First, Ruby and Megdal explained what went down at the Sparks’ post-game press conference following yesterday’s 89-81 loss to the Golden State Valkyries:
“I think she came into the post-game pretty upset,” Ruby said. “Her thought process is warranted. She drives to the basket a ton. She’s historically been pretty good at drawing fouls. The Valkyries are a physical team. I think a lot of that comes from the international experience that they have, and she was definitely feeling that from some of their guards last night. She showed off some scratches and from some bruises that she’d gotten in the game, and just spoke to the fact that she only took six free throws last night, and had some frustration with how the game was called. So, it was a quick conversation, but we’ll see if anything changes.”
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“You think about how often she is getting to the basket … what are the free throw attempts that she’s getting as a result of it?” Megdal posed. “Well, free throw attempts per 100 possessions, she’s at 7.9 this year. That’s by far the highest number she’s had, it was 6.3 back in 2022. So to a certain extent, it seems like while she is getting quite a few calls around the rim, but the flip side of it is, I was watching that game last night too … she had six free throw attempts total in the game last night that went to overtime. And that was also a high in any of her last five [games].”
Ruby explained her perspective on last night’s refereeing:
“I think last night, I’m inclined to agree with her,” Ruby said. “I think there was some stuff that that went uncalled under the basket … I will also say, I think part of it is likely she has a lot more on her shoulders this year … I think it was very clear that the Valkyries came in with a game plan of playing physical with her specifically. And this is, again, like I said, the share of offense that she’s expected to take is more than she’s had to ever before, maybe since her days at Washington. So I think it’s a combination. I think it was definitely a really physical game, especially under the basket. I don’t think she was the only one who was frustrated, but I also think that the responsibility and weight she feels to score points is just pretty significant right now, and that definitely contributed.”
Then, Richmond Spiders’ head coach Aaron Roussell joined Megdal to talk about his team’s growth over the last couple years and the different resources they’ve been experimenting with along the way. First, Roussell talked about the team’s ability to retain its players, despite how accessible the transfer portal has become in recent years:
“I think our staff has so much pride in what we’re doing in Richmond,” Roussell said. “I think that’s maybe what it is with the blueprint of just, people that really want to be here. I have no expectations, not like I think that this is going to be the same retention rate every year. I have no idea, but I do know that we’ve talked about other things besides basketball with our incoming players, with our recruits, and they want to be here, I think for more than just basketball. But I think when you look at it right now, you know, look what [Maggie Doogan]’s doing with USA Basketball. Look what some of our other kids did with USA basketball with 3×3, like I’m getting calls from [WNBA scouts], about multiple players on our roster. Those things can be done here. And I think there’s also things outside of basketball that can be remain attractive, both to come here, but also to remain here as well.”
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“There [were] so many people … online sharing videos and clinics and all of that sort of stuff. And I just remember diving into it and really being fascinated. [It] kind of coincided with a couple friends of mine that had gotten NBA jobs, [I was] probably watching more NBA, was understanding more about FIBA and that world and just really enjoyed it. I hate that I’m on social media sometimes, probably too much, but by golly man, as a coach, Twitter is fantastic for learning things and finding different concepts. And so I think I’ve seen it work. I had seen it work so many other places. I think it was more just a question of, was I smart enough to install it? Did we have the personnel? Did I understand it the right way? And would everybody buy in?”
Tune in to hear more from Ruby about the Sparks, and Roussell on the Spiders. Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about women’s college basketball, the WNBA, basketball history and much more!
