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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're in Tampa,

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Speaker 1: Florida with our nails painted Husky blue, gamecock garnet, UCLA gold,

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Speaker 1: and longhorns burnt orange.

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Speaker 2: In preparation for the Final four games tonight. Does it

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Speaker 2: look crazy? Yes? But do I feel good about it? Also?

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Speaker 1: Yes, It's Friday, April fourth, Happy Friday Slices. On today's show,

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Speaker 1: We're all about the hoops, no need to know, no news,

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Speaker 1: just Big Citrus getting you excited and prepped for the

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Speaker 1: final four games with our favorite storylines, what each team

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Speaker 1: needs to do to secure a dub, and of course we'll.

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Speaker 2: Make some sure to go wrong predictions.

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Speaker 1: Gotta take a quick break first that it's Page versus

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Speaker 1: Bets and Booker versus kits. Big Citrus previews the biggest

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Speaker 1: weekend of the college hoops season. Next welcome back Slices.

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Speaker 1: Like I said, I am in Tampa for a fun

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Speaker 1: weekend at the Final Four, including a live show with

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Speaker 1: Diana Tarassi and Sue Byrd thanks to Capital One. That'll

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Speaker 1: be on Saturday at Tourneytown at two pm if anyone

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Speaker 1: is at the Final Four, and you'll also get to

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Speaker 1: hear that episode on Monday if you don't catch it live. Now,

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Speaker 1: we got to get you ready for all the action

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Speaker 1: this weekend with a little big Citrus gab fest, including

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Speaker 1: some predictions for the national semifinals and the title game

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Speaker 1: on Sunday. And of course we'll wrap the whole weekend

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Speaker 1: of parties and events and shows and games and all

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Speaker 1: that good stuff when we're back next week after the

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Speaker 1: games are done. But now let's set the stage. Friday's

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Speaker 1: Semifinals seven pm Eastern. We've got number one Texas versus

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Speaker 1: Number one South Carolina on ESPN. Then at nine pm Eastern,

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Speaker 1: Number two Yukon versus Number one Ucla, also on ESPN.

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Speaker 1: Both those games are at Amelie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

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Speaker 1: I want to bring in Alex and Meish to chat

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Speaker 1: about these matchups and just in general chat about the

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Speaker 1: culmination of one of the best women's college hoops seasons ever.

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Speaker 2: First, how we got here.

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Speaker 1: I can think back to when the three of us

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Speaker 1: were prepping for how we were going to I covered

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Speaker 1: this season, talk about this season, what we were most

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Speaker 1: excited about, the parody the Superstars misch. Has it lived

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Speaker 1: up to our very high expectations?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely? One thousand percent. You cannot be mad about the

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Speaker 3: season that we have witnessed. I think that makes me

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Speaker 3: especially happy because after last season, with all the drama

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Speaker 3: of the final four in the tournament and all the

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Speaker 3: hype around Kaylin Clark and Angel Reese, we know about

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Speaker 3: all that. A lot of folks were like, is it

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Speaker 3: gonna hit the same without them around? And I think

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Speaker 3: the answer is absolutely resoundingly yes.

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Speaker 2: What about you, Alex, Yeah, absolutely.

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Speaker 4: I think back to just five years ago and I

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Speaker 4: would get so mad reading news coverage in March because

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Speaker 4: I always would call it my internal red pen. I

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Speaker 4: would be like men's, men's, men's, you know, like just

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Speaker 4: so much ignorance around the women's tournament.

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Speaker 2: And I finally finally.

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Speaker 4: Feel like it has broken through and there is an

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Speaker 4: expectation that news outlets are covering it, and so I

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Speaker 4: think I've just been trying to embrace that. And I

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Speaker 4: have to tell y'all funny story. So Tuesday evening, I

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Speaker 4: had to run a couple of errands and Sarah, I

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Speaker 4: was kind of bumped because it meant I was going

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Speaker 4: to miss you on around the horn. So for slices

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Speaker 4: that aren't aware, you have to go back and watch,

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Speaker 4: oh watch.

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Speaker 2: Sarah was the horn, predicting the.

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Speaker 1: Costume as Woody Page, a seventy five year old man.

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Speaker 2: It's Woody Page. Am I on the show today? Check

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Speaker 2: the schedule? I'm on the show? Why do I? Is that?

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Speaker 1: So? My poor husband has seen me dressed as any

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Speaker 1: number of men all the time. It's like, how come

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Speaker 1: you never dress like a hot woman? I'm like, sorry, babe,

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Speaker 1: not my wheelhouse.

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Speaker 4: So I walk in, though I have to run some errands,

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Speaker 4: and so I walk into our local general store and

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Speaker 4: I kid you not, this place has everything, but it's

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Speaker 4: also the size of a shoe box. And I walk

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Speaker 4: in and I hear just like over the lad speaker,

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Speaker 4: like Olivia Miles enters the transfer portal and I'm like,

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Speaker 4: women's sports, what where? And I'm like, is this one

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Speaker 4: of I heart updates? And then I'm like, Sarah's usually

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Speaker 4: a little bit more even keel in her iHeart updates.

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Speaker 2: This sounds like an.

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Speaker 4: Angry Woody Page And sure enough, and so granted it

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Speaker 4: was you, so like it's not that big of a coincidence,

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Speaker 4: but just that spirit is like that's March madness for

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Speaker 4: me now, and I love it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the idea that you could walk into a store

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Speaker 1: and have a national show on ESPN be talking about

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Speaker 1: Olivia Miles and all that stuff and have it be.

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Speaker 2: It turns out it was me. Again.

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Speaker 1: Every time you keep hearing things in your stores or

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Speaker 1: in places that you don't expect them, it is me.

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Speaker 2: But that's also nice.

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Speaker 1: I'm really establishing myself as the voice in your head

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Speaker 1: at all times, even when you're not working.

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Speaker 2: What a delight for you, Alex.

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Speaker 4: It's honestly pretty sad given how much I hear your

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Speaker 4: voice that I don't immediately put it together.

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Speaker 2: That's what I'm saying.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I was also attempting to do a

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Speaker 1: woody page, but I honestly just sounded mostly like a

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Speaker 1: really bad Bernie Sanders impression the whole time. That's funny

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Speaker 1: that you say that, though, because first of all, I

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Speaker 1: internal redpen.

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Speaker 2: I mean that should be like my nickname for life.

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Speaker 1: I literally just think walking around like that could be

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Speaker 1: done better, or like that's there shouldn't be.

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Speaker 2: An apostrophe there, Like I just do that all the time.

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Speaker 1: But I have been doing that of late too, and

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Speaker 1: I've been especially noticing in the positive direction where I

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Speaker 1: see a headline say men's or I see a story

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Speaker 1: say men's when it used to always just say NCAA

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Speaker 1: basketball tournament, and then it would say women's if it

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Speaker 1: was talking women's.

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Speaker 2: But now it's saying men's too, So I do love that.

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Speaker 1: And I think as far as the expectations for this year,

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Speaker 1: one thing I will say, and I'll have to say

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Speaker 1: this carefully because I don't want to get away from

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Speaker 1: talking about intersectional issues in women's sports. I think that's important,

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Speaker 1: it matters, and I care about it. And also I

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Speaker 1: was really delighted that this season was about basketball and

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Speaker 1: it felt almost like Caitlin and Angel crawled so that

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Speaker 1: these players could walk without having to face the garbage

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Speaker 1: every single second. And I don't know if that's because

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Speaker 1: Pagebackers is a very unique kind of white women's basketball.

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Speaker 2: Player because of her background.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if that's because now we have this

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Speaker 1: superstar cadra of women that are black, white, all races

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Speaker 1: right as opposed to last year when they tried to

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Speaker 1: make it one versus the other, when it's like Paige

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Speaker 1: and Juju, you know, there's multiple stars to talk about

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Speaker 1: where it doesn't feel like it's all centered on one person,

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Speaker 1: and then everyone is that person's rival or someone to

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Speaker 1: compare them to. I've certainly heard people comparing Paige to Caitlin.

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Speaker 1: I've certainly heard people saying Juju hasn't had the draw

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Speaker 1: of Caitlin last year, but it just hasn't felt as

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Speaker 1: fraut this year, and I hope that that just means

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Speaker 1: it going forward, we could keep it this way.

