Ball Up Top: A Women’s Basketball Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This week's Ball Up Top opens with a discussion about A’ja Wilson winning TIME Athlete of the Year, how both hosts feel about the feature story and the storytelling around the Aces forward. Andrew expresses his distaste for the dialogue surrounding Wilson and Caitlin Clark and why it’s time for everyone to let 2023 go.

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After dispensing with the pleasantries, the basketball talk begins with a preview of Wednesday night’s Cy-Hawk rivalry game between No. 10 Iowa State and No. 11 Iowa. The duo discuss how the Hawkeyes plan on defending superstar center Audi Crooks and if this is the Jada Williams breakout game basketball fans have been waiting three years for.

There were also some eye catching upsets in the last week of NCAA women’s basketball, from Kansas State managing to defeat No. 17 Ole Miss and Wisconsin pulling off a huge win over No. 20 Michigan State. Andrew and Tyler talk about their favorite moments in those games.

The show wraps with a couple more bigger basketball and culture discussions as Tyler breaks down his experience in Norman, Oklahoma so far covering star freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez before the duo get some jokes off about the fun trash-talking moment between LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson and Duke head coach Kara Lawson.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:05 - A’ja Wilson wins TIME Athlete of the Year.

18:50 - Iowa vs. Iowa State Preview

28:32 - Upsets of the week.

39:40 - The emerging movement of athlete led by Aaliyah Chavez.

51:15 - Flau’jae vs. Kara Lawson and the fun of ethical hate.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

0:00 Intro2:23 UConn vs Texas for #1 22:30 Buying and Selling Coaches Stocks35:33 ACC vs SEC Challenge Preview
Check out our website to catch our written coverage and podcast! https://www.nocapspacewbb.com/

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, the world appears to be falling apart at the seams but we have the WNBA playoffs and I guess that’s the bread and circuses we all need in our lives, right?

All kidding aside, I’ve thought a lot about the state of the world, what we do here at No Cap Space and the idea of sports as distraction while everything around us feels like it’s burning down in some form or fashion. On some level, there is merit to the idea that games placate us and create environments that inoculate us to the very real problems that exist in the world. But, on another, it allows us to remember the things that give life meaning. Whether or not we feel this way all the time or not, sports allows us to the ability to feel during a time when nihilism feels like the emotion du jour.

Nothing matters and everything does at the same time. I spent last Wednesday covering the Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado for CBS News here in Denver. I’ve covered all of the 2020 summer civil unrest in Oregon, wildfires in four different states in the last five years and the truly awful terrorist attack that took place in Boulder a couple months ago. All of that paled in comparison to a singular moment that I saw that is seared into my brain forever: a mother hugging her high school aged daughter after not seeing her all day. As her mother wept on her shoulder, the daughter looked completely disassociated and in a state of shock at what her life now was. All day, you sit and wait for your live shot and wonder ‘Is this really the country we want to live in? Where parents and students know that this type of event can be an eventuality regardless of where they live?’

It was a hard day, to say the least. Working in general assignment news desensitizes you to a lot, to the point that the gallows humor you employ to make it through your day can become foreign even to yourself. But the joy of what sports gives us is a reminder that there is still a space to feel. It’s okay to protect oneself from the horror that we see unfold every day while allowing yourself, every now and then, to indulge in the kinds of things that give life meaning. Namely, the feelings of joy, shock, sadness and awe without the sheer weight of the world attached to them. So yes, while sports is a little meaningless in the grander scheme of things, it also means everything for us in this current moment. It’s a place where we can feel authentically without many strings attached. The games end and we go on with our lives. But we had the moment to feel. And right now, that moment, that freedom to feel, means everything.

