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Shut your mouth. This is Queens of the Court. What's up, everybody? Did you miss me? I don't know. Anyway, welcome to another episode of Queens of the Court, an Odyssey Original Podcast produced in partnership with the WNBA. Cheryl Swoops. And I'm Jordan Robinson, and I missed Cheryl so much. So we're here. We're back.
And now court is in session. We're back in session, baby. We're on a recess. I don't know if we think on that one either, but we tried. I told her it's just kind of a thing we do now. It's like purposely out of sync. It's our signature. But before we get into this, can I say something?
Yes. Monica McNutt, you know, I got mad love for you, but you can't come on Queens of the Court calling us out on not being in sync on something. You just can't do that. At least not the first visit. I know. Maybe the second time. Not the first one.
But with that being said, thanks for holding it down. Double M, Eminem. She did. We were able to preview the semifinals, but now we are fully into the semifinals. And we're recording this on Monday. So game one already happened. Game two is coming up Tuesday evening. It's best of five.
And Las Vegas leads against Dallas 1-0. Connecticut leads over New York 1-0. Both game twos are Tuesday night, like I said. And we're going to get into those series because I have a lot of thoughts. I have a lot of questions. There's so many things I want to... Yeah, I got my notes. I got handwritten notes. So you know that's coming. That's coming. But before we get into those...
Award season is here. And Twitter was a little on fire when Asia Wilson was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. And she received 32 votes out of 60. Alyssa Thomas came in second with 24 votes. I don't know if anyone was really upset about that part. I think it was more of the all-defensive first team and second team. I'm going to list that off real quick.
First team, Asia Wilson, Alyssa Thomas, Brittany Sykes, Jordan Canada, and Brianna Stewart. Second team, Benajilaini, Nafisa Collier, Ezzie Magnegore, Nneka Agumbike, and Elizabeth Williams. Yeah, quick tweet from Natasha Cloud, because if you guys are wondering where her name is, I think we were all wondering why she was left off of this. She said, voting for this league is a joke.
in a now deleted post. Cheryl, what are your thoughts when you saw that graphic or when you saw Asia win it or when you saw the first and second teams? Just like you got a lot, I got a lot. Except mine is not on paper. Mine is up in the head. Yeah, yeah. So let me start by saying this.
Totally agree with Asia Wilson winning Defensive Player of the Year. I think if you remember, we go back to our awards. I think we both gave Asia Defensive Player of the Year. I think so. She's been dominant. That one was not a shock, not a surprise to me. And like you, I don't think there were too many people upset about Asia winning Defensive Player of the Year. But no doubt there were people upset about the first and second place.
all defensive teams, myself included. And again, I don't vote. I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't have a say so in it, but come on now. My mom used to say right is right and wrong is wrong. And voters were so wrong with this one. Some people may not like this, but I'm going to say it because that's what I do here on Queens of the Court. I think when Washington lost
And Natasha did her postgame interview. She talked a lot about just being grateful and thankful to Washington and being on a team and in a place where she could be her, do what she wants to do, say what she wants to say, how she feels. And she does that. She wears her emotions on her sleeve.
But listen, I write hard for Natasha Cloud, have so much love and respect for her. And when she said typically a player like her, when you speak your mind and you go against the grain and you don't say the most popular thing and you don't say what people want you to say. Yeah, you do. You get blackball. Like she she said that. And when I looked at.
Both of these teams, honestly, I didn't look to see who made it. I looked to see who didn't make it. Yeah. And when I didn't see Natasha, I'm not even going to say on second team because she should have been on first team. But when I didn't see her on, on either of those teams, I immediately said they're trying to blackball her or trying to, I don't know. I don't know what it is they're trying to do, but two things.
Jackie Young also, I think, is a hell of a defender. Yeah. A hell of a defender. She was left off of the defensive teams and Natasha Clout. Those are two players. To me, you should start the teams off with one of them or both. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The other thing, I was just shocked at...
