Fresh off their first loss of the season against the now-No. 19 Tennessee Lady Vols, the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes had to fight tooth and nail to defeat their state rival No. 18 Iowa State, 75-67, in the annual Cy-Hawk Series. It is their eighth win out of the last nine matchups.

Before a loud, sell-out crowd at Carver Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes didn’t come storming out of the gates, but found their footing at the right time.

In the beginning, it was a tug-of-war battle with the Cyclones, who were led by sophomore center Audi Crooks, having the advantage most of the way. The Hawkeyes struggled to generate points, particularly from the 3-point line as they went 0-for-8 through the first quarter. They had to rely on the midrange excellence of senior guard Lucy Olsen as she carried the offense through the first half, including scoring Iowa’s first eight points.

To compensate, the Hawkeye defense forced the Cyclones into turnovers and offense fouls to retake control of the game. If that wasn’t enough, they had to also contend with the referees, who seemingly found a way to slow down the pace of the game with repeated foul calls. There were 17 fouls by the early part of the second quarter, much to the chagrin of Hawkeye head coach Jan Jensen, who didn’t relent in expressing her anger towards the officials.

By the time the second half unfolded, the Cyclones had regained control. Thanks to the scoring heroics of Crooks and sophomore forward Addy Brown, they led by as many as 10 points in the closing minutes of the third quarter. All seemed lost for Iowa until a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guards Kylie Feuerbach and Syd Affolter brought the Hawkeyes back from the brink to down only 56-53 going into the fourth quarter.

As the final quarter unfolded, the Hawkeyes found their groove at the right moment, surging with a 9-0 run at the 2:11 mark. A pair of baskets, free throws and Iowa State turnovers—including a steal by freshman guard Taylor Stremlow off Crooks—made the difference. The icing on the cake came when freshman guard Aaliyah Guyton hit a huge 3-pointer to put the Hawkeyes up 71-63 with under a minute remaining.

Despite the early struggles and frustration with the officiating, the Hawkeyes pulled off their most gutsy victory thus far in front of one of the loudest crowds at Carver Hawkeye Arena. The excitement caught Caitlin Clark’s attention, as she expressed her excitement on X/Twitter while attending the TIME event honoring her for being named Athlete of the Year.

Olsen finished with 25 points, going 9-for-22 from the field and 7-for-9 at the free throw line, and five assists. Affolter came away with 16 points, going 6-for-11 from the field while grabbing rebounds. Junior forward Hannah Stuelke was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field to finish with 13 points and nine rebounds. Feuerbach had six points and three rebounds. Guyton had six points by going 2-for-2 from the 3-point line. Stremlow notched six points and grabbed five rebounds.

On the Iowa State side, Crooks finished with a game-high 31 points, shooting 14-for-22 from the field and capturing 10 rebounds. Brown garnered 13 points, shooting 3-for-4 from the 3-point line, and grabbed five rebounds.

Iowa (7-1) takes on No. 17 Michigan State (9-0) on the road on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

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With No. 2 UConn taking on No. 8 Notre Dame, you have a must-see prime-time TV matchup happening in South Bend, Indiana. The game will be aired on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET, with both teams entering the contest highly-ranked.

The Huskies, sitting at 8-0, are looking for a win on the road, while Notre Dame is aiming to protect its home court and earn their third win of the season over a top-five ranked team. Here’s what each team needs to do to win this matchup:

What Notre Dame must do to win

This game will be an uphill battle for the Fighting Irish. Not only is UConn undefeated, but the duo of redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers and freshman forward Sarah Strong will be hard to slow down.

To minimize the Huskies’ damage and maximize their chances of victory, the Fighting Irish will need a big game from grad forward Liatu King. She is averaging a double-double and will need to be dominant on the boards, ending UConn possessions and winning some offensive rebounds to give Notre Dame as many shots at the basket as possible.

Scoring-wise, expect the backcourt of senior guard Olivia Miles and sophomore guard Hannah Hildago to keep lighting it up. They’ve been scoring a combined 41.8 points per game, and they’ll need all of that—and then some—to walk away victorious on Thursday.

What UConn must do to win

The Huskies are ranked higher, but this is undeniably their biggest test of the season so far. Bueckers must have a big game on the road for UConn to win. Not that she will find that to be a challenge; she’s averaging 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

The biggest obstacle for UConn in this contest will be playing without grad guard Azzi Fudd. The senior is out with a knee injury and will, at minimum, miss this game and an upcoming matchup against Georgetown.

Strong has been a freshman sensation for UConn and will need to have a big game for the Huskies to remain undefeated. She’s averaging 16.3 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. They can pull off the road win if she can dominate inside and cancel out King’s game.

Game information

No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) vs. No. 2 UConn Huskies (8-0)

When: Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

How to watch: ESPN

Although their present is looking incredible, the WNBL-leading Bendigo Spirit also are looking to their illustrious past and intend to honor team legend. Meanwhile, the Perth Lynx, who were just one defeat behind the Spirit in the standings, have lost two games in a row. The league’s bottom two teams, the Adelaide Lightning and the Canberra Capitals, have their own issues, with the Lightning attempting to solve theirs with a big change.

Here are more details on the latest developments in the WNBL:

Adelaide Lightning part ways with head coach

Natalie Hurst, the head coach for the Adelaide Lightning since last season, has mutually parted ways with the team. It seemed that the Lightning turned things around with the win against the Southside Flyers immediately after Hurst’s departure, but then they lost to league newcomers Geelong United two days later.

