August 4, 2023
Locked on Women’s Basketball: Previewing Aces vs. Liberty
By The Next
Host Jackie Powell and Matthew Walter discuss the Aces and Liberty before Sunday's marquee matchup.
![LOWBB Thumbnail Aces Liberty A thumbnail for the Locked on Women's Basketball podcast, featuring a game shot of Aces forward A'ja Wilson shooting a midrange jumper from the left side over the outstretched arm of Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.](https://i0.wp.com/www.thenexthoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/NEW-YOUTUBE-THUMBNAIL-6923-3.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. In this episode, host and The Next’s Liberty beat reporter Jackie Powell is joined by The Next’s Aces beat reporter, Matthew Walter, to discuss the upcoming game between Las Vegas and New York, the top two teams in the WNBA standings heading into Friday night. They discuss how much has changed since the teams’ first meeting over a month ago, including the fact that Candace Parker has been injured while Jonquel Jones has gotten into a groove as of late. Jackie and Matthew also discuss their keys to the game, what the x-factors will be, and make some predictions.
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Matthew on what the biggest change has been for the Aces since their last meeting with New York on June 29:
The biggest change for the Aces has obviously been the loss of Candace Parker. Candace Parker is out with a foot injury [that she had played through all season]. [That] injury that showed up after an ankle injury showed up … different feet. … She had [a fracture in her] left foot, we don’t know what kind of [fracture] it was, but it’s enough that she had to have surgery on it. We don’t have a timeline for her return. She’ll be out for a long time. She will not return by Sunday.
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Jackie on how the Aces’ Kiah Stokes being placed into the starting lineup could be an opportunity for Jonquel Jones and the Liberty to take advantage:
Will [Jonquel Jones] get a lot of looks on the perimeter, bring Kiah Stokes out of the paint? Will [Jones] be doing a lot of high-low? I don’t know. But [she] now is playing more like 85% of her MVP self. She was playing at 40% or 50% in June. So that is something that has changed for the New York Liberty.
To stay up to date with every episode of the podcast, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. For all of Jackie’s New York Liberty coverage, click here, and for Matthew’s Aces coverage, click here! For our coverage across the rest of the league, click here.