Andrea Carter said this on WB Countdown last night, I think, night before last, whenever the games are. I've slept since then. She said, where are the guards? And I said the same thing. Where are the guards? Come on. And it's not to take anything away from the bigs. Here's my thought. Andrea said this too.
the guards are out front you're pressuring the ball and natasha cloud's case she's picking up full court she's making your life a living hell miserable right so yeah she's out she's pressuring the ball she's getting out in passing lane she's disrupting offenses
To me, that's where the defense starts. And yeah, if she gets beat, that's where your Asia comes in, your Stewies come in, your NECA's come in because they're there to help you. And I'm not saying that their job isn't tough.
But it's a little bit easier when you're the back line and you're back there to help your guards when they get beat. I don't know. Because this is a conversation we could have the whole episode. Well, yeah. And I talked about that because when we were giving our awards,
gave Brittany Sykes defensive player of the year because of her steals and because of that. And I, we had that conversation briefly of why does this award typically go to bigs? Like it, it, it does. But when you look at second team,
Nafisa Collier, Ezzie Magnegore, Nneka Agumbike, Elizabeth Williams, those are all big. And you can't say that guards don't contribute enough to make second team. That is... It's a little shocking. And when you have Asia going back-to-back, that's rare air. Cheryl Swoops is in that air of going back-to-back defensive player of the year. And it is a little bit of...
okay, it's blocks, it's rebounds, it's defensive win shares, but it's not the pressuring the ball. It's not the steals. It's not how are you limiting the person that you're guarding? Are we taking that into account? And especially Natasha Cloud, what she did on Sabrina when she called her out that game. I don't want to cut you off, but not just that game. When I look at Natasha, Natasha Cloud to me is one of those players that
you want on your team because you know what she's going to bring. You don't want to have to go up against her. Sandy Brandello said, wanted the ball out of Sabrina's hands because Tosh was making her life miserable. And to me, when you start talking about defensive player of the year or just all defensive team players,
You got to take all those things into consideration. Natasha cloud night in and night out is defending the other team's best guard. I'm not saying player because she's not guarding the post players, but she's defending the best guard. She's getting out. She's pressuring full course. She's in passing lane. She's disrupting their offense.
She's not allowing Sabrina to go where she wants to go. She's not allowing Sabrina to make her easy cuts, to get wide open. And even if she does catch it, she's in her space. She's just making it miserable for her the entire game. Like, how do you omit someone of her caliber on the defensive end? You blatantly omit her from being on one of these defensive teams. Shame on you. Yeah. Like, it...
Make it make sense. Make it make sense. Well, the voting is media on defensive teams and defensive year. And I think that is what kind of came into question after these teams were
announced Michael Volpos at ESPN asked Becky Hammond about the all defensive teams and she said the biggest two snubs were Jackie Young and Tosh Cloud I don't know how those two players are not on the list and asked if she thinks coaches should return to voting on these teams she said who watches more film
The coaches. Point made. Courtney Williams even said, she tweeted, yeah, they should let players and coaches vote on these awards. It's just different having to scout and play against it night in and night out. That's to your point about Tasha Cloud. Sandy Brodello is like, okay, how are we going to work around her great
Yes. And that's an issue that always comes up when we talk about voting. All-star voting is even mixed in a combination of media players and coaches. And I think when we give out these awards for defense, you have to consider coaches and players because if you're out there on the court and Natasha Cloud is picking you up full court or Jackie Young is guarding you off screens, you're
They're going to make your night hell and you're going to want to vote for them because you're thinking about who made it toughest on me to get my to get buckets. These players, these players. And that's how you're the voting should come about. So I think there needs to be some changes in the voting. So there's a there's a lot to unpack in what you just said. But, you know, I go back and I question, do we vote?
do we go back to positions for the all defensive teams? Do you, you know, do you have a guard, a two, a forward, a big, I don't know. But to, to Courtney Williams's point when she said, yeah, players should vote. I do think current players should,
should have a percentage of that, right? Because you're the ones that are going up against each other night in and night out. The other side of that though is, and I hate saying this, if you don't like a player, you're not going to vote for her. Even if Natasha Cloud is the toughest guard that you go up against every single night, if you have an issue with her, if you don't like her for whatever reason, you're going to make it personal and you're not going to vote for her.
