There's just one WNBA preseason game left on the 2025 calendar, as 12 of the league's 13 teams wrapped exhibition play over the weekend ahead of Friday's regular-season tip-off.
The Chicago Sky became the latest team to lock in their 12-player roster on Sunday, joining the likes of the Indiana Fever in making tough final cuts.
To reach league compliance, Chicago waived Australian guard Alex Wilson, 2024 second-round draft pick Jessika Carter (Mississippi State), and former Mercury forward Morgan Bertsch.
Earning their official spots in the Sky's lineup are 2025 rookies Hailey Van Lith (TCU) and Maddy Westbeld (Notre Dame), the overall No. 11 and No. 16 picks, respectively, in April's draft.
Overall, the class of 2025 is performing well so far, with all first-round picks avoiding early roster cuts — though many teams are still deciding who will suit up on opening day.
Some second-rounders are also showing significant promise, with the Atlanta Dream's 18th overall pick Te-Hina PaoPao (South Carolina) scoring a team-leading 14 points against Indiana on Saturday.
How to watch the final 2025 WNBA preseason game
Capping the 2025 WNBA preseason are the reigning champion New York Liberty, who will take on Japan's Toyota Antelopes on Monday night.
The exhibition will see Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally — who notably saw her contract extended through 2026 by New York on Monday afternoon — return to their University of Oregon alma mater for the clash.
The Liberty will tip off against the Antelopes at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.
NCAA basketball standouts are still making decisions on whether to remain in college or make the leap to the pros as the 2025 WNBA Draft looms on Monday — and many are choosing to stay in school.
In the most recent example of this trend, Texas senior Rori Harmon announced Wednesday that she’ll use her injury redshirt year to return to the Longhorns next season.
While most players in this year’s senior class began college in 2021 — after the cutoff to receive an extra year of eligibility following the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown — 2025’s draft-eligible group includes many players opting to stay in the NCAA.
Like Harmon, injuries resulting in redshirt seasons are allowing college standouts like South Carolina's Raven Johnson, newly announced TCU transfer Olivia Miles, and 2025 national champion and UConn star Azzi Fudd a final shot at the NCAA court.
LSU's Flau’jae Johnson and UCLA's Lauren Betts — current juniors who are draft eligible under the WNBA's age clause, which permits players who have not hit four collegiate seasons to go pro so long as they turn 22 years old within the draft's calendar year — have also declined to make the jump in 2025.
Star-power still up for grabs in the 2025 WNBA Draft
Despite the collegiate holdouts, there will still be significant NCAA names earning WNBA spots on Monday, led by UConn guard Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers is still considered a lock for the 2025 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, which is held tightly by Dallas — in spite of speculation that the Wings might not be her preferred destination.
Other projected first rounders include Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, USC forward Kiki Iriafen, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao, Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore, and Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers — with TCU guard Hailey Van Lith also making an early-round draft case through her 2025 March Madness play.
Monday could also see international prospects making a splash, with some mock drafts expecting French prodigy Dominique Malonga to go as high as No. 2, with Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka and Lithuanian shooting guard Justė Jocytė also possibly earning WNBA invites.
All in all, the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft class boasts experience, solid shooting, and many winning resumes, but it's up to the pro scouts to determine who will fit their team best.
One week into the 2024/25 season and the Big Ten is already leading the college basketball charge, with multiple teams tallying upsets to boost their spots in Monday's AP Top 25 update.
The biggest leap belonged to Maryland, who climbed seven spots to No. 11 after defeating now-No. 16 Duke 85-80 on Sunday. With four double-digit scorers, the Terrapins' team effort was led by junior guard Kaylene Smikle's 23 points.
Maryland's Big Ten compatriots, No. 23 Illinois and No. 25 Oregon, broke into Monday's standings after respective wins against then-No. 19 Florida State on Thursday and then-No. 12 Baylor on Sunday.
Led by former UNC standout Deja Kelly's 20 points, the Ducks staved off a late Baylor surge to secure the 76-74 win, snapping a 13-game losing streak to ranked opponents in the process.
Outside the Big Ten, Stanford also made their 2024/25 poll debut, coming in at No. 24. The Cardinal took their omission from the preseason poll — the first in 25 years with Stanford — as a challenge, defeating their first three season opponents last week by an average of 41 points.
South Carolina maintains stranglehold on No. 1
The preseason top eight teams held their ground this week behind defending champs No. 1 South Carolina, who extended their division-record active unbeaten streak to 40 games with Sunday's 71-57 win over now-No. 13 NC State.
With junior forward Chloe Kitts, who led the Gamecocks with a double-double in their season opener, ruled out due to an academic issue, South Carolina guards Te-Hina Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley stepped up in a big way, sinking 23 and 18 points, respectively.