Now, to the column…

1. Day One Playoff Takeaways

Instead of a big paragraph about the first day of the WNBA playoffs, let’s run you through each matchup and a couple big conclusions we can draw through one game…

New York vs. Phoenix -

The entire complexion of this series, as well as New York’s hopes to repeat as WNBA champions, hinges on what exactly the status of Breanna Stewart’s injury is. The New York superstar went down with a non-contact left knee injury with about three minutes left in overtime and we’re waiting on a prognosis. Clearly, her absence would change the calculus of the postseason. On Phoenix’s end, you simply can’t have Satou Sabally shoot 2/17 and 1/10 from 3. But in addition to her, Alyssa Thomas can’t smoke game winning layups. As dominant as she is, this is always the knock on her as a true MVP candidate. You can get away with not having a perimeter shot but if you’re going to operate mostly within 10 feet then you have to be more efficient than 7/18.

Minnesota vs. Golden State -

Simply put, the Lynx look ready. This was a team effort across the board as five Minnesota players finished in double digits, led by Napheesa Collier’s 20. Natalie Nakase had a lot to say about the officiating in this one and I get it to a point. A game needs to be called consistently and if you’re letting physicality slide in the first quarter then you can’t start tightening up in the ensuing quarters. At the same time, the Lynx shot three less free throws than the Valkyries so it wasn’t a case of lopsided opportunity for Minnesota. What this game really came down to was the Lynx swinging the ball well (25 team assists), shooting efficiently (51.5% FG) and looking like the title team we’ve expected them to be from day one.

Indiana vs. Atlanta -

This was another one where the foul discussion overtook what actually happened in this game. And the thing that people didn’t notice as much was that Bri Jones was given the assignment to defend Aliyah Boston and it paid dividends for the Dream. Boston went just 3/9 from the field and Indiana shot 2/15 from 3 as a team. That isn’t going to win you any games no matter how messy the fouls are on either end. I can understand coaches being frustrated about bad calls and how it disrupts the rhythm and momentum of a matchup. But the fact of the matter is you’re going to lose when you shoot 13.3% from beyond the arc no matter what happens. I expect Gainbridge to be rocking and would be a little stunned if this didn’t go back to ATL for a Game 3.

Las Vegas vs. Seattle -

The title series sure feels like Vegas vs. Minnesota at this point. The Aces are as dominant as they’ve been at any point since this run really got started in 2022. Now they got some help courtesy of the Storm chucking up some absolute garbage, especially in the first quarter, but the way this Vegas team has rallied around each other is remarkable. NaLyssa Smith has been exactly what A’ja Wilson has needed and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus returned after giving birth to a whole child and going 3/3 from the field. One thing we don’t talk about in this league enough is how utterly remarkable that is. If you get combined 10/20 shooting performances from Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans off the bench, the Aces are going to be really hard to beat this postseason. It may be presumptuous but it sure feels like we’re going to get the Minnesota - Las Vegas title fight we’ve been asking for since the Aces winning streak started in earnest.

2. Jeff Pagliocca Is Realizing The Motion Is Not Sold Separately…

Tyler hit the nail on the head when we spoke last weekend about Angel Reese and the evolving situation with the Chicago Sky…

The currency is different in the WNBA. Because, frankly, motion in the WNBA is the biggest currency of all right now. And Angel Reese has the motion to go up against everybody right now and to that point.

Take a bow, my friend.

The chants in Wintrust Arena weren’t deafening by any means but they were loud enough to send the message to the Chicago Sky organization and anybody watching: this is Angel Reese’s team and that’s who the fanbase is here for. Maybe that’s why Courtney Vandersloot looked so surprised on the bench and why Jeff Pagliocca is suddenly so willing to work with Angel publicly.

Whether or not the message came down from owners Michael Alter or Nadia Rawlinson is irrelevant. Even if they wanted to back Pagliocca and his way of doing things, the fans have spoken. In fact, they’ve yelled and chanted it over and over. Pags can say that he speaks to Angel every day and that this chapter of what’s been a messy year in the Windy City has closed. But even he knows that his authority is as brittle as a crystal wine glass.