So from that standpoint, I don't mean Courtney, I'm just saying in general, right? Yeah. Yeah. From that standpoint, I don't know how much that makes sense, but I think they should have some type of a percentage. Absolutely think coaches should vote. And here's a very random thing for me. I think you go and put together a current player list.
I mean, former player board or something that's allowed to vote for postseason awards. It can't be every retired player because one, not every retired player watches. Unfortunately, they don't. Yeah. Go and you find five former players who are invested in the game and continue to watch. And you allow, I'm putting myself out there. You allow us to have a say so in postseason awards. Yeah.
That's not a bad idea. I just because and I am going to say this from personal experience, because I also think it works the same way with the media. Like if because this has happened to me when I play. So-and-so wants to do an interview. And for whatever reason, you're like, you know what? Not today. Like, I don't I don't want to talk to you. They hope they take that personally. And when it's time to vote.
They go back and say, remember that time I wanted to talk to her and she just blew me off and didn't want to talk to me. She does not get my vote. Like that's childish and petty to me, but it happens. And I don't know if that was the case with Natasha cloud, but I'm there. There's obviously a disconnect somewhere with media and Tosh, because there you, you can't, there is no reason you can give me. That's going to make me say, Oh,
You're right. She shouldn't have been on one of the defense, all defensive teams. That's a great point. That's what makes it so tricky. But I think it's just going to make Tosh scarier next year. Like it's just a chip, but it's not fair. It's not fair. And all the like player defense is hard. Like it takes a lot of work just to do the bare minimum. Right.
not getting in passing lanes not denying and then you have the other side where you have players who slim who is denying everywhere on the floor who's pressuring the ball who's getting down passing lanes who's getting steals like like you have those players not very many of them in the league but you have those players that are just disruptors all over the floor and Natasha Cloud and
I know we're not talking about Jackie very much, but Jackie Young as well. Jackie's one of those players and Tosh too. I don't care who it is. If they get switched on a big, they're going to bang and battle with that big. It doesn't matter who they're guarding. You're going to feel them on defense. You got, I don't know. You got to make that shit make sense. I'm sorry. I know. I think another
that just have to sprinkle in on this. This was announced very early. I do want to put that out there. This was not supposed to be announced for a few weeks. Yeah. And now that got social media buzzing a little bit. Like, why did you drop this so early? Does that mean that, you know, Asia won something else? I don't, I don't know. The MVP is supposed to be announced early.
September 26th, which tomorrow, Tuesday, we are recording this the day before that is going to be announced. But I, some people are throwing things out there that maybe she did win MVP. So they wanted to put defensive player of the year first. I don't know this all speculation, but we'll see if MVP is actually set on time because it seems like the dates are kind of arbitrary at this point. They're just releasing them whenever they want. But yeah,
Yeah, we might have to do an emergency pod if somebody, based on that MVP announcement, because it's getting spicy. I don't know who it's going to be. I still have no idea. Because it's supposed to be announced tomorrow, right? I don't think it's AT. If it's supposed to be announced tomorrow, to me, that's either going to be Stewie or Asia because they're playing at home, right? Yeah.
The Liberty's playing at home. It could be. The Aces are playing at home. I just, I could be so wrong, but I just don't see them giving AT the most valuable player award tomorrow in New York. I don't know. I really don't know. We're going to, yeah. I feel like it.
Well, we'll see. We'll see. But I do want to talk about these games. So we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to start breaking down these semifinal games because there's a lot to unpack there. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.
