South Carolina women’s basketball will play in its fourth top-two matchup in two years Sunday, as the No. 1 Gamecocks take on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal.

The two teams met under similar circumstances last December. Both teams held the same rankings and their rosters held many of the same faces, including Aliyah Boston for South Carolina and Haley Jones and Cameron Brink for Stanford.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley sees such a high-profile contest as an opportunity for her team.

“You don’t play for the ranking, but we certainly play to see where we are — like, where do we stand up against the rich tradition of Stanford and their style of play?” Staley told the Mercury News. “It has an ambiguous meaning, but ultimately, it’s a measure of where you are, and when you stack up against one of the best teams in the country.”

She also sees the game, which will air on ABC at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, as an opportunity for women’s basketball as a whole.

“I think that we’re all thinking this for the greater good of the game,” Staley told the Mercury News. “This generates a lot of publicity. It generates a lot of buzz. It puts us on a platform to be seen by the rest of women’s basketball teams, programs, fans, bands, and everybody that just enjoys watching basketball.

“I know everybody’s been in a football mode, but it kind of jump-shocks you, to know it’s basketball season, and there’s a space for the basketball enthusiast to see a quality basketball game.”

Ahead of the showdown, Just Women’s Sports takes a look back at each of South Carolina’s last three No. 1 vs. No. 2 battles.

Dec. 21, 2021 – No. 1 South Carolina 65, No. 2 Stanford 61

South Carolina overcame an 18-point first-half deficit to take the win against Stanford last December. If history repeats itself, count on another close game Sunday.

The contest against the Cardinal marked the second top-two meeting in little more than a month for the Gamecocks, who had played then-No. 2 UConn in November.

“We had a packed house and we just didn’t have it in the first half,” Staley said. “Then we made a few adjustments at halftime and we got ourselves back in the game and we made it a game for the people who paid their money to watch, the people that were watching on TV or streaming it.

“I know Tara didn’t like the outcome, but I’m sure she could appreciate it being a highly contested basketball game.”

Destanni Henderson helped lead South Carolina in the win, but she has since moved to the WNBA as a member of the Indiana Fever. Still, new additions including freshman Ashlyn Watkins already have made an impact for South Carolina, which could give the Gamecocks a boost Sunday.

A very happy holiday season FAMS!

Gamecocks erase a 14-point halftime deficit and defend home court in the battle of 1 vs. 2.

FINAL STATS: https://t.co/wL4pgIYZD8 pic.twitter.com/DiWZTNbhao

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) December 22, 2021

Nov. 11, 2021 – No. 1 South Carolina 73, No. 2 UConn 57

The first of South Carolina’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups during the 2021-22 season also featured the No. 1 Gamecocks recovering from a double-digit first-half deficit.

Paige Bueckers pushed the UConn offense to a 13-point lead in the second quarter, but the Gamecocks ended up forcing 19 turnovers to not only come back but win in convincing fashion.

South Carolina ended last season as the wire-to-wire No. 1 and won the national championship. The Gamecocks will aim to repeat both feats this season, despite some key departures.

Feb. 8, 2021 – No. 2 UConn 63, No. 1 South Carolina 59 (OT)

South Carolina’s first top-two matchup since 2016 proved to be a defensive battle, and No. 2 UConn scored the upset victory in overtime.

Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 31 points, including all nine of the Huskies’ overtime points, in a Herculean effort that helped make her case for her Player of the Year award. No other UConn player finished in double digits.

Aliyah Boston, then a sophomore, finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. But South Carolina struggled on the whole, shooting 36.8 percent from the field and making just one 3-pointer.

Since then, South Carolina has been tough to beat in ranked matchups, with a 15-2 record heading into Sunday’s game against Stanford.

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.

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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.