Episode 10
· 51:20
Welcome, beinvenidos to We Got Next, a podcast for fans by fans, where we center athletes who identify as women, femmes, and thems, and who are changing the game on and off the court, the field, the pitch, the pool, and more. How's it going?
Filiberto:Hey. What's up? How you doing today?
Michelle:I'm good.
Filiberto:Oh, that's nice. Yeah. What are you, what are you enjoying in your class today?
Michelle:My glass with my straw.
Filiberto:Yeah.
Michelle:I you know, just quickish, did a did a vodka tonic.
Filiberto:Oh. With a little lime juice? Yep. Oh, that's nice.
Michelle:It's very refreshing.
Filiberto:I cannot get my seat sorted out. This feels really weird. Alright. Here we go. Yeah.
Filiberto:Vodka tonic on this super hot Sacramento day.
Michelle:Yes. It's warming up. We spent the weekend in San Francisco, which we'll talk about soon.
Filiberto:Watching Valkyries games.
Michelle:So the weather was nice, sunny, a little breezy. But this we've returned to reality of Sacramento's summer where it'll be 90 degrees today.
Filiberto:Painful and you could like, it's that kinda heat because it's also humid. It's that kinda heat where you, like, you go outside and you can, like, taste it.
Michelle:A little bit.
Filiberto:Like, oh, this tastes hot. Cool. Yeah. Cool. Feel like a cat.
Filiberto:Just tastes in the atmosphere.
Michelle:Yep. So that's what I settled on a vodka tonic.
Filiberto:Oh, that's nice.
Michelle:What about you?
Filiberto:I'm drinking a kombucha.
Michelle:Nice.
Filiberto:So we had a busy weekend in revelry, and that's enough revelry for me. I'm 44 now. I can't revel the way I used to.
Michelle:Yes. Again, back to reality. Yeah. The temperature and the hydration.
Filiberto:And the limitations. Yep.
Michelle:We had an exciting weekend.
Filiberto:We had an exciting weekend watching two games Friday, Saturday, but importantly, we're almost halfway through the season. So it's a good time to check out two games in a row for us at least back to back on one weekend.
Michelle:Well, like like you said, we this will be our first podcast where the Valkyries went three and o.
Filiberto:Yeah. Yeah. No. I think it's really interesting. So I think just like watching the way we've been watching these games and podcasting about them is in chunks of three, and we'll talk more about this, but it was just really it was it's I think with these three games, you really see the differences in approach.
Filiberto:And I think and you'll see that in lot of press conferences, and it's been taking a while for me to make sense of because the players talk about this a lot. They talk about how much the coaches prep them and all these different things. But you saw in in seeing these three games as a whole, you see the different approaches, tactics, the different ways that they won. Like, you saw the full ensemble of what this team's capable of. And I think a lot of that comes from the coaching and the disproportionate emphasis on defense as the, like, the the thing that you work on, you know, day to day.
Michelle:Right. And I think also going along with what you're saying is I think you're also seeing some games-person-ship with the coaching staff for the Valkyries a little bit knowing like, there was there was a point where Gabby Williams kinda rested some chunks of a game. And it's like, you know, as the season progresses, you know, teams are gonna get to know each other pretty well, especially like Atlanta. We played Atlanta twice last week. We're gonna play them.
Michelle:So we'll play a third time this coming weekend, July 4. So we'll play them three times in about two weeks. So that's when you start really getting to the rosters kind of when you face each other a lot. So you can see like there's like how can I get an edge and that like example would be like throwing different defense, like mixing up the defense on a certain player? But also things like, you know, having someone sit out the majority the game and then come in in the fourth and just be a beast and and win a game for the Valkyries.
Michelle:Or even like Veronica Burton the last game. You know, she's been playing lot. I really want them to arrest her more. And so it looked like she might have gotten injured in a game, and she sat for a while. But then she came she came back.
Michelle:And could be she was feeling better, but it could also be that they were trying to keep them out, making the other team think was injured type of thing. Who knows?
Filiberto:Well, she I mean, something was wrong. Like, she was it was her left wrist. She was moving it around. So but this seems like they took that opportunity to give the impression of something, which
Michelle:Right and she needs a rest.
Filiberto:And she needs a rest. One, we I think in the last couple press conferences, they did talk about and it was the second game against Atlanta. They did talk about, like, Gabby sort of conserving her energy to be the closer because that's the designation that Nakase has given her. So I think it's one of the first times we've been given, like, explicit strategy from them.
Michelle:Right.
Filiberto:You know, if you're watching tape, I imagine it's easy to notice that. But for them to actually articulate that was, I think, interesting.
Michelle:Yeah. And I think Coach Nakase's pregame before this past Sunday, the victory over at the Liberty, in the pregame her pregame comment, she mentioned that people would be on a minutes restriction.
Filiberto:That's the other part. Right. Yeah.
Michelle:So she she even though they don't play again till maybe Saturday, so they're gonna have some days off, you know, finally. So even though you you have those those days of rest, they were gonna kinda monitor people's minutes in the Liberty game.
Filiberto:Yeah. Absolutely. So yeah. Well, the other thing that that happened too is we're right next to the middle of the season. There's a break in the schedule for the Commissioners Cup.
Filiberto:So what what are your thoughts about just being in the middle of season before we get into the actual games? Yeah. Michelle, what are you thinking about that?
Michelle:Well, I want to look up kinda where we were this time last year. Again, so halfway would be 22 games. We're only at 20 right now. But since we have that break, we thought it would be worth kinda looking up the numbers. So last season, 20 games in, the Valkyries were ten and ten, which again, first year, not bad.
Filiberto:At that point, everyone was really happy. We thought we'd be way under. So Oh, yeah. A lot of there was a lot of optimism. Was like, oh, man, we're 500.
Filiberto:This is amazing.
Michelle:Well and some of the games we lost, we lost by, like, two or three points. Yeah. So there some tight games, which is like, again, woah, that's, you know, surprising. So ten and ten last year, 20 games in to the season. This year, we're thirteen and seven.
Michelle:So we're three games ahead of where we were. I pay attention to the rankings way more than Fili does. So we are ranked, we're third. That's where we're at now. We are we've spent a lot of these 20 games at home.
