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- [00:01]
LinkedIn Sales Representative
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- [03:26]
Zena Kaeda
There to watch them.
- [03:27]
Wayfair Representative
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- [04:39]
Zena Kaeda
For the Athletic I'm Zena Kaeda and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show.
- [04:49]
Sabrina Merchant
Oh.
- [04:52]
Zena Kaeda
Oh oh. Welcome to the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend watching some awesome games this past week as conference play gets ratcheted up and the competition is hot, folks. And before we dive in into all of that and look at what's going on in conference play, first. Housekeeping encouraging you all go subscribe to this show wherever you get your podcast because you don't want to miss these updates. You don't want to miss these interviews that we're having, and you definitely don't want to miss the insight that our writers are bringing to you all NCAA season long. So now that that's out of the way, let's get into it. I got Sabrina Merchant here with me to discuss what we've seen in the first Few games of conference play and some of the bigger conferences around the country. We've got a lot to cover, so let's dive in. Sabrina. I want to start with my neck of the woods, my hometown neck of the woods, at least with the ACC and it makes sense. We just had FSU's coach Brooke Wyckoff and their young star Tanaya Latson on the show. They pulled off a pair of big wins last week, shook up the conference a bit. And it wasn't even, you know, just Tanai Latson doing her thing, but it was really Sarah Bagetti, like spaghetti. Really killing it for Florida State.
- [06:17]
Sabrina Merchant
I want to say first of all that ever since Tenia Ladson mentioned the Lego Flowers editions, you know, she was doing the sub last week on the broadcast, I have seen them everywhere.
- [06:27]
Zena Kaeda
I don't know what it is.
- [06:28]
Sabrina Merchant
It's not even like an ad situation. It's legitimately in real life. I have seen people using these Legos. It's so strange. But that's hilarious. To Tenaya for being, I guess, ahead of the curve on this. And now maybe everyone's just listening to.
- [06:41]
Zena Kaeda
The show and it's set in trends. Set in trends. Shout out to Tenaya. Set and trends. I love it.
- [06:47]
Sabrina Merchant
But yeah, let's, let's start with the acc because, you know, I think the other conferences we're going to talk about, there's kind of a clear understanding of who the best team is or at least who the best two teams are. I legitimately have no idea what's going on in the acc. It's all over the place. Any team can win on any given day. Like the best team in the accident, Louisville. I mean, have. Have we even talked about them in, like, the last month? I mean, we, I know we talked about earlier and Jeff Waltz a little while back, but, like, it's been a minute. Their defense is ridiculous. Like, I was joking with a friend of mine that Louisville could be up five and that's like six possessions for the other team to score because that's how hard it is to get anything going against the Cardinals. But, yeah, you've got Louisville. You've got, you know, Virginia Tech who won the ACC tournament last year. You've got Notre Dame, who won the ACC last year.
- [07:31]
Zena Kaeda
You've.
- [07:31]
Sabrina Merchant
You've got Florida State. I mean, I think North Carolina on any given day can win any game, right? But yeah, you mentioned Florida State. Obviously. We had Saniya and Brooke on the show. Sarah Pagetti, though. I mean, five threes in three straight games. Like, there are Teams that don't make that many threes in any individual game. But, I mean, Brook Wykoff said, favorite basketball move, three pointer. And that's, that's what we're doing.
- [07:53]
Zena Kaeda
Right. Sarah's like, let me take some notes real quick. Apparently coach likes this. All right, let me go do this at a ridiculous rate. Unreal that she's. And she's just smooth with it, too. She's, she's walking into her shot, she's catching, shooting. I mean, it's, it's impressive. It's incredibly impressive.
- [08:10]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. And, you know, I've always realized that Florida State is very capable of scoring. You look at every game they play, and it's, it's in the 80s. They're really fast paced, fun to watch, a lot of shots going up on both ends of the floor. But for them to, you know, actually get the necessary stops against Virginia Tech, I thought was really impressive because this is not a team that I normally associate with defense. And granted, a lot of their defensive stats are a little inflated just because of the pace they play. Right. Like, just because they're, you know, allowing 80 points in the game doesn't mean they're not playing good defense. It's just, oh, the other team has so many chances to score because we're shooting the ball so fast. And that might, like, diminish how good of a defensive team this is. But still, you know, to draw all those offensive fouls on Rose Mishaw, Elizabeth Kitley, like to keep Georgia Amore under, under wraps, like the transition defense they were playing, you know, every time you thought, oh, here comes a steal. Virginia Tech's about to get out and, you know, like, cut into the sleep. No, like, they got back, they recovered, KK Timpson was awesome. Like, there's just so many more blocks. Right. So many pieces that work together really well on this roster. And, you know, I think maybe I had a bit of a sour taste of Florida State ending last season just because, you know, they lost early in the tournament, but Latson was hurt. Like, how am I supposed to judge the team based on, you know, not having Latson? They're a little bit older, she's a sophomore. Obviously, you know, we talked to her about what kind of leadership that has meant for her in this, you know, second season for her. It's just such a fun team to watch. Like, I think we're going to get into this a lot. Like, I don't mean to have favorites, but there are certain teams you just aesthetically like the way they play and I love a team that runs and guns and gets up and down and, you know, puts up 88 points in a regulation game. Like, who doesn't want to watch a lot of points in a basketball game? Like, that's. It's just. It's fun times. And Sarah Bojetti's having more fun than anybody. Like, how, how cool is that to just be hitting from distance so regularly and then doing everything else on the court? Like, she's. I think she's five foot eight. A theme for Florida State guards. Five foot eight on a good day, right? And she's one of the best rebounders on the team. Like, she. One of the best friends of rebounding guards in the acc. It's, it's just a really cool collection of talent and I'm glad that they, you know, are getting some, some marquee wins. Right. Because this is the kind of stuff that you need when you're a team that's trying to get in that top 16. Right. Like you want to host, if you're Florida State, that's the goal, I think, is to host the first two rounds of the tournament, and they're putting themselves in that kind of position.
