Proving Everybody Right
46:47 Share

An Everything Shower is a shower where you pull out all the stops to pamper yourself from head to toe. And an Everything Shower isn't complete without Osea's new Andaria Algae Body Wash. Osea will turn your shower routine into a tropical paradise with its iconic, all-natural, and uplifting citrusy scent. Andaria Algae Body Wash infuses your shower with the healing power of the sea.

formulated with nourishing nutrient-rich and Darya seaweed, glycerin and an oil blend. It's pH balanced hydrating formula doesn't strip skin,

leaving it feeling soft and renewed. Osea has been a major upgrade to my everything shower, from its gel-like texture to its luxuriously rich lather. And of course, its super fresh scent. The Andaria Algae Body Wash has totally upped my skincare game. Its natural, plant-based ingredients creates a gentler cleansing experience than traditional body washes. It's the same...

iconic and uplifting citrusy scent as the best-selling Undaria Algae Body Oil with uplifting notes of grapefruit, lime, and cypress blended with sweet notes of mango mandarin. If you want to experience the scent of summer all year around, you'll want to make it a staple in your everything shower too. With Osea, you never have to choose between your values and your best skin.

Their skincare is clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and climate-neutral certified. Osea is mother-daughter and women-founded and has been making clean, clinically tested, seaweed-infused skincare for over 28 years.

Upgrade your shower with clean vegan face and body care from Osea. Get 10% off your first order site-wide with code Queens at OseaMalibu.com. You'll get free samples with every order and free shipping on orders over $60. Head to OseaMalibu.com and use code Queens for 10% off.

For

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details. How do you feel about that, Cheryl? Because your face is scrunching up. So I want to know your thoughts. Is that what happens

I was crunching. You can't hide it. You can't hide it. This is Queens of the Court. What's up, y'all? Welcome to another episode of Queens of the Court, an Odyssey Original Podcast produced in partnership with the WNBA. I'm your girl, Cheryl Swoops. And I'm Jordan Robinson. And court is in session. Let's go. Okay, because of that gavel drop was incredible.

I wanted to tell you this is what I wanted to tell you last week that I have a new lawyer show courtroom drama that I'm obsessed with. Do tell do tell. It's a little I'm a little late to the party, but it's called your honor.

Oh my gosh. No, ma'am. No, ma'am. I'm so there. Done. Finished. Waiting on season three, but go ahead. So good. I guess I'm late too because I just finished it myself, Jordan. You did on Netflix, right? Because it was on Showtime and now that it's on Netflix, it's easily... Look, I have not stopped thinking about this show. I can scream right now.

- It's so good. It's so good. Listeners, just know that how we can't even formulate a sentence right now just shows how great the show is, but then we can't really talk about it on air because then we'll ruin it for everybody. But it is, just take our word for it. Court is in session. We're pretending to be judges sometimes on Queens of the Court. Bryan Cranston is a judge,

His morals are compromised. His son's involved. The mob's involved. The gang's involved. Desire. The New Orleans. It's just, it's too good. Once this episode is over, I'm going to call you because we got some things to talk about. And I want season three to happen immediately. I just looked it up. I don't think it is. I think they canceled the show. No.

no it has to happen i know there's a cliffhanger you think that there's going to be a next season and then it just cuts off which is the worst type no no it has to happen i'm sorry jordan when i so my husband and i were up until 5 30 in the morning the other day just just finishing it because i couldn't go to sleep i was like oh my gosh the next episode oh my gosh oh my gosh

And I called, I don't know how many people and I texted to him. I said, go watch your honor. That's all I'll tell you. Don't ask me no questions. Just watch it. Oh, it's so good. It's so good. Okay. Listeners, if you guys, if you've watched that show or if you plan to binge it, do it this week. So by next episode, you can, we can come back and talk about it or you can send us a listener email telling us that we were right.

We don't steer you wrong on this show. So please go watch that show. And Cheryl, we're here. We're talking about that after. Yes. I'm so excited. I just had to get that off my chest because as soon as we did Court is in Session, that just brought me back to that show. Yeah. Oh, my God. It's so good. So other than watching your honor before we get into the episode, the goods, what else did you do? What else you got going on?

I mean, that took up a big chunk, I'm not going to lie, of this weekend. I couldn't not watch it because I was obsessed. But me and the husband, we went and we watched the fight. Tank Davis, that was, what, Saturday night. My husband's really into boxing. And so, yeah, we watched that. It was fun. It was exciting.

