We’ve got news from three different domestic women’s professional basketball leagues, in addition to a 3×3 national team check in:

CBA conversations have started

On Wednesday evening, the WNBA and WNBPA released a joint statement announcing that the two sides met in person to begin discussing the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The meeting, according to the statement, “included preliminary conversations and constructive dialogue,” with both parties citing “a mutual agreement to continue discussions for a transformational, new CBA.”

Attendees representing the players union were WNBPA President and CBA Committee Co-Chair Nneka Ogwumike, WNBPA First Vice President Kelsey Plum, WNBPA Secretary Elizabeth Williams, WNBPA Vice President Napheesa Collier, WNBPA CBA Committee Co-Chair Satou Sabally and Player Representatives DiJonai Carrington and Stef Dolson, along with WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson and union staff and advisors.

The league was represented by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, along with the WNBA Labor Relations Committee members and additional league staff and advisors.

Unrivaled is everywhere

We’re less than one month away from the highly-anticipated tip off of the inaugural season of Unrivaled. And the league is everywhere!

Last week, Unrivaled’s new commercial debuted on TNT during the network’s coverage of the NBA Cup.

The professional 3×3 also made appearances at Art Basel, including club captains Breanna Stewart of Mist B.C. and Alyssa Thomas of Laces B.C. speaking at event sponsored by league partner Ally.

Mist B.C.’s Rickea Jackson and Rose B.C.’s Azurá Stevens also showed up courtside at the Women’s Champions Classic, representing Unrivaled as they cheered on their victorious alma maters, Tennessee and UConn.

With an assist from Marina Mabrey, a member of Phantom B.C., Unrivaled announced that UnderArmour will be league’s official uniform partner. Unrivaled’s official ball will be supplied by Wilson.

USA 3×3 on AmeriCup mission

The United States is off defending its 2023 AmeriCup title, with a team of Brittney Sykes, Maddy Siegrist, Azurá Stevens and Abbey Hsu representing the red, white and blue in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The foursome, coached by Sydney Johnson, all participated in the USA Basketball 3×3 National Team development camp in November.

The team is off to a 2-0 start, with wins over the Dominican Republic, 21-14, and Uruguay, 21-4. They continue their quest to maintain the AmeriCup crown on Sunday, with a matchup against Chile at 1:55 p.m. ET, which will be streamed on the FIBA3x3 YouTube channel.

Indy adds player development coach

As she returns to the Indiana sidelines, new Fever head coach Stephanie White is brining another one of her former Connecticut Sun assistant coaches with her. Keith Porter, the Sun’s player development coach in 2023 and 2024, will serve the same role in Indiana. He is credited with facilitating the improvement of Connecticut stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones and DiJonai Carrington. Assistant coach Austin Kelly already followed White from Uncasville to Indianapolis.

Aces again bolster coaching staff

Having already hired Ty Ellis as an assistant coach after former assistants Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh accepted head jobs in Golden State and Chicago, respectively, the Las Vegas Aces are bringing Larry Lewis onto head coach Becky Hammon’s staff.

For the past five years, Lewis has served as an assistant coach at UC-Santa Barbara. Prior to that, he worked as an assistant and player development coach in the NBA and NBA G-League.

On joining the Aces, Lewis said:

It’s exciting to be joining the Aces because there’s a passion behind the team that is cultural, and it seems to be a very definite ambition of the team to hold onto that culture. That’s always been very intriguing to me, because I know how difficult that is to hold together as a group. That’s a beautiful part of the team. Being a basketball player, playing professionally and having coached on different levels, I know to get a team together to share in a high standard of culture is not the easiest thing to do. That’s what the Aces have here, and it should be valued, it should be cherished, and it should be held together.

AU increases UConn vibes ahead of 2025 season

Ahead of Athletes Unlimited’s Nashville-based 2025 season, there has been an emphasis on the native Tennesseans who will be participating. Well, representatives from one of the historic rivals of Tennessee’s flagship school also will be invading the AU court. In other words, some former UConn Huskies are suiting up for the league’s fourth season.

Having suffered a series of unlucky injuries, Christyn Williams will look to kickstart her pro career with AU, while Evina Westbrook, who began her college career at Tennessee before transferring to UConn, will again participate in AU, having previously competed in 2023.

