SEATTLE — Ohio State and UConn’s meeting in Seattle was a collision of two teams that had been battered and beaten down by the regular season. But in the postseason, they found new life.

One had history on its side. The other, a little March magic and a nightmare-inducing defense.

The Huskies had been to 16 straight Elite Eights and 14 Final Fours in a row. Ohio State has been to just one Final Four and three Elite Eights. The last came in 1993, one year after coach Kevin McGuff had graduated from college.

March Madness is chaotic, but it’s also poetic. And Ohio State’s 73-61 win over UConn had equal parts of both.

Chaotic because of the Buckeyes’ intense pressure defense. They forced 25 turnovers, snagged 13 steals and had 23 points off the UConn miscues, including 14 on the fast break.

Poetic because, despite their historical differences, UConn and Ohio State took similar paths to the Sweet 16.

The 11-time national champion Huskies always have monumental expectations. This season was no different. But before it even started, Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady were sidelined with injuries. Caroline Ducharme, Dorka Juhász and Azzi Fudd followed. Then came five losses — not exactly a collapse, but unprecedented for a team that’s lost only 26 times in the last decade.

Ohio State came into the season ranked No. 14 in the country, but after winning 19 straight, the Buckeyes jumped up to No. 2, officially raising expectations. Then Madison Greene’s season ended with a knee injury, and Jacy Sheldon was sidelined after just five games. Rebeka Mikulasikova, who was in the midst of her best season yet, also got banged up.

But when March came around, both teams found themselves in better spots. UConn relished the return of Fudd, and Ducharme and Juhász were finally healthy. Sheldon was back for Ohio State and, though limited, Mikulasikova was also available.

After going through hell and back, both teams had a chance at the Elite Eight. On Saturday in Seattle, UConn jumped out to a 17-9 lead, before Ohio State climbed back to control the pace and trajectory of the game.

Eighteen of UConn’s 25 turnovers came in the first half. The Huskies knew the press was coming, and they prepared for it in practice. But in person, it was panic-inducing, and their offense shut down.

“They were all over the floor,” Juhász said. “I think we were just — nobody wanted the ball. Nobody was trying to get open and break that press.”

The press, plus a 23-point performance from Buckeyes freshman Cotie McMahon, made the difference in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. After 16 years of appearances, the most successful team in the country would not be in the Elite Eight.

.@OhioStateWBB's @cotiemcmahon23 1st half.🥶

⚡️18 PTS
⚡️3 REB
⚡️2 AST

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/K8ieep4ow5

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 25, 2023

What does it mean?

It means the better team — Ohio State — won. It means an incredible streak was broken. But as far as the future of UConn’s women’s basketball is concerned, the loss means virtually nothing. Next year, the Huskies will be contenders once more.

And as Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff pointed out in the postgame press conference, Paige Bueckers, one of the top players in the country, was sitting on the bench. Next year she will be on the court.

“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” Auriemma said. “And it’s just a matter of time. It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later.”

Sooner came in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena with Sue Bird, one of the greatest Huskies of all time, in attendance. Her streak of 20 seasons in the WNBA just ended, too, in retirement. And with the end of UConn’s 16 straight Elite Eight appearances came the end of Ohio State’s 30 seasons without one. One streak ended with tears, another with smiles.

UConn’s streak ending doesn’t mean the end of UConn basketball as we know it. The Huskies will still get top recruits, including two top-20 incoming freshmen next season and another top-5 recruit in 2024. They will still play in Final Fours, still win titles. But other teams are joining the party. UConn’s loss offers a reminder of how special the program’s run truly was — something even the coach of the team that took them down can understand.

“They certainly have had incredible success that no one will ever match again as a program,” McGuff said. “But they have a really good team this year. They just started getting healthy at the right time. So I think we beat one of the best teams in the country today.”

Chaos, poetry, joy and anguish. One team moving on, one team going home. Two streaks broken. All at the same time.

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

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.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.