Aidan Tyksinski, Editor

Last weekend, during the NBA All-Star weekend, the WNBA and NBA teamed up and paired New York Liberty star shooter Sabrina Ionescu versus Golden State Warrior legend Steph Curry in a 3-point challenge. Originally, Ionescu was supposed to shoot from the WNBA three-point line (three feet shorter than the NBA line). However, she decided to shoot from the NBA three-point line saying, “Personally, I shoot from that range to begin with.”

While some fans might have seen this as cocky, it was just Ionescu speaking her truth. She ended the event with 26 points which would have tied her with four NBA players in the first round of the NBA three-point contest and also tied her with the winner, Damien Lillard, in the final round. Unfortunately for this marquee event, Ionescu was paired against Curry, who won the head-to-head competition by three points.

While Ionescu might not have won, the WNBA certainly did. According to the NBA, the NBA All-Star Challenge was viewed by 10 million people, with the peak audience at 5.4 million between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. The event that piqued so much interest? Ionescu versus Curry. At a time when the WNBA is forming super teams and viewership for the league is on the rise, this moment was huge for the league.

This moment was another footnote in a great couple of weeks for women’s sports. Two nights before the 3-point contest, Iowa guard Catlin Clark became the NCAA women’s all-time leading scorer, passing Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum, who achieved the record while playing at the University of Washington. After scoring 24 points while also nabbing a triple-double in Iowa’s win over Illinois on Sunday, Clark needs just 51 points to break the all-time NCAA scoring record, held by college basketball legend Pete Maravich.

Internationally, 19,285 people were in attendance for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) game between Toronto and Montreal on Feb. 16, breaking the record for highest attendance for a women’s professional hockey game, according to the Sports Business Journal. According to the Journal, it’s the third time the PWHL has broken the record this season, the league’s first. Speaking of attendance, a WSL game between Arsenal and Manchester United last weekend had over 60 thousand fans in attendance, which also broke a league record. The Big 10 conference also announced that the women’s conference tournament has sold out every day of the tournament for the first time, largely thanks to Clark and Iowa, who are hoping to make another Final Four run this year.

From the court to the ice, to the pitch, it is clear to most people that women’s sports are ascending to heights many never thought were possible. Networks have started to catch on, giving women athletes a national audience and a platform that once upon a time was only given to a select few. While there is still a lot that needs to be done in terms of equality, Ionescu’s performance last weekend was proof that when given the chance, sports fans will watch women’s sports.