MANHEIM, Pa. — For the top clubs in this year’s Girls Under Armour Association circuit, all roads lead to the Spooky Nook Sports Complex.

Championship play began Saturday morning, with a bracket of thirty-two 17U teams vying for the title, but only eight of those teams had the chance to fight it out Sunday in hopes of reaching Monday’s championship game.

Top-seeded FBC United features four highly-rated recruits in the Class of 2023 — point guard Jaloni Cambridge, center Essence Cody, point guard Reniya Kelly and shooting guard Courtney Ogden — so it’s no surprise they entered the weekend 10-0.

The No. 1 team drew the 10th-seeded Germantown Lady Panthers in the quarterfinals and secured a spot in the semifinals with a 57-45 win.

“It was a team win,” Ogden said. “We focused on playing as a team. We weren’t really hitting our shots like we normally do, but we still got it done together. We’re ready to go on and win this thing.”

That core four, alongside class of 2024 point guard Zamareya Jones and 2024 power forward Joyce Edwards, played with energy and grit. Even when the shots weren’t falling, FBC United took advantage of every possession.

That team victory moved FBC United into the quarterfinals against the No. 3 Northwest Blazers, who defeated No. 7 Nebraska Attack 67-51.

But unfortunately for the Blazers, there was no stopping FBC United. College coaches from all over, including Baylor’s Nicki Collen, Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, Kentucky’s Kyra Elzy and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, bore witness to another balanced effort, as FBC United claimed a commanding 58-35 victory to secure a spot in Monday’s championship.

FBC United and No. 2 FBC The Family Supreme Team both entered the weekend with undefeated GUAA seasons. They, along with fellow quarterfinalist FBC Legacy, hail from the Atlanta area’s Finest Basketball Club, an organization that has consistently produced Division I talent.

Naturally, a program that has graduated many McDonald’s All Americans is no stranger to the champions bracket, which is precisely why spectators found themselves watching a quarterfinal matchup between FBC The Family Supreme Team and FBC Legacy in one of Sunday afternoon’s first games.

As a parent from another quarterfinalist club put it: “Of course they’re playing each other. They’re always here.”

Ultimately, it was FBC The Family Supreme Team who reached the semifinals after a 47-35 victory.

The second overall seed awaited the winner of No. 4 West Virginia Thunder and Arkansas-based Mavs Elite, both of whom boast elite talent. Point guard Kymora Johnson, a top-25 recruit in the class of 2023, led the charge for the Thunder, while Mavs Elite’s Mikaylah Williams, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, seemed to be on everyone’s must-see list.

“She literally floats,” said an admiring 15U onlooker, after on of Williams’ many impressive buckets.

While Williams, who recently committed to LSU, looked every bit the unanimous top recruit in her class, the Thunder utilized balance and depth to grind out an 83-67 win. It was always within the Thunder’s control, and class of 2025 forward Zakiyah Johnson was a big part of that.

“I knew I was guarding her,” Zakiyah Johnson said about Williams. “I knew I couldn’t lay off, but I’m also at that elite level, too. I knew I could handle that pressure, and slowing her down slowed her team down. It helped my team bring it up.”

Zakiyah Johnson is one of two members of the class of 2025 on the Thunder’s U17 squad. She and power forward Darriana Alexander are not only two of the team’s tallest members, but also two of the toughest.

“I thought the girls played hard from the start to the finish,” Thunder Coach Scott Johnson said. “Mavs Elite’s a really good team. I thought we did a great job collectively as a defensive group. We geared up for this game, and we were locked in. We want to go to the championship. We know it’s one step at a time. And this was the first step right here.”

The second step, a 68-65 win over FBC The Family Supreme Team in the semifinals, was hard fought. After a Thunder scoring drought in the third quarter that turned a double-digit lead into a two-possession game, the possibility of another FBC matchup — this time in Monday’s championship — began to lurk.

“We had to make something,” Alexander said about the final minutes of the game. “We had to do something. Rebounding was key for us.”

Best Moment

The score was tied at 65 as the clock inched toward zero, and the crowd was electric. Everyone had something to say, and in more than a few cases, they were yelling it.

Emotions were high, and understandably so, with a spot in the final on the line.

Kymora Johnson had found her offensive rhythm in the quarterfinal matchup against Mavs Elite, and not even the four hours between the two games could slow her down.

“I knew it was going to be close,” she said. “Every game of the tournament keeps getting closer and closer. They never let up, so we had to keep our foot on the gas.”

Johnson did just that, hitting a smooth game-winner from beyond the arc with just 14.8 seconds left, and once more, the Thunder took care of business, securing a 68-65 victory.

@KymoraJohnson_ SO SMOOTH with the game winning 3 pushing @WVThunderUAA past FBC The Family Supreme Team and into the #GUAA championship! 😱🙌 #uanext pic.twitter.com/OSRuTOHq7D

— Girls UAA (@UANextGHoops) July 25, 2022

Most Valuable Player

Basketball has long been compared to jazz — if even one member of your group is out of sync with the others, the lack of cohesion can throw everyone off.

And just as a misstep may ruin the tempo, a shining moment may elevate it.

Kymora Johnson spent all of Sunday shining, and because of that, everyone around her did, too.

“She’s a bright-lights player,” said Kymora Johnson’s mother, Jessica. “I can’t say I’m surprised. She is very unselfish. She doesn’t mind sharing the light. And her birthday is tomorrow, she turns 17. So she’ll play the last game of her AAU career on her birthday, and she’s been determined to make that the championship.”

Rising Star

In FBC United’s dominant win over the Blazers, Edwards handled her opposition with ease in the paint, finishing with 20 points, and on a team with so many big names, she managed to be the difference.

“I just go in the game thinking about what the team needs me to do — rebounding, putbacks, all the dirty things, all the effort plays — and show my passion for the game,” Edwards said after the semifinal win.

FBC United secured their spot in the championship! 2023’s faceoff tmrw at 11:50am ET 👀🙌🪣 pic.twitter.com/Lsda1j5zLK

— Girls UAA (@UANextGHoops) July 25, 2022

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also writes about college basketball for Blue Ribbon Sports and covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

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.