Michelle:We are about to go on a really tough road trip so that, know, you'll have some things even out probably. But that's a really good mark to be at where we're at right now.
Filiberto:We had a lot of home games the first part of the schedule, which means that that Michelle and I ended up watching quite a bit of games. We won't be going to as many in the second half of the season just because there's not as many that are convenient to watch. So that's one thing. But I I also think that while there were a lot more home games and Balhalla more than anywhere else it seems is probably the best home court advantage, that their their strength of schedule was still pretty hard in the first half, I think. So they're on the road a lot in the second half, but their strength of schedule is a lot lower, I guess.
Filiberto:I don't Yeah. Know how to.
Michelle:A lot less difficult.
Filiberto:But yeah. It's I'm getting caught up in there.
Michelle:Well because we've played Vegas three times. We've played Minnesota twice already. We've just played Atlanta twice. So yeah those are some of the tougher teams. But, I mean, you know, people talk about how loud Balhalla is.
Michelle:And so, you know, it is different when the Valkyries play on the road. It's it's definitely a different atmosphere for them.
Filiberto:But, you know, I think in that and along with that different atmosphere, what's gonna be important for this team is to have home court advantage, and that means being in the top four. So this is the first time we've cracked
Michelle:For the playoffs.
Filiberto:Yes. In the seedings, in the playoffs. So this is the first time cracking the top four in the standings, and that's a big deal. Like, again, it's a we're barely mid season, but it is a big deal.
Filiberto:If we wanna advance, that's where we need to be.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah. No. Definitely what's the term? You're going you're trending in right direction.
Michelle:There we go.
Filiberto:Trending in the right direction.
Michelle:You're trending upward.
Filiberto:Trending upward.
Michelle:Yeah. That's what the Valkyries are doing.
Filiberto:You're like one of those Wall Street people. Upward trend.
Michelle:We're heading in the right direction. That's an important part.
Filiberto:One of those made up economist words.
Michelle:And we'll do we'll do a fun quiz in a little bit that also kind of reflects a little bit of that improvement over last year is some of the player stats or team stats. The Valkyries are, like, top five, top 10, whereas last year, like,
Michelle:The only thing we were in the top last year was attempted threes.
Filiberto:Well, no. That was the funnier part. There was attempted threes, but also we were top and misses on threes too. So that was never a great stat.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah. So there's a lot more joy to go around.
Filiberto:That's right.
Michelle:So let's break down our games.
Michelle:This last week, we had on June 24, these are all home games.
Filiberto:And that was Wednesday. Right?
Michelle:Yes. Yes.
Filiberto:Yeah. That was the midweek game.
Michelle:Yeah. So June 24, we played Atlanta and then turned right back around Friday. Also played Atlanta. So they got you know, Atlanta's team got to hang out in Northern California for a little bit, which is hopefully was cool for them.
Filiberto:Yeah. Hopefully, there's something funny between losing games.
Michelle:Yeah. And then two days later, June 28, this past Sunday, against the New York Liberty. So these are, like, top tier teams. Yeah. I think Atlanta was above us heading into these games, like, as far as the rankings.
Michelle:Well, these are kind of people, like, surrounding us in the standings that are like, if you wanna get that top four to get home court in the playoffs, you're gonna have to beat these people. Like, the people who are around you, you're competing for points. You have to be able to beat them.
Filiberto:Yeah. And I think for this for these three games, it was like, alright. If we split against Atlanta and at least are competitive against Liberty, that's good. Yeah. But to have won all three Yeah.
Filiberto:That was just and I think that part of it too, like winning all three games, the scores don't necessarily reflect this, but they played a, the Valkyries played a really dominant brand of basketball, and, again, in a variety of ways using different matchups, different lineups. And so, you know, they're getting close, I think, to the point where they if they can do this consistently, they're gonna be a start they're gonna start being talked about as one of the elite teams in the league. Like, we're seeing the beginnings of it. Right? I'm not claiming anything.
Filiberto:I'm not trying to get ahead of this. But, again, when they're playing at their best, they're they're hard to beat, and they've been playing like that more recently.
Michelle:Yeah. So our first game against the Dream just completely epic. Like, Dream has a lot of size on the Valkyries. But I think the Valkyries just played smothering defense. They really held know, some of the big playmakers like Angel Reese and Allisha Gray.
Michelle:They held the Dream to, I think, only 27 points in the first half, which has to be a season low for them.
Filiberto:Yeah. It was 18 points in the first quarter and then nine in the second quarter. Nine the second quarter, it was nine - twenty three. Right? And that's where the Valkyries really started separating.
Michelle:Yes. And that's what the Atlanta Dream Coach, Karl Smesko said his postgame was that the second is when they lost the game. Yeah. And just Valkyrie's win 77 to 66. Oh my gosh.
Michelle:Seven six, 76.
Filiberto:Whatever. 67.
Michelle:67. Excuse me. I'm not even cool enough to do that reference.
Filiberto:You completely messed that up. It's embarrassing. Mila's gonna be so annoyed.
Michelle:Mila and Braeden and Barrett would be very upset with me.
Filiberto:Yup. All the childrens.
Michelle:But so it was not a high scoring game for either team. But by keeping the score low, I think it gave the Valkyries a chance to win. That was kind of what they were hoping for.
Filiberto:Yeah. And I think they had to pay so much attention to their defense that they give up some offense, and I think that's completely fine. Like, this this is the way you win games. And this is it is this felt like a playoff style game just because of both the how good the teams are, but then also having that back to back dynamic definitely gave you that feel.
Michelle:Yeah. And Atlanta was getting frustrated. I think, you know, Karl Smesko would like to see more fouls called against the defense when they're guarding Angel Reese. And I don't I'm not talking about this game, but I think in general, he's he's right on that. Yeah.
Michelle:But Madina Okot who is from South Carolina with Dawn Staley is amazing player. She's trying to build up like some conditioning so she can play longer in games. She played nineteen minutes, which I think was pretty
Filiberto:That's a lot for her.
Michelle:Pretty good for her. She had 16 points. She led them in points. So great job, Madina. Rookie season.
Michelle:Love to see it. And the Valkyries absolutely had a hard time guarding her when she was in the in the game.
