Photo via Toronto Star

Women's basketball's season set to tip with return of JuJu Watkins, South Carolina, UConn top teams

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Feinberg, D. (2026, October 25). Women's basketball's season set to tip with return of JuJu Watkins, South Carolina, UConn top teams. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/women-s-basketball-s-season-set-to-tip-with-return-of-juju-watkins-south-carolina-uconn-top-teams/article_fa077d52-8763-58e2-8454-cef2ebc58e9b.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-25 · by Doug Feinberg

Quick Summary

Women's college basketball is set to begin its season with key players like JuJu Watkins returning from injury and top teams like South Carolina and UConn aiming for championships. The NCAA Tournament field has expanded to 76 teams, and the national championship game will take place on April 4 in Columbus, Ohio. Notable transfers include Dawn Staley's addition of Jordan Lee from Texas to South Carolina, while new coaches such as Carla Berube at Northwestern aim to lead their programs to success.
Written by AI on 2026-10-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The upcoming women's college basketball season tips off with the return of JuJu Watkins, a star guard at South Carolina who missed last year due to an ACL injury. The season begins overseas on November 1st and 2nd with games in Rome and Paris, featuring matchups like Notre Dame against Villanova, and South Carolina facing Maryland while North Carolina plays Oklahoma State. Dawn Staley's top-ranked Gamecocks aim to bounce back from their loss in last year’s national championship game to UCLA, which had its entire starting lineup drafted into the WNBA but still managed to recruit well through transfers. The tournament field has expanded to include 76 teams, with the final taking place on April 4th in Columbus, Ohio.

Written for “Women's Basketball Season Starts” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Women's Basketball Season Starts
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
JuJu Watkins returns for USC, and the Trojans' title hopes soar in the talent-laden Big Ten Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss JuJu Watkins' return to USC's women's basketball team, they are written by different outlets with varying focuses and details about the season expectations.”
JuJu Watkins returns from an ACL tear as USC eyes its first title since 1984 Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 38 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss JuJu Watkins returning from an ACL injury, they provide different details and focus on distinct aspects of her return and the teams' prospects.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11614 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-31
Inmate's escape is just the latest problem for Tennessee's troubled prison system
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-22
News Clarification for Oct. 22
2026-10-21
No. 6 Hoosiers try to for rare rebound at Michigan after turning the page on 22-game winning streak
2026-10-19
Driver’s License Suspensions for Court Debt Draw Scrutiny
2026-10-16
Amputations and cancer treatment delays: Lawmakers hear testimony on Mississippi prison healthcare
2026-10-16
UPDATE: Golconda Gold Releases Q3 2026 Production Update at Galaxy
2026-10-08
News Clarification for Oct. 8
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-10-05
Entertainment Correction for Oct. 5
2026-10-03
Tennessee's prisons chief is resigning after failed execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-28
Organizations call for Action to End the Deaths of Indigenous People in Custody
2026-09-27
Police memorial recognizes six officers killed in the line of duty in 2026
2026-09-27
UPDATE: WSP to host Power & Energy-focused investor event virtually only
2026-09-26
News Clarification for Sept. 27
2026-09-26
Former federal public servant seeks better pensions for injured workers
2026-09-25
News Corrections for Sept. 25
2026-09-25
She has not been charged. But the Project South allegations have branded her with a 'scarlet letter'
2026-09-24
Correction
2026-09-23
MULTIMEDIA UPDATE: Smith+Nephew launches the new EVOS™ PELVIC Plating System at the 2026 Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, expanding the EVOS Plating Platform for pelvic and acetabular fracture management
2026-09-22
Costa Rican man complained of lack of care for diabetes before his death in ICE custody, family says
2026-09-22
Judges' grilling of accused men leads to sex assault and dangerous driving cases being overturned
2026-09-20
Jura Energy Corporation Provides Clarification Regarding Media Reports Concerning Its Petroleum Rights in Pakistan
2026-09-19
New details emerge about Toronto's guns-for-hire and the 'crash-out mission" that sparked the Project South investigation
2026-09-17
UPDATE: Osisko Critical Minerals Corporation Announces C$100 Million Private Placement of Special Warrants
2026-09-17
Alabama set to execute man for pawn shop killings months after his nitrogen gas execution blocked
2026-09-04
Orca Corrects Q3 Quarterly Dividend Announcement

