No. 1 South Carolina, last year’s national champion, and No. 2 Stanford, the 2021 national champion, will square off Sunday in the most anticipated matchup of the women’s college basketball season.

Both of these squads have the potential to be cutting down the nets come April, so Sunday could offer fans a Final Four or championship game preview.

Here are three storylines to watch when these two powerhouses take the court at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.

Aliyah Boston vs. Cameron Brink

This game features two of the best bigs in college basketball in South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Stanford’s Cameron Brink.

Boston won last season’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards after leading South Carolina to a national title, and Brink played a key role in Stanford’s 2021 title run. Both are future pros and generational talents.

But the 6-foot-5 Gamecocks senior and 6-foot-4 Cardinal junior bring contrasting styles of play to the floor.

Their biggest similarity comes in their shot-blocking abilities. Last season, Boston averaged 2.4 blocks per game, while Brink recorded 2.6 per game. Though Brink’s stats were better, Boston holds the defensive advantage because of her poise. Brink has been foul-prone during her first two years with the Cardinal, so keeping her on the floor against Boston will be key for Stanford.

As for their offensive skills, Boston is more of a traditional big, doing her damage with her back to the basket or on offensive boards, while Brink has guard skills that allow her to catch and drive from the perimeter. In this game, expect Stanford to try and stretch the defense by bringing Brink outside. South Carolina, on the other hand, will likely challenge Brink inside, with the aim of sending her to the bench with foul trouble.

“Ready to do what needs to be done.” Aliyah Boston is HER. #NCAAWBB X @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/uQpbp4N551

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) November 11, 2022

Roster depth

Both of these teams are blessed with depth.

That’s a gift, but it also means South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer have to spend the early part of the season tinkering with their lineups. There’s a good chance Stanford and South Carolina meet again in the postseason, and if they do, their rotations could look a lot different than they do Sunday.

This weekend, look out for the usual suspects – Brink and Haley Jones for Stanford, and Boston and Zia Cooke for South Carolina – but also be aware that any number of players could step up and make a difference.

In the starting lineup, Raven Johnson could have a breakout game for South Carolina. After being injured early last season the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2021 has been tabbed to take over the point guard spot from Destanni Henderson. For Stanford, Hannah Jump is off to a hot start, shooting 58% from beyond the arc and averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game.

Off the bench, both teams have elite post options as well. South Carolina has the luxury of trading Boston for 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso, while Stanford brings in No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts. And it doesn’t end there. Ashlyn Watkins, the No. 12 recruit in the country, has been getting key minutes for the Gamecocks – she made headlines with a dunk against Clemson – and Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen has gone from playing 6.5 minutes per game as a freshman to putting up 11.8 points per game in her sophomore season.

Another day in the office for @hannah_jump 👀

Her eight 3️⃣'s against Cal Poly matched a career-high, are the second-most in a single game in Stanford history, and increased her national lead of 20 3️⃣'s this season!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/PHIIGI4pp7

— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) November 18, 2022

Efficient scoring

Stanford started the season shooting exceptionally well. So far, the Cardinal are hitting 55% of their field goals and 41% of their 3-pointers. Leading the way in efficiency is Iriafen, who ranks second in the country and has made 75% of her shot attempts so far. Betts isn’t far behind, making 72% of her attempts.

For South Carolina, Boston has scored on 71.4% of her attempts, and the post cohort is following suit. Cardoso (with less attempts) is at 82.4%, Watkins is shooting 70.6%, and Sania Feagin – another player who is making big strides from last season – is shooting 76.9%.

Both teams like to find high-percentage looks inside, and both squads do it with relative ease.

The defense in this game will be on another level compared to the teams South Carolina and Stanford have played thus far – though the Gamecocks faced No. 17 Maryland – so those numbers likely won’t be as high. Look for both sides to try and capitalize in other aspects of the game, like free throws or outside shooting to find some kind of separation. That could be the difference, but the Gamecocks and the Cardinal won’t shy away from their inside game, and it should be an exciting battle in the key.

Expansion team WNBA Golden State has officially brought on New York Liberty assistant GM Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager, the team announced in a Monday afternoon statement.

The move marks one of the first major personnel hires for the highly anticipated franchise, set to begin league play in 2025. Nyanin will oversee all basketball operations for the Bay Area addition, including building out the roster, shaping the team, and developing talent. 

Nyanin joins team president Jess Smith and senior vice president of marketing and communications Kimberly Veale in the WNBA Golden State front office.

"Ohemaa is the perfect fit to lead our WNBA basketball operations as we prepare for our inaugural season in 2025," Warriors co-executive chairman and CEO Joe Lacob said in the release. "As we moved through the GM hiring process, it became more apparent each day how impressive and well-versed Ohemaa is in all facets of the business, and as a person."

