August 26, 2022 | ESPN.com PLASTIC BAGS DRAPED over her arms, a 9-year-old Kelsey Plum stomped across the backyard at her family’s Poway, California, home. She bent down and scooped up the sunbaked droppings that her dog, Riley Jane, had left behind. Riley Jane was a greater Swiss mountain dog who weighed more than 120 pounds. The bigger … Continue reading The price and payoff of Kelsey Plum’s obsession with winning
June 22, 2022 | ESPN.com ALREADY 22 HOURS into her journey, and with the final leg of her 6,000-mile trip still to go, tears prick the corners of Jonquel Jones‘ eyes. The 6-foot-6 Connecticut Sun forward stretches her legs as much as she can in her exit-row seat. She needs more space, but mostly she needs more sleep. It’s … Continue reading Jonquel Jones and the untold story of the WNBA’s reigning MVP
March 24, 2022 | ESPN.com THE BALL CLANGS off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounds, and Aliyah Boston‘s hands fly to her head in disbelief. She’s hit this shot 1,000 times — a little putback just over the front of the rim. But when she wanted to hit it most, in the last moments … Continue reading A second shot for Aliyah Boston
March 15, 2022 | ESPN.com WHEN LIA THOMAS’ fingertips break the surface of the water on Thursday at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, nobody in the 500-yard freestyle, or in any other race at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships, will have navigated choppier waters. Thomas, a transgender swimmer at Penn, has sparked searing … Continue reading Lia Thomas controversy surrounds NCAA swimming championships, incites national debate
February 18, 2022 | ESPN.com DAWN STALEY STARTS the game against Stanford on the bench. Clad in a Burberry hoodie, the South Carolina women’s basketball coach claps and encourages the Gamecocks from her seated position, occasionally getting up to relay instructions or give a referee an earful. You know, as she does. It’s a brisk December night in Columbia, just … Continue reading The style and substance of Dawn Staley
September 28, 2021 | ESPN.com WHEN A’JA WILSON stepped into the Las Vegas Aces’ meeting room in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida, she thought she was attending a meeting with referees ahead of the 2020 WNBA Finals. She had finished her media obligations for the day, and a jitters-laden adrenaline rush was bubbling up before … Continue reading WNBA playoffs give Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson chance to cement her status as an icon
September 1, 2021 | ESPN.com BECKY PEPPER-JACKSON slides her toes into her running shoes as the sun sets behind the Appalachian Mountains. She likes to run at the end of the day, when the summer heat has broken and she’s done with her chores. The 11-year-old and her family live on three acres of land outside … Continue reading Young transgender athletes caught in middle of states’ debates
June 24, 2021 | ESPN.com Layshia Clarendon wrapped their hand around the back of the fussy newborn looking up at them in the maternity recovery room at a Bay Area hospital. A nurse had just shown Layshia how to cradle the baby in a football hold, and Layshia rested the soft skin of the baby’s … Continue reading The Power of Layshia Clarendon
May 25, 2021 | ESPN.com WITH A WIDE smile and a clap of her hands, Sylvia Fowles brings her Minnesota Lynx teammates together in a dark tunnel that leads to their home court at Target Center. “Take care of each other; protect each other,” Fowles says as music from the arena seeps into their huddle, the noise growing … Continue reading In the shadow of George Floyd Square, the Minnesota Lynx remain steadfast in the fight for racial justice
March 18, 2021 | ESPN.com JALEN SUGGS PACES in front of the television in his hotel room in Provo, Utah. The minutes are ticking down to tipoff for Gonzaga’s nationally televised men’s basketball game on Feb. 8 against BYU, but in Storrs, Connecticut, the seconds are ticking down on his friend Paige Bueckers. Suggs is wearing out … Continue reading Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and the friendship that fuels March Madness
Katie Barnes 