<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="14090581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arike-ogunbowale" source="Orion">Arike Ogunbowale</keyword> earned a halftime <keyword id="14187499" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ejection" source="Orion">ejection</keyword> for kicking the ball into the stands on Sunday.</li><li>The <keyword id="13989265" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dallas-wings" source="Orion">Dallas Wings</keyword> star blamed being "a <keyword id="11897666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="soccer" source="Orion">soccer</keyword> player first" for trying to stop the ball with her feet.</li></ul><p>A <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> superstar got caught playing the wrong sport — and the mistake cost her.</p><p>Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale earned an early-game technical <keyword id="13989266" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="foul" source="Orion">foul</keyword> and ejection for her soccer antics that could have put fans attending Sunday's matchup against the Seattle Storm in harm's way. After Sue Bird's half-court heave ricocheted off the rim at the halftime buzzer, Ogunbowale extended her leg and sent the ball sailing into the stands.</p><p>No one was hurt, as an alert fan was able to catch the ball. Still, the referees determined the offense was worthy of reprimand. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—jack maloney (@jackmaloneycbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1536094797349457920">June 12, 2022</a></blockquote><p>The Wings, who trailed by just one point when Ogunbowale got tossed, wound up losing the game 84-79. Shortly thereafter, last year's All-Star Game MVP deflected any wrongdoing and blamed her actions on the fact that she "was a soccer player first."</p><p>"Literally every practice and game I stop the <keyword id="11896035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball" source="Orion">basketball</keyword> with my feet, pass it to my teammates with my feet etc," Ogunbowale wrote on Twitter. "Ball comes at me fast I always stop the ball with my feet it's just my first instinct."</p><p>"I was in NO WAY trying to kick the ball," she added in a follow-up tweet. "The half was over I tried to control the ball with my feet like I always do if the ball comes @ me fast. To be ejected for something like this is wild. From here on out I'll try to remember WNBA refs aren't fans of soccer players. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoWings?src=hashtag_click">#GoWings</a>"</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1536099703909146625">June 12, 2022</a></blockquote><p>But commentators and fans were skeptical of her explanation, especially considering the young star <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-star-faked-free-throw-kicked-table-smashed-screen-video-2022-6">kicked a scorer's table out of frustration</a> during Dallas' June 1 contest against the Los Angeles Sparks. Even Ogunbowale's coach — former WNBA great Vickie Johnson — was dismissive of her star player's excuse.</p><p>"I think that incident happened in LA as well, if I'm not mistaken," Johnson said in her postgame press conference. "We're not on a soccer field — we're on a basketball court. And you have to respect the game, period."</p><p>"Whatever the referee called, they called," she added. "I haven't gotten a chance to look at it, but we play basketball with our hands, not with our feet."</p><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/2uvjcx" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" style="width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;left:0px;top:0px;overflow:hidden;"></iframe><p>The <a href="https://www.wnba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2021/05/2021-WNBA-RULE-BOOK-FINAL.pdf">WNBA rule book</a> states that "any player who throws or kicks the ball directly into the stands with force, regardless of the reason or where it lands, will be assessed a technical foul and ejected." Should referees determine that Ogunbowale's technical falls into the "unsportsmanlike conduct" category, the league will almost certainly slap her with a fine.</p><p>Representatives for the WNBA did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p>

A WNBA star blamed her soccer roots after earning a halftime ejection for kicking the ball into the stands

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> superstar <keyword id="14090581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="arike-ogunbowale" source="Orion">Arike Ogunbowale</keyword> inexplicably pump-faked a free-throw with the game on the line.</li><li>Refs whistled the <keyword id="13989265" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dallas-wings" source="Orion">Dallas Wings</keyword> guard with a delay-of-game violation, and she lashed out in frustration.</li></ul><p>A bizarre sequence in the final moments of a close WNBA game left one superstar kicking the scorer's table and smashing a screen out of frustration.</p><p>With less than a second remaining on the clock and just two points separating the Dallas Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks, Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale — who was 17 for her last 17 from the charity stripe heading to the line — set up for a pair of free-throws to tie the game. In uncharacteristic fashion, the clutch sharpshooter's first attempt bounced off the back of the iron and ricocheted away from the basket.</p><p>Then, inexplicably, she pump-faked her second free-throw. The game officials promptly slapped Ogunbowale with a delay-of-game violation and awarded the ball to the Sparks, all but ending Dallas' chances of mounting a last-second comeback.</p><div type="image" title="Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale." height="1405" width="1874" msid="91947684" hostid="261"></div><p>An understandably frustrated Ogunbowale walked towards the sideline and past Wings head coach Vickie Johnson before pulling her leg back and smashing the scorer's table. The blue screen flickered and flashed to black as what appeared to be a power strip clattered to the hardwood.</p><p>The referees charged Ogunbowale with a technical <keyword id="13989266" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="foul" source="Orion">foul</keyword>. One inbounds pass later, the Los Angeles walked away with the home-court victory.</p><p>Check out the clip below:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—espnW (@espnW) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1531861997981011969">June 1, 2022</a></blockquote><p>After the game, Johnson lamented her team's lack of defensive urgency and struggles to convert at the charity stripe but stopped short of commenting on Ogunbowale's outburst. Had players treated pre-game shootaround more seriously and made it "game-like," she said, it may have been enough to power Dallas to victory.</p><p>"Those two free-throws could be winning or losing the game," Johnson said in her postgame press conference. "It's not an opportunity for you guys to talk and fellowship and all that stuff. It's an opportunity for you to sit down and focus and make your free-throws."</p><div type="image" title="Vickie Johnson." height="1666" width="2222" msid="91947685" hostid="261"></div><p>"And we didn't do that tonight," she added. "Not just Arike [Ogunbowale] — we didn't do that as a team."</p><p>The WNBA league office declined to comment on whether Ogunbowale would face further discipline, like a fine ,for her actions. The Wings will play their next game Friday, traveling to Seattle to take on the Storm.</p>

A WNBA superstar inexplicably pump-faked on a free throw, then lashed out after being slapped with a violation

