JWS Staff
Nov 29, 2022
Defending champion Wisconsin volleyball ended its regular season on an 18-match winning streak.
The Badgers have not lost since Sept. 25, even as the team endured a tough Big Ten schedule and the turmoil of a photo leak investigation, and now they enter the NCAA tournament with a 25-3 overall record and the No. 1 seed.
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) November 28, 2022𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙊𝙢𝙖𝙝𝙖 begins now.
Badgers earn the No. 1 Seed in the Top Right Region. pic.twitter.com/BPSfSPSNHc
The University of Wisconsin athletic department announced on Oct. 19 the investigation into a a leak of private photos and videos of Badgers women’s volleyball players, which were then shared on the internet.
At least one of the photos appears to have been taken after the team won the Big Ten title last November and shows members of the team posing with their sports bras lifted, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The athletic department called the leak a “significant and wrongful invasion” of the athletes’ privacy. Yet even after the off-court issue, which highlighted the vulnerable position of college athletes, the Badgers continued to roll.
Wisconsin finished its conference season Saturday with a 3-1 win against Ohio State, clinching a 19-1 conference record and theBig Ten title. The only loss came on Sept. 25 against Minnesota.
“There was so much learning that came from our one loss against Minnesota,” coach Kelly Sheffield said. “That was really important for where we are right now. There was so much opportunity for us to learn throughout the course of the year and I am so proud of them.”
The 18-match winning streak is tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history. The 19-1 conference record is tied for the best conference record in program history.
Wisconsin already has sold out all-session tickets to its first- and second-round matches in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers will start their quest for a repeat title at 8 p.m. ET Friday against Quinnipiac.
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Claire Watkins
Jun 5, 2024
The USWNT cruised through their final gameprior to naming their 18-player Olympic roster on Tuesday, defeating Korea Republic 3-0 in a rain-soaked game that saw significant rotation to thestarting XI.
Manager Emma Hayes replaced nine of Saturday's starters withplayers vyingfor a major tournament roster spot, a move that resulted in interesting returns. Alex Morgan was back in the starting lineup, while center-back Sam Staab earned her first international start in her second game with the team.
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) June 5, 2024
Crystal Dunn started the match as a forward thenopened the floodgateswith her first goal in 75 international matches. Sophia Smith came on as a reserve in the second half alongside Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, promptly doubling the scoreline at a tight angle for a sharp finish. Casey Murphy started in goal, making a number ofclutch savesto keep South Korea off of the scoresheet.
But the biggest moment of the gamebelonged to Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, who scored in her first-ever USWNT cap.
The teenager wasimmediately mobbedby her teammates — including most of the US bench — in celebration as nearly 20,000 fans gave her a standing ovation. Just a few days shy of her 17th birthday, Yohannes is the third-youngest to score for the national team and the youngest player to make her debut since USWNT legend Kristine Lilly took the field for the first time in 2001.
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) June 5, 2024
Yohannes is likely on the Olympic roster bubble, but is of great interest to the US as atalented connecting midfielder. But having been born in Virginia before moving to Amsterdam as a child, Yohannes could still possibly decide to play for the Netherlands national team.
Hayes will be makingfinal roster decisionsin the coming weeks, setting the Paris-bound squad up for two send-off friendlies at the end of July. 18 players will make the official Olympic roster, alongside four alternates for training purposes and in case of injury.
Emma Hruby
Jun 5, 2024
Legendary UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is officially sticking around.
The school announced on Tuesday that it had signed the longtime coach to a five-year contract extension worth $18.7 million. His base salary will be $400,000 per year, with additional compensation for speaking, consulting, and media obligations as well as performance-based incentives, per a UConn press release issued Tuesday.
That additional compensation will start at $2.94 million for the 2024-25 season and increase by $200,000 each year after that.
Auriemma will enter his 40th season at UConn this fall, having led the program to 11 NCAA championships and 15 Final Fours over the last 16 years.
