We’re two weeks into the season, and women’s college basketball has already seen overtime, upsets and reshuffling of rankings. There is a lot to unpack from this early slate of games, so here are 10 teams that have my attention, for better or for worse.

Texas

The Longhorns started the season ranked 25th in the AP poll, and I didn’t even have them in my JWS preseason rankings. When they topped then-No. 3 Stanford 61-56 on Nov. 14, it came as a shock. But should it have?

Texas’ 131-36 victory over New Orleans five days earlier should have been an indication that Texas could make some noise this season. No, New Orleans isn’t Stanford. And yes, it is a team the Longhorns should have beaten up on, but regardless of the opponent, out-scoring another team by nearly 100 points is a hugely impressive feat. That lopsided victory was our first look at the pace and intensity at which Texas plays.

JWS basketball analyst Rachel Galligan said she had a chance to watch Texas practice in October and was floored by the team’s pace, even in a non-game setting. The Longhorns ran all over Stanford in the upset win, showcasing a style of play that’s going to wreak havoc on a lot of teams before the season is through. The game also served as a great introduction to freshman Rori Harmon, who scored 17 points and fits perfectly into the Longhorns’ up-tempo style, and a reintroduction to Mississippi State transfer Aliyah Matharu, who had 17 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Tennessee

I quite literally finished typing the above section, and then watched as Tennessee defeated Texas 74-40 in overtime on Sunday. The Vols have a lot of fight, and a lot of talent. They entered the season ranked 15th in the AP poll, a spot they wouldn’t have earned without standout player Rae Burrell. So when Burrell went down with what seems like a serious injury (she’s out indefinitely, and the only information Tennessee has given is that it’s not an ACL), it was fair to wonder if they were destined for a subpar season.

Instead, Tennessee proved it’s much more than just Burrell. Tamari Key was on another level against Texas, recording a triple-double with 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks. Meanwhile, Jordan Horston had a double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds. The Vols are a complete team, and if Burrell comes back, they will be even better. Her absence gives other players a chance to find themselves and develop confidence that will be valuable when she’s healthy once more.

JORDY IS FIRED UP!! pic.twitter.com/ZuWWxxOlsm

— Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) November 21, 2021

Stanford

Should the defending champs be concerned? Maybe, and maybe not. Against Texas, the Cardinal clearly missed Kiana Williams, their point guard last season. Texas’ intense pressure flustered Stanford into committing 20 turnovers. The loss showed that Stanford has to adjust to life without Williams, and if they don’t, fly-around defense could be the key to defeating the Cardinal this season.

Stanford had similar difficulties at times against another defensive-minded team in unranked Gonzaga on Sunday, but they were without Haley Jones — for unknown reasons — in that contest. Stanford showed resilience in a tough road environment, rallying from being down 13 at one point to top the Zags 66-62 in a game that went down to the wire. A Nov. 25 matchup with a very poised Indiana squad will be the next big test for Stanford.

Arizona

The Wildcats are another team that started the season under-ranked, at No. 23 in the AP poll. But when they upset No. 6 Louisville 61-59 in overtime on Nov. 12, they proved that Arizona in the post-Aari McDonald era is going to be just fine.

Arizona has a new identity, and it’s all about defense. That’s not too different from last season, but the scoring prowess of McDonald got the most attention (for obvious reasons). The Wildcats made Louisville work for every possession, holding the Cardinals to 28.2 percent shooting and 18.2 percent from 3. Their defensive pressure helped them stay in control, even when their offense was struggling at the start. The Wildcats forced Louisville into 17 turnovers but committed the same number themselves.

Still, there were bright spots on the offensive end. Cate Reese recorded 21 points, making all six of her free throws and shooting 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Ariyah Copeland, a transfer from Alabama, proved to be a welcome addition in the paint. She scored just eight points, but each bucket was timely and the comfort she showed in Arizona’s system and flow of the game tells me there is more where that came from.

.@cate_reese = shooter 🔥🔥 #MadeForIt pic.twitter.com/Q3DuGXW3rt

— Arizona Women's Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) November 12, 2021

Louisville

That brings me to a Louisville team that’s had an inconsistent start after beginning the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. Losing to Arizona isn’t a bad upset in my opinion, given the Wildcats are clearly better than their ranking showed at the time. But Louisville has some things to work out. Against Arizona, the Cardinals showed their youth, often getting flustered in high-intensity situations, committing turnovers or taking ill-advised shots.

Later in the week, the Cardinals found themselves up 16 entering the fourth quarter against unranked Washington, before seemingly taking their foot off the gas and allowing the Huskies to get within three points. The Cardinals figured things out and ended up winning 61-53, but once again, they struggled at the 3-point line, going 2-for-10. They did clean up their turnovers against Washington, committing only nine. All that said, a semi-bumpy start isn’t unexpected for Louisville, and Cardinals fans shouldn’t be too concerned. This is a young squad that still needs to figure out who it is without Dana Evans, a consistent and experienced playmaker last season who led her team with 20.1 points per game.