It's so thrilling, a boxing match. You know, and I'm not like, I don't know. My son watched it. So he's calling me, telling me about it. I'm like, son, you know, I don't really get into boxing like that. But I was like, okay, thanks. He's like, well, do you want to know what happened? I was like, not really. Like if you're into it, yeah, great. But that's not what I do. I just so, no. So let me see. I did. Yeah, what did you do?

Other than that, your honor, I had a really nice, like, just quiet weekend. We celebrated Father's Day with my husband on Saturday because I had to travel on Sunday. Fun. Yeah.

Yeah, just he likes to grill, smoke meat. So got him a new little smoker. And then we cooked. My son came over and his girlfriend and we just cooked outside. We got to use his new grill. He didn't because he didn't do the cooking. I mean, you know, it was Father's Day. So.

Gave him the day off. Yeah, it was just a great weekend. I will tell you, I'm super excited about this because I'm headed to the Bahamas tomorrow. Woo!

Well, I'm going to be doing a basketball camp there for some of the young ladies in the Bahamas and some members of the Bahamian national team. I'm super excited about it because this is something I've kind of wanted to do for a minute. And I got an invite to come over. Yeah. So I get to do a little work and a little play. So I'm so excited about it. Yeah. Well, that is exciting. That's...

That's fun. Well, you can't, I can't wait for you to report back on how that goes for next episode. Gotcha. But there's been a couple of them coming out of the Bahamas. We're going to talk about one of them in just a minute. But that's exciting. And I think another thing that's, I can't believe it's already here, but all-star voting is upon us. Yeah. So quick. Comes at you fast in the WNBA. I love it.

I'm excited about it and it'll be different because of, you know, I...

I guess the format because it'll be Team USA versus W All-Stars, right? Yes. Yes. So let's give some context. There's a lot that goes into this. So voting for the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game opened last week and continues through June 29th. So you got to make sure, get those votes in. There's also some double vote days. So make sure to get those in too.

But during the voting window, fans may submit one ballot each day via the WNBA app and WNBA.com. Each ballot can include 10 players, six front court, four back court. That's where it gets tricky.

Fans will count for 50% of the vote, while players and media each get 25% of the vote. A reminder, the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be played on July 20th in Phoenix. And like you said, it'll feature Team USA's Olympic roster against the top vote-getters who weren't named to the USA roster.

How do you feel about that, Cheryl? Because your face is scrunching up. So I want to know your thoughts. Is that what I was

Yeah, you can't hide it. You can't hide it. Some extra context here before you get into it. So from 2004 to 2016, the WNBA didn't hold an all-star game at all during the Olympic years. So that changed in 2021 when the W decided to hold its all-star game as a competition, which I love against Team USA and WNBA players prior to the Olympics.

as you remember Arike uh got the MVP that year because she was not on the USA um roster team WNBA all-stars won 93 to 85. that was July 2021 in Vegas

So I feel like it could just be spicy. It's fun. It's just a bunch of people who are like, I could have been on the Olympic roster. Now I'm about to ball out. And that's it's a storyline. It's exciting. But what are you thinking? What are you thinking?

Oh, girl, I'm thinking a lot. First of all, to your point, absolutely. I would take it personal if I was one of those players that was like, I should be on this team because I'm better than you. Right. Like it's personal. So I want my shot to be able to play against Team USA. OK, that's first. Second. So so I have been voting. Right. I have been voting on players.

That I think will give Team USA the best competition to get ready for Paris. So here's kind of sort of how I feel. I get voting for all-stars and that includes the players who are on Team USA, right? Because you want to be able to say, Asia Wilson was a 13-time all-star. Yes. Example, right? I get that.

But the other side of that is I feel like when you're voting for everybody, even those players who are a part of Team USA, who won't be playing for the W, they'll be playing for Team USA. I feel like you're taking a spot away from someone who could and probably should be an all-star.

do you know what i mean example because you can still you can still vote for asia you can vote for fee you can vote for bg you can right and and i think those are spots that because people are going to vote for them rightfully so when a player like uh like like i think brie jones i think she should be an all-star i think she's playing really well but does that mean because you can still vote for the olympic

players that Bree Jones won't get enough votes to play or to be an all-star. Does that make sense? I'm following you. No, I get it because it seems like the format is a little bit of, you know, we know that these Team USA players are going to get the votes. It's whoever's after that would be Team USA.

uh, WNBA and you're saying maybe there's another tier that could potentially be in there. That's not gonna get enough votes to even be in that pool. Yeah. Mm. I see that. That's, that's what I think here. This, maybe this is a better example or maybe not, but I'm gonna say it anyway, cuz I, I think Kennedy Carter like her lover hater. You can't tell me Kennedy Carter shouldn't be an all star. Mm-hmm.