Other recently-announced AU participants are:

• Sequoia Holmes, an international journeywoman returning for her fourth AU season
• Asia Taylor, who has a decade of pro experience in the WNBA and overseas
• Ashley Joens, the former Iowa State standout who has played in New Zealand and Italy
• Jude Schimmel, who helped the Louisville reach the 2013 national championship game
• Angel Jackson, the 2023 and 2024 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year at Jackson State

Notre Dame earned the win of the week on Thursday, dusting UConn at home to confirm their full recovery from their late November two-game skid. Here are the other notable moments from the week in women’s college hoops:

A record-breaking day for T3nn3ss33

Rocky Top Tenne-three, indeed!

On Saturday, the Lady Vols set a basketball record with 30 made 3-pointers. That’s not only the most in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history, but the record for NCAA Division I men’s basketball history, WNBA history and NBA history. NBA games, of course, are 48 minutes compared to 40 minutes, and even the 3-slinging Boston Celtics, who are firing up over 51 3-pointers per game, have topped out at 29 made triples, highlighting how insane Tennessee’s deep shooting was on Saturday.

Tennessee shot 63 3s, with their 30 makes giving them an excellent 47.6 percent conversion rate. All those triples helped the Lady Vols ring up a SEC-record 139 points in the 139-59 romp over NC Central.

The milestones are a testament to the offensive transformation implemented by new head coach Kim Caldwell. Yet, the record-breaking 3-point effort even impressed her, as Caldwell said after the game, “It does surprise me. We shot enough of ’em, we should have broke it, but yeah, it was surprising to hear that it was a record.”

Tennessee’s torrent of triples was led by senior guard Samara Spencer, who drilled nine from downtown, a new school record. Sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper and grad forward Tess Darby both made five 3s, while six more Lady Vols made at least one 3-pointer. Spencer finished with a career-high 33 points, as well as 10 assists. Cooper totaled 21 points, seven assists and six boards.

Caldwell’s strategic imprint was also evident on the other end of the floor, as the Lady Vols forced 44 turnovers. And while it will be much more difficult to execute a nearly-perfect 3-flinging, fast-paced, high-pressure and hyper-aggressive game once SEC play begins, the undefeated Lady Vols’ dedication to their distinct style of play suggests they could still cause serious problems for high-pedigree conference opponents. LSU (Jan. 9) and South Carolina (Jan. 27), as well as historic non-conference rival UConn (Feb. 6), will not be looking forward to their trips to Rocky Top.

Getting (Georgia) Technical

Despite Tennessee’s record-breaking rout, Georgia Tech might have claim to the weekend’s most impressive win. The still-undefeated Yellow Jackets took down North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 82-76.

Like the Lady Vols, the Jackets illustrated the power of fast-paced, shooting-focused basketball. While Tennessee leads the nation with more than 40 3-point attempts per game, Georgia Tech is in the top 15, with more than 28 3s per game, a mark that leads the ACC. Tech also scores around 82 points per game, a number that puts them in the top 25.

All that offensive firepower was on display in the first half against North Carolina, when Tech dropped 50 points in the first 20 minutes. That’s more than UNC, a defensive-first outfit, gives up on average in full games. The second quarter showed off the Jackets’ supercharged potential, when they went 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Junior guard Kara Dunn made four of those 3-balls. Midway through the third period, the Jackets stretched their advantage to 23 points, the largest deficit that the Tar Heels, who have played UConn, have faced this season.

From that point forward, the laws of gravity that tend to govern high-level basketball began to muddy the Tech machine, as UNC tightened up their defense and stalled Tech’s scoring. After halftime, the Heels held the visitors to just five 3-point attempts and no makes, allowing them to cut the margin to as few as six points in the game’s waning minutes.

Nevertheless, North Carolina’s face-saving finish doesn’t diminish the significance of Tech’s stellar first half, a performance that suggests that, similar to the Lady Vols, the Jackets, with their embrace of a shoot-first offensive style, are one of the nation’s more dangerous—and entertaining—teams.

Tech also has a top-tier talent in freshman guard and super sixth player Dani Carnegie, who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists, with her team outscoring the Tar Heels by 21 points in her 26 minutes. Junior guard Tonie Morgan shook off an injury scare to lead the team with 23 points, while Dunn contributed 13 points.

