Taj Cole didn’t know she had made the 44-person roster for Athletes Unlimited’s inaugural basketball season this winter until the end of an introductory Zoom call with all of the players.

“I didn’t know who was gonna be on the call,” Cole told Just Women’s Sports. “After a 30-minute Zoom call, they finally told us that we made the league. I was in complete shock.”

Cole attended AU’s open tryouts in early December, thinking it would be a good opportunity to get her name back out there after a standout college career. From there, she not only made the roster as one of four selected through the tryouts, she also showed right away that she can compete with the best in the league.

Through 13 games, Cole is averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. She currently ranks fifth in points and third in assists, putting her in 11th place on the leaderboard as the season heads into its final four games this weekend.

On Feb. 2, Cole also became the first AU player not already on a WNBA roster to sign with a team, when the Connecticut Sun picked her up on a training camp contract. She hasn’t been the last: Kalani Brown, a former No. 7 draft pick, signed with the Las Vegas Aces on Feb. 15, and Lauren Manis agreed to a training camp contract with the Seattle Storm on Thursday.

“I just hope that there’s other girls out there that don’t erase their goals, even though it don’t happen for them the first time,” Cole said. “Just keep working hard and always be prepared for the opportunity, and when you get it, go after it.”

Cole met Sun coach Curt Miller when he came to watch current Connecticut players Courtney Williams and DiJonai Carrington play with AU. From the moment they spoke, she sensed it was the right fit.

“I wanna go somewhere where I’m really, really wanted,” Cole said. “And I felt like not only do they want me, but they’re showing me that I can be a key piece of what they’re trying to build. So I’m excited.”

Prettttttyyyy finish from @TCOLE_0 🤩#AUHoops | 📺: @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/UUMfTpRjKV

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) February 24, 2022

That feeling is important to Cole because her path to the WNBA has been anything but ordinary. After spending the 2015-16 season with Louisville and becoming a top SEC point guard across two seasons with Georgia, Cole transferred to Virginia Tech for her graduate year. There, she set the program record for assists in an ACC season with 121. But after a COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season, the NCAA Tournament was canceled and Cole went undrafted to the WNBA that April.

Rather than letting the situation deter her, Cole kept pushing.

“Once I didn’t get drafted, I just never let that not be my dream again,” she said. “I just knew that it was just gonna be a different path, a different route for me to get there.”

Cole spent five months playing overseas, from August to December of 2020, before she had to return to Virginia to take care of family. When she stepped on the court with AU in late January, it had been over a year since she’d last played in a professional basketball game.

“That’s why I value AU so much, because it also gave me that stage to play against pros again,” Cole said. “I’ve been learning a lot and listening to the vets a lot. It’s been fun. I love the competitiveness. The point guard battle, we all talk, we all compete. We go after it, we try to win and then off the court, we’re good, we’re close.”

Athletes Unlimited’s schedule, with three games a week during a five-week season, has helped prepare Cole for the pace of the WNBA, where consistency breeds success.

Soon, Cole will turn her attention to what will be a competitive training camp with the Sun, who return nearly the entire core from their No. 1-ranked team last season, including 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones. Until then, she intends to close out the AU season strong, grateful for the fresh start the new league has given her.

“I think a lot of people can say this is one of the best leagues for females, period,” she said. “Next year’s tryouts, the amount of people that are going to try to get in this league is gonna be crazy. I’m excited to see where it goes and how it evolves over the next couple of years.”

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman is gearing up to debut her Adidas Player Edition cleats this weekend, marking her return to the field by rocking the all-new F50 SPARKFUSION PE — a boot built by and for women athletes.

"Growing up as a kid in California, I could never have imagined a day where there would be a cleat literally inspired by me," the 2024 Olympic gold medalist said in a press release. "I can't wait to wear them."

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According to Adidas's Thursday release, designers worked to specifically engineer the boots to "excel with the speed and agility demands of the modern women's game."

To do so, the sportswear company researched the unique anatomy of the female foot to address the discomfort reported by women athletes when competing in unisex cleats.

Consequently, the F50 SPARKFUSION PE boasts key design adjustments to improve fit, arch support, stability, and comfort for women athletes. The boots also contain features to boost players' agility across multiple pitch surfaces.

In addition to the performance improvements, Rodman's Player Edition boots come in the 23-year-old USWNT star's favorite colors.

Grounded by a pearlescent white base alongside vibrant light blue details and bold pink stripes — an homage to Rodman's signature pink hair — the attacker's cleats aim to create "a dynamic look that captures Trinity's energy and personality."