His extension also means that he will likely become the all-time winningest coach in Division I basketball history after Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer announced her retirement in April. She retired with 1,216 total wins, while Auriemma sits just three wins behind her with 1,213 career wins.
"I still find it hard to believe that I've been at UConn for over half my life," Auriemma said. "I feel like there's so much more that can be done, and will be done, and I'm excited to be the one to do it with my staff and my team. I'm probably as excited about these next few years as I've ever been over the last 40."
The Huskies will enter the upcoming season as known contenders, with Paige Bueckers set to return alongside Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold, amongst others. They'll also have Sarah Strong, the No. 1 overall recruit for the class of 2024, alongside the No. 2 recruiting class for that year.
"Geno has been such a mainstay at UConn that it's impossible to overstate his lasting positive influence on our student-athletes, the women's basketball program, and Connecticut as a whole," UConn president Radenka Maric said. "His leadership and nearly 40 years of commitment to our university have brought immeasurable value and name recognition to both UConn and the entire state.
"We know he has even more to demonstrate and teach all of us in the years ahead — not only about leading a world-class basketball program, but also about living a life of conviction, compassion, and service. The university is fortunate to have him continuing in this role, and we look forward to the successes ahead under his strong leadership."
JWS Staff
Jun 5, 2024
WNBA icon Skylar Diggins-Smith and Just Women’s Sports announced Wednesday that they are partnering on a new premium content series re-examining some of the most important stories in the history of women’s sports.
Diggins-Smith, who just began her first season with the Seattle Storm, and JWS are developing the docuseries as a way to bridge the past and present while bringing more authentic storytelling to the women’s sports space. The six-episode series will examine how each narrative impacted the way female athletes are treated and discussed in the media today.
For the six-time WNBA All-Star and Notre Dame legend, the partnership provides a chance to elevate the discourse around women’s sports.
"Women’s sports are breaking into the mainstream in a major way, but some of the most compelling stories have not been told in a way that’s authentic, impactful, and real," said Diggins-Smith.
A nine-year WNBA vet, Diggins-Smith first achieved national celebrity while in college, when she led Notre Dame to three Final Fours. She was the first female athlete to be signed to Roc Nation and is still represented by the agency today. While she has appeared in a number of high-profile commercials, productions, and brand campaigns throughout her professional career, this will be her first time leading a premium content series.
Diggins-Smith chose to partner with Just Women’s Sports because of the brand’s approach to women’s sports coverage and its success at growing and engaging a digital-first audience.
"Just Women’s Sports is the perfect partner for this project because they understand what makes women athletes unique," she said. "They’re a brand that celebrates every part of the game, and they talk about sports in a way that resonates with fans and the professional athletes in this space."
Just Women’s Sports is one of the fastest-growing and most engaged media platforms in sports, having started as an Instagram account in 2020 before expanding into a multi-platform brand reaching 80 million fans per month. The company has produced a number of podcasts and digital series — including the award-winning 91st, an in-studio show covering last summer’s Women's World Cup hosted by Midge Purce and Katie Nolan — but this will be JWS’s first premium content offering.
"There is a growing hunger for authentic women’s sports content that lets fans go beneath the surface and see the full picture," said Just Women’s Sports CEO and founder Haley Rosen. "So much of our focus these last few years has been around turning female athletes into household names. Now that the awareness is there, it’s time to level up and tell more complicated and compelling stories that speak to both die-hard and casual fans."
Fans can expect a formal announcement detailing the stories featured in the series following the conclusion of this season's WNBA and NWSL Championships.
Emma Hruby
Jun 4, 2024
TheCommissioner's Cupreturns to the WNBAfor a fourth season this month, and it arrives with aslightly new look.
The 2023 champion New York Liberty got their repeat quest off to a comfortable start on Sunday with a 104-68 win over Indiana. Joining them are Connecticut, Phoenix and Minnesota who have all gotten off to winning starts, while Indiana is 1-1 in Cup play.
