27 years: the montage edition

27 years. We all we got; we all we need. We all we are; we all we ever, ever were. 

27 years. Roll the tape. And then let's look at the outtakes. 

I start at the beginning, because that's where we started. There is not enough we can do or say for those who dropped the best of their years down the chasm, for whom our beginning was closer to their ending. No number of trophies won by other people can make up for that. There isn't a throng of cheering fans big enough to fill the little gyms in Italy, in Germany, in Japan, in Russia, in other spots all over the world from before Brooklyn was even an option.

They laid the foundation. This 2024 team reached the pinnacle. But you don't get from the foundation to the pinnacle without the floors in the middle. There's history there too, as much as it hurts to look at it. We are not who we are without them, either. 

Because there were Huskies in New York before Breanna Stewart, after Rebecca Lobo. There's something of Kiah Stokes, her old teammate, in the authority of her blocks. There's something of Swin Cash in the imperious tilt of her chin and the swift sure movements of long arms and long legs. There's something of Tina Charles in her, the craving to prove herself on the biggest stage she calls home, even as she's already proven her personal bona fides elsewhere; there too, is Orange County's own Stefanie Dolson and Suffolk County's own Bria Hartley. Pull the camera back a little, and coming home is nothing new to this franchise, from Long Island's Sue Wicks to Manhattan's Bethany Donaphin to the Bronx's Kia Vaughn to Brooklyn's Tanisha Wright. Look shallower into the numbers. We've seen #30 pulling down hard-earned rebounds before as Shea Mahoney fought for boards at MSG, as DeTrina White cleaned the glass on the stage at Radio City. #30's gone from Katelan Redmon on the bench to Katie Smith playing the final leg of her legendary career. We've seen #30 commanding the huddle before, Tanisha Wright pulling the team around her and forcing them to believe. After Breanna, we may never see it again. 

If anyone understands the heavy weight of legacy, it's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a player's daughter, a coach's goddaughter. Being in the second generation is nothing new to she who played on the banks of the Raritan, already familiar with the shadows of Sue Wicks and Cappie Pondexter even before her winding road took her to New York. But when she steps out on the floor, the echoes that answer are Essence Carson's and Erica Wheeler's, bringing the defense, willing to sacrifice on the offensive end for the good of the team. I can hardly think of two players less alike than Betnijah and Tamika Whitmore... until I look at the #44 on the front of the jersey. Pull back the focus, off the court to the sounds of someone enthusiastically singing Beyoncé: is that Betnijah or is that Kia Vaughn? In her glitz and glamour while injured, she invokes DiDi Richards, Tiffany Jackson, Shameka Christon. 

If you know your history, and I mean the deep lore, you know who Big 20 is. You know how long he's been with the Liberty, even before he was a Timeless Torch. And maybe the #20 is for Sabrina Ionescu now. But those who were there when the deep magic was written know that #20 was originally for Shameka Christon. Shameka was supposed to be the star who, buttressed and taught by the veterans around her, would take the Liberty to the next level. She was supposed to be the next generation. Instead, her fate was inextricably entangled with that of Cappie Pondexter, a superstar combo guard who could either score in bunches or make herself a selfless passer, but in so many ways never found a balance. Cappie chose New York, and then chose not to choose it. Sabrina, the superstar combo guard looking for- and more and more often finding- that on-court balance between volume scorer and selfless passer, was chosen by New York, and then chose New York. And so #20 goes from the historical footnote of Stacey Ford, to Shameka's potential frustrated and squandered, to Sabrina's ascendance as the star who brought the Liberty to the next level. 

The echoes are a little harder to pinpoint for Courtney Vandersloot, at least until the intros start and the vowels start getting drawn out: Suuuuuuuue, Spooooooooooon, Schuuuuuuuueyyyyyy, Kraaaaaaaaaay, Ekuuuuuuuunwe, Slooooooot. Maybe it's because so much of her history belongs to other cities, like Katie Smith's did, like Swin Cash's did, like Taj McWilliams-Franklin's did. Maybe it's because she's so far from the Evergreen State that made her, following in the footsteps of Leilani Mitchell and Alex Montgomery and Cathrine Kraayeveld. Maybe it's because #22 has so often belonged to easy smiles like Lindsey Yamasaki's and Jessica Bibby's, or the big personalities of Ashley Battle and DeMya Walker, and that's not the vibe for someone who tries to avoid all encounters with people. And maybe that's right for the quintessential pass-first leader: you find her by finding the connections around her. 

