Ines Bettencourt Returns to Gonzaga WBB, Creates Robust Backcourt Depth
During the first week of official college basketball practices, Gonzaga Athletics checked off what it hopes is the first of many boxes.
As Gonzaga women’s basketball released its official non-conference schedule and full roster, fifth-year guard Inês Bettencourt was listed among the 13 available Zags for the 2026-27 season, a pleasant surprise for a Bulldogs squad that already boasted strong continuity with 10 returning players from last year. Initally, Bettencourt was one of two graduating seniors; the other was Vera Günaydin, who transferred to North Alabama.
In mid-July, Bettencourt joined a California lawsuit seeking an injunction for a fifth year of eligibility. About a month later, that group of more than 45 student-athletes received a temporary restraining order, clearing them to play a fifth season. GU men’s basketball commit Xaivian Lee was also in the case, but Bettencourt is the first of the two to sign her financial aid agreement.
Bettencourt will enter her third year at Gonzaga after spending her first two seasons at UConn. She joins three other Zags beyond their junior years, including Zeryhia Aokuso, Taylor Smith, and McKynnlie Dalan. In Storrs, Bettencourt had a limited role and entered the portal after her sophomore season in search of increased opportunity. Her minutes tripled as a junior on the Zags, splitting time as a starter and reserve, and she set career highs across the board. Then, Bettencourt started all 33 games for the Bulldogs last year, averaging 6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals, and was the veteran on a young squad that reached the NCAA Tournament.
Sounders Earn First MLS Win in Four Months; Returners Shine
SEATTLE, Wash — Keeper Andrew Thomas could only watch as center back Jackson Ragen let a clear Real Salt Lake ball find striker Sergi Solans' feet on a sudden breakaway chance for the visitors.
Offensive chances had come few and far between for the Seattle Sounders and their visitors on Wednesday night, with the game still scoreless in the 47th minute. As Solans, scorer of nine goals this season, strode past Ragen, Thomas loaded his legs and prepared to try and stop the striker. Solans chose to go left late, opting to dribble around the star keeper.
Not this time.
Thomas dove to poke the ball away successfully and save Seattle from falling behind in a grudge match without their starting striker Dejan Joveljić (international duty with Serbia). Moments later, Joveljić's backup and Wednesday night starter, Danny Musovski, picked out the bottom-right corner on his longest shot attempt of the season to put Seattle ahead 1-0.
Instant Takeaways: Storm Overpowered By Wings in Season Finale
The youthful trio of Dominique Malonga, Awa Fam and Flau’jae Johnson fittingly carried the Seattle Storm in their final game of the season, but a lack of scoring across the lineup resulted in a 103-91 loss to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Malonga (29 points, eight rebounds) led all scorers in the game, nearly posting her third 30-point game of the season. Fam scored 22 points and added seven boards, while Johnson tallied 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Seattle finished its 2026 season 8-36, setting a new WNBA record for losses in a season and posting the fewest wins by a Storm team since the franchise’s inaugural campaign in 2000 (32-game season). Their last win of the season was against the Toronto Tempo on Aug. 26.
Dallas (27-17), which was already locked into the No. 7 seed in the postseason, was led by 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists from Paige Bueckers. Arike Ogunbowale (23 points) and Jessica Shepard (20) also scored 20 or more points.
Torrent Sign Abbey Murphy to Two-Year Rookie Contract
The Seattle Torrent announced the signing of recent second-overall pick Abbey Murphy to a two-year standard player agreement on Wednesday.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited to officially start this journey in Seattle,” Murphy said in the announcement. “Getting to spend time in the city this summer, meet our fans and get a feel for the community made me even more excited to call Seattle home.”
Murphy was the no-doubt second overall pick at the 2026 PWHL Draft. She set the University of Minnesota record for goals and is second all-time in points. In her senior season, she had 40 goals and 66 points in 31 games and had seven points in seven games for Team USA at the Olympics to cap off a strong finish to her collegiate career.
