South Carolina women’s basketball will play in its fourth top-two matchup in two years Sunday, as the No. 1 Gamecocks take on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal.

The two teams met under similar circumstances last December. Both teams held the same rankings and their rosters held many of the same faces, including Aliyah Boston for South Carolina and Haley Jones and Cameron Brink for Stanford.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley sees such a high-profile contest as an opportunity for her team.

“You don’t play for the ranking, but we certainly play to see where we are — like, where do we stand up against the rich tradition of Stanford and their style of play?” Staley told the Mercury News. “It has an ambiguous meaning, but ultimately, it’s a measure of where you are, and when you stack up against one of the best teams in the country.”

She also sees the game, which will air on ABC at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, as an opportunity for women’s basketball as a whole.

“I think that we’re all thinking this for the greater good of the game,” Staley told the Mercury News. “This generates a lot of publicity. It generates a lot of buzz. It puts us on a platform to be seen by the rest of women’s basketball teams, programs, fans, bands, and everybody that just enjoys watching basketball.

“I know everybody’s been in a football mode, but it kind of jump-shocks you, to know it’s basketball season, and there’s a space for the basketball enthusiast to see a quality basketball game.”

Ahead of the showdown, Just Women’s Sports takes a look back at each of South Carolina’s last three No. 1 vs. No. 2 battles.

Dec. 21, 2021 – No. 1 South Carolina 65, No. 2 Stanford 61

South Carolina overcame an 18-point first-half deficit to take the win against Stanford last December. If history repeats itself, count on another close game Sunday.

The contest against the Cardinal marked the second top-two meeting in little more than a month for the Gamecocks, who had played then-No. 2 UConn in November.

“We had a packed house and we just didn’t have it in the first half,” Staley said. “Then we made a few adjustments at halftime and we got ourselves back in the game and we made it a game for the people who paid their money to watch, the people that were watching on TV or streaming it.

“I know Tara didn’t like the outcome, but I’m sure she could appreciate it being a highly contested basketball game.”

Destanni Henderson helped lead South Carolina in the win, but she has since moved to the WNBA as a member of the Indiana Fever. Still, new additions including freshman Ashlyn Watkins already have made an impact for South Carolina, which could give the Gamecocks a boost Sunday.

A very happy holiday season FAMS!

Gamecocks erase a 14-point halftime deficit and defend home court in the battle of 1 vs. 2.

FINAL STATS: https://t.co/wL4pgIYZD8 pic.twitter.com/DiWZTNbhao

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) December 22, 2021

Nov. 11, 2021 – No. 1 South Carolina 73, No. 2 UConn 57

The first of South Carolina’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups during the 2021-22 season also featured the No. 1 Gamecocks recovering from a double-digit first-half deficit.

Paige Bueckers pushed the UConn offense to a 13-point lead in the second quarter, but the Gamecocks ended up forcing 19 turnovers to not only come back but win in convincing fashion.

South Carolina ended last season as the wire-to-wire No. 1 and won the national championship. The Gamecocks will aim to repeat both feats this season, despite some key departures.

Feb. 8, 2021 – No. 2 UConn 63, No. 1 South Carolina 59 (OT)

South Carolina’s first top-two matchup since 2016 proved to be a defensive battle, and No. 2 UConn scored the upset victory in overtime.

Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 31 points, including all nine of the Huskies’ overtime points, in a Herculean effort that helped make her case for her Player of the Year award. No other UConn player finished in double digits.

Aliyah Boston, then a sophomore, finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. But South Carolina struggled on the whole, shooting 36.8 percent from the field and making just one 3-pointer.

Since then, South Carolina has been tough to beat in ranked matchups, with a 15-2 record heading into Sunday’s game against Stanford.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.