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Speaker 2: But that's been nice.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from with that,

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Speaker 3: and I think I understand what you're saying about Caitlin

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Speaker 3: and Angel crawling so that these folks could run. And

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Speaker 3: even during the WNBA season, I didn't hear as much. Still,

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Speaker 3: besides the typical folks who've been around women's basketball forever,

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Speaker 3: I didn't hear enough about what they were doing on

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Speaker 3: the court. And I think the thing that's spectacular about

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Speaker 3: this season is not only are we talking more about

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Speaker 3: what's happening on the court, but like we're talking about

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Speaker 3: with this question, it's living up to expectations. Juju, until

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Speaker 3: she got hurt, was doing miraculous things. Page has had

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Speaker 3: an excellen season. Hannah Hidalgo Olivia, all of these players

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Speaker 3: have all individually lived up to the hype as well,

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Speaker 3: and that's you know what I mean, That only lends

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Speaker 3: itself to us having real basketball analytical conversations. So as

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Speaker 3: a hoop nerd, I'm right there with.

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Speaker 1: You, and it proves the point we've been saying with

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Speaker 1: this show since the very beginning, which is you just

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Speaker 1: have to give people enough information to be able to

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Speaker 1: have better conversations, and then they care more and then

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Speaker 1: they watch games on and on it goes. Before it

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Speaker 1: was literally like if Caitlin Clark opened a little door

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Speaker 1: for a lot of people to start watching. They didn't

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Speaker 1: have any context to talk about Madison Booker in Texas.

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Speaker 1: They didn't really understand what Hannah and Juju had done

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Speaker 1: as freshman. It was a lot of just oh, women

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Speaker 1: are playing basketball. Wow, it's physical.

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Speaker 2: They're mean to each other like the dumbest shit.

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Speaker 1: And now it's like, Okay, I built on a year

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Speaker 1: of learning about some of the teams and names, and

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Speaker 1: now I can actually talk about the basketball.

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Speaker 2: Not me personally, but the people were.

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Speaker 4: Talking about I think also credit to Juju's team. You know,

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Speaker 4: she's just a sophomore, but she has so much going

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Speaker 4: on around her. Right with this docu series and all

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Speaker 4: of these other kind of business endeavors that she is

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Speaker 4: involved with, and so I think she has almost she

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Speaker 4: has created ahead of time before she became a huge,

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Speaker 4: huge name, a narrative around her and some of the

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Speaker 4: infrastructure that for too long in the space, the players

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Speaker 4: were only reaching that point and getting that kind of

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Speaker 4: media infrastructure around them, And so I think she's helped

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Speaker 4: set the narrative to in terms of who she is

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Speaker 4: as a player and a person.

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Speaker 1: And shout out to some brands who saw it when

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Speaker 1: she was still in high school, because they're part of

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Speaker 1: the reason that they were able, you know, to start

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Speaker 1: to put that together. She started get invested in as

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Speaker 1: a future star, and it allowed her to create that infrastructure.

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Speaker 1: But you're totally right, it's when she reaches her moment

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Speaker 1: people already like, oh, I kind of knew this was

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Speaker 1: coming or know a little bit about her. The excitement

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Speaker 1: for this weekend is I just have to say, like

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Speaker 1: I mentioned this right at the beginning of when the

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Speaker 1: show started, but I just want to repeat it, like

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Speaker 1: I spent thirteen years basically almost always in men's sports

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Speaker 1: spaces and then around espnW and my efforts to work

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Speaker 1: in the women's sports space. I would get these little

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Speaker 1: reprieves a couple weeks every year where I would drop

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Speaker 1: in to women's sports events, women's conferences. I would be

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Speaker 1: in my meetings with all my w people, and I

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Speaker 1: would just have this like feeling of like these are

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Speaker 1: my people, right, And then I would go back into

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Speaker 1: the men's sports spaces, and sometimes they were very fun

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Speaker 1: and very cool, and there were awesome people there, and

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Speaker 1: a lot of times they had a lot of bro

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Speaker 1: energy and it was swimming upstream to try to get

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Speaker 1: them to talk about women's sports and to care about

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Speaker 1: the things that I wanted to care about. And so

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Speaker 1: now it's been like two years or so of really

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Speaker 1: being just stripped down to the stuff I care about

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Speaker 1: and wanting to work in the women's space, and events

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Speaker 1: like the Final Four, like this one are like like

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Speaker 1: the pinnacle of the joy of being in this space.

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Speaker 1: My texts are just full of all the people coming

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Speaker 1: to Tampa. What's this event? Like my friends that are

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Speaker 1: running events, like, oh, this is my vision. So it's

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Speaker 1: gonna be a rooftop and we're gonna get to make

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Speaker 1: friendship bracelets and then we're gonna have like basketballs and

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Speaker 1: we're gonna and it's like all this feminine times masculine energy,

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Speaker 1: all this sharing of all the things we care about

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Speaker 1: it once instead of feeling like bifurcated and separated. It's

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Speaker 1: not like a men's event where it's like and then

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Speaker 1: here's a little thing for women over here that has

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Speaker 1: like sparkles and bullshit. It's like, here's your whole person.

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Speaker 1: For me, at least, my whole person is like talk shit,

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Speaker 1: drink a beer, make a friendship bracelet, and talk about

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Speaker 1: Taylor Swift. Like it's like all the things at once,

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Speaker 1: And so many people that go to these events are

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Speaker 1: like that too, so for me, like it's just another

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Speaker 1: reminder of the beauty of the space of women's sports.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's gonna be just the best weekend

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Speaker 1: of all my favorite people and people who buy into

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Speaker 1: all this stuff just like being so excited.

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Speaker 3: That's what it's That's what it was always supposed to be,

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Speaker 3: which is the crazy part, right, it was always supposed

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Speaker 3: to be this. I remember going to a Final four

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Speaker 3: I want to say it was twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen

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Speaker 3: when it was in Nashville, and I went with my

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Speaker 3: parents and it was just amazing on its own right,

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Speaker 3: But that compared to what we experienced at WNBA All Star,

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Speaker 3: which is what I'm comparing. You know, hopefully the final

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Speaker 3: four feels that same way. It's a totally different level,

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Speaker 3: Like you're saying, it's a totally different level, and they're.

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Speaker 2: Catering to us, right, they're catering to us.

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Speaker 3: It's not yeah, we care about you, but we're also

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Speaker 3: trying to get all these brands and no, they're here, No,

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Speaker 3: everybody's here, and we're just here to have a good time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's what it's supposed to be.

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Speaker 1: The investment has changed, the parties, the activations, the people,

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Speaker 1: the size of the event, the halftime entertainment, Like all.

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Speaker 2: That really is gonna be performing? Are you kidding? Man?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just it's gonna be a ton of fun.

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Speaker 1: And it's it's the value it has earned, it deserves,

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Speaker 1: and the value that it needs for other people to

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Speaker 1: believe it's something that people who aren't on board yet,

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Speaker 1: you have to show them that something matters and that

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Speaker 1: you care about and you've invested it if you expect

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Speaker 1: them to invest in We talk about this all the

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Speaker 1: time with like why aren't women watching women's sports?

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Speaker 2: You know why aren't you?

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Speaker 1: Because when we have the opportunity to go to a

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Speaker 1: men's game that you've put a bunch of money and

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Speaker 1: has a ton of entertainment and everybody's there and everyone's

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Speaker 1: talking about it, we're this thing over here that doesn't

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Speaker 1: have a lot of money and not that many people

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Speaker 1: know about or care about. We're going to pick this

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Speaker 1: one unless you know we're our die hard and until

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Speaker 1: you start to give us the value that we know

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Speaker 1: that it deserves, it's going to be harder to pull

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Speaker 1: people over there. And we're seeing that change out, which

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Speaker 1: is just freaking awesome. Okay, let's break down these semi

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Speaker 1: final games because.

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Speaker 2: I don't even know.

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Speaker 1: I'm like so excited and so nervous and so confused

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Speaker 1: at the same time. Because you could not get me

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Speaker 1: to put a significant sum of money on either of

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Speaker 1: these games, I have a feeling, I feel like I

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Speaker 1: have a pick, But none of these games are going

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Speaker 1: to be a blowout. In my opinion, these are going

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Speaker 1: to be real time. Let's start with Texas versus South Carolina.

