It should have been Stanford’s game.

Playing on their home court, the Cardinal led South Carolina by eight points heading into the fourth quarter. But bit by bit, shot by shot, steal by steal, the No. 1 Gamecocks battled back.

And with two seconds left in regulation, Aliyah Boston reminded everyone that she’s the reigning Player of the Year, with a feathery shot off the backboard to knot the score at 61 and force overtime.

What followed was a disastrous collapse from No. 2 Stanford in a 76-71 loss, the team’s first of the season.

ALIYAH BOSTON TIES THE GAME WITH 2.1 SECONDS LEFT 😤 pic.twitter.com/VJEM5UUsTe

— espnW (@espnW) November 20, 2022

The good news for Stanford? The loss came on Nov. 20, and there is a lot of time left to correct the issues that emerged. The bad news? There were a lot of issues, especially down the stretch.

“Maybe it’s a team not ready to be No. 1,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer told reporters after the game. “So we have to be hungry as the No. 2, and we have to want to improve.”

It was an exciting, down-to-the-wire nail-biter, but there was no mistaking this for a postseason contest. South Carolina and Stanford exposed weaknesses in one another and learned a lot about themselves. It’s why VanDerveer and Dawn Staley schedule games like this during the regular season: to figure out where they stand now, and how they can be the last team standing on April 2, 2023.

Cameron Brink led all scorers with 25 points, and for the 23 minutes she played, the junior looked like the best player in the country. But it was the minutes she didn’t play that made the difference, particularly the last three after the 6-foot-5 forward had fouled out.

Brink was a mismatch for South Carolina, like she will be for most teams this season. She’s lanky, athletic and skilled around the rim, but she also possesses the guard-like skills needed to stretch defenses, attack from the 3-point line and knock down shots from long range. When the junior was on the floor, South Carolina had no answer for her. The problem for Brink is the same one that plagued her during her first two seasons — staying on the floor.

“Cameron is developing into something pretty special,” Staley said. “Her ability to hit 3s, to put the ball on the floor and stretch defenses elevates her game.”

Brink exited the game for good with 3:01 left in overtime. Even as South Carolina started to claw back, Stanford had a chance to seal the win with 10 seconds left after Agnes Emma-Nnopu stole the ball to give the Cardinal another possession, up 73-71.

Stanford drew up a play but failed to inbound the ball, resulting in a five-second call. Yet again, Stanford had another chance. Brea Beal missed both of her free throws, and Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen grabbed the rebound before positioning her hands in a “T” shape and turning to the official. The sophomore didn’t realize Stanford had used its last timeout. She was assessed a technical foul, and South Carolina got two free throws and the ball, ending the game on a sour note for the Cardinal.

That’s a lot of chaos to sum up one major concern for Stanford: maturity. The Cardinal have all the skills they need; they just need more time to develop. But this one will sting for a while because South Carolina didn’t storm in and take the victory. Instead, the Cardinal handed it over.

“There is a lot we left out there on the court,” said Stanford senior Haley Jones, who finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists. “But also in the grand scheme of things, it’s November. It’s our first loss, so I think there’s a lot left on the table.”

South Carolina won’t be pleased with the late-game turnover or four missed free throws in the last 24 seconds of play, but at this point in the year, they were seasoned enough to secure a victory.

“Stanford brings out the best of you, and the worst at times,” Staley said. “I just thought we didn’t play our best, and Stanford had a lot to do with it.

“We gutted out a win. This wasn’t an easy thing at all.”

Boston finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for her 63rd career double-double. In addition to the basket that forced overtime, she made two buckets in the extra period to help secure the victory.

Down South Carolina’s lineup, sophomore Bree Hall and senior Laeticia Amihere also gave the Gamecocks a lift off the bench. Hall had 12 points, and no basket more important than the 3-pointer she made to put her squad up four with 45 seconds remaining.

BREE HALL 🥶@GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/iNstuXsLSJ

— espnW (@espnW) November 20, 2022

Amihere finished with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks, doing a little bit of everything for South Carolina.

For Stanford, it’s hard to pick out the positives in a mistake-riddled overtime loss that included 22 turnovers, but it wasn’t all bad. Jones and Brink outplayed Boston and Zia Cooke for most of the game. It wasn’t until the second half that the South Carolina duo got their footing, after combining for just one made field goal in the opening two quarters. And with Brink on the bench, Stanford senior Ashten Prechtel proved herself to be a reliable defensive option, finishing with seven rebounds and five blocks.

The mistakes were glaring on Sunday. But it’s November, and November games are for making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. March games are not.

And March is when these teams will likely see each other again.

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

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.