It is worth noting that in one of his last interviews of the regular season, Pagliocca still asserted that Courtney Vandersloot will return, that he has the ear and respect from ownership and that Tyler Marsh is the guy for the job. I have no doubt that Marsh is probably safe, given the mess this year was. But Vandersloot and Pagliocca’s continued insistence that this can work with Reese while they’re there feels like the power struggle isn’t done yet. It takes an awful lot of confidence to feel like you’ve got the leverage in a situation where tens of thousands of fans are chanting for you to be fired but since you’ve already burned the bridge by arbitrarily suspending Reese for one half, leading to her not playing for the rest of the year, but that’s sort of in line with how the Sky’s General Manager has conducted himself this year.

This offseason, provided there is no work stoppage (which isn’t a guarantee, mind you), will be a huge one for Chicago. If they aren’t able to get serious free agents to play alongside Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, I don’t know how you can salvage this moving forward. Pagliocca seems committed to doing so, as long as he’s the man with the final say. But he may come to learn that his word may not travel as far as he thinks when it’s being drowned out by the voices of a bunch of pissed off Chicagoans who are tired of their WNBA franchise being run like Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand.

3. Thanks for Reading No Cap Space, Cathy Engelbert…

It’s a glib headline, yes. I don’t actually think that Cathy Engelbert is a regular NCS reader (although we do have some important people that are, and we very much appreciate your patronage!). In an interview with Khristina Williams on her podcast, In Case You Missed It, the WNBA commissioner had this to say about the Connecticut Sun and their potential sale and/or relocation.

A lot’s been written about what’s going on. I wouldn’t believe everything you read in this case. We want the best success for the Mohegan, for the Connecticut Sun and for the team. They’re still looking at their strategic options and what they want to do and we’ve been in touch with them periodically.

The fake news angle really is timeless, isn’t it?

What’s remarkable is that Engelbert immediately gives up the game just a couple sentences later.

You need a process because it would be chaos if you let anybody move to anywhere they wanted to go.

In the most Regina George voice possible, so you’re saying you are influencing the Mohegan’s selling process…

Mind you, this isn’t the Mohegan Tribe asking the WNBA to let them sell the team to an ownership group that will relocate them to Sheboygan. This was a once-minority owner of the Boston Celtics, aiming to buy the franchise for a market rate valuation and bring them to one of the biggest media markets in the nation. Then there’s the other group, also led by a former NBA owner, who wanted to keep the team in Connecticut. Mind you, the 2024-2025 Nielsen TV Market rankings list Hartford as a larger market than Las Vegas, Austin and Kansas City.

As the United States government, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, takes an interest in the WNBA/NBA’s potential monopolistic ownership of its women’s basketball franchises, Engelbert probably has to tread lightly. It’s important to remember that she’s an accounting executive from Deloitte who still has to answer to her majority owners (the NBA) at the end of the day. While she can try her best to divert and obfuscate the conversation, the facts remain. The WNBA is handing franchises to NBA owners while doing nothing to fight the perception that it is nothing but a money pit for its partner league to take advantage of however they see fit. In Engelbert’s eyes, and by her own admission on the podcast, she loves that controversy is driving discussion. She said as much last year on CNBC while WNBA players were being buried under torrents of racist invective from every side of the spectrum.

She preaches order and stability within her business while welcoming chaos as a means to hike the price of the product. But what good does that do anyone when the NBA is still, on some level, setting the market for everything from franchise valuations to TV rights deals? I’m not sure if the end result of full divestment is even possible at this point but the fact that the government, from the U.S. senate to the state of Connecticut (who put in a bid to buy a minority stake in the franchise to keep them in CT), is involved is extremely noteworthy and important to follow as we continue inching towards a conclusion on a variety of labor disputes from the CBA to the Sun.

And Cathy, if you are reading, feel free to email me. My inbox is always open for a discussion.

4. The Case for WNBA Voter Transparency…

I’ve always been a little uncertain about media voting for postseason awards mostly because I don’t love the idea of us having the power to decide whether or not players hit certain performance incentives. I’d like to think that, on the whole, the press corps knows ball. But everyone has such different views on what is important and why when it comes to voting that it just doesn’t feel fair to the players that contracts are tied to what we believe. Especially since the vast majority of us didn’t play (though I’ll be clear, playing the game at a high level doesn’t exclude you from having terrible basketball opinions either).

