Dearica Hamby is processing a lot of emotions: excitement, anger, sadness, fear.

Excitement for her future with the Los Angeles Sparks, anger at the way she was treated by her former team, sadness at having to leave the city and teammates she loves, and fear for the health of her unborn son.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old spoke to the media for the first time since she was traded and shared her grievances with the Aces in a statement on her Instagram account.

In the post, Hamby claimed she was “lied to, bullied, manipulated and discriminated against” by the Aces organization, and that they were trading her because of her pregnancy.

Hamby was dealt to L.A. on Jan. 21 along with a 2024 first-round pick in exchange for “exclusive negotiating rights” to Amanda Zahui B. and a 2024 second-round pick. The WNBA Players Association announced that it would investigate Hamby’s claims in accordance with the league’s 2020 collective bargaining agreement as well as federal and state laws.

“I’m excited now,” Hamby said of playing in L.A. “Initially there was a lot of sadness, and I was very transparent about the way I was feeling when I spoke to KB (Karen Bryant) and Curt (Miller). It was a little bit up and down, a little triggering at times, but moving forward on the basketball side of things with the Sparks and I’m looking forward to it.”

Hamby didn’t seem to have much ownership over the situation — she said the Sparks were the only team she talked to when the Aces expressed their desire to trade her — but she says she felt instantly supported by the Sparks organization.

“They just kind of wrapped their arms around me,” she said. “During that moment, I was very emotional. I was crying on the phone and I think KB was about to cry on the phone, but I kind of fell in love with that.”

As Hamby comes to terms with leaving Las Vegas, the franchise that drafted her in 2015 when it was still the San Antonio Stars, her main concern is her health. The soon-to-be mother of two says her blood pressure was “through the roof” a few weeks ago.

“I’m dealing with the waves of emotions,” she said. “But I’m trying to remind myself to not be too stressed out. Just trying to remain calm for him (her son), and just make sure he gets here. Then I will deal with the aftermath.”

Hamby announced she was pregnant with a son she plans to name Legend during the Aces championship parade in September. She also has a daughter, 5-year-old Amaya, who was heavily featured in Aces promotional material during her time with the organization.

During the press conference on Wednesday, Hamby addressed her status as a well-known mother in the league and how that influenced her decision to make a public statement about the way the Aces treated her during the trade.

“My relationship with my daughter has been broadcasted, it has been shown to the public,” she said. “So if that can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. I am confident that the people, the person that said these things, did these things will be held accountable.”

Hamby went on to say that she will let the WNBAPA investigation happen before she decides whether to take any legal action of her own.

The two-time Sixth Player of the Year said leaving the Aces is “a hurtful situation,” but that she’s thankful for the fans who have supported her and hopes they will continue to support her former teammates. Two-time WNBA champion Candace Parker cited her own family in her decision to sign with the Aces in free agency this week.

“I know that they are feeling the pain just as much as I am,” she said of Las Vegas fans. “But don’t take it out on the girls. It’s not Candace’s fault, it’s not A’ja or Chelsea’s fault, so continue to support them.

“I’m going to miss them. I know that when I come back to play in Vegas, I will probably cry. It will be a very pivotal moment in my life, but I’m looking forward to meeting the new fans in L.A.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

With half of the Elite Eight now set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the No. 1 seed stronghold at the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend.

The No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2-seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while the No. 4-seed Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 seed-Wisconsin Badgers, and the still-undefeated overall No. 1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition on Friday afternoon.

Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half of the quarterfinal round — though that would require the first No. 1-seed upset of the 2025 national tournament in the form of an Indiana victory over top-seeded Texas.

Bolstered by their defensive leader, senior middle blocker Madi Sell, the Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week's win over No. 5 Colorado, with Indiana now hoping their lucky run continues against the 2022 and 2023 champion Longhorns.

Meanwhile, the No. 1 Huskers will look to keep rolling against No. 4-seed Kansas while the No. 3 Badgers aim to snag another Big Ten spot in the Elite Eight by ousting No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend

The NCAA volleyball tournament's Sweet Sixteen action will wrap with four games on Friday, starting with No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana at 12 PM ET.

The Elite Eight will then meet at the net on Saturday and Sunday to determine the last-standing teams heading to next week's Final Four in Kansas City.

All of this weekend's NCAA tournament games will air live across ESPN platforms.

Team USA is on a roll, officially taking the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada before the slate of friendlies is even over, with the US collecting three consecutive wins so far — and one shot left at making it a clean sweep.

The US downed their northern neighbors by a commanding 10-4 scoreline in Edmonton on Wednesday, marking Team USA's first-ever 10-goal victory against the reigning Olympic champs — all while upping the 2025 series' goal tally to 20-6.

While each team fine-tunes rosters ahead of the 2026 Olympics, one test remains for both international hockey titans before the Winter Games take the ice in February.

"The work doesn't stop. Our Olympic team is not named. There's still one more game to go," said USA captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, acknowledging that her squad is not taking their foot off the gas despite the recent lopsided results.

"We have one more game against them before the Olympics," echoed Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're all aware of that."

How to watch Team USA vs. Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series

The puck drops on the final match of the sixth annual hockey Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will begin at 9 PM ET on the NHL Network.

The latest FIFA women's soccer rankings dropped on Thursday, with Spain widening their lead at No. 1 after winning a second consecutive UEFA Nations League title earlier this month.

The USWNT held steady at No. 2, ceding 7.48 points after losing an October friendly to No. 22 Portugal before going on to secure four straight wins over Portugal, No. 35 New Zealand, and No. 13 Italy to close out 2025.

Elsewhere in the FIFA Top 10, No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Brazil both saw boosts after successful fall runs, while Canada skidded to No. 10 amid a recent five-match winless streak, with Les Rouges's last victory coming against No. 43 Costa Rica last June.

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The biggest changes, however, occurred outside the top ranks, as No. 96 Nicaragua, No. 118 Burkina Faso, and No. 137 American Samoa all rose by 16 spots.

Notably, upcoming USWNT opponent Paraguay saw the largest drop in this month's Top 50, sliding five spots to No. 46.

Ultimately, as the USWNT battled to keep pace in a year of roster experimentation — and without a major competition on the team's 2025 docket — the many international competitions in Europe benefitted victors and challenged losers in this week's FIFA rankings update.

The No. 16 USC Trojans are gearing up for another top-ranked test, hosting the reigning national champion No. 1 UConn Huskies in the weekend's flashiest NCAA women's basketball matchup on Saturday.

Coming off their second ranked win of the season, USC topped No. 20 Washington 59-50 last Sunday, with 22 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Jazzy Davidson helping pull the Trojans to a 7-2 record.

"I saw a resolve in our team," said head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. "I knew we could get the next stop, I knew we could get the next play."

USC will face a particularly familiar foe against the Huskies — this time without sidelined star junior JuJu Watkins — after UConn knocked the Trojans out of the NCAA tournament two years in a row.

Notably, sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel departed USC over the summer for the Huskies, with the former Trojan averaging 7.7 points per game entering Saturday's clash with her old team.

"I just try to take one game at a time, but I'm excited to go back," Heckel said ahead of her first trip back to LA since transferring. "I had a great freshman year there, and I learned a lot, and it was a great experience, a lot of fond memories. So I'm looking forward to it."

How to watch No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 USC on Saturday

The Trojans will host the Huskies with tip-off set for 5:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will air on FOX.