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Speaker 1: Texas for me, wins if they can make it their

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Speaker 1: tempo and their style of play. It's what they've been

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Speaker 1: able to do throughout the tournament. Low scoring games, defensive

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Speaker 1: minded games where you kind of get into lulled into

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Speaker 1: submission into playing their style. And then they have such

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Speaker 1: effective offensive players, particularly Madison Booker. I mean we saw

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Speaker 1: with Kylo Oldacre in the last game, the ability to

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Speaker 1: pull off some stuff as bigs that you might not expect,

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Speaker 1: and then their defense just slowing you down, getting you

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Speaker 1: in the muck and keeping you from doing what you

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Speaker 1: want to do. For me, that's the key for Texas

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Speaker 1: South Carolina. It's not as strong as the team as

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Speaker 1: they've had in recent years. It doesn't stand out to

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Speaker 1: you as like big and scary like Don Staley's teams

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Speaker 1: often have of late. But part of their issue and

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Speaker 1: what makes them scary is that they have multiple people

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Speaker 1: who can be too and if they're all on, you're fucked.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, right, South Carolina to me feels like a team

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Speaker 4: of adults, you know, like real No, I don't really

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Speaker 4: feel like kids, Like they feel like people that know

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Speaker 4: how to handle the pressure and trust each other. And

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Speaker 4: you looked at on Staley and I think that's the

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Speaker 4: reason why, right this is their fifth straight final four appearance.

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Speaker 4: I think I almost want to make a joke like

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Speaker 4: is South Carolina bad for women's basketball?

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Speaker 2: Maybe?

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Speaker 4: But it was so Bundy, Like Sanaia Fagan was asked

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Speaker 4: after the Elite a like, hey, fourth Final four in

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Speaker 4: four years, like is this what you expected when you

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Speaker 4: signed on? And she was like yep, yeah, it's like

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Speaker 4: a great answer. I love it, you know, And and

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Speaker 4: Don has said that, like she has literally said, this

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Speaker 4: is not one of my better teams. She knows that

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Speaker 4: they have a lot of weaknesses, but I think it's

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Speaker 4: that kind of experience and that trust under pressure, like

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Speaker 4: they're not a team that gets flummixed easily.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's shown right the last few games they've

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Speaker 3: played have not been blow up. They have had to

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Speaker 3: go down to the wire with Duke and then go

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Speaker 3: like it hasn't just been a for them.

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Speaker 2: I agree.

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Speaker 3: It makes it really hard to call uh Sarah because

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Speaker 3: you just don't know where it's gonna come from. And

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Speaker 3: that also begs the question like what if it doesn't

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Speaker 3: come who is gonna step.

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Speaker 2: Up and be that go to person?

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Speaker 3: So for me, that's the one thing that scares me

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Speaker 3: about South Carolina in that game. But if they can

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Speaker 3: get like ten from three different people and crash the

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Speaker 3: boards like they do, play the defense that we're used

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Speaker 3: to seeing them play.

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Speaker 2: I think they can walk away with this one. But

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Speaker 2: for Texas, if they.

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Speaker 3: Want to get this job done, Rory Harmon is gonna

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Speaker 3: do what Rory Harmon did against against TCU, right, She's

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Speaker 3: gonna have to step up, especially if they end up

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Speaker 3: in an offensive law because South Carolina does play that defense.

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Speaker 3: Rory Harmon, the point guard, is gonna have to go

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Speaker 3: get those paint points, pull up jumpers, all that good stuff.

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Speaker 2: I also think this has.

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Speaker 3: To be the Madison Booker twenty five plus game. I

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Speaker 3: really do, because South Carolina's guards, they're relentless defensively, They're

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Speaker 3: gonna get what they want in the post with Chloe Kids,

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Speaker 3: Joyce Edwards, all those folks down low. But if Texas

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Speaker 3: and Vic Shafer want to walk away with this, they

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Speaker 3: have to play their normal Texas defense, hard nose pressure.

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Speaker 2: But Maddie has to go off.

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Speaker 1: She has to take over and away, and she's so

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Speaker 1: hard to guard because she plays a forward, but she

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Speaker 1: can be a guard. I can't do any when Matt

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Speaker 1: when Harmon was out, she essentially ran the point. So

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Speaker 1: you've got Bree Hall and Raven Johnson probably gonna be

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Speaker 1: tasked with guarding her.

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Speaker 2: Tessa Johnson off the bench will take some of that

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Speaker 2: as well.

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Speaker 3: And I like two of those three matchups for Maddie.

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Speaker 3: Hall is the best matchup for her to me, I think,

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Speaker 3: so those other two she got to eat.

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Speaker 1: I will say, though, yeah, because you mentioned Bree Haul

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Speaker 1: in that SEC tournament game, she held her to zero

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Speaker 1: points until late in the second quarter, like she did

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Speaker 1: not look like herself. Maddie, I think, to your point,

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Speaker 1: needs to be super aggressive off the top, and it's

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Speaker 1: kind of like what we've seen with Page, Like every

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Speaker 1: once in a while she goes all right, I guess

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Speaker 1: it's on me now, and then she just scores like

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Speaker 1: eleven y points in a row.

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Speaker 2: Like Madison Booker.

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Speaker 1: Has to decide that that's who she is and that's

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Speaker 1: the position she's in this game. She'll get help from others,

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Speaker 1: they'll find theirs, but she needs to approach it with this.

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Speaker 2: Is my game. I gotta go big. I want to talk.

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Speaker 1: Vibes in this one. I mean, first of all, Don

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Speaker 1: Staley is a queen. I mean, find someone with something

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Speaker 1: bad to say about her not only as a leader,

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Speaker 1: as a coach, as a person in this business, in

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Speaker 1: this industry that is changing things for everyone that follows her,

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Speaker 1: but also just like vibes, just everything about her makes

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Speaker 1: you understand why players want to win for her. Vick

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Speaker 1: Schaeffer is a completely different dude, and yet there is

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Speaker 1: something so special and sweet and sincere about him. Some

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Speaker 1: of the quotes that he had after that last win,

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Speaker 1: we're so moving, he said, I'm not these players' lives,

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Speaker 1: but their mine, like these.

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Speaker 2: Players are my life.

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Speaker 1: And the way he talked about what it means to

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Speaker 1: him for them to get so close so many years

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Speaker 1: in a row, and then to make it to see

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Speaker 1: Harmon come back from a major in and fight, to

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Speaker 1: see Maddy Booker, who he's known since before she was

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Speaker 1: even a college player, be more and even better than

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Speaker 1: what was expected of her.

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Speaker 2: I don't know. There's like a really.

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Speaker 1: Special bond between Vic Schaeffer and his players that's been

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Speaker 1: really sweet to watch.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And if you were to ask me to pick

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Speaker 3: a favorite based on the vibes I'm getting from them,

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Speaker 3: I couldn't. I couldn't because I what a thousand percent

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Speaker 3: be behind both of these stories ending the right way.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, it's it's hard to choose based on that.

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Speaker 3: But like you're saying, two people who when you look

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Speaker 3: at all time the greats in this game coaching, they're

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Speaker 3: top ten, top fifteen, right maybe even top five depending

404
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Speaker 3: on who you ask.

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Speaker 2: And we're really lucky right.

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Speaker 3: Now to be able to see not just them, but

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Speaker 3: also Corey Close, Guino Oriama do what they do best

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Speaker 3: right now.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, whenever I think about what makes a good coach,

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Speaker 4: I think about the role that honesty plays into it,

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Speaker 4: and the idea that critical honesty can be respectful, it

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Speaker 4: can be a gift, it can be an act of love,

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Speaker 4: you know. I interviewed Malaysia full Wiley back in November

414
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Speaker 4: of twenty twenty three. It was right after she had

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Speaker 4: made her collegiate debut kind of set everything on fire

416
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Speaker 4: in that game in Paris, and I asked her about,

417
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Speaker 4: you know, playing for this coach literally from her hometown.

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Speaker 4: She grew up in Columbia, and she was just so

419
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Speaker 4: honest about how Don Staley was open with her of

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Speaker 4: you need to improve your practice habits. What you are

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Speaker 4: doing is not enough right now. But it was clear

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Speaker 4: that Malaysia just had such respect and reverence and knew

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Speaker 4: that that criticism was coming from a place of wanting

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Speaker 4: her to do her best. And I think so often

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Speaker 4: when we have conversations about coaches right, and coaches will

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Speaker 4: express right, like the NIL.

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Speaker 2: Era has changed things.

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Speaker 4: This generation of players need to be coddled more. And

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Speaker 4: yet also there are coaches who are able to both

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Speaker 4: be harsh and critical and also simultaneously show respect for

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Speaker 4: their players. And to me, that's kind of what Don

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Speaker 4: Stalely represents.

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Speaker 1: Completely agree, and that's so important with this younger generation,

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Speaker 1: like we're hearing it more and more. How do they

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Speaker 1: take criticism, how do they learn through adversity?

436
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,280
Speaker 2: How do they not just give up?

437
00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: And so much of that is the deft touch of

438
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,360
Speaker 1: a coach who can make them want to do.

439
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:15,240
Speaker 2: Right by them.

