WNBA star Breanna Stewart took a stand during Unrivaled introductions on Sunday, using her platform to protest the recent ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Before the Mist tipped off against the Vinyl, Stewart walked onto the court at Sephora Arena holding a hand-drawn sign that read "Abolish ICE," drawing national attention to the fatal incident in Minnesota.
The protest follows the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, the US citizen and ICU nurse shot and killed by US Border Patrol agents in South Minneapolis on Saturday morning. The city’s second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents this month, the ICE shooting in Minneapolis has sparked unrest across the country and beyond.
After securing the Mist’s 76-71 victory, the 3×3 league co-founder addressed the demonstration in her postgame press conference.
"Really all day yesterday, I was just disgusted," Stewart told reporters.
"We’re so fueled by hate right now instead of love, so I wanted to have a simple message of Abolish ICE, which means having policies to uplift families and communities instead of fueling fear and violence."
The sports world responds to the ICE shooting in Minneapolis
The ICE shooting prompted widespread reactions across the sports world.
The Minnesota Timberwolves postponed their Saturday game against the Golden State Warriors, citing citywide protests and safety concerns. Other athletes, including Stewart’s fellow Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier and Minnesota Lynx star Natisha Heideman, have also spoken out in support of the demonstrators.
For Stewart, the issue of immigration enforcement hits close to home. Her wife, Marta Xargay Casademont, is a Spanish citizen navigating the US citizenship process. Stewart noted that the recent ICE shooting in Minneapolis create a climate of fear for many families.
"You see it splitting up families and dissecting communities," she continued.
"We’re working to get [Xargay’s] citizenship, and she is a legal permanent resident and all of that. But it seems like it doesn’t matter. And I think that 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."
Federal authorities said ICE agents were conducting a "targeted operation" and claimed the victim was armed. However, local reports and bystander accounts challenge the administration’s timeline.
Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs is in the books, with the top two seeds putting up more than 100 points each in blowout wins when the postseason tipped off on Sunday.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx opened the playoffs' eight-team first round with a 101-72 drubbing of the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, as MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier led scoring with 20 points while guard Natisha Hiedeman added 18 off the bench.
Elsewhere, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' 102-77 victory over the No. 7 Seattle Storm capped Sunday's slate, with reigning MVP A'ja Wilson leading the way with 29 points alongside double-digit performances off the bench from guards Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans.
The lower seeds walked away less unscathed, as Valkyries boss and Coach of the Year favorite Natalie Nakase picked up a technical foul for arguing a call in the game's second half.
"I want a fair fight, I really do. I want a clean fight, but I love the fact that both teams are playing their hearts out," she said afterwards, criticizing Sunday's officiating. "They're fighting. But I would like it to be fair."
"I understand it, but it's the playoffs," Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said in response. "Obviously, we fouled a lot at the end. But I didn't think that was a factor in the game."
How to watch the top seeds in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Both Minnesota and Las Vegas are now one win away from advancing to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals.
The No. 2 Aces will look to sweep the No. 7 Storm at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.
Then on Wednesday, the No. 1 Lynx will try to silence the No. 8 Valkyries at 10 PM ET, with live coverage also on ESPN.
With just one week before the regular season wraps up, Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball announced several roster changes ahead of Monday’s games.
In a blow to last-place Phantom BC, star Sabrina Ionescu's Unrivaled season is officially over. The Liberty standout left Miami due to commitments made before she agreed to join the offseason league.
In her stead, a reassignment has sent Minnesota Lynx guard and Laces BC player Natisha Hiedeman to compete for the Phantom.
Ionescu’s NY Liberty teammate Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is also on her way out, with the Laces relief signee exiting due to an undisclosed injury.
In better news, while the Laces’ Kate Martin and Rose BC’s Kahleah Copper are currently sidelined with injuries, both are expected to return to the Unrivaled court before the league crowns its champion on March 17th.
To help address the roster omissions, the 3×3 league has again boosted its relief player pool. One week after former Washington Mystic-turned-new Chicago Sky signee Ariel Atkins made her Unrivaled debut with the Laces, the league inked Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon to the relief player roster.
Hillmon's contract has her available to fill the league's needs across any of its six teams through the end of the inaugural season.
First-ever Unrivaled playoffs take shape
Despite mounting injuries, Rose BC clinched a spot in Unrivaled’s first-ever postseason on Monday, claiming the playoff position by taking down the Laces 58-53 behind yet another Chelsea Gray game-winner.
A win on Friday will secure the No. 2 seed for Rose — but they’ll have to defeat the league-leading No. 1 seed Lunar Owls to make it happen.
Each of the league's teams have just two games left to book a postseason spot. With two already claimed, the final two semifinalist bids will come down to the wire, as the Laces, Vinyl, and Mist all sit tied with a 5-7 record entering this weekend's final stretch.