When money is tied to these awards, I do think there’s a need for transparency. If you vote for someone that has the chance to be a supermax player or even potentially be able to get a little more in free agency by winning Sixth Player or Most Improved, you should have to be able to make your case as to why. Whether people respect your argument or not is a completely different discussion (one we’ll touch on in just a minute) but the idea that WNBA voters are allowed to sit behind a shroud of secrecy while they put their votes in feels wrong. We already have enough stans masquerading as reporters in the space and way too many commentators with clear agendas or biases with votes. If they’re able to have the luxury of deciding who deserves an award or an All-WNBA nod, they should be asked to defend it on its merits. Otherwise, we start running into the problems that awards shows like the Oscars do.

Which brings me to my next point…

5. …And the Problem of Parasocial Fandoms

The reason it feels sometimes that we can’t allow voter transparency is because fans simply can’t handle it. If there’s a legitimate criticism to levy against WNBA fans, be they new ones or those in the space for awhile, it’s that there’s too much parasocial behavior and the need to treat athletes like artists. There is just too much overlap in how A’ja or Angel or Caitlin Clark fans speak about their favorite players and how they might speak about Beyonce, Nicki Minaj or any other musical artist. I’ve always argued that the difference we need to be aware of is that art is a subjective medium. If I think a song sucks, it doesn’t mean the song sucks. But if a player shoots 1/20 and their team loses, that performance sucked. It has nothing to do with any other outside forces that influence opinion. The ball just didn’t go in the hoop.

But awards season blurs those traditionally hard lines to the point where it becomes difficult to admonish fans w

The dog days are over for the Indiana Fever. The excitement around the team is still high and No Cap Space was able to talk with Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files with Scott Agness about what life has been like in the spotlight for the young Fever team.

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On this week's Luxury Tax, Grand Canyon head coach Molly Miller joins the show to discuss her coaching journey from Drury University to GCU and what can be accomplished in Phoenix.

After a Team USA victory to close out the group stage, Andrew, Greer and Tyler pop on Youtube to break down the matchup and the rest of group play.

Among the discussion topics…

* Most impressive Team USA player in the Tournament so far…

* How much is the rest of the world catching up to the Americans?

* Why Nigeria is the best story of the Olympics so far (if you missed our write up earlier in the week, click here)

* Which players to watch ahead of the knockout rounds…

* Who is the best international player that isn’t currently in the WNBA?

As always, you can subscribe to the Youtube channel to get notifications of rapid reaction shows and video specific pieces of content the minute they go live!

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Find our full preview on what to expect from Overtime Select here!

Carly Thibault-DuDonis is something of a renegade in today’s college athletics environment. The conventional wisdom is for coaches to continuously elevate within the profession. You either start as the head coach at a small school and rise through the ranks or you begin as an assistant at a big program and rise that way. Eventually you reach a school with the biggest brand or deepest pockets and either you win, or you get fired.

But at just 32, Thibault-DuDonis believes in an ethos typically espoused by coaches much older and further along in their career: that fit matters most and success is where you make it.

“We don't do what we do for the money,” she says. “If we had wanted to, we could have done that this offseason but that's not something that we're here to do”.

Thibault-DuDonis’ life has always been in basketball. Her father, Mike Thibault, has been a fixture in the WNBA for over a decade and her brother, Eric currently coaches the Washington Mystics. But Carly decided to walk a different path. After graduating from Monmouth University she joined Florida State as a Director of Recruiting, then jumped to Eastern Michigan as an assistant in 2014. She preferred college basketball, its’ inherent relationship building and the opportunity to spend time creating a program in her image.

While an assistant at Eastern Michigan, she met another MAC assistant coach from the University of Buffalo who shared a similar passion for the sport.

Blake DuDonis isn’t from a WNBA family. He didn’t even play college basketball. Instead, his career started as a student-assistant at Gardner-Webb. In addition to his duties running the student newspaper on campus, he spent two years helping head coach Rick Reeves. Eventually, his career started to take off as well. He took an assistant coaching job at Merrimack College, which turned into a full-time gig back at Gardner-Webb. Now that he was in the ranks of women’s college basketball, he started to climb. One of his first stops was on the shores of Lake Erie.

