No. 5 Texas’ Rori Harmon is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear, per a release from Texas Athletics. 

Harmon tore her ACL in practice on Dec. 27 and she did not play in that evening’s contest against Jackson State. 

The junior guard was named Big 12 preseason player of the year and she averaged 14.1 points and 7.8 assists per game in her 12 games played. 

“I’m grateful for the support of my teammates and coaching staff during this difficult time,” Harmon said in the press release. “I also want to thank our medical staff at Texas for taking care of me. I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to play with my teammates this season, but I’m going to support them and be the best teammate I can be.”

Just Women’s Sports is tracking injuries to key players throughout the NCAA season and, when possible, outlining the timetables for their returns.

Out for the season

Azzi Fudd, UConn

Fudd is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and a torn meniscus in her right knee. She played just two games before injuring her knee in practice. Fudd is the second Huskies player in two years to miss the majority of the season with an ACL tear, following Paige Bueckers’ lost season in 2022-23.

Sa’Myah Smith, LSU

Smith will miss the rest of the season for No. 7 LSU with tears to the ACL, MCL and meniscus in her right knee. Smith, who appeared in just seven games this season, will be given a redshirt for the remainder of this season and will be able to get this year of eligibility back, per LSU Athletics.

Destinee Wells, Tennessee 

Tennessee senior point guard Destinee Wells is out for the rest of the season with a lower right leg injury, the program announced Tuesday.

A transfer from Belmont, Wells was seen with a brace on her right leg during the team’s win over Wofford. The news of her season-ending injury came on the same night senior forward Rickea Jackson returned from injury. Wells played in just 10 games this season.

Head coach Kelli Harper, who dealt with ACL tears twice in her playing career at Tennessee, understands well the pain of season-ending injuries. So she knows it will “be hard throughout the year” for Wells, who had averaged 6.8 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game.

Gianna Kneepkens, Utah

The star guard will miss the rest of the season after breaking multiple bones in her foot, the school announced on Dec. 4. An All-Pac-12 player and the team’s second-leading scorer, Kneepkens was injured late against BYU on Dec. 2 and had to be helped off the floor.

Utah head coach Lynne Roberts called Kneepkens’ injury a “blow to our program,” which is ranked No. 11 in the country at 7-1 as of Dec. 14.

“If there is a kid that eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, it is her. But this is part of life. Life can stink sometimes. This is going to be a process for her that she is going to have to push through,” Roberts said. “She has got a group of teammates and coaches who love her. She will be all right. It is still a little raw. The fact that the season is over for her, she is still working through that.”

Ayanna Patterson, UConn

UConn lost one more player for the season, as Ayanna Patterson was announced to miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery.

Patterson had not appeared in a game this season for the Huskies. Last season, she played 30 games, averaging just over two points and two rebounds. Head coach Geno Auriemma said the surgery was to address patellar tendinitis that Patterson has dealt with since high school.

Emily Bessoir, UCLA 

No. 2 UCLA’s Emily Bessoir is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. The senior injured the same ACL that sidelined her for the entirety of the 2021-2022 season while she was playing in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers for her native Germany.

While Bessoir has played in just one game for the Bruins this season due to her international duties, she appeared in all 37 games last season and she was selected to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team.

“I’m just heartbroken for Emily, for her and for us,” head coach Cori Close told the Associated Press. “She’s been such a steady leader for us and she had so many things going for her this year. I look forward to seeing how this is going to be part of her conquering story.”

Out with injury but expected to return

Olivia Miles, Notre Dame

Miles injured her knee in the Irish’s 2023 regular season finale. She was sidelined during the ACC Tournament and has remained so into this season. Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey provided a look into Miles’ recovery via Instagram, where she posted a video of Miles shooting around, though there remains no timetable for her return to action.

“She’s doing a lot of great workouts, and so just wanted to kind of just highlight her because she is she’s doing really, really well,” Ivey said to ABC 57. “She’s in great spirits, her knee looks really good.”

Caroline Ducharme, UConn

The junior guard played in No. 17 UConn’s first four games this season but she has been out since Nov. 19 with neck and back spasms. Ducharme has dealt with concussion issues in past seasons. On Dec. 1, head coach Geno Auriemma could not provide a timeline for her return to the team.

“Don’t ask me how long, because I wish I knew,” Auriemma told ESPN. “You don’t know when they’re coming and you don’t know how long they’re going to last. We just keep trying and trying and trying. . . I feel terrible for the kid.”

