Indiana Fever, you up?
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Women’s History Month!
To celebrate our favorite month of the year, look out for two additional newsletters in your inbox this weekend: tomorrow’s Formula 1 season preview special edition, followed by a full Women’s History Month Sunday Scroll. Let’s go, girls.
— No. 6 Iowa women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark, confirming she will forgo her extra year of NCAA eligibility and turn pro at the end of this college season. Indiana Fever, you up?
Concacaf W Gold Cup quarter-finals
⚽ Only shooting stars break the mold
The GIST: The knockout stage of the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup kicks off tomorrow, and while some squads are finding their stride in the Paris 2024 Olympics tune-up tourney, others are faltering. Times, they are a-changin’.
No. 10 CanWNT vs. No. 43 Costa Rica — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET: The red and white have put a miserable 2023 campaign behind them, going undefeated in the group stage without conceding a single goal.
- And much of that success has run through forward Adriana Leon, who leads the tournament with five goals so far, including a hat trick in CanWNT’s 4–0 win over No. 50 Paraguay.
- Plus, considering Canada just beat Costa Rica 3–0 in Wednesday’s final group-stage game, the red and white’s path to the semis seems relatively straightforward. Keep on keeping on.
No. 2 USWNT vs. No. 23 Colombia — Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET: The USWNT’s reign as the undisputed queens of Concacaf is in jeopardy. A veteran-heavy American lineup lost 2–0 to No. 35 Mexico on Tuesday, a costly L that set them up with a challenging quarter-final matchup.
- This team in transition is still finding its groove, but there have been bright spots: teen phenoms forward Jaedyn Shaw and midfielder Olivia Moultrie have already scored in their introduction to elite international footy. Onwards and upwards.
🏒 PWHL reveals innovative playoff format
The league spiced things up by unveiling a chaotic choose-your-opponent playoff format on Wednesday. The No. 1 seed will have the opportunity to choose whether they want to face the third- or fourth-place team in the best-of-five semis series.
- And the PWHL also introduced the “Gold Plan,” which determines who will win the first pick of the 2024 draft and ensures that non-playoff teams play meaningful games until the end of the season. Pop that corn.
🇨🇦 New updates in World Juniors sexual assault trial
The five members — four of whom are NHLers currently on leave from their teams — of the 2018 Canadian world juniors hockey team at the center of an investigation into sexual assault allegations chose and were granted a jury trial yesterday. The case will return to court on April 30th in London, Ontario.
🍁 League-leading scorer Auston Matthews ends drought
After becoming the fastest American-born player to score 50 goals in a season a week ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs center ended his mini slump last night, lighting the lamp and scoring his second goal in his last four games. Will he re-discover his pace and reach a career-best 70 goals before the end of the season? Only time will tell.
Together With The GIST
👕 Wear your heart on your sleeve
Want to show off your support for women in sports? We thought so. And with The GIST’s capsule collection, you can. The pieces are sporty, bold, and playful…just like our GIST community.
Speaking of, this drop truly has something for everyone: Basketball-specific threads for hoops fans, “leveling the playing field” looks if you love making a statement, and tennis tees if you want to, ahem, serve.
But don’t just take our word for it, check it out for yourself. Happy shopping!
🏒 PWHL: Toronto vs. Ottawa — Tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET — CBC Gem
- Ottawa has been dominating this season’s Battle of Ontario, so expect third-in-the-league Toronto to come out firing in their third faceoff of the year.
🎓🏀 USports women’s basketball: Queen’s vs. Carleton — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — OUA.TV
- The Ravens are searching for back-to-back titles, but don’t count out the Gaels, who just pulled off a stunning 67–49 semis victory over TMU on Wednesday to set up a rematch of last year’s OUA final. Hoopin’ and alley oopin’.
🍁 NHL: NY Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — Sportsnet+
- After the Leafs’ 4–2 win over the Arizona Coyotes last night, tempers will likely flare and the Saturday night lights will surely be shining bright for this Original Six faceoff.
👑 NBA: Denver Nuggets vs. LA Lakers — Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET — TSN5
- Just nine points away from reaching the 40K career-point mark, Lakers legend LeBron James will shoot for history in this Western Conference Finals rematch against Nikola Jokić and the reigning champion Nuggets. Hollywood magic.
Here’s what passed The GIST squad’s vibe check this week:
👕 How to rep Team Canada
By rocking this exclusive They Get Buckets tee from our friends at the NBA. The tee features the top five Canadian scorers from the 2022–23 season, making it the perfect item to wear while cheering on the red and white at this summer’s Paris Games.*
🏋️ How to stay in shape
With a ClassPass membership. It’s a great way to try different workouts, studios, and classes.
📖 Where to meet
In your inbox for The GIST Book Club’s discussion of February’s book of the month, Us Against You by Fredrik Backman. Subscribe to The GIST Book Club newsletters to keep the conversation going.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Hoop-tastic.Take Your Pick
No. 10 CanWNT
No. 43 Costa Rica
Start off your Women’s History Month celebrations with the aforementioned Concacaf W Gold Cup quarter-finals. Who do you think will win this feisty footy fight?
Today’s email was brought to you by Lauren Tuiskula, Alessandra Puccio, Marga Sison, Lisa Minutillo, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Laura Pastore, Janine Kiefer, Rachel Fuenzalida, and Lindsay Jost. Fact-checking by Parul Kanwar. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alexis Allison, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.