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USWNT 2022 player grades: Naomi Girma headlines center-backs

Naomi Girma solidified her starting spot on the USWNT’s backline in the second half of 2022. (Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

It’s the end of the calendar year for the U.S. women’s national team, with 2022 performances all wrapped up in a bow. Naturally, that also means it’s time for end-of-year report cards to evaluate how each player did in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup.

Again, a quick set of criteria: Despite the team’s first three-game losing streak in decades, the U.S. lost only three games total in 2022. A failing grade would indicate a player is wildly unprepared for the game at this level, which is not something we saw from the group playing the lion’s share of minutes this year. Likewise, an A+ indicates a player with all-star, team-on-their-back, best-in-the-world status.

Throughout this series, which will grade players by position, I’m going to avoid those who didn’t get minutes in 2022 and those who have missed significant time due to injury.

So far, we’ve graded the goalkeepers and the outside backs. Now, let’s take a look at center-back.

Naomi Girma – A

If the U.S. had a Rookie of the Year award, Girma would take it with flying colors. The San Diego Wave defender started getting consistent time at the international level in the middle of the year and never looked back. She’s confident both in possession and out of it. Paired with Alana Cook and Becky Sauerbrunn in the latter half of 2022, she became an essential part of the USWNT’s ability to defend and distribute from the center-back position.

Girma’s ability to recover in 1v1 battles when the backline has fallen out of shape is remarkable for a player of her experience level. Girma is one of the U.S. breakout stars of the year and should be considered undroppable going into 2023.

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(Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

Becky Sauerbrunn – B+

Sauerbrunn had a quietly solid 2022, bridging the generational gap with new faces while remaining excellent in her positioning in the back. She partnered primarily with Alana Cook, though she did work with Girma in the pivotal final match of the year against Germany.

Sauerbrunn isn’t the fastest center-back in the world, but she makes up for her lack of pace with savvy positioning and decision-making. When the defensive shape holds, she’s the player the U.S. wants helping direct the flow of play. It appears Sauerbrunn is no longer the player who can be effective no matter who she is paired with, but her performance alongside Girma in the final game of the year showed promise.

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(Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Alana Cook – B

The 25-year-old got thrown into a role that she likely wasn’t anticipating in 2022, holding down the USWNT backline as center-back partners rotated around her. More than anyone, Cook probably deserves to be graded on a curve, simply because of the way the U.S. relied on her to shore up personnel inconsistencies over the course of the year.

Cook, though, was not immune to mistakes in the back, especially against top competition. She naturally pushes forward in possession as a key distributor in the USWNT’s attack. But perhaps a few times too many this year, her recovery runs didn’t match the tempo shifts transition or she made a decision slightly too late. Cook is a quality center-back who had the weight of the team laid on her shoulders in 2022. If she’s given slightly less responsibility in a functioning back-four, she can shine in 2023.

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Abby Dahlkemper last played for the USWNT in April. (Robin Alam/Getty Images)

Tierna Davidson/Emily Sonnett/Abby Dahlkemper – Incomplete

The USWNT center-back pool got very thin very fast due to injuries in 2022. The three who held down the position went through their fair share of ups and downs, making room for competition as players return in 2023.

Davidson, Sonnett and Dahlkemper are all World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, but there isn’t room for everybody in 2023. Girma is undroppable in my opinion, and if Sauerbrunn can make the trip, she’s also likely heading to New Zealand. So who earns the next spot, whether as a starter or a reliable backup? Cook, Davidson, Sonnett and Dahlkemper will all look to make their case before the final roster announcement next summer.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Aryna Sabalenka Narrowly Escapes Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati Open Battle

Defending champion No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka follows through on a backhand during her narrow Round of 32 victory over No. 39 Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka needed more than three hours to defeat No. 39 Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Cincinnati Open on Monday. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Tennis fans saw an epic battle on Monday, as world No. 39 Emma Raducanu forced No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka into a third-set tiebreak in the third round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

The British 22-year-old, who burst into the sport's upper echelons by winning the 2021 US Open as an unseeded teenage qualifier, came achingly close to ousting the top-ranked three-time Grand Slam winner in a match that required more than three hours and two tie-breaks to resolve.

"She's world No. 1 for a reason, and I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon so that's an improvement," said Raducanu, ultimately falling to the 2024 Cincinnati Open winner in Monday's narrow 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) loss.

Clearly affected by the oppressive humidity of the southern Ohio summer, Sabalenka took risks in the match's late stages to offset her 72 unforced errors and her diminishing energy.

"At the end, I went for crazy shots," Sabalenka told the crowd following the 2025 US Open tune-up match. "I think that it was a little bit risky from me and it really helped to put a lot of pressure on her."

Along with Sabalenka, this week's Round of 16 will feature at least four other Top-10 contenders, as 2025 Australian Open victor No. 6 Madison Keys and Kazakhstan's No. 10 Elena Rybakina booked their own Round of 32 wins on Monday, while 2025 French Open champion No. 2 Coco Gauff and 2025 Wimbledon winner No. 3 Iga Świątek enjoyed extra rest as their third-round opponents withdrew due to illness and injury on Tuesday.

