The GIST: Before Athletes Unlimited’s (AU) third basketball season tips off, here’s a primer on the pro league that’s giving women hoopers (including some of your WNBA faves) a chance to compete for individual glory during the W offseason. Cue “Trophies.”

How it works: Forty ballers participate in AU’s four-week season, which operates under a fantasy-inspired points system, with four new squads drafted each week.

• Scoring is based on individual and team performance, with athletes in the top four of the weekly leaderboard becoming captains who then draft teams for the next week of competition. At the end of the season, the player who accumulates the most cumulative points is crowned individual champion.
• And while it helps hoopers prepare for May’s WNBA season start, AU Basketball is way more than a tuneup — it’s a chance for women to play professionally in North America, instead of overseas, year round. Love to see it.

The players to watch: Eighteen current WNBA athletes will hit the AU courts this season, including the Phoenix Mercury’s Natasha Cloud, who’s back for a third AU season, plus the Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray and Haley Jones.

• Add in the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces resident jokesters, Sydney Colson and Theresa Plaisance, and something viral is bound to happen.

How to tune in: Whether you’re in the U.S. or Canada, you can watch the majority of the AU season — including tomorrow’s 6 p.m. ET opener — for free in the WNBA app. Changing the game.

ICYMI: The USWNT is already fighting for their first trophy of the year, playing in the Concacaf W Gold Cup quarter-finals later this week — and you can still grab tickets to that upcoming game at LA’s BMO Stadium.

• World-class fútbol on home soil? It’s a no brainer. Don’t miss your chance to see your favorite American soccer stars, like forwards Sophia Smith and Alex Morgan, IRL. LFG.

🏒 PWHL: New York vs. Ottawa — Tonight at 7 p.m. ET — YouTube

• The league’s final puck party of the month will feature the two teams at the bottom of the standings, both hoping to cap off February with a much-needed win.

🎓🏀 NCAA women’s basketball: No. 6 Iowa vs. Minnesota — Tonight at 9 p.m. ET — Peacock

• Caitlin Clark watch continues with the Hawkeyes’ superstar 32 points shy of Lynette Woodard’s all-time Division 1 scoring record and 51 away from claiming Pete Maravich’s all-time NCAA scoring title. Splash.

⛳ LPGA: HSBC Women’s Championship — Today through Saturday — golfchannel.com

• World No. 6 and Korea’s Jin Young Ko knows this tournament all too well and will be swinging for a three-peat in the Lion City.

Sun Valley, Idaho, one of the best mountains for beginner skiers to hone their craft. Book a lesson today and become the french-fry envy of your friend group.*

F1 ACADEMY x Charlotte Tilbury. The makeup giant and F1 are teaming up to develop and prepare female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. Beautiful.

This podcast episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. WNBA legend Sue Bird and USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe join the show for a conversation about their relationship, retirement, and so much more.

*P.S. This is a sponsored post. See you on the slopes.