Natisha Hiedeman is backing up her comments on WNBA referees, even after receiving a fine from the league.
After the Connecticut Sun’s series loss to the New York Liberty in the 2023 WNBA playoffs, Hiedeman took to social media, where she called out the officiating throughout the season.
“Now that we don’t got no more checks coming in the refs have been terrible from both sides…not even in this series but the whole season,” she wrote. “Ppl gon get hurt. I hope for the finals it can just be FAIR!!”
As it turns out, there was still one more paycheck the WNBA could draw from: Her playoff bonus. Players on teams eliminated in the semifinal round are set to receive merit bonuses of $3,123 each.
On Tuesday, Hiedeman posted a screenshot of a text message thread indicating that she would be getting a fine from the WNBA for her comments on the referees. She included a tongue-in-cheek response on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, writing: “Now that I’ve had time to think about it the officials are actually doing a great job.”
In the text message thread, though, she stood by her comments, writing: “It needed to be said.”
Now that I’ve had time to think about it the officials are actually doing a great job pic.twitter.com/kwbimgL4uE
— T-SPOON (@NatishaHiedeman) October 3, 2023
Hiedeman isn’t the first person to receive a fine from the WNBA for comments about officiating, with a number of players and coaches having called out referees throughout the season.
Reserved free agent Natisha Hiedeman has signed her qualifying offer to return to the Connecticut Sun for the 2022 WNBA season, the team announced Monday. Hiedeman’s contract is for one year at the veteran minimum for 3-plus years of service, sources tell Just Women’s Sports.
The 5-foot-8 point guard thrived for the Sun in a backup role last season, averaging a career-high 7.6 points in 20 minutes per game. Her 39.8 three-point shooting percentage ranked among the best in the league.
In her three seasons with Connecticut, Hiedeman’s numbers and efficiency have increased in nearly every statistical category. Her production off the bench and ability to step up in key moments have proven key for the Sun, who finished the 2021 regular season first in the league with a 26-6 record before falling to the Chicago Sky 3-1 in the semifinals.
Hiedeman entered the WNBA in 2019 as the No. 18 overall pick of the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx traded her rights to the Sun on draft day in exchange for Lexie Brown. Hiedeman then bounced between the Sun and the Atlanta Dream in 2019, eventually returning to Connecticut and playing 27 games during the regular season and playoffs.
Sun assistant coach Chris Koclanes, who is entering his seventh season on Curt Miller’s staff, has been instrumental in the development of the Sun’s guards and especially Hiedeman. The 24-year-old has improved every year while working closely with Miller and Koclanes.
Hiedeman’s signing is an important first step for the Sun in free agency as they look to contend for a championship in 2022. Connecticut has DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Jasmine Thomas, Kaila Charles and DiJonai Carrington under contract for the 2022 season. Reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and starting point guard Briann January are unrestricted free agents. Teams may begin negotiating with free agents on Jan. 15, but contracts may not be signed until Feb. 1.
Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.
Jasmine Thomas and Natisha Hiedeman are engaged.
Thomas shared the news via Instagram on Wednesday, writing that she said “ABSOLUTELY!!”
“I’m so excited for forever with the love of my life!” she wrote.
This marks the second teammate couple for the Connecticut Sun alongside DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. Thomas is set to make her return from an Achilles tear on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the Connecticut Sun continue to flourish on the court as much as they do off, currently sitting first in the league at 24-6.
Natisha Hiedeman is on a tear.
The Connecticut guard has recorded back-to-back career-high games, helping the Sun to a 3-0 record to start the season.
In the team’s 88-67 victory over the Fever on Wednesday night, Hiedeman racked up 19 points, six assists and three rebounds. With Hiedeman putting up those types of numbers alongside Jonquel Jones, who recorded a double-double against the Fever, and DeWanna Bonner, who put up 13 points Wednesday night, Connecticut looks unstoppable so far.
.@NatishaHiedeman is on another level. Back-to-back career high games for the player of the game. #BornForThis pic.twitter.com/qCoGVNncsI
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 20, 2021
Hiedeman’s WNBA journey up until this point has been somewhat tumultuous. Initially drafted by the Lynx in 2019, Hiedeman was traded and waived by a couple of teams, including the Sun, before re-signing with Connecticut in July 2019.
Through three games this season, Hiedeman has more than doubled her points (15.0), rebounds (4.3) and steals (2.7) per game and has improved dramatically in nearly every other statistical category.
Hiedeman’s performance highlights the depth of the Sun’s roster even without Alyssa Thomas, who’s sidelined this season with an Achilles injury. Connecticut, No. 2 in JWS’ power rankings this week, is making an early case as one of the WNBA’s best teams behind Hiedeman, Bonner, Jones and Brionna Jones.