MINNEAPOLIS — Before UConn’s two games in Bridgeport, the ones they needed to win to earn a 14th straight trip to the Final Four, the players took time to ruminate on the season they’d had.

There were injuries up and down the roster, including the three-month absence of star guard Paige Bueckers. There were humiliating losses to unranked teams. And on Monday, they’d lost key bench contributor Dorka Juhász to a gruesome wrist fracture.

Even for UConn, the 11-time national champion powerhouse, the odds of them making a run at the national championship seemed long during the low points. And this week, few pundits had them beating the reigning champion Stanford Cardinal on Friday without Juhász.

The players, and head coach Geno Auriemma, knew all of this. Instead of letting the adversity break them, they entered Friday night’s game stronger for it and outlasted Stanford in a defensive-minded battle, 63-58, to advance to the national championship game against South Carolina on Sunday, UConn’s first appearance there since 2016.

“So many years that we’ve come here, we’ve been a No. 1 seed, we had the best team going in. Everybody knew it, and it was, let’s just go do our thing and I don’t think anybody is going to be able to beat us if we play our A game,” Auriemma said.

“This year, I didn’t think any of that.”

UConn led Stanford for most of the game Friday night, but the advantage never felt safe.

Azzi Fudd and Aaliyah Edwards got into foul trouble in the second quarter, forcing Auriemma to dip into his reserves earlier than expected. Christyn Williams struggled to get into a shooting rhythm, going just 3-for-13 from the floor. Olivia Nelson-Ododa didn’t convert her first field goal until late in the third quarter, the result of a physical battle with Stanford’s Cameron Brink. And Paige Bueckers, UConn’s de-facto closer, was subbed out with 5:07 remaining in the game and later returned walking gingerly on her leg.

🌀 Spin and the finish 🌀 #WFinalFour x @UConnWBB pic.twitter.com/NBLyDlnKjt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 2, 2022

So, when Stanford started to cut into UConn’s lead with under two minutes to play, it still seemed like anyone’s game. That was especially true after UConn, up 58-54 with 34 seconds left, beat Stanford’s press and Evina Westbrook inexplicably threw an errant pass out of bounds, giving the ball right back to the Cardinal.

In that moment, as Haley Jones hit a jumper at the other end, UConn could have caved. But this type of challenge was nothing they hadn’t seen before.

“We’re still not complete. We’re still missing Dorka and Aubrey [Griffin],” Nika Mühl said after the game. “We just stuck together, like every other time. I don’t think there was ever a doubt in ourselves.”

Fittingly, Fudd and Williams, who combined to shoot 24 percent from the floor Friday, sealed the win for UConn with clutch free throws down the stretch. Bueckers finished with a team-high 14 points, and Nelson-Ododa and Edwards had near double-doubles to help the Huskies out-rebound Stanford 46-37, but no player’s stat line jumped off the page.

Throughout UConn’s season, when one player went down, another stepped up. On Friday night, the recipe was the same, just more resolute after months of bending but not breaking.

Auriemma won’t think his team is the better of the two taking the floor Sunday night in the national championship game. South Carolina, the No. 1-ranked squad all season long, beat the Huskies (with Bueckers) by 16 points back in November.

UConn was a different team then. They were more complete, as the injuries hadn’t set in yet, but they were also more fallible. They hadn’t yet weathered the punches and come out better for it on the other side.

That other side, now, could very well include an NCAA trophy.

“Sometimes you don’t have to have the best team to win this game,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes you just have to play the best that night, and you have to make some big plays in big moments, and you do just enough with what you have.”

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

US skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is officially back, clinching her spot on Team USA's 2026 Winter Olympics roster this week behind stellar recent performances on the sport's World Cup tour.

The 41-year-old made headlines two weekends ago when she became the oldest Alpine Ski World Cup winner since the circuit's 1967 inception, taking first in the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on December 12th — her 83rd World Cup victory.

"Every single thing that I could do to be faster, I did," said Vonn after winning the downhill event. "And now, now this is what happens. You get the reward."

Vonn is continuing to rack up the rewards, claiming podium finishes in four of the five total races she's competed in so far this season, earning another second-place downhill finish in St. Moritz before taking third in both downhill and the Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, last weekend.

As for her fifth World Cup race, Vonn clocked in at a still-impressive fourth.

"Four podiums in five races, I couldn't really be any happier," the Olympic gold medalist said in response.

