Sean Hurd

2 months ago | andscape.com | Sean Hurd

TAMPA, Fla. – There’s plenty that Janiah Barker remembers about attending the Final Four the last time it was held at Amalie Arena in 2019. Barker, then 14 years old, vividly remembers the outfit she wore to the games, a blue shirt and some jeans. She remembers running into her friend – and now Iowa State point guard – Jada Williams. The most poignant memory: meeting and taking a picture with then Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird.

2 months ago | andscape.com | Sean Hurd

Three years ago, in the middle of the press conference where Destinee Rogers was being introduced as the next head coach of the Arkansas State women’s basketball team, Rogers reached into her pocket and held up a small, clear plastic case that contained a snippet of a basketball net. The net, a piece of the national championship net won by South Carolina in 2017, had been sent to Rogers in 2021 by Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley.

Feb 1, 2025 | andscape.com | Sean Hurd

When A’ja Wilson announced she was attending the University of South Carolina in the spring of 2014, it shook the table of women’s college basketball. The hometown kid and nation’s No. 1 overall recruit had chosen David over the Goliaths selected by top recruits of the past. What followed? A dominant and decorated career delivered. A national championship won. And an enduring legacy — and statue — cemented.

Jan 29, 2025 | andscape.com | Sean Hurd

Dawn Staley first met A’ja Wilson in 2009. Staley had just finished her first season as the head coach of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team, a program that had long been dormant prior to her arrival. Around the city of Columbia, South Carolina, Staley would run into Wilson’s father, Roscoe, on more than one occasion – the Wilson family lived in nearby Hopkins. Each meeting, he would bring up his daughter A’ja. “She’s good. She’s going to be good. She’s there,” he would say.

Dec 4, 2024 | andscape.com | Sean Hurd

Natalie Nakase has never shied away from a challenge. For the new coach of the Golden State Valkyries, a challenge is merely a provocation, an opportunity to prove herself, which she relishes. One could even say a challenge hates to see Nakase coming. When Nakase turned down a full scholarship to play basketball at UC Irvine and instead join the UCLA women’s basketball team as a walk-on, a former coach called her to tell her she was crazy.