Unrivaled Week 3: Breanna Stewart’s ‘Abolish ICE’ message takes center stage 

The intersection of basketball and activism was on full display Sunday in Unrivaled, as Week 3 delivered intense competition on the court and a clear message from co-founder Breanna Stewart.

Stewart speaks out

During player introductions on Sunday, before the Mist BC faced off against the Vinyl BC, Stewart took the stage and faced the crowd while holding an ‘Abolish ICE’ sign. 

“I think that, knowing what my values are, and what I stand for… all day yesterday, I was kind of just disgusted from everything that you see on Instagram and in the news,” Stewart told reporters postgame. “We’re so fueled by hate right now instead of love. So I wanted to kind of have a simple message of ‘Abolish ICE’, which means to uplift families and communities, having policies to uplift families and communities instead of fueling fear and violence. 

I think that when human lives are at stake, it’s bigger than anything else. So to have that simple message before the game was important to me, and knowing that everyone here is feeling that way, one way or another. And it was just a perfect time.” 

Stewart’s wife and former WNBA player Marta Xargay, is from Spain but, as Stewart expressed, is a legal permanent resident. There’s a sense of fear that ICE operations has brought to her and her family. 

“I mean, it’s scary…You see it splitting up families and dissecting communities and kids are being involved. It’s the worst in all ways. And to be married to Marta, who’s a Spanish citizen, it hits home for us because we’re working to get her citizenship, and she is a legal permanent resident and all of that, but it seems like it doesn’t matter.

And I think that’s why these policies need to be put in place, that reform needs to happen, because it doesn’t seem to be affecting the right people. It’s not helping anybody and really everybody just needs help,” Stewart said. 

In the midst of ICE immigration operations around the country, Minnesota has drawn attention in particular with the tragic murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Videos of both events have flooded social media, sparking large protests in Minnesota and throughout the country. 

Breeze BC guard, Paige Bueckers also has shown her support towards her home state of Minnesota by donating her $50,000 free throw challenge earnings to HopkinsStrong Relief Fund.  

Hive BC guard Natisha Hiedeman, who has strong ties to the state of Minnesota and plays for the Lynx, said she’s felt welcomed by the community.

“It’s tough because Minnesota as a whole really embraced me when I got there, and I feel a lot of love from the community. So just to see everybody in Minnesota going through hard times. It really kind of hits home a little bit. So I just been praying for everybody, a lot of prayers, and just checking on my people that’s in Minnesota,” Hiedeman told reporters. 

Minnesota women’s basketball figures decry Minneapolis killings, occupation

Laces take the lead

For the first couple weeks of the season there was a multiple team tie for first place. This week the Laces BC have climbed the standings and claimed the No. 1 spot on the leaderboard. 

They were able to defeat the Hive BC 70-52 on Friday and then outlasted the Breeze BC defeating them, 76-67. Laces guard Brittney Sykes went on a scoring run in the Laces win against the Breeze. 

The Laces have found rebounding success that has led them on a five-game winning streak.  

In their win against the Hive they out rebounded them with 43 rebounds opposed to the Hive’s 19 rebounds. Additionally, the Laces are second in the league in defensive rebounding, averaging 26.6 a game. 

“I think that we really focus on our defense, and even then, we don’t think that we put together a full game of our best defense. So [I’m] really proud of ourselves on that and then going on our other end and knowing that we’ve already generated what we need to do on the offensive end. So having that defensive mindset first,” Naz Hillmon told reporters on Saturday. 

Laces BC forward Naz Hillmon and wing Maddy Siegrist have provided a reliable presence on the court this season.

“Yeah, I mean, you really can’t say enough about those two. Going into the draft, we were super high on both of them, and so the fact that we were able to get both was a huge win,” Laces BC head coach Andrew Wade told reporters. “And so the word that kind of comes to mind is just dependable, right? We know when Maddie and Naz are in the game, one, we’re going to get effort. We’re going to get, great playmaking, rebounding and defense, and so all the extra stuff, like the scoring, is just an added bonus. And our staff, we have so much confidence in them, their teammates do as well because the work they put in. So [I’m] just super proud of them both.”

The Laces BC still have a lot more room to grow in terms of reaching their fullest potential.

“Oh, man, we’re a really resilient group. If that’s not a confidence booster in the game we just had with what, four bodies? Really three,” Brittney Sykes told reporters postgame, later adding: “I’m always going to give credit to our coaching staff for the unit that they put together. It’s very rare that you get the group that we have that literally can do it on both ends of the court. Any night, somebody can go off for 30… Last game everybody had like, 12 to 15 points, you know? And then this game, 12,17, 15, it could just level out to anybody. It just happened to be my night. But we were also down bodies. So we all know that it’s next man up mentality, and we take that to heart, and we got each other’s backs.”

Dom finally dunks

Since Breeze BC forward Dominique Malonga came into the spotlight, the basketball world has been waiting to see the young star dunk during a game. On Saturday, as the Breeze BC faced off against the Lunar Owls BC, Malonga accomplished the feat halfway through the first quarter off of a pass from Breeze wing Rickea Jackson.

“It was great. You said we were waiting for a long time, I was waiting, too,” Malonga told reporters postgame. “So I’m happy it happened. I was happy to feel the love from the whole arena, actually. Everybody was so hyped up, so I’m happy. I’m not really, expressive on the court so I know I didn’t show a lot [of emotion], but it was blowing my mind, actually. So that was a great moment.”

