Less than an hour after the news of Paige Bueckers’ season-ending injury broke Wednesday, the name “Paige” was already trending on Twitter.

Fans, coaches and players offered their support to the UConn star after the program announced the rising junior had torn her ACL during a pick-up basketball game and would miss the 2022-23 season in its entirety.

Social media made it abundantly clear in a matter of minutes just how important Bueckers is to the game as a whole.

But of course, no one will miss her as much as the Huskies.

“We’re all devastated for Paige,” head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. “She’s worked really hard to get stronger and healthier this offseason, and this is an unfortunate setback. Paige is obviously an amazing basketball player but she’s a better person and teammate and it’s really unfortunate that this has happened to her. We’ll miss her presence on the court, but she’ll do everything she can to still lead and help her teammates this season. Our program will support Paige through her healing process to help her come back better and stronger.”

Last season provided an example of the stark contrast between UConn with Bueckers and UConn without Bueckers. And this time around, the Huskies don’t have experienced players like Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa or Evina Westbrook to help soften the blow.

When Bueckers injured her knee during a win over Notre Dame on Dec. 5, 2021, the Huskies sputtered, losing to Georgia Tech, Louisville, Oregon and Villanova. The loss to the Wildcats was UConn’s first conference defeat since 2013. When Bueckers returned in February, the Huskies surprised many by advancing all the way to the national championship game, where they lost to South Carolina, 64-49.

Losing Bueckers in the middle of the season proved to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, UConn suffered uncharacteristic losses without the dynamic guard. But on the other, the rest of the team got stronger in her absence, and that depth was a useful tool down the stretch of the NCAA Tournament.

This time, things are different. The Huskies have more time to make adjustments, but their personnel is limited and young.

UConn returns junior forward Aaliyah Edwards, defensive stopper Nika Mühl, second-year grad student Dorka Juhász and 2021 No. 1 recruit Azzi Fudd.

Sophomore Caroline Ducharme, the No. 5 recruit in her class, also returns after making the most of an increased role as the 2021-22 season progressed.

From there, the roster consists of two freshmen, Ice Brady and Ayanna Patterson; sophomore Amari DeBerry, who averaged 6.2 minutes a game last season; Fairfield grad transfer Lou Lopez Senechal; and redshirt junior Aubrey Griffin, who missed last season with a back injury.

That’s a lot of unknowns. UConn doesn’t generally go through growing pains like other teams do to start seasons, but the perennial powerhouse is entering a new era. Beyond established players like Fudd, Edwards and Juhász, the team will rely on others taking big jumps in 2022-23. That list of potential breakout players starts with Ducharme and Griffin.

Ducharme played consistent minutes last season when Bueckers went down with the knee injury, posting four 20-plus point games, including a career-high 28 against St. John’s in January. By season’s end, Ducharme looked confident for the Huskies, averaging 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. The Massachusetts native came to UConn as a capable scorer, finishing her high school career with 2,092 points despite missing most of her freshman and sophomore seasons due to injury.

CAROLINE. DUCHARME. pic.twitter.com/SSTNDDpkec

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 27, 2022

“She’s not afraid of the moments,” Auriemma told reporters after Ducharme’s performance against St. John’s. “She just plays. A silver lining, right? Who would have thought that she’d be doing this? Nobody gets hurt, everything stays the way it is, maybe she doesn’t get an opportunity to play this many minutes. We knew she was good, but we found out that she’s really, really good.”

The Huskies will need her to be even better this season.

Griffin is more of an unknown after undergoing back surgery in January and missing the entire 2021-22 season, but she’s also a versatile player with big upside. A five-star recruit in 2019, the athletic 6-foot-1 wing dominated during her senior year at Ossining Senior High School, averaging 28.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

Griffin played in all 32 games as a freshman at UConn, coming off the bench to average 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, she posted similar numbers while also making her way into the starting lineup five times.

Meanwhile, Fudd, Edwards and Juhász — the three returners who played the most minutes last season — will serve as the team’s core. Fudd, who was named to the 2022 Big East All-Freshman Team, will likely be called upon to lead the Huskies offensively, and her average of 12.1 points per game should increase.

She’s also the most obvious choice to take over at point guard.

Bueckers boasted a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio last year and spent significant time with the ball in her hands. Her absence in the point guard spot may be where the Huskies miss her most.

Last season, Westbrook and Williams took on those duties with Bueckers out, with Mühl serving as another alternative. But the 2022 Big East Defensive Player of the Year is more effective on the other end of the court, so Auriemma likely won’t turn to her regularly unless he has no other options.

UConn will also need to find an on-court leader to take over for Bueckers, but don’t expect her to go silent. Just like last season, she’ll continue to be vocal and lead her team from the sideline. That’s one sure thing in a season of unknowns.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.