Kentucky

After an up-and-down 2020-21 season, I thought Kentucky would have made more progress in coach Kyra Elzy’s second year at the helm. And while no squad will have everything figured out just two weeks into the season, Kentucky’s loss to Indiana was pretty telling.

Rhyne Howard is arguably the best scorer in the NCAA, and yet at times, the Wildcats don’t seem to know it. She still scored 23 points in the loss, and good teams need to have balance, but there are stretches where she is taken completely out of the offense in favor of an ill-advised shot or another playing taking over. She’s the kind of player who should be touching the ball on every possession. If the Wildcats consistently play through her, the rest of the offense should follow and other players will find success.

Losing to a top-10 team isn’t the end of the world, however, and Kentucky has plenty of time to get back on track. A matchup with No. 22 West Virginia on Dec. 1, followed by a game against No. 10 Louisville on Dec. 12, should give us a better idea of where the Wildcats stand.

Indiana

The Hoosiers are the most cohesive team I’ve seen so far this season. On both ends of the floor, each player seems to know exactly where every teammate will be at any given time. Mackenzie Holmes, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, is a force on offense and easily the best player on this squad. But Indiana has impressed me with its balance thus far. Through five games (including an exhibition), four Hoosiers have averaged double-figures, and they’ve had three different leading scorers in those games.

After the win over Kentucky, Indiana jumped up to No. 4 in the AP Poll, which might be too much, too soon. Kentucky, as I mentioned above, is an inconsistent team, and Indiana hasn’t played anyone else that can give us a baseline on which to judge its abilities. But that won’t last long. The Hoosiers are slated to play Stanford and NC State in the next two weeks, before diving into a tough Big Ten conference schedule. By the time their Dec. 2 game against the Wolfpack wraps up, we should know what kind of team Indiana really is.

South Carolina

So far, I haven’t seen anything to contradict South Carolina being the best team in the country. The Gamecocks have already defeated two top-10 teams in No. 5 NC State and No. 9 Oregon. This team has so much talent at every position. Against NC State, the guards led the charge, with Zia Cooke recording 17 points and Destanni Henderson finishing with 14. Later, when the Gamecocks topped Buffalo, it was all about post play as Aliyah Boston finished with 23 points and Kamilla Cardoso had a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), adding two blocks for good measure.

The Gamecocks will face the ultimate test in No. 2 UConn on Monday, in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. South Carolina certainly isn’t shying away from top-notch competition to start the season, something that can only be a benefit down the line.

UConn

That brings me to the Huskies. They faced their first true test against No. 23 South Florida on Sunday and answered the bell. The teams were tied entering the fourth quarter, but UConn outscored South Florida 15-8 in the final period to win 60-53. Freshman Azzi Fudd led the charge, scoring 18 points on six 3-pointers.

Fudd and Paige Bueckers (who had a career-high 34 points against Arkansas) are going to get a lot of attention this season, but it’s the play of Christyn Williams that should have UConn fans excited. She led the Huskies with 31 points on 12-for-14 shooting from the field in a victory over Minnesota, and through three games, she’s averaging 19.6 points per game. She seems to have turned into the player everyone thought she could be as the No. 1 recruit in 2018. With Williams playing at this level, UConn’s roster is hard to match.

AZZI FUDD WITH HER FIRST POINTS FOR THE HUSKIES!👏 pic.twitter.com/mMSzw8vuus

— UConn Videos (@SNYUConn) November 14, 2021

Maryland

The Terrapins weathered a late-game comeback by No. 6 Baylor on Sunday to cement themselves as one of the best teams in the country. The most impressive part? They did it without Diamond Miller, who played a few minutes before leaving the game with the same knee injury that kept her out to start the season. The Terrapins had a balanced effort in the win, led by Ashley Owusu’s 24 points, six assists and four rebounds. Angel Reese had 17 points, Chloe Bibby had 16 and Mimi Collins finished with 10. Freshman guard Shyanne Sellers was also impressive, doing a little bit of everything with seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

If Maryland is this good without Miller, imagine what the Terrapins will do when she’s healthy. They did give up a double-double to NaLyssa Smith (30 points, 15 rebounds), but that says more about the skills of Smith than anything negative about Maryland.

JWS’ Top 25 in Week 3

1. South Carolina (5-0)
2. UConn (3-0)
3. Maryland (6-0)
4. Iowa (4-0)
5. NC State (4-1)
6. Stanford (3-1)
7. Indiana (4-0)
8. Baylor (3-1)
9. Arizona (4-0)
10. Louisville (3-1)
11. Texas (3-1)
12. Tennessee (4-0)
13. Michigan (4-0)
14. Ohio State (3-0)
15. Iowa State (4-0)
16. Oregon State (3-0)
17. Florida State (4-0)
18. Georgia Tech (4-1)
19. UCLA (3-0)
20. Kentucky (3-1)
21. Virginia Tech (5-0)
22. South Florida (3-2)
23. West Virginia (3-0)
24. Florida Gulf Coast (5-0)
25. Texas A&M (4-0)

Eden Laase is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. She previously ran her own high school sports website in Michigan after covering college hockey and interning at Sports Illustrated. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The world No. 1 USWNT is gearing up to take on No. 40 Jamaica on Tuesday night, capping the two-friendly international break with a match spotlighting both the past and future of the program.