- [10:30]
Zena Kaeda
There's some people that might think that that last call against Elizabeth Ketley was questionable, but regardless of that, I love the stomp away from Sarah Bojetti. Right. That competitive energy was just so palpable on the floor for them all night, especially with Tempson and what she was doing in the paint. I thought that she, as a younger player, really set a tone for the energy of their defense. And then Sarah Bojetti stomping away and then Latson having a clear path to the basket right after that play, you can say whatever you want about, you know, whether that should have been a foul or not, but if you watch that game all the way through, like you said, running and gunning, but really having fun out there, like, they were so connected and I appreciate it. In the post game interview that Sarah Bojetti had with the TV commentators was that, you know, she was like, I'm just really proud of how we've come together and we're embracing, you know, the hard work that we've put in. And it's really fun to see that all come together. And you're like, you can see that. You can see that they really focus on themselves and being able to play together regardless of what's happening. Because when you think about the fact that T'niya Latson has been the focal point, particularly of other teams and You've written about this, you wrote about this of just like, people are starting to clog in on her. They're starting to pick up on a little bit of what she's putting down. And Sarah Bojetti just picking up the slack and filling in that role really well just shows you another element of their game and how they are able to play together as a team. And yeah, it's going to be interesting as they continue to climb up the ranks, particularly in the ACC and handle business. So they've been fun to watch. And like you said, any given night, you do not know what to expect in the acc. So. All right, I like that things are heating up in the acc, especially because that conference is about to get even crazier next year. So I'm happy they're putting on a show right now.
- [12:28]
Sabrina Merchant
Insane next year.
- [12:29]
Zena Kaeda
It's going to be insane next year, but they're putting on a show now letting the world know, hey, just know this is what you're about to see on a wild scale next year. This is what we have, the talent that we have. And they're young, too, which is cool. We're going in the middle. Let's go to the Big 12. Oh, the Big 12. First, I gotta say, shout out to Chantelle Jennings. Okay. Because I hit up our writers and I was like, what you guys watching this week? What y'all paying attention to? A little bit, and they have a lot of different answers. They've got a ton of different teams that they're looking at. But I want to shout out Chantelle Jennings because she said that she's looking at Iowa State. She said that they got two big teams coming into their house and she's like, you know what, they're young, but they might be able to pull it out. You want to talk about somebody predicting the future, girl? I mean, sure. We were looking at these games and we were thinking, okay, we're looking at these games, particularly thinking of the power teams, the ranked teams coming in just to see how they do against competition and conference. I don't think anybody was really than maybe Iowa State was thinking that they would be able to pull out two games. Not only one, one. So shout out to Iowa State. Shout out to Chantelle Jennings. Let's talk about the Bibbis, the freshies that are doing it at Iowa State. They were a lot of fun to watch as they took down two big time teams.
- [13:50]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I mean, what's interesting about those games is they were down big against Baylor and West Virginia. I think they Were down. They were 19 in the third quarter to West Virginia. Uh, they went on a 20 to 2 run to end that game against Mountaineers, which, like you think about West Virginia, I mean, they jokingly call them press Virginia on the broadcast. Cause that's what they do, right?
- [14:10]
Zena Kaeda
They.
- [14:10]
Sabrina Merchant
They have that full court press. They put a lot of, you know, activity in the backcourt, even as you're trying to bring the ball up. And for a young team, that would seem to be a real problem, right? Like, that's where you lose your composure. That's where you don't have the discipline. And they had no issues with it. They were just, oh, well, the minute we get the ball past you, you guys are all so small. We're so much bigger than you. We've got maybe my favorite player in the country to watch over the last two weeks, Audi Crooks. Oh, my goodness. How fun is she? Goodness gracious.
- [14:37]
Zena Kaeda
So fun.
- [14:38]
Sabrina Merchant
Just entirely opposite to what Flora stays doing, Right? Like, she doesn't take threes. She's just a. In the pain over and over and over again.
- [14:47]
Wayfair Representative
Yes.
- [14:47]
Sabrina Merchant
And if it doesn't work, we're just gonna repost and try it again.
- [14:50]
Zena Kaeda
She's so strong and she's strong. And you know what's so funny? You're thinking Alyssa Peely, right? And you're thinking about, take Alyssa Peely's game of just being in the paint outi crooks times 10. Like, that is what she does. I love that she. This is something that's incredibly hard to do, but being able to finish over both shoulders regardless and being able to have your counter move based on that. Like she. As a freshman, you can see her reading the defense and being able to feel where someone is to be able to go and turn over both shoulders and then not travel. Y'all, this is hard stuff, okay? Telling you as somebody that was not able to do it well. Okay? This is hard stuff. And she's doing it so well as a freshman, so. Woo. Just wait. Just wait until she gets older. That's crazy.
- [15:41]
Sabrina Merchant
Every freshman just has their own little spice that they're bringing in this roster, right? Like you've got Addie Brown, who, like, kind of their point of the starting unit.
- [15:48]
Zena Kaeda
Double, double doubt, Right? Right. Yep.
- [15:50]
Sabrina Merchant
A little audacious even as a freshman. Like, the turnovers are, you know, we need to reign those in. But that's. That's okay. You're a first year. You're doing some fun things. Like she, she f some nice entry passes. She's always just trying a Lot of impressive stuff and good score, good rebounder. You've got Kelsey Jones, the latest in this Jones family legacy at Iowa State. You may remember her sister Ashley, who just graduated last year. Great shooter, as you would expect from someone with her pedigree. Jalen Bristow. Really, really fun. Just one of those players who always seems to be where the ball is. UCLA's got one of those with like Lena Sontag, but I don't know what skill exactly that is, but it's. Oh, you see the ball and good things are happening with Jalen Bristow around it.
- [16:28]
Zena Kaeda
Hannah Bellinger shooting and she's got the.
- [16:31]
Sabrina Merchant
Whole like driving off of closeout too when you know they're starting to guard her at the three point line. Not a freshman, but still a player that I first year at Iowa State. Right. I know Chantel had highlighted a lot of these freshmen when she did her, you know, preseason freshman ranking. And I think because we were so focused on like the very top of the class for the freshmen, you know, the Hidalgos and Watkins and Mikayla Williams, like there's, I don't know that there's a front court player I like better than Nady Crooks. Like Natalie Poss is having a really nice season for Nebraska, but she's just so polished. Like it's strange. I mean, like I watched Lauren Betts and she's tremendous, you know, number one recruit last season, but she pretty much just goes over one shoulder like Adi's going both sides. You can post her on either side of the basket and you just can't move her. Right. Like it's really, really impressive.
- [17:15]
Zena Kaeda
And she's a solid body.
