From Carli Lloyd hanging up her cleats to Allyson Felix shattering records to Emma Raducanu announcing herself to the world, 2021 was a defining year for women’s sports.
As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at the decisive moments from a banner 12 months that included NCAA championships, the Olympics and a landmark NWSL season.
Here are the top 21 women’s sports moments from 2021:
1. Stanford wins NCAA basketball tournament
Stanford won its first National Championship since 1992 and the third title in school history, defeating Arizona 54-53 back in April. The thrilling final capped off a record-breaking season for the Cardinal, with coach Tara VanDerveer passing Pat Summit as the winningest head coach in DI women’s basketball history. With 4.08 million viewers tuned in to ESPN for the championship, Stanford and Arizona’s nail-bitter marked the most-matched title game since 2014.