Jonquel Jones is one-of-one in so many ways, but the simplest is this: no one else has worn #35 in the regular season for the New York Liberty. Let her stay, let her keep rising, and maybe no one else ever will. The parallels aren't as elegant; the path isn't as smooth. She's not the first from the Atlantic 10, both old and new; before her came Quanitra Hollingsworth and Ta'Shia Phillips. She's not the first from the islands; before her there was Antigua's own Desiree Francis, and before either of them was one of our first, Simone Edwards, the Jamaican Hurricane, and may her memory be a blessing as bright and joyous as she ever was. In her astonishing passing eye, in the angles no center seems to have a right to find, there's a trace of Janel McCarville. In JJ's unabashed, unfettered, unrelenting pride, there too is an echo of Shavonte Zellous, and they've both picked up their pens to write about it. 

#35 is one-of-one as a jersey number for the New York Liberty. #13 is far from it. #13's been there since the beginning, from our neglected pioneer Sophia Witherspoon, to Marina Ferragut's soft touch in the paint, to the toughness of Mactabene Amachree, to all that never was for Jocelyn Willoughby. Now it's on the back of Leonie Fiebich, and it's an omen of ill fortune for the guard looking up at her. She's not the first German to find her way to New York; there's always going to be a special place in my heart for the sweetness of Linda Fröhlich, for whom I learned how to type diacritical marks, and for Martina Weber, The One Who Made It for the Iona Gaels. But wind it back. It's a short jump back to the phenomenal defensive flexibility of Natasha Howard, inside and out; it's a longer jump back to the backcourt trapping of Sue Wicks and Becky Hammon driving opposing guards mad. There's something of Elena Baranova and Cathrine Kraayeveld in those corner threes, so unexpected from someone of that height and that build. 

And where you find Leonie, you find Nyara Sabally. Because you always seem to find Nyara as part of a pair, don't you? The two Germans, the two Ducks, the two sisters. Bookends, like K.B. Sharp and Erin Thorn waiting outside Radio City. But let Nyara stand alone, too, straight and tall while a would-be defender bounces off her like water off a Duck's back- and there's Cathrine again, setting a Screen of Death to free up a teammate. There's Carolyn Swords, the big body in the paint, making space as defenders run headlong into that #8 jersey. There's another #8 sliding through the gap thus created, Edwige Lawson-Wade finding the seam for the drive and dish. Listen close to the thunder of the "SA-BA-LLY!" chant and there is a hint, an echo, a trace of "OL-GA! OL-GA!", for Olga Firsova, a folk hero on a smaller scale than Nyara ever was. 

In so many ways, Kayla Thornton fits into the history of this team. #5 has belonged to an eclectic mix of players, from defensive specialist Kisha Ford, to the faded glory of Venus Lacy, to Grace Daley who we don't talk about, to the sharpshooter Erin Thorn, to deceptively diminutive Leilani Mitchell, to the one-year-wonder of Shoni Schimmel, to Chelsea Hopkins, to Kia Nurse. It seems appropriate that Kayla, herself an eclectic mix, should follow in their collective footsteps. But we have to go deeper than the commonality of a jersey number or the alma mater she shares with Natasha Lacy to find Kayla's predecessors. There's something to be said for her off-court unpredictability, the kind of quirkiness that's made Ashley Battle a long-time favorite fondly remembered out of proportion to her skill and role. Go further still, and beneath the lightness of seafoam there has always been steel, deep in the heart. There's Kayla fighting for a loose ball; there's Tiffany Jackson-Jones battling on the glass; there's Plenette Pierson, ferociously boxing out. 

The easiest parallel to Jaylyn Sherrod is Chucky Jeffery, the Colorado alumna who wore 0 before Jaylyn did. Easy- but New York doesn't do easy. Wouldn't have taken 27 years to get here if we did. New York never stops moving, never stops hustling, never gives up. It's no wonder Liberty fans took a shine to Jaylyn and the energy she bursts with. Give us the speedsters who never learned how to stop, blurring behind her like an afterimage as she breaks to the basket: Jazmine Jones, Brittany Boyd, Sydney Colson, Sherill Baker, Jessica Bibby.   Give us the ones who beat the odds, like Erica Wheeler, like Sami Whitcomb, like DeMya Walker, like Becky Hammon, who chose instead of being chosen, seized that chance with both hands, and whether here or elsewhere, raised it up like a trophy to the heavens.