- [17:16]
Sabrina Merchant
I linked to this in the rankings piece today. But she celebrates everything. Like always raising the arms.
- [17:24]
Zena Kaeda
She gives me volleyball vibes. Volleyball, like anything you do on the volleyball tee or on the volleyball court.
- [17:29]
Sabrina Merchant
It'S like, yes, that is every point that happens. We are going to mark the occasion. And that is an Audi Crook special.
- [17:35]
Zena Kaeda
I love it. I absolutely love it. And she's also the cutest thing in the world. I just, I just love how excited she is about playing basketball. Whether it's her scoring, whether it's her teammates scoring, anything she does, she's like excited. And that's like right now that's just like pure freshman, like fun, competitive energy. And you know that as she gets older and she becomes more and more of a leader on the team, like that energy's incredibly important to be able to like have consistent on the floor regardless of what happens. Being able to look to your leader and be like, we're still positive, we're still excited, we're still doing these things. And I, I see her leading the huddles already and like, you know, after a foul or whatever, bringing them together and like, being that voice already, it's like, dude, you're gonna be scary. I mean, she's kind of already scary. Like, she's a really solid player and, you know, she's got a little bit of touch. I think she can work on her, her jumper a little bit more, but she continues to work that paint area. Like that is her bread and butter. Yeah, she's fun to watch. She's a lot of fun.
- [18:38]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. I think you look at a team like Iowa State, they get four losses in non conference, and you kind of write them off just. Cause that's a lot of losses. But like, one of those was to Iowa, and they played really well in that game, you know, held that margin within single digits. One of them was to Vanderbilt, who was a little better than I anticipated at the start of the year. One of them to Syracuse. Syracuse, good quality ACC team, you know, and I've been a little down in the Big 12, but they didn't send any teams to the Sweet 16 last year. It was a bit of a tough year for the conference. But you look at Iowa State, you look at Kansas State, who, playing better than maybe like one or two teams in the country right now, just had a really big win at Texas. I still think Baylor has a pretty high ceiling. I still think tcu, if they get Sedona Prince back, has a decently high ceiling. Although yikes without Sedona Prince. Yikes. Big time for tcu.
- [19:24]
Zena Kaeda
Yikes on a bike.
- [19:26]
Sabrina Merchant
It's bad, it's rough. But yeah, you know, even Texas without Rory Harmon, I still think has the ability to give teams a lot of difficulty just with their defensive pressure, their size, Taylor Jones inside Madison Booker. Like, there's a lot of really good talent in this conference. And to think Iowa State is the number one team in this conference right now, tied to Kansas State. There's no amount of money that you could have enticed me with to make that kind of prediction.
- [19:49]
Zena Kaeda
Chantelle's like, I could have. I mean, I would have taken a dollar and I would have known.
- [19:53]
Sabrina Merchant
So Iowa State to win the Big 12, Arkansas to win the SEC.
- [19:57]
Zena Kaeda
I know, right? What was the quote? What was the quote?
- [20:01]
Sabrina Merchant
Save it for Arkansas if you have Arkansas.
- [20:04]
Zena Kaeda
There you go, there you go. Every time I see, you know, Arkansas playing against the team And I'm looking at the score and it's close. I'm like, oh, I gotta text Chantel. I gotta text Chantel, be like, they.
- [20:13]
Sabrina Merchant
Hit 14 threes against Georgia last week and somebody messaged me and was like, this is Chantel's thesis. As. Thank you for reading the Athletic.
- [20:21]
Zena Kaeda
Thank you. I appreciate you for reading the Athletic. Keeping up with the show. But yes, I think the biggest lesson here, Big 12, big time. And then also Chantel, big time predictor here. We're, we're definitely going to be keeping up with her whenever she sets her screen. So. Okay, let's keep it moving. So we went to the middle of the country. Now let's go out west. And you were in person for one of these games, right? These big time games. It's, I mean, think about the pack 12, guys. There's four teams that are in the top 10 in the country, five teams in the top 25, obviously some really big time matchups. We saw like a pre. I've been calling it this, but this is like a pretty pre WNBA future matchup between Alyssa Pele, Cameron Brink, Stanford going up against Utah. And it was a good game. It was a good game. I want to get your thoughts on that one. And then Stanford went up against Colorado and I. We need to talk about Colorado more. Oh, yeah, that's just the bottom line. It's like I've, I feel like everyone in the country remembers they beat LSU to start the year. And then after that it's just kind of been like letting them be quietly amazing, right? And just like not really saying much but like, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. And then they played Stanford and you're like, oh, yeah, this is why y'all are. This. Okay, got it. We understand why you're top five. Got it. Cool, cool, cool. We're going to talk about them. And then that wasn't even the top matchup. I mean, this is crazy. Like, this is the PAC12. There were so many good competitive games for them, but then UCLA played usc and that was insane. So let's just, let's go down and talk about like, when it comes to the PAC 12, my biggest question is what can be the separator for them for someone to come up to the top? Because for right now, it does seem like Colorado is the most complete team out of everyone. It does seem like Colorado is a team that doesn't have to rely on one or two players playing spectacularly for them to come out and get a win. Whereas I feel like a Utah needs Pele to play really well or Stanford needs a Cameron and a Kiki to play really well. USC needs a juju to play really, really well. Right. UCLA is probably the next one under that Colorado. But of course Lauren Betts know needing to be a part of that. But there's tons of different names that I haven't mentioned. So I want to ask you that question. What do you think is going to be the differentiator here in the Pac 12?
- [23:04]
Sabrina Merchant
There are just no easy wins in the Pac 12 like I looked at. I mean we haven't even mentioned this yet though. The Oregon schools played the Arizona schools this weekend and Arizona is coming off of this incredible, you know, two game home stand where they take Colorado to the distance like you know, one short layup away from beating Colorado and then they take Utah overtime, beat them and you're thinking, all right, Orison was on the upswing and you put them on the road and they lose to both Oregon schools. Right? They lose Oregon State, they lose to Oregon and Oregon State like just fell out of the rankings. But that's a team that's only lost two games all year. You know, it's not exactly a bad team. They've got defending PAC 12 freshman of the year, Reagan Beers and just very solid, disciplined way, you know, style of play that's working for Scott Roic in Oregon State. I literally have no idea what's going on with this conference because any given night, like it sounds so cliche. I don't know who's going to win a basketball game. Like you put Washington against, you know, Cal and Cal beats Washington and I think Washington's really. Or Cal beat Washington State as well. Like they swept the Washington schools and both of those teams are ones that have been ranked at various points of the season. And Cal on the other hand is coming off of some serious down years. Right. But they're on the upswing and given standards.