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Dallas Wings selected <keyword id="13596931" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="veronica-burton" source="Orion">Veronica Burton</keyword> with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 <keyword id="13568780" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba-draft" source="Orion">WNBA Draft</keyword>.</li><li>The Northwestern PG expressed excitement about playing alongside Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey.</li></ul><p>Veronica Burton is amped to be joining her new team.</p><p>The Dallas Wings picked up the <keyword id="13605332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="northwestern-wildcats" source="Orion">Northwestern Wildcats</keyword> superstar with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> Draft Monday night. And mere moments after learning that she'd be joining the likes of Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey in Texas, Burton expressed eagerness to familiarize herself with her new teammates' styles of play in true <keyword id="12215141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="point-guard" source="Orion">point guard</keyword> fashion.</p><div type="image" title="Veronica Burton (left) and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert pose at the 2022 WNBA Draft." height="1667" width="2500" msid="90807687" hostid="261"></div><p>"It makes my job easier. When you've got scorers like that — Marina Mabrey, Arike [Ogunbowale], all those other amazing women and players — it makes the point guard look better and better," Burton said in a press conference at the draft. "So I'm definitely excited. I'm excited to play with them. I'm excited to play against them and compete with them in practice and everything.</p><p>"I'm about to go study all their games tonight even more and just learn where they want the ball, too," she added. "Where they want it is where I'll give it to them."</p><p>Ogunbowale joked on Twitter, "I like her already," after seeing her new teammate's comment. Mabrey was a fan of the point guard's mindset, too:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1513676360220299266">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Marina Mabrey (@mmabrey1) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1513680537927372802">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote><p>A 5-foot-9 point guard, Burton averaged a team-high 17.8 points and 6.4 assists per contest — and added 5.5 rebounds per game to boot — en route to third-team All-America honors in her senior season with the Wildcats. She led all Power 5 conference players with a 3.12 assist-turnover ratio, showcasing her "extremely high basketball IQ" ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson raved about ahead of Monday's draft.</p><p>Even with her stellar output on the offensive end, Burton is arguably best known for her lockdown defense. She led the nation with four steals per game this year and assumed an apt nickname — the "Backcourt Burglar" — as a result.</p><div type="image" title="Veronica Burton." height="1667" width="2500" msid="90807688" hostid="261"></div><p>Burton was even one of four finalists — and the only guard — nominated for the 2022 Naismith Trophy Women's Defensive Player of the Year award.</p><p>"It is a huge honor to be named as a finalist for that award," <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-draft-nalyssa-smith-veronica-burton-lexie-hull-going-pro-2022-4">she told Insider</a> ahead of the draft. "I have always taken a lot of pride on the defensive end because I understand how important that side of the ball is in order to win games."</p><p>That defensive prowess will undoubtedly prove useful to Dallas head coach Vickie Johnson, whose squad ranked in the bottom third of the league in opponent field-goal percentage, opponent three-pointers made, and opponent assists while owning one of the worst <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/teams/defense/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=1">defensive ratings in the WNBA</a> last season.</p><div type="image" title="Veronica Burton." height="1406" width="2500" msid="90807690" hostid="261"></div><p>But Burton's up to the challenge. She knows that the defense she brings to the table "is a separator for me," and she said as much Monday night.</p><p>"Coach Johnson had talked about wanting another defender that can really stop ball-handlers, keep people out of the paint," Burton said. "So if that's what she needs, that's what I'm going to give her. I'm excited to fill that role, and whatever they ask me to do, I'm going to try and do it."</p>

A top WNBA draft pick vowed to 'study' her new teammates' games so she knows 'where they want the ball'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12205485" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kelsey-plum" source="Orion">Kelsey Plum</keyword> scored 30 points en route to earning 2022 <keyword id="14412759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba-all-star-game" source="Orion">WNBA All-Star Game</keyword> <keyword id="11949090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mvp" source="Orion">MVP</keyword> honors.</li><li>The <keyword id="14465444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tiffany-co" source="Orion">Tiffany &amp; Co</keyword>. MVP <keyword id="14465443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trophy" source="Orion">trophy</keyword> Plum received for her efforts was noticeably smaller than past awards.</li></ul><p>Kelsey Plum put on a show during the 2022 <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> All-Star Game, <a href="https://www.insider.com/kelsey-plum-wnba-all-star-mvp-blew-3-point-contest-2022-7">scoring a record-tying 30 points</a> to earn MVP honors in her first-ever appearance.</p><p>But the trophy she received wasn't exactly commensurate with her magnificent effort. </p><p>WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Plum with a noticeably smaller trophy than the ones past All-Star Game MVPs — Arike Ogunbowale, Erica Wheeler, and Maya Moore — have hoisted in recent years. And it didn't take long for fans and players alike to notice the disparity.</p><div type="image" title="Arike Ogunbowale (left) and Kelsey Plum hold their WNBA All-Star Game MVP trophies." height="1800" width="2400" msid="92903903" hostid="261" sizebytes="349432"></div><p>Despite a tweet from <a href="https://twitter.com/BallsackSports/status/1546357083523670026">a parody sports account</a> that convinced many that the WNBA purchased this year's MVP trophy for just $18, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Insider that the cup was actually crafted by Tiffany &amp; Co. In addition to the WNBA All-Star MVP awards, the luxury jeweler makes the championship awards for the NBA, NFL, and MLB as well as the WNBA Finals trophy.</p><p>While Tiffany &amp; Co. trophies do not retail on the brand's website — they're only made to custom order — other items available for purchase indicate that Plum's prize was worth many times the amount suggested on Twitter. Sterling silver household goods available on Tiffany &amp; Co.'s website sell for tens of thousands of dollars, with some items listed at <a href="https://www.tiffany.com/accessories/games-novelties/everyday-objects-sterling-silver-and-24k-gold-vermeil-chess-set-62203846/">more than $100,000 apiece</a>.</p><p>Still, the high-end nature of the award didn't deter Plum's teammates from mocking her trophy's stature. After the All-Star Game MVP returned from Chicago, her <keyword id="11931768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces" source="Orion">Las Vegas Aces</keyword> teammates held a reenactment of the weekend's MVP award presentation ceremony.</p><div type="image" title="Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum (left) and Dearica Hamby." height="3712" width="4949" msid="92903904" hostid="261" sizebytes="805180"></div><p>Aces forward Theresa Plaisance pretended to be Engelbert, while fellow All-Star Dearica Hamby did her best Plum impression. Plaisance then announced to the room that "the prestigious MVP award goes to Kelsey Plum!" and delicately bestowed a GoGo squeeZ apple sauce pouch to Hamby.</p><p>Plum herself later reshared the amusing scene on her Instagram story:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Theresa Plaisance (@tplai55) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1546561025587220484">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Neither the WNBA nor Tiffany &amp; Co. immediately responded to Insider's request for comment. But with the WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game rapidly approaching, the league has a very small window to re-examine its trophy situation before its next public award presentation.</p>

Kelsey Plum accepted a comically tiny WNBA All-Star MVP trophy, and even her teammates mocked its size