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I just love playoff basketball. I have the biggest smile on my face because it was so much fun to watch and to see people shine. This is what we've been hinting at for weeks of the regular season of like, now there's going to be some separation. And let's start with the Aces and the Wings. Aces won game one, 97-83.
It just seemed like the aces wanted it more. I feel like this was the aces that we kind of wanted in the commissioner's cup against the Liberty, but they came out immediately. They did not want, I feel like they heard us talking about Dallas had some hope or they had some confidence and they just washed it. Did you feel that way too? Yeah. I felt like Vegas came out and did what the defending champion is supposed to do. You get them down.
And you don't let them think that they can even play with you. Right. Before we get into specifics, let me just say, you know how I feel about Gamecock, South Carolina, Asia Wilson. And I know we've talked about her. But what I saw last night in a play in a playoff game, not a regular season game in a playoff game.
By Asia. I was going to give her a name. Asia Laquita Shaniqua Wilson. That's what she played like. She that girl. That girl. She was a bad mamma jamma last night. That's what I'll say.
I just like I felt like a proud mom watching her. And I think the reason why is because, listen, Dallas is no slouch. OK. And I was one that said Dallas could surprise a lot of people.
And we'll talk about Dallas in a minute because I do believe that. But there was a lot they got to change. But what impressed me with Asia is how aggressive she was and how she kept attacking the basket and attacking Tiara McGowan and Kalani Brown at six. What are they? Six, ten. I don't know. And she made it look so easy. Now, two things happened.
Kalani and Tierra, they got to be better. We'll talk about that. But Asia Wilson, she is her. She is her. She is she. She is her. She is it. She is all of it. The girl is good. She's good. 34 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots in the victory. I think this part, this is the part here.
She was 15 from 21 from the field, 71.4%. That ties a WNBA record for field goals in a playoff game. This is from ESPN as well. In the first two round games against the Chicago Sky and Sunday's semifinal opener, Asia Wilson has totaled 86%.
The most by any WNBA player ever throughout three postseason games. She is also one of just three players to have back-to-back 30-point games in the WNBA playoffs. And she's done it twice this year and last year. She's one of one right now. And a key word that you said, aggressive players.
aggressive on both ends of the floor. The shot blocking was, I'm sending this to the rafters. It's not a little tap. I'm sending it to the rafters and I'm not scared of Dallas's length because that's what, you know, me, even me and Monica talked about on the last episode and what I've been saying when anybody asked me about this series, I say, man, but Dallas is big. And I call them the Dallas wingspan. And they have, you know, another tall person coming off
the bench even when one subs out it didn't seem like it phased Asia at all and I know we talk about regular season is regular season and this is a new season I feel like in the regular season especially when Dallas got them the the height was a factor and it was like okay man you're going one-on-one against Tiara and then Kalani comes over for help and how is she gonna do this
She didn't pay it any mind. Asia Wilson just went straight through them. And with that type of 71% from the field, you are in full control of the game. Everything is riding around you. One crazy stat, the third quarter, the Dallas wings had 12 points. Asia herself had 14 points. Like, are you kidding? But you know, I think,
if there's one thing that I look at and I'm like, okay, this, this could be a concern. Not, not saying she's not in shape, but Asia's having to play a lot of minutes. Fair point. And if Dallas continues to push the ball and keep the pace up, how, how can Asia continue to be this effective in game two, game three and more if needed. Right. Um,
And we're talking about Asia, but I mean, Jackie Young was phenomenal last night. Kelsey Plum, especially in the second quarter, second half, second quarter, when she finally started hitting her threes. But it's their starters, right? Like their starters have to get it done because the players that come in off the bench, you have Alicia Clark and that's pretty much it.
right right off the bench well that's what I was gonna say because there was a stretch there where Asia did go out for a rest and they went the aces went very small they had Alicia Clark they had Kirsten Bell out there and Kia Stokes was the only big um I think plum and
There was Jackie Young or Chelsea Gray, but they went smaller and the wings ate that up. Like they went on a seven nine Oh run. And then Asia, she came right back in. So you're like, okay, you can't really have her with, can't be without her on the floor.
