Owen Pence

4 weeks ago | contrarian.substack.com | Owen Pence

By Owen PenceThe air all around us is abuzz with women’s basketball chatter. It’s in the morning coffee, the afternoon smoothie, and the nighttime cup of tea. To say women’s basketball is having a “moment” would be to undersell reality. Moments are fleeting. Women’s basketball is here to stay. How did we get here? The bro at your friend’s housewarming party breathlessly tells you it’s all Caitlin Clark’s doing, but he’s comically misinformed.

1 month ago | winsidr.com | Owen Pence

Here we are once again, standing on the doorstep of the WNBA season. April showers bring May flowers, and meaningful basketball along with it. Do you realize how long it’s been since we’ve gotten to enjoy the privilege that is watching A’ja Wilson play basketball? For the first time in two years, the Las Vegas Aces don’t have a title to defend. That’s a scary sentence for a dozen fanbases to read, and an exciting one for Vegas faithful.

2 months ago | winsidr.com | Owen Pence

NEW YORK – “The WNBA Been Poppin”I didn’t say it, though I have many times. This time, the message came courtesy of Saniya Rivers’ bag, a statement that set the tone for the 2025 WNBA Draft and served as a reminder of everything and everyone it took to get to this moment. “Just as the bag says: we’re popping,” Rivers stated on Monday night, soon after the Connecticut Sun selected her with the No. 8 pick.

2 months ago | contrarian.substack.com | Owen Pence

By Owen PenceIt says everything about Dawn Staley that I’m equally compelled to write about her, win or lose. The numeric outcome is never the point; it’s the lives she’s changed. The University of Connecticut defeated Staley’s South Carolina 82-59 in the National Championship game on Sunday. A deserving group of Huskies emphatically put their stamp on another wildly successful women’s NCAA Tournament. Despite the loss, Staley’s reach, outlook, and legacy remain as profound as ever.

Mar 19, 2025 | winsidr.com | Myles Ehrlich |Owen Pence

March Madness is around the corner, with the field of 64 tipping off this Friday. For fans across the country, these next few weeks of single-elimination chaos teases the highest and lowest of emotional swings. For the participating athletes, those extremes could be even more consuming: from the stress inside the lines to the online harassment that has become all too commonplace.