Kennedy Burke's far from the first Bruin to cross the country and lace them up for the Liberty; Lisa Willis and Nikki Blue blazed that trail before her. And her number of choice is far from illustrative, or so we hope; #2 has a star-crossed history, from the misuse of Shay Doron to the warped and twisted intensity of Candice Wiggins to the travails of Adut Bulgak. No, that's not Kennedy's legacy either. We find her precedents on the waiver wire, in long trails of transaction history. We find her in Reshanda Gray pulling down a contested rebound, in Avery Warley-Talbert boxing out a taller opponent, in La'Keshia Frett sending back a shot with extreme prejudice, in the experience of Barbara Farris leading from the bench. We find Kennedy's place within Liberty history in a litany of places, in a suitcase, in a passport stamp.

What do you say of a player you've hardly seen? How do I draw from the past to illustrate Marquesha Davis's present? I can't turn to the surface-level similarities, not when #1 has a history shorter and scanter than almost any number not in the Ring of Honor thanks to Maddie wearing it for so long, not when the only other Rebel we've had was of the Nevadan variety. Among the youngest of our players, we look not to the future, but to the concept of the future, to everything we've ever hoped for our first-round picks, whether they soared like Shameka Christon, or were cruelly grounded like AD Durr, or were potential we never developed like Toni Young. In that slow Southern drawl, there's echoes too: Shameka again, another daughter of the Gemstone State; Tupelo's own Tamika Whitmore; so many others who called the Southeast home. 

We got to see flashes of what Ivana Dojkić showed more consistently elsewhere. Is it fair to try and fit her into place based solely on those? Two simple ties anchor her to Liberty history: the second #18, following Lorela Cubaj; the second Croatian, following Korie Hlede. I keep wanting to look deeper. Surely there's a better match. If the bigger picture doesn't work, snapshots will: the 14-point win against Chicago, where we needed every one of her 12 points and her single steal. "Next man up": everyone has their day, like Stefanie Dolson going completely unconscious from three, like Erin Thorn and the two halfcourt heaves, like Bethany Donaphin and the jump shot. It's a good day when you don't need that kind of day, but there's something to be said for those who stay ready. 

A lot of Liberty fans were politely bemused during the championship celebrations when Rebekah Gardner was brought out on stage with the rest of the team, despite never spending a second on the active roster. But they also serve who stand and wait, or so Milton wrote. (John, not DeLisha.) There's Kamiko Williams in the stands with her crutches; there's Carolyn Jones-Young, working her way back through an ACL tear, more known in Liberty history for who she wasn't than what she ever did; there's Simone Edwards on the developmental roster, watching, learning, waiting. Bek had to do a lot of waiting, too, waiting and working overseas for most of her prime until she finally got a chance to play in the US at 31. So many of the originals can relate to that; after all, in 1997, they were all rookies, even 31-year-olds like Trena Trice and Teresa Weatherspoon. And it's almost become a recurring joke how often players who share her name, albeit in a more familiar spelling, have found their way to New York: Rebecca Richman in the draft, Rebecca Allen through international free agency, Rebecca Hammon as a legendarily undrafted rookie (even if she does persist in going by Becky)... and we end where we began, the last to the first: Rebecca Lobo, one of the first players to put faith in the WNBA, one of the first to wear Lady Liberty's torch over her heart. 

So roll the tape. And then look between the frames. Between Kym and Nyara posting up, you might catch a glimpse of Jessica Davenport. Between Spoon's braids and Jaylyn's locks flying in the air, you might see Loree Moore's braids whip around. Off camera, between Sloot's pass and Crystal's finish, maybe Kara Braxton's screening off a defender. Pan instead of cut. Pull the camera back. 

History can be a chain if we let it be, if we let six years and one year define all twenty-seven. Looking too far to the past risks overlooking the moments in the middle, the ones that have shaped this team as much as any others. The zenith at Barclays would not be as high without the nadir of Westchester; the championship would not be as sublime without the ridiculousness of Radio City; the homecoming to Brooklyn would never have felt so sweet without the years in Newark. This title belongs, first and foremost, to the players who earned it on the floor, and then to those they choose to share it with. But we can't say that only the trailblazers matter. It's a disservice to the players who were never given the chance to enjoy the bright lights to leave them in the shadows. We all we got/we all we need means all.

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27 years: the jump cut edition

27 years. We all we got; we all we need. We all we are; we all we ever, ever were.

27 years. Roll the tape. And then let's go behind the scenes.

It's 1997. I'm 12 years old. My mother, the sports fan in the family, is dragging me to MSG for the New York Liberty's first ever home game. The place is almost sold out. The energy is through the roof. Michele Timms's platinum hair shines so bright under the lights. The Liberty win.

