The Montreal Force announced Tuesday that two-time Olympic gold medalist Peter Smith will serve as the first head coach for the PHF expansion team.

Smith served as an assistant coach for the Canadian women’s hockey team at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. He will be assisted by Pierre Alain and Katia Clement-Heydra.

“This is a huge moment for this team as we prepare for our first season together,” team president Kevin Raphaël said. “The leadership across this group is strong, their experience is second to none, and what excites me the most is how hungry they are for competition.

“Peter is one of the greatest hockey minds in Canadian women’s hockey history, Pierre is a hardworking man who believes in our mission, and Katia is quickly climbing the coaching ladder with her unique player’s perspective. I’m proud of this coaching staff and trust them to accomplish our on-ice and off-ice goals.”

Smith joins the Force from Montreal’s McGill University, where he served as head coach for 20 seasons and became the winningest women’s hockey coach in program history. He also helped the team to four national championships and served as a coaching mentor before retiring in May 2021.

As an assistant coach for Team Canada, he not only won gold at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games but also the 2007 and 2009 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to coach La Force de Montréal,” Smith said. “Having a professional women’s hockey team in the city and representing the entire province is exciting for both players and fans alike. We have a great group of talented players and a terrific organization starting with very supportive ownership. I am really looking forward to the upcoming season.”

Alain, meanwhile, joins the team after eight seasons at the helm of the Carleton University women’s hockey program.

Clement-Heydra joins the team from McGill, where she served as Smith’s associate coach for the 2021-22 season. She also was a two-time national champion as a player while starring for the university.

She played in four CWHL seasons with Les Canadiennes of Montreal, and she won the 2017 Clarkson Cup title with the team.

“I am really thrilled to have these coaches on board, it’s a good mix of experience,” Force forward Ann-Sophie Bettez said. “I can’t wait to have Peter as a head coach. He knows the game so well and will teach us so much. With his structure, discipline, and experience, we are beyond lucky to have him as the leader of the Force.”

The team boasts 16 signed players, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Two years after her breakout NCAA tournament performance as a freshman, No. 10 Iowa State center Audi Crooks has become an unstoppable force for the Cyclones as they look to better their first-round exit from last year's postseason.

The junior is leading the nation in scoring with a career-high 27.3 points per game, all while smashing her own Iowa State single-game scoring record with a 47-point performance against Indiana on November 30th.

"These scoring records are really team records, especially for me as a post," Crooks told the Des Moines Register after the Cyclones' 106-95 win over the Hoosiers. "I don't bring the ball up. Somebody else does that and I don't pass the ball in the paint. Somebody else does that."

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Crooks, who will turn 21 years old this Saturday, continued her scoring pace with a 30-point game against Northern Illinois on Sunday — registered in only 19 minutes of playing time during the 105-52 blowout win.

Her efficiency has been on full display in the young 2025/26 NCAA season, with Crooks currently sitting first in field goal percentage at 73.8% while averaging only 25.3 minutes of playing time per game.

"It's always fun to watch her cook. When you get the ball to her hands and it's going in, it's Audi-matic,"  said Iowa State guard Reagan Wilson following Sunday's victory.

How to watch Crooks and Iowa State in action this week

Crooks and the No. 10 Cyclones will take on their season's biggest test yet on Wednesday, when they'll host in-state rival No. 12 Iowa.

The two unbeaten programs will clash at 7 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

No. 1 UConn honored one of the NCAA basketball program's legends on Sunday, hanging up the No. 10 jersey of Hall of Fame guard Sue Bird in a retirement ceremony prior to the Huskies' dominant 102-35 victory over DePaul — their ninth win of the 2025/26 season.

A two-time NCAA champion, Bird is now one of only three UConn women's basketball players with a number in the rafters, joining Rebecca Lobo and Swin Cash — and soon-to-be Maya Moore.

"This is home," said Bird. "This is where it started. So to see what we are about to see, my number up in the rafters next to these other legends, it's an incredible, incredible honor. Hard to put into words."

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"The amazing thing about [Cash, Lobo, Bird, and Moore] was the incredible amount of success they had after they left here," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma during Sunday's jersey retirement ceremony. "That as great as their accomplishments were here, what they've done since they left has been nothing short of incredible."

Bird became UConn's first-ever No. 1 WNBA draft pick in 2002, with the floor general winning four titles with the Seattle Storm plus five Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA before retiring in 2022.

How to watch No. 1 UConn in action this week

After honoring their past superstar, the reigning national champions are now looking to the future, with No. 1 UConn gearing up for a ranked matchup against No. 16 USC on Saturday.

The clash between the Huskies and the Trojans will tip off at 5:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.

Despite a few shocking upsets in the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament, the ACC has retained its status as the conference to beat, with the powerhouse sending three teams to this season's College Cup semifinals on Friday.

With two tickets to Monday's national championship match on the line, four-time title-winners and No. 3-seed Florida State will take on College Cup debutants TCU in Friday's first semi, with the No. 2 Horned Frogs booking their semifinals spot by ousting fellow SEC standout No. 1 Vanderbilt 2-1 last Saturday.

The nightcap, on the other hand, will be an all-ACC affair, as No. 2 Duke continues their hunt for a first-ever national title against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Stanford.

The three-time NCAA champ Cardinal has been unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 21-5 across the tournament's first four rounds to set up a season-first matchup with the Blue Devils.

The 2025 College Cup will take place for the first time at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup semifinals

Friday's 2025 College Cup semifinals will begin with No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Florida State at 6 PM ET, with No. 1 Stanford's clash against No. 2 Duke kicking off at 8:45 PM ET.

Both semifinals — plus Monday's 7PM ET championship match — will air live on ESPNU.

Playa Society is honoring the 25th anniversary of the classic sports film "Love & Basketball" this week, with the popular women's basketball outfitter dropping a capsule collection entitled "First Quarter: Ball Better Than You" — an homage to one of the film's iconic quotes.

"This is a love story, about our love for 'Love & Basketball,'" notes Playa Society about the collection. "Our love for [lead character] Monica, who served as the first representation of an unapologetic female athlete in film. Our love for [writer and director] Gina Prince-Bythewood for her persistence in delivering culture and truth. And our love for the energy of it all that inspired Playa Society to fill in the gaps for women in sports."

"I am so humbled by the enduring impact of the film on both ballers and non-athletes, who are inspired by characters who believe in themselves enough to fight for an impossible dream," Prince-Bythewood said of the project.

With New York Liberty teammates and girlfriends Natasha Cloud and Izzy Harrison serving as models, the "First Quarter" collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

This week's drop is just the first in the works between Prince-Bythewood and Playa Society founder Esther Wallace, with the LA Sentinel describing their collaboration as "blending nostalgia, culture, and women's sports in a way that honors the film while pushing the narrative forward."

How to purchase from Playa Society's "Love & Basketball" collection

All items from the "First Quarter" collection are now available in limited quantities at PlayaSociety.com.