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12205485" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kelsey-plum" source="Orion">Kelsey Plum</keyword> earned 2022 <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> All-Star <keyword id="11949090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mvp" source="Orion">MVP</keyword> honors after scoring 30 points in Sunday's game.</li><li>One day before, the <keyword id="11931768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces" source="Orion">Las Vegas Aces</keyword> star "stunk it up" with the lowest score in the 3-point contest.</li></ul><p>Kelsey Plum put on a jaw-dropping, record-breaking performance to win MVP honors during Sunday's <keyword id="14412759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba-all-star-game" source="Orion">WNBA All-Star Game</keyword>.</p><p>And the Las Vegas Aces star had a ton of motivation to ball out.</p><p>Plum — a first-time All-Star — also participated in Saturday's WNBA Skills Challenge and MTN DEW 3-Point Contest the day before the All-Star Game. And while she enjoyed a solid performance in the Skills Challenge — losing to eventual winner Sabrina Ionescu in the second of three rounds — Plum completely "stunk it up" it the 3-point contest, teammate <keyword id="12137455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="aja-wilson" source="Orion">A'ja Wilson</keyword> said in a press conference after Sunday's All-Star Game.</p><div type="image" title="Plum looks frustrated as she participates in the WNBA 3-Point Contest." height="1424" width="1898" msid="92860765" hostid="261" sizebytes="192584"></div><p>Despite leading the league in made three-pointers heading into All-Star Weekend, Plum recorded just 14 points out of a possible 40 total in the opening round of the contest. She finished dead last behind fellow competitors Allie Quigley, Ariel Atkins, Rhyne Howard, Jewell Loyd, and Arike Ogunbowale.</p><p>Wilson, who was mic'd up during Plum's round, had plenty to say about her point guard's performance:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1545865829300015106">July 9, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Plum said, "I had to redeem myself," the following day.</p><p>She dropped a game-high 30 points Sunday, tying the WNBA All-Star Game scoring record Maya Moore set in 2015 and breaking the field-goals record with 12 made shots. And it wasn't just a high-volume showing for the Olympic 3x3 gold medalist: She shot an impressive 66.7% from the floor and went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.</p><p>"It's one thing to score, but I'm trying to get percentages," Plum said. "So when I missed a couple, I'm like: 'KP, you cannot let this like be the downfall [and] just go out bricking.'"</p><p>"Especially anyone [who] saw yesterday, I had to redeem myself," she added with a smirk. "I'm not a rack shooter. I'm more of a game shooter. I'm glad it worked out."</p><div type="image" title="Plum (right) dribbles past Las Vegas Aces teammate Jackie Young during the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game." height="1407" width="1876" msid="92860766" hostid="261" sizebytes="132978"></div><p>Wilson, who was seated right next to Plum during the press conference, was quick to sing the 27-year-old's praises.</p><p>"I am so proud of KP — I was saying that before we went to starting lineups," Wilson, a 2022 WNBA All-Star Game captain, said. "This girl here she works so hard, countless nights in the gym and for me to be able to draft her and say that she's my teammate is truly amazing. This gives me no surprise.</p><p>"When she stunk it up yesterday, I just knew it was about time she was going to let loose," the 2020 WNBA MVP added. "I'm so proud that she has this accomplishment, but this is KP. She's worked hard for this. This doesn't come by a surprise. Proud of you, girl."</p><div type="image" title="A'ja Wilson (left) hugs Kelsey Plum after the latter earned 2022 WNBA All-Star Game MVP honors." height="1879" width="2500" msid="92860767" hostid="261" sizebytes="187040"></div><p>"I talk crazy about her, but I'm proud of her," she added.</p><p>The second half of the 2022 WNBA regular season is already underway. As of this article's initial publication, Plum and Wilson's Aces lead the Western Conference with a 16-7 record.</p><p>And Plum, who was last season's WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, has a legitimate case for this year's MVP award; at present, she ranks in the top 10 in points per game, assists per game, 3-point field-goal percentage, and offensive win shares.</p>

The WNBA All-Star MVP was motivated to show out and break records after she 'stunk it up' in the 3-point contest