It's 2024. I'm 40 years old. Barclays Center is sold out to the rafters. The energy is through the roof. The lights are so bright. The Liberty win.

It's 1998. My mom and I are bringing friends to games to have something in common with them. G goes to one; T goes to another.

It's 2024, and T and I are both season subscribers, connecting after close to twenty years out of contact. She meets my husband; I meet her wife.

It's 1999. Rebecca Lobo plants, twists, crashes. The Garden shakes and goes quiet, unable to process.

It's 2024. Rebecca Lobo is courtside at the broadcast table, quiet, unable to process. Barclays is shaking and roaring.

It's 1999. A pass-first, defensive-minded point guard has just hit the most iconic shot the franchise has ever seen.

It's 2024. A shoot-first, offensive-minded point guard is making the right pass at the right time and playing one of the best defensive games of her life.

It's 2001. Our front office is expecting us to believe that the only lesbian associated with the New York Liberty is Carol Blazejowski.

It's 2024. The Finals MVP is at center court kissing the adorably tiny woman she's going to marry one of these days, and two of her teammates have their wives on court to celebrate with them.

It's 2002. Sue Wicks is hitting a corner three, anything to keep her team alive in this game. It's not enough, and two days later Nikki Teasley drives home the dagger to send the Liberty home as bridesmaids again.

It's 2024. Sue Wicks is sitting, and mostly standing, courtside, to see the Liberty no longer be left as bridesmaids.

It's 2003. The game against the Comets hasn't started yet and we're hanging out at the Garden, fans just talking and telling stories as the players arrive for shootaround. I'm collecting autographs; he's trying to pick up a girl.

It's 2024. He's asleep in our bed, wrapped in my favorite quilt. The other girl has moved from another country to another state, but she flies out for every Finals game in New York, and after Game 5 we meet her girlfriend.

It's 2003. Liberty fans are irrationally superstitious about the new blue jerseys.

It's 2024. Liberty fans are irrationally superstitious about the new white jerseys.

It's 2004. A'riel is seven days old, the tiniest speck of a human slung in a papoose on her mother's broad back as they ride the escalator to the club seats.

It's 2024. A'riel is a junior in college. She wears her mother's number, she has her mother's eyes, and thanks to conference realignment, she'll visit her mother's alma mater in 2025.

It's 2004. The Liberty and the Shock are playing the first game at Radio City. Detroit's Swin Cash chases a loose ball upstage right and upstages herself straight into the orchestra pit.

It's 2024. Former Liberty player and front office exec Swin Cash pulls Teresa Weatherspoon into the spotlight, choosing to be upstaged.

It's 2004. Bethany Donaphin hits a little jumper and sends the Garden into ecstatic chaos.

It's 2024. Bethany Donaphin works for the league office, and there's a woman in a pink suit who looks an awful lot like her trying to bring order to the ecstatic post-game chaos.

It's 2005. We're hanging out down by the rail, getting autographs and wishing our players good luck. Cards are still at the fringe of being cheap, and I bring extras for the kids.

It's 2024. One of those kids has, for reasons I still don't understand, moved to Kentucky. He's hosting a viewing party for Game 5 at his house. There's 40 people there. He's not one of them. He flew home to be with his people, in that place, at that time, for that moment.

It's 2006. The official Liberty website is telling us to push our Robinson and Baranova jerseys to the back of the closet because the players have moved on.

It's 2024. Crystal Robinson is wearing her jersey on a championship float coming down the Canyon of Heroes, reunited with her teammates. There isn't a closet in sight.

It's 2007. The kids are trying. They love each other, but it's not enough.

It's 2024. They're not kids, but they're trying. They love each other. It's finally enough.

It's 2008. Essence Carson, growing into a fan favorite, brings the trademark Rutgers lock-down defense.

It's 2024. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, long grown into a fan favorite, brings the trademark Rutgers lock-down defense.

It's 2009. The Liberty earn the #1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft. Except that they don't hold the pick. They traded it months ago, traded it to Los Angeles for Sidney Spencer. LA doesn't hold it either; they've already sent it elsewhere to bring home Noelle Quinn. It's 2009 and the #1 pick for 2010 is in the hands of the Minnesota Lynx.

(It's 2010. Minnesota doesn't hold the pick anymore either. They're bringing home Lindsay Whalen with it, sending the #1 and Renee Montgomery to Connecticut for the favorite daughter of the Gopher State.)

It's 2009. The Sacramento Monarchs fold, and we still miss them. The Liberty take Nicole Powell first overall in the dispersal draft. The Lynx take Rebekkah Brunson with the next pick.