‘Tis the season for stats

The Lady Vols and Yellow Jackets are not the only players who authored prolific performances over the past week. Here are some other notable efforts:

• Coppin State edged George Washington 64-61 in overtime on Tuesday, with junior forward Laila Lawrence doing the heavy lifting for the Eagles. She turned in a 21-point and 11-rebound double-double. She’s also the reigning HBCU National Player of the Week.

• Senior forward Kiki Iriafen shot almost 64 percent from the field and over 90 percent from the line as she scored 24 points and grabbed 12 boards in USC’s win over Fresno State on Tuesday, 89-40. Combined with sophomore star JuJu Watkins’ 21 points, the Trojan duo outscored the visiting Bulldogs by themselves.

• Serah Williams might be one of women’s college basketball’s most underrated stars. The Wisconsin junior is a walking double-double, averaging over 19 points and 12 rebounds per game. On Wednesday, she had her finest effort of the season, scoring a career-high 36 points and hauling in 14 rebounds to help the Badgers prevail in double overtime over Butler, 71-64.

• Behind the dynamic duo of grad guard Diamond Johnson and senior forward Kierra Wheeler, Norfolk State dominated Shaw on Thursday, 90-57. Both finished with double-doubles, with Johnson registering 22 points and 10 assists and Wheeler tallying 22 points and 17 rebounds. Wheeler also had an overwhelming nine “stocks” (steals+blocks) for the Spartans.

• On Friday night, Cal got the authoritative rivalry win over Stanford, 83-63, behind a season-best performance from sophomore guard Lulu Laditan-Twidale. The Aussie finished with 20 points, seven boards and four assists. She also made six of the team’s program-record 18 3-pointers.

• Can Khamil Pierre be stopped? The Vandy sophomore forward leads the nation in made field goals (99), win shares (3.6) and player efficiency rating (49.6). She strengthened those numbers with a program-record 42-point performance, delivered in Vanderbilt’s 106-40 domination of Evansville on Saturday, the team’s largest margin of victory since 2006-07. Pierre also corralled 18 rebounds, while swiping eight steals.

• Grad forward Yvonne Ejim powered Gonzaga past Eastern Washington, 79-50, on Saturday, posting 28 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

• NC State seems to be shaking off their slightly-disappointing start to the season. One reason why? Zam Jones. The freshman guard and sixth player helped the Wolfpack run away from Louisville on Sunday afternoon, 72-42. Going 7-for-8 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3, Jones scored a season-high 18 points.

• There was no let down for Notre Dame on Sunday. Hannah Hidalgo made sure of it. The sophomore guard unleashed another superb scoring performance with 27 points. Of course, that’s not all Hidalgo did, as she finished with six steals, four assists and four boards. The Irish routed Eastern Michigan, 118-49.

• Speaking of a super scoring guard, Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer, popped off for yet another 30-piece. The Florida State junior guard had 32 points, seven assists and four steals as the Seminoles smoked Drexel, 101-51, on Sunday.

A look ahead

Before the game schedule slows for Christmas break, this week presents several high-profile matchups, headlined by USC’s visit to UConn:

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Seton Hall vs. LSU (6 p.m. ET, FS1)

Iowa State vs. UConn (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Oklahoma vs. Michigan (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Wednesday, Dec. 18

North Carolina vs. Florida (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

Friday, Dec. 20

Ohio State vs. Stanford (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Creighton vs. UCLA (11 p.m. ET, FS1)

Saturday, Dec. 21

Nebraska vs. Georgia Tech (5 p.m. ET, ACC Extra)

USC vs. UConn (8 p.m. ET, FOX)

No. 22 NC State dominated Louisville 72-42 Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center in what turned out to be the worst shooting game for the Cardinals this season.

The Wolfpack led the game, also the ACC opener for both teams, 10-0 within the first three minutes of the first quarter and kept the Cardinals scoreless until halfway through the opening period. NC State freshman guard Zamareya Jones entered the game during the first quarter and helped run the score up to 19-4 until Louisville senior forward Nyla Harris landed a layup to lead the team into the second quarter 13 points down.

Jones was just as hot when the second opened, earning 16 points by the seven-minute mark. The Wolfpack were up by 20 heading into the break—and nearly 30 points ahead by the beginning of the fourth quarter.

