Stefanie Dolson had a banner 2021, winning Olympic gold with Team USA’s 3×3 squad in Tokyo and a WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky. At 29 years old, Dolson is hitting her stride after playing eight years in the WNBA and competing with USA Basketball since her U18 days.

The Sky center made history alongside Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young when they clinched the first-ever 3×3 basketball gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, a run that Dolson said re-energized her.

“It was just such a nice break from 5-on-5. I think if I went and played 5-on 5 basketball, it would’ve been a little bit harder maybe, or easier to feel burnt out,” Dolson tells Just Women’s Sports. “So I think it helped that I played 3-on-3. It kind of gave me that break from the season of the W.”

Riding the momentum from her Tokyo win, Dolson came back from the break ready to close out the second half of the WNBA season with her Sky teammates, who were some of her biggest supporters during the Olympics.

“Winning kind of brought me back on a high. My team was amazing, they were so sweet when I got back,” she says. “They had, like, these shirts made. It was really cute. I hate the attention, but I appreciate the statement, so they were really nice.”

The team chemistry Dolson attests to was on full display when the Sky went from the sixth seed in the playoffs to WNBA champions, securing the first title in franchise history.

Dolson’s landmark season, however, didn’t come without its challenges. The 29-year-old revealed in early 2020 and that she and her entire family tested positive for COVID-19 and her mom was hospitalized with the virus. Dolson experienced symptoms herself and didn’t return to the court for five months. During the 2020 season in the WNBA bubble, she played a career-low 18.2 minutes per game.

So, going into the 2021 offseason, Dolson decided to fully commit to her overall health, including changing her approach to nutrition. In an Instagram post celebrating the Sky’s championship, Dolson opened up about the hard work she put in during the winter months.

“I worked my ass off this offseason to lose weight, get quicker and be my best version of myself to help my team and I did just that!” she wrote.

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“For me, this was probably my biggest year when it comes to my body and stuff. I lost weight in the offseason, I decided not to go overseas,” Dolson says. “I lost 30 pounds.”

Nutrition and conditioning have been paramount for Dolson since she was a college athlete at UConn and learned she had to go the extra mile to refuel her body.

“Even at the end of last year, I wasn’t able to run the floor very hard,” Dolson told the Hartford Courant during her senior season in 2014. “I think that has improved immensely. I know how hard to work now. I have the instinct now to know how I have to work.”

That mentality helped Dolson overcome a foot injury, isolation and underperformance in 2020.

“I feel like my injury was from the weight that I gained from quarantine and from being home,” she says. “So I had to lose it. I got more fit, and then that’s when I started using this product called UCAN.”

The all-natural, zero-sugar energy product has become essential to Dolson’s training regimen in 2021, helping her overcome a grueling schedule to reach new heights. With UCAN, Dolson said that she doesn’t “crash because of the sugar,” something she has become hyper-aware of over the course of her basketball career.

“Just using products like UCAN, watching my carbs, my sugar, like all that stuff, it’s just helped me kind of be the best player that I can be,” she says.

UCAN’s wide range of products, including protein bars and energy powders, helped Dolson “maintain my weight throughout the season and still stay energized.”

“What the nutritional quality translates to for women is the ability to have a fuller capacity of their fuel source for training,” says Dr. Cathy Yeckel, an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Medicine and a nutritional consultant for UCAN. “It’s a healthier choice and it can translate to a bigger fuel repertoire when they come to the line to train.”

As for Dolson’s favorite flavor? “Cookies and cream, of course!”

After an eventful year, Dolson enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. She joins Sky teammates Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Kahleah Copper on the market.

While the future of the Chicago squad — and the possibility of a WNBA title defense — is uncertain, Dolson has found a recipe for success mentally and physically.

Clare Brennan is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @clare_brennan2.

(Editor’s note: UCAN is a sponsor of Just Women’s Sports)

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.