Sonia Citron, Notre Dame

Citron sustained an injury to her leg in the third quarter of the Irish’s game against Northwestern on Nov. 15. The junior guard needed help to return to the locker room after she was injured.

Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey had announced that Citron was dealing with a sprained knee and would be out for just a couple of weeks. But on Nov. 28, Ivey said Citron would need a few more weeks of recovery before she could return to the court.

Returned to the court

Rickea Jackson, Tennessee

Jackson, who had been out of Tennessee’s lineup since Nov. 13 with a lower leg injury, returned to the court on Dec. 19.

“She steps on the court and she changes things,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “Her presence affects them when they step on the court. She gives them great confidence.”

League-leaders Orlando will play for​ their first-ever piece of hardware on Sunday, when a win over second-place Washington would see the Pride clinch the 2024 NWSL Shield.

If the undefeated Pride record a draw, a single win in the the season's last three matches would snag them the Shield. Should the Spirit hand Orlando their first season loss on Sunday, finishing atop the table would likely require two additional Pride victories.

While Orlando is very much in control of their destiny, Washington poses tough task, particularly considering a Spirit win or draw this weekend would clinch the playoff-bound club quarterfinal hosting duties.

However, the Pride may benefit from ongoing injuries to key Spirit players. After losing star rookie Croix Bethune to a season-ending injury in late August, Washington defender Casey Krueger is still out nursing an adductor injury while forward Trinity Rodman's recent back spasms have her questionable to compete this weekend.

When asked about Krueger and Rodman's availabilities on Wednesday, Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez said he would not play anyone who is not "100% available."

Speaking about Sunday's match, Giráldez said "[Orlando is] doing a good job, but we are doing a good job, too. We have chances to win and we have to face the game in the same way that we faced the game against Angel City." That Friday tilt with ACFC saw Washington claim the 2-1 win in a road match in which Rodman and Krueger did not travel with the team.

How to watch Orlando vs. Washington

The Pride will try to cross the 2024 NWSL Shield finish line by defeating the Spirit on Sunday at 5 PM ET, airing live on ESPN2.

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NWSL weekend to clarify postseason picture

Playoff positioning isn't just on the line for the Pride and Spirit this weekend. With four matchdays left in the NWSL's regular season, this weekend's action has multiple end-of-season scenarios on the table.

Like the Spirit, third-place Gotham and fourth-place Kansas City have the chance to secure quarterfinal home-field advantage. Each must log a Saturday win and have a little help from 10th-place San Diego to do so.

Their opponents, eighth-place Bay FC and ninth-place Racing Louisville, respectively, have arguably the most to lose in tomorrow's tilts, as both are fighting to finish above the postseason cutoff line.

Fifth-place North Carolina is on the cusp of clinching their playoff berth, though it's the Courage's demise against the Wave on Saturday that would grant Gotham and KC hosting rights.

Meanwhile, Utah, Houston, Seattle, and Angel City could all be eliminated from playoff contention by Sunday night.

The WNBA announced Thursday that Indiana guard Caitlin Clark is the 2024 Rookie of the Year, giving the Fever back-to-back ROTYs after Aliyah Boston's 2023 win.

Nearly mirroring Boston's unanimous election, Clark garnered 66 of the 67 votes. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, whose season was cut short due to a wrist injury, received the remaining first-place vote.

"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season," Clark said in the Fever's statement. "I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds."

Clark's rookie season is one for the record books

This year has been all gas, no brakes for the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick. During the regular season, Clark led all rookies in scoring at 19.2 points per game and topped the league with 8.4 assists per game and with 122 total three-pointers.

In July, the 2024 All-Star became the first rookie in WNBA history to ever put up a triple-double. Not satisfied with that, Clark recorded a second one in early September.

She ultimately inked her name into the league's history books with multiple records, including single-season and single-game assists, and single-season rookie scoring.

In the Fever's first .500 season in eight years, Clark helped Indiana to a 20-20 record after a sputtering 1-8 season start. As a result, the Fever made their first postseason run since 2016.

The franchise also smashed viewership and attendance records thanks in large part to Clark's popularity. Indiana home games ultimately drew over 90,000 more fans than the league's previous home attendance season record, set at 250,565 by the Liberty in 2001.