In addition to Jones, senior guard Saniya Rivers had a tremendous game. Rivers earned a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists, senior guard Aziaha James picked up 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists and sophomore guard Zoe Brooks landed 11 points and three assists. The Wolfpack also benefited from open looks at the basket and shot 36.8 percent from the 3-point range, up from their season average 34.1 percent.

Overall, the Cardinals struggled to find their footing throughout the game. In a postgame interview on the court, head coach Jeff Walz expressed disappointment that largely indicated the team needs to work harder and be better. Despite being home to one of the most exciting freshman classes in the country, Louisville was outpaced, outshot and outperformed by NC State—over and over again.

Senior forward Olivia Cochran, who racked up eight points and four rebounds, was a hard-nosed leader for the team, but was repeatedly left on her own while being double-teamed in the post, which happens when a team isn’t hitting their outside shots. Freshman guard Tajianna Roberts didn’t have her best shooting game, but clocked a reasonable seven points and also added three steals, which boosted her to a team-high 20 for the season. Harris continued to prove she can be counted on to be where she needs to be, but, like the team as a whole, her shooting left a lot to be desired.

“[A loss like] that shouldn’t happen here,” Walz said. “That doesn’t happen here. I told them if I’m a guard on this team and I’m a shooter, I’m going to the gym tonight….to be honest, it’s repetition,” Walz said. He added, “I take the blame,” but also called his team out. “No one’s coming here and working like it used to be.”

Louisville heads to Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 21, while NC State will next face off against James Madison on Thursday, Dec. 19.

When South Carolina steamrolled past Iowa State at the Fort Myers Tip Off, their first game after losing to UCLA, there were a lot of positive takeaways for the Gamecocks. They won by 40 points—more than the 36 Iowa State put on the board—and 10 players contributed to their 76 points scored.

However, the brightest aspect of the game was Joyce Edwards’ performance. The freshman phenom was unstoppable. She earned her first career double-double and was a force of nature in the post. It was her, not Iowa State, that was spinning around like a cyclone inside the paint, wreaking havoc. Iowa State had no answer for her, and she went an efficient 6-for-8 from the field, finishing with 13 points, 11 boards and three steals.

After the win, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley commended Edwards’ game, saying:

This is the Joyce that we envision having. And sometimes it takes a little bit longer than we think it’s going to take because she’s so smart and she’s able to compete at the high highest level. But I hope she gains a lot of confidence from the way that we did it. She was really efficient, she rebounded the basketball, she was flying around, her defense was pretty darn good. She put together a complete game and I’m truly happy for her.

When playing for a program that has won three national titles, is the defending champions and is coming off a 43-game winning streak, playing efficiently and giving a complete performance is the only way you will survive. The room for error as a Gamecock is slim to none, and with that expectation comes extra scrutiny.

Sticking to the details

At almost any other program, Edwards would have a green light to do whatever she wants. But at South Carolina, the role is more limited, and playing a winning style is what puts you in position for glory.

Edwards is doing all the small things that make a big impact. She crashes the boards, averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, and her defensive tenacity results in 1.7 steals per game, which is a team-high. While she’s only seventh in minutes played per game, she has participated in every contest so far this season.

It’s Edwards’ versatility that truly separates her—and suggests a star trajectory. She has the size, speed and strength to guard all positions. Edwards quickly has become a Swiss Army Knife that Staley can use whenever and wherever she wants.

No ceiling

What should be worrisome to other programs is that this is just the start for Edwards. What happens when she develops her post game even more? Will an increase in minutes and a starter role in the future turn her into a juggernaut, the next player in a long list of stars who have come out of Staley’s program?

The early returns indicate this is the most likely outcome. However, for now, it’s all about taking advantage of the opportunities presented and making those moments count. Simply put, Edwards is already impacting winning and will have plenty of opportunities to do so this season and for years to come.

Edwards is not just a rookie to watch; she’s a player to know in the world of basketball.

One of the many effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on NCAA basketball was the granting of an extra year of eligibility to all winter sport athletes. This made it a common occurrence for women’s basketball players to play at least five seasons of collegiate ball before choosing to go pro, a phenomenon that had a ripple effect on ensuing WNBA Drafts.

