The Athletic Women's Basketball Show Podcast

The Athletic Women's Basketball Show

The Athletic
The Athletic Women's Basketball Show brings you the latest news from the WNBA, Women's College Basketball and more each week. Zena Keita hosts along with Sabreena Merchant, Ben Pickman, Chantel Jennings and guests from around the sport.
All-Access with Cal's Charmin Smith and Marta Suárez plus NCAA surprises
Zena and Sabreena chat with Cal head coach Charmin Smith and fifth-year senior Marta Suárez about the surprising success of the Golden Bears in their first year in the ACC and the culture that this eclectic group has developed in Berkeley. Then, Chantel and Sabreena dive into some other teams that have exceeded expectations in 2024-25, with a heavy dose of SEC programs. Finally, Ben gives a quick recap on the latest moves in WNBA free agency. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman -Follow Chantel on X: @chanteljennings -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 7
1 hr 14 min
Will the Big 10 have Two No. 1 seeds?
Bracketology with Mark Schindler is back on The Athletic and he talks to Zena about his process in preparing for the big dance. They cover everything from what the NCAA selection committee is looking for in seeding teams to his predicted number 1 seeds to dark horses he thinks could cause waves in this year’s tournament. Listen here and read more on his Bracketology series live on The Athletic site. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Mark on X: @MG_Schindler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 5
45 min
A'ja Wilson and the Making of the A'One
Zena and Ben take a brief detour from college and professional women's basketball for a special edition of the show. They are joined by Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson and Ben Nethongkome, the senior footwear designer for Nike Basketball, to go behind the scenes of how Wilson's signature sneaker came to life. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 4
36 min
All-Access with Sabrina Ionescu & WNBA free agency winners
Zena, Ben, and Sabreena run through the biggest surprises of WNBA free agency as well as what moves will be most impactful, and share some unreported details from the offseason thus far. Then, Ben and Sabreena chat with Sabrina Ionescu about being a free-agency spectator and the atmosphere at Unrivaled.  -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31
1 hr 2 min
Kate Koval's Search for Home
In this special episode of The Athletic Women's Basketball Show, Chantel Jennings brings you the story of Notre Dame freshman forward Kate Koval. Kate grew up in Ukraine, and moved to the US, solo, at age 15 to pursue her dreams of basketball stardom. Less than a year after she arrived, though, Kate's world was upended again, when her home country was invaded by Russia, rending her family apart in ways she could have never imagined – and forcing Kate, and all those around her, to reconsider the true meaning of sacrifice. Audio clip credits: LuHi vs St Joseph By the Sea game tape provided by Long Island Lutheran High School News reports on war from: ABC, BBC, MSNBC Joe Biden speech in Warsaw March 2022 - WH.gov Kate Announces commitment to Notre Dame from Instagram (@kateekoval) Art image credits: Cal Sport Media via AP Images, Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Koval Family, Fighting Irish Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 29
1 hr 3 min
Best (recent) game, best freshmen
Zena, Sabreena and Chantel discuss what they learned from both teams in No. 2 South Carolina's win over No. 5 LSU, and what they expect moving forward. Then, taking a cue from the Gamecocks' Joyce Edwards, they analyze the nation's top freshmen this season who have not only impressed but helped raise their teams' ceilings. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Chantel on X: @chanteljennings -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 28
56 min
Kelsey Plum, Jewell Loyd blockbuster trade grades
The first domino of the WNBA offseason has fallen as Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd are on the move as part of a three-team blockbuster trade between the Aces, Storm and Sparks. In this emergency podcast, Zena and Ben discuss why and how this three-team deal came together and break down the implications of the reported agreement for each team, as well as what the trade could mean for other free agency moves this winter. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 27
38 min
Rachid Meziane’s journey to the WNBA
Connecticut Sun head coach Rachid Meziane joins Zena, Ben and Sabreena to discuss his path from coaching in France to being in the WNBA. They discuss his coaching philosophies, impressions from a past WNBA training camp visit, and what his hiring could mean for international players and coaches. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman -Follow Chantel on X: @chanteljennings -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 24
38 min
Unrivaled debuts and women's college hoops ... gets paid (finally)
First, Zena and Ben share all their impressions from the debut weekend of Unrivaled. Ben was in the arena and provides all the sights and sounds. They discuss the atmosphere, style of play, business dealings and future of the league. Then, Sabreena and Chantel dive into what was a big week for women's college hoops financials. Dawn Staley became the highest-paid coach in the sport, units are finally coming to the women's hoops and the Department of Education offered some guidance around revenue sharing that could fundamentally alter women's college sports. What does it all mean? -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman -Follow Chantel on X: @chanteljennings -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 21
1 hr 9 min
The Launch of Unrivaled
In anticipation of Unrivaled tipping off its inaugural season, Ben and Sabreena connect with two of the league's stakeholders, Chelsea Gray and Luke Cooper, to talk about how Unrivaled came together. Chelsea shares the process of being recruited by co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier and why this league is important for WNBA veterans. As the president of basketball operations, Luke explains how Unrivaled developed its rules, put together the rosters, and how this is still "real" basketball. -Follow Zena on X: @itszenakeita -Follow Ben on X: @benpickman -Follow Sabreena on X: @sabreenajm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17
49 min
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