Is that going to wear down? And is she going to be able to put in this type of work all the way through the finals? So that's a fair point. And here's the other part, the other side. When you start talking about Dallas, you also I know Asia's blocking shots, but you also have to make her work on the defensive end. You can't have Asia guarding her.
whether it's tiara or kalani like you got to get on the block you got to use your size your body be physical you got to make asia work and try to wear her down on the defensive end a little bit so to me when you talk about dallas i still believe dallas has enough i believe they have the pieces here's what i think we tend to forget because they have played so well this season
They're young. They're still young. Right? I sat here and I looked at them last night and I'm like, even Arike, she's young. Right? They've never been in this position they're in right now. Vegas has. Vegas knows what it takes. They've been there, done that. Dallas is still trying to figure it out. And Satu. Satu is young. Right? Kalani, Tiara, they're a young team. But in saying that, you're...
You beat Atlanta and now you're at a place where you got to not only do what you did in that series, but you got to do more. But Kalani and Tiara, I would love to see them play a little bit to play together a little bit more. I know she's not going to do it that often, but the two of them, that's a hell of a combo. And especially when Vegas goes small, right?
Who are you going to put Alicia Clark on? Tierra or Kalani? Because Asia's going to guard one. And you know what?
The thing with the two of them is they have got to start using their size, their physicality, their height. Be stronger when they're on the block, posting up. Not letting the little guards come in and take the ball. I know they lost the game and it was a 14-point game, but I didn't even really feel like it was a 14-point game because there were spurts in that game where I was like, oh, this is the Dallas team that
We've been talking about. And then the Aces, Asia in particular, was like, oh, this is the Aces team y'all need to be talking about. But I still think this will be a really good series. I do. I agree. And that point that you said, it seemed like Tiara McCown, when she would get the ball on the block, she would just start to dribble. And she would do too many dribbles. Like, I want you to turn and go up.
moves because Kelsey Plum reaching in there, Jackie Young reaching in there and they would get those steals almost every time or at least make them fumble it a little too much for my liking. And I think that took away some of the, the quote unquote easier baskets that they could have got. But I,
I do want to give credit to the Aces defense because at halftime, Satu only had six points and Arike only had six points. Satu ended up finishing with 16, but at half it was like, okay, you got to have your stars kind of turn up a little bit more. But I...
a thousand percent agree in that first half it was like oh yeah you guys haven't been here before yeah this is a different level wings and you you haven't been here as a team natasha howard has and that showed a little bit but it was like okay i think next game is going to be a different game they're going to have some more legs under them but it was it was very much like okay welcome to the big leagues yeah but i will say this if if it's going to be a series
Arike and Satu have to be Arike and Satu and Natasha also. Like I know we're talking about Kalani and Tiara, but those big three, Satu, Arike and Natasha, they got to show up. Yeah. In conclusion, Asia Wilson is that girl and the aces seem very comfortable with
But I'm still pulling for Dallas to make it a series. Me too. She is that girl. She is that girl. Asia, you a bitch. Shut your mouth. All right. All right. Enough of this series. When we come back, we're going to talk about the Liberty versus the Suns.
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Okay, we're back. This was the series I really wanted to talk about with you, Cheryl, because The Sun maybe sort of stunned everyone by winning game one, 78-63. It was a good win, too. It wasn't a close game buzzer beater. They really showed... It was a really good win. Yeah.
