The first third of the 2023 NWSL season has brought a few surprises, with clubs that finished at the bottom of the standings last season rising into the top four thanks to turnarounds in form.

Some of these shifts came from coaching changes or key acquisitions in the offseason. For Gotham FC, it’s been a little bit of both. The combination of new manager Juan Carlos Amorós and marquee acquisition Lynn Williams has the New Jersey club sitting in third place after seven matches played.

Williams is coming off the longest absence from the game in her professional career after recovering from a hamstring injury. What she’s been able to achieve so far this year not only has her club team on the rise, but could secure her a debut trip to the World Cup with the U.S. women’s national team in July.

A welcome return

After Williams suffered an acute hamstring injury before the 2022 regular season, the striker fell into a state of flux. Without ever getting serious time on the pitch with the Kansas City Current, she was traded to Gotham FC in the offseason, and no one knew exactly what to expect from her in 2023.

But in the last month, the forward has reminded the league why she’s near the top of the NWSL’s all-time leaderboard. Williams sits alone in second place with 61 regular-season goals in her NWSL career, only 16 behind the all-time tally set by Sam Kerr. She also recently surpassed Kerr for the all-time goal contributions record (combined goals and assists) with 103.

Williams crossing those milestones in 2023 is no small feat; with an injury as severe as a hamstring tear and a change in club environment, her return to top form was never guaranteed. As it stands, the 29-year-old is in the 92nd percentile of non-penalty goals per 90 forwards in 2023, and in the 75th percentile in non-penalty xG generated and total shots.

Leading Gotham with four goals in seven regular season games (and six in nine games across all competitions), Williams has helped the New Jersey club get off to a strong start after a down year. She’s already matched the regular-season scoring output of any Gotham player in 2022, and has done so with fellow forward Midge Purce limited due to injury.

Lynn Williams capitalizes and makes it ✌️ for Gotham! pic.twitter.com/HYHbW2M3TP

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 7, 2023

All the same fundamentals

In addition to her offensive prowess this season, Williams’ defensive work rate has returned in full force. She’s in the 92nd percentile for NWSL forwards in tackles, interceptions and aerial duels won in 2023, and her willingness to be disruptive in key areas is fundamental to the ways Gotham has found success.

Those intangibles are a big reason why Williams has been a consistent call-up to head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s USWNT, which also excels when pushing a higher line of contention to force mistakes. Williams is the type of player who provides an attacking outlet on the wing and the ability to track back on defense, allowing the teams she plays for to get their outside back forward.

Gotham plays with this ethos to an even more aggressive degree than the USWNT. They go all-out in a high press to try to gain an edge early on in games. That approach requires intensity and commitment from the first whistle as well as a sense of discipline as legs begin to tire.

Growing into a new role

Williams said on a recent episode of Snacks that she feels she’s still growing in her ability to influence a match in Gotham’s system.

“Honestly, no. I don’t,” she said, when asked if she thinks she’s playing at the highest level of her career. “I feel like I am scoring at a higher percentage, which is great.”

She went on to explain that in the dominant, early years of her career, she was used to playing in a two-front system (North Carolina’s 4-2-2-2 box midfield was well-known as the team steamrolled to multiple titles in 2018 and 2019). Williams was known as a high-volume shooter and a high-scoring striker, meaning that the Courage’s overwhelming number of shots made for lower accuracy numbers, but a higher volume of chances that led to results.

With Gotham, Williams plays in more of a lone striker role, with support on the wings from the midfield. Sometimes this requires Williams to dip into the central midfield to receive service, but she’s also frequently tasked with sitting on the opponent’s backline and taking her chances when they arrive.

“I feel sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I just barely touched the ball,’” Williams said on Snacks. “But I guess that’s just how the system works.”

What should excite both Gotham and USWNT fans is that a system change that could have derailed Williams’ return to sharpness hasn’t seemed to slow her down at all. Williams has scored from both inside and outside the box, manipulating her stride to place the ball with her favored right foot. She’s also getting more experience playing centrally, mirroring the nuances of 2022 NWSL MVP Sophia Smith’s roles for club and country

“​​I feel like I’m getting back to myself, but I’m not there yet,” she said “So I feel like every game I’m like, ‘OK, my fitness is getting a little bit better. The taking on people is getting a little bit better. My shot’s better.’ But it’s been like a year, so … it’s baby steps.”