Filiberto:She was pretty unstoppable when she was in there. Yeah. And I think the only thing that slowed her down, this happened more, I think, in the second game, is when they so there's there's two things that were happening. It was a small ball where you have a smaller, center or forward playing against her, pulling her out into the perimeter and forcing her to close out. And so that happens, like, when they went to a small ball lineup, but also sometimes Kiah Stokes is out in the perimeter shooting threes too.
Filiberto:So when that happened, Okot is out closing on on the three. She has to sprint out. You can tell it just it drags her. It drags her. And if the Valkyries can keep their, defense aggressive and push them or get a turnover, then Okot is screwed.
Filiberto:Like, if she has to run that hard that quickly across the court, you can tell she just gets way too burned out.
Michelle:Yeah. I mean, she was seven of nine on her field goals. She hit a three. I think the announcer said that was her first three of the season. Like, great.
Michelle:Great. Great job for the Valkyries. But yeah. I mean, Allisha Gray had was a minus 22. Rhyne Howard, a minus 23.
Michelle:So you could tell, like, the starters for Atlanta just struggled in that game. They were getting frustrated with some of the foul calls. And I think this is where and a lot of people say this, this is where Valkyries have some depth is with their bench. This is one of this is one of the few games where the starters did really well. You have Kayla Thornton with 17 points, Gabby Williams with 23, Ceci Zandalasini with 14.
Michelle:So we did get some of those double digits out of our starters, which we don't always get. We tend to get double digits out of our bench. So this is one of the games where, like, our starters kinda just really pushed forward and did well. Kiah Stokes just had, you know, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and three blocks in that game. And so I think
Filiberto:This was this was with three block game. Okay.
Michelle:Yeah. Now her her beast game was next. But so and this is just like everyone committing to playing that defense and knowing it's it's exhausting. Like playing good solid defense does tire people out. It's a lot of dedication.
Michelle:It's a lot of buy in from your players. But then you get to see your results like this. I mean, this was like the fourth game in a row. I think they held a star player to less than 10 points in a game after Kelsey Plum. Yeah.
Michelle:And I'm totally blanking on the other one the other players. Oh, Olivia Miles. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, this is we have a graphic we'll put in the show notes. But yeah, this is like phenomenal that they're able to do this.
Michelle:And then it just builds, right? If you can perform well in this game, then that helped them with the second game against Atlanta and heading into New York.
Filiberto:Well, in a team like Atlanta, that's I think their their players are just they're really good and they're also just really passionate and visibly passionate. Yeah. The way the Valkyries play defense, the way they stifle, the way they get in your way, the way they, like, annoy. Right? Like, when you're getting into passing lanes like that and you're just push using your body to create some space to get that ball, you're pissing off the other team.
Filiberto:And you can tell Atlanta was getting a little off their game. Just like, the mental side was really important for this game too. Yeah. I thought that was really impressive.
Michelle:Yeah. I mean, I don't know if Atlanta was exhausted or something, but you could just tell like a lot of good looks. They had some open looks, uncontested shots that just were not going in. And so that kind of compounds the issue. It's like, yes, the defense was great, but there were they did have some open looks that you just absolutely were missing, and that just makes that hole larger for you in the first half.
Filiberto:But I think that's I don't think they were tired. I think that's the mental side. Like, the Valkyrie's difference got to them so bad that it was it was shaking them when they were wide open.
Michelle:Yeah. No. I can imagine if, like, Angel Reese is struggling at what she's very good at, then, yeah, the other players are like, oh, no. What's happening?
Filiberto:And then just the attitude changes a lot. Yeah. I think the only negative the only real negative on this game was that Atlanta just kinda chased them a little in the fourth. Yes. They got close.
Filiberto:They had certainly outscored them. Let's see if the box score real quick. Outscored them twenty six- fourteen in that fourth.
Michelle:So Yeah. They they went Atlanta went on a nine and o run to start the fourth. And I don't if this is what you're gonna say, but Okot was just doing really well in that quarter without Kiah Stokes in the game.
Filiberto:Yeah. But not close enough. They just weren't gonna get there. But that that's the only, like, negative is Yeah. And again, this is an area where the Valkyries had trouble in the plat, in the past.
Filiberto:Can you close out games? Can you finish it off? And I think increasingly over the last couple weeks, they've been doing that. And that composure, that resilience is I think what's really impressive too Yeah. Of late.
Michelle:Yeah. And we saw that in the next two games. We're gonna talk about them keeping the, you know, the foot on the gas for the fourth.
Michelle:The next game against Atlanta again, it was a Friday night, Pride Weekend in San Francisco by the way.
Filiberto:We didn't really we We did not realize that initially. Because we were just focused on my brother because my brother well, to give context, so we stayed at my brother's apartment in San Francisco. Shout out to Ernie. Thank you very much. And then we were planning all this.
Filiberto:We just didn't look at the calendar. And I was like, oh, well, he's gonna be gone that weekend. So we just weren't thinking about it. Yeah. Then we looked at the calendar.
Filiberto:We're like, oh, it's Pride Weekend.
Michelle:It's Pride Weekend.
Filiberto:Oh, crap. Can we park? That's the first thought we had.
Michelle:You're like because, yeah, Ernie is somewhere near the Castro. So we're like, oh, no.
Filiberto:We're right there. Yeah. We were right there. So also a great neighborhood to be in, obviously.
Michelle:Yes. And again, perfect weather. Just a lot of great vibes and, like, energy in the city. It was really fun to be there.
Filiberto:We had some really good oysters and crab too. Like, I You did. It's been a long time since I've had anything that good. Yeah. And it was right on the right on the Castro.
Filiberto:I forgot the name of the street, but it was right there. It was really good. Yeah. If if you've been to the Castro, you know which crab place I'm talking about. You absolutely know because it's like the only one.
Michelle:So, yeah, and this was Pride Night for the Valkyries. So they did a phenomenal job with, just the people they they had kinda do entertainments or, you know, activities and booths outside the stadium, the arena. And then they had kind of a dance party during halftime with like a DJ off with two DJs. They had some drag dancers. Like, it was just really cool cool vibe to be there for.