- [24:16]
Zena Kaeda
They got beat pretty bad by Utah the other night.
- [24:18]
Sabrina Merchant
Exactly. Right. So it's just.
- [24:20]
Zena Kaeda
That was a tough one to watch.
- [24:21]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, there's so much variability in what can happen on any given night and I think other than with all due respect to Arizona State, other than when the Sun Devils come to town, like they're just, they're no easy nights. You have to be prepared for every single game and there's so many, so many talented players who can put up 20 to 25 points in any given night that it's just so hard to keep them in check. Like we'll talk about Colorado, right? I think they are the most complete team, as you said. I love JR Payne just puts together an incredible game plan for every team that they face. I mean, the way that they designed that for LSU was impeccable. I mean, I think back even to last year's tournament when they played Iowa in this week 16 and they were absolutely giving it to the Hawkeyes and Freedom Foreman doesn't get into foul trouble. I think we're. I mean, how different does that season look if Iowa loses in the Sweet 16 to Colorado and we're not even talking about Caitlin Clark beyond the second weekend of the tournament. But you've got the steady veteran leader, Jaylen Sherrod, who gets to the basket better than any guard, I think, in the PAC 12. Although there's like a zillion other names that are coming to mind as I say that. But I think Jaylen Sherrod has that title. You've got the shooting with Frida, Matty Nolan, you've got big center capable of dominating the paint, and Aaron at vonle, you know, who can actually hold up with Cameron Brink, who can hold up with Lauren Betts, who, you know, gives you that matchup versatility in case you need to go big. And then you've got this small ball center option, Quay Miller, who spreads the floor, takes threes but still can, you know, beat up with you on the inside. It's just, it's such a balanced roster. I love all of the different ways that they can play. They're so comfortable with each other. It's a very veteran team. They all were on this team last year, other than Matty Nolan.
- [25:57]
Zena Kaeda
And they got size.
- [25:58]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, they got size. They have speed. They just have the versatility. Play any way you want to. And it's not surprising that they took down color. I mean, Stanford at all. Like, it's obviously the worst road trip, I think, in the country is playing Colorado and Utah in twice in three days. Because, yeah, USC and UCLA also excellent teams. At least you can stay in the same hotel and like not move around, you know, over the course of the weekend, you just come, you plop into Los Angeles, you drive 20 minutes to each location playing those games. Colorado, Utah. You're taking another flight. Yeah, on Saturday in between those two games. It's really, really hard. And you're playing at the altitude.
- [26:35]
Zena Kaeda
In Utah, you're playing altitude.
- [26:37]
Sabrina Merchant
Ridiculous home court environments. That, that is an insane road trip to have to take. And for Stanford to come out with one like, kudos, you know, by all means, that is a successful weekend in my Opinion.
- [26:48]
Zena Kaeda
I agree, I agree. I mean, I don't know if you want to get into that, that Stanford, you know, Colorado game, like that first quarter made me go, okay, this is going to be competitive. You know, even now actually I would say the first half, you know, this is going to be competitive. I felt like they were running with each other pretty well. Did you get a chance to watch the game, by the way? I don't even know.
- [27:07]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I just want to say one thing real quick because I can't believe I forgot to bring this up during the ACC section. Colorado's only loss this season is to NC State who I did not even mention as an ACC title contender because there were all these other teams. We gotta add the team that only has one loss this entire season that came with what, 1.1 seconds left. Yeah, that's, that's the kind of quality you're talking about with Colorado, just Stanford, like we kind of had this issue last year where it's, yeah, I love the front court, which of their guards are going to perform on a regular basis. And I think there's more consistency this year. I think Hannah Jump has been more consistent. Jelana's become a lot more comfortable running the offense. But like, do you need, you know, Brooke Dimitri to score four threes on any given night or Elena Bozkana to, you know, put up double digit points? Like I'm just not sure where that other source of perimeter offense is coming from. Like they've got the rookie Harry oh off the bench who's been playing pretty well, but I just feel more confident in knowing what you're going to get from everybody. On the Buffs versus Stanford where I think Cameron Brink is still the best player in the conference, but you know, she picks up two fouls early and what are we working with?
- [28:11]
Zena Kaeda
Correct. And so here's my thing. When you look at that Stanford Colorado game, it is concerning that Lopolo, Jump and Buscana combined for seven points. That is why I'm looking at the Colorado team and I'm like, you're way more complete because like we said, you're going to get that front court action out of Stanford. But teams, and you know, JR Payne can definitely scheme well for this, but teams can scheme well for Stanford's guards and taking them out of the mix and making it hard for them to create anything even while trying to shut down Brink and Orifon. So Stanford to me has to find a way to get those guards involved earlier. And Colorado is chilling. Like I really feel like they're like, y'all are the only ones that don't know about us. Like, I'm sure that PAC12 knows very well about them, but I just feel like the country has not given them enough conversation. Again, I was watching just highlights, you know, ESPN highlights, whatever. And Jaylen Sherrod taken to the basket is one of the highlight packages. And I was sitting with a bunch of guys that pretty, you know, are pretty versed, I think in women's basketball. They're like, who's that? I'm like, oh, God. You know, I mean, like, this is.
- [29:27]
Sabrina Merchant
This network strikes again, Zena.
- [29:29]
Zena Kaeda
I know, I know. And I'm like, between Frida and Jalen, they both need more visibility. Frida Foreman has had games where she's dropping 30, 20.
- [29:38]
Sabrina Merchant
I mean, Candace Parker was practically writing a love song for free to Foreman on opening night when they played lsu. Just.
- [29:43]
Zena Kaeda
But that's my point. Since lsu, it's been like, quiet. So we at the Athletic will continue to champion the Colorado, as you know, as they continue to play incredibly well. But right now, PAC12 is looking like any given night, it's just a gauntlet. It is an absolute gauntlet.
- [30:04]
Sabrina Merchant
We've got the LA schools playing the mountain schools this weekend too, so it just, it doesn't let up. You've got Colorado, UCLA on Friday, Utah, USC and then flip them for Sunday. So it's going to be wild.