To me, Kennedy Carter is one of the best guards in the league, period. So does Kennedy Carter get enough votes to be an all-star? Is Angel Reese going to get enough votes to be an all-star? I think so, yes. I think Angel is playing well enough as a rookie, right, that she should be an all-star. I'm bringing them up because there's no doubt, no question that Kaitlyn Clark's going to be an all-star. Kaitlyn Clark will probably be the lead vote-getter.

right and i i mean yeah let's have caitlyn angel and and kennedy all on a team to go up against like like like it could be so spicy it could be i just i just want i feel you i want the best competition to play against team usa yeah right i do so i don't know i i think i think that's interesting um

You know, I think of just going back to that 2021 game, right? Because that's kind of our one example. And I think of some, the starters that were on Team WNBA, just as an example. Dewana Bonner, Jonquil Jones, Candice Parker, Arike, Courtney Bannersloot are taking on Team USA starters of Brianna Stewart, Asia Wilson, Brittany Griner, Jewel Lloyd, Sue Bird. I mean, that's pretty good.

I think we're gonna get it right. I think we're gonna get it right with who Team WNBA is. I my whole point is that because they're on the Olympic team, they should also have that all star next to their name for that year. Because when we go back, like you said, we're gonna just put all the all stars together, and how many you received. So I think you're just

I don't think they should be automatically given to them. I think they should be voted and you can be an Olympian and an all-star at the same time. So we'll see. It's going to be good though. I know it's going to be good. It's going to be spicy. The last thing I'll say too about the Olympics, Olympic team versus team WNBA is

is it came out this week that Arike Agumbuale actually withdrew her name from Team USA's consideration that was confirmed by the Olympic team. So all this talk of, okay, if Chelsea Gray can't go, Arike is going to be next in line. She withdrew her name. So she said there's too many politics. She doesn't even want any part of it.

- So that's some extra spicy for you there. Yeah, I don't know if we can talk about if we think that was a good decision or not. I don't, but yeah. - Can I add one thing to it? - Yeah. - So here's why I don't think it was a good decision for her to withdraw her name because she said it, there's a lot of politics involved. So because you withdrew your name,

you may not ever be in that usa pool ever again which which yeah which absolutely sucks and it's not right the other side of that is even though i don't think it was the right decision i get it like i i personally i think arique should have made the team and this is if she didn't withdraw her name and all of that yes i do i think she should have

And saying that, because I know there's this whole big debate and all of that, and I'm tired of talking about it. I'm tired of hearing about it. But I do want to say this, and people probably totally disagree with me. Chelsea Gray, who hasn't played a game yet, is the only true PG for Team USA. So, yeah, Jackie Young plays points for the Aces. Kelsey Plum has played points.

They're not true point guards. So in my mind, if Chelsea Gray isn't healthy enough to play, and even if she is, right, who's that backup PG?

I think it's Diana. I think they're going to play Diana at the point because she's played it before. But in saying all that, there's this one player I've been like, who is that true PG, a vet that has international experience, not so much Team USA experience, but has been there and can just play, can do what Team USA needs her to do. Want to take a guess who I think that is?

My guess is Skylar. Is it Skylar? No. Who is it? Tasha Cloud. And here's why I say this. International ball is just totally different. It's totally different. Tasha has so much international experience that she knows international game. But other than besides that, Tasha is a dog on defense. A dog.

And when I look at the guards on Team USA, we got some hella great guards. Jackie Young, great defender. We need a dog defender on the perimeter. Okay. I think you made your case. Tosh Clout, I think, could be good. But also, she could run the squad. Like, Tosh isn't about, I got to go get mine, I got to go get mine. Tosh is all about, let me get everybody else theirs. But that's just me.

All right. Just drop that in there. I like it. I like it. Okay. This has been fun, but we got to take a quick break. We got to pay the bills. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.