Michelle:And there's like this now infamous line from Gabby Williams after the team won. That you know, you had to win for the gays on Pride Night and they started chanting that the next game the fans did versus the Liberty. But it was just a really cool it was a cool vibe that night. However, heading into the game, I was a little concerned because was like, Atlanta's gonna come back. They've watched a lot of film.
Filiberto:They're pissed.
Michelle:There's no way that that team is too good, too much talent, great coaching. There's no way that they're just gonna, like like, fall over and take another drubbing.
Filiberto:Well, then it was like, can the Valkyries come up with a game plan in response to the likely adjustments that they'll make? Yeah. Like all of that thing all of those things too.
Michelle:Yeah. And this is that game where Gabby kinda sat throughout like the second and the third. And then we hadn't heard her name a lot. Like, it was weird. But she comes in the fourth and she just like goes on a run.
Filiberto:Y'all. She was walking on water. Yeah. Like, I I am not a religious man anymore, but she was walking on water. It was amazing.
Michelle:Yeah. It was a pretty close game at that point, like a little back and forth. So no. It was just like, it was great to be able to pull that out. What other things did you notice about that game?
Filiberto:Well and the thing that made Gabby's play so compelling to me was like, we talk about this a lot in every sort of setting is, like, you do have to learn how to win, but more importantly, you have to really want to win. And what that looks like and feels like is what she did in the fourth quarter. Like, that was her just like, we are going to win this game. It was pretty tight, way closer than the first game. And she just decided they were gonna win.
Filiberto:And she got steals when she needed them. She made her like, her free throws were a problem. She knows that. But she got the steals, made the points. Like, she just took it over.
Filiberto:Yeah. That that to me was just like, this is this is a woman that if she keeps this up, she's gonna be an MVP candidate. And that's the sort of play that you need if you wanna win playoff games too. And that's the sort of thing we just didn't have last year. We didn't win those tight games like that.
Filiberto:Once people are having an off net, we just couldn't find the offense. So Gabby just just some knowing that she has that capacity and just saving her energy for the fourth to do it was it was just really spectacular to watch.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah. So this game for Atlanta, Jordin Canada had a great game just doing a lot of, like, trying to run downhill, doing those those layups. She led Atlanta as far as points scored for 23. Angel Reese did Angel Reese.
Michelle:She had 12 rebounds. So she was able to kind of find a little bit more space for herself rebounding compared to the first game. I think like, I wanna kind of shout out, Kiah Stokes in this game was just phenomenal. If you can go to, like, the app or somewhere, maybe we'll we'll put a link in. But if you can just watch a compilation of her block shots, they were, like, really timely, set the tone early.
Michelle:I think if you're Atlanta, you're coming to this game like we gotta punch first. Right? We gotta like make a you know, go on a run. We gotta think first, gotta get the crowd quieted. We gotta get like the Valkyries kinda like on their heels.
Michelle:But Kiah Stokes was there to just like take away any opportunities early on. So I think that really helped the Valkyries not be in a hole. Like, saved them in the, like, first and second quarter a lot.
Filiberto:And she established that mental domination too. Like, people were scared to come to the lane because she wasn't, you know? And if you all haven't seen it, like, it wasn't as if she just had her hands up and managed to block something. Like, she was, like, swatting. She was coming in there.
Filiberto:Usually, bigs get fouls for that because they end up hitting your arms or something like that. But she just has the athleticism to not foul when she's being that aggressive blocking. Like, it was incredible.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah. And they had like really important contributions from Tiffany Hayes. And then Kaitlyn Chen had a really good game. She did have a fair amount of I mean, both actually Hayes and
Filiberto:Lot of turnover issues.
Michelle:Kaitlyn Chen had a lot of turnovers.
Filiberto:It was rough.
Michelle:We definitely had way more turnovers in that game than we did the first time. Like way more than you wanna have, which kinda hurt our offense. But but I think, you know, just being able to, like, oh, I'm not having, like, as perfect or crisp of a game as I want, but still being able to push through for both Hayes and Chen, I think that was really good.
Filiberto:And, you know, the Kiah Stokes in her interviews talks a lot about how she sees herself as, like, the the back line of the of the defense that the guards can kinda take more risks because she can be back there, close it out, close the rim up. But that being said, Kaitlyn Chen just got beat a lot on defense too. That was a little concerning whether she can keep up with the most athletic teams in the league.
Michelle:Yeah. You could tell Atlanta was definitely trying to take away the Valkyries' three pointer. They did on the first game, but this game, they it was much tighter. Yeah. I think we only we were only like five of 22 from the three point, which is low for us.
Michelle:Yeah. Which I think is one of reasons the game was very close. So it was kind of back and forth. Like if you look at, you know, quarter by quarter, like one point separates the teams for the first, two points separate them in the second, one point in the third. But here's the thing in the seventh, like the Valkyries actually want sorry.
Michelle:The fourth.
Filiberto:Wait. What? Okay. Sorry.
Michelle:I was like, no. It's not baseball. So Valkyries actually won the fourth quarter this time. That's because of what we're saying about Gabby. So they scored 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Michelle:Atlanta had 20. And that's the difference of the game over you know, the final score was 78 Valkyries. 75, Atlanta Dream.
Filiberto:Absolutely.
Michelle:And what about Ceci? So Ceci's been on a roll. Yeah. But this game, she kinda like had a little bit of a hiccup.
Filiberto:Well, I thought in the first quarter or first half, I thought there was a couple of plays. And if I find them, I'll put these in the show notes on the advanced stats because I finally found the page that has those little videos. But she was playing so one of the things about the Valkyries is because they're so three and d, they don't play a lot of interior defense. It's a lot of passes inside rather than, like, back to the basket sorts of things posting up players. So Ceci was doing a lot of that in the first quarter early and looked really successful doing it, but then they sort of abandoned it.
Filiberto:So I'm just kinda wondering about that generally. But, again, if there is a note that for me, that's one of them is where did Ceci's game go? Her establishing her back to the basket skills is really, I think, really important for the Valkyries offense, especially when the threes aren't going down as they were in this game just, I think, in part because of Atlanta's really good perimeter defense.
