After missing much of the last two seasons for UConn basketball, a “bigger, stronger” Paige Bueckers is ready to return to the court. And her presence will change “everything” for the Huskies, coach Geno Auriemma said Friday.

The 2021 National Player of the Year missed 19 games of the 2021-22 season with a knee injury, then missed the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL injury. Just this Wednesday, 369 days after her ACL tear, she announced herself “all clear and ready for takeoff.”

Even without Bueckers, UConn finished with a 31-6 record. But the injury-riddled Huskies failed to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2007 with their Sweet 16 exit from the NCAA tournament.

“Having Paige back is like a breath of fresh air like everything changes in the gym,” Auriemma said Friday during Bueckers’ first full-contact practice since her ACL injury. “You know, the minute she walks on the court, everything changes and you can see it in their faces.”

UConn will play four exhibition games in Europe next week. Bueckers’ comfort level over the next few days of practice will determine if, and how much, she will play during the international trip, Auriemma said. The head coach is trying to convince his star point guard not to push herself too hard, especially just after her return, CT Insider’s Maggie Vanoni reported Friday.

Still, he is impressed by Bueckers’ development. She spent last season rehabbing her injury and rebuilding her strength, and Auriemma can see that on the court.

“Paige is bigger, stronger. Paige doesn’t look like (the) skinny little freshmen that came in here three years ago,” Auriemma said. “She looks like a college player now.”

And if Bueckers could take the college basketball world by storm as a “skinny little freshman” in the 2020-21 season, what can she do as a redshirt junior in the 2023-24 season? The Huskies — and their opponents — will soon find out.

Good morning from Storrs, where Paige Bueckers is going full contact in UConn women’s basketball practice for the first time since tearing her ACL a little over a year ago.

The superstar guard announced she was fully cleared on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/EFv7bRFT1T

— Lila Bromberg (@lilabbromberg) August 11, 2023

The world No. 2 USWNT returned to winning form on Sunday, avenging Thursday's upset loss to No. 23 Portugal by capping the pair's two-game friendly series with a 3-1 victory.

USWNT midfielder Olivia Moultrie led the charge, securing a brace within the opening 10 minutes before second-half sub Sam Coffey flicked in a 77th-minute corner kick to cement the 3-1 scoreline.

"[US head coach] Emma [Hayes] said before the game, 'I don't care what the result is, but no matter what, I want it to feel like we played like us,'" said 20-year-old Moultrie postgame.

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Hayes significantly shifted away from Thursday's struggling lineup, replacing eight starters and relying on a starting XI with an average age of 21.7 years old — including teenaged midfielders Lily Yohannes and Claire Hutton.

Defender Emily Sonnett captained the squad, and her 111 senior team caps singlehandedly outranked the other 10 players on the field, whose USWNT appearances combined totaled just 100 matches.

"You can't cut a corner to success, and you can't cut a corner with development," said Hayes, impressed by the young group's growth since falling to both Brazil and Japan earlier this year.

"I think last game was a blip," Hayes continued. "And that, for me, is not something I expect to be happening on a regular basis."

How to watch this week's USWNT friendly

The No. 2 USWNT will close out October's international window with a friendly against No. 33 New Zealand in Kansas City on Wednesday.

The match will kick off at 8 PM ET, live on TNT.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.