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.

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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.

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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. 

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Notre Dame certainly look the part of Final Four-worthy teams. So, Zena, Sabreena and Chantel take a look outside of the AP top-four teams to four other groups and ponder: Final Four contender ... or not? They discuss what LSU, Maryland, Kansas State and Texas have to do to get into that upper echelon or what might ultimately hold them back from getting to Tampa this April.

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