Do you want your money to be motivated? Do you want your money to rise and grind? Do you think your money should get up and work? Don't worry, Betterment is here to help. Betterment is the automated investing and savings app that makes your money hustle. Their automated technology is built to help maximize returns.

Meaning when you invest with Betterment, your money can auto adjust as you get closer to your goal, rebalance if your portfolio gets too far out of line, and your dividends are automatically reinvested. That can increase the potential for compound returns. In other words, your money is working like a dog while you can be sleeping like one and snoring like one too. You'll never picture your money the same way again. Betterment.

the automated investing and savings app that makes your money hustle. Visit Betterment.com to get started. Investing involves risk. Performance is not guaranteed.

This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all-new Prologue EV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. There's the class-leading passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers. Welcome back. We got to move on because we could talk. We could meet a whole episode. We probably should have one soon, but...

The Aces, we talked a lot about them, but they dropped their sixth game of the season on Sunday, losing 90-82 to the Liberty. That equals Las Vegas' total number of losses from last season.

After the game, Asia Wilson, who is playing out of her mind, doing everything that she possibly can. She's averaging 28 points per game. She's averaging 11 and a half rebounds per game. She cried while talking about what she needs to do to help her team. Here's what she said. I take, I put myself out there on the front because I don't want my teammates. And here I go about to cry because I love them so much. It's hard. It's really, really hard.

And I don't even know why I'm crying. But I love my teammates so much that I will take any hit from them. Good, bad, ugly. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to try to be the best. I get y'all saying best player in the world. That's great. It looks great. But I want to be the best person. I want to be the best teammate because that's how I get the best out of my team. So when it comes to wins, losses, wins.

When I tell you I break this game down piece by piece because I don't want to be great for you guys. No offense. And I want to be great for my team. I want to be great for this franchise. It is hard as shit. It is hard as shit. There's tons of people that want to break you down. Great teams in this league that are going to try to come after you every single night. But when it comes to taking accountability, I have no problem in that.

Because I want to be great. I want to be great for my teammates. So yes, it can start in practice. Yes, it starts in training camp. Yes, it starts in the wins and the losses. But I'm never going to stop. I'm going to continue to challenge myself and my teammates every single day. Because when you're talking about greatness, it starts with consistency. Everybody can be good here and there, but who can be great every single game, every possession? And that's what I'm striving for. And it's hard as shit. I promise y'all, it's hard as

But promise you, I'm not going back down. So it starts with me and it's going to always be with me because I have 11 other women in that locker room that I need to pull greatness out of. So that's where it goes from. If it's talking more, is it trying to fly on the court? Is it being a defensive presence? I'm going to be that every single day for my team because I want them to be great. Not just for rings and banners because I know the potential that we have in the locker room. So, yeah.

Starts everywhere with me and I'm gonna take that challenge every single day and going going out there and y'all can still see me smiling and dancing Because I never want anyone to see us break obviously I'm crying now breaking but it's a part of it and I want you guys to see this hard I'm not gonna sit up here and act like it's roses. It's hard, but I'm not going back down ever man face of the league

Asia Wilson. Say that again. Say that again. The face of the league. I mean, she is... Without question.

I just wrote a story for WNBA.com about her dominance this season and I was I broke it into sections I broke it into how she is dominating on the offensive end how she's dominating on the defensive end but also how she is a leader and dominating the conversation around what it takes to lead a team not only to back-to-back championships but

Day in and day out to the point where you're buying a tiara and a cake for your rookie. Like you don't have to do that. You know, that's just the type of person that she is. And you can tell when you have solid leadership that your team wants to play hard for you.

Every one of her teammates quote tweeted that video saying how much they love her, how much they respect her, how much they ride for her. And that is what I'm sure you know. That's what's at the core of championship teams and dynasties and what gets the job done of having a leader like Asia. Without question. When your teammates are retweeting a video like that,

You absolutely know how they feel about you. But what I loved most about that video, excuse me, was her basically saying, no offense, I don't, I'm not trying to be great for you guys. Right? Like, it's important to me that my teammates respect me and I'm trying to get the best out of them because I need them to be great so we can win. Right?