Those finishes have the US ski legend sitting at No. 1 in the World Cup downhill standings and No. 3 in the Super-G — with her downhill ranking putting her far enough ahead to guarantee Vonn one of the four Team USA roster spots at the 2026 Olympics.

"Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication," said US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, confirming Vonn's Team USA qualification in a Tuesday statement. "She's proven once again that elite performance isn't just about past success, it's about rising to the moment, race after race."

Success spurs Vonn to extend final competitive season

Returning to competitive skiing in November 2024 following her retirement in February 2019, Vonn spent part of her five-year hiatus undergoing and recovering from a titanium knee replacement that ultimately returned her to the slopes.

Though Vonn previously planned to retire immediately after February's Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, she's now setting her sights on completing the World Cup circuit in March — though that will officially be the end of the road for the US icon.

"I feel like I'm rolling the dice enough as it is, being 41 and putting myself through this," Vonn told The Athletic. "So this is a one-season, final season."

That said, she'll look to add to her trio of Olympic medals before hanging up her competitive skis.

"For Cortina, things are looking pretty f—ing awesome."

The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.

"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."

While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.

With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.

Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.

The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.

The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.

Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.

The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.

Monday's AP Top 25 Poll featured few dramatics, as the Week 8 tally reflected another consistent slate from the 2025/26 NCAA basketball elite with only one shift in the Top 10 and marginal movement at the bottom.

Undefeated TCU keeps making gains, rising one spot to tie Oklahoma at No. 8 after taking down Big 12 foe Kansas State 77-55 behind senior guard Olivia Miles's 29-point performance on Saturday.

On the other hand, a 90-64 loss to No. 1 UConn on Saturday saw Iowa skid three spots, with the now-No. 14 Hawkeyes falling to a 1-2 record against ranked opponents this season.

Outside the relatively stationary Top 10, some blue chip programs are threatening to exit the AP Poll entirely after dropping ranked games last weekend.

Baylor experienced the greatest slide, dropping seven spots to No. 22 after falling 61-60 to Big 12 rival and rankings newcomer No. 21 Texas Tech on Sunday — the Bears' third loss in their season's four ranked games so far.

Tennessee saw a similar dip, plummeting six spots to No. 23 after losing to a surging No. 13 Louisville 89-65 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

The ranked action returns on Sunday, as No. 4 UCLA visits No. 19 Ohio State at 2 PM ET, live on the Big Ten Network.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 8

1. UConn (12-0, Big East)
2. Texas (14-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (12-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (11-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (13-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (10-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (13-0, Big Ten)
T8. TCU (13-0, Big 12)
T8. Oklahoma (12-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (13-0, Big 12)
11. Kentucky (12-1, SEC)
12. Vanderbilt (12-0, SEC)
13. Louisville (12-3, ACC)
14. Iowa (10-2, Big Ten)
15. Ole Miss (12-2, SEC)
16. UNC (11-3, ACC)
17. USC (9-3, Big Ten)
18. Notre Dame (9-2, ACC)
19. Ohio State (11-1, Big Ten)
20. Nebraska (12-0, Big Ten)
21. Texas Tech (14-0, Big 12)
22. Baylor (11-3, Big 12)
23. Tennessee (8-3, SEC)
24. Michigan State (11-1, Big Ten)
25. Princeton (12-1, Ivy)

USWNT star Catarina Macario could be on the move, with ESPN reporting Monday that numerous interested NWSL teams may make a play for the 26-year-old Chelsea FC forward in 2026.

Macario's contract with the reigning six-time WSL champions expires on July 1st, though FIFA regulations allow her to sign with a new club as early as January, with other European clubs expected to join hopeful NWSL teams in the race.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Despite leading the USWNT with eight goals in 2025, Macario did not dress for Chelsea's recent UWCL league-phase finale against Wolfsburg last week, with the attacker starting just six of the Blues' 11 WSL matches so far this season.

Should an NWSL club make an offer, its viability could hinge on the league's current salary cap dispute, with the Board of Governors suggesting the adoption of a "High Impact Player" rule to help teams keep or attract big names.

However, the NWSL Players Association came out against the mechanism last week, pushing instead to raise the overall cap to match any potential special relief.

Though a Macario NWSL deal is mere speculation at the moment, leagues on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to grapple with the demands of retaining or drawing top talent in the increasingly competitive — and expensive — global women's game.