“We met at a recruiting event,” Blake remembers. “And as we were leaving, I was like ‘hey, you want to grab a bite real quick before we go our separate ways?’ and Carly was like ‘No, I don’t’. So, you know, a bit of an inauspicious start!”

The two started as friends in the coaching world. Even though they saw each other once a year, it became easy to talk about the game, talk more and confide in one another. The difficulty of maintaining a relationship while coaching college basketball is a challenge unique to many when they enter the profession. But to Carly, it was part-and-parcel of a life she was accustomed to.

“Early on in dating, I didn’t know it was hard for people,” she says. “But what immediately clicked [with Blake] was that I didn’t have to apologize for leaving the dinner table to take a phone call or that I got home at 9 pm instead of 6 pm.”

At first, she’d profusely apologize to him for missing obligations because of the constraints of the job. But Blake already knew what he was dealing with. He too would have to work crazy hours, be on his phone constantly and have to travel regularly. The two were bound by basketball and bolstered by a burgeoning love. As they advanced in their careers, sacrifices were made. Neither wanted to do long distance for too long and that led to some hard discussions. At one point, Blake left the coaching industry while Carly went to Mississippi State. Carly, for her part, had to deal with the guilt of feeling like she’d hamstrung Blake’s career. But those trials would eventually lead to the perfect fit the couple are currently enjoying. They made their way to Minnesota and that’s where the Fairfield story truly begins.

“We were able to be in the same business in the same place for the first time,” he explains. “Her at [the University of] Minnesota, me at [the University of Wisconsin] River Falls and coaching with an AAU team and being able to bounce ideas and kind of work through things and each of our situations together.”

It was, in many ways, a testing ground for the two of them. They’d come home and commiserate over their respective jobs but also would bounce ideas off each other. They’d talk strategy, personnel management, working with their assistant coaches and quickly, they realized they had the capability of working with each other When the Fairfield job opened up, Carly received and offer, took it and Blake came with her as her top assistant.

While the concept of couples coaching is not entirely new in women’s college basketball, Carly and Blake work extremely hard at keeping their marriage separate from their profession. On the floor, it’s all business to the degree that recruits sometimes aren’t aware and players rarely see them as anything other than coaches.

“We're here to do the job,” says Blake. “One of our kids even joked [with us] the other day. I was leaving to recruit and Carly kind of gave me a side hug. [The player’s] like, ‘that's the first time I've seen them hug in two years.’”

With their goals taking precedent and Carly in the lead, Fairfield quickly became a power in the MAAC. After a 15-15 debut season, the Stags went 31-2. They were 20-0 in conference play, won their conference tournament and gave No. 14 Indiana a run in the first half of the first round of the NCAA Tournament before the Hoosiers ran away with the game. They advocated fiercely to be ranked in the AP Top 25 and played a style of basketball that many in the media took notice of. As the energy around the program began to crystallize, it started to feel like this small Jesuit school in Connecticut was here to stay.

But at this point in the story, you’d expect the two to jet off for a bigger and better job. No one would blame them. Carly’s name was in the mix for multiple high-major gigs and there were phone calls from power programs to the Thibault-DuDonis house. At no point, they say, did the two entertain them all that seriously. They have big aspirations for Stags women’s basketball and take inspiration from a school of similar size and religious affiliation on the other side of the country. '

“We’ve joked we’re trying to be Gonzaga east,” says Carly. “I don’t think that’s far fetched. Obviously it’s something you have to sustain year after year but I don’t think that’s a pipe dream for us. With consistency and resources and getting the right people, I think that’s a possibility.”

Adding to Carly’s bullishness on the prospect is Fairfield’s close proximity to New York City (about a 50 minute drive), its’ facilities (which she argues are on par with some Big East schools) and an alumni base energized by the idea of a successful basketball program.

