Iowa surges up the Big Ten table

Pass the tissues.

Iowa makes late-season NCAA surge

No. 13 Iowa refuses to back down, upsetting No. 6 Michigan 62-44 on Sunday to tie the Wolverines for second in the Big Ten standings — with just one week left in the regular season.

• Hawkeyes center Ava Heiden registered a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win, bolstered by Hannah Stuelke’s 11 points and 12 rebounds.

• “Just a high-emotion game, especially for me,” said graduating senior Stuelke, saluting the home crowd. “That kind of translates into how hard we work as a team.”

• “She’s the hometown hero,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said of Stuelke. “It’s been a really fun story… Choosing to stay here, becoming a high-profile player, and there’s still a little wonderment in her, the joy she plays with.” (Watch full highlights)

Eyes on the prize: Just unranked Illinois and Wisconsin stand between Iowa and the Big Ten tournament, as top teams vie for seeding behind first-time regular-season champion No. 2 UCLA.

• “What’s so interesting about a league like this — I was excited and then by the time I got to locker room, I was like, ‘Man, Illinois is good,’” Jenson said of her team’s stacked conference. “And they are.”

Next up: Iowa faces Illinois on Thursday at 9 PM ET, live on Big Ten Network.

Freestyle skier Eileen Gu makes more Olympic history

Eileen Gu capped her 2026 Olympics with a bang, as the Chinese freestyle skier won her first gold medal of the Games — and the third of her career — in Sunday’s women’s halfpipe.

• After successfully defending her 2022 halfpipe crown, Gu has now medaled in every Olympic event she’s attempted, earning three gold and three silver medals at 22.

• “The reason I love the records so much is that it’s not about man or woman," Gu said. “I’m the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female.” (Watch full highlights)

Flying the flag: San Francisco-born Gu has become the sport’s premier global ambassador, entering the Milano-Cortina Olympics as its highest-paid athlete while opting to compete for her mother’s homeland of China — a choice that ruffled some political feathers.

• “Somebody who grew up in the United Sates of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vice President JD Vance told Fox News, referencing Gu’s 2022 decision. “So, I’m going to root for American athletes.”

• “So many athletes compete for a different country… people only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity,” Gu said in response. “And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me.” (Read more)

WNBA updates housing offer in latest CBA proposal

The WNBA and WNBPA continue to spar, with the league reportedly quickly issuing a response to the union’s most recent CBA proposal on Friday.

• Sources say Friday’s draft fails to budge on the league’s revenue sharing model, continuing to offer players over 70% of net revenue in contrast to the union’s preferred gross revenue share.

• The league has, however, addressed some concerns, guaranteeing new and minimum contract players housing for the CBA’s first three years while housing developmental players for the entirety of the agreement.

• Other notable concessions include new developmental roster spots, 401(k) support, and charter flights. (See full report)

Big picture: After six weeks of stalled talks, response times appear to be gaining speed, as the 2026 WNBA season looms and both free agency transactions and planned drafts remain on ice.

• “It is unfathomable that anyone would question our commitment to negotiations and desire to get a deal done after nearly a year and a half of pushing and pulling, meetings upon meetings, proposal after counter proposal,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson wrote last week in a message obtained by The Athletic. “What we have proposed is very realistic. What the league and the teams have done is played games.”

PRESENTED BY JWS & SINCLAIR
Don’t miss ‘Post Moves’ with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston

This week on Post Moves, Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston are back after a busy stretch that included the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Weekend, Unrivaled’s 1v1 Tournament, and the Winter Olympics — and they waste no time diving into the world of basketball and beyond.

• In the episode, Parker and Boston give props to Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and all the other USA Basketball rookies called up to coach Kara Lawson’s FIBA World Cup qualifying roster.

• They also get into heated SEC rivalries, react to US Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn’s devastating injury, and give their honest takes on this year’s NBA All-Star Game and Dunk Contest.

Tune in: Catch Post Moves: Straight Up Masterclass! on YouTube.

Olympic cross-country legend Jessie Diggins calls it a career

Another winter sports icon is hanging up her skis, as Team USA’s Jessie Diggins skied her final Olympic race on Sunday, finishing fifth in the inaugural women’s 50K to round out a decorated cross-country run.

• “If you had told me even a year ago, I’d be in the fight for a bronze medal in a 50K classic, I would not have believed you,” said the four-time Olympic medalist. “I can confidently say I could not possibly have tried harder or gotten more out of my body.”

Big picture: Diggins revolutionized the sport for the US, winning Team USA’s first cross-country gold in 2018 before picking up three more medals across 2022 and 2026 — including taking bronze in last week’s 10K interval start freestyle.

• Saying this season would be her last as a professional, the 34-year-old also announced plans to close out her career at March’s World Cup finals.

• “I’m just so proud of being gritty and being able to give my best and not just in a bib, off the snow as well, doing what I need to do to be a good human and try to make the world a little bit better,” she added.

Team USA tops the women’s medal count in Milan

Now that the final anthem has sounded, Team USA has officially shattered the women’s Winter Olympics medal count record with 17 total medals across all sports — excluding mixed events.

• Six of those 17 were golds, adding another high-mark to the list as the US collectively took home a program-record 12 gold medals in 2026.

• “Everybody just showed up with so much courage and heart here,” said slalom winner Mikaela Shiffrin. “I’m so proud to be part of this American team.”

Checked bags: Through individual, team, and mixed events, more than 40 US women’s sports athletes are heading home with at least one medal — another Winter Olympics record for Team USA.

• “You still have to look back and point to Title IX and the effects of the ability to have those competitive years in an elite collegiate system that helps drive the success for women in ways that other countries just haven’t yet benefited,” US Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said.

Quote of the day

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers
on teammate Rickea Jackson returning to Unrivaled 3×3 after taking personal leave.