The New Hope basketball team had one final chance to make its case for GEICO Nationals last Friday, and the team did not disappoint.

Coach Sam Caldwell’s team crushed Virginia Academy, 81-46, in the National Association of Christian Athletes Division I championship game and placed three players on the All-Tournament team: Jalyn Brown (Louisville commit), Kennedy Fauntleroy (Georgetown commit) and Alphonsia Eleko.

Whether or not New Hope’s season continues is out of its control, but there’s no doubt the team has made one final push, and that’s why it moved up one spot in this week’s high school basketball rankings. If New Hope does make it to Nationals, it might very well have to play No. 1 Sidwell Friends, which has led our rankings all five weeks.

1. Sidwell Friends (D.C.), 25-0

The Quakers thrashed Maret, 70-36, to claim their first ISL conference championship in more than 15 years.

2. Hopkins (Minn.), 19-1

The Royals crushed Buffalo, 74-31, in their regular season finale.

3. DeSoto (Tex.), 31-2

The Eagles beat Tomball Memorial and then Duncanville to advance to the 6A state semifinals.

4. Etiwanda (Calif.), 27-0

The Eagles overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to down Sierra Canyon, 69-57, in the CIF Southern Section title game.

5. La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 24-2

The Torreys bested Mission Hills, 68-53, and won the CIF San Diego Section championship.

6. Classen SAS (Okla.), 19-1

The Comets kicked off the 4A Area 3 postseason bracket with a 63-18 win over Byng on Tuesday.

7. St. John Vianney (N.J.), 26-1

The Lancers enter the state playoffs with momentum after rolling through the Shore Conference tournament.

8. New Hope (Md.), 27-2

New Hope beat its three opponents in the National Association of Christian Athletes tournament by an average of 57.7 points.

9. Sierra Canyon (Calif.), 26-2

The Trailblazers’ loss to Etiwanda was disheartening, but the team has the tools to make a run in the SoCal Open Open Division tournament.

10. Conway (Ark.). 28-1

The Wampus Cats received a first-round bye in the 6A playoffs.

11. Montverde (Fla.), 18-3

The Eagles are hanging tight in hopes of receiving a bid to GEICO Nationals.

12. Cedar Park (Tex.), 34-0

The Timberwolves rolled past Liberty Hill, 50-37, and into the 5A state semifinals.

13. Incarnate Word (Mo.), 25-0

The Red Knights put their undefeated record on the line Friday against Howell Central in the district finals game.

Huge THANK YOU to @PHEEsespieces for stopping by todays practice to talk to the squad. So grateful for such a great role model for our program and an ambassador for women’s basketball! @minnesotalynx #ALUM pic.twitter.com/TTDU4x2TtR

— Incarnate Basketball (@iwa_hoops) March 3, 2022

14. Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 23-4

The Highlanders won the 4A state championship with a 75-57 win over Calvary Christian.

15. Fremont (Utah), 23-2

A win over Westlake on Thursday would set the Timberwolves up for a state championship matchup against unbeaten Lone Peak.

16. Hazel Green (Ala.), 32-0

Fresh off a 74-54 win over Park Crossing on Wednesday, the Trojans will challenge Oxford in the 6A championship game this weekend.

17. Johnston (Iowa), 24-0

The unbeaten Dragons meet Pleasant Valley on Thursday in the 5A semifinals.

18. Woodward Academy (Ga.), 26-2

The War Dragons play Warner Robbins on Saturday in the AAAAA semifinals.

19. DME (Fla.), 21-3

DME is in practice mode, waiting for a potential bid to GEICO Nationals.

20. IMG (Fla.), 11-4

Like Montverde and DME, the Ascenders have shut things down in hopes of earning a spot at GEICO Nationals.

21. Noblesville (Ind.), 25-4

The Millers beat Franklin Community, 76-52, to claim the 4A state title, the program’s second state crown and first since 1987.

22. South Bend Washington (Ind.), 27-3

The Panthers annihilated Silver Creek, 93-35, in the 3A state championship game on Saturday.

23. Rock Bridge (Mo.), 23-1

The Bruins play Blue Springs South on Thursday in the district championship game.

24. St. John’s (D.C.), 19-4

The Cadets knocked off Bishop McNamara, 68-50, in the WCAC conference championship game.

25. Mount Notre Dame (Ohio), 27-0

The team is one win away from qualifying for the Division I semifinals.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

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Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

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Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.