440
00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:17,439
Speaker 1: It's less about like I don't want them to be

441
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,280
Speaker 1: angry with me. It's more about I don't want them

442
00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,400
Speaker 1: to be disappointed in me. I just want to live

443
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,920
Speaker 1: up to their expectations for me. A couple more things

444
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,000
Speaker 1: about this before we move on. I do think it's

445
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,680
Speaker 1: worth noting that Texas lasts in the country in three

446
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,200
Speaker 1: point rate and when they played South Carolina In March,

447
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:34,760
Speaker 1: they went one of eight from Beyond the Arc, and

448
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,080
Speaker 1: I think South Carolina is really going to try to

449
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,720
Speaker 1: keep them honest there and pack the paint, make things

450
00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,920
Speaker 1: tough for Madison Booker and the bigs and say try

451
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,440
Speaker 1: to beat us with the three. So if they can

452
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,720
Speaker 1: get off early from Beyond the Arc, that will potentially

453
00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,399
Speaker 1: force South Carolina to play I'm honest out there, and

454
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,640
Speaker 1: it will give them more space for their expert players

455
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,320
Speaker 1: inside to work. But if they start out and they struggle,

456
00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,280
Speaker 1: it's going to make it a lot easier for South

457
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,480
Speaker 1: Carolina to play the game that they want. The other

458
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,159
Speaker 1: thing I will say too, is you've got a team

459
00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,680
Speaker 1: in South Carolina that I think has had more ups

460
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,120
Speaker 1: and downs in this tournament because they haven't really.

461
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,640
Speaker 2: Been fully on like they've won.

462
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,240
Speaker 1: But this hasn't been a team beating the breaks off

463
00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,879
Speaker 1: people where it just feels like they're in sync. So

464
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,920
Speaker 1: is it their due kind of situation, like, oh, we're

465
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,679
Speaker 1: going to see them click into place, or has what

466
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,720
Speaker 1: we've seen so far been indicative of what we're going

467
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,720
Speaker 1: to keep seeing that they're just not quite ready to

468
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,080
Speaker 1: put it all together at once. If they do put

469
00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:33,800
Speaker 1: it all together once, it's going to be a problem.

470
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,840
Speaker 1: And you've got a Texas team that maybe hasn't faced

471
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:37,920
Speaker 1: enough adversity yet.

472
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,919
Speaker 2: TCU gave them a fight, but when they've been.

473
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: Able to put it their best players on the court

474
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,160
Speaker 1: and do work, it's been their style of play their game.

475
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 1: So if they get behind a chunk, can they fight

476
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,639
Speaker 1: their way back? Especially with their style, this is a

477
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,320
Speaker 1: team that keeps it low scoring, keeps it defensive. Will

478
00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:00,959
Speaker 1: they be able to push the pace, change the tempo

479
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:02,879
Speaker 1: and get enough points to catch up if they get behind.

480
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,000
Speaker 3: That's a tough one, right, And not to make it

481
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,120
Speaker 3: about William and Mary, but I think that first game

482
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,439
Speaker 3: in the first round against William and Mary exposed some

483
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,200
Speaker 3: things because they stayed with them for like the whole

484
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:17,880
Speaker 3: half and it was exactly what you're saying.

485
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:18,880
Speaker 2: They weren't hitting from three.

486
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 3: We've seen it multiple times throughout the duration of this tournament,

487
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,440
Speaker 3: so it's a valid question. I do think Kylo Oldacre

488
00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:29,680
Speaker 3: could be an X factor, right because the last game

489
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,080
Speaker 3: she played against TCU, she only had nine points, but

490
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,399
Speaker 3: that was five more than Adona Prince had. She played

491
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,000
Speaker 3: good defense on the interior, she showed a lot more emotion, right.

492
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 3: I think at this time of the year, it's not

493
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,960
Speaker 3: just about what the x's and o's are. It's also

494
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,159
Speaker 3: about momentum. It's also about getting that energy, and I

495
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:46,560
Speaker 3: think she gave them a lot of that. So if

496
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,600
Speaker 3: she can get going, even if it's for another five

497
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,879
Speaker 3: to nine or ten points, I think that would be

498
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:52,679
Speaker 3: huge as well.

499
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,240
Speaker 1: I think your point about Kyla Oldacre also worth noting.

500
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,199
Speaker 1: When you have a big like that that you maybe

501
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,040
Speaker 1: want to sag off of. There was a big play

502
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,760
Speaker 1: in that last game against where they were sagging. They

503
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: didn't even step up to guard her at the top

504
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 1: of the paint.

505
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 2: She drilled it. Yep. Another play later she makes.

506
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: Almost like the equivalent of a football pick six, a

507
00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:13,119
Speaker 1: big man touchdown, right, Like, you don't expect her to

508
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,280
Speaker 1: steal it and go the length of the court and finish.

509
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,399
Speaker 1: When she makes plays like that, your defense changes. It

510
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,800
Speaker 1: doesn't matter if it's just one or two buckets. You

511
00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:22,720
Speaker 1: step up on her. Now you don't sag back, and

512
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,920
Speaker 1: that leaves more space for Madison Booker and others to work.

513
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000
Speaker 1: So it will be big for them to get a

514
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 1: couple of those players in early. Okay, So these two

515
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,600
Speaker 1: teams have met three times this season before the game

516
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,560
Speaker 1: Cocks lead the series two games to one. They won

517
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,080
Speaker 1: the SEC Tournament championship just three weeks ago.

518
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,200
Speaker 2: Pretty handily nineteen yep.

519
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,960
Speaker 1: So I'll start with my prediction, and like I said,

520
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,840
Speaker 1: I do not think that either of these games will

521
00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,760
Speaker 1: be blowouts. I think South Carolina wins this one. I

522
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:53,919
Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised if Texas one. I could see the

523
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 1: path to do it. But I think Don Staley her

524
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:02,479
Speaker 1: experience in these games exactly, the amount of players that

525
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,200
Speaker 1: she can go to if one is not getting it done,

526
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 1: and the ways that Texas will have to try to

527
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,640
Speaker 1: defend each of those players who have a different skill

528
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,680
Speaker 1: set to bring, is the difference in this one.

529
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:13,199
Speaker 2: Agreed.

530
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,040
Speaker 3: I think not just Don's experience, but also the experience

531
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:17,840
Speaker 3: of the players on the floor. Right, this is a

532
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,119
Speaker 3: South Carolina scene that's got kids who have been in

533
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 3: situations like excuse me, I say kids, because we're still

534
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:25,760
Speaker 3: calling them Don's daycare over.

535
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 1: Here, okay, right, but Alex is calling them grown and sexy.

536
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:33,520
Speaker 2: All right now?

537
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 1: Oh no, okay, she's not actually calling them that. I

538
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 1: just love when people say that they want their theme

539
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,439
Speaker 1: for something to be adult, and then there was no Okay,

540
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:42,359
Speaker 1: grown and sexy.

541
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,960
Speaker 3: I go, what, No, that's so much worse. But yeah,

542
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 3: I think that, uh, that's going to be the difference.

543
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,560
Speaker 3: The experience of the players on the floor. Texas has

544
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 3: some experienced players who've been in the tournament but not

545
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,320
Speaker 3: to a final four. Remember, this is their first final

546
00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,919
Speaker 3: four in program history since two oh three. It's a

547
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,639
Speaker 3: long time and matters to play on this stage before

548
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:04,080
Speaker 3: you have another chance to try to go get a

549
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 3: national championship.

550
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,879
Speaker 1: All right, that's two for South Carolina. Two cocks. What

551
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 1: do you got, Alex?

552
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:09,479
Speaker 2: Make it three cocks?

553
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:09,960
Speaker 4: Baby.

554
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:13,440
Speaker 2: I cannot stay you both.

555
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,919
Speaker 4: I cannot either of you.

556
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,919
Speaker 2: All Right, you have to drink now, yeah, we do

557
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:22,639
Speaker 2: all we all have to drink because we said Cox.

558
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,119
Speaker 1: I'm say Jack, thank you for bringing that up, Alex.

559
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,720
Speaker 1: I need to remember that and make sure I have

560
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,800
Speaker 1: a non alcoholic beverage near me when I interview Sue

561
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,199
Speaker 1: and DT because we're back again with another weekend that

562
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 1: has another.

563
00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:36,119
Speaker 2: Weekend full of cocks.

564
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,240
Speaker 1: And we all know from Sue and Diana's live show

565
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,280
Speaker 1: that they have a drinking game that they play during

566
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,679
Speaker 1: their live sidecast, and when every time they say cos

567
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,919
Speaker 1: Diana and Sue have to take a drink, and I

568
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,560
Speaker 1: might be I might be hammered on Saturday Afternoon's all

569
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:51,880
Speaker 1: I'm saying.