- [30:17]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, well, we'll get to that on the set your screens situation. All right, let's keep going in the PAC 12 because there was a game that you were at and that was ucla, USC first. Before we even get into the game, talk to me about the atmosphere going into that game because that is a huge matchup in la. Big time teams, big time stars on both teams. But it seems like the environment lived up to the hype of the game.
- [30:45]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah. So I'll backtrack real quick. They played at UCLA two weeks ago, December 30th, and really just a terrible time to have USC UCLA game because it's during winter break, nobody's in town, you have this crosstown rivalry and yet most of the kids are not on campus. And yet still a sellout. UCLA has this interesting situation where there's not a separate media entrance. You come in in the same way as some of their premier level fans. And so I had to legitimately wait in line for 15 minutes to get in just because there were so many people coming in.
- [31:15]
Zena Kaeda
Wow. I don't want to make this sound.
- [31:16]
Sabrina Merchant
Like, you know, I'm complaining about Little things. It's just. No of the. The volume of people trying to enter this arena, which was great. You know, you're just walking around and like, Wesley Johnson, you know, assistant coach of the Clippers, former star at Syracuse, just hanging out at UCLA women's basketball, taking in a game, like, no ostensible connection to this game going on. It's just good basketball happening. So they sold out their building. Hell of an environment. You know, they had this UCLA alumna gathering during halftime. So they're about 30, 35 former basketball players, you know, taking the court at halftime. It was really cool. I think I mentioned this earlier, but I was at, you know, the UCLA tournament games in 2023 when they hosted the first round. Not even close to, like, half the atmosphere of what it was for this USC game. It was wild. Just, whoa, really unbelievable crowd. You could really feel it when USC was making it close. Juju did get a lot of cheers, but otherwise it was very strong negative energy for the other team, I bet. So we have that. You know, this is UCLA's first sellout for regular season women's basketball. Corey Close, obviously biggest promoter for Pac12 women's basketball, L.A. basketball. They realized this is the opportunity that they have. They made a huge push in their community, in their ticket sales, like, to make this happen, to sell it happen. And then it's like, all right, well, your turn, usc, what are you gonna do? And the Galen center, which is where USC plays, lovely little arena. I would never say that it had any sort of atmosphere for basketball. Like, I've been going to this arena since it opened in 2008, because I live in LA, and it was the kind of thing where there were more players sometimes than fans in the building, and it was just not. Basketball has never been a USC thing, right? Like, UCLA at least has the men's tradition of basketball, whereas usc, you have Cheryl Miller and then just a lot of blink dates since then.
- [33:09]
Zena Kaeda
And. And. And. Come on, love and basketball, go ahead and give it right.
- [33:14]
Sabrina Merchant
But this was the first time that two top 10 teams had even played at Galen Center. So it's just, whoa. USC has not been, like, a quality enough team, you know, to warrant this kind of recognition. But no, we have juju and they sell out their crowd. And I think sellout kind of underserves it because, you know, I get to the arena about an hour before the game, and there is a line like 200 people down the block trying to get in Yalen center, just all students. Once again, I'm wondering, do I have to stand in this line to get to my media entrance. As my first question, thankfully not. But it's just hundreds of people just on the street on, you know, Flower street in downtown la waiting to get into Galen center an hour before the game. Juju mentions later that she got to the arena for shoot around. There's a guy already there saying, like, I couldn't sleep last night. I was so excited. Oh, you're getting to the arena before Juju, like, sharing her level of excitement. I mean, love it. So I went to college at Duke. I've been to a lot of high, you know, intensity, crowd level basketball games. This was up there with any of them that I've been at.
- [34:16]
Wayfair Representative
The.
- [34:17]
Sabrina Merchant
The volume inside the arena, every seat was packed. You know, the DJ is doing his thing where he's like, tell everyone, like, stand up. Like, you know, big moment. It's like, who are you telling to stand up? Everybody is already on their feet. There's no need to hype up this place any further. Like, I usually wear my AirPods during games just to like, you know, drown out some of the noise that was like necessary yesterday because it was just so loud. And I mean, like, this is a basketball town, right? Like, LA loves its basketball. It just hasn't had an opportunity to really support what UCLA and USC are doing, specifically usc. You know, this is just not a team that's been super successful over the last couple decades. But you have. Juju Watkins from LA brings 40 people to the game of On Her Own every night. Every night.
- [34:59]
Zena Kaeda
And there's celebrities and family and every, like everything. Everybody.
- [35:03]
Sabrina Merchant
Like we're having the media press conference afterwards and there's just literally 20 people standing outside the press conference room waiting for Mackenzie Forbes and juju Watkins to get out. And they're just cheering every time. Like the door opens a little bit and it's like, this is, this is not great for my audio. But like, so funny that they're just waiting for these two girls to come out so they can cheer them 90 minutes after the game has ended.
- [35:26]
Zena Kaeda
That's cool.
- [35:26]
Sabrina Merchant
I just can't believe this atmosphere. Like, I have spent my entire life in LA and it's just not something I've ever been accustomed to. Like, even when they said it was a sellout, like you couldn't walk to the concession stand during halftime, like it was too crowded to like actually make your way. Like, you just kind of like on your seat, you know, like just, let's just, just deal with it, you know.
- [35:47]
Zena Kaeda
That's crazy. Girl, I'm literally, I'm looking up right now the schedule to be like, how the heck can I get to the Galen Center?
- [35:53]
Sabrina Merchant
At a certain point, like, I think we're gonna need to work on the people flow at Galen Center. Like, it's not something that we've ever really had to think about before.
- [36:01]
Zena Kaeda
Right.
- [36:02]
Sabrina Merchant
I would suggest, you know, to like, fire marshals, ushers, like, let's. Let's think about how we can clear out some of the walking areas. But better problem to have than nobody coming to the buildings. I mean, Lindsey Gottlieb is joking after the game. I'm not even sure this is a joke. Actually. When they were recruiting juju, they would look at the schedule and be like, do we even want her to come to this game? Like, we don't know if anybody's gonna show up for this game. Is it okay if she comes and sees what this looks like? And for it to already turn around? Complete180 in year one is just a testament to her star power and how good this team already is behind her. I mean, like, they brought in juju this year. They brought in these three Ivy League transfers. So Lindsay calls them juju and the nerds, which is just great.