Michelle:Yeah. No. That part was definitely gonna struggle for her, and that's that's where she's been doing good. But, you know, the only person who could really get them off was Salaun because she has kind of a higher Yeah. Shooting for her threes, which was allowed her to evade some of the contesting from Atlanta's players.
Filiberto:Yeah. She's already tall and then she keeps her hands high when she shoots up. Yeah. And that you see that with some WNBA players, W players. Some of them shoot from their shoulder kinda low.
Filiberto:Mhmm. You see a variety of that.
Michelle:And Salaun's, like, overhead sometimes. Yeah. Way up there. Yeah. And just one other stat line I wanna share about Kiah just to, like, emphasize how good of a game she had.
Michelle:13 points. She was five of seven. She was two of four for three pointers.
Filiberto:It's definitely a new part of her game. That definitely wasn't part of her bag before.
Michelle:Seven blocks. Yeah. Seven.
Filiberto:Well, not to not to minimize that, but, like, there were also a lot of other blocks from and I don't have it in front of me. I don't remember exactly. But other people had blocks too. Like, there were there were a lot of blocks in this game.
Michelle:Yeah. Tiffany Hayes had one, and then Kaila Charles had one. Yeah. Yeah. So but I mean that's
Filiberto:Veronica generally gets a lot of blocks too now, which is and also another great part of her game that's been developing.
Michelle:Yeah. No. But, like, seven, that's like
Filiberto:That's money.
Michelle:be a high.
Filiberto:Yeah. No. That was great.
Michelle:That's well above average. Well above it. So, yeah, just overall closer game, but just a much better not better, but just really great feeling. Everyone's walking out of that game, like, super jazzed.
Filiberto:And energy in Balhalla was high. Yeah. It was high. And, you know, we've been going to games since last year. The energy is somehow increasing now.
Filiberto:Like, it's getting more intense. I didn't think that was possible. Right. People are, like, really locking in. Like, again, like, this is Nakase said this, we've said this.
Filiberto:The fans are really, really intelligent. So, like, they just keep up really well. And I think they're just I think as a fan base, we're just getting better at noticing stuff too. Yeah. And and getting better at expecting things from these players too.
Filiberto:So, like, in a lot of ways, the players kinda seem to trust the fans to, like, be on point too, which is cool.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah. And then our next game was two days later, Sunday the twenty eighth against the Liberty. And this is the last game before we head out to the road. We've got a few days off.
Michelle:I think it was kinda like how much gas do, you know, does do the Valkyries have in their tank, especially someone like Veronica Burton or even Kiah Stokes who just like was all over the court Friday night. Liberty come in and this is again one of those teams they had kind of a shaky start to the season. But they seem to have kind of figured it out. They're, you know, they're subbing in a few new players. They're waiting for Sabrina Ionescu to come back.
Michelle:So, know, things have been kinda up in the air for them. They seem to be kind of on a win streak and then they've kinda struggled the last couple of games. So you're kinda you're not sure which Liberty team's gonna show up. Right? They they do have a first year coach who used to be an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.
Michelle:And so I think the judges are still out on how successful that's been so far this season. But, like, what were some of the takeaways you had from Sunday's game against the Liberty?
Filiberto:I think, again, like, after two wins against Atlanta, it was like, alright. If they manage to win this game, awesome, but I'm not expecting much. This is gonna be a good game. Yeah. But they had a really dominant real team effort win.
Filiberto:I think we when we were talking about this game earlier, you mentioned that the dispersal, if you look at the box score, the dispersal in points was amazing. Like, this was a really distributed effort. I think the thing if if of watching Valkyries basketball is they pass a lot because they're trying to figure out who has the best open shot. Right? And sometimes that takes a little long.
Filiberto:They have issues with shot clock management, etc. But in this game, it just worked out really well. Like, no one player really had the hot hand, but everyone contributed a lot. And it was just really nice to watch. Really nice to watch.
Michelle:Yeah. And it's not even like the points that are being distributed. But if you look at like assists or Yeah. Everything. Rebounding, that kind of stuff, that's evenly distributed.
Michelle:That's a place where just watching the game, obviously, New York just really struggles. We didn't see much of their bench until like the third and a lot of the fourth just because at that point, the gap was so much. They didn't you know, the largest lead the Valkyries had on the Liberty was 22 points. So at some point, you're kinda like and it the final score's a little closer. It was 76, Valkyries, to 67.
Michelle:Again, six seven for the Liberty. So the score makes it look a little closer than it was, but the but the Valkyries were up, I would say, between fifteen and twenty points a lot of that game.
Filiberto:Yeah. Yeah. No. And I and I think this is also an example of the way Gabby plays. She only played twenty minutes, scored seven points.
Filiberto:Like, she's not trying to to play thirty minutes and scored 25 every night. She's trying to do whatever it takes for the team to win.
Michelle:Yes.
Filiberto:And in this game, what it took to win was just distributing the basketball, making sure everybody was involved, and then working the matchups that were available. Because ultimately, the Liberty does have a lot of injury issues as do many teams at this point. So our depth was really important to us. But I think in general, we're also thinking about that halfway point of the season. We're really lucky that we're just really healthy right now. And other teams aren't.
Filiberto:Yeah. Right?
Michelle:Yeah. The Liberty was missing. Satou Sabally Yeah. Still having some of those lingering concussion issues. Sabrina from the Bay Area, she's happy to be here, but just, you know
Filiberto:Just kinda just didn't bring it.
Michelle:Yeah. Breanna
Filiberto:was coming back from taking a night off.
Michelle:Yeah. And I I think the bright spot, if you're a Liberty fan, I think was Jonquel Jones . She had a really good game, efficient shooting. I think she was their top scorer. But she she was pushing on defense too.
Michelle:So she was definitely kind of like, I think some of comments for Liberty after the game from Breanna Stewart, from others kinda questioning the heart or the passion that like just that energy level is just not there in their games. And they said this was another example of that. So just wanna point out that Jonquel did have a good game despite some of those struggles that they might have internally or individually. She was able to play well and she's just just watching that game, she's just such a tremendous presence on the court for the Liberty. And so just like kinda looking at them like, man, she's so good.
Michelle:She can do so many things, whether it's offense or defense. It's you know, that was kinda like, oh, man, this is gonna be hard. If we can we can shut her down, we have a chance of winning. We didn't quite shut her down.