And I hate that we had to bleep the S word out because she said it a thousand times. And I say that because she's right. You know, it's hard to win one championship, let alone two, like go back to back. And now you're trying to win your third. There are so many things that have to go right for that to happen. And I know when you look at the Aces record, we're like, what in the world is going on with them? Right.

it's not so much about the aces not being good or, or their best, but it's about other teams who have, have, have put it together. Right. And they're figuring out how to compete and how to win ball games. I, it still doesn't concern me that are, will they be in the finals? Yeah. But I,

It's hard. Like it is really hard to be able to win all of those championships. The aces though, and I know we're going to talk about it. I do feel like they're still missing a piece and it's that piece isn't Chelsea Gray, right? We know what the point God's going to do if and when she comes back. But Jordan coming back off of an injury, like whatever this injury is that Chelsea has, it's going to take some time.

Yeah, it's tough to her to get back in the flow. Yeah. Just to be like, hey, Chelsea Gray, be like,

the you know the great player that you are immediately um because we need you and we're losing but yeah like you mentioned following that loss the aces waved emma cannon on sunday and in her place they signed jessica carter who's a three-time all sec selection from mississippi state she was drafted number 23 overall by the new york liberty in this year's wmba draft but was waived before the season and

It does. It seems like they're searching for something there. They're, you know, this is the move. They're making moves so early in the season, more than any other team, I feel like, because they are, they do feel like they're, they have a piece that they're missing or just to stay afloat until Chelsea gray is back to a hundred percent. Yeah. You know, when I, when I look at this team, I'm,

They, they, they're different to me on the defensive end this year, like last year. And I'm not saying they're not hungry because you're always hungry for a championship last year on the defensive end. Like they were, they were, they were all together, right? Like it seemed like they were all on the same page. Like they understood what they were doing defensively, where the rotations were coming from and they were making it tough to

on teams to score. This year, I'm like, that's missing, that grit that it's going to be a long day for you today because you're not going to score when you want to. And if you do score, we're going to make sure it's tough. You know what I mean? It just seems like there's something off with them

to me on the defensive end, because offensively I know they can score. They're going to score. They have scores. So maybe by bringing in Jessica Carter, maybe this is one of the pieces they're like defensively, she can really help us. I don't know. I'll be honest with you. I don't know enough about her game to say this, this is where I think she's going to really help us.

the Aces besides on the defensive end because I know she's long, athletic. So maybe that's where they see her kind of sort of helping them get back on the winning track. The thing is, we know the Aces, they're going to turn up in September, October, just like when Callie was here talking about it. That's what they're circling, but they're

You have to know in the offseason, teams built their teams to beat the Aces. And so far, that is working out. When you are the champs, they're trying to knock you off the crown, your throne. No doubt. Yeah, I think they're going to be good, but they'll figure it out. They'll figure it out. One last thing in this section, we got to talk about it.

With the win against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, the Indiana Fever are now on a little winning streak. Two straight games, the franchise's first win streak of the season. Kaitlyn Clark scored 23 points in the win, followed by Aaliyah Boston, 19, Kelsey Mitchell with 17. If you can get that type of production from those three players,

Wow, that's going to be good. But for the Sky, Marina Mabry led the scoring with 22 points and Kennedy Carter added 18. Angel Reese also had 13 boards. What a game. I'm so excited that we get this again this upcoming weekend and we are going to get it for many, many years to come. This is a rivalry brewing and it's fun to watch. It's back to back. I just feel like they're

They're evenly matched. I don't know. It's just fun basketball to watch. It's spicy basketball to watch too. Great game. Here's what I see as the biggest difference for Indiana right now. Aaliyah Boston. Absolutely. Meaning Indiana, I think they finally decided that we're going to play through A.B.,

And when you play through AB, she makes everybody around you better because lots of times she's going to command a double team and she makes the right play with the basketball. If she's getting double, somebody's open.

And she does a really nice job of recognizing when she's getting double, where she needs to kick the ball out to. And it's just playing out of her mind right now. Kelsey Mitchell playing out of her mind right now. I will say, I thought this game...

Caitlyn actually looked comfortable running the team. And if they can continue to play this way and continue to play through Aaliyah, I think they have some more wins to come. But Aaliyah has to touch the basketball. She absolutely has to. And two other players that we didn't talk about, I think Nelissa Smith, she's playing well. Katie Liu just...

Just doing what she does, stepping in, knocking down threes, playing exceptionally well. Last thing I'll say on this. Can we just stop making fouls that are basketball plays? Right. Can we can we stop with all the oh, my goodness, they're out to get Caitlyn.