SEC is still NCAA's top basketball conference
While still early days, it does appear that conference realignment and a robust transfer portal has once again emboldened the NCAA's biggest players.
New Big Ten members No. 3 USC, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 24 Oregon join veterans No. 11 Maryland, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 21 Nebraska, and No. 23 Illinois in this week's rankings, tying the SEC with the most teams in the poll at seven.
Even so, the SEC remains the conference to beat, with not just No. 1 South Carolina setting the sport's standard, but three other Top-10 teams. Conference veteran No. 7 LSU and last season's Big 12 stalwarts No. 4 Texas and No. 9 Oklahoma round out the SEC's grip on the top of the rankings, with No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 20 Kentucky, and No. 22 Alabama also featuring in the poll.
AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll
1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. Southern California
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Notre Dame
7. LSU
8. Iowa State
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas State
11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina State
14. North Carolina
15. West Virginia
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Louisville
19. Ole Miss
20. Kentucky
21. Nebraska
22. Alabama
23. Illinois
24. Stanford
25. Oregon
Top-ranked South Carolina was up by three points against No. 11 Utah with just under five minutes left in the game. Te-Hina Paopao dribbled up the court to the elbow and released a jump shot.
Her shot dropped into the hoop. Three minutes later, Paopao had the ball in the key again. She dribbled closer and closer to the basket and was approaching traffic. She lifted her arms to shoot as she ran, and her shot fell into the hoop again as her arm hung in the air.
Paopao’s last-minute points kept her team afloat in a difficult matchup. The game remained close until the final buzzer, but Dawn Staley’s squad secured the victory against Utah, 78-69, to remain undefeated this season.
The Gamecocks faced their toughest challenge of the year against Alissa Pili and the Utes. Pili dropped 21 points in the first half, and she only played 13 of the 20 minutes after getting into foul trouble.
Kamilla Cardoso got into foul trouble herself after being called for three charges on Jenna Johnson, who put on a foul-drawing clinic against the defensive powerhouse.
When Pili returned to the court in the second half, she did so in her usual form. Pili rained buckets on South Carolina, finishing the game with 37 points, a career-high. No other Utes came close to her offensive contributions, and the only other Utah player to reach double-digits was Dasia Young with 10 points.
The Gamecocks spread the love on the scoreboard with four players in double-digits and 26 bench points.
South Carolina was plagued by turnovers in its closest game of the season. Utah forced 23 turnovers and collected 11 points in transition, but they weren’t enough for the Utes to earn their first win against a first-ranked squad.
No. 1 South Carolina only allowed 19 points in its rout of Mississippi Valley State on Friday, setting a program record for the fewest points allowed in a game.
The Devils actually opened the game with a lead. They sank the first basket, and then the Gamecocks came to life. They went on to win, 101-19 — an 82-point margin.
Seven South Carolina players registered double-digit numbers on the scoresheet, including Kamilla Cardoso, who put up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cardoso has four double-doubles in the Gamecocks’ five games. MiLaysia Fulwiley led her squad in the score column with 17 points.
Cardoso’s stifling defense no doubt played a part in South Carolina’s victory. The six-foot-seven senior batted down five blocks, a third of her team’s total. The Gamecocks forced 19 turnovers and collected 20 points off the takeaways.
Nope. Nope. Nope.@Kamillascsilva probably pic.twitter.com/vZn0q5yS0v
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) November 24, 2023
Te-Hina PaoPao returned to South Carolina’s lineup against Mississippi Valley and she contributed significantly to her team’s success. She is one of the seven players that reached double-digit scoring numbers with 10 points on the night and she grabbed 8 rebounds.
“It makes a big difference to have someone like Pao who’s always cool, calm and collected,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said to Greenville News. “You have to guard her, and she doesn’t take bad shots. It was great to have her back on the floor.”
Sh’Diamond McKnight led the Devils in scoring with eight points. Her squad shot just 12% from the field and they scored just seven points in the second half.
South Carolina basketball has a new look for the 2023-24 season.
The Gamecocks graduated all five of their starters, including the quartet often dubbed “The Freshies.” WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, alongside Zia Cooke and Brea Beal, started in nearly every game since their freshman seasons, and they leave big holes to fill in their absence.
Still, head coach Dawn Staley is excited for the next group to step into the starting roles.
“It’s a totally new starting five starting from scratch, so I’m excited,” she said. “I’m excited to see how they come out and play, and what they can do when they’re put under that pressure.”
Leading the new starting five are senior center Kamilla Cardoso and junior Raven Johnson. The Gamecocks also added two key transfers in the offseason in Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker.