Who wrote this

Doug Feinberg
37 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It wasn’t until the final miles in Central Park when he knew he could win.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Andreas Almgren wins the New York City Marathon in his debut at the distance
🔮 A search has begun and the next commissioner will inherit a host of issues, including officiating, the transgender debate scheduling and improving a strained relationship with players.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · WNBA has a first-time champion, now the offseason begins with high-stakes search for a commissioner
🔮 Gabby Williams made sure that both streaks would end, scoring 28 of her 30 points in the second half to lead Golden State to its first championship and earn MVP honors.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Angel Reese’s record Finals rebounding not enough as Dream fall 68-63 in Game 7
🔮 Gabby Williams wouldn’t be denied in the second half.
2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Gabby Williams named MVP as the Golden State Valkyries win first WNBA championship
🔮 Now about 60,000 runners will step up to the starting line Sunday with nearly half of them women.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · From 2,000 runners to 60,000: The 5-borough New York City Marathon at 50
🔮 There’s no doubt that the rematch at Mohegan Sun two days before Thanksgiving will have a lot of eyes on the pregame and postgame handshakes.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · List of top women's college basketball games before the New Year includes NCAA finals rematch
🔮 A day later, the Gamecocks will face No. 20 Maryland and No. 12 North Carolina plays No. 21 Oklahoma in Paris.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Women's basketball's season set to tip with return of JuJu Watkins, South Carolina, UConn top teams
🔮 Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals against Atlanta, they know a win on Saturday will give them back home-court advantage with a trip to “Ballhalla” awaiting.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Golden State Valkyries trail Atlanta Dream 2-1 heading into pivotal WNBA Finals Game 4
🔮 Gray briefly left Game 3 after Gabby Williams made contact with her injured hand.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Allisha Gray plays through a hand injury as the Dream lead the WNBA Finals 2-1
🔮 The Atlanta Dream have imposed their will defensively on Golden State in the WNBA Finals so far, using their size and strength to dominate the Valkyries.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Atlanta Dream smother Golden State, riding a bruising defense to a 2-1 WNBA Finals lead
Also by Doug Feinberg
Andreas Almgren wins the New York City Marathon in his debut at the distance
2026-11-01 · Toronto Star
Andreas Almgren wins men's race in NYC in marathon debut, Sheila Chepkirui wins women's race again
2026-11-01 · Toronto Star
WNBA has a first-time champion, now the offseason begins with high-stakes search for a commissioner
2026-11-01 · Toronto Star
Angel Reese’s record Finals rebounding not enough as Dream fall 68-63 in Game 7
2026-11-01 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 37 articles by Doug Feinberg →

Topics

Bruins Gamecocks NCAA UCLA USC

Subjects

Bruins ORG · 2× Gamecocks ORG · 2× Maryland GPE · 2× NCAA ORG · 2× NCAA Tournament ORG · 2× Oklahoma State ORG · 2× Princeton ORG · 2× Texas GPE · 2× UCLA ORG · 2× USC ORG · 2×

Narrative

Other key moves in the offseason included Jordan Lee going from Texas to South Carolina, Nunu Agara heading from Stanford to Maryland, Liv McGill leaving Florida for Oklahoma State and Aaliyah Crump going to Duke from Texas.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 A day later, the Gamecocks will face No. 20 Maryland and No. 12 North Carolina plays No. 21 Oklahoma in Paris.
2026-10-25 · Toronto Star
Women's basketball's season set to tip with return of JuJu Watkins, South Carolina, UConn top teams · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

JuJu Watkins is back as women’s college basketball has one of its brightest stars returning from an ACL injury that sidelined the USC guard all of last season. asserted
that → have → season
Watkins headlines a talented group of stars, including AP Player of the Year Sarah Strong of UConn, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards. asserted
Watkins → headline → Dame
Dawn Staley’s top-ranked Gamecocks are looking to rebound from last season’s national championship game loss to UCLA. asserted
Gamecocks → rank → UCLA
The Bruins took a huge hit with their top six players all getting drafted by WNBA teams. asserted
players → take → teams
Still, coach Cori Close used the transfer portal well to bring in a new group to try and defend the Bruins first NCAA title. asserted
Close → use → title
The season begins overseas once again with Hidalgo’s 13th-ranked Irish team facing Villanova in the Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome on Nov. 1. asserted
team → begin → Nov.
A day later, the Gamecocks will face No. 20 Maryland and No. 12 North Carolina plays No. 21 Oklahoma in Paris. asserted
Carolina → face → Paris
The national championship game will take place on April 4 in Columbus, Ohio. asserted
game → take → Columbus
The champion will come from an expanded NCAA Tournament field that will have 76 teams for the first time. asserted
that → come → time
Old faces in new places As has been the case over the past few years, some of the top players changed schools this past offseason. asserted
some → change → schools
There was a mass exodus from Iowa State including star center Audi Crooks going to Oklahoma State and Addy Brown heading to UCLA. asserted
Brown → be → UCLA
Talaysia Cooper left Tennessee as part of another mass leaving to head to Ole Miss. asserted
Cooper → leave → Miss.
Other key moves in the offseason included Jordan Lee going from Texas to South Carolina, Nunu Agara heading from Stanford to Maryland, Liv McGill leaving Florida for Oklahoma State and Aaliyah Crump going to Duke from Texas. asserted
Crump → include → Texas
Even with the NCAA allowing players to stay five years now, there’s a huge crop of promising freshmen who can make an impact immediately for their college teams. asserted
who → allow → teams
North Carolina’s Kate Harpring, USC’s Saniyah Hall and Iowa’s McKenna Woliczko all could produce quickly. uncertain
Harpring → produce → ?
Northwestern brought in Princeton coach Carla Berube to take over for Joe McKeown , who retired at the end of last season. asserted
who → bring → season
Berube has gone 531-125 in stops at Division III Tufts and then Princeton. asserted
Berube → go → Tufts
She led the Tigers five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and won 84% of her games at the school. asserted
She → lead → school
Other major coaching changes included Tanisha Wright taking over at her alma mater Penn State; Ayla Guzzardo becoming the head of Georgia and Aaron Roussell leading Virginia after leaving Bucknell. ___ asserted
Roussell → include → Bucknell
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 5 Nov 2026