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First-year stars join Clark on WNBA All-Rookie Team

The 2024 All-Rookie Team ​also dropped on Thursday, with Clark, Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Rickea Jackson, and Leonie Fiebich all getting the nod.

Reese, Clark's biggest ROTY competition before her season-ending injury, claimed records of her own in her abbreviated first campaign. The 2024 All-Star now holds the league's record for consecutive double-doubles, the single-season rebound mark, and boasts the WNBA's highest rebound average in history.

Reese's Chicago teammate, center Cardoso, also put up stunning rookie season numbers, ultimately leading all first-year players with an impressive 52.1% field goal percentage. Meanwhile, forward Jackson made an immediate impact on the Sparks's stat sheet as the team's second leading scorer.

The Liberty's Fiebich is a WNBA rookie, but the 24-year-old German's overseas career already earned her MVP honors in Spain's pro league. Her All-Rookie Team honor is based on Fiebich's regular-season play, but she's still making key contributions in New York's ongoing WNBA postseason run.

Back-to-back defending champs Las Vegas​ will attempt to stave off a sweep in tonight's 2024 WNBA semifinals, as twin losses in New York have the Aces scrambling for a vital Game 3 win at home.

The No. 4-seed Aces, who've failed to register a win against top-seeded New York in 2024, will face a Liberty team who are 16-4 on the road this season. Las Vegas, on the other hand, have lost seven games at home and six away.

Las Vegas will be further shorthanded in Game 3 after center Kiah Stokes was ruled out with a concussion late Thursday evening.

Acknowledging that her team faces "an uphill battle," Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters after their Game 2 loss that they "fully intend on pushing to five games."

Should the Aces bounce back to take the best-of-five series, Las Vegas will become the first team to ever reach the WNBA Finals after falling to 0-2 in the semis.

Connecticut brings it home

Sitting at an even 1-1 split, the No. 2-seed Lynx and No. 3-seed Sun will take their highly competitive WNBA semifinal series to Connecticut tonight, where the pressure's on for Minnesota to grab a game on the road.

The Lynx must win at least one game on the Sun's home court to extend the series to five — or possibly secure a four-game victory.

The Sun are just as good at home as they are on the road this year, going 14-6 in both scenarios this season. The Lynx are also 14-6 on the road, but failed to protect home court in last Sunday's semifinals Game 1.

How to watch Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals tonight

Game 3 between the Sun and the Lynx tips off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2. The Aces and the Liberty follow at 9:30 PM ET, also airing on ESPN2.

On Thursday, US Soccer announced that the USWNT will cap off its 2024 campaign with a December 3rd friendly against the Netherlands in The Hague — the team's 23rd game this year.

The match comes three days after the US side's previously announced meeting with 2022 European champions and 2023 World Cup finalists England at London's iconic Wembley Stadium. 

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To stay the best, the USWNT will play the best

Following their gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the USWNT reclaimed their world No. 1 ranking. In order to stay there, head coach Emma Hayes noted, the team must seek out matches against other top international foes.

"It was a fantastic summer for our team, and we’re going to take a lot of great lessons and memories from our time in France, but now we are looking forward to continuing our process,” said Hayes.

"In order for our team to keep learning and growing, and for the coaching staff to continue to evaluate players, we need to play the best teams possible. Playing matches in Europe against some of the world’s top teams will be an important part of our journey."

With England sitting at No. 2 in the world and the Dutch at No. 11, this final 2024 road trip is exactly what the US boss ordered.

The Dutch are a familiar friendly foe

In their 11 previous meetings with the Netherlands, the USWNT has only lost once: a 4-3 defeat in their first-ever matchup in 1991. In the years since, the States have had the upper hand, logging eight wins and two draws.

The duo has ramped up the drama in their matches, though, facing each other in world championships in three of their last four bouts.

The USWNT's 2019 World Cup final win is arguably the team's most meaningful Dutch defeat, though recent tilts have appeared significantly tougher. While the US walked away with the win in the pair's 2021 Olympic quarterfinal, they needed penalty kicks to do so. And in the States's admittedly disappointing 2023 World Cup run, they played the Netherlands to a 1-1- draw in the group stage.

How to watch the USWNT's European friendlies

The US will take on England on November 30th at 12:20 PM ET. Their meeting with the Netherlands will kick off at 2:45 PM ET on December 3rd.

Both friendlies will air live on TNT, or you can stream the games via Max and Peacock.