We’re now watching the final wave of players who took advantage of this opportunity. We’ve profiled quite a few WNBA Draft prospects over the years here at Swish Appeal, and a handful of them chose to exercise their extra years of eligibility after the fact. Let’s check in on how they’re doing now, in their final season of NCAA basketball.

Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina)

Paopao remains at South Carolina for a second season after winning a national championship with the Gamecocks in 2024. The former Oregon guard made an immediate impact for Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, bringing an even-keeled presence to the team’s backcourt alongside the dynamic Raven Johnson. She was the best 3-point shooter on a team that went a perfect 38-0 en route to its second title in three seasons.

Not much of that has changed. South Carolina is once again one of the best teams in the country, and Paopao continues to do everything that made her such a key player in the Gamecocks’ most recent championship run. She continues to be extremely reliable with her outside shot (46.2 percent on 3-pointers) and has committed just nine turnovers in 10 games played. Paopao has also developed her game inside the arc, converting on a career-best 53.3 percent of her 2-point attempts, though she’s also attempted just three free throws on the season—perhaps the sole weakness in her game.

If WNBA scouts were impressed watching Paopao in her first season at South Carolina, none of what she’s doing this season should dissuade them. It’s also important to consider just how many WNBA teams could use a guard with Paopao’s skillset next summer; in our recent one-round WNBA Mock Draft, she went to the Chicago Sky at No. 3, though teams like the Washington Mystics, Seattle Storm and Minnesota Lynx would probably like to have her as well.

Georgia Amoore (Kentucky)

Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

Amoore’s name was one of the few that became synonymous with the rise of the Virginia Tech Hokies during head coach Kenny Brooks’ tenure. So it wasn’t a huge surprise when she chose to stay in school and follow Brooks to Kentucky when he was hired there last spring. Amoore’s prolific outside shooting and skill with the basketball made her a standout player in the ACC, earning a pair of all-conference honors and leading the Hokies to a Final Four run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Amoore has brought her electrifying game to Kentucky, where she’s currently averaging 15.6 points and 7.2 assists (third in Division I) per game. However, her trademark deep 3-pointers, which Amoore has said are the key to opening up the rest of her game, are not yet falling like they did at Virginia Tech; she’s shooting just 25 percent beyond the arc, which is by far a career-low, and her 3-point volume is also down a bit from where it previously was, though she’s still hoisting 6.8 of them per contest.

Ultimately, Amoore’s jumpshot will probably come around, and her playmaking remains as good as ever. If there’s something to watch for, it’s how she handles the physicality of the SEC’s top teams. Kentucky’s conference schedule will begin at the start of the 2025 calendar year, and if the 5-foot-6 Amoore can raise her efficiency back to the levels we’re used to while she plays against bigger, tougher defenses, it might give WNBA teams more confidence in drafting her.

Ayoka Lee (Kansas State)

Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

Lee made national headlines when she scored an NCAA-record 61 points in a game in 2022, but anyone who’s been paying even a tiny bit of attention to Kansas State will tell you that her impact on the program has extended far beyond a single-game performance. In fact, Lee recently broke the Wildcats’ program scoring record with her 2,336th career point, and it’ll be hard to imagine anyone passing whatever number she finishes with when she’s finally done.

This is Lee’s fifth season in college, and so far the only thing that’s been able to slow her down is injury. She had been dealing with a nagging knee injury that eventually required surgery and forced her to miss the 2022-23 NCAA season, but since she returned it’s been business as usual, albeit in fewer minutes. Lee averaged 19.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a senior and is putting up 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds as a graduate student, which is impressive productivity given she’s only averaging about 17.8 minutes of playing time. Lee’s size at 6-foot-6 ensures that she takes high-efficiency paint shots as often as possible; through 10 games in 2024-25, she’s shooting 64.8 percent from the floor, which is a career-best.

Will Lee’s workload increase as the season goes on, or will Kansas State try to keep her fresh for an NCAA Tournament run? And even if that does happen, how much will WNBA teams trust her to stay on the floor? The answers to these questions could be the difference between Lee getting drafted early or not at all. It’s essential that she finish her collegiate career strong.

All statistics, team records and rankings for the 2024-25 NCAA season are current through Saturday, December 14, 2024.