Nyanin was with the Liberty for more than five years, most recently serving as the team’s assistant general manager. Prior to that, she spent five years as the assistant director of the women’s national team at USA Basketball, helping to oversee team operations through gold medal wins at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

"I am truly honored to be chosen as the first general manager of WNBA Golden State," Nyanin said. "Throughout the interview process, it was clear that bringing a WNBA team to the Bay Area was meticulously thought out and those involved are motivated changemakers who will be proactive in growing the league. I look forward to joining this franchise and building a competitive basketball team that the fans deserve."

In a July 2023 profile published by The Next, Liberty assistant coach Roneeka Hodges described Nyanin as the New York team's “Ms. Make-it-Happen."

"She’s a jack of all trades," added Hodges, while Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb paid Nyanin a particularly prophetic compliment.

"She needs to be a general manager in this league," Kolb said. "Full stop, it needs to happen, and that’s her goal."

Chelsea began Sunday with their WSL title hopes a distant dream... before closing out the weekend right back in the thick of the title chase.

The Blues made a last-ditch effort to claim their fifth consecutive Barclays WSL title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over relegation-bound Bristol City. The victory came after a visiting Arsenal upset current table-toppers Manchester City at Joie Stadium, besting the home side 2-1 on back-to-back goals from Stina Blackstenius. With the win, the third-place Gunners re-opened the door for Chelsea to finish level at the top of the table on points.

Chelsea remains second in the standing, with 49 points to Manchester City's 52. But the barrage of goalscoring over the weekend could be enough to overtake City's potential tiebreak advantage in goal differential, leaving even coach Emma Hayes in awe.

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Chelsea holds a game in hand, but the Blues will need to win their May 15th match against Tottenham to give them a shot at the title. Should they take all three points, the title race will come down to the final weekend, when Chelsea squares off with Manchester United while City faces Aston Villa on Saturday, May 18th. 

Set to take over the USWNT in June, Hayes acknowledged the likelihood of finishing out her time at Chelsea with zero trophies, after losing in both the Conti Cup final and UWCL semifinal last month. But for now, her initial pessimism has subsided.

"Let me be clear, it's not f*****g over," Hayes said after coaching her last home match with Chelsea on Sunday. "There's no time for sentimentality, all work drinks are canceled. There's a title to be won.

"This group of players taught me something so special this week — that you never ever give up."

A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday. 

Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views. 

In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."

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"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.

"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."

On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.

Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.

The Caitlin Clark WNBA era has officially begun, with the star-studded rookie making her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday. 

Clark scored a team-leading 21 points — including five threes — and recorded a game-high 16 points at the half. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who got the last word for Dallas, knocking down a splashy buzzer-beating three-pointer in front of the sold-out crowd to deliver the Wings the 79-76 win.

"I think there's gonna be a lot to go back and look at and learn from, because a lot of it is kind of different from college," Clark said shortly after the Fever's loss. "Just from, you know, a technique standpoint or you know, scheme standpoint, and what we do is not always always going to be the same. So I think those are the biggest things, but I think overall, I just played really hard and that's always something to be proud of."

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For Clark, the biggest transition challenges lie in WNBA's physicality and talent levels. 

"No matter who steps into the game, you can never really relax, because that’s how competitive the league is," she added.

Fever coach Christie Sides also commented on's Clark on-court adjustment in her postgame remarks. Noting that the team will have to take steps to protect their star as she navigates the W's upgraded athleticism, Sides shared that at one point in the game, Clark was "completely gassed" and called for a sub. 

"We have to do better, we can't let her get to that point," Sides said. "She just won't be able to last and the way people are guarding her — I mean, she's seeing a double team, she's seeing hard hedges, they're being real physical with her. That's how it's going to be for her. And so we've got to make sure we're doing what we can to protect her so she's able to go into fourth at the same level she is in the first."

Clark wasn't the only rookie making their pro debut in Dallas that night. Ohio State ace Jacy Sheldon racked up six points and one rebound in her 13 minutes on the court (plus an unfortunate viral moment), but the breakout performance of the night went to Jaelyn Brown, a Cal grad who went undrafted in 2020 and spent the last few years playing overseas. On Friday, she carried the Wings to the finish line with 21 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting.

After the game, Brown attested that she's "ready to compete" in an atmosphere that she "belongs in."

"I just try and treat it as any other game," she continued. "The crowd was amazing, it’s a little different from overseas, a little bit, but it’s the same game. I just [came] out there with a calm composure and did what I can do."