^{December 01, 2025 | Edition #167}

Hey, Hoophead!

November closed out with intensity, on and off the court. Now, as just 22 teams roll into December still undefeated, the real test under the big lights is finally showing who’s built to last. Meanwhile, just as the college wrapped up such an eventful day, the WNBA raised the stakes with CBA news, coming out just hours before the extension was about to expire. And in between all that chaos, some of our pros gave us plenty to be proud of.

CBA Update: Six More Weeks of Speculation

Months of friction, a 30-day extension, a historic proposal, and endless speculation later, the WNBA and the WNBPA agreed to another extension, just in time before the CBA was set to expire Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.

The current CBA is now extended until Jan. 9 at 11:59 p.m., giving both sides six more weeks to continue negotiations. Either party can still walk away with 48 hours’ notice. And while this isn’t exactly a full solution, getting to this point wasn’t really about both sides fully agreeing either.

The league and WNBPA met virtually on Saturday and had multiple conversations on Sunday, and despite reports suggesting the WNBPA made the first offer, that's not really how it went down.

Here’s a closer look at everything that happened!

What happens next, though?

Sure, the agreement pushes the deadline back by a month and delays a potential work stoppage but make no mistake, there’s still no real progress. Over the past month, both sides met often and shared updated proposals, yet the gaps are still wide, particularly when it comes to revenue sharing.

On top of that, this also means some key offseason events will look different from last year. The Golden State Valkyries held their expansion draft on Dec. 6, 2024, but the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire drafts don’t have dates yet. Rules for the expansion draft aren’t finalized, and free agency timelines will be affected, too.

For now, the extension gives both sides a little breathing room, a chance to sit down, hash things out, and hopefully get closer to a real deal.

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Bruins Torch Tennessee, Crooks Steals the Spotlight

We all probably got stuck watching the Janiah Barker-Cori Close moment from the Tennessee–UCLA game. But let’s move past that, because what actually happened on the court was as fiery. To put it bluntly, Tennessee’s defense just didn’t show up.

UCLA walked out with a 99–77 win, shooting a wild 58% from the field and knocking down 10-of-17 from deep. The most points the Lady Vols have allowed since Kim Caldwell took over. And as if the scoreboard wasn’t already painful enough, Tennessee took another hit. One that felt bigger than the L!

Lauren Betts had a relatively quiet outing with seven points, but that didn’t slow UCLA at all. Gianna Kneepkens dropped 19, Kiki Rice added 20, and Gabriela Jaquez exploded for 29, just one shy of her career high. The Lady Vols had no answers. And just to add to this, former Bruin Janiah Barker led Tennessee with 25.

But if we’re talking numbers, nobody, and we mean nobody, had a bigger day than Audi Crooks. Iowa State and Indiana decided defense was optional and lit up the scoreboard in a 106–95 shootout, but Crooks stole the entire spotlight with a school-record 47 points, breaking her own mark of 43.

You have to see the highlights to really feel it!

Indiana didn’t just roll over, though. Shay Ciezki kept them in it with a career-high 38, and the Hoosiers hung around until Iowa State ripped off a 9–0 run after trailing 55–53 in the third. From there, the Cyclones just tightened the screws and never let go, stretching the lead to as much as 99–80.

Huge double-doubles from Jada Williams (23 & 11) and Addy Brown (17 & 10) sealed the deal as Iowa State kept overpowering Indiana in the paint.

Missed or Intentional? Barker Breaks Silence Over Viral Handshake Moment

The Crown Comes Home

The FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup has basically lived in Team USA’s trophy cabinet since day one. The only hiccup was last year, when the U.S. watched Canada steal the crown by a single point in overtime.

So this year, the mission was simple: go get it back!

And the answer to that mission was Shakira Austin, Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray, and Naz Hillmon, a quartet built for smoke. And well… they didn’t just take the crown back. They snatched it. But that alone wasn’t even the best part. This is what made this win special!

And the way everything aligned like it was scripted. Team USA started their run in León, Mexico with two clean wins, first dropping Brazil 21–10, then handling Jamaica 21–15. Efficient and confident. But then came the moment everyone wanted, the perfect final setup: USA vs. Canada for revenge.

The game was as intense as everyone expected. It was physical, chippy, and an absolute grind. Canada came in with the same tough, switch-heavy defense that caused problems last year, and once again the game went right down to the wire. The U.S. looked in control for most of it, but Canada refused to fold.

Still, when the moment called for someone to step up, a not-so-surprising name delivered. Not only closing out the win but also walking away with MVP honors.

Check out the game winning moment!

Now, as the squad heads home with the crown back in hand, Burton's already gearing up for her next stop, Durham, for USA Basketball’s Dec. 12–14 training camp. That’s where her push for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup really begins. For now, though, she gets to live in the moment.

Congratulations, champs!

"Here’s the Successor!" Auriemma Signals Bueckers As USA’s Next Leader

Bueckers x Citron

It was the Paige Bueckers–Sonia Citron link-up we didn’t even know we needed. At the Dallas-based VIP Wellball event, the two teamed up to play what was basically the pickleball of basketball. The setup had everyone going head-to-head in a shooting contest over a rim-mounted device called the “Well.” Not quite basketball, but we still got Bueckers and Citron getting buckets. We’ll take it.

The event loved having them there, giving them shoutouts and plenty of love. Their competitors, though, probably were not as thrilled. Because Paige and Sonia absolutely cooked. And how do we know that even without seeing the scoreboards? They left an NBA legend “limping.” His words, not ours.

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That’s it for today, folks! We’ll look to knock on your inbox soon with more interesting stories!

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