It's 2009. This team is going to kill me one of these days. I just hope I die happy.

It's 2024. this team is trying to kill me but what else is new

It's 2010. I'm combing stray newspapers on the train, looking for anything more than an AP blurb or a half-hearted mini-article about my team.

It's 2024. Kayla Thornton is screaming in joy on the front cover of the New York Post, the city's most right-wing newspaper.

It's 2011. The WNBA is pushed aside to make way for "offseason" renovations at MSG.

It's 2024. The NBA moves aside to make room for the WNBA.

It's 2012. It's 2013. We're slogging to New Jersey, through New Jersey. It's a blur, a dull march on a treadmill to nowhere.

It's 2024. We're on a train in Brooklyn, a fast-moving blur. It's New York or nowhere.

It's 2014. We're trading with Connecticut for a former MVP, proud daughter of Caribbean heritage, who says she wants to be in New York. We gamble three years of first-round picks on her. It doesn't work.

It's 2024. We've traded with Connecticut for a former MVP, proud daughter of the Caribbean, who says she wants to be in New York. We've sent away three players for her. It works.

It's 2015. We're choking away a 15-point lead to the Fever. We can't put them away that night. We don't put them away. One of the best seasons in Liberty history ends in the semifinals.

It's 2024. We're choking away an 18-point lead to the Lynx. We can't put them away that night. But we put them away. It ends with a trophy.

It's 2016. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take-all game at home. Phoenix springs the second-round upset and it's over.

It's 2017. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take all game at home. Washington springs the second-round upset and it's over.

It's 2024. One of the best seasons in Liberty history comes down to a winner-take-all game at home. Minnesota digs deep. New York digs deeper and it's over.

It's 2018. We're playing in Westchester County Center. There isn't a good seat in the house. The concession stands are occasionally on fire. The lighting is dim and the acoustics are terrible. The train back to the city runs once an hour and leaves five minutes before the end of a typical regulation game. Bee-Line buses back to the subway are cheaper, but make getting home a multi-hour ordeal.

It's 2024. We're playing at the Barclays Center. The seats are good. The concession stands are fire. The lights are bright and the sounds are loud. Half the trains in the city connect to bring everyone here, to bring everyone home.

It's 2019. No one wants to be in the shitty church basement. The fans don't or can't; the seats are half empty. The players don't; they're going through the motions on the floor.

It's 2024. There isn't an empty seat in the house. This is the place everyone wants to be.

It's 2020. We're all scared and alone and confused and worried. And also Sabrina Ionescu is lying on the court holding her ankle, in case Liberty fans needed a more concrete metaphor for the loss of hope.

It's 2024. Sabrina's lying on the court holding her face. In the stands, we're together and relieved and overjoyed.

It's 2021. The arenas are refilling, slowly, carefully. We're still collectively feeling our way through a changed world.

It's 2024. The arenas are full. We're collectively feeling our way through a changed world.

It's 2023. Role players step up for the best team in the league, and the Las Vegas Aces celebrate a title on the floor of Barclays Center.

It's 2024. Role players step up for the best team in the league, and the New York Liberty celebrate a title on the floor of Barclays Center.

It's 2024. I am a relieved 40-year-old woman, and I love this team.

It's 2024. I am an overjoyed 12-year-old girl, and I love this team.

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October 20th, 2024: Minnesota at New York (Game 5, WNBA Finals)

we back in this bitch and back on our shit  

A little late, but you didn't think I wasn't going to write about this, did you? So I don't forget. So we don't forget.

Of course there were Lynx fans in front of us. Perfectly nice people despite me passive-aggressiving all over them, but I sit in a section close to the Liberty bench and I keep expecting other people to consider sitting near their own bench when they travel.

When the shots were short and flat early... when the passing was sloppy and Napheesa Collier was playing like a woman possessed...it was such a strong feeling of "oh, no, here it goes again, should have known, should have known again". Game 4 against Las Vegas all over again. 2016 against Phoenix all over again. Nikki Teasley all over again. The inverse of the Charlotte miracle all over again. New York ain't for everybody, and in that first half it looked like it wasn't for the Liberty. 

But I forgot the one thing that's been consistent through this entire heavyweight title fight of a series, the one common thread. It wasn't about the first punch in any of these games. Every single time, it was about the finishing kick. And at the end of the first half, Leonie said, "Nein." And Jonquel said, "NOT AGAIN." And Breanna was there for the rebounds. 