After opening the stretch with a 3-0 Saturday win over No. 17 China PR in St. Paul, Minnesota, major roster rotations are expected in St. Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday as US head coach Emma Hayes continues evaluating fresh and familiar on-field combos.

"I want to make sure that, whether you start, whether you come into the game [off the bench], it shouldn't alter our level," Hayes told media this week. "If anything, we should keep finding other levels in us."

Plenty of young firepower will feature on Tuesday's pitch, but the clash will also celebrate a recently retired USWNT great.

Two-time World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, and St. Louis product Becky Sauerbrunn will take center stage, with Energizer Park even doling out bobbleheads in the standout center back's likeness.

"I've got a locker room — not just the senior players, but less experienced players — that talk about [Sauerbrunn] in the highest esteem, both as a leader and as a human being," said Hayes of the longtime USWNT captain. "I don't think you could want anything more than that in life, to have people talk about you like that."

How to watch the USWNT vs. Jamaica friendly on Tuesday

The USWNT will take on the Reggae Girlz at 8 PM ET on Tuesday in St. Louis, Missouri, with live coverage on TNT.

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup is back with its 2025 edition, as the annual in-season tournament raises both stakes and incentives across the league.

Winning percentage, point differential, and head-to-head records all factor in as both Eastern and Western Conference teams battle it out for a shot at the competition's $500,000 prize pool.

Launched in 2021, the Commissioner’s Cup runs concurrently with the regular season, drawing on in-conference matchups to build a team's overall Cup record.

The 2025 competition opened on June 1st, tipping off three straight weeks of conference play that will culminate in a July 1st championship final between the Eastern and Western Conference winners.

Last season's final foreshadowed the eventual WNBA Finals, as the Minnesota Lynx topped New York to lift the 2024 Commissioner's Cup before the Liberty enacted revenge by taking the 2024 Championship a few months later.

Hoping to lift both trophies this season, New York started the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup party with a 48-point statement win over the Connecticut Sun last Sunday.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

Every WNBA game on Tuesday will have Cup stakes, starting with the Washington Mystics' visit to the Indiana Fever at 7 PM ET on NBATV.

Then at 8 PM ET, the Minnesota Lynx will host the Phoenix Mercury, airing on ESPN3, before the Dallas Wings close out Tuesday's slate in Seattle against the Storm at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN.

With injuries mounting across the WNBA, several teams have started stocking up on recently waived free agents, bolstering their depleted rosters with hardship signings as they head into a busy stretch of the 2025 regular season.

With both guard Kahleah Copper and forward Alyssa Thomas sidelined, the Phoenix Mercury signed former Atlanta Dream guard and 2023 first-round draft pick Haley Jones to a rest-of-season hardship contract on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Fever picked up ex-LA Sparks guard and 2021 first-rounder Aari McDonald on Sunday, with Indiana looking to boost their backcourt depth in light of injuries to guards Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson.

These hardship signings come in clutch to keep benches stocked and WNBA teams in action.

However, the longevity of these early-season additions remains uncertain as teams attempt to balance league-maximum 12-player lineups with restrictive salary caps.

Hardship contracts allow teams to temporarily expand the salary cap, but when injured players return, so do tough roster calls — much to the dismay of front office decision-makers.

"More bodies would be good," Fever president Kelly Krauskopf told reporters with a wry laugh ahead of McDonald's signing.

Roster limitations will likely be a key issue when CBA negotiations rev up, with this week's emergency signings only adding fuel to the fire.

CBS is bringing UEFA Champions League (UWCL) action to the US next season, with the network announcing Saturday that it has acquired the European Championship tournament's exclusive broadcast rights through the 2029/30 campaign.

Ending with English side Arsenal lifting their first UWCL trophy in 18 years, last weekend's Champion's League final was the competition's last match in its a four-year international media deal with streamer DAZN.

Starting next season, however, CBS will air all 75 Champions League matches live across Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, and the CBS Sports Golazo Network.

"CBS Sports is proud to be the home of all women's and men's UEFA club competitions through the end of the decade," said CBS Sports' EVP of programming Dan Weinberg.

Further aligning with the men's tournament, the post-qualifiers Champions League competition will grow from 16 to 18 teams in 2025/26, while also transitioning from a group stage play-in to a single-league standings format.

"As the competition embarks on an exciting new era, we look forward to CBS Sports delivering its dynamic and insightful coverage to American audiences, showcasing the highest level of women's club football in its new format over the next five seasons," said Guy-Laurent Epstein, managing director at UC3, the commercial entity uniting UEFA and the European Club Association.