Rodman will sport her Adidas Player Edition boots for the first time on Sunday, when her Washington Spirit host the Portland Thorns at 12:30 PM ET on ABC.

How to buy the Trinity Rodman F50 SPARKFUSION PE cleats

The Trinity Rodman Adidas F50 SPARKFUSION PE cleats are currently available for purchase online at adidas.com.

World No. 4 Brazil and No. 18 Colombia will take center stage on Saturday, when star-studded lineups full of NWSL talent will duke it out in the 2025 Copa América Femenina Final.

The Conmebol titans advanced to the continental tournament's grand finale via two distinctly different semifinals, as Colombia narrowly pushed past No. 32 Argentina in a penalty shootout on Monday before defending champions Brazil thrashed No. 63 Uruguay 5-1 on Tuesday.

Entering Saturday's match as the favorites, Brazil is led by reigning NWSL champion Marta, with the legendary attacker joined by fellow Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina as well as Gotham FC forward Gabi Portilho, Racing Louisville midfielder Ary Borges, and Kansas City Current goalkeeper Lorena.

Chasing a fifth straight and ninth overall Copa América title, there has never been a final in the tournament's 10 iterations to not feature Brazil.

On the other hand, Colombia is seeking their first-ever Conmebol crown behind a quartet of NWSL standouts: Washington Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos, Racing Louisville defender Ángela Barón, San Diego Wave defender Daniela Arias, and Utah Royals defender Ana María Guzmán.

Saturday's final will be the second straight and fourth overall to pit Colombia against Brazil, and comes just eight days after the pair faced off to a 0-0 draw in their final group-stage match — though notably, Brazil played the bulk of that game with 10 players after keeper Lorena earned a red card in the 24th minute.

How to watch the Copa América final

The 2025 Copa América Final kicks off at 5 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on FS1.

With the US Open rapidly approaching — the WTA season's final Grand Slam — the tennis world's hardcourt titans are tuning up at the 2025 Canadian Open.

This year's tournament is in full swing up in Montréal, allowing players to hone their skills before next week's Cincinnati Open sets the tone for the annual New York City Slam.

Though stars like world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 9 Jasmine Paolini, and No. 11 Emma Navarro stumbled out of contention in the tournament's first two rounds, many heavy-hitters are still in play, including all three 2025 Grand Slam winners: Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, French Open victor No. 2 Coco Gauff, and newly crowned Wimbledon champ No. 3 Iga Świątek.

Joining Gauff in punching her ticket to Saturday's Round of 16 is fellow US player No. 32 McCartney Kessler, while Keys and several others in the US contingent — No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 7 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 116 Caty McNally — will battle to advance from the Round of 32 on Friday.

Other fan favorites are also still in the mix, including Japan's No. 49 Naomi Osaka and the UK's No. 33 Emma Raducanu, while 18-year-old phenom No. 85 Victoria Mboko is impressing as Canada's last-standing contender in play.

Notably sitting out this week is world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, with the 2024 US Open champ prioritizing her mental and physical rest ahead of her title defense.

How to watch the 2025 Canadian Open

The 2025 Canadian Open's Round of 32 continues throughout Friday before the Round of 16 takes the Montréal court on Saturday.

Continuous live coverage of the tournament will are on the Tennis Channel.

Two of the toughest WNBA stars will square off this weekend, as Minnesota Lynx forward and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier will battle it out against Las Vegas Aces center and reigning MVP A'ja Wilson in a Saturday showdown.

As the league's top two scorers, the 23.8 points per game put up by Collier will meet the 22.1-point average posted by Wilson for the second time this season, with Saturday's rematch coming just over a week after the Lynx toppled the Aces.

"Our defense is so good…. We just make it hard, and when every shot is hard, eventually it wears a team down, and that's our goal every night," Collier said after Minnesota routed Las Vegas 109-78 last Friday.

With less than two games separating third from sixth place on the league table, the WNBA standings have never been tighter, sending the stakes of this weekend's games through the roof:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 5 Atlanta Dream, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): A mere half-game behind the Mercury, the Dream can leapfrog two teams to claim third with a win on Friday, as Phoenix aims to galvanize behind their own MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas.

• No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 7 Las Vegas Aces, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Facing this season's undisputed top dogs on a two-game winning streak, the Aces will look to blank the Lynx at home in Las Vegas.

• No. 6 Indiana Fever vs. No. 4 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ABC): The Fever have remained hot despite the absence of an injured Caitlin Clark, and a Sunday result against the Storm could push Indiana into the league's upper echelon.