All those years of travel, of working with programs big and small, bouncing around from the SEC to the heartland to the northeast have now paid off. They take inspiration from a variety of places. Carly draws on her own father and brother, on former Mississippi State mentor and current Texas head coach Vic Schaefer’s defensive methods, on the ball movement displayed by Drake and South Dakota State and on Blake himself and the three point shooting strategy he utilized in Division III.

It works in tandem, from the two of them to their players to their program. And while they could replicate the success at a bigger school, Carly and Blake are more interested in being where their feet are. Would the WNBA one day come calling? Carly says if they did she wouldn’t be very interested, especially if it was her family.

“I couldn’t have worked with my Dad, we would have killed each other,” she jokes. “We’re too similar. My Dad and Eric can work together. Eric and I can work together. Those are the combinations.”

As for Blake, he’s enjoying his role as a top assistant and ace recruiter for the Stags. The two of them, after years on the road, are finally enjoying what many couples in industries like coaching dream of: the chance to work in the same place in a job that both people enjoy. While other programs may come calling, the duo don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. And that should be music to the ears of Fairfield fans and those that love a good mid-major.

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Yvonne Ejim’s first time on a plane was daunting. She was 13 years old, trying to read her boarding pass properly and not miss her flight. Her mom had told her the basics and to make sure she had all her belongings but it still felt a bit overwhelming. All this just to compete in a basketball tournament? She sat at the gate and wondered if she was at the right one or if her ticket was even valid.

Almost a decade has passed and Ejim now deftly maneuvers through the ticket lines and security checkpoints, wearing headphones and not worried about her destination. The journey will be the most special part of this particular summer. For in just a week, a little girl that had to fly alone to leave Alberta and compete in youth tournaments in Toronto is going to be representing Canada in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

She, along with the nation whose colors she will be wearing, have come a long way.

“There’s a lot more opportunity now,” Ejim says. “When I was playing, there was no opportunity. It may not be a two mile walk to find a basketball gym but it was a four hour flight to Toronto.”

Yvonne is the oldest sister in a family of 11 children, the daughter of Nigerian-Canadian dual nationals. She had four older brothers — Melvin, Kenny, Deon and Ryan — that helped cultivate her love of basketball. But initially, she was a tennis player.

“Serena Williams, she’s still kind of like my idol to this day,” she says.

As her brothers excelled on the hardwood, Yvonne started to follow them, gravitating towards basketball. Melvin, a former star at Iowa State, was a particularly big influence on her and helped her develop her skills as a player. If you were to ask her now who was the bigger influence — Melvin or Serena Williams — she’d have a tough time answering.

“I mean…both?” says Yvonne with a laugh. “Can I pick both?”

As her brothers progressed in their careers, she started to find her footing amongst the Canadian elite as well. At 13, she was selected for a U16 cadet camp. Despite being much younger and smaller than most of her counterparts, Yvonne was able to see a path to playing for the senior team one day.

“I was super scared,” she remembers. “I think I left camp still not knowing what was going on. But I think the next time, just having been around [Team Canada], being comfortable and understanding a bit of their play, I think that really set in stone that I can do this.”

It wasn’t until 2022 that Team Canada’s Olympic head coach, Victor Lapena, started to take notice of her. The Federation put on a pseudo-U-23 Tournament called GLOBL JAM and Ejim brought home gold. Impressed by her ability to play any position on the floor and do whatever was asked of her, Lapena asked her to try out for the senior team. Rather quickly, she found herself playing in the FIBA AmeriCup with Team Canada.

At just 22 years old, she is a part of what may be a golden generation up north. Along with Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere, Ejim represents a coming wave of players that, when combined with the current crop of U19 guards, could make Team Canada as good as any in the world. But before she could zero in on the goal of being an aspirational figure for young girls across the country, she had to impress the veterans.

“I was so excited, nervous, scared, anxious, like all of the emotions,” she explains. “You have to adjust quickly to a lot of things. I think it just takes that next level of wanting to be there.”

With longtime national teamers and WNBA veterans like Natalie Achonwa, Sami Hill and Shay Colley welcoming her with open arms, Ejim found a place on the roster. Team Canada won Bronze at the 2023 AmeriCup and qualified for the 2024 Olympics. At one point in the NCAA regular season, she asked her Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier to release her so she could compete in Canadian qualifier games for Paris. Now, she hears that there will be a small pocket of Spokane, Washington rooting as hard for Team Canada as Team USA when the games begin.