Filiberto:Not at all.
Michelle:But we still won. So and we still we still pretty much dominated that game.
Filiberto:So It was impressive to watch.
Michelle:Yeah. And it was nationally televised, so we got to see Rebecca Lobo Mhmm. Ryan Ruocco,
Filiberto:and Mhmm.
Michelle:Holly Holly Rowe did the final interview after the game. So that was pretty cool.
Filiberto:Yeah. Jonquel Jones had a great game. They just needed a second person to create to have a big game because they don't have enough depth. Right. And they they just they can't ride with just one person doing well.
Filiberto:And, again, that Valkyries defense limited them to six, seven points. So it doesn't matter if their offense doesn't score a lot. They just need to score enough to win.
Michelle:Yeah. And the Liberty and even Atlanta, these are teams who score well into the nineties on average. And we held them to season lows. So it was great.
Filiberto:Right. And make sure I mean, so it you know, if you look at the schedule, next month is a little tough just because of all the road games. But these are all teams that we've been able to beat and should be able to beat pretty easily. So exciting times are ahead. It's gonna be hard, but exciting times are ahead.
Michelle:Yeah. And then not to pile on to the refs at all, because they have enough to deal with. But there was a moment we'll leave you the link in the show notes where Kaitlyn Chen accidentally, purposefully, I don't know, used used a ref for a screen to get around a defender
Filiberto:It was really fun.
Michelle:Which was completely successful.
Filiberto:Yeah. Really worked.
Michelle:And it it it's made the rounds on socials.
Michelle:So you if you haven't seen it....
Filiberto:This is some playground bullshit. That was wild. I'm like, oh.
Michelle:I'm like, did she even that or was that just a play call? I don't know. But
Filiberto:But both the ref and the defender were surprised. So Yes. They they were they were not in on it.
Michelle:Yes.
Filiberto:I can tell you that much.
Michelle:And, you know, the ref is okay. They did at least did not get knocked down. Just two huge athletes on both sides of them, but they they made it out okay.
Filiberto:Right. And we'll send you that link so you could enjoy it Yeah. At your leisure.
Michelle:It was pretty awesome. But yay, Valkyries. Great job. Keep it up. Stay you know, you're gonna be on the road.
Michelle:It's gonna be a little harder. Just make sure you're kind of, like, leaning on each other to get you through it.
Filiberto:Do your Pilates. Do your stretching. Stay loose. Yeah.
Michelle:They are enjoying some blackout days. They got two blackout days in a row before they hop on the plane.
Filiberto:Some big break. It is. It's almost a week before their next game. Yeah. So they they definitely earned that time off.
Filiberto:Yeah. Nakase said that she's not even allowed to text her assistant coaches.
Michelle:There are rules.
Filiberto:Yeah. Yeah. Those are those are strong rules.
Michelle:Mhmm. So those rules are there for a reason.
Michelle:Okay, so we're gonna switch it up a little bit this week.
Filiberto:Oh my goodness.
Michelle:I'm gonna I'm gonna quiz Fili.
Filiberto:Alright.
Michelle:I have three categories. I'm just gonna
Filiberto:What do I win if I win this quiz? What's my motivation?
Michelle:What do you want?
Filiberto:So you don't have a prize for me?
Michelle:I don't have, like, the tiny trophy that they give to the m the MVP. Yeah.
Filiberto:I want my
Michelle:tiny Kelsey Plum got, was that Commissioner's Cup MVP?
Filiberto:Or I think it was yeah. Commissioner's Cup MVP.
Michelle:Right? It was just this tiny okay. We got a position in show notes too. It's, like, literally not even a foot tall trophy.
Filiberto:They were kinda both trying to hold it, And it was weird because it was so small. And the choreography of that was actually really difficult.
Michelle:You mean Kelsey and commissioner?
Filiberto:The commish.
Michelle:Kelsey has a very expressive face. Yeah. So without using any words, I think you can see her face and
Filiberto:Well, especially
Michelle:see the displeasure.
Filiberto:With her hair up because nothing's hidden. Like, you see everything. Yep. Like, hands, all of it. It's just a lot of not just her face.
Filiberto:Right? The whole this whole structure is expressive.
Michelle:Yeah. Yeah.
Filiberto:I look forward to my trophy.
Michelle:Well, anyways. That will be the trophy you get.
Filiberto:My tiny trophy.
Michelle:The yet to be ordered trophy Okay. I will get for you.
Filiberto:How about a ride to work? How about you give me a ride work?
Michelle:There you go. Ride to the airport.
Filiberto:Yeah.
Michelle:So I have three I have three questions. I'll it'll be multiple choice. You have
Filiberto:I'm very nervous.
Michelle:People. No. I think I'll do.
Filiberto:My anxiety is increasing. Don't have my Fitbit on, but I'm sure my heart rate is really high right now. Look out world.
Michelle:Okay. So your first question, are you ready? No. Go ahead. Drumroll.
Filiberto:I could put a drumroll in if you want.
Michelle:Later on? Post production?
Filiberto:In post. Put it in post. That's what they say in the show.
Michelle:We'll do in post.
Filiberto:They say in showbiz, folks.
Michelle:We'll fix it in post.
Filiberto:Little showbiz language over here.
Michelle:So your first question is
Filiberto:Okay.
Michelle:Who as in a player, which player is leading in points per game, the points per game average? Here are your choices.
Filiberto:Yeah. I know who it is.
Michelle:Caitlin Clark? No. Marina Mabrey? No. A'ja Wilson?
Michelle:No. Kelsey Plum?
Filiberto:Yes.
Michelle:So, like, a week ago, that would have been right.
Filiberto:Oh, no.
Michelle:Because Kelsey's been injured.
Filiberto:It doesn't matter if she's injured. She still has the average.
Michelle:Oh, it's true. Yeah. She was, but someone has surpassed her.
Filiberto:Right. If someone surpassed her, that's different. But just her being injured doesn't change that.
Michelle:Okay. Sorry. You're right. I just but
Filiberto:Oh, because Marina had a 52 game. No? Oh, it's A'ja? Yeah. Damn.
Filiberto:How close is it?
Michelle:So Kelsey is at 23.9. Uh-huh. A'ja's at 25.7.