Sabrina's shot in Game 3 is the most important shot in Liberty history now. Ruocco's statement, hyperbolic at the time, has been vindicated. But... mirrors. The most iconic shot in Liberty history came from a player who was never a shooter. The most important shot in Liberty history came from a player who is known as a shooter... but the performance that won her, won them, won us, a championship, was a master class in finding the right person at the right time, and in using every inch of her frame horizontally and vertically on defense. Sabrina played probably the most T-Spoon game of her life. 

Courtney Williams will probably hate me for quoting her in this place, at this time. But it's as true for the 2024 Liberty as it was the 2019 Sun: role players did that. The golden children who were supposed to lead us to the promised land couldn't hit water falling out of a boat- so they became role players in their way. Everyone forgot about Jonquel (including, sometimes, Sandy), but she powered through exactly when we needed her. But the biggest moments? The key pivots? Role players did that. Spare parts in multi-team trades did that. The second post off the bench did that.

 *sigh* yes, we will get this out of the way, because I strive to be honest where and when I can: the "REF YOU SUCK!" chant while Alanna Smith was lying on the floor once again trying to remember how her spine worked was completely unnecessary. That was a foul on Jonquel. Thank you to whoever in the crowd pivoted it to "WE ALL WE GOT/WE ALL WE NEED". I cannot speak on the final call in regulation, because I didn't have a good angle to see it. But refs in this league have always lagged well behind the skill, speed, and strength of the players. They've never been consistent and they've always been weak to pressure from the last person to yell at them. If you're in a position where you think you lost because of a call at the end of the game, there were other problems that were within your control to fix and you should have fixed them. 

Here is what I remember of the end of game: how clutch it was that Kayla had the ball when Minnesota had the foul to give, because she was in a position where either Carleton was going to foul out or Collier was going to foul out. And it was Collier who took the foul. I don't think Minnesota believed it. I don't think she believed it. And then the turnover. Leonie getting the steal. Time ticking away. Oh my God. They're not fouling. They're not- Buzzer. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD! Incoherent screaming. 27 years. 27 fucking years. Hugging, high-fiving. Calling my mom down in Carolina to try and get a video chat going so she could join in. Finding the friends we've known for years, for decades. Hugging. High-fiving. Kissing. Calling my mom again and just screaming over and over again, "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" at the top of my lungs, all lessons about projection and diaphragm usage forgotten. 

The players starting the MVP chant for Jonquel, who deserves the world. How stunned she looked to get that award, because the blocking sure looked like stats be damned, they were gonna feed the narrative and give it to Breanna. One hand on MVP trophy, one hand on championship trophy. 

The fans starting the "SA-BA-LLY" chant for Nyara. Oh my God. This is a city about the hustle and the grind. You put in the work and we don't care who you are, you belong. And Nyara should have gotten game ball. Really, Nyara should get whatever she wants and if she has to buy a drink in this town ever again, what are we even doing here? For her to come back from the injuries that she has, for her to be put on the spot and rise to this occasion... it's just so much. Everything is so much right now. She rose to the occasion, and her name thundered through the Barclays Center at the end of the night. Nobody else really got that. Even the MVP chants for Jonquel weren't as loud or as strong. 

27 years. There's going to be a post about that, too, about all we were then and all we are now. It's a series of jump cuts, crossing 27 years, 28 seasons, however you want to do the math. There's a lot of heartbreak in those years. There are a lot of good memories, a lot of bad memories. We've fallen down the mountain more than anyone else, and it's good, it's so good to finally be on the mountaintop. It's glorious. It's surreal. It's everything. 

 In conclusion I love everyone in this bar.

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December 5th, 2019: Fordham at Manhattan

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham held Manhattan to 27.4% shooting from the field in a hard-fought 51-45 win. Bre Cavanaugh had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Rams, with Kaitlyn Downey also notching a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Emily LaPointe had 13 points and Courtney Warley had 11 rebounds for the Jaspers in the loss.

For rivalry renewed, terrible shooting, precise announcements, strangers on a train, donuts, shiny things, and being en garde, join your intrepid and well-traveled blogger after the jump.


Basketball never stops, and neither do rivalries. Your intrepid blogger comes to you live, or at least on indeterminate tape delay, from the boogie down Bronx, where the Fordham Rams are paying a visit to the Manhattan Jaspers in the Battle of the Bronx.

Manhattan's band is getting into the spirit of both the holiday season and the basketball season, wearing festive hats (or antlers) and their “The 6th Borough” shirts.

Look, Mr. DJ, I get that no one cares about the lyrics, but maybe the refrain of “everything's better when I'm drinking” is not an appropriate choice on a college campus?

