October 3, 2022 

Locked on Women’s Basketball: USA wins the FIBA World Cup and a Pac-12 preview

Missy and Michelle discuss the USA winning the 2022 FIBA World Cup and the significant changes coming for the Pac-12

It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. This episode features host Missy Heidrick and Michelle Smith discussing the USA winning the 2022 FIBA World Cup, breaking down how the Americans kept their streak going in international play. Plus, a deep dive on the Pac-12.

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Michelle talks about Team USA’s performance during the FIBA World Cup and if this is the next generation of Team USA basketball:

“Yeah, and I mean, this was a big tournament for USA basketball for the Women’s National Team program because this is really the start of the new era. right? This is we’re moving past Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi and Sylvia Fowles. You’ve got young players who have not been in the national team program before. You had a roster that had Betnijah Laney and Kahleah Copper and you have Kelsey Plum who won the 3X3, obviously.

But this is really a new era for the program. And I feel like this was a statement tournament for them. I felt like they came in viewing it that way that this is a new time for USA basketball, but doesn’t change the dominance of the women’s national team.”


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Michelle talks about the changes we might see in the Pac-12:

“It’s a really hard thing for somebody like me in this part of the world to process to that a scenario where there would be no Pac-12 and it’s very strange. It also, to me, a huge impact on Olympic sports. If you think about the Pac-12 Olympic sports legacy and women’s sports legacy.

Just an absolute funnel to our Olympic sports and to our major women’s sports programs and to lose the Pac-12 and that legacy, that’s pretty devastating to think about the possibility of that happening. Which takes us to the women’s basketball season, right? And the Pac-12 being what one of the best conferences in the country no conference has sent more teams to the Final Four in the last 10 years.”


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