Seahawks Notebook: Sam Darnold Returns to Practice, QB Decision Expected by Friday
RENTON, Wash. - While it remains unclear whether or not Sam Darnold will be able to play against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, signs continue to be encouraging as he recovers from a unique glute injury suffered in the Seattle Seahawks’ season opener on September 9.
Speaking with the media for his Wednesday availability, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald reaffirmed Darnold would practice on Wednesday, acknowledging that he will split reps with Drew Lock. The team will evaluate him by day to determine how to proceed potentially increasing reps as they draw closer to the weekend with hopes of making a decision on which quarterback will start by the end of the practice week.
"He's not going to take every rep today,” Macdonald updated. “Then we'll kind of ramp it up as the week goes."
Darnold exited Seattle’s opener just six plays into the game after his right knee crashed into the turf while being brought down by Patriots defensive end Dre’Mont Jones for a third down sack. He spent a brief moment in the injury tent before hobbling alongside trainers to the locker room, where he eventually was ruled out for the remainder of the night as Lock took the controls under center and orchestrated a second half comeback for a 13-10 victory.
'Rare Stuff': Undrafted Drake Thomas Making Magic for Seahawks Defense
Every Batman needs his Robin. Every Han Solo, his Chewbacca. Those sidekick references might be insulting to what Drake Thomas is to the Seattle Seahawks defense alongside Ernest Jones, however.
Not bad for a guy who came into the NFL with zero fanfare as an undrafted free agent out of NC State in 2023. Thomas originally signed with the Raiders that summer before being waived and claimed by the Seahawks soon thereafter, joining the squad still coached by Pete Carroll at that point before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
After the beginning of the 2024 season, Mike Macdonald’s first at the helm in Seattle, one thing became clear to the new head coach. The linebacker room was not up to his standard. Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks had just left in free agency. Seattle signed veterans Tyrel Dodson from Buffalo and Jerome Baker from Miami on one-year deals.
Breaking Down Washington’s Big Ten Schedule, Path to March Madness
The Big Ten men’s basketball schedule has been released, and it looks favorable compared to years past for the Washington Huskies. Head coach Danny Sprinkle is on the hot seat and needs to push for an NCAA Tournament berth to save his job.
While every game is important, winning games in one of the best conferences in the country is crucial to building Washington’s tournament résumé. The Big Ten is top-heavy, similar to last year, with the top five or six teams likely being the conference’s primary contenders. The middle is deep, with the next eight or nine teams clustered together and trying to break out of the pack.
Washington has a roster capable of competing, with the Bart Torvik ranking system placing the Huskies at No. 67 nationally and No. 14 in the Big Ten. Sprinkle has a potential bubble team for the third year in a row. It is time for him to capitalize on it.
Seahawks Flash Rare O-Line Depth as Christian Haynes, Beau Stephens Shine in Platoon
Flying to Arizona for their first road test of the season last weekend, the Seattle Seahawks had a backup quarterback in Drew Lock scheduled to make his first start in two years in place of Sam Darnold, which obviously drew the biggest headlines at the most important position in pro sports.
Hovering under the radar, however, Seattle had another significant injury pop up late in the week, as starting right guard Anthony Bradford went from a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday to a non-participant in practice on Friday and the team then ruled him out on Saturday with knee/hip issues. Already playing with a backup signal caller, losing a starting offensive lineman can have negative ripple effects on the entire group up front both in pass protection and the run game, especially when it happens so late in the preparation process.
With Bradford missing his first game since 2024, all eyes shifted to third-year guard Christian Haynes, who earned his first career start playing in Bradford’s absence against a Cardinals’ defensive front that had wrought havoc in Week 1 against the Chargers. This provided a prime opportunity for the 2024 third round pick, who had been beaten out in competitions by Bradford in each of his first two training camps and struggled to live up to his draft billing as a former All-American at UConn, to impress against a quality divisional opponent and demonstrate marked growth as a player.
