All Scores

Offseason League Unrivaled Launches 1v1 Basketball Tournament

The Lunar Owls' Shakira Austin drives to the basket against the Mist's Aaliyah Edwards during an Unrivaled game.
Both Aaliyah Edwards and Shakira Austin will compete in Unrivaled's 1v1 tournament. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is at it again, revealing details about its inaugural 1v1 tournament on Tuesday.

Fueled by a $350,000 prize pool, the high-stakes competition will tip off with 30 players on February 10th. Athletes are currently in four equal pods, and fans will determine the tournament's seeding via ballot.

The three-day tournament will feature a series of single-elimination games, culminating in a best-of-three final. 

Contests will be played to either a winning score of 11 points or a 10-minute game clock, whichever comes first. Each matchup will follow the traditional two- and three-point scoring format, but with a shortened seven-second shot clock.

The biggest difference from both traditional 5x5 play and Unrivaled's 3x3 format is in the 1v1 contest's make-it, take-it rule, which rewards scoring with both points on the board as well as continued ball possession.

The Mist's DiJonai Carrington dribbles the ball during an Unrivaled game.
The 1v1 champion will earn checks for her entire Unrivaled team. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Tournament rewards both 1v1 winner and Unrivaled team

Unrivaled's 1v1 tournament champion will ultimately take home $200,000 — more than what some WNBA players' salaries. The runner-up will claim $50,000, with each semifinalist earning $25,000.

Interestingly, individual players aren't just competing for themselves. Each of the champion's Unrivaled 3×3 teammates will also snag a check for $10,000.

"There’s still a team camaraderie perspective," noted Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell earlier this month. "You may be eliminated, but your teammate keeps advancing. Inevitably, you want to root them on — not just for personal reasons, but also there’s an incentive for you if your teammate wins the ultimate cash prize."

Unrivaled reveals participating 1v1 roster

Of the 3×3 league's 36 players, only Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Stefanie Dolson, and Courtney Vandersloot will sit out the 1v1 tournament alongside relief contract players Natisha Hiedeman and NaLyssa Smith.

Consequently, one potential matchup could pit Unrivaled co-founders and 2024 WNBA Finals foes Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier against each other. Dozens of other potential pairings involving All-Stars like Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, Arike Ogunbowale, and Satou Sabally are also on the table.

Fan voting for the player seedings that will determine those matchups will start on Thursday, with the tournament's full bracket dropping in early February.

Wisconsin Volleyball Attendance Soars as NCAA Sees Growing Demand

Wisconsin volleyball players leap to block a kill from rival Nebraska during a 2024 NCAA match.
Wisconsin currently has the highest NCAA volleyball attendance in the country. (Michael Gomez/Getty Images)

Wisconsin volleyball is off to the attendance races, with the No. 7 college squad averaging 8,620 fans per match this season to become this NCAA's best-attended program — narrowly beating Big Ten rival No. 1 Nebraska's 8,602 current average.

Other than the Badgers and Cornhuskers, no other college volleyball team has surpassed 6,000 fans per match this year, but Wisconsin is well on track to surpass even their own dominant attendance history in the sport.

If they finish the season in the top attendance spot, the Badgers will snap a six season streak logging the second-best average crowds per year.

Even more, Wisconsin is on their way to blasting through their program-best mark, set when 7,761 fans per match filled the bleachers in 2022.

The growing demand for Badger volleyball is also translating into significant revenue boosts for school.

"We're really, really excited; we're going to exceed $2 million in volleyball ticket sales for the first time ever," Wisconsin deputy athletic director Mitchell Pinta told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this week. "And we're largely sold out for the rest of our matches at the Field House for the remainder of the season."

Should the Badgers reach that $2 million mark, they will see a massive 25% increase over the $1.6 million the team garnered just two seasons ago, and a near 18-fold growth from the $111,809 in volleyball ticket sales that Wisconsin logged in 2013.

Ultimately, the sky's the limit for both Wisconsin volleyball — and the sport at-large.

"If there's a saturation point on the demand for Wisconsin volleyball, we certainly have not seen it yet," said Pinta.

How to watch Wisconsin volleyball in action

With conference play kicking off this weekend, No. 7 Wisconsin will host unranked Big Ten foe Rutgers at 8 PM ET on Friday, before paying a visit to also-unranked Iowa at 3 PM ET on Sunday.

Both Big Ten battles will stream live on B1G+.