- [36:47]
Zena Kaeda
I love that.
- [36:48]
Sabrina Merchant
It's just an incredible immediate transformation that, like, we thought USC was gonna be decent. Like, they're gonna be watch worthy, at least because of juju Watkins, but they can compete with anyone, I think.
- [36:59]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah. And juju does that, though. I think juju elevates her teammates as well around her. I'm looking at again, like, I'm looking at the schedule to be like, when can I get down there? But you have set up the environment amazingly. I know you wrote about this game too, over the weekend. And just thinking about some of the people, like, there was a random photo as I was scrolling through X Twitter and seeing Chris Brown sitting beside Cheryl Miller, and I was like, what world are we in? Like, what is happening right now? And, you know, you mentioned, like, rapper Saweetie was there and Candace Parker was there. And like, it is a. It's a spectacle. What I love about this particularly though, is you get a little bit fearful whenever you see teams become spectacles. Because you look at what happened with Colorado football, for example, right? How many celebrities were on the sidelines with coach Deion Sanders and primetime and all that, and then where their season ended up. But what's exciting is that when I think about that last game, I can't remember who it was against that Colorado football, like, had a Million people on the sidelines and it was prime time and they just did not play well. Their defense was exposed in that game. I'm just happy that this game, ucla, USC lived up to the hype. Like the actual competitive nature of the game was high. So I want to actually talk about the game itself. And you know, Obviously Juju dropped 32. She was very key to it. Mackenzie Forbes as well, very key to the game. But on the other end, you know, we always talk about Lauren Betts, but charisma Osborne, spotlight on her as well. And then of course Yakaz as well. You know, playing well too.
- [38:39]
Sabrina Merchant
Great week for the Hawkeyes family in general.
- [38:41]
Zena Kaeda
Just.
- [38:44]
Sabrina Merchant
Big brother tearing it up in the NBA. Gab's having a great week.
- [38:46]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, Jaime Haka is killing it, killing it as a rookie in the league. And Gabriella coming off the bench as well. She's been solid for them at UCLA too. So those two teams differentiators there for you?
- [39:00]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, first I just want to say that as sad as I am about the impending demise of the PAC12 conference, I hope this means that we can get away with Pac12refs because not a banner weekend for Pac12refs. Just I'm going to leave it there. Not a banner weekend for Pac 12 refs. And I think that extended to the USC UCLA game. Yeah, but you know, I was a little worried about USA to start this game because they didn't have Ray Marshall and there was a little rumor going around that Lauren Betts wasn't going to play either, but she ended up just not starting and then coming off the bench and playing pretty solid minutes old anyway. So you think they have their 6, 7 center. We don't have our, you know, PAC 12 all defense candidate in Ray Marshall. What's what we can do? I kind of forgot that USC is just big all across. Like UCLA has the big center, but USC just has size across every other position. So they can switch a lot. They've got a backup center in Clarice Akon, Wafu who great, great game for her. Just more, more of a physical defender than Ray is. Ray has a lot of length and like stays with you because she can cover a lot of ground whereas Clarice just gets into your body. I thought they shut down London Jones really well who had a great game for UCLA in the first matchup. I think the defensive potential of USC is really exciting because on offense it's a lot of just like try to stop Juju and nobody can. So it's not the most exciting Offense because it's a lot of one on one, but it works. Like, they have players who can make and take tough shots, but defensively they just, they really get after you. They're so aggressive. They have just waves of athletes who can come in off the bench. You've got Malia Samuels, you've got Roxanne. And Taylor Bigby entered the starting lineup this game because, you know, they put her on London Jones. And it's just a lot of big guards, big sized forwards who can make things difficult even if they don't have like that traditional center who's making things happen. Because, like, if you can't get the ball to your center, like that's what they're doing, right? Like, then, you know, Lauren Betts takes five shots from the fields, good things are not going to happen. So I liked that defensive upside that USC showcased. And then for ucla, I mean, Corey Closest stump and Charisma Osborne is a top three draft pick, which, you know, was she reading my mock draft and talking me at the same time? I don't know. But Charisma Osborne, whenever she gets to the basket, like, good things happen. I thought UCLA kind of settled for jump shots a lot earlier in this game and that's just not what they do well. Like, they are a painting driven team. Like, you get the ball, you drive and kick. At least you got to touch the paint, you know, to start a possession. And there was just so much settling for long jumpers and three pointers and it's just, it's just not their style of play. Unless you're London Jones, which she wasn't even getting the ball. So, like, that wasn't the real issue. I just think they, it's weird, like, this was their first loss of the season and the, the mood was like all of these things that we can fix and it's like. Well, I mean, I'm sure there's not that many things you can fix because you have already won 14 games, but there's so many different things that they can do that I sometimes wonder if. It's like almost an overwhelming number of options. Like, should we let Kiki Rice run some pick and roll and like, or should we dump it into Lauren Betts? Or should we, you know, let London operate a little? Or should we give the ball to Charisma Osborne? Or like Gabriella Hawkes is coming in off the bench and like USC's process is so streamlined. It's simple. It's juju gets the ball, she makes the decisions. And yeah, it's like maybe easier to scout for. But also we know what we're running, we know what we're doing and we know what to go to when the game gets difficult. And ucla, I don't know what they go to. Like, yeah, they go to Charisma, but then everybody else sort of flails because Charisma is a great individual score. I don't think getting other teammates involved is her best attribute. So that's just my question with UCLA is like, what, what is their game on the line? This is our option. Maybe Lauren Bets was sick and they couldn't use her as much as they wanted to. Yes. I don't know, but it's almost like too much of a good thing with the brains.
- [42:34]
Zena Kaeda
Right. It's a really interesting point you make because you look at, particularly in the PAC 12, the teams that do have that one option. It makes it easier, particularly in the late game situations, to be able to just go to that person and you know what to expect. I am thinking of the Utahs. I'm thinking of an Oregon State. I'm thinking of Washington even. Like, they know, okay, we got our main player that can create something for themselves and if not, it's going to be a pass out situation. Get ready to shoot. And it's true. UCLA does have a lot of different options. And I, I think that there's, I actually think there's not enough options for Lauren Betts. Even like, I feel like she's used to get the people around her open and you know, to basically space the floor really well. So they'll, you know, they'll throw it into her in the high post or they'll throw into her even in the low post. And then there's options around her or in the pick and roll. But she's not even like a Cameron Brink like, or a Kiki like get the ball inside, see what they can do and then we'll see how the defense reacts to her and if they react to her, then we'll get open. I actually think that it works better in the regular season maybe to have less options, but when you get to March, it's better to have more options. It just makes it a lot easier during the regular season to be like, okay, this is a, like especially at the low end of a shot clock, this isn't working out. Let's get it to our, our, our, our best player and figure it out from there. Hopefully they get fouled or, you know, they score. That's a very interesting assessment. I never really thought about that. So just now I do wonder what UCLA is going to do because they have a lot of different options. But you're, you're smiling so I was wondering what you were thinking just now.
