U.S of HER WAY

The latest news in American sport.

BASKETBALL

March Madness

And just like that we’re down to six teams, with that to be culled to four on Tuesday morning after the remaining two Elite 8 matches.

Defending champions South Carolina and UCLA are the first two teams through to the Final Four. For UCLA it’s their first ever trip to this stage of the tournament, and they had to get past a tough LSU, the 2023 champions, to do it. Dawn Staley’s South Carolina is back to the Final Four after winning it all in 2024.

UConn and USC shapes up as an epic clash on Tuesday for the right to join the last four action. UConn superstar Paige Bueckers set all kinds of school records in their Sweet 16 win with her 40 points, and will need to be stopped if USC are to progress. College player of the year nominee Juju Watkins is a massive loss for USC after tearing her ACL last week, so senior Kiki Iriafen will again carry a bigger load.

TCU will be favourites in their clash with Texas, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu is the last remaining Aussie in the tournament. She was key for TCU earlier in the tournament, and can again play a crucial should their star duo Hailey van Lith and Sedona Prince be contained.

FOOTBALL

NWSL

Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold turned in a timely performance for Portland Thorns on Sunday Australian time in their entertaining scoreless draw with North Carolina Courage. ‘Macca’ produced several good saves, but produced her best when it mattered most. After North Carolina were awarded a contentious penalty after a VAR review, Arnold rose to the occasion, guessing correctly and diving to her right to deny what would have been the go-ahead goal. Tillies teammate Kaitlyn Torpey was also solid for the Thorns.

Meanwhile on Monday morning, Alanna Kennedy’s Angel City celebrated a number of their big name co-owners and founders being on hand for their USWNT celebration day with a 2-1 win over Seattle Reign.

The league pauses for two weeks now with the international window, with games resuming on April 12. The USWNT play two matches against Brazil on April 5 and 8.

TENNIS

Charleston Open

While some of the world’s best sit out this week, many are still competing in the WTA500 tournament in South Carolina.

After finishing runner up in Miami, American Jess Pegula is top seed, with Australian Open Madison Keys second seed.

Fifth seed is Daria Kasatkina, with ‘Dasha’ representing her adopted country Australia for the first time this week. Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadecki will also be flying the flag for Australia in Charleston.

RUGBY UNION

Elite Women’s Rugby

Week two of Women’s Elite Rugby saw some big score lines.

Denver Onyx won their first ever game in emphatic style, recording a 63-7 win over fellow debutants Bay Breakers.

Boston Banshees went to a 2-0 record with a 36-10 victory over Twin Cities Gemini, while New York Exiles bounced back from last week’s loss, prevailing over Chicago Tempest 48-17.

ICE HOCKEY

PWHL

Montreal, with a playoff spot clinched, maintain a three point lead at the top of the table. Their Canadian archrivals Toronto missed a chance to close the gap on Monday morning when they went down Minnesota 5-2. During the game, Minnesota made league history when they scored two goals in the opening two minutes - the two fastest goals in PWHL.

VOLLEYBALL

Pro Federation

Omaha Supernovas (41pt) have a small lead at the top of the standings, recording a 3-0 win over Vegas Thrill on Sunday AEDT, and followed it up on Sunday with a victory over Grand Rapids.

Atlanta Vibe (40pt) are hot on their heels after downing San Diego Mojo on Saturday followed by a 3-0 sweep over Columbus Fury on Monday.

COLLEGE SPORT

Water Polo

Saturday was all about Stingers star Tilly Kearns and her USC Trojans. The number two ranked team took on number one Stanford in their home pool, intent on seeking redemption for a loss to the Cardinals a few weeks ago.

It was looking unlikely after three periods as Stanford led 7-4. But USC stormed home with an 8-4 final quarter to record a 12-11 win. Sydney’s Tilly was the star, scoring six of USC’s 12 goals, including two in the dying minutes.