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Legendary <keyword id="264806" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Notre-Dame">Notre Dame</keyword> <keyword id="5919286" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="womens-basketball">women's basketball</keyword> <keyword id="6371482" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coach">coach</keyword> Muffet McGraw announced her retirement on Wednesday.</li><li>McGraw led her teams to two National Championships and nine Final Fours en route to the <keyword id="737098" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Basketball-Hall-of-Fame">basketball Hall of Fame</keyword>.</li><li>She also developed a slew of WNBA talent, including league stars like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kayle McBride, Jewell Lloyd, Arike Ogunbowale, and Ruth Riley.</li><li>McGraw has been an unapologetic champion for women, thereby shifting the larger landscape for women in <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>A <keyword id="36237" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball">basketball</keyword> legend has left the court for the final time, her heels click-clacking the whole way.</p><p>Legendary Notre Dame women's basketball head coach Muffet McGraw announced her retirement Wednesday after 33 years leading the Fighting Irish.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Muffet McGraw  (@MuffetMcGraw) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1253027286649122819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote><p>"It has been my great honor to represent the University of Notre Dame these past 33 years, but the time has come for me to step down as your head basketball coach," McGraw said in a statement. "I am proud of what we have accomplished and I can turn the page to the next chapter in my life with no regrets, knowing that I gave it my best every day."</p><p>McGraw molded 20 future league players — 10 of whom were first-round draft picks — over her career, and also led her teams to two National Championships and nine Final Fours. But perhaps the most important piece of McGraw's legacy is her role as a champion for women in sports and beyond.</p><p>"When you look at men's basketball, 99% of the jobs go to men. Why shouldn't 100 or 99% of the jobs in women's basketball go to women?" McGraw said in an April 2019 press conference ahead of the Final Four. "Maybe it's because we only have 10% women athletic directors in Division I. People hire people who look like them. That's the problem."</p><h2>McGraw is one of the most accomplished coaches ever in college basketball</h2><p>McGraw is the eighth-winningest head coach in <keyword id="125824" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NCAA">NCAA</keyword> Division I history, with 936 career victories combined between her stints with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and, more famously, at Notre Dame.</p><p><div type="image" title="muffet mcgraw.JPG" height="1096" width="1462" msid="75379027" hostid="261"></div></p><p>She built a winning program from the ground up at the Joyce Center — now better known as Purcell Pavilion. When she arrived in 1987, the Fighting Irish were coming off of a 12-15 season and had never qualified for an NCAA tournament.</p><p>The shift was striking in that first season: McGraw led the team to a 20-8 record. Notre Dame finished first in its conference the following three years, and in 1992 — McGraw's fifth season — the Fighting Irish made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Soon, they became fixtures in the month of March; the team has taken part in the Madness every year since 1996.</p><p>McGraw only got better with time; the 2010s were by far the most dominant decade of her four as a coach. From 2010 to 2019, the Fighting Irish competed in the national title game six times. Their lowest finishes during that time span (in 2010 and 2016) still put Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.</p><h2>McGraw helped develop some of the biggest stars in the WNBA</h2><p>McGraw helped mold league stars like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kayle McBride, Jewell Lloyd, Arike Ogunbowale, and Ruth Riley.</p><p><div type="image" title="muffet mcgraw.JPG" height="2042" width="1500" msid="75379031" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"There's something about her that makes you want to move a mountain for her," Diggins-Smith, a four-time WNBA all-star said, <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2020-04-22/muffet-mcgraw-retires-after-33-seasons-2-national-titles">per the NCAA</a>. "I believe it's how much she cares about her players."</p><p>Former Notre Dame forward and current WNBA player Brianna Turner described McGraw as a workhorse, relentless in her pursuit of excellence.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Brianna Turner  (@_Breezy_Briii) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1253048931015110660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Ruth Riley wrote in <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/29083937/what-muffet-mcgraw-means-ruth-riley-tribute-notre-dame-coach">an essay for ESPN</a> that with McGraw, "there are no pretenses — she simply tells it as it is." </p><p>"She is an intense competitor with remarkable intellect and integrity. She excels without arrogance, is selfless, and always deflects praise by redistributing the spotlight to shine on those around her," Riley wrote. "When I say she has no ego, I mean none, nada, zero. Double zero might even be more accurate."</p><p><div type="image" title="muffet mcgraw.JPG" height="2048" width="1334" msid="75379034" hostid="261"></div></p><p><a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/the-iso-arike-ogunbowale-wnba-dallas-wings">In The Players Tribune</a>, Arike Ogunbowale called McGraw "by far the best coach that I've had."</p><p>"Now she can finally enjoy what she's built over all of those years. We stressed her out literally 365 days a year. That's 365 days a year for 33 years that she's been thinking about this team, "Ogunbowale wrote, adding, "I watched her lead by example for four years. And that's really all I needed." </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Arike Ogunbowale  (@Arike_O) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1253029168650084353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote><h2>A champion for women in sports and beyond</h2><p>McGraw was consistently unapologetic in her demand for progress for women in sports and beyond. </p><p>In her later years at Notre Dame, McGraw had an all-female supporting cast. When writer <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/this-top-womens-college-basketball-coach-is-done-hiring-men-5f3b6d06609b/">Lindsay Gibbs interviewed the coaching legend for Think Progress</a> in March 2019, she asked McGraw "if she'd ever hire a male coach again."</p><p>McGraw gave a definitive no.</p><p>"She didn't hedge for even a second," <a href="https://twitter.com/linzsports/status/1253035595183652866">Gibbs said on Twitter Wednesday</a>. "She gave others permission to stop hedging, too."</p><p><div type="image" title="muffet mcgraw.JPG" height="1028" width="1371" msid="75379038" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Reporters asked McGraw to clarify the comments during a media availability before her team suited up for the Final Four the following month.</p><p>"Men run the world," she replied. "Men have the power. Men make the decisions. It's always the man that is the stronger one ... We don't have enough female role models. We don't have enough visible women leaders. We don't have enough women in power."</p><p>McGraw added: "When these girls are coming out, who are they looking up to to tell them that's not the way it has to be? Where better to do that than in sports? All these millions of girls that play sports across the country, we're teaching them great things about life skills, but wouldn't it be great if we could teach them to watch how women lead?"</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Notre Dame WBB  (@ndwbb) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1113873325015609345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2019</a></blockquote><p>Ogunbowale said McGraw spoke that way "just about every day."</p><p>"People got to see a little bit of it when that clip of her at that press conference went viral," she wrote for The Players' Tribune. "That's something that we got for four years. Every woman that's passed through that program has heard a version of that speech."</p><p><div type="image" title="arike ogunbowale.JPG" height="1114" width="1485" msid="75379045" hostid="261"></div></p><p>She added: "One of her biggest things was, she always <em>always</em> impressed on us the idea that our platforms mattered, that we needed to use them for good, especially for women."</p><p>McGraw regularly drilled her team with trivia about women's history during conditioning, according to Ogunbowale. If players got the answers wrong, they'd have to run.</p><p>"She dealt with a lot of inequality," Ogunbowale wrote. "That's why she tries to uplift women as much as she can and be a leader for women."</p><p>It's only fitting, then, that McGraw successor is a woman. Niele Ivey, the point guard of Notre Dame's first national championship team and a longtime assistant on McGraw's coaching staff, will take the helm after a brief stint with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2019-20 NBA season.</p><p><div type="image" title="muffet mcgraw niele ivey.JPG" height="1000" width="1333" msid="75379051" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"She will be a fantastic role model and a leader in the women's empowerment movement," McGraw said of Ivey.</p><p>In her farewell press conference, McGraw also said she doesn't plan to retire from working as an activist.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Ava Wallace  (@avarwallace) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1253065895271895043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote><ul class="read-more-links"><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/carli-lloyd-skills-are-better-than-mens-players-uswnt-lawsuit-2020-4">Carli Lloyd said her skills are 'better than a lot of men's players' in response to US Soccer's controversial claims in USWNT equal pay lawsuit</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/alex-morgans-competitive-drive-makes-her-uswnt-icon-2020-4">20 examples of Alex Morgan's competitive drive that has made her a USWNT icon</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/sabrina-ionescu-ny-liberty-jersey-sells-out-in-one-hour-2020-4">Sabrina Ionescu's New York Liberty jersey sold out less than an hour after she was selected with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-trash-talked-diana-taurasi-threatened-to-buy-wnba-team-2020-4">Floyd Mayweather once threatened to buy Diana Taurasi's team when she trash-talked him during a game, and it was 'the one time she's ever been silenced'</a></li></ul></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/muffet-mcgraw-retires-notre-dame-coach-changed-womens-sports-2020-4">Insider</a>

Muffet McGraw has stepped down as the head basketball coach at Notre Dame. She fundamentally shifted the landscape of women in sports.

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ac180f75c791e3e008b46be-1500/arike%20ogunbowale.jpg" border="0" alt="arike ogunbowale" data-mce-source="Tony Dejak/AP"><p class="source"><span>Tony Dejak/AP</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale hit a game-winner on Sunday to defeat Mississippi State and win the NCAA Tournament.</strong></li><li><strong>Ogunbowale had hit a game-winner on Friday to beat UConn and send Notre Dame to the championship.</strong></li><li><strong>She won Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>It's been a good weekend for Arike Ogunbowale.</br></p><p>On Friday, the Notre Dame guard hit a game-winner over UConn to send her school to the NCAA Tournament championship vs. Mississippi State.</p><p>On Sunday, Ogunbowale once again delivered, catching the ball with three second left, the score tied 58-58 and making her way to the elbow to launch a contested three.</p><p>Swish. Notre Dame won it.</p><p>Ogunbowale shot just 6-21 from the field in the championship game, but when it mattered most, she once again delivered.</p><p><span>"It just felt right," Ogunbowale said of the shot after the game. "I practice late-game all the time. I just ran to Jackie [Young] and said, `Throw it to me, throw it to me.'"</span></p><p>The title was Notre Dame's first since 2001. Ogunbowale won Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ARIKE OGUNBOWALE JUST WON NOTRE DAME THE 2018 NATIONAL TITLE! <a href="https://t.co/ZCNhyF1uIf">pic.twitter.com/ZCNhyF1uIf</a></p>- ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/980599818052685824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-tracks-people-not-on-site-ads-privacy-2016-6">Facebook can still track you even if you delete your account - here's how to stop it</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/YVLp5AmR-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