The Sun, they wanted it more from the jump, too. I think that's what came out. But this is a little fact from ESPN. Despite trailing by three at the half, the Sun won by 15, making them the seventh WNBA team and first since the 2011 Lynx to win a playoff game by at least that many after being down at halftime. So they...
surged in that second half and specifically Dewana Bonner just playing her yes my goodness 20 points at 36 years old she looks so comfortable so in control the aggressor she's getting to her spots I don't feel like she's taking shots that she doesn't want to she is on a mission that's what I'm seeing from Dewana Bonner what else stuck out to you
Oh, my gosh. Besides that, you know, like Dion said, we ain't talking about Colorado this year, this time. But like he said before, it's personal.
I think the Sun, they take it all personal. And it's not just Dewana or A.T. It's the entire team. They are like, oh, okay. We hear y'all talking about these super teams all season and all of that. And we're not good enough. And I also think her teammates are like, A.T. should be MVP. And y'all aren't going to give it to her. So we just got to control what we can control. And what that is right now is beating the Liberty. And I don't know.
And I know a lot of people were like, they stunned them or it was an upset. It's an upset because people said the Liberty, they're a super team, right? No one's talking about Connecticut. I don't think it was an upset. I think Connecticut did exactly what they've always known they could do. And they hear the noise, right? But they're like, we're just going to go play. And that's what they did. But let me also say this. I don't know if we're doing a flower segment. This is a flower segment for a few players. Please.
Rebecca Allen, come through sis. Did you see her outfit before the game? When I saw the outfit, I said she is about to light somebody. Not just offensively. Defensively, she was getting steals, blocking shots. I said, okay.
me a little bit of a Lauren Jackson from back in the day, just a little bit. 18.7 rebounds for Rebecca Allen. Big time game. I was so sick when she picked up that fifth foul. Me too. I'm trying to run back. Listen, she sat out a lot.
And if Tiffany Hayes wouldn't have been out, I think it would have been more of a beating than points. So those two. Then I could talk about Natisha Heideman hitting some big shots. Harris coming in, hitting some big shots. I thought every single player that came in the game for the Sun contributed in some capacity. But I'll also say this. I think we know what we're going to get from Dewana and A.T. Night in and night out. They're so consistent.
If they can continue to play this way, and I'm talking about the entire team, we will see a Connecticut Sun versus somebody, Dallas or Aces. Because the look that I saw on the Liberty was like, this is not really happening. That was the look I saw from Subuey, from Sabrina, from Benaja. Like, what is going on?
The other side, I'm going to talk about the Liberty very briefly. Stewie was just off. I didn't think she had a good game at all. Sabrina's role on this New York Liberty squad is to score. It's to score. It's not to distribute the basketball. It ain't to play defense. None of that. Her role is to score. And when her shot is not... Like, yeah, she shot the ball. What? I think she...
first three shots or threes or whatever. But she didn't score the way she's been scoring, right? And to me, when Sabrina is not scoring the basketball and defense is like smothering her and all over her, she mentally gets in her head. And in this particular game, I thought it was hard for her to get out of her own way, right? But I'll tell you who I felt
And I felt this way for a while. The key to the liberty that is John Quayle Jones and Benaja Laney. I thought Benaja started the game out well. John Quayle cannot allow Dewana Bonner to guard her on the block. Yes, she can. And Dewana guarded her on the block.
I'm just going to leave it there. That's fair. JJ still finished with a double double, but I wanted her to be even more dominant on the block. Especially she needed to be. You have, she has to make Stephanie and let me say this coach of the year, Stephanie white, her game plan was spot on. Perfect. So good. JJ has got to make Steph go back to the drawing board. Right. And say, damn, she's,
destroying us on the block. Dewana can't guard her one-on-one. We got to double. We got to do something different. So JJ, game two, you got to be better on the block. Make them do something different. Stephanie White said after the game, probably the most consistent 40 minutes that we played all year. And I agree. There was a lot of talk. They looked really good. And it was a lot of talk about, yes, the New York Liberty being a super team, but also the fact
that the Liberty swept them in the regular season. This is the only team that Connecticut did not beat in the regular season. So it felt like, oh man, does New York just have their number? Can they just not get over the hump? But Connecticut was like, up, up, that was regular season. Hold up, hold up.