Filiberto:Oh, shit.
Michelle:So she just she's had a few 30-point games.
Filiberto:I I presume. And again, since we're halfway through the season, it the averages can still change a lot depending on a couple of big games.
Michelle:Yeah. Marina's at 21.2.
Filiberto:Yeah. That's yeah. That makes sense.
Michelle:So she's up there.
Filiberto:But but that that may not be current because that has to have gone up with the last game she had.
Michelle:I did that this morning.
Filiberto:Is that current? Okay. Yeah.
Michelle:Alright.
Filiberto:Okay. Yeah. Her average just shot up. Okay.
Michelle:Yeah. I I thought it was going in looking up that number. I thought
Filiberto:it was
Michelle:gonna be Kelsey.
Filiberto:Yeah. It was.
Michelle:It was.
Filiberto:Up until a couple days ago.
Michelle:Yeah. Well and the Valkyries might be part of that. Remember, we held her to like nine points in a game?
Filiberto:No, yeah, that threw her average down.
Michelle:Yeah. Absolutely. You're welcome, A'ja. Okay. Second question.
Michelle:Which player is leading in blocks per game? So we have Emily Engstler from the Portland Fire.
Filiberto:She was leading but I don't think she is anymore.
Michelle:We have Kiah Stokes from Golden State.
Filiberto:I don't think she is quite yet.
Michelle:You have Kamilla Cardoso for Chicago or A'ja Wilson from Vegas.
Filiberto:It's not the it's Kiah then. I think I saw the graphic. No. It's not. It's the Washington woman still?
Michelle:No? Portland?
Filiberto:Portland. Yeah.
Michelle:So it's a tie.
Filiberto:Oh, okay.
Michelle:So we have so the average blocks per game is two, the leader. Yeah. So it's Emily Engstler tied with A'ja.
Filiberto:Yeah.
Michelle:Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Filiberto:Because she did
Filiberto:she had one of those, like she was way ahead early in the season. Yeah. Because she did it. It one of those weird, like, early season stat things where it's like, oh my god. This person if they keep on pace Yeah.
Filiberto:They'll have double the highest ever block total. And you're like, well, that's not real. But Yeah. Thanks for the fun speculative stat.
Michelle:Yeah. So Emily and A'ja are at two. Kiah Stokes is at 1.8. Yeah. Which has kind of been
Filiberto:She's right there.
Michelle:And then Kamilla has 1.6.
Filiberto:Okay.
Michelle:So they're all kind of
Filiberto:clustered.
Michelle:They're friends together.
Filiberto:Blocking friends.
Michelle:Okay. Last one. This is a team question, so it's not a player. So last one. Which team
Filiberto:Very nervous about this one.
Michelle:Is leading with three pointers made? The New York Liberty, the Portland Fire, Golden State, or the Toronto Tempo.
Filiberto:It's been it was us for a while, so that must have changed if you included this. Why would you ask me a question that I know the answer to? Or
Michelle:I was wanting to end it on a high note.
Filiberto:Alright. It was the Valkyries. It's the Valkyries. Yes. Both most attempted and made.
Michelle:Yes. Correct? For this one is just made, but I'm But. I'm assuming attempted is also up there. Yeah.
Michelle:So Golden State
Filiberto:because that was an important stat last year. We tried the most, but we also made the least. Yeah. It was horrible.
Michelle:I mean, I don't think our efficiency's gone up, but probably not in like, we're still attempted. Definitely. High of the attempt.
Filiberto:Yeah. It's making a lot more
Michelle:We'll add that to the show notes. So the team that's leading three pointers made is Golden State with 10.8.
Filiberto:Mhmm.
Michelle:Next up is Toronto with 10.4. And this is just of the four I pulled. Yeah. There might be someone else in the top five that I didn't pull. And then we have the New York Liberty has 10.2, and the Fire has 9.6.
Filiberto:Okay. Two expansion teams. That's interesting.
Michelle:Yeah. Golden State in Toronto. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.
Michelle:Awesome. Thanks for playing this week.
Filiberto:Thank you for thank you for having me in this quiz portion of the show.
Michelle:So this week on our last segment where we do midday homies or I'm a stop you right there. We actually have like a combined item we wanna talk about this week.
Filiberto:On this special episode Yes. Of our rants.
Michelle:So this one is kind of something that's like we're still thinking about. It's kind of evolving for us. But there've been a lot of celebrations, recognitions, just kind of acknowledgments in the last couple weeks. One would be Juneteenth and another one would be Pride. And so last year for Pride for the Valkyries, we purchased these rainbow tutus.
Michelle:And we wore that. I think we had other stuff.
Filiberto:Well, we got we got them originally because my gym was doing the Pride
Michelle:A Pride parade.
Filiberto:Yeah. Because the CrossFit gym I used to be part of would participate in the Sacramento Pride parade Mhmm. By dragging a truck. And then folks would do handstand walks in front of us dragging the truck.
Michelle:Yes. You can do this too someday.
Filiberto:So we were very much encouraged to, like, you know, have a costume and participate in all those things. That wasn't, that was the invitation from the queer community of my gym. Yes. And so we took those items and then made that part of our Valkyries experience.
Michelle:And I will say last year, we didn't really find out about it being Pride Night until, like, a couple days beforehand.
Filiberto:Yeah that was really awkward too. Yeah. The other communication around that was strange.
Michelle:The communication this year has been much better. So thank you, Valkyries. Yeah. They have a lot of theme nights. They have a lot of giveaway nights that they're making sure, like, they're advertising a lot more widely than they they did in the past.
Filiberto:Yes. We get a lot of emails about that now.
Michelle:So last year, we wore our tutus to the Valkyries game, their Pride night. And we were considering if we should do that again this year.
Filiberto:And last year, we got a lot of, like, positive comments and people took photos of us. And it was nice. It was a nice experience.
Michelle:But you had a conversation with one of our friends.
Filiberto:Well, we were just generally talking and I was talking about how much like, you know, we went hard for Pride for the gym and then the thing and how people were it was cool because people were excited about it. And she was like, well, you know, that's kind of generally how Pride goes. Like straight folks go hard for that. And queer folks are just like, it's just another day.
