Just Women’s Sports is heading to WNBA All-Star Weekend with its most ambitious event presence yet.
JWS will tip off a multi-faceted WNBA All-Star activation in partnership with Famous Footwear on Saturday July 19th from 2 PM to 6 PM, located at 110 South Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis.
JWS’ partnership with Famous Footwear includes a multi-part activation designed to merge back-to-school excitement with All-Star energy.
"Between the Lines" live taping headlines WNBA All-Star event
The activation will also feature a live recording of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.
The exclusive taping brings WNBA stars Napheesa Collier, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexie Hull to the stage. Subsequently, these basketball icons will highlight the WNBA’s evolution and cultural resonance, while JWS captures the best moments across its social platforms.
“WNBA All-Star has become the crown jewel of the women’s sports calendar. We’re thrilled to be showing up in a major way across the entire weekend,” said Just Women’s Sports CEO Haley Rosen.
“This is a chance to celebrate and accelerate the strides the W has made in recent years as it’s cemented itself in the cultural landscape.”
Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel lands in Indianapolis
The star-studded activation features player interviews, exclusive giveaways, fan contests, and more. It is also free and open to all WNBA fans. Visitors will be greeted by a Famous Footwear Shoe Tunnel — and the first 50 fans will be given a gift-card to Famous Footwear for their back-to-school needs.
WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and her son recently visited a Famous Footwear store to shop sneakers and talk all things style, school, and sport. The behind-the-scenes content will roll out as part of a broader back-to-school campaign later this month.
“As big fans of women’s sports ourselves, and knowing how much it means to our customers, we are thrilled to partner with JWS for All-Star Weekend,” said Holly Campbell, senior vice president of marketing at Famous Footwear.
“This activation provides a unique opportunity for us to engage with other sports fans directly fostering connections and creating fun memories during such an exciting time for the league.”
With NCAA basketball tipping off this week, early season upsets and hard-fought wins are already humbling some of college's top-ranked programs.
No. 19 Florida State fell to unranked Illinois 83-74 on Thursday despite 27 points from junior guard Ta'Niya Latson and a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double from senior forward Makayla Timpson. Behind 20-point performances from both Makira Cook and Adalia Mckenzie, the Fighting Illini took a 10-point first-quarter lead that they never relinquished.
Also on Thursday, No. 25 Indiana lost to unranked Harvard 72-68, with the Crimson dropping 21 first-quarter points to the Hoosiers' mere seven to put Indiana on their heels. The Big Ten squad mounted a comeback to force overtime, but between Harvard guard Harmoni Turner's 24 points and Indiana's 27 turnovers, the Ivy Leaguers took the win back to Cambridge.
Proving that ambitious non-conference schedules can be both risky and rewarding, No. 1 South Carolina, No. 3 USC, and No. 5 UCLA all narrowly fended off upsets in their respective season openers earlier this week.
Ultimately, even though recruitment and transfer opportunities can consolidate talent at the league's top, parity in college basketball has never been more widespread — and the 2024/25 competition's just starting.
Final Four rematch headlines NCAA weekend lineup
Continuing the non-conference drama this weekend will be Sunday's 2024 Final Four rematch between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 NC State.
Last April, the Gamecocks resoundingly defeated the Wolfpack 78-59 in their NCAA semifinal before finishing the 2023/24 season as undefeated national champions.
Former South Carolina transfer Saniya Rivers will once again star for the Wolfpack, though sophomore guard Zoe Brooks was NC State's leading scorer with 21 points in their season opener against East Tennessee State on Tuesday.
As for the Gamecocks, they relied on junior forward Chloe Kitts to lead the scoring in their 68-62 opening win over unranked Michigan on Monday. In narrow victory, the reigning champions trailed for all but 32 seconds of the first half. Of course, the struggle highlighted the fact that South Carolina is still figuring out how to respond to missing Chicago Sky rookie Kamila Cardoso in the paint.
Sunday will also feature another ranked matchup, as No. 11 Duke visits No. 18 Maryland. Though both teams enter the weekend undefeated, Duke faces a particularly tough non-conference schedule this season, capped by a December 5th date with South Carolina.
How to watch women's college basketball games this weekend
Duke and Maryland tip off Sunday's action at 1 PM ET, airing live on FS1. Then at 3 PM ET, South Carolina visits NC State, with live coverage on ESPN.
Defending champion LSU basketball is the odds-on favorite to win another NCAA title this upcoming season.
The Tigers lead the pack both on FanDuel Sportsbook (+230) and DraftKings Sportsbook (+300). UConn comes in just behind them, at +600 on FanDuel and +500 on DraftKings, even after the Huskies snapped their Final Four streak in 2023.
LSU and UConn also hold No. 1 seeds in ESPN’s preseason bracketology. In the 2023 edition of March Madness, LSU entered with a No. 3 seed, and UConn with a No. 2 seed.
While 2023 runner-up Iowa sits immediately behind LSU and UConn in the betting odds, at +800 on FanDuel and +900 on DraftKings, ESPN projects Iowa as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State and UCLA are the other two top seeds in the preseason prediction.
South Carolina entered the 2023 postseason as the No. 1 overall seed and as a huge favorite for the title. But after losing their entire starting lineup, the Gamecocks are fifth in championship odds on DraftKings (+1100), sixth on FanDuel (+1300) and a No. 2 seed in ESPN’s bracketology.
NCAA women’s basketball: 2024 national championship odds
These are the top 16 teams in betting odds for the 2024 national championship, as listed by FanDuel Sportsbook on Oct. 31.
- LSU (+230)
- UConn (+600)
- Iowa (+800)
- Utah (+1100)
- Indiana (+1100)
- South Carolina (+1300)
- Stanford (+1300)
- UCLA (+1700)
- Ohio State (+1700)
- Notre Dame (+1700)
- Maryland (+2700)
- Tennessee (+2700)
- Texas (+2700)
- Ole Miss (+5000)
- Duke (+5000)
- Baylor (+5000)