But unexpectedly, the Seahawks decided to institute a platoon rather than having Haynes play all the snaps at State Farm Stadium, opting to throw rookie Beau Stephens into the fire as well, with the former logging 43 snaps and the latter seeing his first 27 regular season snaps. Both players wound up making positive contributions in a 31-7 victory, helping the visitors rack up 164 rushing yards and allow just one hit on Lock in a thorough 60-minute thumping in the desert that flexed rare offensive line depth for the franchise.
Gonzaga Bulldogs Women's Soccer Grabs a Couple of Home Wins, Opens Three-Game Win Streak
Settling in as a unit, Gonzaga women’s soccer (5-4-1) has now won three straight games for the first time this season. After beating Creighton on the road a week ago, the Zags logged their first Lugar Field victories in over a month, following wins over Utah Valley (4-4-1) and Montana (2-6) in the last five days.
Against the Wolverines, GU took command early and never looked back in a 2-1 result, while the Bulldogs’ 4-0 beatdown of the Grizzlies was a dominant all-around performance in the team’s second shutout of the season.
During this three-game winning streak, Gonzaga has outscored its opponents 9-1 and led for 228 of 290 minutes played, never trailing in this stretch. It has just one nonconference game before the Pac-12 schedule starts, and the Zags are playing with their highest level of confidence and cohesiveness yet.
“We’re getting so many more chances and opportunities off of everything,” senior forward Shila Rasoul said after Sunday’s win over Montana. “I feel like we’re feeling the momentum more, and there’s this – I don’t know, we just want it. We want it.”
Midway Through Preseason, Kraken Announce First Wave of Roster Cuts
After winning a pair of preseason games this weekend, the Seattle Kraken cut 26 players from their training camp on Monday. The majority of those players, including Jani Nyman, Ty Nelson, Jagger Firkus, Tyson Jugnauth, and Eduard Sale, were assigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds, while three others were reassigned to their junior team.
In the aftermath of those moves, Kraken training camp now sits at 25 players with two exhibition games left and the season set to begin on October 1.
Notably, this means centers Jake O’Brien and Oscar Fisker-Mølgaard and defenseman Ville Ottavainen have shown enough in preseason games and training camp to stick around for the next two games at minimum. O’Brien should earn another preseason game, but is a longshot considering the solidified center group the Kraken possess. Fisker-Mølgaard has the versatility to play wing or center on the fourth line, but is battling Ryan Winterton, Jacob Melanson, Curtis Douglas, Ben Myers, and Frederick Gaudreau. It’ll be tough for the youngster to beat out two of those players.
‘Felt Really Good’: Drew Lock Delivers Masterpiece as Seahawks Throttle Cardinals
Stepping in to fill the big shoes left behind by injured starter Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t need Drew Lock to be a superstar against the Arizona Cardinals to make a successful spot start. They simply needed him to take care of the football and manage the offense.
But in his first NFL start in nearly two years, on the heels of a strong performance subbing in for Darnold in the season opener, Lock orchestrated an All-Pro caliber performance at State Farm Stadium. Slinging the pigskin all over the field with decisiveness, accuracy, and enough zip to register triple digits on a radar gun, he turned in the best outing of his career as the Seahawks pulled away in the second half for a 31-7 rout of the Cardinals to improve to 2-0 and win a franchise record 12th straight game.
After completing 19 out of 26 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns to all-world receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba along with no turnovers, Lock could only gush about the way his supporting cast played around him, from a defense that didn’t give up a single play of more than 10 yards and consistently set the offense up with great field position to an offensive line that protected him all afternoon long and bashed the opposition in the run game throughout the second half.