Malonga was asked if she had any particular plans to dunk again in Unrivaled, in which she expressed that she had felt a lot of pressure to dunk when the season began. 

“No, not even, really, I just want to have one happen. And as coach said, I think this unlocked something in my mind. Now it’s just going to be more and more natural. So I don’t want to [put] pressure on myself…At the end of the day, still two points and what matters [is winning] the game. So, just stay smart about it. But it’s great that I have that in my game,” Malonga said.

Breeze head coach Noelle Quinn had coached Malonga during her rookie season of the WNBA on the Seattle Storm and has been able to see the growth she’s made in just the short period of time.

“It’s truly a blessing and an honor, honestly, to coach Dom,” Quinn told reporters postgame. “From day one when I met her, even you know, [at the] draft and talking to her, she’s just very driven and determined. And she wants to be great. She wants to be a great pro, but she goes about it the right way. She doesn’t shortcut her steps. And so from her development, from day one there, until now, the progress is just great, tremendous.

And, yeah, that corner three is a testament to the work that she puts in, but also the confidence that her teammates have in her to take that shot. I’ve been getting on her about getting into next action, but that’s a moment that you don’t want to take away from a big time player to make a big time play.”

Malonga’s dunking capabilities aren’t new. Ahead of the 2025 WNBA draft, videos of her playing overseas surfaced online. The Storm then had a warmup routine before games where her Storm teammates would all run up and pretend to dunk as Malonga actually dunked the ball. 

“And I see Dom dunk every single day, so it’s not a surprise to me anymore, but to finally get that done in a game, I love it for her, because I think now that was just the beginning. Now you’ll see a lot more of it,” Quinn said. “…But the way that Dom works, the way that her mind is, she’s very sharp, and her attitude toward being a pro, this is just the beginning for her.”

Rose BC falls again

After starting off the season 3-0, the Rose BC have lost three out of four of their last few games. However, they did bounce back on Sunday with a 84-74 win against the Phantom BC. 

The Mist BC started the first half off against the Rose shooting 60% from the floor. Rose BC head coach Nola Henry was dissatisfied with her team’s defense in their loss to the Mist on Friday. 

“Our defensive urgency wasn’t there from the start, it’s unacceptable. It’s hard to win when a team shoots 60% from the field and 50% from three. We have to find some sort of disruption, some sort of fight, some sort of one-on-one pride, especially early, to disrupt their rhythm, because they are team that scores at a really high level in the first quarter,” Henry told reporters. 

With the season halfway through, Henry and her team are looking to refocus so that they can try and finish the season the same way they started. 

“I think my message to the team was just that we have things that we need to clean up, and it’s imperative that we have the attention to detail to clean up the things and the urgency to clean up the things that we need to clean up, because it is a short season here. But also, on the flip side, with it being a short season, it’s a quick turnaround, so you’re right back to the drawing board. You can’t hold on to losses, because you got to step back up to the plate and be ready to play again, as we have a game on Sunday,” Henry said. 

Up next: Philly

Next weekend, Unrivaled will make its way to Philadelphia for the first time in league history.

On Friday, the Breeze BC will face off against the Phantom BC at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Rose BC facing off against the Lunar Owls BC. 

Unrivaled will host events for the fans and will bring a lot of excitement to the City of Brotherly Love.

“We looking forward to it. Women’s Basketball is on a tear. We on a tear right now. And I think, Unrivaled bringing us to Philly, that’s a great opportunity for these players, and it’s a great opportunity for women’s basketball and also for the fans of Philadelphia. So we’re looking forward to going and putting on a good show and doing some big things,” Phantom head coach Roneeka Hodges told reporters.

There is a buzz of energy around the league as Unrivaled prepares to make history next weekend. For many players, including Rose BC wing Kahleah Copper and Phantom BC wing Natasha Cloud, these aren’t just games, it’s a homecoming.

Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray is just as excited to see her teammate return home:

“I’m excited, I heard it’s sold out. It’ll be a great crowd, looking forward to seeing all those fans there, and it’ll be new fans, new faces, so [I’m] excited for that. And man, that’s her [Kahleah Copper] hometown. So I know she has a lot of pride. Everybody knows she’s from ‘Norf’ , so I’m just excited to go there. I’ve never been so being around there,” Gray told reporters. 

After the weekend kicks off in Philadelphia on Friday, Unrivaled will be back in Miami for the remainder of the season.  

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Here is this weekend’s schedule (all times in ET). All games will be streaming on truTV and HBO Max. Friday’s games will also show on TNT.   

Friday January 30 (Philadelphia, PA)  

Breeze BC vs Phantom BC (7:30 p.m.)   

Rose BC vs Lunar Owl BC (8:45 p.m.)   

Saturday January 31 

Hive BC vs Mist BC (4:30 p.m.)    

Laces BC vs Vinyl BC (5:45 p.m.)   

Sunday February 1  

Phantom BC vs Lunar Owls BC (7:30 p.m.)    

Breeze BC vs Rose BC (8:45 p.m.)   

Monday February 2 

Vinyl BC vs Hive BC (7:30 p.m.)    

Mist BC vs Laces BC (8:45 p.m.)