The Usual Suspects have arrived for Fordham. I'm flying solo today, though; the husband is off at Seton Hall for the UConn game. I expect this one to be more competitive.

15-4 Fordham end Q1. Manhattan is not shooting well and one of their players spiked the ball out of bounds off her teammate. The band is already razzing them. This is so far less competitive than the UConn game.

That is some glitter on the Manhattan cheerleaders' sweatshirts there. Wow.

24-18 Fordham at half. This has been all kinds of ugly. Bre Cavanaugh is already one rebound away from a double-double. No one with more than four points for Manhattan, but shoutout to Courtney Warley's eight rebounds. (Even if I would like her to maybe not roll-block people.)

On the other hand, Lynette Taitt probably wishes people would stop confusing this with dodgeball. She's already had two people spike the ball off her. And one was her own teammate. That is not how that play works, people.

I forgot how much I like Manhattan's band. The sound system s a little overcranked, because it has to be prepared for when Draddy is in use as a track facility, which is a much larger venue. But the band has a nice jazzy rhythm to them. I think one of those dudes is playing an electric clarinet, and I have no idea how that would even work, but it's fun.

The 6th Borough is arguably putting in a better night's work than the team they're rooting for.

There appear to be two different nets on the baskets. The one closer to Manhattan's bench has a traditional long one, while the one by the visiting bench appears shorter and thicker, making the rim look a little like one of those kiddy baskets.

Manhattan's intro video is interesting. I don't think I've ever seen one completely devoid of highlights.

38-36 Fordham end Q3. The refs are starting to call some of the physical play, but not all of it.

I don't know how accurate this claim is, but Manhattan claims to be the place where the seventh inning stretch was created, so we had a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” between the third and fourth quarters.

It's final at Draddy, 51-45 Fordham. Game MVP coming up, and if it's not Bre Cavanaugh I will find a hat and eat it. No, I will willingly be seen in the vicinity of the “Make Christmas Great Again” sweatshirt. Fortunately, Bre is our winner.

I like everything about the experience of a game at Manhattan except the home team's playing style. The people are all really nice, the PA guy is on point (every sub properly announced with name and number), the concessions are reasonably priced even if they're minimal, the student section shows up, the band is really good... but watching that team is painful. I thought Vulin was developing something, but her players have regressed since her first couple of years.

Nyala Pendergrass made a cameo in the second half to shoot a little bit, but the bulk of the bench play went to the trio of Lizahya Morgan, Gabby Cajou, and Pamela Miceus. They entered in the first and third quarters as a unit, but were situationally subbed as necessary throughout the game. Cajou is still lightning fast on the break- she had a beauty of a steal that led to a lay-up for the Jaspers. She also had an amazing o-board where she soared over a forward who had a good eight inches on her. But when she was out of the fast break, her decision-making deteriorated. Morgan provided some outside shooting, though she suffered from the same lack of accuracy most of her teammates did. Miceus brought a midrange game, with mixed results. Her form is terrible, and she's a senior, so it's not likely to get better.

If you leave Julie Høier open for five-six seconds, yes, she's going to hit the shot. That's if you give her enough time to get the ball, consider the shot, double pump herself out of it, and then set back up. I try not to make blonde jokes in the blog, but she was doing her best to live up to them. I mean, I guess she sets okay screens? But I'm about 50% certain she's the one who spiked her own teammate. It was either her or the freshman Emily LaPointe, who does have a respectable shot. She needs a lot of work, being a freshman and all, and in a lot of places I'd say she has time to develop. But I haven't seen a lot of development at Manhattan, so I don't know why she would buck the trend. Courtney Warley has a somewhat more respectable midrange game than her bench counterpart, though today it did not extend out to the three-point line as it has done in the past. She was ferocious on the glass and was able to outrun our guards to pinballing rebounds.

Lynette Taitt will drag this team to at least one victory that they in no other way deserve simply because she's that stubborn, that tough, and that physical. She did her damnedest on Bre Cavanaugh, and the fact that I'm complimenting a defensive performance that allowed 21 points should say something about the night Bre was having. They went at each other all night. Game recognize game. I have no idea why Sydney Watkins is starting. I don't know, maybe Manhattan just had a historically bad shooting night and this isn't really them, but about all she was doing out there was shooting threes on offense and attempting to jiggle distractingly on defense.