Hoping to join the Gauff and Keys's advancing US contingent are No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 35 Ashlyn Krueger, who will face Poland's No. 40 Magda Linette and Italy's No. 9 Jasmine Paolini, respectively, on Tuesday.

How to watch the Cincinnati Open

Tennis's best will keep battling for Cincy's trophy — and an edge going into the season's final Grand Slam — this week: The third round will wrap on Tuesday before the Round of 16 kicks off on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the 2025 Cincinnati Open will continue airing on the Tennis Channel.

Injured Fever Star Caitlin Clark Talks WNBA Ratings Pressure on Sue Bird Podcast

Injured Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark stands in front of the bench during a 2025 WNBA game.
Injured Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has missed 19 of her team's 32 games so far this season. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is feeling the pressure, joining retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on last Friday's podcast to discuss the impact of her recent spat of injuries on league attendance and viewership.

"That's definitely been hard," Clark told Bird about having to ride the bench. "I'm going to go to every road game no matter what, whether I'm playing or not. It's hard because obviously I do feel this responsibility of being out there and playing."

"I sign autographs for way longer when I'm hurt than when I'm active," Clark told Bird, referencing her outsized popularity. "That's never something I wish for, but I still want to make as much time as I can for people."

In total, Clark has missed 19 of the No. 5 Fever's 32 regular-season games — plus this year's Indianapolis-based All-Star Game — as she manages three separate muscle injuries.

Before her injuries, Indiana's 2025 season opener pit Clark against fellow WNBA sophomore Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky earned what is still this year's highest viewership, with 2.7 million people tuning in on May 17th.

Since then, all three rematches have seen the regional rivals face off without one or both of their popular 2024 draft picks.

Despite star absences, however, ratings are up across all WNBA teams, with national networks averaging 794,000 viewers per game through July — a 21% increase over 2024's full-season average.

Golden State Valkyries Debut Violet the Raven Mascot

The Golden State Valkyries debut their new mascot Violet the Raven during an August 2025 WNBA game.
Golden State Valkyries mascot Violet the Raven will be a mainstay in Ballhalla going forward. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The mysterious large purple egg stashed inside the Bay Area's Chase Center has hatched, revealing the first-ever mascot for the Golden State Valkyries: a bespectacled raven named Violet.

Violet made her official mascot debut during the No. 7 Valkyries' 74-57 Monday win over the No. 13 Connecticut Sun, with the Golden State crowd welcoming her by singing "Happy Birthday."

"Ravens are commonly known as Valkyries' helpful and savvy counterparts in Norse mythology," the 2025 WNBA expansion team wrote in Tuesday's press materials, also noting that "because she is near-sighted, she sports gold glasses helping her achieve the excellent eyesight that ravens are known to have."

Nicknamed "Vi," Violet will bring "crucial knowledge [from her daily flights] back for the leaders of Ballhalla to use in battle."

Violet will now join other mascots in the league's spotlight, with teams seeing significant success from the popularity of WNBA-specific characters — sparked by the 2021 debut of New York Liberty icon Ellie the Elephant.

"The cultural phenomenon that Ellie has become today definitely exceeded our expectations," Liberty chief brand officer Shana Stephenson told Andscape last season. "She's become such an integral part of our game-day experience that the energy and atmosphere within our game I don't think would be the same without Ellie."

Chicago has also undergone a mascot revamp recently, replacing the team's old Sky Guy mascot with Skye the Lioness last year.

How to catch Violet the Raven at Golden State

Fans hoping to meet the Valks' new mascot will have a shot on Sunday, when Golden State returns from this week's road trip to host the No. 3 Atlanta Dream in the Chase Center at 8:30 PM ET, airing live on NBA TV.

Wings Rookie Paige Bueckers, Teammates Back Dallas Coach Chris Koclanes Amid Skid

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers high-fives head coach Chris Koclanes during a 2025 WNBA game.
Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes and rookie star Paige Bueckers are staying faithful despite the team's recent losing streak. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)

Currently on a five-game losing streak, the No. 12 Dallas Wings — and star rookie Paige Bueckers — are trusting the process, hunting an upset as they take on the No. 5 Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

"I think we have a really good young core, we have great pieces to build around, good complementary pieces," Bueckers told reporters on Sunday. "We're all really excited that the front office has doubled down on who we have here right now. I think that's what we're gonna build around."

"We've talked about it enough," the 2025 No. 1 overall draftee continued. "We need to put action behind our words."

First-year Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes has taken much of the heat for the Wings' skid, exiting the court to fans chanting "We want Nola" — a plea for assistant coach Nola Henry to take over the team.

"Stepping into this leadership role, [I'm] being challenged to step outside of character at times and when to hold people accountable in different ways and when to discipline in different ways, so I'm learning," said Koclanes, whose role with the Wings is also his first-ever stint as a head coach — at any level of the game.

"You know we didn't start the season off well, we're not playing how we should be playing. But we need the fans to support us," Dallas forward Myisha Hines-Allen said, directly addressing upset fans after the Wings' Friday loss to the No. 2 New York Liberty.

"At the end of the day, Chris is still our head coach. We still need him."

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever on Tuesday

The No. 12 Wings head to Indiana to take on the No. 5 Fever at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.

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