- [44:14]
Sabrina Merchant
No, I mean I'm, I'm as interested as you are. And they have two again ridiculous games this weekend where they're going to have to figure it out because you know, if they get Colorado on Friday and good luck stopping everything that Colorado does that we just illuminated like 10 minutes ago. So yeah, they have a lot of opportunities to figure out how to play against tough opponents. That's the beauty of this conference.
- [44:33]
Zena Kaeda
There you go. And to the point that I just made, I'm like, hell, Colorado does know how to do it well. They just know how to balance multiple. Yeah, that's a great point. That's a great point.
- [44:42]
Sabrina Merchant
That's a great point. Like everybody on Colorado other than Von Lay is junior senior, fifth year senior and UCLA has six sophomores in their rotation, right?
- [44:50]
Zena Kaeda
That's right. Corey Close talked about that. Having the babies and getting them to buy in and getting them to just, I mean also too transfers are real. Even if you have senior players, having transfers come in, play with new players. All the above. It's another acclimation process of just getting used to each other. Okay, we have talked about that very, very long. But the back really two people who.
- [45:11]
Sabrina Merchant
Live on the West Coast.
- [45:12]
Zena Kaeda
I know we're two people. I'm sorry guys, we're not going to be so bummed biased towards the west coast for so long. But I love the fact that you're at that game. I'm so happy that you were able to talk about the environment of that game and you know, you're writing about this as you release your rankings of just like how fun it's been. And I was mentioning to Sabrina right before we got on the call of just like I was talking to some of my former college teammates and we were just talking about like it's been so much fun to watch this season particularly and talking to them of like, you know, why does it seem like it's just so much more explosive and so exciting and dynamic. One talent continues to improve. It's insane. Like I don't know what's in the water. I don't know what, you know, people are drinking and you know, taking or whatever.
- [45:52]
Sabrina Merchant
What's in denial. Adsense water. That's what we are.
- [45:54]
Zena Kaeda
I would love, I would love to know. Apparently nothing's in her water. She's just coming out here off genetics, remember? Okay. So there's. People are just so talented. But it also helps that we can see the games and we can see the competition and we can just see everything that's going on. Before we go, I do want to give a quick nod to the quick nod or quick note on the sec. And I know you talked about Vanderbilt, good old Vandy being a lot better than we anticipated, I think. I definitely encourage you all to read that her. Her Sabrina's rankings to understand why. But I also want to mention the aspect of Auburn taking down LSU yesterday. Now, I did get a chance to watch this game and it was tight throughout the entire race. And you appreciated just how much Auburn had an answer every single time. And I don't know what it was, but LSU's superstardom being actually not a positive was on display. There were a lot of turnovers. There was a lot of, like, it seemed like miscommunication. It looked like Auburn was rushing LSU more, more than they would have liked. But I particularly want to shout out to Honesty. I want to make sure I get her name right. Honesty. Scott Grayson, who's a grad student for Auburn. And you know, grad student means this is her last year. Okay. She'd been here, she'd been in the NCAA for a little minute. But she mentioned in her presser after the game, by the way, LSU lost to Auburn 67, 62. But she mentioned in the presser after the game that this was personal for her, that she played for Mulkey her freshman year. It did not work out. Even though Sabrina mentioned she did win a championship. But she said it just said it didn't work out and that it was personal for her. And I want to ask you before we go, like, there's going to be a lot of these situations, Sabrina, in which people are playing against their former teams, right? They're playing. They're transfers and they're playing against their former teams or whatever it is. And I know that even playing against teams that recruited me and that I didn't end up going to, like, there is a little bit of to it, but I feel like that adds a little bit of the excitement to the games of people playing up against their former teams. Like, I want to know what your thoughts were about the transfer portal and how people playing up against their former teams can actually add a little bit of extra boost to the games for these players.
- [48:34]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of players are just looking for new scenery, Right? Like, it's not necessarily that, you know, anything necessarily went wrong. It's just, you know, want to be closer to home or have a slightly different role or, you know, any number of situations. Kim Mulkey seems to inspire a lot more strong emotions than a lot of other coaches. So I see why honesty was, you know, feeling a certain way about this. Yeah, right.
- [49:01]
Zena Kaeda
She was honest.
- [49:02]
Sabrina Merchant
What a name. But, you know, I'm just glad that, like, there's. There's some drama in the ICC because, you know, South Carolina is just. Just doing South Carolina things all the time and hasn't lost a regular season game in over two years in the sec, which, goodness gracious, it's good to have a little bit more drama that any, Any team can come in and do things like this, like Auburn getting this win. You know, Mississippi State's coming back up. Vanderbilt, obviously. We mentioned Tennessee. Like, what's going on with Tennessee? I don't really know what to make of the sec. I didn't mention Ole Miss, which actually made the Sweet 16 last year. You know, Cocchio's got them figured out after they lost kk Deans, like, things have sort of stabilized for the Rebels. Like we said, it's just more fun, you know, to be watching when you don't know what's going to happen. And I tend to think about this era of college basketball from 2017 onwards, like, sort of the post Stewie era, where even I, a very big women's basketball fan, had difficulty watching college basketball from 2013-16. Because, yeah, I appreciate dominance, but, like, there's a certain level of dominance that I'm willing to appreciate. It's not, oh, 100 game win streaks and the same team winning four championships in a row and winning national title games by 30 plus points. You know, that's great. Like, also UConn men's basketball Twitter account. Do not call any of your men's players Stewie. That is incredibly disrespectful.
- [50:21]
Zena Kaeda
We were all confused. We were all confused. We were like, wait, Stewie, what in all caps? Why are you doing this? Yeah, it was very strange.