“I’m just grateful,” she says of the support she’s received from Zags fans. “I think, if anything, they’ve always been supportive of me. So whatever support they can give — give to my team — I’m very grateful for it.”

Ask most Gonzaga supporters and they’ll say she’s pretty easy to root for. In addition to her personality, which has already won over fans who see her regularly around Spokane, she’s one of the most dominant players in program history. In 2024, she took home the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award, averaging 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while guiding the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Sweet 16 since the 2014-2015 season. By the end of the year, Ejim was named an Honorable Mention All-American, WCC Player of the Year and WCC Defensive Player of the Year.

“[It was] probably one of the most fun times I’ve had playing basketball,” Ejim says. “The group of girls that we had, I mean we had almost our whole team come back. I think it was very special and a great time to be in.”

Now, with a little bit of time off, she enters the 2024 Olympics fresh and ready to play. The games, the new food — she said she’s willing to try the escargot! — and the experience will be special. But what Yvonne is really excited about is the clothes. In Spokane, she’s known as a bit of a thrifter with a passion for crafting a tunnel fit worthy of the WNBA.

“I get so excited because I see a lot of different fits,” she explains. “Everyone looks so cool or so unique or like themselves and I kind of want to be able to be in a space that does that because we have a couple tunnel fits at Gonzaga but not as much. It’s every game for the W.”

Her teammate, Maud Huijbens, got her into the activity. Now they’re thrifting buddies, taking freshman forward Lauren Whittaker with them whenever they’re all free. They get some recommendations from their coaches and head to Value Village or Global Neighborhood Thrift & Vintage. But nothing compares to what she’s about to wear in Paris for the opening ceremonies.

“I’ve been anticipating this gear since they first told me to start packing!” says Ejim, laughing. “When they first sent out the form to fit for all of the gear, I was like ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna get everything back!”

Luckily, her Dad and brother are coming to Paris, as are some friends. There’s a few extra bags to go around and since Melvin has his own Team Canada gear from his playing days, Yvonne thinks she’ll have a full accounting on the way home. But past the fashion, the fun and being in France, the sentiment of representing the flag matters deeply to her. A dual-national Nigerian-Canadian, who still craves her mothers Ẹ̀bà whenever she comes home, Ejim wants to be an inspiration for young girls all over her country. A representation not often seen in the past but one increasingly more visible in Canadian culture.

“In Canada, I feel like we have a lot of diversity so there’s definitely people that I knew that had similar experiences to me,” she says. “I’m very happy and very proud that I got to grow up in that environment and in that culture, learn a lot of that stuff and take what I’ve learned from that into different areas of my life.”

As she prepares to float the Seine, draped in a Lululemon bomber jacket embroidered with Canadian art, Ejim sees herself as a leader in a cultural and athletic movement. One that, along with others in her generation, will hope to inspire the nation and every young girl with a dream of playing basketball on the biggest stages. Just like her idol did.

“I’m trying to do what I can for the sport of basketball [in Canada],” she says. “Kind of like Serena did for the sport of tennis.”

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In some breaking news on Wednesday, Chicago Sky guard Marina Mabrey was traded to the Connecticut Sun. The trade was first reported by Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times. In return, the Sky will receive guard Rachel Banham, forward Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first round pick and a pick swap in 2026.

Elsewhere around the league, Front Office Sports reported that the WNBA is nearing a $2.2 billion dollar broadcast deal over the next 11 years. The rights agreement will be one of the most valuable in women’s sports history and put the WNBA on par with sports organizations like Major League Soccer.

Andrew and Tyler break down the implications of both in a rapid reaction show on Youtube and in podcast form. What will the Sky be getting? Is Mabrey better off in Connecticut? How will she handle being on a team with longtime rival DiJonai Carrington? And what does an influx of money mean for a looming collective bargaining agreement negotiation with the league and how much money players will earn?

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