Williams feels she still has room to improve, but the way she’s been able to reshape her skill set not only boosts her case for inclusion on the 2023 World Cup roster, but also solidifies the argument that she should be starting. Time will tell if Andonovski prizes the new facets of her game or chooses to rely on Williams’ established reputation.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Zimbabwean swimming legend Kirsty Coventry made history on Thursday, when she became both the first woman and first African ever elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

At 41-years-old, Coventry will also be the youngest president in the organization's 131-year history and the 10th individual to ever hold the office.

"As an nine-year-old girl, I never thought I would be standing up here one day getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours," the five-time Olympian said in her remarks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

An extensive Olympic resume, in and out of the pool

The Auburn University grad and seven-time Olympic medal-winner — including back-to-back golds in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games — retired from competition after the 2016 Rio Olympics.

At that time, Coventry was already three years into her IOC membership, after initially joining as part of the governing body's Athletes' Commission. She joined the Executive Committee in 2023.

"I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken," Coventry said to her fellow members in her acceptance speech. "Now we have got some work together."

That work that awaits Coventry in her eight-year mandate will include navigating the 2028 LA Games and selecting a host for the 2036 Summer Games.

Her first Olympic Games at the helm, however, will be the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, giving her less than a year to prepare before the Opening Ceremony kicks off.

Coventry to continue IOC efforts to promote gender equity

Coventry will have a few months to adjust before assuming her new office on June 23rd, when she will succeed her mentor, 71-year-old Thomas Bach.

Bach will have served the IOC's maximum 12-year tenure in the role when he steps down, having led the governing body to stage the first-ever Olympic Games with equal numbers of women and men competing — a mark captured at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

With gender equity as a driving force in his leadership, Bach also increased the number women serving as both IOC members and in the organization's leadership roles, with women comprising seven of the body's 15-person executive board.

Coventry is one of those seven women, and Bach specifically hand-picked her as his successor.

The legacy she inherits isn't lost on Coventry, both in the efforts of Bach and in the women who paved the way — perhaps none more directly than IOC member Anita DeFrantz, a 1976 Olympic bronze medal-winning rower for Team USA and the only other woman to ever run for IOC president.

Recognizing the election's historic significance, 72-year-old DeFrantz overcame significant health issues to travel to Greece in order to vote for Coventry — with her ballot securing the exact number of votes Coventry needed to win.

"I was really proud that I could make her proud," an emotional Coventry said.

The NCAA is leveling the playing field, with Women’s March Madness teams in line to receive their first-ever prize payouts based on tournament performance — a mechanism the men’s tournament has enjoyed since 1991.

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the NCAA will distribute a total of approximately $15 million to individual conferences based on how many games their teams play, with each March Madness performance "unit" worth about $113,000.

This year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

That overall prize pool will jump to $20 million in 2026 and $25 million in 2027, before switching to a successive 2.9% increase per year.

"We are all playing in the same March Madness," said UNC Greensboro head coach Trina Patterson, whose No. 16-seed Spartans will face No. 1-seed USC in the first round on Saturday. "The treatment for the men and women should be equal. We get a unit!"

March Madness teams get additional NCAA tournament perks

While the performance payouts are new this year, women's March Madness teams also receive perks like charter flights throughout the tournament, which can make all the difference for smaller programs eyeing an upset.

"Everyone is so excited about the experience. Going from the bus directly to the plane, everyone was so happy," March Madness debutante William & Mary head coach Erin Dickerson Davis told ESPN ahead of her No. 16-seed team’s First Four victory on Thursday.

Columbia junior Perri Page, whose No. 11-seed Lions defeated Washington in their own First Four matchup on Thursday, echoed Davis' sentiment, saying, "It was cool going to the charter, and we've been taking it all in."

"We've been enjoying the whole season," the forward added, noting "It's great we can make money for the school now."