“Felt really good,” Lock smiled as he summed up Seattle’s well-rounded beatdown. “It was a complete game, I’d say, from both sides of the ball. Special teams as well. Our defense is very good, giving us the ball in advantageous situations… Hats off to them for the way they played. Talk about the o-line for a sec. It’s awesome playing behind those guys. They’re an awesome group, awesome unit. Picked me up all week, talked me through everything all week.”
Kade Anderson Gets Mariners Stay of Execution, but M’s Add to Injury Pile
Had the season gone according to plan, the Mariners’ 2-0 win on Sunday against the Rockies would have been utterly unremarkable in the grand scheme of things, another notch in the belt of a team running away with the division.
As things stood in the real 2026, the middle third of that sentence was true. But things did not go according to plan; the belt was about 15 to 20 proverbial notches shy of where the M’s expected to be by the end of the penultimate week of the season. All that the win did, in the greater sense, was stay the Mariners’ execution by a couple of days.
In the nearer view, the game had a high note in Kade Anderson’s seven shutout innings and a low in Andrés Muñoz’ early injury-related exit.
Muñoz has dealt with right knee issues in the past, and he reached down to that area after multiple pitches in the bottom of the ninth as he fought for the save. He is going to receive imaging when the M’s return to Seattle on Monday.
As for the day’s high note, the performance on the mound for the first seven innings was a sound distraction from the general melancholy of their experience this year.
“I thought Kade (Anderson) buried his off-speed stuff down very, very well, and they took advantage of that team being aggressive, and he got a lot of quick outs which allowed him to get deep,” said skipper Dan Wilson. “I just thought the whole game plan from beginning to end, and the way Kade executed it, was phenomenal.”
Kade Anderson excelled for seven scoreless innings, earning his second MLB win.
The first few big league starts for Anderson have been something of a rocky road for the No. 3 pick of the 2025 MLB draft. Despite clearly having the building blocks - killer secondaries, lots of strikes, a spotless minor league resume - to be a lockdown starter, he had a 5.33 ERA, 4.44 FIP, and 1.421 WHIP over his first five outings with the Mariners.
Instant Takeaways: Heroic Effort From Storm’s Johnson, Malonga Falls Flat vs. Aces
Flau’jae Johnson and Dominique Malonga combined for 54 points, but it was still far from enough in a 98-77 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Michelob Ultra Arena.
The Storm’s entire offense was dependent on Malonga and Johnson, with no other players scoring more than six points. Seattle (8-35) lost its fourth straight game and third since the FIBA break, with only one game left to play in the 2026 season.
Las Vegas (29-13) did what it has done all season, and the trio of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray combined to score 68 points. The Aces had more of a supporting cast and much stronger defense that continuously disrupted the majority of the Storm’s offense.
Kraken Win Second Preseason Game with Unproven Roster, Edge Flames 4-2 at Climate Pledge
Sunday night’s Seattle Kraken preseason game was closer to the Coachella Valley Firebirds versus the Calgary Wranglers than it was to Kraken versus the Calgary Flames. Truthfully, we learned more about the Seattle Kraken projected roster from who was not in the lineup.
But nonetheless, the Kraken still handled business with a 4-2 win at Climate Pledge Arena.
Ty Nelson scored a second preseason goal and continued his strong camp. As of now, he’s the main young defenseman making a bid for a roster spot for the Kraken. Nelson led defensemen in ice time tonight and, at 5-on-5, Seattle outshot Calgary 18-9 with Nelson on the ice. Per Natural Stattrick, Nelson was a positive in every metric they track.
“He certainly has a little bit of a knack for joining offensively, but [he has] a really good head on his shoulders defensively,” head coach Lane Lambert said of Nelson. “And he skates well, so he can close quickly. That’s important to be able to do in this league, because if you don’t and you’re a step behind, the puck ends up in the back of your net.”
Washington State Rolls Past Duquesne 48-7 for First Win of Kirby Moore Era
Washington State finally got the performance it had been looking for. After struggling to find any consistency during the first two games of the season, the Cougars broke out in the second half Saturday afternoon, scoring 41 unanswered points on their way to a 48-7 win over Duquesne at Gesa Field.