Like Caitlin even said, it was a basketball play. The foul with Angel Reese. The refs got it right. They called a flagrant one. Let's keep it pushing. Let's keep it playing. Angel was clearly going for the block. And when you're going for a block, if you don't get it, sometimes you're going to hit her in the head, the back, somewhere. But there was no malice to it, no bad intentions. It was a basketball play. Like we stopped.

Stop it. Stop, stop, stop. Yeah, stop. I'm excited about this rematch because they'll be playing, not even a rematch, it's the third game, but they'll be playing in Chicago. Yeah, yeah. So let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. I like it. Just a little context. There's been nine flagrants called this season. 65 total last season, but we're like a month in. What's going on?

I think it was just because it was above the shoulders. That's kind of an automatic, but clearly she was going for the ball. It's the biggest eye roll of all time. They said it was, or Angel Reese said it was a basketball play. Caitlin Clark said it was a basketball play, but I just think this matchup has a magnifying glass on it. And everyone is like waiting for something to happen. And I felt like you could see on Angel's face right after it happened. She was just like,

her shoulders kind of shrunk down and it looked like okay this is what they're going to be talking about it's it seemed like an automatic even as somebody just watching but anyway I love Kennedy Carter moving into the starting lineup um I think that was a great great adjustment by Teaspoon I think both of these teams are a perfect example of how the season is progressing like they're

they have come so far from these early weeks of play and I think for Indiana having a practice where they can set up things going through Aaliyah Boston and having that time when they're not playing 10 games in 11 days or whatever craziness that was yeah you can see it's like a recalculation like okay what's not what wasn't working this is working and I think to your point about Caitlin Clark

Not only does she look comfortable running the team, I think she didn't have to force as many things. She was able to really pick and choose what she wanted to score. And like 23 points, it just seemed not even effortless, but it wasn't, I'm going to jack up all these shots because we need offense right now. We're going to flow through Aaliyah. What she doesn't get, okay, next time down, I'll get this transition three. Okay, Kelsey Mitchell's open on the break. I'm going to hit. It just seemed more in flow.

And that is what the fever could only hope for, especially this early with this young group. So. It looked good yesterday. It looked good. You know, me last part, Chicago needs another point guard. Can you, can you imagine Odyssey Sims and Kennedy Carter, Kennedy Carter, Odyssey Sims and Kennedy Carter in the back court? I'm just saying. Yeah.

Odyssey. I don't know what it is, but I will just say Odyssey Sims is too good of a player. Seriously. You need to be somewhere to not be in the W. She needs to be somewhere. All right. We're going to take a break coming up. We're talking New York Liberty.

Think you know the Brooks Ghost? Think again. Introducing the all-new, better-than-ever Ghost 16. Now with nitrogen-infused cushioning for lightweight, supreme softness that feels good every step, every street, every single day. So go ahead, take your daily joy ride in the all-new nitrogen-infused Ghost 16. It'll turn your everyday miles into everyday endorphins. Let's run there. Head to brookssrunning.com to learn more. Welcome back. Welcome back.

Now it is time to talk about the New York Liberty. They looked good against the Aces and they are humming right now.

eight game winning streak for them. And just to set the scene last year, the storyline through most of the WNBA season was the tale of two super teams. That's all we really kept talking about the aces versus Liberty. They met 10 times during the 2023 season. And honestly,

Most of those games weren't good. Like they were blowouts. Terrible. On either team, we were so excited about them, but they weren't good. This game this past week was actually close and good. But the Aces ultimately...

Put that storyline to rest and defeated the Liberty in the WNBA finals. But this year, the Liberty have been cruising. Like I said, they're on an eight-game winning streak. They are 12-2, only trailing Connecticut, who they beat in the standings. The rematch was good for this first time, but the Liberty got them. 90-82, Jonquil Jones, all scorers with 34 points and eight rebounds.

Cheryl, what is different for the Liberty this season? I mean, I think, you know how we were talking about Asia had a chip on her shoulder for whoever won, not winning MVP and whoever gave her that fourth place vote. I think that's exactly what the Liberty's feeling right now. Like we let one slip last year on our home court. They didn't have Chelsea Gray. They didn't have Kia Stokes and they were still able to come in here and beat us.

No doubt about it. That's in the back of their minds. I just think they're playing. They're like clicking everywhere. And correct me if I'm wrong. Sloot is still out. Yes. And they were able to beat the aces without Sloot. But I have to say this. Jonquil Jones, her 34 and eight is something she should be doing on the regular.

