CHICAGO — The last time Jackie Young and Skylar Diggins-Smith played on the same team was during a pick-up game when Young was getting recruited to Notre Dame.

Coach Muffet McGraw couldn’t watch the contest, because it was an unofficial practice session, but she remembers exactly what Young said when she came off the court.

“Jackie said, ‘Skylar yelled at me. I loved it,’” McGraw said with a laugh.

Young doesn’t recall the conversation, but doesn’t doubt that it happened.

“I was definitely fan-girling back then,” she said Friday from the Orange Carpet of the WNBA All-Star Game.

Young, who plays for the Aces, and Diggins-Smith, a guard for the Mercury, both grew up in Indiana, so they have long been familiar with one another.

“I’ve always watched Jackie,” Diggins-Smith said. “She set scoring records and made a lot of noise coming out of Indiana. I’ve followed her since she was young.”

The duo are two of four graduates representing Notre Dame in the 2022 All-Star Game this weekend, along with Jewell Loyd of the Storm and Arike Ogunbowale of the Wings.

This is the first time Notre Dame has had four players in the game.

“I think it’s great representation for Notre Dame, especially being so close to the university here in Chicago, with the school being an hour and a half down the road,” Diggins-Smith said. “So, hopefully we see some familiar faces, some Irish fans in the crowd.”

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McGraw won’t be one of those faces. A trip to Philadelphia to visit family takes precedence for her, mostly because it was scheduled long before the All-Stars were announced.

“I’ll be watching on TV for sure,” she said. “I wish I could be there.”

The current slate of Notre Dame players in the WNBA starts with Diggins-Smith, who played for the Irish from 2009-13. She overlapped with Loyd, who played from 2012-15, and between the two, Notre Dame appeared in four national championship games. Then it was Ogunbowale and Young’s turn to pilot the program from 2015-19, leading the Fighting Irish to an NCAA title behind Ogunbowale’s heroics in 2018.

“We had a great run from 2011 to 2019,” McGraw said. “And we definitely established ourselves as one of the elite programs in the country.”

According to McGraw, that success started with Diggins-Smith, who helped set a standard of excellence within the Notre Dame program.

She came in with a different attitude, one that McGraw hadn’t seen before.

“She changed the culture,” McGraw said. “That’s when we really started to rise. The way that she competes every day at practice, the way that she values defense. She’s such a great passer, and she builds that chemistry to the point where the players trust her and love playing with her.”

Wings guard Marina Mabrey remembers noticing the competitive culture when watching her older sister, Michaela Mabrey, who was teammates with Diggins-Smith.

Marina embodied the same attitude when she played for the Irish alongside Young and Ogunbowale. She has since taken it into her pro career, and her fellow alums have done the same.

“I feel like we just learn how to be pros there,” Mabrey said. “Everyone plays so hard and makes plays for their teammates. I’m really proud of everyone from Notre Dame that is an All-Star this year. They deserve it.”

For McGraw, the success of Diggins-Smith, Lloyd, Young and Ogunbowale is no surprise. They play essentially the same way they did in college, but they all took on their WNBA careers a bit differently. Yet another testament to Notre Dame’s ability to produce pros.

“We all had different journeys, we all had different paths to get here,” Lloyd said. “It is pretty cool to see that, and I think it is just a credit to the mindset of coming into college and knowing the goals. College wasn’t the end for us.”

That’s why the program is a mainstay at the top of college basketball, and why new recruits continue to buy into the Notre Dame culture. The four WNBA All-Stars embody that upward trajectory, something McGraw prided herself on during her years at the helm.

“That’s what every kid wants,” she said. “They want to be able to see, ‘How are you going to help me get to the league?’ That’s the question most recruits ask. I think the way that we run our program definitely prepared them to be pros. I think that it was demanding — I was pretty tough on them — so I think they’re able to handle pretty much anything that gets thrown at them.”

Playing for Notre Dame is just the beginning.

After seeing her players scattered throughout the league, McGraw is thrilled that Diggins-Smith, Lloyd, Young and Ogunbowale will all be representing the same squad on Sunday. The four players are on Team Stewart, with Young making the start and the others serving as reserves.

“I’m saying their team is going to win,” McGraw said. “And it will be fun to see.”

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

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.