THE EVE EDITION
The WNBA regular season reaches its final night with one race still sitting near the top of the board. Golden State enters with the No. 2 seed in its hands, Las Vegas remains one game behind, and both play at 10:00 tonight with the final playoff bracket waiting on the results. Before any of that, the Billie Jean King Cup completes its quarterfinals in Shenzhen as two-time defending champion Italy meets host China with the last semifinal place at stake.
There is plenty between those bookends. No. 4 Duke welcomes No. 15 Notre Dame in the best-ranked matchup on a loaded college soccer night, the United States gets another meeting with the only team that beat it during last week’s Pan American Cup run, and Singapore sends two seeded players onto Center Court. Thursday starts with tennis before breakfast and finishes with two WNBA games that may have everyone watching two screens at once.
PINK HOUR
China vs Italy
Italy begins its pursuit of a third consecutive Billie Jean King Cup title against the host nation in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal. China pushed both singles matches deep into three sets that day before Italy escaped 2-0 and eventually won the trophy, and now the Italians return to Shenzhen trying to become the first nation in a decade to win three straight. China gets another chance with the home crowd behind it and Zheng Qinwen available for a team trying to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2008. EVE’s Edge: Italy
#15 Notre Dame at #4 Duke
The best-ranked matchup on Thursday’s college soccer board lands in Durham. Duke is coming off its first loss of the season, a 4-2 defeat at North Carolina, and now immediately gets another ranked ACC opponent. Notre Dame arrives with a chance to make a road win over a top-five team one of the most important results of its season, making this the obvious place to start on a night featuring three Top 20 head-to-head matchups. EVE’s Edge: Duke
Mexico vs United States
Here comes the rematch the United States has been waiting for. Mexico handed the Americans their only loss during last week’s Pan American Cup before the U.S. recovered to win the tournament, and the Americans have carried that response straight into the Final Six. Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic moved the U.S. to 3-0, with Caitie Baird scoring 19 points and consecutive blocks from Toyosi Onabanjo and Ella Powell finally closing a 27-25 fourth set. Mexico now gets another shot at the defending Final Six champion. EVE’s Edge: United States
Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury
Las Vegas reaches Game 44 knowing the No. 2 seed is still available but no longer entirely under its control. The Aces enter 30-13, one game behind Golden State, so beating Phoenix is only half of the equation. They also need help from Los Angeles in the other 10:00 game. Phoenix has no postseason destination waiting, but it does have an opportunity to make the final night considerably more complicated for Las Vegas. EVE’s Edge: Las Vegas
Golden State Valkyries at Los Angeles Sparks
Golden State does not need to scoreboard-watch if it handles its own business. The Valkyries enter the finale 31-12, one game ahead of Las Vegas, with the No. 2 seed available by simply beating Los Angeles. That would cap a 44-game regular season with only Minnesota finishing ahead of the Valkyries. Lose, though, and suddenly what happens simultaneously in Phoenix matters very much. EVE’s Edge: Golden State
ELSEWHERE
The WNBA has three more games before the two-game late window. Indiana enters Minnesota at 28-15 with its final playoff position still unsettled, while the Lynx already own the No. 1 seed. Washington hosts Chicago with the Mystics still involved in that same positioning fight, and Toronto closes its season at Connecticut. By the end of the night, the entire first-round bracket will finally be set.
Singapore continues its Round of 16 with two seeded players on Center Court. No. 3 Alexandra Eala faces Tatiana Prozorova, with the 21-year-old Eala sitting at a career-high No. 18 in the world, before No. 7 Maria Sakkari meets qualifier Nao Hibino. Wang Xinyu faces Joanna Garland earlier in the morning, while Talia Gibson and Viktoria Morvayova open the day at 1:00 AM.
College soccer supplies enough ranked action to create stories well beyond Duke-Notre Dame. No. 10 West Virginia visits No. 13 Colorado in the night’s other marquee Top 15 meeting, while No. 18 Washington visits No. 20 Michigan. No. 2 Michigan State hosts Nebraska, No. 3 Vanderbilt visits Ole Miss, No. 7 Alabama goes to Texas A&M and No. 9 Tennessee hosts Mississippi State. No. 12 UCLA at Rutgers, No. 14 Wisconsin at Maryland and Kentucky at No. 17 South Carolina round out a 10-match Top 20 slate where an upset, record or standout performance could quickly change the hierarchy of the night.
College volleyball has six ranked teams in action, led by No. 6 Wisconsin hosting No. 20 Oregon in the only Top 25 head-to-head matchup. No. 10 Purdue hosts Maryland, No. 18 Indiana gets UCLA, No. 15 Minnesota visits Illinois and No. 23 USC goes to Northwestern. NORCECA has two matches before USA-Mexico as Canada meets Cuba and the Dominican Republic faces Puerto Rico, with every result still feeding into the race for the four semifinal places.
TNA closes the Belt live from San Antonio with four women fighting for the next shot at M by Elegance’s Knockouts TV Title. Elayna Black, Jada Stone, Harley Hudson and Gabby Forza meet in a four-way No. 1 contender match, with Black entering only weeks removed from her return to wrestling and all four getting a direct route into the title picture. Only one of them leaves with M by Elegance waiting.