570
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,920
Speaker 2: If I don't bring a big glass of water, we.

571
00:25:53,920 --> 00:26:02,360
Speaker 1: Have to take a quick break stick around. Okay, let's

572
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,400
Speaker 1: talk this second game, nine pm Easter. We got number

573
00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 1: two Yukon versus number one UCLA. This I'm worried about

574
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:14,960
Speaker 1: literally surviving one say, for a number of reasons. Number one,

575
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,280
Speaker 1: because I'm just a huge Pagebackers fan.

576
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:20,679
Speaker 2: She has been through so much in her career.

577
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,840
Speaker 1: To be here, to be healthy, to be performing at

578
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,639
Speaker 1: the level she is is already a frickin' gift. I

579
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,879
Speaker 1: just want her to get all the way through the

580
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,520
Speaker 1: tournament healthy and keep playing her best basketball and have

581
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:33,919
Speaker 1: this a moment to shine.

582
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:35,280
Speaker 2: You know, we talked about this.

583
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,800
Speaker 1: She was Player of the Year as a freshman and

584
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,240
Speaker 1: has had a number of high points since, but it

585
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,639
Speaker 1: just hasn't been the path that you wish for a

586
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,600
Speaker 1: player as talented as her. So this season and this

587
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 1: tournament has just been a really, really big blessing. On

588
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,080
Speaker 1: the other hand, I love coach Corey close, and I

589
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,680
Speaker 1: just love this program. And I think because of the

590
00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,919
Speaker 1: men's side and John Wooden, it's always been this like,

591
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:00,760
Speaker 1: oh yeah, Ucla, there are always in the mix. They're

592
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 1: a basketball powerhouse, and on the women's side that hasn't

593
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 1: been the case.

594
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 2: But it feels like it should be.

595
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,719
Speaker 1: It just has always felt like, let's catch UCLA up

596
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,560
Speaker 1: on the women's side to what we expect of them,

597
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 1: and so making their first ever final for Corey close

598
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,119
Speaker 1: like leading this team in a way and getting people

599
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,960
Speaker 1: to see it as a new destination in the women's game. Oh,

600
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,159
Speaker 1: it's just like pulling at my heartstrings. I think this

601
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 1: matchup it's.

602
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 3: Definitely given me the feels I think entertainment value wise.

603
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,399
Speaker 3: And when I say entertainment value, I really mean offense

604
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:31,040
Speaker 3: because I love seeing the ball with theft.

605
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,159
Speaker 2: A lot of other people love defense. Hey I am

606
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:33,680
Speaker 2: who I am?

607
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,680
Speaker 3: Okay in terms of that, this is going to be

608
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:37,800
Speaker 3: the more fun matchup for me personally, So I like

609
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 3: it because of that, But also I'm right there with you.

610
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 3: It feels like with UCLA's program specifically, I've been waiting

611
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 3: for their women's team to get on that same level

612
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,480
Speaker 3: as you know, the men had been on and then Yukon.

613
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:51,720
Speaker 3: Like you said, it's not just Page, I feel like

614
00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 3: having a renaissance.

615
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,639
Speaker 2: It's that entire program.

616
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,320
Speaker 3: Not that they've necessarily been bad recently for Yukon standards,

617
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,120
Speaker 3: but you know, they haven't one chip since twenty sixteen,

618
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 3: and something out there. We'll get to prediction to a second,

619
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,240
Speaker 3: but something out there is giving me husky very much.

620
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,199
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think even circling back on what we were

621
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,399
Speaker 4: saying before, Oh, circling back. I hate the office in

622
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 4: the podcast, but what we were saying a few minutes

623
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,440
Speaker 4: ago about quotes, relationships and Gino for sure, Sarah, when

624
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,239
Speaker 4: he came on this show and was talking to you,

625
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,199
Speaker 4: and he called when he called Page delusional, and you

626
00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 4: could tell that was just the most respectful delusional anyone

627
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,600
Speaker 4: has ever been called. But in his press conference after

628
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,840
Speaker 4: the Elite eight, he was just talking with so much

629
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,720
Speaker 4: admiration about her and talking not only about who she

630
00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,440
Speaker 4: is as a player in you know, his long Yukon history,

631
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 4: but about the amount of scrutiny that she has been under.

632
00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,640
Speaker 4: And I think that's something too, where these players are

633
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,400
Speaker 4: under so much for pressure, there's so many more eyes

634
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:53,400
Speaker 4: on them mm hmm.

635
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 1: I want to talk about what these teams need to

636
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,760
Speaker 1: do to win, and I'm going to start with UCLA

637
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:02,520
Speaker 1: because for me, it is a simple, simple thing. Lauren

638
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,840
Speaker 1: Betts period. That is what I have said all tournament long.

639
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,800
Speaker 1: Find me someone that can go up against Lauren Betts,

640
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,520
Speaker 1: and you can't, I'm sorry. She's six foot seven, She's

641
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,719
Speaker 1: averaging twenty points a game on nearly sixty five percent

642
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 1: shooting from the field. She has amazing footwork, her passing

643
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,200
Speaker 1: out of a double team is perfect. She is mobile,

644
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 1: she is consistent, she is tough, and she is an

645
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 1: impossible matchup for every team in the country. And I

646
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,440
Speaker 1: think that that's it. Obviously, you need Kiki Rice to

647
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 1: have a better game than she did in the last one.

648
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:43,720
Speaker 1: You need Keiki Rice to step up, and need the

649
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,080
Speaker 1: rest of that team to be able to keep Yukon's

650
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:50,440
Speaker 1: defense honest right, you can't let them send everybody at

651
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:53,680
Speaker 1: Betts and have nobody else that goes off, because then

652
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 1: they'll be able to focus everything on the big problem

653
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:58,560
Speaker 1: in the middle. If you could just get a couple

654
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,600
Speaker 1: of your players to show up up in a way

655
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 1: that makes Yukon have to keep the floor spread on

656
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 1: defense and be respectful of inside outside. You've got a

657
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: really good shot to fear your CLA. I have trouble

658
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 1: seeing anyone beat them, if I'm being honest. The bracket

659
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,800
Speaker 1: that I never actually filed but I did fill out

660
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,240
Speaker 1: had UCLA winning. I'm not saying that's my prediction now,

661
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 1: But what do you think me? I mean, I think

662
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 1: UCLA's game plan, that's it. It's pretty simple.

663
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,120
Speaker 3: I think that's a big old chunk of it for sure.

664
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,760
Speaker 3: I also agree Kekey Rice has to have a game.

665
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 3: She had eight assists in the last game, so that

666
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 3: was kind of overlooked. She only had eight points, So

667
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 3: continue to keep running the offense and keeping things connected

668
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 3: the way coach Close wants to, but also getting that

669
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 3: scoring column. The other player for me that when she

670
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:50,360
Speaker 3: transferred to UCLA, I was expecting maybe some more numbers

671
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:50,800
Speaker 3: out of her.

672
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 2: Not that she hasn't had a good season. Janiah Barker.

673
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 3: She came off the bench for UCLA against LSU had

674
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:04,280
Speaker 3: six to rebounds, so you know, decent contribution. But she's

675
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,920
Speaker 3: the kind of player who gets you fifteen and ten

676
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,640
Speaker 3: h straight like that, and against Yu Kon, I think

677
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 3: she's got an opportunity here because a lot of their

678
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 3: attention and focus, as you said, is gonna be on

679
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:17,920
Speaker 3: Lauren Betts. So if she can get off, she can

680
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,880
Speaker 3: score some points, get some rebounds, make some shake for UCLA.

681
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:22,480
Speaker 2: I think that gives them a good shot.

682
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:24,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think Gardner and Hawka is what we

683
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,400
Speaker 1: talked about last after last game. Their ability to hit,

684
00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,920
Speaker 1: especially if you drop into a double team on Bets

685
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,120
Speaker 1: and she kicks it out and they're waiting outside and

686
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,320
Speaker 1: can hit that that changes everything. Hawkas in particular in

687
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:40,160
Speaker 1: that last game against usc was a huge piece of

688
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,560
Speaker 1: their success. To your point about Kiki Rice and her passing,

689
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,280
Speaker 1: they shoot sixty nine percent, I want to say on

690
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,920
Speaker 1: shots off of Kiki Rice assists, so she is setting

691
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 1: them up and she's putting them in good position. I

692
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,320
Speaker 1: think that's third in the tournament for players with at

693
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,040
Speaker 1: least twenty assists. So she's that Like to your point

694
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,080
Speaker 1: about assists being not just being about the box score

695
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,880
Speaker 1: of looking at her scoring, She's getting her teammates in

696
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 1: position to succeeds.