The victory gave Washington State its first win of the season and the first career victory for head coach Kirby Moore. The Cougars improved to 1-2 on the season after opening the year with tough losses to Washington and Kansas State.
Washington State led just 14-7 at halftime with the Dukes giving them a better than anticipated fight early, but the Cougars completely took control after the break. WSU scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half before adding two more scores in the fourth quarter, blowing the contest wide open in the final 30 minutes.
The Cougars finished with 26 first downs and 480 total yards, including 316 rushing yards, and had multiple 100 yard rushers.
Here are four takeaways from the Cougs first win of 2026:
1. Caden Pinnick put together his best performance of the season after struggling through the first two games.
Pinnick, a redshirt sophomore, completed 17 of 22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns while adding 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He also distributed the ball to seven different receivers, making significant improvements as the game wore on.
After a rough start that included a botched snap and an interception, Pinnick settled down and helped Washington State move the ball consistently against Duquesne. His 19-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter gave the Cougars a 14-7 lead heading into halftime, building momentum needed to break things open after the break.
Washington Lands Top-100 Guard Ze'Ni Patterson to Open 2027 Class
The Washington Huskies’ women’s basketball program landed their first recruit of the 2027 class. Ze'Ni Patterson, a guard prospect out of San Jose, California, is the No. 86-ranked player in her class, according to ESPN’s rankings.
Head coach Tina Langley secured Patterson’s commitment over Michigan State, TCU, Harvard and Cal, which rounded out her top five along with Washington.
This marks the seventh straight year Langley has earned a commitment from a top-100 recruit. With star guard Sayvia Sellers likely heading to the WNBA after this season, Patterson should have an opportunity to come in and play meaningful minutes right away.
Rapid Reaction: Drew Lock, Jaxon Smith-Njigba Pull Off Hat Trick in Seahawks 31-7 Win vs. Cardinals
Turning a halftime tie into a laugher on the road, Drew Lock and Jaxon Smith-Njigba combined for three touchdown connections and A.J. Barner added a late score on a “Barn Yard” sneak as the Seattle Seahawks blew out the Arizona Cardinals 31-7 behind 24 unanswered points.
Playing a near-perfect game, Lock completed 19 out of 26 passes for 235 yards and three scores with no turnovers, while Emanuel Wilson bludgeoned Arizona’s defense in the second half to finish with 92 rushing yards to pace Seattle’s ground game. Leading the charge defensively, Julian Love intercepted Jacoby Brissett and Jarran Reed and Leonard Williams each recorded sacks as the visitors held the Cardinals to 151 total yards of offense on the afternoon.
Diving into a satisfying NFC West beatdown for Seattle, here are five takeaways from State Farm Stadium:
1. Playing with growing confidence, Lock continues to play clean football and wisely lean on his best weapon.
Building off a steady outing in relief of Sam Darnold in his first start in two years, Lock could not have had a more perfect start on Sunday afternoon, gifted a busted coverage on the back end by Arizona’s defense just two plays into the opening drive. Baited by a double move from Smith-Njigba on the outside, safety Budda Baker took a couple steps upfield, allowing the superstar to rocket past him with no additional support in coverage, making for the easiest 82-yard touchdown imaginable to open the scoring. While the Seahawks didn’t score again in the first half, it wasn’t on the quarterback, who threw for 163 yards without any turnovers while completing nine out of 14 attempts, and he continued to sling the pigskin coming out of the locker room.
Once again relying on Smith-Njigba’s brilliance and reliability in clutch moments, Lock rifled a seven-yard touchdown to the star receiver on a third down slant to put Seattle back out in front 14-7 early in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession, he flashed his elite arm talent by throwing a fastball in between three converging defenders in coverage for a 17-yard connection to tight end Elijah Arroyo, helping set up a Jason Myers field goal to push the lead to 10 points. Putting a dagger in the red birds early in the fourth quarter, the quarterback found his favorite weapon once more to finish off the hat trick, throwing a rope over the outstretched arm of a dropping linebacker to Smith-Njigba for a 12-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, finishing off the best game of his NFL career.