Time out right there. You gave Rebecca Allen some flowers and Tiffany Hayes. I do think she needs to, if she stays out of foul trouble, they're even stronger as a team. Olivia Nelson, a Dota. I want to give some flowers to her as well, because she came in and gave some very solid minutes playing defense on JJ disrupting her only four points, three rebounds, but it was her presence that,
And, you know, she was on the Sparks last season. She was so green, very rookie this year, just knowing her role. Like, OK, coach, what do you want me to do? Go in and guard JJ. Just make it a little tough on her. And that is exactly what she did. I love I love that point. Another thing that you mentioned to Stewie.
She hasn't been shooting well all of the playoffs. It was very bad in game one against Connecticut, 28% from the field. She was seven for 25 and,
And she was 0% from three. Oh, for eight. So just a rough shooting night. And then versus the mystics in both of those games, 29% from the field and 11% from three. So you have to know that Brianna Stewart, she's a better shooter than this. You can't count on her shooting like this night in and night out, but it's like,
Yikes. If you're the Liberty, you got to be like, okay, we need a little bit more. We need a little more consistent. I don't have the numbers for Sabrina, but that was...
that was a tough look for her just, just bricking at home. So I think that's going to turn around. I don't think that's going to be a consistent thing, but on the other end, Connecticut has to show some consistency in this semifinals for them to have a chance. That's my biggest gripe with the sun is that they are a roller coaster. They're up and down, up and down. Team is going to show up. You never know what team is going to show up. But if, if this team, if,
Natisha Heideman blocking Stewie's shot team. How about that? How about that? Woo, that was good. If that team shows up, then yeah, New York Liberty, they a little shaky. They shaking in their boots a little bit. Listen, Connecticut did what they needed to do. They stole one on the road. Yes. Now, Liberty, you pretty much have to win game two. You have to, yeah. You have to. Mm-hmm.
But Connecticut is feeling really, really, really good about themselves right now. They know that New York is beatable. They know they can beat New York. And Tiffany Hayes was in foul trouble. And they won the game. Yeah. After the game, DeJuana Bonner said that Alyssa Thomas got her mad. And that's why she started going off.
Going off in the second half, she said she can't share. She got her mad before the game. Yeah. She said she can't share why she got her mad, but she's probably going to do it again for game two to make sure she gets it. Whatever it was. Yeah, do it again.
it worked whatever it was it worked quick reminder they were so good so good so so good both franchises are looking for their first WNBA championship the Sun are making their fifth consecutive semi-final appearance and the Liberty are making their first semi-final since 2015. so the desire
is not that shouldn't be a question like they are hungry hungry to make people start talking about Connecticut Liberty trying to prove something people write that they were um supposed to be here and that they're gonna make it to the finals so there's there's a lot of storylines there's a lot of things on the line in this series and I think that's what makes it really really fun
Really fun. So you're saying New York has to win game two. Any other predictions? I want to say Dallas has to win also. Dallas needs to win at Vegas because Vegas, I do believe, will get one on the road. Okay. You're in the locker room. Coach swoops. What's your message to Dallas? And then what's your message to the Liberty before game two? So...
My message to Dallas is simple. We have nothing to lose, right? All the pressure is on the defending champions. And so you know what the aces are going to do. If I'm Coach T to Dallas, I'm saying, I didn't think Dallas played bad, right? There were spurts where I was like, they can get this done. But what I'm saying is, this is just me being the real coach, is Arike and Satu,
I think y'all stayed in Dallas. Need to put y'all on the plane and come to Vegas. I wouldn't say it like that. I think you would. Not quite a little bit, but in saying that we, there were moments where they were still in the game without their two best scores playing very well. So you get Arike and Satu to show up for game two. And I'm,
really going to go at Kalani and Tierra and say, listen, y'all got to make it a lot tougher and harder on Asia and Natasha Howard, because you're going to end up guarding Asia some, right? You were on all defensive team before.
