after three successful seasons at Central Michigan. In the MAC, she had scoring success, leading her team with 18.6 points per game. But so far at Iowa, Davis is averaging 5.3 points per game in 25 minutes of action per contest.

Ideally, Davis will adjust to playing with the Hawkeyes and bring some of the scoring she did for Central Michigan to the court. But so far, that hasn’t happened.

Hannah Stuelke

If you’re an Iowa fan, here’s the player to be most excited about. It’s possible for Warnock and Marshall to increase their scoring averages, but as seniors, who have been averaging similar numbers every season, it’s not likely.

Stuelke, on the other hand, can become a third scoring option for the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-2 freshman was ranked No. 45 in the nation coming into the season.

Named Miss Iowa Basketball during her senior season at Washington High School, she averaged 29.1 points in her final year, topping the entire state of Iowa. Scoring doesn’t always translate from the high school level to college, but Stuelke brings plenty of promise.

She scored 10 points in the season opener against Southern, then 14 against Evansville. The freshman had a harder time with Drake, finishing with 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting. It might take a while to settle in when it comes to higher-level competition, but Stuelke is playing about 15 minutes per game, and coach Lisa Bluder seems to trust her. Her natural scoring ability should develop as the season goes on, and by the time March Madness arrives, don’t be surprised to see her playing a big offensive role for the Hawkeyes.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.