Sportsish Girlhood Moments
There are so many reasons to love women’s sports, but witnessing adorable girlhood moments between players or fans is by far one of our favorites. Yes, female athletes have to endure misogyny, unequal opportunities, playing through their periods, and unjustified criticism– but this doesn’t stop them from creating the most joyful and welcoming community we know and love as women’s sports. From matching hair bows to unlikely friendships, here are some of our favorite sporty girlhood moments.
Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese practicing before the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game (Getty)
The Entire WNBA All-Star Game
The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will go down in history as one of the greatest displays of girlhood in sports. Bringing together players from all different ultra-competitive teams in the W sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the result could not have been more opposite. Thanks to the Studbudz 72-hour livestream (seriously, thank you), we saw the most wholesome content of players being best friends on and off the court. We had Sabrina Ionescu donating half of her 3-point contest earnings to Sonia Citron for competing in it in her rookie year. Then we witnessed players from Team Clark and Team Collier alike dancing together during the GloRilla halftime show. How about Caitlin Clark absolutely fangirling over Courtney Williams and Natisha Hideman, or Rickea Jackson teaching Aliyah Boston how to “serve face” on the orange carpet? And then there was Nalyssa Smith and Dijonai Carrington basically claiming Paige Bueckers as their adopted daughter and telling her to “make mommy proud” from the sidelines. It was an absolute wholesome overload and yet another reason why we just love the WNBA.
The Iconic Olympic Gymnastics Podium Moment
Everyone knows where they were when this happened. Simone Biles had just previously reaffirmed her G.O.A.T. status (as if it were ever even a question) by winning the all-around final, but unexpectedly placed second after Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade in the individual floor event. She could have been bitter or shown disappointment, but instead, she became Rebecca’s biggest cheerleader alongside Jordan Chiles. Simone and Jordan looked as if they had just won the gold themselves while celebrating Rebecca’s win. That’s girlhood– celebrating other women’s wins like your own.
Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bow down to Rebecca Andrade on the Olympic Podium (Getty)
The College Softball World Series Hair
Aside from watching these incredible athletes put on a show this year in the College World Series, we also loved looking at all their intricate hairstyles. Somehow, amidst all the dirt, sweat, and grit, these girls found a way to let their girly shine through. We saw bows, colorful hairstyles, tinsel, and a wide variety of braids. Getting ready together and helping your teammates do their game-day hair? Girlhood.
The Softball College World Series highlighted this adorable display of girlhood, but it’s certainly present in all of the women’s sports world. Gymnastics ribbons and field hockey hair, Ilona Maher’s game-day lipstick, Naomi Osaka’s match-day bows, Sha’Carrie Richardson’s nails – you name it. It’s everywhere, and we’d like even more of it, please.
Teammates from The University of Texas, the reigning NCAA Champions, helping each other with game day hair (@texassoftball on Instagram)
Azzi Fudd’s Friendship Bracelets
They say that UConn Women’s Basketball won the championship by the power of friendship this year, or was it the power of friendship bracelets? These bracelets seemed to take the world by storm during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and they clearly made their way into the sports world. Throughout the 2024-2025 season, Azzi Fudd wore two friendship bracelets: one that said "resilience" and another that said "purpose." Once she won March Madness, she got to add another one to the mix: champion. Coming back after a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear to win Most Outstanding Player of the championship game might just be the perfect example of purpose, resilience, and a champion. Reminding yourself of who you are through colorful friendship bracelets? Soooo girlhood coded.
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka Extending the Olive Branch Via Dancing TikTok
After the French Open, Aryna shared a somewhat bitter comment about Coco that went viral, for all the wrong reasons. Fans thought the rivalry between the two had turned from competitive to hateful, but they were proven wrong when Aryna posted a lighthearted dancing TikTok with the two of them. This is exactly what Charli XCX meant when she said 'work it out' in the remix. We agree, Aryna. TikTok dances do always have a way of bringing people together.