The hero who sent Notre Dame to the NCAA Championship hit a second straight incredible game-winner to seal the title

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ac242dd25c48d34008b4730-1425/arike%20ogunbowale.jpg" border="0" alt="arike ogunbowale" data-mce-source="Andy Lyons/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Andy Lyons/Getty</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>Notre Dame beat Mississippi in the NCAA Championship on Sunday after Arike Ogunbowale hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired.</strong></li><li><strong>Notre Dame players and coaches acknowledged that the shot came off a broken play and they wanted to get the ball to a different player.</strong></li><li><strong>When Notre Dame couldn't run the play they wanted, Ogunbowale followed instructions to get the ball, and she delivered the shot of a lifetime.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>Notre Dame won the NCAA Championship on Sunday when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arike-ogunbowale-notre-dame-game-winner-championship-2018-4">Arike Ogunbowale came through&#xa0;<em>again&#xa0;</em>with a game-winning shot</a> to beat Mississippi State.</br></p><p>After nailing a step-back jumper to take down UConn on Friday to reach the championship game, on Sunday, Ogunbowale caught the ball with three seconds remaining, made her way to the elbow, and launched a contested three as time expired to win the game.</p><p>However, despite the heroic moment, the play was not designed to go to Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale had struggled on Sunday, shooting just 5-of-20 before the final shot. Instead, the ball was intended to go to Jessica Shepard, who was 8-of-10 from the field with 19 points.</p><p>But inbounding guard Jackie Young had reservations about getting Shepard the ball cleanly, so she had a backup plan.</p><p><span>"I didn't like the way it looked," Young said. "I knew, if I threw it, it would have possibly been a turnover. So I talked to Arike before, and I was like, if the matchup doesn't look right or if Jess isn't in the position that we're looking for, then come to the ball. And I just made sure Arike was literally coming to the ball before I passed it to her."</span></p><p><span>Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw even acknowledged that she wanted to get the ball close to the basket, afraid that if they got the ball on the perimeter, Mississippi State might foul to stop the clock.</span></p><p>"We didn't want to do anything that was going away from the basket, where they could maybe [foul and] take some time off the clock," McGraw said. "We thought, 'Get as close to the basket as you can with Jess.' She could turn and shoot and maybe get fouled. That was the first option.</p><p>"Arike hadn't been shooting the ball particularly well. Jess was."</p><p>Ogunbowale then delivered the shot of a lifetime.</p><p><a href="https://deadspin.com/arike-ogunbowale-wasnt-supposed-to-take-the-last-shot-1824252018">As Deadspin noted</a>, on this angle, you can hear Ogunbowale call for the ball as she ran to the sideline.</p><p>Though the Notre Dame players all said they felt confident in Ogunbowale's shot, it wasn't necessarily the play they would have drawn up. According to Notre Dame guard Marina Mabrey, Ogunbowale practices that fade-away three-pointer frequently and rarely makes it.</p><p>"She always practices that shot in warm-ups, and it irritates me because she misses it a lot," Mabrey said. "We'll be trying to move to our next drill in warm-ups, and she'll shoot that. Honestly, it doesn't go in all that often.&#xa0;</p><p>"I saw her do the shot tonight, and I thought, 'That's good.' I had a really good angle, and I saw the rotation, and I was like, 'Wow, she is the absolute GOAT.'"</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ARIKE OGUNBOWALE JUST WON NOTRE DAME THE 2018 NATIONAL TITLE! <a href="https://t.co/ZCNhyF1uIf">pic.twitter.com/ZCNhyF1uIf</a></p>- ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/980599818052685824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">From my seat <a href="https://t.co/7ngRPWabJS">pic.twitter.com/7ngRPWabJS</a></p>- Michelle Smith (@macsmith413) <a href="https://twitter.com/macsmith413/status/980600825390227457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-jay-z-and-diddy-made-millions-off-of-cheap-alcohol-zack-omalley-greenburg-2018-3">How Jay-Z and Diddy used their fame to make millions off of 'cheap grapes'</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qhWHAjCo-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

Notre Dame's incredible championship-winning shot came on a blown play that was supposed to go to another player

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ac24967f1316540008b4750-1500/notre dame ncaa.jpg" border="0" alt="notre dame ncaa" data-mce-source="Tony Dejak/AP" /><p class="source"><span>Tony Dejak/AP</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>Notre Dame beat Mississippi on Sunday to win the NCAA Tournament.</strong></li><li><strong>Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift Notre Dame to the win.</strong></li><li><strong>An incredible photo from The Associated Press captured Notre Dame's celebration while a dejected Mississippi State player walked off the court.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Notre Dame beat Mississippi State to win the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/ncaa-tournament">NCAA Tournament</a> on Sunday thanks to a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arike-ogunbowale-notre-dame-game-winner-championship-2018-4">buzzer-beating three-pointer from Arike Ogunbowale</a>.</p><p>With three seconds on the clock on Sunday, Ogunbowale caught the ball, ran to the elbow, and launched a contested three-pointer that found the bottom of the net as time expired.</p><p>The shot resulted in a joyous celebration from Notre Dame, and of course, a brutal walk-off for Mississippi State, which only had to defend for three more seconds to force an overtime.</p><p>Tony Dejak of the Associated Press captured the moment in an incredible photo, showing Notre Dame celebrating and hugging Ogunbowale in the background, while Mississippi State's Blair Schaefer walked off the court, dejected.</p><p>If this doesn't sum up <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/march-madness">March Madness</a>, we're not sure what does.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ac248820e91037e218b4816-1500/notre dame championship.jpg" border="0" alt="notre dame championship" data-mce-source="Tony Dejak/AP" /><p class="source"><span>Tony Dejak/AP</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-all-you-can-eat-restaurants-make-money-2018-3">How all-you-can-eat restaurants don't go bankrupt</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/PjNp4WhO-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Stunning photo captures the joy and heartbreak of March Madness