I do believe you know how to defend. We got to make it tougher on Asia. And I think if they make it tougher on Asia, it's going to make everybody else's job that much easier. And I'm giving them confidence that we've beaten this team before in the regular season. So we know we can do it again. It's the place I get it, but we know we have what it takes to be there. Now, if I'm New York Liberty and I'm Sandy Brandello, before I even have a conversation with the team, I'm,
I'm going to bring Stewie in and have a one-on-one conversation with Stewie. And my question to her is, what can I do to help you? Right? Okay. Like, is it the offense? Do I need to run something different? Do I need to put you in a different position? Because we have to have Stewie scoring. You have to score for us. So how can I help you? Then when I go talk to the team, it becomes, listen, win or go home pretty much. We've done a lot of talking.
regular season and everybody else was talking. So now, now it's time to put up. We just, we got to play period. I ain't going to say a lot of words because, and at this point they already know. Yeah. They're pros. They already know, but I need to make sure that Stewie and I are on the same page and I need to know what I can do as a coach to help you for game two. Wow.
Standing ovation. Standing ovation. That's good. No, that's the perfect message. Stewie is personal. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.
Well, I mean, I said too, especially the Suns and I feel like Stewie was guarding AT, AT was guarding Stewie. So that is a little bit personal. Like if you're trying to, I know MVP votes are already in and everything like that. But of course, recency bias is what everyone is going to jump to when the MVP is announced. So I'm...
I'm trying, if I'm AT, I'm trying to prove why I should be MVP over you. I'm Brianna Stewart. I'm trying to just shoot over you. No doubt. So that's it. Right now AT is winning that. She is. She is. Well, we are in for a treat for the game two for both of these, both of these teams. I know I'll be watching.
um and we'll come back when we record next it might it's gonna be very telling how these series are going um but yeah that's it for us any final thoughts from you cheryl um you know it's not really but yeah we're giving flowers i don't know if we've given many flowers to coaches
But I want to say this to me, it's been so, especially the last game. Cause I really paid attention because they showed her a lot. Like, it's so nice to see Breon January on the sideline coaching, really coaching up the guards. I see her like working and talking with Ty Harris and the Tisha Heideman a lot. Like Breon January is not only good for the sun. She's good for the league.
Yes, I could not agree more. Here are your flowers, Breon January. It's so great to see her and just being so fresh. Like she just retired last year. So she's like, I was literally just here. So this is what you need to do. And talk about a pest on the court. She was a defender now. She was a defender. And angry.
And she looks fresh on the sideline. I like that little plum suit she had on. It was cute, right? Yeah, she had a little bun. It was cute. She looked like a coach. Okay, well, we will be watching those games. Shout out to you, Brand January. You're the best. Quick reminder, please share this podcast with your BFFs, with your other friends who love WNBA, especially because people are starting to get into it for the playoffs. Share them this podcast because I think they'll have fun, just like you're having fun listening to it.
Send us your questions, your feedback, any other predictions you have for the playoffs to our email at queensofthecourtatodyssey.com. Please continue to follow, rate, review the show. It's available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Y'all, y'all, this has got to be the best podcast you've listened to. Come on now. Duh. And if it's not, at least pretend like it is. Tell your friends it is.
Oh my gosh. But like always, y'all can find us on social media. I'm at airshoops22 and she, Jordan, is at Jordan. Nothing cracked that time. That's a good sign. Good, good. I tried to cut it short. I tried to cut it short. Queens of the Court is an Odyssey original created in partnership with the WNBA.
The show is produced by Alex Ozzie. The executive producer is Lena Moss Glazer. Social media assistance from Isabella Apple. Imaging from T-Storm Battle. And court is adjourned. That wasn't too bad. That was good. That was good. That was good. We were on time. We were together. Monica. Yeah.