Two undefeated teams, two powerhouse coaches, two Player of the Year candidates: Sunday’s matchup between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 3 LSU has it all. It’s also the most-anticipated contest of the regular season.

Just Women’s Sports breaks down the top matchups to watch in the contest, airing on ESPN Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

Aliyah Boston vs. Angel Reese

Not only are Boston and Reese the leading candidates for SEC Player of the Year, they are also in contention for National Player of the Year. On Sunday, we will get to see the two star post players go head to head in the paint. By the numbers, Reese is having a better season, but they are each averaging a double-double. Reese is averaging 23.5 points, 15.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, while Boston puts up 13.3 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per contest.

The point discrepancy, however, isn’t necessarily an indication that Reese is the better player. Instead, it’s a reflection of each team’s makeup.

The Gamecocks are the country’s most balanced squad, with 12 players who score at least four points per game. They are so deep that only two players — Boston and Zia Cooke — average double-digit scoring. South Carolina’s strength is in its plethora of talent, and Boston knows that her team wins when everyone contributes. Instead of imposing her will and trying to score over double teams, Boston shares the wealth.

Like Boston, Reese is doing what her team needs her to do in order to win. LSU gets contributions from its bench, but the bulk of its offense comes from the starting five, and particularly from Reese. In all but six games this season, the sophomore has been LSU’s leading scorer, and that’s the Tigers’ recipe for success. Reese needs to be the most dominant player on the floor for LSU to have its best chance at victory.

There is also a minutes difference to take into account, as Reese plays 33.1 per contest and Boston plays 25.2 minutes per game.

The two have one head-to-head matchup recorded. Last season, when Reese was at Maryland, the two faced off in a 66-59 South Carolina win. All eyes were on Boston as she neared a triple-double with 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks, but Reese was dominant as well with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Because of the teams’ varying styles of play, the game likely won’t come down solely to who gets the better of this matchup, but there are bragging rights in play. Plus, the more dominant player will almost certainly lock up SEC Player of the Year.

Kim Mulkey vs. Dawn Staley

These two came onto the head coaching scene in the same year (2000), with Mulkey taking over at Baylor and Staley starting at Temple. Mulkey’s combined record at Baylor and LSU is 678-110 for an 86 percent win rate, while Staley’s is 559-185 (75% win rate). Mulkey has three NCAA championships and Staley has two. They’ve both led their teams to four Final Fours. You get the picture: These are two dominant coaches.

But their approaches to this particular season have been drastically different. In their quest for a repeat title, the Gamecocks have played a challenging schedule, taking on teams like Maryland, Stanford, UCLA and UConn. Meanwhile, LSU’s only ranked opponent up until this point was Arkansas, a team that South Carolina also beat handedly.

Staley came into the season knowing exactly what she had in the defending champions, but Mulkey said she didn’t know Reese would be transferring in and therefore couldn’t commit to a difficult schedule. The coach has repeatedly had to answer to LSU’s weak slate of games.

Because of the differences in strength of schedule, a win will do a lot more for the Tigers than it will for the Gamecocks. Unless something unexpected happens during the rest of the season, South Carolina is a lock for a No. 1 seed come March. A win over LSU strengthens the team’s resume, but a loss doesn’t necessarily hurt it.

But for the Tigers, Sunday is their chance to prove themselves. A win validates their record despite the strength of schedule, and it helps their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, a loss could prove critics right and seriously impact their seeding.

Alexis Morris vs. Zia Cooke

The post battle is the main attraction in this matchup, but let’s not forget about the guards. Morris and Cooke are two experienced players who have made huge impacts for their respective teams this season.

Cooke is leading South Carolina in scoring with 14.8 points per game, while also providing a crucial outside presence for a team known for dominating the paint. She’s South Carolina’s top 3-point shooter, with 42 makes this season at a 35.6 percent clip.

Morris is averaging 14 points per game, second on the team behind Reese, while serving as LSU’s point guard and predominant playmaker. Everything starts with Morris, who dishes out 4.5 assists per contest.

X-Factor

In games like this, stars generally do what is expected of them. So the victor has to get contributions elsewhere. That has been the formula all season for South Carolina, who average 40 bench points per contest. The duo of Raven Johnson (3.4 assists per game) and Kamilla Cardoso (9.7 points, 8.2 rebounds per game) have been particularly effective, as the two former AAU teammates have a keen understanding of each other’s games.

Meanwhile, the Tigers are going to need to slow down South Carolina’s overall production. Teams have had relative success against the Gamecocks by packing the paint and forcing the Gamecocks to be shooters. With Reese on the inside, that could be the plan of attack for LSU as well. On offense, they will also need someone outside of Reese and Morris to step up. Third leading scorer and dynamic freshman Flau’jae Johnson or sophomore Kateri Poole, who has yet to have a big game, could both be difference-makers.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

View this post on Instagram

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

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.