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c069f1098a66e635d7003b2-1500/jordan-poole-michigan.jpg" border="0" alt="Jordan Poole Michigan" data-mce-source="Jamie Squire/Getty Images"><p class="source"><span>Jamie Squire/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Buzzer beaters and last-second game-winning shots are some of what makes basketball at any level so exciting.</li><li>This year, viewers were treated to a plethora of thrilling, down-to-the-wire finishes in the NCAA tournament, NBA finals, and beyond.</li><li>We used Google Trends to determine the most talked-about game winners and buzzer beaters of 2018.</li></ul><p>Buzzer beaters and last-second game winners can elevate a basketball game, team, or player from good to legendary in a matter of seconds.</p><p>Just ask Arike Ogunbowale, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, and Jimmy Butler.</p><p>This year, basketball fans were treated to a plethora of thrilling, down-to-the-wire finishes in the NCAA tournament, NBA finals, and beyond.</p><p>We used Google Trends to try to widdle down all of this year's buzzer beaters and game winners to determine which were the most buzzed-about last-second shots of 2018.</p><p>Without further ado, here are the 24 best buzzer beaters and game winners of the calendar year.</p>

The 24 best buzzer beaters and game winners of 2018

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c0acb42034632202019ceb5-1500/arike%20ogunbowale.jpg" border="0" alt="arike ogunbowale" data-mce-source="Andy Lyons/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Andy Lyons/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Did Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale produce the best play of the year?</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>This year was filled with memorable sports moments, from jaw-dropping dunks to goosebumps-inducing buzzer-beaters.</strong></li><li><strong>Our list includes the best action from the World Cup, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, college sports, and plenty more.</strong></li><li><strong>Though he doesn't own the top play, it's hard to argue that anybody else produced more highlights this year than LeBron James.</strong></li><li><strong>Our top play was the buzziest play of 2018.</strong></li></ul><p>With 2018 coming to a close, we compiled the best plays in sports we saw this year and arranged them in a completely subjective order.</p><p>On the list you'll find feats of athleticism from jaw-dropping jumps to clever maneuvers. Of course, the stakes of the play, the athlete, and the situation all got taken into account. A game-winner in the playoffs is cooler than a great pass - it just is.</p><p>Additionally, star power played a part. When LeBron James hits a game-winner or dunks on somebody, it simply means more than if the 8th man on the team does so. And - spoiler alert - James had a highlight-filled year.</p><p>Our top 40 plays of 2018 include action from the World Cup, Super Bowl, World Series, NHL playoffs, NBA season and more.</p><p>Check out the best plays of 2018 below.</p>

The 40 most incredible plays in sports of 2018

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shaq reignited the debate on lowering the rims in <keyword id="5919286" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="womens-basketball">women's basketball</keyword> during an "<keyword id="9054564" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nba-on-tnt">NBA on TNT</keyword>" segment.</li><li>Bringing down the hoops in pursuit of more <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> and NCAA women's basksetball dunks is a dumb idea.</li><li>It would be "offensive" to force stars to relearn the game and discredit those who can already dunk.</li></ul><p>For as long as the WNBA has been around, laymen and experts alike have offered up ideas for altering the game in a misguided attempt to make the women's side of basketball more appealing to a broader audience.</p><div type="image" title="Shaq" height="1331" width="1780" msid="81784426" hostid="261"></div><p>Shaquille O'Neal was the latest contestant to partake in this all-too-common game of fixing something that isn't broken. He offered unsolicited advice to two-time WNBA MVP <keyword id="25669" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Candace-Parker">Candace Parker</keyword> during a recent segment of "NBA on TNT." The NBA Hall of Famer suggested that the perfect way to make the NBA and the WNBA "equal" would be to "lower the rim so y'all can dunk like we dunk."</p><p>"That'll give y'all more 'oomph' than you already have," Shaq added.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-gifdsports  (@gifdsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1372066565085073408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Parker didn't give his suggestion much consideration, rolling her eyes and responding with a simple "no." Though curt, the six-time first-team All-WNBA selection and reigning Defensive Player of the Year's reaction spoke volumes. Women in basketball - even those of Parker's caliber - are constantly subjected to the unfortunate and, frankly, annoying take that their play is essentially worthless without dunks.</p><p>Shaq's ill-advised suggestion opened the floodgates, empowering men across the internet to second his sentiment that yes, they'd give <keyword id="1739459" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Womens-Sports">women's sports</keyword> a chance if only they adapted to be more like men's <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>. And even though many have explained the reasons for keeping the rims where they are, here is why lowering the hoops in pursuit of women's basketball dunks is a dumb idea.</p><div type="image" title="elena delle donne block" height="1666" width="2222" msid="81784427" hostid="261"></div><h2>Let's start with the obvious - many women can already dunk</h2><p>Shaq seems to have missed that <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-dunk-video-highlights-2020-9">WNBA stars have dunked</a> throughout the league's 25-year history. In 2002, Los Angeles Sparks legend Lisa Leslie became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. Since then, six other players have joined her in the WNBA dunking club - and Parker is one of them.