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Cedar Park’s Gisella Maul shines in epic title game performance

(SBLive Sports / Tommy Hays)

Donny Ott is a “gum guy.” The Cedar Park High School girls’ basketball coach always has a pack on him, he said, and last season his players often took to asking him for pieces.

So early this season, in an effort to assuage the gum gauging before it started, Ott gifted his star guard, Gisella Maul, a pack of Dentyne Ice. But that was back in November.

“I didn’t get her any for the state tournament,” Ott said. “Maybe that’s why she was playing so mad.”

Whatever the reason, Maul’s aggression reached a crescendo when it mattered most for the No. 9 Timberwolves. After Cedar Park and Memorial were tied at the end of regulation in Saturday’s 5A Texas state championship game, Maul scored 10 of her 27 points in the two overtime periods to lead the Timberwolves to a 45-40 victory and their second consecutive state title.

The junior also recorded 19 rebounds in a dominant performance that helped her earn JWS Player of the Week honors. Noblesville High School’s (Ind.) Ashlynn Shade claimed the distinction last week.

Maul, the 2022 Gatorade Texas State Player of the Year, averaged 25.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game this season. The 5-foot-10 sharpshooter shone brightest in the state championship, especially once Memorial switched one of its smaller guards onto her late in the second overtime.

With the contest knotted at 40, Maul received a pass in the post, collapsing the defense inward. She kicked the ball out, and when she got it back, she took the ball to the baseline and finished with her left hand, earning the and-1 call.

“When I made that (free-throw) shot, I knew this was our game, we’re taking it home,” Maul said.

Afterwards, Maul’s father, Mike, gifted her a pair of custom-made sneakers emblazoned with a “state champs” logo, just like he did after Cedar Park beat Frisco Liberty in the 5A final last year. Maul has about 30 pairs of sneakers, and the custom pairs made before championship games are a testament to her father’s confidence, she said.

“He feels like we are one, we are together as one,” Maul said of her father. “When I feel like we’re going to win, he feels like we’re going to win.”

That’s good news for Cedar Park and Ott, who has Maul for one more season. A four-star recruit, per ESPN, Maul has yet to make a college decision but has fielded interest from several Division I powers, including the University of Texas.

She proved on Saturday why college coaches are watching. Ott was asked afterwards if he was surprised by Maul’s performance.

“I was like, ‘No,'” Ott said. “I see her do it everyday.”

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

Las Vegas Aces Star A’ja Wilson Headlines 2025 All-WNBA First Team

A graphic displays the five athletes named to the 2025 All-WNBA First Team.
Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson garnered unanimous selection to the 2025 All-WNBA First Team roster. (JWS)

Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.

Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.

Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.

All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.

Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.

Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.

Seattle Reign Legend Lauren Barnes to Retire at End of 2025 NWSL Season

Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes gives high-fives to fans while entering the pitch to warm up for a 2025 NWSL match.
Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes is one of four remaining players from the NWSL's inaugural 2013 season. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.

"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."

"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."

Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).

Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.

"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."

The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.

Coco Gauff Defeats Fellow U.S. Star Jessica Pegula to Win 2025 Wuhan Open

US tennis star Coco Gauff smiles while holding her 2025 Wuhan Open championship trophy.
US tennis star Coco Gauff earned her second title of 2025 WTA season by winning the Wuhan Open on Sunday. (Zhang Chang/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.

With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.

Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.

"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."

Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.

Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.

Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.

US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.

Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.

South Carolina Star Chloe Kitts Out for 2025/26 NCAA Season with ACL Injury

South Carolina junior Chloe Kitts muscles up a shot during the 2025 NCAA basketball championship game.
South Carolina senior forward Chloe Kitts will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season due to a torn ACL. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.

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