- [50:29]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, just the parody variability, you know, like, there's. There's a nice mix of generational talent, high levels of dominance, while also just unpredictability. And I think we're in a really good sweet spot right now.
- [50:42]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, and I love, love that women's basketball is allowed and permitted drama. Little bit of drama. A little bit of sprinkle. Sprinkle on it. All righty, folks. Each week, the folks at the Athletic are setting our screens to quite a few games, but here are the ones we think you should set yours to. So starting up with today, Tuesday, Kansas at number 11, Texas. That's at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Kansas beat Baylor two games ago pretty handedly and they're on a two game win streak. Probably hungry for another ranked team as they go to Texas. I mean I'm anticipating their big six six, center Diana Jackson and to want to bounce back. She had 27 points against Baylor. She only had six against Oklahoma State recently. So I'm sure she's going to want to put on a show. Let me go on to Wednesday. Number 22, Marquette will be at Villanova. That's at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern. Nova is currently on a five game win streak. Marquette on a three game win streak. I think it's a heat check game for both of them. You know, Nova's got Lucy Olsen who's been playing pretty well and senior Liza Carlin from Marquette has been phenomenal for them offensively. I'm excited to see those two go up at each other. And again, like I said, heat check game for both of them. Then on Thursday, I've got my eye on Auburn at Vanderbilt and I know Sabrina talked about Vanderbilt kind of, you know, surprising a little bit folks in the sec and Auburn definitely surprised some folks beating LSU recently. So SEC has been a little dry, not gonna lie. You know, South Carolina's just been having their way, LSU being right behind them. But after Auburn beat them just now and you know, kind of made them look human this past week, I think that's gonna be very interesting to see if they can carry that momentum. Vandy right now is, you know, between second and third in the sec. So this will be very fun to see these two teams, high octane teams, Odyssey, Scott Grayson, Mingo Young from Auburn going up against Jordan Cambridge and she's got some incredible defense. She's averaging four steals. Four steals a game, folks. And then also Sasha Washington for Vandy. So very, very, very curious as to how this all going to play out. Then we keep moving on. On that same day. Speaking of LSU, LSU drop down number 10. Now they're going to be at Alabama. They need a redemption game after that loss to Auburn and so this will be a good competitor for them to go up against and hopefully get a handed win. But Alabama's won eight of their last 10 games so I expect that to be competitive. Now let's move on to Friday. On Friday, another big PAC, 12 top five teams in the country showdown. Number three, Colorado will be at number five, UCLA. That will be at 5pm on Friday, Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Again, another big PAC 12 matchup, UCLA. I'm sure they're hurting after that USC upset and Colorado's rolling right now. So again expect that to be competitive. And then the other LA team, USC is going to be at number 20, Utah. So that's going to be at 6pm on Friday, 9pm Eastern. They had that close loss against Stanford. Utah did. And so knowing that they're about to go into a tough weekend, Utah is about to take on USC and then turn around and take on ucla. This is going to be a test for them to see what this looks like. You know, not only in the PAC 12, but later on, later on this year in March, going up against great teams back to back. How do they respond? So expect that to be competitive on Friday. Going on a Saturday. Ivy League showdown. Folks, we got our eye on the top teams in the Ivy League. Columbia will be at Princeton. Enough said. Competitive leaving itself. But now conference play is going. They're playing on Fridays and they're playing on Saturdays. That back to back is tough in the Ivies. And so very curious to see how they compete on the back end of those back to backs. Columbia at Princeton on Saturday and then Sunday. Lots of big games on Sunday Again in the PAC 12, number six, USC will be at number three, Colorado. Again, Colorado, USC, Utah, UCLA, all getting a taste of what it would be like to have to play really good teams back to back and to be able to show up for the moment in a small amount of time. Right. Not being able to kind of take a rest off or get a blowout win in between. No, these are going to be hard games to play and so that will be on the docket for sure. On Sunday. Number six, USC at number three, Colorado in the ACC. Number 13, Louisville, we haven't talked about them enough. Will be at number 23, 3 UNC. So definitely going to be checking out that game. ACC has been super competitive, but again not seeing a ton around Louisville. I haven't been able to watch a ton of them this year, so very curious to see how they're going to play up against Courtney Bankhart and her Tar Heels and then in the Mid American Conference. Ball State undefeated in the Mid American Conference. And Toledo will be going up against each other. This is a conference battle. They're both undefeated right now, both on win streaks. Ball State has an eight game win streak right now. Toledo has a five game win streak. So that I know will be a very competitive matchup. And then Last but not least, On Sunday, number two, Iowa will go up against the defense of number 18, Ohio State. And so we'll see what Ohio State does to contain the likes of Caitlin Clark. But again, lots of games to set your screens to. We've given you some options on every single game this week starting today. Hopefully you got some time to carve out for women's basketball, but that is what we're here. We're here to let you know what's going on, keep you posted. Appreciate you, Sabrina, for coming onto the show, giving us a little bit of that background on what you're seeing in conference play so far. It's heating up, folks. This is the crux of NCAA women's basketball season. When they start going up against folks that they see multiple times, they've seen them over the years, they're familiar with them, Right? And you know when you're coming up against your enemies that you know you've known them for a while, it gets even more competitive. So appreciate you guys listening today for another episode of the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. For now, I'm Zena Caida encouraging you to keep listening, keep learning and keep loving the game because that's the only way we're going to continue to grow it. All right, folks, until next time.
- [57:05]
Sabrina Merchant
As.
- [57:05]
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- [57:30]
Aura Representative
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- [58:24]
Sabrina Merchant
ACAST powers the World's best Podcasts.
- [58:28]
Zena Kaeda
Here's a show that we recommend.
- [58:31]
LinkedIn Sales Representative
Hey.
- [58:32]
Liquid IV Brand Ambassador
Guys, we have an exciting announcement about our podcast. For the past seven years, the Holderness Family Podcast has been the most favorite thing we do. We love getting to talk to experts. We love having meaningful conversations just the two of us. And we also love hearing from you. But the thing we love most is being a place where you can laugh. A lot has changed in the last seven years and we feel very lucky that our audience is growing older. So in the spirit of that, we are relaunching our podcast. We are excited to introduce Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness. The Laugh Lines podcast will be all about aging together better and also being able to laugh about getting older. We hope you'll join us. Search Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness New episodes every Tuesday.
- [59:16]
Sabrina Merchant
ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.