697
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:09,040
Speaker 3: She's also from the she and Kendall. We didn't talk

698
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,520
Speaker 3: about this in the Vibe section, but put that down

699
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 3: as UCLA vibes as well, both of them out of

700
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 3: the dc DMV area.

701
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:18,080
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, okay.

702
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 1: On Yukon's side, give it to Page and tell her

703
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:25,880
Speaker 1: that it's on her to get it done.

704
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:27,960
Speaker 2: Listen there.

705
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: I mean, Sarah Strong was huge in the last game,

706
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:33,840
Speaker 1: and she is going to be a very tough matchup,

707
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,480
Speaker 1: even for someone like Lauren Betts, who's got mobility and size.

708
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 1: I think Sarah Strong plays like a guard who's a

709
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 1: big so she will hopefully in this game be able

710
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,080
Speaker 1: to still show off some really good skills inside even

711
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:48,280
Speaker 1: with Betts lurking there looking for the block. Sarah Strong

712
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,520
Speaker 1: both both sides of the floor, and I think Sarah

713
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,480
Speaker 1: and al Alfie are going to have a big load

714
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,880
Speaker 1: on their hands trying to probably double team and get

715
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,160
Speaker 1: Bett's way, take some fouls, but not get into foul trouble.

716
00:32:58,160 --> 00:32:59,240
Speaker 2: That'll be a big issue.

717
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,000
Speaker 1: I think you see it will try to send Bets

718
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 1: in and try to get the Bigs in foul trouble

719
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 1: on Yukon. But as great as Sarah Strong is, as

720
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,240
Speaker 1: great as Asy Fudd can be, and you saw Page

721
00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,000
Speaker 1: kind of put her arms around her after that game

722
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:13,720
Speaker 1: and say you good.

723
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,160
Speaker 2: You good, were all right, and she said you save

724
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:17,320
Speaker 2: in all your shots.

725
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,600
Speaker 1: For the fun so funny, I said, no, Page, as

726
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,920
Speaker 1: I said as Woody Paige yesterday, she could put play

727
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 1: dead for three quarters and they were fine.

728
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:27,600
Speaker 2: As an old man way of talking.

729
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: But also the beauty of Gino's belief in her to

730
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,000
Speaker 1: come out of a time out with that elevator play

731
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,200
Speaker 1: two picks up top. She squeezes through and drains it

732
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,440
Speaker 1: and it gets her back in her game. Like that's

733
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:42,840
Speaker 1: coaching right there, and that's trust, and that's a relationship

734
00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:44,640
Speaker 1: of knowing what she can do if you believe. So

735
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,240
Speaker 1: if easy Fudd is hot earlier and doesn't just have

736
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,719
Speaker 1: a couple successful shots down the stretch, doesn't start oh

737
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,120
Speaker 1: for eleven, which is I think what she was against USC,

738
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,040
Speaker 1: that'll help too. But like I said, for me, the

739
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,960
Speaker 1: difference is what Gino said in that sideline in her

740
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,480
Speaker 1: with Holly Row, I tell Page all the time, stop

741
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 1: looking for other people, start looking for yourself, be a killer,

742
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:07,240
Speaker 1: get after it. And that's the game where she ended

743
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:09,359
Speaker 1: up having forty, and the second half she just goes

744
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 1: all right, I guess I'll start trying now and then

745
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,160
Speaker 1: just destroys everything in her path. That's the game plan

746
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:15,440
Speaker 1: for me.

747
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think again, another huge chunk of it. It's

748
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 3: gotta be page time. Asy is where my big red

749
00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:25,520
Speaker 3: circle is. Even if she doesn't hit the shots right.

750
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 3: She went three for fourteen in their last game, but

751
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,000
Speaker 3: I think it was very important for her to take

752
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,040
Speaker 3: every single shot that she took because to be a shooter,

753
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,240
Speaker 3: sometimes you're gonna have lulls, but you have to be consistent.

754
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,879
Speaker 3: You have to shoot yourself through it to your point.

755
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,200
Speaker 3: She got hot at the end of that game, so

756
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,879
Speaker 3: I'm hoping for her sake that it'll carry over.

757
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,480
Speaker 2: And frankly, she's due too, right.

758
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,200
Speaker 3: She also had knee injuries also was out, so that's

759
00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,160
Speaker 3: a redemption story and hopefully she can bring some of

760
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,360
Speaker 3: that Maxia momentum with her. But the other player who

761
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,839
Speaker 3: I'm gonna keep my eyes on Kaitlyn Chen. Kaitlyn Chen

762
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,759
Speaker 3: against USC had Gino cheering more than I've seen him

763
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:03,960
Speaker 3: cheer for any single player in a game ever. I mean,

764
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,040
Speaker 3: he was fist pumping, He's screaming at his bench because

765
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,360
Speaker 3: Caitlyn Chen, the Princeton transfer, former IVY League Player of

766
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,440
Speaker 3: the Year, She's one of those players it's hard to

767
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:14,680
Speaker 3: root against. She does all the little things. She's not

768
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,120
Speaker 3: the fastest. We were talking about this the last time

769
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,080
Speaker 3: we had a big centrist conversation. Right, she's not the

770
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,200
Speaker 3: most athletic, but she's heady, she does what needs to

771
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,960
Speaker 3: be done. She doesn't back down. And also something that

772
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:26,920
Speaker 3: I think is important. Page is a great leader for

773
00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:29,720
Speaker 3: this team. But Caitlyn she stays right in the middle.

774
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,200
Speaker 3: She's composed, and I haven't seen Gino blow up a lot,

775
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,920
Speaker 3: at least not on camera, not when we were watching the.

776
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:39,480
Speaker 2: Game at home. But she's just a steady presence.

777
00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:44,400
Speaker 3: And I think if she can get off UCLA's guards London, Jones, Keiky,

778
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,320
Speaker 3: who we already talked about, they're gonna have to focus

779
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,879
Speaker 3: on her. That again takes some people away who maybe

780
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,759
Speaker 3: aren't gonna be able to double down or bring double

781
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,239
Speaker 3: teams to Page, whatever the case may be, and open

782
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,600
Speaker 3: up some more space for the Huskies. So she's another

783
00:35:57,640 --> 00:35:59,800
Speaker 3: player I got my eyes on. I think she plays

784
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,600
Speaker 3: well well, she gives them a great chance.

785
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,680
Speaker 1: I think there's an argument sometimes for more kk Arnold

786
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,440
Speaker 1: very different style of player than Chen, and so there

787
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,640
Speaker 1: might be moments in this game where kk Arnold is

788
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,920
Speaker 1: the call and that's the move because Chen is deliberate

789
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,160
Speaker 1: and intentional and smart, and kk Arnold is explosive and

790
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 1: dramatic and fiery and very different energy. So it'll be

791
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,000
Speaker 1: what Gino reads as this team needing in that moment.

792
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,840
Speaker 1: You've got very different styles here. You've got a team

793
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,400
Speaker 1: that plays through the post in UCLA but does have

794
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: some great shooters, and then you've got a team in

795
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 1: Yukon that spreads the floor. They've got players who are

796
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:38,960
Speaker 1: sort of multi positional. You can sort of count Sarah

797
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,640
Speaker 1: Strong as a guard at times in the way that

798
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:43,640
Speaker 1: she can move and play on the outside. So if

799
00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,279
Speaker 1: you've got sort of a five guard situation out there

800
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,000
Speaker 1: with Sarah Strong, as you're big, you're spreading the floor,

801
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 1: you're moving the ball throughout, You're looking for that weak

802
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,239
Speaker 1: moment in the defense to attack, versus a sort of

803
00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:58,719
Speaker 1: inside outside, more traditional game from UCLA. So that'll be

804
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 1: a super fun to watch. I talked about vibes or storylines,

805
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: but like for me, I want Page to win it all.

806
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,840
Speaker 1: I just listen. I'm not gonna be neutral. I'm not

807
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:09,480
Speaker 1: gonna have journalistic integrity here.

808
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,319
Speaker 2: I'm not on the beat. This is my goddamn show.

809
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:14,400
Speaker 1: I can say what I want, and I want Paigebackers

810
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:17,360
Speaker 1: to win a title before she graduates. It's normally not

811
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:18,960
Speaker 1: that clear cut for me. As you guys know, in

812
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 1: women's sports, I'm always like, I.

813
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,440
Speaker 2: Want everyone to have a good time. I'm rooting for everyone.

814
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,440
Speaker 1: Nope, this time, Corey close and us toa. They got

815
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,239
Speaker 1: more chances they do South Carolina, they had some, they'll

816
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:32,000
Speaker 1: get more. Texas. Congratsivic Shaper and Matt you guys have time.

