NASHVILLE — From competitive early rounds to a thrilling finish in the championship game Sunday, the SEC women’s basketball tournament delivered.

Here are my main takeaways from four days spent watching some of the best in the sport before the NCAA Tournament begins.

Kentucky shocked us all

Every program in the country strives to do what the Wildcats have accomplished these last few weeks, playing their best basketball at the right time. Kentucky bounced back from an underwhelming campaign to end the regular season and conference postseason on a 10-game win streak and stun No. 1 South Carolina for the program’s first SEC tournament championship in 40 years. The only people who believed they could win the SEC Tournament were the Wildcats themselves.

Rhyne Howard certainly did not need to prove her greatness in Nashville, but to lead her team to a championship against all odds is next-level heroics. The 6-foot-2 senior guard earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 22 points in Kentucky’s four games, including a 32-point performance against LSU and a near triple-double against Tennessee.

The projected top WNBA draft pick has faced immense pressure these last two years. Howard not only brought a championship back to Kentucky, she also did it against the team that’s been ranked No. 1 in the country all season long and in front of nearly every WNBA franchise there to watch her. Regardless of where she goes in the draft, Howard’s impact on the game of basketball will span far beyond her collegiate career.

I AM A SEC CHAMPION 🤩🏆

— Rhyne Howard 🤟🏾🈳 (@howard_rhyne) March 7, 2022

South Carolina’s “big” lineup is unbelievable

South Carolina took the loss Sunday, but Dawn Staley’s lineup of three to four post players will be difficult for any opponent to game-plan for in the NCAA Tournament.

When the 6-foot-4 Aliyah Boston and the 6-7 Kamilla Cardoso throw high-low passes to one another from the free-throw line, their length is nearly impossible to defend. And when you add 6-4 Laeticia Amihere and 6-2 Victaria Saxton to the mix, South Carolina has one of the biggest rotations in the country.

On the other end of the floor, Kentucky struggled to find looks at the basket against the pair, especially in the second quarter when they managed just three points. When you’re facing a lineup of that size, it’s easy to get in your own head and second guess your decision-making. The Gamecocks will be betting on that as they make a run at the national championship later this month.

Shakira Austin shows off pro-ready skills

Austin was named First Team All-SEC for the second consecutive season and solidified herself as one of the greatest players to ever wear an Ole Miss uniform. The senior center averaged 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks to lead Ole Miss to a 23-7 finish, its best record since 2006-07. Austin also elevated her play in the SEC tournament, averaging 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds to lift Ole Miss to the semifinals.

Her 27-point, 13-rebound double-double against Florida in the quarterfinals in front of 10 WNBA teams was the highlight of the tournament. Austin is an automatic lottery pick in the upcoming WNBA draft and deserves to be in the conversation for No. 1 because of her pro-ready frame, athleticism and ceiling. For as good as she currently is, she will only get better as a pro. When you watch her 6-5 frame elevate over opponents, snag a rebound with power and proceed to advance the ball down the court, you realize her sheer potential might surpass any other prospect in this draft class.

Shakira Austin with the rejection! @Theylove_kira pic.twitter.com/3qHsPD5Wnf

— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) March 5, 2022

The relentlessness of Florida

Florida has been one of the best stories of the college basketball season. This was a dormant program that overcame an early-season scandal and the transfer of their leading scorer earlier in the season and to earn five top-25 wins and a 21-10 finish. Kelly Rae Finley rightfully had the interim tag removed from her title last week, signing a five-year contract as head coach and solidifying her position as the leader of this program.

WNBA draft prospect Kiki Smith had a phenomenal season, averaging 14.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game before going down with a season-ending knee injury in Florida’s one-point win over Vanderbilt in the second round. When Smith hit the floor, the Florida team circled together and held hands in support of their leader. After the win, Finley’s eyes swelled with emotion as her players ran to the training room to be with Smith.

The following day, Smith joined her team on the bench in a different role, clipboard in hand as the Gators fell to Ole Miss, 70-60, and now await their NCAA Tournament fate. As outsiders, it’s difficult to understand everything this team has gone through in the last eight months. If they get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2015-16, they’ll do so with a level of collective resolve that will be hard to count out.

Keep an eye on Vanderbilt

First-year head coach Shea Ralph took over a Commodores program that won just nine conference games in the last four seasons and led them to a 14-18 record, their best finish since 2015-16.

Vanderbilt has shown flashes of promise throughout the season, but none more clearly than in the last two weeks when the Commodores beat Florida on Feb. 24 and Texas A&M in the first round of the SEC tournament, 85-69. Vanderbilt was one point away from advancing to the SEC tournament semifinals, falling to Florida 53-52 last Thursday.

While the Commodores’ season could continue in the WNIT, the SEC has gotten the message: Watch out for Vanderbilt next year. Senior guard Jordyn Cambridge is expected to return following a strong season, and All-SEC Freshman honorees Iyana Moore (12.2 points per game) and Sacha Washington (seven) earned valuable experience. With top-100 recruits Ryanne Allen and Amauri Williams entering the mix next fall, Ralph’s team is on the rise.

𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘆𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲

☑️ First triple-double in school history
☑️ Second athlete to tally a triple-double at the SEC Tournament.
☑️ 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/ZhcoQo2qwI

— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) March 3, 2022

Missouri’s rocky SEC finish

Aijha Blackwell did not play in three games in the final two weeks of the season, including losses to Kentucky and Georgia. The 6-foot guard leads Missouri in scoring and averaged 31 minutes per game this season, but she played just 11 minutes in Missouri’s 61-52 overtime loss to Arkansas in the first round of the SEC tournament. She remained on the bench in overtime as the Tigers fought to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. A win would have nearly solidified an at-large bid, and yet head coach Robin Pingeton kept Blackwell sidelined.

No matter what was going on behind the scenes, Missouri will now have to wait patiently until Selection Sunday to find out if their 18-12 overall record, 7-9 SEC record, and 70-69 win over No. 1 South Carolina back on Dec. 30 will be enough to send them to the tournament.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

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.