Katie Manganelli
Dec 10, 2023
Paige Bueckers took the court for the second half of No. 17 UConn’s game with No. 24 North Carolina with 998 career points to her name. Fifteen seconds later, she reached 1,000.
KK Arnold grabbed a steal in the Huskies’ defensive end. She barrelled down the court, and when she reached the key, she dished to Bueckers on her right side. Buckers crashed the net with the ball in hand and tapped a layup off the glass.
After she tied Maya Moore to become one of the fastest UConn basketball players to reach 1,000 career points, Bueckers fell to the floor, rolled to her feet, and continued playing.
A minute and a half later, Bueckers collected her own steal in the Huskies’ end and drove to the hoop again for another easy layup. And she celebrated her 1,002nd point instead of No. 1,000.
As UNC called for a timeout, Bueckers puffed out her chest and screamed into the roar of the Connecticut crowd. Her teammates flocked to her and celebrated her achievement at her side.
“Maya is one of the GOATs, so to be in that space is just amazing,” Bueckers said to ESPN after the game. “It’s just a testament to all that my teammates have done for me, all that my coaches have done for me, I’m just a product of what they do for me, so extremely grateful and it’s an honor to be next to her.”
Bueckers showed out at the Invesco QQQ Basketball Hall of Fame women’s showcase. She dropped 26 points against the Tar Heels and unleashed her defensive prowess as well, batting four blocks and making three steals.
“I don’t know if it was the shooting sleeve or what but I felt like I was just trying to contribute to winning in any way that I can,” Bueckers said to ESPN. “I feel like if I play hard on the defensive end, stuff goes better for me on offense.”
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Emma Hruby
Mar 6, 2024
Regular season conference awards were handed out across college basketball on Tuesday, with some of the top names in the country being recognized.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark won her third-straight Big Ten Player of the Year award, becoming the first to unanimously do so since Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport from 2005-07. She also joins Jantel Lavender and Kelsey Mitchell as the only players to win or split at least three Big Ten player of the year awards.
Elsewhere, other players of the year in their respective conferences were LSU’s Angel Reese, Stanford’s Cameron Brink and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley. Texas’ Madison Booker and Oklahoma’s Skylar Vann shared the honor for the Big 12.
Booker is the first player to win both Big 12 Freshman and Player of the Year. Reese, meanwhile, led the SEC in both scoring and rebounding for the second time in her collegiate career. She’s the first player to do so in consecutive seasons since 1990.
Kitley is just the third player in ACC history to win three-straight POTY awards, posting a conference-best 19 double-doubles on the season. She’s also the ACC’s all-time leader in rebounds and set the league record for most double-doubles in a career this season.
Conference Freshmen of the Year included JuJu Watkins of USC, LSU's Mikaylah Williams and Nebraska’s Natalie Potts.
Watkins currently sits second in the country in scoring while Williams set an LSU freshman scoring record earlier this season with 42 points in a game against Kent State. She’s averaging 14.9 points per game this season.
Emma Hruby
Mar 6, 2024
Ashley Hatch is staying in D.C., with the Washington Spirit signing the forward to a new three-year contract.
Included is an option for 2027, and the contract will take effect immediately. It replaces the contract Hatch was on, which was set to expire after the 2024 season.
A former NWSL Golden Boot winner, Hatch started in all 22 regular season matches for the Spirit last season. She had nine goals and finished tied for third in the league – her highest finish since winning the Golden Boot in 2021.
“Hatchy has been a key component of the Spirit attacking third for the past six years and still has the prime of her career ahead of her,” said President of Soccer Operations/General Manager Mark Krikorian. “We’re thrilled to have her commit to the club for at least the next three seasons.”
Across 128 total matches, which includes time with the North Carolina Courage, Hatch has recorded 46 goals and six assists. She’s also spent time with the USWNT, although she did not make last summer’s World Cup roster.
She responded by putting up two goals and an assist in the team’s subsequent Challenge Cup games. In four consecutive seasons, she has scored at least seven goals. The only player to have more goals in the NWSL since 2021 is Portland’s Sophia Smith.
“Super excited and grateful to re-sign with the Spirit through 2027,” said Hatch. “I truly feel this is the best place for me to continue to grow and develop as a player and person. The DC community is home, and I am so glad to be a part of it for another 4 years!”
Emma Hruby
Mar 6, 2024
The NWSL continues to add international stars, with Zambian star striker Barbra Banda set to join the Orlando Pride.
The news was first reported by CBS Sports’ Sandra Herrera on Tuesday.
Banda would join the NWSL from Chinese club Shanghai Shengli, and will draw a near-record transfer fee of $740,000, according to ESPN.
The fee is the second-highest in world soccer history behind Zambian teammate Racheal Kundananji, who joined Bay FC last month and set the global record.
Orlando, who is looking to make the NWSL postseason for the first time since 2017, has reportedly signed Banda to a four-year deal valued at roughly $2.1 million, including bonuses. That number makes the forward one of the highest-paid players in the NWSL.
The Pride were reportedly in talks with Crystal Dunn earlier in the offseason before she signed with Gotham FC, and sent Messiah Bright – who had a standout rookie season last year – to Angel City. But they’ve picked up a number of Brazilian international standouts and signed forward Simone Charley in the offseason.
The addition of Banda further bolsters the Pride’s front line attack.
A breakout Tokyo Olympics saw Banda become the first woman in Olympic history to have back-to-back hat tricks and score two hat tricks in the same tournament.
She joins other international signings like Deyna Castellanos and Asisat Oshoala to Bay FC and Ji So-Yun to Seattle. It’s a good trend, as it indicates a healthy transfer market for NWSL clubs looking to sign big-name international players.
Emma Hruby
Mar 6, 2024
Lawyers for Chelsea forward Sam Kerr will attempt to have charges of racially aggravated harassment dismissed in a London hearing in April.
Kerr pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday, when she appeared via video link at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court. Another hearing is set to take place on April 26, when her lawyers will “be arguing abuse of process,” according to multiple reports.
The charges stem from an incident in southwest London in January 2023 involving a dispute over a taxi fare. The charge against Kerr was filed on January 21 of this year “with a racially aggravated offense,” according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
According to The Guardian, Kerr reportedly called the police officer a “stupid white bastard.”
Kerr’s lawyers intend to argue an abuse of process after it took almost 12 months for charges to be laid against the star striker. Should they be unsuccessful, a four-day trial is expected to take place next February.
A star in women’s soccer, Kerr is Australia’s all-time leading scorer, with 69 goals in 128 games. She’s also a star for Chelsea, helping the team to the WSL title in each of her four seasons with the club. Currently, Kerr is sidelined with an ACL injury suffered in January.
Speaking with the media on Wednesday, manager Emma Hayes said that Chelsea has given Kerr “our full support.”
“Sam has our full support, she knows that,” she said. “It's a difficult time for her. Of course I can't comment, you know that. … I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize anything for Sam by speaking about it. For that reason, I’m sure you can appreciate that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. But she has our full support, she knows that, it’s really important I get that across, it’s something I really really value.”
