First-ever Unrivaled champion! 👑

“I never thought I’d be a one seed and feel disrespected.”

— USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, after the brackets were announced for this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament. The Trojans were named the fourth No. 1-seed

Three big stories to know this week in women's sports

1. Brackets: Live! Games: Set! March Madness: HERE!

It’s (finally!!) official: The brackets are set for this year’s March Madness tournament, with 68 teams competing to earn the overall NCAA championship title. 🏀 With the First Four games tipping off on Wednesday and Thursday, and the first round opening Friday, we’re looking ahead to the most exciting teams and players of this year’s tournament.

The top-seeded teams:

UCLA was named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. The Bruins stormed through their first season in the Big Ten, with a 16-2 conference record and 30-2 overall. South Carolina, Texas, and USC rounded out the other No. 1 spots. South Carolina is entering this year’s tournament with a record that’s slightly less shiny than their two previous undefeated seasons...but we mean slightly: The Gamecocks are 30-3, which is still elite — especially with the toughest strength of schedule in the country. This prompted head coach Dawn Staley to call out the selection committee.

In their first year in the SEC, the Texas Longhorns (31–3) tied South Carolina for the regular season championship, and established themselves as one of the best defenses in the country, with 55.9 PPG—the lowest in the SEC. Lastly, there are the USC Trojans (28–3), who are the fourth-ranked No. 1-seed—and aren’t overly thrilled about it. (See quote from head coach Lindsey Gottlieb above.) Superstar sophomore Juju Watkins helped clinch their first regular-season conference title since 1994 (over fellow one-seed UCLA).

Players to watch:

Juju Watkins: Watkins has shown an otherworldly ability to singlehandedly change the trajectory of a game. In USC’s first game with UCLA, the sophomore scored or assisted on 16 of the Trojans’ 24 points in the fourth quarter. And of those eight points she didn’t have a hand in, four were free throws. She's also a semifinalist for Naismith Player of the Year.

Paige Bueckers: In 2021, Bueckers made history by being the first-ever freshman to be named the AP Player of the Year. Since then, UConn’s star senior has become even more of a fantastically well-rounded and versatile player, with the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country.

Flau’jae Johnson: LSU junior Johnson helped lead her team to a national title during her freshman year, and has remained a key part of their strategy since. LSU is seeded No. 3 this year, but with multiple players nursing injuries throughout the season, it may be tough for them to pull off another 'ship.

(Cross Country Skier magazine)

2. Jessie Diggins makes history with her third overall World Cup title 🏆

Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins secured her third World Cup overall win—with three races still remaining in the season, NBD. The 33-year-old from Minnesota now holds an insurmountable 430-point lead over Germany’s Victoria Carl. The World Cup overall title is awarded to the skier who accumulates the most points across all distances throughout the 31-race season, which stretches from November to March.

Diggins, who previously won in 2020–21 and 2023–24, is the first North American to win multiple overall titles. Despite battling a partially torn plantar fascia since January, she won six races this season. “It felt like I was tearing my foot in half,” she said of the injury. At the World Championships, she earned a team sprint silver with Julia Kern but had a tough time individually, finishing 13th, 22nd, and 23rd.

Diggins is the most decorated XC skier in Olympic, World Championships, and World Cup history. She’ll be aiming for a fourth Olympic appearance in 2026.

3. Rose BC defies expectations to win first-ever Unrivaled championship 🏀

At the beginning of this season, the Rose Basketball Club was faced with an uphill battle: They were ranked last in the league, with a 1–4 record to start and multiple injuries throughout the season.

But they used that rough start as fuel for the fire, and last night’s championship game was their vindication: They beat the Vinyl 62–54 to become the first-ever Unrivaled league champions. 🏆 The game was close throughout the first three quarters, with the teams trading the lead. The Vinyl’s Rhyne Howard scored 22 points, and her team led 49–48 with three seconds left in the third quarter. Then, Chelsea Gray sank a halfcourt buzzer-beater to bring the Rose into the lead for the fourth quarter. The game was won by a free throw from Brittney Sykes, which gave the Rose the 62 points necessary to clinch the title. The team rushed the court in celebration as streamers rained down from the ceiling.