817
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,840
Speaker 1: This is it for Page and I want her to

818
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:35,600
Speaker 1: go out on top.

819
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 3: Oh it's hard to argue with that. It's one of

820
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,560
Speaker 3: those situations where you think about the legacy of a

821
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,480
Speaker 3: player and the what if that would come with it

822
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,640
Speaker 3: if they don't finish the job. And so for that reason,

823
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:49,600
Speaker 3: I'm right there with you.

824
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,520
Speaker 1: I really want when the context is forgotten right now,

825
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,239
Speaker 1: will be like, oh here's why, but like five ten

826
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:57,080
Speaker 1: years from now, like oh, yeah, but she never won.

827
00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,160
Speaker 2: You know what I mean. You could already hear, Oh

828
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,680
Speaker 2: she's not one of the great she never was exactly exactly.

829
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,080
Speaker 2: So for that reason, I want this for her. What's up?

830
00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:07,399
Speaker 4: What about Kaitlyn Clark, she never won a national championship.

831
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,200
Speaker 3: I mean asked those questions.

832
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,640
Speaker 2: Depending on who you ask, it matters or it doesn't, right.

833
00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:16,880
Speaker 4: The Brianna Stewart says it matters.

834
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I think the Hoopeds. I think the Hoopeds

835
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:21,839
Speaker 3: think it matters for sure.

836
00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:26,200
Speaker 1: Well listen, I also think Caitlyn Clark is a tremendous

837
00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 1: player who did a ton for the game. But the

838
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 1: argument is she the greatest to ever play college basketball

839
00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,760
Speaker 1: is insane. The only people asking that question are people

840
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:40,640
Speaker 1: who didn't watch college basketball. Yes, so No, Caitlyn Clark's

841
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,400
Speaker 1: legacy in college and what she did is not based

842
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,399
Speaker 1: on titles, especially because she went to Iowa and took

843
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,240
Speaker 1: a program that hadn't been top notch for a while

844
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:53,120
Speaker 1: back into contention and changed the entire landscape for women's

845
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:57,440
Speaker 1: basketball as a player. No, she is not close to

846
00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,440
Speaker 1: the greatest collegiate player of all.

847
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:01,120
Speaker 3: And not to go too far down to this tangent,

848
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,359
Speaker 3: but there's a separation between those two things, right, they

849
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,000
Speaker 3: have to be separated. And I think that's where you

850
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,080
Speaker 3: know a lot of folks who aren't asking that question.

851
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:12,040
Speaker 3: Those folks forget what she did with the endorsements and

852
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,680
Speaker 3: attention and all that has not Jack Squat to do

853
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:15,120
Speaker 3: what happens.

854
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,680
Speaker 1: And you want to say most impactful, she is up there,

855
00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:20,680
Speaker 1: if not the biggest, although again you have to have

856
00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:23,280
Speaker 1: a whole ass bonfire built before the match has anything

857
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,400
Speaker 1: to burn. So if you're not going to talk about

858
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,319
Speaker 1: Cheryl Swoops and Maya More and Brianna Stewart and Diana

859
00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:31,440
Speaker 1: Tarassi and you know a million other players that came before,

860
00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:32,840
Speaker 1: your argument is in valid.

861
00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:35,320
Speaker 2: Cheryl Miller right, the number.

862
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,879
Speaker 1: Of people that I'm seeing right now posting, I don't

863
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:39,440
Speaker 1: know why everyone's talking about Page Becker.

864
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,400
Speaker 2: She's not as good as Caitlyn Clark or.

865
00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,760
Speaker 1: I don't know why people talk about Brianna Stewart about

866
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,840
Speaker 1: Oh maybe because she won four titles and player of

867
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 1: the tournament every single year in college.

868
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:53,280
Speaker 2: And listen, she's got teammates to help.

869
00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:55,759
Speaker 1: She had a system around her at Yukon, and she

870
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,160
Speaker 1: still had to win every single time and go to

871
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:01,040
Speaker 1: four straight championships and win every single time and be

872
00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:04,440
Speaker 1: MVP every single time. And Diana Tarassi you want to

873
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:07,200
Speaker 1: talk about, come, I can't. I'm sorry.

874
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:08,400
Speaker 2: I'm getting the buff.

875
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,600
Speaker 1: And I'm a huge Klin Clerks fan, I'm like, what

876
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,280
Speaker 1: are we what are you watching or clearly not watching?

877
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,320
Speaker 4: I mean it always comes back to the scarcity mindset

878
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 4: of women's sports and honestly women in general, where multiple

879
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 4: women aren't allowed to succeed in rice and lift each

880
00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 4: other up.

881
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,360
Speaker 2: Only one room.

882
00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:32,960
Speaker 1: At the table for one, as Abby Wambach says, if

883
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,920
Speaker 1: there's not a seat at the table, pulling up a seat,

884
00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:39,720
Speaker 1: I'm building a new table, and that's what we are doing. Okay,

885
00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:46,719
Speaker 1: So my prediction, this is too hard. I not you

886
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:49,520
Speaker 1: at my bracket. I picked your sailing my bracket. I

887
00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:53,960
Speaker 1: told you that before the tournament started. But from watching

888
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:58,560
Speaker 1: these two teams in this tournament, Yukon looks so hard

889
00:40:58,600 --> 00:40:59,040
Speaker 1: to beat.

890
00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:01,719
Speaker 2: But Lauren Bets is such a tough matchup.

891
00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:04,920
Speaker 1: But I think if there's any coach that can figure

892
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:06,600
Speaker 1: out how to scheme around Lauren Bets and get his

893
00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,359
Speaker 1: team to play the right defense, it's Ginito. Spit it out,

894
00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:13,680
Speaker 1: Spit it out, Okay, purely because I want to send

895
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 1: energy into the universe.

896
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,440
Speaker 2: I'm picking Yukon. See that wasn't so hard. It was

897
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 2: really hard. I'm literally gripping my chair. My hands are

898
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,080
Speaker 2: white from gripping my chair.

899
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,279
Speaker 3: Oh well, this will make you feel better. I'm right

900
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:29,680
Speaker 3: there with you. Yet again, I'm usually the contrarian, like

901
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,760
Speaker 3: in my head, I'll try to build an argument against

902
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,560
Speaker 3: but I really just this is what I alluded to

903
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 3: when we first started this portion of the conversation about

904
00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,160
Speaker 3: Yukon and UCLA. There's just the magic in the air

905
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:44,399
Speaker 3: around this Connecticut team. I feel like it's undeniable. It's

906
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:47,839
Speaker 3: a huge part of it. The basketball gods. I will

907
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:49,840
Speaker 3: see when they actually hit the court, but it feels

908
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 3: like everything's leaning their way. And I think, again, this

909
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,239
Speaker 3: is another situation where experience is important. Ucla has not

910
00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,160
Speaker 3: been to a Final four. Yukon has been here before

911
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,759
Speaker 3: on this roster, have been there before, and frankly, when

912
00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:05,440
Speaker 3: it comes down to it, I just don't think Paige

913
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:06,200
Speaker 3: is going to be denied.

914
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 2: I'm Yukon.

915
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:09,960
Speaker 4: So given that all three of us are in agreement

916
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,560
Speaker 4: and us this is how this is going to unveil.

917
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,480
Speaker 4: We'll have South Carolina and Yukon in the final.

918
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:22,080
Speaker 2: Who's women Yukon, Yeah, Yukon. It's a husky year, all right.

919
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,440
Speaker 1: Sorry for jinxing you Page and company. The final is

920
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:30,120
Speaker 1: on Sunday, three pm Eastern on ABC. We will be

921
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:34,360
Speaker 1: so excited to chat all things Semis and Final next week.

922
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,000
Speaker 1: But that's all you're getting from us today, just some

923
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:39,279
Speaker 1: predictions sure to go wrong, but hopefully won't.

924
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:40,120
Speaker 2: We got to take a break.

925
00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:42,120
Speaker 1: When we come back, a little Good Game Hall of Fame,

926
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:44,640
Speaker 1: Yes and mashup, we'll be right back.

927
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:51,280
Speaker 2: Welcome back, slices.

928
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:53,879
Speaker 1: It's time for another entry into the Good Game Hall

929
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:58,759
Speaker 1: of Fame, and it's also time for another edition of

930
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 1: yes and.

931
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:03,120
Speaker 2: Yep, both at once.