Michelle:Yeah. And I think that's kind of what we were thinking because I am cis, I'm a cis hetero white woman.
Filiberto:Yeah. I'm definitely very cis hetero brown dude.
Michelle:So kind of like had us pause and kind of think about our participation and wanting to, like, be allies, but also, like, leave the space open for others who wanna celebrate as, you know, those more impacted by some of the grossness and the legislation and the safety issues we are encountering in this country today.
Filiberto:Yeah. We were just thinking about like, yeah, how do we be the best allies? And I think in this instance, it was like, yeah, last year we wore the tutus and we got a lot of attention. It was nice. And but especially as a cis hetero dude, I don't want to take up space that Yeah.
Filiberto:Somebody else, like, really needs because they may not feel safe, you know, at home or on the street or wherever. So I think that gave me some pause about wearing it again. We talked about wearing it again, and it was like we had fun. And and I think what made it different for me last year, at least, was at least the gym queer community invited me. Right?
Filiberto:They were like, hey, we'd like you to do this. And I talked about what I was gonna wear and people were really excited about that and were excited when I came. Right? And not that anyone was like not excited or whatever, but it's just how do how do I feel about that as an ally and within, you know, just the kind of person I'm trying to be. And it just didn't feel right.
Filiberto:It just didn't feel right.
Michelle:Yeah. When I think like and I I run into this sometimes too. It's like how like, you wanna be an ally and be supportive, especially visibly supportive. Right? So other people know that they're safe around you.
Michelle:But, like, how do you do that and not co opt something for yourself when it's not for you and it shouldn't be? And so I think like there are other ways to kind of accomplish that. And it's also I think some people are using it, not just Pride, but other recognitions are kind of using it as a way to signal their values. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I think people really do have to think about the way in which they wear that.
Filiberto:Yeah. And I think yeah. Because our commitment is more than just like an aesthetic. Right? And like, I think it's like, it's the same conversations I have with folks about how to support people of color.
Filiberto:It's like, well, don't just be a tourist through our culture. Like, you have to commit and, like, sacrifice a bit and, like, challenge your family members around questions around race and racism. So it's yeah, how are we showing up for the queer community that we belong to or we're adjacent to and want to support? And part of it is doing this podcast and talking about the topics that we do. Mean, that's one of the layers that we're trying to do that as like cis hetero people largely talking about a sport that really appeals to queer folks specifically.
Michelle:Yeah. And I think yeah. It goes it goes back to that idea of, like like, don't wear a rainbow for me one day and then go and vote for initiatives or for people who will strip away my rights.
Filiberto:Yeah.
Michelle:And so this has to be a holistic approach to support and allyship. It's not just something that's on your socials. And again, that's it's not that that's not important, but that can't be where it start. Like, it can't stop there.
Filiberto:Yeah. It can't and, yeah, it can't stop there. That's a good starting point for a lot of people, but you have to push yourself a little bit to go further. And I think the well, the scenario specifically with the Valkyries too is they had like a a dance party on the court, and then we got an email inviting us to be there. And that's where it was like, yeah, I don't feel good being doing that just because I am taking up somebody's spot.
Filiberto:And that just that was an easy no. But then it was like, alright. Well, what about just wearing the tutu? It was like, well
Michelle:Yeah. Like, there's different layers that we can do here. Like, which one?
Filiberto:Yeah. And I'm already pulling a lot of undue attention anyway just because I'm a cis hetero dude in a really in women's in women's sports. Like, I'm already pulling more attention than I'd like to or need to. So I think that also just like last year felt different just because I think last year it was like, oh, a dude is here in a tutu. That's cool.
Filiberto:Like, I think that was it. But I think this year it was less because there's actually more men going to Valkyries games. We noticed that at the end of last year and now there's a lot more men. But I think that's where it was like for me as a cis hetero dude. It was like, yeah, there's actually a lot more cis hetero dude showing up.
Filiberto:I don't need to pull more attention. Right. I don't. I just really don't. I I doing this podcast is enough in terms of getting attention and being a cis hetero dude.
Filiberto:But like, yeah, in person, that was just too much for me.
Michelle:Well, I wonder because there's been there's been a fair amount of backlash with the San Francisco Giants. Yeah. From the MMLB who are trying to add m for men's on their leagues like they do for women. I kinda got the vibe that a lot of fans were gonna like make sure to be like extra Pride-y at the Valkyries game as kind of a counter to what was happening kind of just up the street. Chase Center and
Filiberto:It's not far.
Michelle:And Oracle Park. Oracle Park's just like up the street not even a mile. So and we there were definitely signs that were like calling attention like keep your garlic fries. Right? I'm gonna keep my rights.
Filiberto:Although we were looking for garlic fries.
Michelle:Yes. I know. Anyways, that's another another story. But so I think, that might have also impacted kind of the way people showed out and showed up, this year for the Valkyries' Pride as well.
Filiberto:Well, I think my favorite sign was "Valkyries Made Me Gayer" something. But there's that there's that piece of it too. But, like, I think, you know, in general, we should have started with this. Every every game with the Valkyries is Pride Night. Every single fucking game.
Filiberto:Yeah. So, you know, and as much as doing the actual Pride Night events are important and mean a lot to different people, all these different things, we can't exclude the fact that, like, every fucking night is Pride Night at the Valkyries game. That's what makes it awesome.
Michelle:Yeah. Happy Pride. Happy Pride. Happy birthday month.
Filiberto:Yeah. Oh, yeah. Ending my birthday month. That shit was wild. We did a lot.
Michelle:Happy Juneteenth month and happy Pride month.
Filiberto:All the things. My brother's birthday too.
Michelle:All the things.
Filiberto:Brother-in-law as well. All the things. Anyway, hope you enjoy the basketball break. Enjoy that Commissioner's Cup. We won't be talking about that too much because this is just a Valkyries podcast.
Filiberto:If they were in it, we'd be talking about it. But we're just gonna enjoy the break because we get one too.
Michelle:Yep. Yeah. We'll still be watching sports, but we don't have to take as active notes. Right.
Michelle:Thanks for listening and building community with us.
Michelle:Make sure you're following us on Instagram at pod we got next, and subscribe at wegotnextpod.org.
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