Katie Ledecky and Paige Madden’s Podium Moment
Katie Ledecky had just made history by being the first woman to win four consecutive Olympic golds in the same event in any sport. The first thing she did after the record-breaking performance? Lifting up her swim rival Ariarne Titmus’s hand to celebrate her second-place finish. The bronze medal went to Katie’s USA teammate Paige Madden, who just two years prior quit swimming altogether for health reasons. Paige went from sixth place in prelims to third, winning her first-ever individual Olympic medal and cutting 5 seconds off of her PR (literally unheard of in swimming). Katie had just broken yet another record, but instead of taking in the glory, she decided to celebrate her teammate. She knew how much the bronze medal meant to Paige, so she invited her to stand on the top of the podium with her during the national anthem. Between Ariarne Titmus’s hand and Paige Madden’s podium spot, Katie Ledecky literally lifted up the women around her. That’s girlhood after all.
Angel Reese Fixing a Reporter's Eyelash For Her
The media works hard to try to tear Angel Reese down, but she works even harder to raise those around her. This ultimate girls girl was getting interviewed post-game by Holly Rowe and immediately stepped in to help fix the reporter's eyelash. Other people might let this slide, but Angel wanted to make sure Holly looked her best on TV. Whether you’re on her team or the sidelines– Angel Reese will always have your back.
Fans wearing Trinity Rodman and Paige Bueckers’ Iconic Hairstyles
Matching your favorite athlete’s signature hairstyle? So adorable and so girlhood. At just about every Washington Spirit game, you’ll see a handful of young fans rocking Trinity Rodman’s pink braids. The same goes for girls pulling up to UConn games with Paige Buecker’s famous double-braid ponytail. Girlhood is knowing what team someone is rooting for based on the hairstyle they’re wearing.
Trinity Rodman’s pink hair braids in the Olympics (Getty)
Paige Bueckers’ double braid ponytail (Getty)
Ilona Maher’s Teammates Watching Her on Dancing With the Stars
We have one main thing in common with Ilona Maher’s rugby teammates: we love her so much we could cry about it. On Dancing with the Stars dedication night, Ilona danced for her Olympic teammates, who were all in the audience. Not only were they there to support her, but they all bawled their eyes out watching her shine (don’t worry, the producers got it all on camera). You’d think they had just won the first women’s rugby medal for the USA again based on their reactions. They may be tough as nails on the pitch, but they’re not afraid to show just how much it means to them to see their teammate thrive outside of the game.
Kelsey Plum Getting Her Rookie a New Shoe Collection Through Her Olympic Teammate
Kelsey Plum noticed that her Sparks teammate, Sarah Ashley Barker, was playing in some pretty worn-out Nike Sabrina shoes. So what’d she do? She called Sabrina herself, asking if she could help out her new teammate with her shoe game. Sabrina didn’t hesitate a second before sending not one, not two, but six brand new Nike Sabrina’s to the rookie. College and professional team rivalries aside, girls are always gonna help each other look and feel their best on the court.
UCLA Gymnastics’ High School Musical Entrance
Watching High School Musical is a girlhood right of passage, but using it as your walk-out song? Peak girlhood. This year at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, Jordan Chiles led UCLA into the Arena, blasting none other than “Now or Never” from High School Musical 3.
A’ja Wilson’s Emotional Teammate Speeches
A’ja Wilson had just won the league MVP for the third time, but like a true girls girl, she decided to celebrate her amazing teammates instead of herself. We can’t say we didn’t shed a tear or two watching A’ja read every single one of her teammates a personalized note about how much they mean to her out loud. Sharing your big moment with your teammates and crying about how much you love them is such a beautiful example of girlhood in sports that we can’t wait to see more of.
Whether it's the Barbie movie, the Era’s tour, or matching hairstyles with your bestie on the field– girlhood is all around us and something that makes women’s sports so special. It’s not something we witness, but something that we feel. In every kind gesture, every matching friendship bracelet, every celebration– it’s there and it’s never going away. To the magic of women’s sports!