The Lightning are underperforming, no doubt, with just two wins in eight games, despite having the talent to play at a higher level. Newly-drafted Golden State Valkyrie Stephanie Talbot is averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and over one block and one steal per game. Former UCLA Bruin Japreece Dean is averaging 14 points, 3.9 boards and 3.8 dimes, but she’s also turning the ball over three times per contest. The Chicago Sky’s Brianna Turner is crazy good on defense, averaging 12.1 boards, three steals and three blocks. The talent is there and the numbers look good, but there’s no consistency and the Lightning are losing too many games. It remains to be seen whether a new coach—for now, it’s former assistant coach Matthew Clarke—will come up with ways to change that.

The Spirit to retire first jersey

The Bendigo Spirit are on a roll, remaining unbeaten and dominating the competition behind the play of MVP favorite Sami Whitcomb and another newly-minted Valkyrie, Veronica Burton. This week, they’ve announced that they were retiring their first jersey: the No. 20 that belonged to Gabe Richards.

Richards won two championships with the Spirit, appeared in two WNBL All-Star Games and played for the national team. She never made it to the WNBA; she did, however, play for the University of Oregon. In 2007, she began her pro career with the Spirit, and retired in 2020 when she was back with the Spirit.

Her number will the retired Dec. 14, before the Spirit’s next home game against the Townsville Fire. One of the players who’ll take the court, Kelly Wilson, is next in line to get her jersey retired. Once she decides to retire, that is. Wilson and Richards are the same age and they won championships together for the Spirit in the previous decade, but Wilson is still at it, starting at guard for the best team in the league, averaging four assists and almost two steals per game.

League standings

1. Bendigo Spirit (8-0)

2. Perth Lynx (6-3)

3. Townsville Fire (4-3)

4. Sydney Flames (3-4)

5. Geelong United (3-4)

6. Southside Flyers (3-5)

7. Adelaide Lightning (2-6)

8. Canberra Capitals (2-6)

You cannot live without rain. That’s just the way it is. Black women are rain. We have watered this ground. There’s Nothing Greater on Earth Than Black Women.— Nikki Giovanni

Those words by the famous poet Nikki Giovanni, who passed away on Monday at the age of 81, illustrate long standing truths about the status of Black women in society and culture. Black women are the ones who work tirelessly to ensure the world thrives, and do so with little to no credit. Not to mention their understandable frustration of being called upon to save the world time and time again, with little support.

Those same dynamics can explain what goes on in the world of women’s basketball and, particularly, the WNBA, which is majority Black women.

For the 27 years since the league’s inception, primarily Black players have had to scrape and claw for legitimacy amongst a male-dominated sporting landscape. It’s been a continuous cycle of one step forward, two steps back, as the league and its players routinely are subjected to some of the most vicious forms of racism and sexism by those seeking to delegitimize their athleticism, if not their humanity.

Leave it to Caitlin Clark, one of the most transcendent players in history, to use her enormous platform to acknowledge these realities and demand change.

The Indiana Fever Rookie of the Year was named TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year in commemoration for her efforts in unleashing a cultural revolution in women’s basketball, as the sport saw record viewership and packed houses. During her interview, Clark took care to center Black players, who always have been the league’s foundation, and advocated for greater attention to be given to them. She candidly said:

I want to say I’ve earned everything, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of the players who have made this league what it is are Black women. The more we appreciate, highlight, and talk about that, the better. Brands and companies need to continue investing in those players who have made this league extraordinary. Elevating Black women is a beautiful thing, and I have to keep working to help change that.

Based on the reaction of some, it’s as if Clark said, “God damn America.”

Right-wing media personality Megyn Kelly, who has admitted that she is not a sports fan, took to X/Twitter to express her discontent, posting:

Look at this. [Clark]’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention. The self-flagellation. The ‘oh [please] pay attention to the black players who are REALY (sic) the ones you want to celebrate.’ Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.

Fellow conservative media figure Jason Whitlock, who previously claimed to be a huge Clark fan, symbolically took down an image of her in his studio during his Wednesday episode of Fearless With Jason Whitlock on the conservative network The Blaze. He then compared Clark’s comments to a stripper breaking his heart.

Those reactions pale in comparison to the vitriol on social media, with some saying the league will flounder because they will no longer watch, others suggesting Clark has alienated her fans and more continuing to degrade the talent of WNBA players.

First and foremost, Clark will be just fine and continue to cement her status as a premier player for years to come. Second, these people have shown their true colors when it comes to their “fandom.” It was never about enjoying Clark’s game. It was a way to legitimize their racism, sexism and homophobia under the guise of fandom.

To be clear, the overwhelming majority of Caitlin Clark fans are true fans who appreciate her talent and what she has done for the game. That is distinct from the cesspool of trolls who have decided to latch onto her as a vehicle for their genuine disgust towards Black women, queer women and women who don’t fit into a model of what constitutes acceptable femininity. They were hoping Clark would be their prominent culture warrior.

If they were actual fans, they would have the maturity to appreciate Clark and the other players in the league. They wouldn’t engage in racist attacks against Angel Reese after the 2023 NCAA championship game for a gesture Clark previously had used before, and which Clark herself didn’t interpret as a personal slight. They wouldn’t send out racist death threats to Reese and other Black players. They wouldn’t accuse Chennedy Carter or DiJonai Carrington of assault when all they did was commit flagrant fouls, which tends to happen in the game of basketball.

Clark herself has previously given credit to Black players, such as Maya Moore, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and Cynthia Cooper, for paving the way. She understands the history of the game well enough to know if it weren’t for these players—past and present—the opportunity to make a living playing the game she loves wouldn’t exist. As Clark’s star continues to soar, she knows it shouldn’t come at the expense of others who also have put in the work and deserve a share of the spotlight.

In turn, she will continue to add to her legacy.

As for the trolls, get a life.