Young talent, including Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, also could factor in, as both have shown promise during preseason. Either way, Cardoso has been tasked with becoming a bigger leader on the team.
“Kamilla has to step into the role of being our dominant post on the inside,” Staley said. “She’s very very unselfish, and at times, much like Aliyah, she’ll pass out to people who shoot half her field goal percentage, and you can’t do that. You have to bet on yourself sometimes … We want Kamilla to be a leader.”
The transfer portal is changing the landscape of college basketball, and not just from a big-picture standpoint. Less than a month after the end of the 2022-23 season, the portal has seen talented players move from one team to another.
Several top players, like Aneesah Morrow, have yet to announce their destinations. But among those who have, here are the top five transfers based on overall talent and fit with their new squads.
1. Hailey Van Lith, G, LSU
The defending champions lost point guard Alexis Morris to the WNBA with the understanding the super senior would be difficult to replace. But Kim Mulkey once again showed her portal prowess by snagging another elite guard, with the commitment of Hailey Van Lith on Thursday. Van Lith and Morris don’t have many similarities in the way they play, but Van Lith excels in the midrange just like Morris did, adding another dimension to the LSU offense. The experienced, competitive guard makes the perfect addition to the Tigers’ roster.
Van Lith leaving Louisville surprised a lot of people, but her decision to play her final season at LSU shouldn’t. In high school, Van Lith narrowed her recruiting decision down to Louisville and Baylor, where Mulkey was the coach at the time. The two clearly have a connection. Plus, Van Lith’s intense competitiveness lends itself well to a program coming off a national championship. The guard wants to win her own title, and LSU is the place to do it.
2. Lauren Betts, C, UCLA
Much of UCLA’s success this past season came from a talented freshman class that included No. 2 recruit Kiki Rice, No. 19 Gabriela Jaquez and No. 22 Londynn Jones. Point guard Charisma Osborne led the team in scoring, and 6-foot-4 forward Emily Bessoir provided height. The one thing the Bruins were missing was a true post, and now they get that at an elite level in Lauren Betts. The No. 1 player in the Class of 2022 played just 9.6 minutes per game as a freshman at Stanford but averaged 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. Per 40 minutes, those stats look like this: 24.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks.
With UCLA’s talented guard core, Betts will have room to operate in the paint and help create lanes and shots for players like Rice and Osborne. The addition of Betts makes the Bruins a title contender as early as next season.
3. Te-Hina Paopao, G, South Carolina
The Gamecocks lost a lot of talent from their 2023 Final Four team, with five players getting drafted into the WNBA earlier this month. Still, the roster that remains is full of talent, including 6-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, forward Ashlyn Watkins and guard Raven Johnson. Dawn Staley was already in good shape with the roster she had, but Te-Hina Paopao fills an important role. Perhaps the lone weakness for South Carolina last season was the team’s lack of 3-point shooting, which contributed to their Final Four loss to Iowa.
Paopao brings long-range shooting and more with her to Columbia. The senior guard shot 42.4 percent from beyond the arc at Oregon last season, averaging 2.3 made 3s per game. She’s also a skilled playmaker who can run an offense. Paopao could be the piece that gets South Carolina back to the national title game.
4. Celeste Taylor, G, Ohio State
Celeste Taylor, a defensive-minded guard, and Ohio State, a defensive-minded team, are a match made in heaven. Taylor was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year last season after averaging 2.2 steals per contest. Between her and Jacy Sheldon, the Buckeyes’ backcourt will feature two of the country’s best on-ball defenders.
Offensively, Ohio State’s attack will revolve around Cotie McMahon, who averaged 15.1 points per game as a freshman while showing off her strength and ability to get to the rim. But Taylor provides another scoring option that will help replace the point production Ohio State lost with the graduation of Taylor Mikesell. In addition to their defensive abilities, Taylor and Sheldon can both score and facilitate, making the Buckeyes’ attack even harder to defend.
5. Jakia Brown-Turner, G/F, Maryland
The Terrapins started the offseason by losing their top two scorers, Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers, to the WNBA as first-round draft picks. But it’s not a total rebuild for coach Brenda Frese, especially with the addition of Jakia Brown-Turner. The 6-foot wing is a player Maryland recruited out of high school, so the Terrapins already know she will fit into their system. Plus, the Maryland native gets to return home for her final college season.
Brown-Turner averaged 9.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game last season at NC State, and she will be a viable scoring option for the Terrapins alongside returners Shyanne Sellars, Brinae Alexander, Lavender Briggs and Faith Masonius. Brown-Turner, a four-year starter for the Wolfpack, also brings experience and poise, which should allow her to make a seamless transition to her new team.
Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.