Gray, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time WNBA champion, set a league record with 39 points in the semifinals. She led the Rose with 18 points and eight assists in the final, earning Unrivaled Playoffs MVP honors. Brittney Sykes and Azurá Stevens also played key roles in the victory, with Sykes scoring 21 points and Stevens netting 19 points and 18 rebounds.

The Rose’s victory was made even more impressive by the fact that they played without several key injured players, including Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese, Natisha Hiedeman, and Kahleah Copper.

The team members each won $50,000 in bonus money for their victory.

Tip of the week

A measly 6% of sports and exercise research studies have focused exclusively on women. That’s bad. And, surprise—it’s even worse for menopausal women. 👎

Of that 6%, menopausal women account for just 9% of total study participants. And, only 16% of female-only studies focus exclusively on older women. This is despite the fact that 40+ women have been lining up in greater numbers for sports of all kinds. We 🗣️deserve 🗣️ better 🗣️!

On Hit Play Not Pause, women’s health and performance researcher, Kelly McNulty, PhD, has a lot to say about it. We talk about what she has learned studying menopausal women of all walks of life and how education and information can make our lives exponentially better.

The highlight reel

High school senior Jane Hedengren set a new national high school record in the mile with her 4:26.14 time at Nike Indoor Nationals. The new mark is nearly two seconds faster than the previous record. It also comes just a few days after Hedengren smashed records in the 5,000-meter race. Her time of 15:13.26 was more than 15 seconds faster 😱 than the previous indoor record and also broke the U20 American record.
The PWHL surpassed one million fans in attendance since its launch last January. 🙌
Angel City’s Sydney Leroux announced that she’ll be stepping away from the NWSL for a period of time to focus on her mental health. "This isn't goodbye, I will be back, just like always in true Syd fashion,” she wrote on Instagram.
Mid South Gravel, one of the most significant early-season events on the US gravel calendar, was canceled this weekend, after wildfires broke out and high winds made conditions dangerous for racers.
Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, and Casey O’Brien have been named the top three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier award, which is presented to the top player in women’s Division I ice hockey. All three players attend the University of Wisconsin. The winner will be announced on Saturday, March 22.
Mak Whitman became the youngest player in NWSL history when she made her debut for Gotham FC at just 14 years, 8 months old.
CrossFit LLC announced that the company is officially up for sale—just days ahead of the end of the 2025 CrossFit Open. 🏋️‍♀️ The company has faced increased scrutiny since the 2024 death of Lazar Dukic at the CrossFit Games, with many athletes criticizing the organization’s approach to athlete safety and overall transparency.
Virginia high school athlete Alaila Everett is being charged with battery after a viral video showed her hitting an opponent with a baton during a race. Everett claims the contact was an accident.
Global toy brand and creator of the Tamagotchi, Bandai Namco, announced a four-year partnership with Angel City FC, making them the first-ever major toy brand to sponsor an American women’s pro sports team. The club debuted its own limited-edition Tamagotchi as part of the deal.
The NCAA’s NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) Store saw its women’s basketball apparel skyrocket 126% YoY 🚀for the month of February thanks to star Paige Bueckers, the highest-earning athlete for the month.
Julie Perilla Garcia claimed victory at the women’s bike edition of the Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000. 🚴‍♀️ She completed the 1,000-mile race in 20 days, 2 hours, and 5 minutes.
World Athletics proposed changes to its gender policy that could come into effect at the end of March. Some of the recommendations include updating the female category to allow only competitors with XX chromosomes to compete and adopting genetic testing to allow athletes to compete in the female category. There are a number of issues with these changes, which could make sports participation much more difficult, expensive, and traumatic for a large number of athletes. The verdict will be decided at the end of March.

Your Feisty recommendations

📺 What to watch: One of the biggest single-day races on the WorldTour calendar, Milan-San Remo Women, will be held on Saturday, March 22.

📚 What to read: Meet the women’s soccer trailblazer who helped hundreds flee the Taliban.

🎧 What to listen to: What one researcher has learned studying menopausal women—and how the information can make all women’s lives exponentially better.

🙌 What got us stoked: “1,000 women is the baseline, not the goal” for women’s participation in gravel racing