</p><p>The now-Chicago Sky star first dunked in a Sparks game in 2008, slamming a cherry on top of her historic rookie campaign as the only player to win Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. Here's the highlight:</p><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/ofh1ru" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe><p>At least two current NCAA <keyword id="6312906" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Womens-college-basketball">women's college basketball</keyword> stars showed off their hops this season. <a href="https://www.insider.com/womens-college-basketball-star-fran-belibi-dunks-stanford-practice-2020-10">Stanford forward Fran Belibi</a> threw down a <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-stanford-womens-basketball-fran-belibi-dunks-in-game-2020-12">handful of dunks</a> during the Cardinal's 2020-2021 campaign. And the Oregon Ducks' in-house TikTok star, 6-foot-7 sophomore Sedona Prince, silenced naysayers by sharing a <a href="https://twitter.com/GoDucks/status/1375598852124762112">one-handed slam in warm-ups</a> during the NCAA tournament.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shaqs-13-year-old-daughter-mearah-oneal-dunk-highlights-2020-2">Even Shaq's own daughter can dunk</a> on a regulation rim! When she was 13, Me'arah O'Neal rose for a dunk on a 10-foot hoop in a video shared by her brother, LSU Tigers star Shareef O'Neal.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Shareef O’Neal  (@SSJreef) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1232458101753700352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2020</a></blockquote><h2>Players would have to completely relearn the game</h2><p>In 2018, <keyword id="3696962" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nneka-Ogwumike">Nneka Ogwumike</keyword> - a superstar in her own right and the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association - brilliantly explained why questioning the height of the baskets is "probably one of the most offensive questions you can ask a WNBA player."</p><p>"It's not logical to ask us to do that," she said. "We're constantly being compared to men. We have people excelling at a 10-foot rim. And now, you want us to lower the rim so we can continuously be compared, only to still be criticized. Because now, you have someone like me who has done what she's done - now I have to relearn the game to appease people who don't want to watch it for what it is."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-The Undefeated  (@TheUndefeated) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1063078668887441408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote><p>The six-time All-Star and 2016 WNBA MVP has a point; lowering the rim would force players like herself and Parker to adapt their shooting strokes, approaches to rebounding, floor positioning, and so much more. And even then, there's a decent chance that the switch would not compel critics to tune in.</p><div type="image" title="nneka ogwumike" height="844" width="1125" msid="81784429" hostid="261"></div><p>Ogwumike echoed similar sentiments while speaking in a Clubhouse room hosted by Insider in early March. The <a href="https://twitter.com/LASparks/status/1375139287079944192">LA Sportsperson of the Year</a> said the dunking narrative is "played out." Anyone suggesting women's basketball needs more dunks to be interesting, Ogwumike added, would almost certainly find some other excuse not to watch if the league granted their wish.</p><p>She and others who partook in the conversation also noted that basketball isn't all about dunking. </p><h2>Some of the NBA's best and brightest aren't known for their dunking ability</h2><p>No one tunes into a Golden State Warriors game expecting Steph Curry to put his opponents on a poster. The two-time NBA MVP has only thrown down some 30 dunks in his 12 seasons in the league.</p><div type="image" title="steph curry 2021" height="1125" width="1500" msid="81784431" hostid="261"></div><p>Still, Curry has long been one of the most exciting and engaging players in the pros. His jerseys are regularly among the top-10 highest-selling threads in the NBA. And even though he commands one of the league's top salaries, the seven-time All-Star makes even more money each year from endorsements.</p><p>Curry isn't the only NBA superstar with megawatt brand value who isn't much of a dunker. James Harden, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, and plenty of other All-Stars rarely rise above the rim, if at all.</p><p>It stands to reason that fans of those players are not watching basketball solely for the dunks. And maybe they could strike up an interest in stars on the women's side whose games resemble Curry's and other backcourt players in the NBA, including Sabrina Ionescu, Diana Taurasi, Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers, and Caitlin Clark.</p><h2>The WNBA and NCAA women's basketball have already achieved record-breaking successes</h2><div type="image" title="breanna stewart.JPG" height="1333" width="1778" msid="81784432" hostid="261"></div><p>2020 was a standout year for the WNBA on the engagement front. Thanks to a massive broadcast deal with ESPN, the league had more televised games than ever before. <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/21507979/wnba-finals-2020-viewership-ratings-up-cathy-engelbert-espn">Unprecedented viewership</a> followed as the WNBA saw a 68% increase in its regular-season audience, a 15% viewership jump for the finals, and 30% more engagement across social media.</p><p>The 2021 <keyword id="10940397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ncaa-womens-tournament">NCAA women's tournament</keyword> has significant momentum as well, and it's little surprise given that this year marks the first in which all women's March Madness games were <a href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/03/womens-ncaa-tournament-ratings-abc-pga-tour-wrestling-ufc/#:~:text=Women's%20NCAA%20Tournament%20sees%20high,opening%20round%20audience%20since%202010.010.">carried on national television</a>. <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/march-madness-mens-womens-regional-semifinals-deliver-high-viewership/ErKLCFHclmKH">According to The Athletic</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/march-madness-most-anticipated-matchup-paige-bueckers-vs-caitlin-clark-2021-3">UConn and Iowa's Sweet Sixteen matchup</a> garnered 1.6 million viewers, while 1.7 million people watched as <a href="https://www.insider.com/lebron-james-complains-baylor-uconn-foul-no-call-elite-eight-2021-3">UConn downed Baylor in the Elite Eight</a>.</p><div type="image" title="paige bueckers.JPG" height="1549" width="2065" msid="81784433" hostid="261"></div><p>Perhaps the WNBA and NCAA women's basketball can win over fans without lowering the rims after all; it certainly looks like they already have.</p><p>And I'd implore Shaq and others engaging in the "women need to dunk" narrative to consider this; perhaps it's not the product on the court that needs fixing so much as the system that has routinely denied women's basketball its proper share of the spotlight.</p>