Halftime Observations: Jaxon Smith-Njigba Strikes Early, Seahawks Battle Cardinals to 7-7 Tie
Throwing the first haymaker in the desert, Drew Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for an 82-yard touchdown on the Seattle Seahawks’ second play from scrimmage, ultimately going into the half tied up with the Arizona Cardinals 7-7 at State Farm Stadium.
Here are three quick observations from the first half in Glendale:
1. Even with the roof closed, lightning strikes early in the form of Smith-Njigba feasting on busted coverage.
Starting his first NFL game since 2024 when he played for the Giants, the Seahawks hoped to get Lock into a rhythm early with a few easy completions, similar to how he got untracked in the second half last week in a comeback win over the Patriots. But offensive coordinator Brian Fleury likely didn’t expect that “easy” pass to be downfield to an uncovered Smith-Njigba, who came loose wide open with a double move as safety Budda Baker took the bait and got left in the dust. Without another defender in support, Lock was able to loft a deep ball to the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, who did the rest coasting into the end zone for an 82-yard score, the longest touchdown of his career.
After three consecutive drives that ended punt, fumble, and punt, Lock went back to his most trusted weapon, hitting Smith-Njigba for a pair of first down throws to advance into the red zone for the first time. Unfortunately, the drive sputtered with four straight run plays inside the 10-yard line, including Emanuel Wilson getting stuffed on third and fourth down to send Seattle back to the sideline without any points.
Delirium in Denver: Sounders Claw Back in Draw with Rapids, Reign Fall to Summit
The Seattle Sounders and Seattle Reign both traveled to Denver for respective matches with the Colorado Rapids and Denver Summit on Saturday, with both squads fighting for playoff positioning.
The Sounders (7-9-8, 13th in MLS Western Conference) found themselves down 3-1 late before transfer-window additions Dejan Joveljic and Caden Clark scored long-distance lasers in the 79th and stoppage time, respectively, to make it 3-3 by the time the final whistle sounded. The result was the Sounders fifth straight draw, as Seattle looks forward to three matches at home in the next 10 days — the Sounders are still just three points behind ninth-place Portland with two games in hand and 10 matches to play.
As for the Reign (11-10-4), it was the second straight loss to a team just beneath them in the race for the NWSL’s eighth and final playoff spot. Head coach Laura Harvey wasn’t pleased with her team’s early effort as Seattle went down 2-0 before Brittany Ratcliffe pulled one back in the early second half to give Seattle a chance. Seattle could be on the outside looking in sooner than expected if Angel City, who beat the Reign on Wednesday, pulls out a win in Utah on Sunday afternoon.
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Qasim Ali breaks down the action.
Previewing Gonzaga's 2026-27 Notable Nonconference Opponents
Although neither their 2026-27 roster nor full schedule is finalized, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have several marquee nonconference matchups set in stone for this season. The Zags always try to play the toughest opponents possible outside their league, aiming to build a strong resume for NCAA Tournament seeding.
Last year, things didn’t go as planned, with Michigan and Alabama being viewed as the only quality teams Gonzaga played by March. But even with their horrid loss to the Wolverines, GU earned a 3-seed with a 30-3 record and a 16-2 mark in WCC play. Also, fellow West Coast Conference teams Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara punched tickets to the dance, and the Bulldogs won three of their four matchups against those two.
Even with its transition to the revamped Pac-12, Gonzaga still doesn’t play in a conference on the level of the country’s power schools. So this season, the Zags have assembled one of the nation’s most daunting non-conference slates, including 10 power conference programs and four of last season’s NCAA Tournament participants.
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