Liverpool Score Emotional League Cup Win in Tribute to Late Manager Matt Beard

Liverpool players stand and observe a minute of silence in remembrance of former manager Matt Beard before a 2025 League Cup match.
Liverpool earned an emotional League Cup win shortly after the sudden passing of former manager Matt Beard. (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

WSL side Liverpool opened their 2025/26 League Cup campaign with an emotional 5-0 win over WSL2 club Sunderland on Wednesday, dedicating the shutout victory to former manager Matt Beard after the 47-year-old's sudden passing last Saturday.

The match marked the Reds' return to the pitch following the postponement of their Sunday regular-season game against Aston Villa due to Beard's passing.

"It's a good win for Matt. We played with a lot of emotion," Liverpool defender Jenna Clark said afterwards, calling Wednesday "a really emotional night and an emotional few days for everyone involved with the club."

"We have pulled through together as a team the best we could and you saw that on the pitch tonight," Clark added.

Beard won back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014, departing the Reds in 2015 for a two-year stint with the NWSL's Boston Breakers.

He made his return to Liverpool in 2021, lifting the club back into the top-flight WSL by earning promotion his first season back at the helm.

"Matt will leave a huge void in the women's game," USWNT head coach and former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said in a statement earlier this week. "He was one of a kind, and his loss will be felt by all. My heart goes out to his family, but I want to take the time to acknowledge what a special man he really was."​

How to watch Liverpool this weekend

Liverpool will continue their 2025/26 WSL campaign against Manchester United this Sunday, kicking off live at 7 AM ET on ESPN+.

No. 1 England Battles No. 2 Canada in 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final

England players sing their national anthem before kicking off the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Host nation England will play for their first Women's Rugby World Cup title in more than a decade on Saturday. (David Rogers/Getty Images)

The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup culminates on Saturday, when host nation England battles for their first tournament title in more than a decade in a top-tier final against Canada, who are hunting their first-ever world championship trophy.

The Red Roses' long dominance on the Rugby World Cup pitch has led them to eight finals in the competition's nine editions, with England emerging victorious twice — in 1994 and 2014.

On the other hand, Canada will make just their second-ever appearance in the World Cup final this Saturday, as the Maple Leafs aim for a decidedly different outcome from their 21-9 loss to England in the 2014 championship game.

The top-ranked Red Roses will also be looking to avenge their narrow 34-31 loss to New Zealand in the tournament's most recent 2022 edition when they square off against No. 2 Canada in front of an sold-out crowd inside London's Twickenham Stadium — with another women's rugby attendance record on the line.

"You feed off of that energy, especially knowing what this game is going to be," England defense coach Sarah Hunter said. "It's a cliché, but [the crowd] almost becomes the 16th person in those moments where you need them."

How to watch the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final

England and Canada will battle in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final at 11 AM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on Paramount+.

No. 2 Washington Spirit Fights to Stay Atop the NWSL Table on 9-Game Unbeaten Streak

Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman sprints up the pitch during a 2025 NWSL match.
Trinity Rodman and the No. 2 Washington Spirit will look to extend their six-point lead over No. 3 Gotham in the NWSL standings this weekend. (Jamie Sabau/NWSL via Getty Images)

While the No. 1 Kansas City Current have officially run away with the 2025 NWSL Shield, the race for top playoff seeding rages on, as the No. 2 Washington Spirit fights to hold their ground against an unpredictable No. 9 Houston Dash this Sunday.

Bolstered by star Trinity Rodman's return from injury, the Spirit enter the weekend on a nine-game unbeaten streak, going up against a motivated Dash side sitting just two points outside of postseason contention.

"Every game we just need to be a lot more clinical in the final third," Rodman said after last weekend's 2-2 draw with No. 11 Angel City. "We're doing all the hard stuff and then it's [lacking] quality at the end."

Washington isn't without top-table challengers, with No. 3 Gotham FC riding their own five-game unbeaten streak into a Friday night match against the No. 4 Portland Thorns, who sit tied for points with both the Bats and the No. 5 San Diego Wave in the NWSL standings.

"At this stage, almost everyone still has a real chance to make the playoffs, which is great for the league," said Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós after the Bats' 1-1 draw with Bay FC last Sunday. "But it also means nothing can be taken for granted."

How to watch the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC this weekend

No. 3 Gotham FC kicks off this weekend's NWSL action when they host the No. 4 Portland Thorns at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on NWSL+.

Then in Sunday's NWSL action, the No. 9 Houston Dash will visit the No. 2 Washington Spirit at 1 PM ET, airing live on Paramount+.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.