No, we shouldn't lower the rim for more dunks in women's basketball

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://justwomenssports.com/">Just Women's Sports</a>, a platform solely covering <keyword id="1739459" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Womens-Sports">women's sports</keyword>, raised $3.5 million in seed funding.</li><li><keyword id="3541567" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="elena-delle-donne">Elena Delle Donne</keyword>, <keyword id="146874" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kevin-Durant">Kevin Durant</keyword>, <keyword id="9096091" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uswnt">USWNT</keyword>'s <keyword id="2928090" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kelley-OHara">Kelley O'Hara</keyword> and Sam Mewis, and more are on board.</li><li>"Our mission is to create the platform these women deserve and to make women's <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> mainstream," the CEO told Insider.</li></ul><p>Just <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/gender-equality-sports-media#:~:text=Yet%20outside%20the%20period%20of,are%20often%20objectified%20or%20demeaned.">4% of sports media coverage</a> is devoted to women's sports - and that's just not good enough.</p><p>Haley Rosen is set to change that metric. Her brainchild, <keyword id="11212090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="just-womens-sports">Just Women's Sports</keyword>, promises everything encompassed in its name: "100% women's sports, 100% of the time." The media start-up aims to boost the availability of women's sports through written coverage, podcasts, digital content, and - down the line - live games. And it just raised $3.5 million in seed funding.</p><p>Led by Will Ventures, the round featured investments from <keyword id="9178736" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="thirty-five-ventures">Thirty Five Ventures</keyword>, Drive by DraftKings, OVO Fund, and Supernode Global. And with big names like two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and reigning league scoring champion Arike Ogunbowale, women's hockey icon Hilary Knight, USWNT World Cup Champions Kelley O'Hara and Sam Mewis, and NBA MVP Kevin Durant on board with Just Women's Sports, Rosen is poised to disrupt the sports media space by capitalizing on increased interest and investment in women's sports.</p><div type="image" title="elena delle donne block" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82532324" hostid="261"></div><h2>Rosen is aiming 'to create the platform these women deserve'</h2><p>"I played soccer - played in college and played professionally for a little bit - and when I was playing, I saw this space evolving," Rosen told Insider. "Viewership was up, attendance was up, everything was changing, and there was just a ton of momentum. And then, when I stopped playing, I couldn't follow along, and that didn't make any sense to me. And it didn't match the opportunity or the momentum I was seeing."</p><p>"So for me, this was about covering women's sports like sports and bringing the coverage the space deserved because I thought the product was dope," she added. "And I thought that there was just a huge opportunity around this."</p><div type="image" title="haley rosen" height="1601" width="2135" msid="82532330" hostid="261"></div><p>The Just Women's Sports first-round raise comes among a surge in the women's sports space and a standout year of engagement for leagues like the WNBA and NWSL. Despite <a href="https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/1316523441915387904">ratings dips</a> across much of professional athletics, both leagues enjoyed <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/21507979/wnba-finals-2020-viewership-ratings-up-cathy-engelbert-espn">unprecedented viewership</a> in 2020. The <a href="https://www.insider.com/google-wnba-partnership-25-games-national-tv-2021-season-2021-5">WNBA saw</a> a 68% increase in its regular-season audience, a 15% viewership jump for the finals, and 30% more engagement across social media, while <a href="https://www.insider.com/nwsl-viewership-up-493-percent-despite-sports-ratings-struggles-2020-10">NWSL viewership spiked</a> a whopping 493%.</p><p>And in recent years, <a href="https://www.insider.com/athletes-unlimited-pregnancy-policy-enables-pro-athlete-mothers-2021-5">the advent of leagues like Athletes Unlimited</a> has created domestic professional opportunities for women's athletes who have traditionally been forced to take their talents abroad to pursue post-collegiate playing careers. </p><div type="image" title="Kelley O'Hara" height="1333" width="1777" msid="82532334" hostid="261"></div><p>With more competition, more athletes, and more interest in women's sports than ever before, it's no wonder some of the biggest power-players in the sports world are literally buying into Rosen's premise.</p><p>That means lifting women's sports is not just about doing what is right - it's about making a sound investment.</p><p>"We've got to be objective as investors," Will Ventures co-founder and managing partner Brian Reilly told Insider. "We're backed by university endowments, pro sports team owners. We've got significant institutional capital. And so for us, our job is to generate venture scale returns, period. As much as we love to 'do good' with our investments, that can't be what it's all about. And that certainly wasn't the case here."</p><p>"This idea that there's a 50-50 split when it comes to sports participation between males and females, but then only such a small percentage, 4% [of coverage], is going to females - that to us as a venture scale opportunity," he added.</p><h2>Rosen and Just Women's Sports are the 'right group of people' to lead the charge</h2><p>But outside of the apparent money-making opportunity Just Women's Sports presents, there's another factor drawing in All-Stars and venture capitalists alike - the 27-year-old Stanford alumna at the helm.</p><div type="image" title="Haley Rosen 2" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82532341" hostid="261"></div><p>Every person who spoke with Insider about the media company's potential - from Reilly and Thirty Five Ventures' <keyword id="4827525" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="rich-kleiman">Rich Kleiman</keyword> to USWNT stars Mewis and Lynn Williams - raved about Rosen herself and what she brings to the table.</p><p>"We love this space, but more importantly than anything, we love Haley and the team that's behind it," Reilly said. "Within like five minutes of talking to Haley, everyone on our team was like, 'We've got to back this.' You could tell she's so charismatic, and she's a natural-born leader."</p><p>That same sentiment prompted Durant and Kleiman to approach their involvement with Just Women's Sports as more than just investors. The team at Thirty Five Ventures intends to tap into its vast network to connect Rosen and her team with resources to help grow Just Women's Sports into a sports media juggernaut.</p><div type="image" title="Kevin Durant Rich Kleiman" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82532346" hostid="261"></div><p>Additionally, Durant's and Kleiman's sports business media network, <a href="https://boardroom.tv/about/">Boardroom</a>, will help to amplify Just Women's Sports' reach within the space. Rosen will guest on Boardroom's "Out of Office" podcast, and both parties are eager to pursue further opportunities for collaboration.</p><p>"We wanted to invest in this company because of this business and because of Haley - I knew about five minutes into speaking to her on Zoom from her energy," Kleiman told Insider. "When I was taken back at just how impressive she was, I realized there was an opportunity for us to be more than just an investor in this company."</p><p>"I've never been as energized about something that we've invested in that's not ours as I am with this," he added. "Every one of the people that work here - from Kevin and myself to the people that run our foundation, the people that run our investments, and Boardroom - can all really help."</p><div type="image" title="Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman" height="767" width="1022" msid="82532352" hostid="261"></div><p>Kleiman is intent on connecting Rosen to the most influential players in sports. He told Insider that on a recent trip Rosen took to New York, "I introduced her to Venus Williams' people, I've introduced her to Naomi Osaka's people, I've introduced her to owners of teams and leagues," and more.</p><h2>In just one year, Just Women's Sports has already made a name for itself in the sports media space</h2><p>But even without Kleiman and the elaborate network that the other newly-announced Just Women's Sports investors bring to the table, Rosen has managed to accrue a star-studded roster of talent for her platform. She kicked off her foray into original content in 2020 with the "Just Women's Sports podcast" hosted by USWNT star O'Hara. And recently, the brand added <a href="https://www.insider.com/uswnt-soccer-sam-mewis-return-nwsl-manchester-city-2021-5">Mewis</a> and Williams - O'Hara's USWNT teammates - to its arsenal through <a href="https://www.insider.com/uswnt-soccer-stars-sam-mewis-lynn-williams-podcast-2021-5">their new podcast, "Snacks."</a></p><p>Just Women's Sports also produces "Off the Ball," a digital show featuring Olympian and NWSL star Ali Riley, and "The Soccer Show," a weekly recap show covering FA Women's Super League highlights thanks to an exclusive content partnership with Ata Football. Rosen added to Just Women's Sports' content network by acquiring "Tea with A &amp; Phee," the popular podcast hosted by reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson and 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier.</p><div type="image" title="a'ja wilson" height="1729" width="2306" msid="82532355" hostid="261"></div><p>"What Haley's doing is amazing - she's giving visibility to women's sports and women athletes," Williams told Insider. "And not just one type, but a whole diverse group of athletes. For a very long time, women have not been utilized, and our potential has not been even tapped into at all. And then, on top of that, I think that Black women have been utilized even less. And so it's nice to see a platform that is just for women and uplifting women."</p><p>"The coolest thing about it for me is seeing that somebody has recognized that there's like a lack of coverage of women's sports, and instead of attaching to something else, or just putting a 'W' on something, [Rosen has] made this whole new entity that is trying to solve this problem," Mewis added. "This is the right group of people to do it and... that's one of my goals as well. I want to leave a lasting impact in this space and for women's sports and pushing for equality and pushing for better pay."</p><h2>With newly-acquired capital and full investor support, Kleiman says "the sky is really the limit" for Just Women's Sports</h2><h2><div type="image" title="sam mewis lynn williams" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82532360" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>Though she already has an incredible portfolio at her disposal - especially considering it has only been one year since she first created Just Women's Sports - Rosen has her sights set on something even greater.</p><p>"We want to be that one-stop shop for all things women's sports," Rosen said. "It's a long journey to realize the full vision, but for us, what that means is we want to push on our digital channels, we want to expand our audio network, we want to get into premium content, and we have ambitions of having the games."</p><p>"We really believe that if you can get people tuning in and showing up daily, weekly, you can build out fantasy and betting and everything you see on the men's side," she added. "We can go build it on women's side, but it starts with really high quality and consistent sports coverage, which is where we're at today."</p>

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