"It should have always been that way. Women's basketball has been fighting for equality for a very long time," said Davis. "I've been in this business for many, many years. I played college basketball. It's a long time coming."

"You got to start somewhere, and I think we've been so far behind," added Columbia head coach Megan Griffith.

"This is more like the whipped cream. I think the cherry on top is going to keep coming — but it's really good so far."

Less than two months before the season tips off on May 16th, the WNBA dropped its full 2025 national broadcast slate on Thursday, rewarding last year’s most in-demand teams with a significant uptick in screen time.

Fueled by the fan fervor around 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever will see a league-record 41 of their 44 regular-season games aired nationally this season.

That tally includes all five Fever matchups against regional rival Chicago, after the pair's June 23rd game averaged 2.3 million viewers — becoming the most-watched game of the 2024 regular season.

Just behind Indiana in earning significant national broadcast coverage are two-time WNBA champs Las Vegas, who will see 33 of their games aired across the country. As for the reigning champions New York Liberty, they trail the Aces by just one game, with 32 of their 2025 season games garnering national attention.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Record WNBA ratings spur big broadcast moves

Thanks to 2024’s monster ratings, big-name networks are increasingly recognizing the WNBA as a profitable summer product, with broadcasters expanding their coverage as the league prepares for its 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights contract to kick in next year.

With the 2025 WNBA season expanding from 40 to 44 games per team, ION is leading all broadcasters with 50 regular-season games, with ABC/ESPN, CBS Sports, NBA TV, and Amazon Prime all taking a piece of the pro women's basketball league's pie.

Broadcasters are also moving games off of their sports-specific networks and onto flagship cable channels, with a record 13 matchups — a full half of Disney Networks' 26 regular-season games — set to air on ABC, including the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.

The league will also see its first-ever regular-season games earn primetime broadcast TV slots, with CBS Sports elevating two of its 20 games — the June 7th and August 9th battles between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever — to its flagship network, CBS.

As the WNBA shoots for an even more impactful 2025 season, broadcasters are helping to boost the charge, offering increased access to the league’s brightest stars and biggest games.

The NCAA tournament tips off in earnest with the bracket's 64-team first round on Friday, as eager March Madness fans look beyond the chalk to eye the competition's underdogs after a rollercoaster 2024/25 basketball season.

Early upsets aren’t exactly the norm in the women’s tournament. Only one lower seed won their first-round matchup in 2024, and no team below a No. 3 seed has ever gone the distance, but in a season of increased parity, a few lower-rated squads are rounding into underdog form.

Breaking down potential March Madness bracket-busters

For potential March Madness upset instigators, late-season momentum late season momentum is the name of the game — a dangerous factor in any single-elimination tournament.

Even without superstar grad Caitlin Clark, No. 6-seed Iowa capped their regular season on a high before narrowly losing to No. 4-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament's quarterfinals. Should they advance past No. 11-seed Murray State in their first-round Saturday matchup, the Hawkeyes are poised to give No. 3-seed Oklahoma a run for their money in the second round on Monday.

Entering as a No. 10-seed, Ivy League tournament champs Harvard will have their hands full against No. 7-seed Michigan State on Saturday, but Crimson senior Harmoni Turner and her season-average 22.5 points per game could tilt the scales in Harvard's favor.

After edging out first-round opponent No. 11-seed Iowa State, No. 6-seed Michigan is playing like an upset contender. Now a potential second-round matchup against No. 3-seed Notre Dame — fresh off a recent losing skid — awaits the young squad. 

With the brackets locked and the teams loaded, the prospects of twists and turns make the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament especially exciting — even if this year’s frontrunners appear destined for Tampa.

How to watch Women's March Madness games this weekend

The Big Dance officially begins at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, when No. 11 Iowa State tips off against No. 6 Michigan on ESPN2.

Saturday's slate will complete the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first round, with No. 6 Iowa beginning their Madness run against No. 11 Murray State at 12 PM ET on ESPN.

No. 10 Harvard will start dancing a few hours later, with the Crimson facing No. 7 Michigan State at 4:30 PM ET on ESPNews.

All games in the 2025 March Madness tournament will have live coverage across ESPN networks.