No, maybe not 34, but she's good enough. It's just kind of like sometimes she just goes through the motions like, yeah, I'm out here instead of just being dominant. Because when she decides that she is going to dominate, she can. And this game clearly shows that. I think Stewie is doing Stewie things. And you know what?

But Sabrina Ionescu has added a little bit more to her game. Absolutely. She's not just standing behind the three-point line, shooting threes. She's actually putting the ball on the deck. She's creating. She's trying to get to the hole. Those three, you throw in Benaja Laney, I just...

I just think they're clicking on all cylinders and they're playing with so much confidence. And that to me has been the biggest difference in this Liberty team.

Absolutely. And when you talk about Sabrina, you know, with Sloot out still for personal reasons, so we're not sure when she's going to come back. Sabrina has stepped into that point guard role and getting more things off the dribble, like attacking the basket. And I think that just opens up the offense because now the aces, you could tell they didn't

Okay, do we take her three away? She's driving. Do we help off? Then she's kicking it out to Jonquil Jones, who's drilling it from beyond the arc. You have to pick your poison, and there's too many options right now, especially when they're all playing well. And we think about this time last season where we were like, I don't know. This might not be working. Chemistry, chemistry. It takes some time. And this

This is a year later where they have went through a gauntlet of all the way to the finals together. You know, they've talked about in the off season, they're going out to dinner. They're doing things outside of basketball together to build that chemistry. And it shows it really does. I think they're also putting the bench pieces together as well. Kayla Thornton sliding into that starting lineup or coming off the bench. I think she's also grown in her confidence this season and,

So they just have a lot of weapons and...

when you think about what they had to do to build this quote unquote super team, it was so they can win a championship. And you, I feel like you, they are oozing that those vibes from them every single game. Like, yes, we are going to get through this regular season, but our eyes are on the finals because we want to get the first banner in franchise history. And I just feel that every time that I watch them.

which is a good place to be in june good place that is that that that to me is exactly what what i see when i see them and you know everybody talked about last year right like oh my gosh they have all this talent and why aren't they winning games and it's true like you can't just put all this talent together and think that overnight you're going

to be great and win a championship. Because when you look at the aces, they're like, well, they added Candace Parker, so they're a super team.

But the aces had all of their players together. They were already together, right? The only piece they added that was different really was, was Candace, but New York, they put a whole different, a whole new squad together with Stewie and slew and JJ. So absolutely. It's going to take some time, but I think they look really good right now. And, um,

Could we see an aces Liberty rematch in the finals? I don't know. Cause Connecticut is like, I know you roll. I know. Connecticut is right there. I man, that game, you know, New York versus Connecticut was really, really good. And I'm excited to see that continue, but I,

I guess I'm looking at their schedule or who's going to give them the most friction or who has. I guess that Chicago is definitely an outlier for them, just kind of has their number for the Liberty. But I don't know. I think the Liberty have all the pieces. It's always an asterisk for everyone to stay healthy. But I feel like

They needed last season to be this team this season, if that makes sense. I don't think they could have just naturally come into where they are right now. They needed all of the talk, all of the discussion. Everyone, you know, even saying, you know, Stewie, you weren't the MVP. Like they needed all of that talk to get to the, to get them to where they are today. And it is proving true.

they're proving everybody right. They're like, hey, we said give us time and now look, we're humming right now. So, all right, all right, Liberty, we see you, we see you. Make sure to keep listening to the show 'cause this is so fun to do every single week. That's my ploy. - Love, love, love, love. - Please follow, rate, review,

review the show because I have a blast talking hoops every week with Cheryl Swoops. It's available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also send us questions. We love, love reading your listener emails. Our email address is queensofthecourtatodyssey.com. Absolutely. Just like Jordan said, y'all, this is like the highlight of my week. Every week. I absolutely love it.

As if y'all didn't already know where to find us on social media, you can find me at airsweeps22 and she, her, Jordan is at HeyJordana. I always like to see what your new dance is going to be for the week. I know how long the hey is going to be by how deep of a breath you take. When you do it. Okay. Okay. I know. I know. Okay.

The court is an Odyssey original created in partnership with the WNBA. The show is produced by Alex Ozzie. The executive producers are Maddie Sprung Kaiser and Leah Reese Dennis. Social media assistance from Isabella Apple. Music from T-Storm Battle. And like always, a very special thank you to Lena Moss Glazer. And court is adjourned.