932
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:05,919
Speaker 1: Like two star studded teams meeting in the Final four,

933
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:10,239
Speaker 1: these two powerhouse segments come together for an epic Good

934
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,680
Speaker 1: Game haul of yes and Now. If you're a regular

935
00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:15,200
Speaker 1: watcher of women's soups or regular listener to this show,

936
00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:17,840
Speaker 1: you know the name Don Staley. She's been South Carolina's

937
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 1: head coach since O eight, has led him to three

938
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:23,560
Speaker 1: national championships twenty seventeen, twenty two, and twenty four. She's

939
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,640
Speaker 1: the only black basketball head coach with multiple national titles,

940
00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:30,160
Speaker 1: and she's a Nasmith Hall of Famer from her playing days. Now,

941
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:33,080
Speaker 1: if you're really paying attention, you also already know about

942
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:36,640
Speaker 1: Carolyn Peck She's a former player college and WNBA coach

943
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,200
Speaker 1: turned ESPN analyst who's been calling games throughout this tournament.

944
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:42,680
Speaker 1: Back in ninety nine, when she was at Purdue, Peck

945
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:45,360
Speaker 1: became the first black woman to win a national championship

946
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:48,600
Speaker 1: as a head coach. Now, how are these two connected? Well,

947
00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:50,920
Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, but in one beautiful way

948
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,080
Speaker 1: in particular. We've known about the tie between them for years,

949
00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:56,840
Speaker 1: but we learned so many extra details in the lovely

950
00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,200
Speaker 1: piece Friend of the Show Jordan Robinson wrote for home

951
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:00,960
Speaker 1: Field a couple of years go. We'll link to it

952
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:03,960
Speaker 1: in our show notes, So here it is. Peck's first

953
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:07,240
Speaker 1: coaching job was an assistant to the legendary Pat Summit

954
00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:09,920
Speaker 1: at Tennessee in nineteen ninety three. The team lost in

955
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:12,759
Speaker 1: the championship in ninety five, and Peck moved on to

956
00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,400
Speaker 1: take an assistant position at Kentucky. In ninety six, Summit's

957
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:18,920
Speaker 1: Lady Vols won the chip, and one of Peck's former

958
00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:21,480
Speaker 1: players gifted her a piece of the net. Now, if

959
00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:23,839
Speaker 1: you're not familiar, the tradition when you win a national

960
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,640
Speaker 1: championship is that you get to cut down the net

961
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,440
Speaker 1: on the basketball hoop and players and coaches e to

962
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:31,120
Speaker 1: take a little piece of the net. So the player

963
00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:33,480
Speaker 1: gave Peck a little bit of that, and she cherished it.

964
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,319
Speaker 1: She said she looked at it every day and even

965
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:39,000
Speaker 1: tied it to the shoes she wore while coaching. Then,

966
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:41,720
Speaker 1: in twenty fifteen, when Don Staley's game Cocks put together

967
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,160
Speaker 1: their first thirty win season, Peck gave Staley a piece

968
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:47,120
Speaker 1: of the net that she cut down after her ninety

969
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,759
Speaker 1: nine championship win with Purdue, complete with a note that

970
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,640
Speaker 1: read quote, you're on your way, keep this and when

971
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 1: you get your own, you can give it back end quote.

972
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:58,840
Speaker 1: Staley repeated that cycle, cherishing the net she was given

973
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:02,440
Speaker 1: until sc its first ever national title in twenty seventeen.

974
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:05,440
Speaker 1: The victory made Staley the second black woman to win

975
00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:08,880
Speaker 1: a chip, eighteen years after Peck. Fast forward to November

976
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,440
Speaker 1: of twenty twenty one, and Staley took the tradition to

977
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:13,640
Speaker 1: a whole new level. She sent a piece of her

978
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,000
Speaker 1: championship net to every single black woman head coach in

979
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,600
Speaker 1: Division one hoops at the time, and she did as

980
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:22,560
Speaker 1: she was instructed, returning Peck's piece of the net to

981
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,719
Speaker 1: its original owner. When asked about the gesture, Staley told

982
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:28,439
Speaker 1: the Washington Post quote, it's a tangible thing.

983
00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:30,160
Speaker 2: And sometimes when you're going through.

984
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:31,319
Speaker 1: Things day to day and you don't feel like you

985
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:33,399
Speaker 1: could see your way through it, that little nylon piece

986
00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:36,359
Speaker 1: of string, it rejuvenates you to continue, and it gives

987
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:38,799
Speaker 1: you that reason to keep pushing end quote.

988
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:39,960
Speaker 2: And after Staley won.

989
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,520
Speaker 1: Her first title in twenty seventeen, Peck told The Undefeated,

990
00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:46,560
Speaker 1: now andscape quote, now that there's a one and a two,

991
00:45:46,719 --> 00:45:49,279
Speaker 1: there'll be a three, and the excitement that that gives

992
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:51,920
Speaker 1: me is thrilling. I'm a true believer in the power

993
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,440
Speaker 1: of the mirror. You have a motivation to become what

994
00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:55,000
Speaker 1: you see.

995
00:45:55,239 --> 00:45:55,720
Speaker 2: End quote.

996
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,720
Speaker 1: So yes to the greatness and dominance of Don Staley

997
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,279
Speaker 1: and her South Carolina teams. And we got to give

998
00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:04,560
Speaker 1: flowers to coach Carolyn Peck for being the first black

999
00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:08,040
Speaker 1: woman to win a national championship as a head coach. Plus,

1000
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:10,959
Speaker 1: let's welcome into the Good Game Hall of Fame both

1001
00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:13,799
Speaker 1: of these amazing coaches and humans. This lore is an

1002
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,320
Speaker 1: incredible testament to the power of lifting while you climb

1003
00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:18,560
Speaker 1: and has gon into something so much bigger than a

1004
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,080
Speaker 1: little nylon piece of string.

1005
00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:23,120
Speaker 2: Yes, and.

1006
00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:27,319
Speaker 1: We always love that you're listening slices, but we want

1007
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:28,719
Speaker 1: you to get in the game every day too, So

1008
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:30,239
Speaker 1: here's our good game play of the day.

1009
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:31,880
Speaker 2: Do we even need to say it?

1010
00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:35,120
Speaker 1: Tune into the final four games tonight and you heard

1011
00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,360
Speaker 1: our picks, which may or may not have been consistent

1012
00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:39,719
Speaker 1: with what's in our brackets, but that's okay. Make sure

1013
00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:42,080
Speaker 1: you know which squad's you're rocking with before the games

1014
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:42,600
Speaker 1: tip off.

1015
00:46:43,239 --> 00:46:44,040
Speaker 2: We love to hear from you.

1016
00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:46,399
Speaker 1: Hit us up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot

1017
00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:48,520
Speaker 1: com or leave a voicemail at eight seven two two

1018
00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:51,239
Speaker 1: oh four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe a

1019
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:56,080
Speaker 1: rate and review. It's easy watch Women's Sports Weekends rating

1020
00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,880
Speaker 1: fifty out of fifty people. You are so super psyched

1021
00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:02,759
Speaker 1: to see this weekend in Tampa is legit the kind

1022
00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:04,680
Speaker 1: of magic that inspired the name of this show.

1023
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:06,879
Speaker 2: Women's Sport is the.

1024
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:09,520
Speaker 1: Good game, full of all the competition and excitement and

1025
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:14,400
Speaker 1: unpredictability that we love in sports, but shared with a kind, diverse, supportive, fun,

1026
00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:18,879
Speaker 1: shit talking, but ultimately respectful community. And this weekend it's

1027
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:21,120
Speaker 1: gonna be just full of so many hugs and cheers

1028
00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:23,920
Speaker 1: and laughs with my friends, new friends, old friends, work friends,

1029
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:26,759
Speaker 1: friends of friends that will become my friend. I just

1030
00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,920
Speaker 1: I'm so excited. I love you women's sports. Let's party.

1031
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,080
Speaker 1: Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening,

1032
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:37,319
Speaker 1: See you next week. Good game, Corey Booker, Good game,

1033
00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:40,640
Speaker 1: Don and Carolyn. You having to make picks against teams

1034
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:45,200
Speaker 1: that we also really like. Good Game with Sarah Spain

1035
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:48,080
Speaker 1: is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep

1036
00:47:48,080 --> 00:47:50,400
Speaker 1: Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the

1037
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:53,839
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1038
00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:57,240
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azie

1039
00:47:57,239 --> 00:48:00,840
Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Ever, Jesse Katz,

1040
00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:04,200
Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer. Our editors are Emily Rutterer,

1041
00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:07,640
Speaker 1: Britney Martinez and Grace Lynch. Our associate producer is Lucy

1042
00:48:07,719 --> 00:48:09,800
Speaker 1: Jones and I'm your host Sarah Spain