This year’s Cup schedule is slightly condensed, with games taking place from June 1st to the 13th. The final will then be played on June 25th, with the team with the best overall record in Cup play acting as hosts.
While some things about the tournament remain the same — like all games also counting toward the regular season win-loss record — there have beensome changes. Previously, teams played 10 qualifying games, but the new format now has teams playing just five throughout the Cup. And during qualifying games, each team plays against in-conference opponents once.
The WNBA alsounveiled a new ballspecifically designed for the tournament, described in a statement as "a step forward in making our in-season tournament a distinct and recognizable WNBA tentpole."
Similar to past tournaments, Cup teams will play for a $500,000 prize pool, which amounts to around $45,000 per player. The championship game MVP will also receive a bonus.
Each team will also sponsor a nonprofit organization invested in social justice work, with money set to be donated at the conclusion of the Cup. This new charity component is intended to "highlight civic engagement efforts, with an emphasis on the impact of voting on reproductive health matters within communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community."
While the Liberty are looking to capture back-to-back Cups, achieving a repeat is no easy feat. Last year, the 2022 Commissioner's Cup-winning Aces lost in the championship while Seattle, who won the inaugural Cup in 2021, haven’t been back to the championship since.
Commissioner's Cup schedule
Saturday, June 1st
- Indiana Fever 71, Chicago Sky 70
Sunday, June 2nd
- Connecticut Sun 69, Atlanta Dream 50
- Phoenix Mercury 87, Los Angeles Sparks 68
- New York Liberty 104, Indiana Fever 68
- Minnesota Lynx 87, Dallas Wings 76
Tuesday, June 4th
- Washington Mystics at Connecticut Sun — 7 PM ET on League Pass
- New York Liberty at Chicago Sky —7 PM ET on NBA TV
- Phoenix Mercury at Seattle Storm — 10 PM ET on CBS Sports Network
Wednesday, June 5th
- Las Vegas Aces at Dallas Wings — 8 PM ET on NBA TV
- Minnesota Lynx at Los Angeles Sparks — 10 PM ET on League Pass
Thursday, June 6th
- Chicago Sky at Washington Mystics — 7 PM ET on Amazon Prime
- New York Liberty at Atlanta Dream — 7:30 PM ET on League Pass
Friday, June 7th
- Indiana Fever at Washington Mystics — 7:30 PM ET on ION
- Seattle Storm at Las Vegas Aces — 10 PM ET on ION
- Dallas Wings at Los Angeles Sparks — 10 PM ET on ION
- Minnesota Lynx at Phoenix Mercury — 10 PM ET on- ION
Saturday, June 8th
- New York Liberty at Connecticut Sun — 1 PM ET on ABC
- Atlanta Dream at Chicago Sky — 5 PM ET on NBA TV
Sunday, June 9th
- Washington Mystics at New York Liberty — 3 PM ET on League Pass
- Phoenix Mercury at Dallas Wings — 4 PM ET on League Pass
- Seattle Storm at Minnesota Lynx — 7 PM ET on League Pass
- Las Vegas Aces at Los Angeles Sparks — 9 PM ET on League Pass
Monday, June 10th
- Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun — 7 PM ET on NBA TV
Tuesday, June 11th
- Washington Mystics at Atlanta Dream — 7:30 PM ET on League Pass
- Minnesota Lynx at Las Vegas Aces — 10 PM ET on NBA TV
- Los Angeles Sparks at Seattle Storm — 10 PM ET on League Pass
Wednesday, June 12th
- Connecticut Sun at Chicago Sky — 7 PM ET on League Pass
Thursday, June 13th
- Atlanta Dream at Indiana Fever — 7 PM ET on ESPN 3
- Seattle Storm at Dallas Wings — 7 PM ET on ESPN
- Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury — 10 PM ET on Amazon Prime