Manhattan is unafraid to play physical basketball. They drive headfirst, or at least shoulder-first. There were an awful lot of plays where they went low and suddenly there was a Fordham player lying on the floor wondering where the foul was and maybe what the number of that truck was. I applaud their fight, but at some point, they need to learn a little bit of control. And again, I don't see that happening under Vulin.

Zara Jillings's incredible disappearing act continues. I don't know what's going on with her, but I don't think I like it. Katie McLoughlin was first off the bench to shore up the defense slightly and promptly committed a reach-in foul. She did have a nifty putback lay-up off an offensive rebound. Megan Jonassen looks like she's lost a step- she was having trouble keeping up with Manhattan's movement.

One of these days. I know I've said this before, and since this is the first half of only her junior season I'm sure I'll say it again, but one of these days Kendell Heremaia is going to cause me to facepalm myself right into the concussion protocol. I love her hustle, and I love her rebounding, and I love the heart she has to play above her height. But if she takes one more stupid dipsy-do lay-up when going straight up would be enough, or if she keeps missing easy shots right at the basket, I will not be responsible for my actions. I don't like being this harsh or this frustrated with her, but she just goes from extreme to extreme. Kaitlyn Downey did a nice job on the boards, picking up plays that ricocheted out to the elbows. She looked like the physicality of the game was taking a toll on her by the end- that was one of the highest levels I've ever seen her register on the Kraayeveld-Adubato Scale. We really need another post to help take the load off and maybe allow Kene to actually be a guard one of these days. I thought that player was going to be Vilisi Tavui, but she's had a rough start to the season.

In some ways, it's a bad sign that the freshmen guards looked out of sorts against a team as bad as Manhattan. Anna DeWolfe looked hesitant, and that cost us with turnovers on sloppy or telegraphed passes. Her ability to snipe threes from the corner countered LaPointe's shooting and kept Manhattan's runs from being anything more than brief jogs. Sarah Karpell brought the defense, or at least tried to; there was a sequence where she was on Julie Høier, who was doing everything but waving signal flags to tell her teammates she had a height advantage on the play. She was in over her head, but she did her best. Bre Cavanaugh got off to a little bit of a slow start, but once she got the first make, it was like a match to a pile of dry leaves- she lit up Manhattan beyond the arc, in the paint, and on the offensive glass. She pretty much had her way with Manhattan. I'm a little worried about the amount of contact she was taking (Manhattan's approach to defense can sometimes be categorized as "body slam") but she has parents for that and I need to stop fussing.

Officials let most of the contact go in the first half and tightened up on the hand-checking in the second (but still let the heavy contact keep going) If this rivalry weren't on the right side of the line between heated and competitive, we might have had more issues. But the closest thing we had to a problem was very late in the game, when Kaitlyn Downey accidentally nailed Julie Høier in the face with an elbow on a loose ball scrum. That was reviewed for a hostile act, but the review was very short and nothing came of it.

Manhattan hosted an autograph session after the game, and disorganized doesn't even begin to describe it. The poster is fantastic- a great design printed on thick glossy stock- and the squad even had the metallic Sharpies to sign it. But they needed at least one more table to fit everyone, and there was no sense of order. Imagine me hovering nervously and shyly around the fringes, trying to figure out where to start and where the line is, only to realize there is no line. (And of course, with my Fordham scarf shoved in my coat and my coat zipped all the way up.) It was awkward.

Fordham brought a small student section! Or possibly some of the guys from the band, I don't know. But they were seated in the other endcourt section, across from the 6th Borough, and two of them would fence with drumsticks while Manhattan was shooting free throws. I cannot personally condone disconcerting the home team on the line, but I can appreciate their efforts. Apparently security almost freaked out when one of them successfully got through the other one's guard and poked him in the chest. Lot of mutual respect between them and the Manhattan band after the game.

The trip was chaos and the execution was terrible, but I'm still glad I went. It's good to see Bre looking like Bre again.

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December 8th, 2019: Seton Hall at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall came out of the gate strong and never looked back in an 89-37 pounding of Iona. Desiree Elmore had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pirates. Shyan Mwai had 13 to lead the Gaels.

For redecorating, reorienting, reordering, revisiting, and wrecking, join your intrepid and alliterative blogger after the jump.

We're back in the saddle again, apparently determined to take every train in the Bronx at some point this year. Seton Hall visits Iona, and that's a game I wouldn't miss for the world. As the song lyric goes, "we have history, or don't you remember?" That's where we got entangled in this ever-more-complex network of friendships and loyalties, back when Tony Bozzella coached the Gaels and Lauren DeFalco and Marissa Flagg were among his point guards. And that's where we finally gave up one of our core teams, when Alexis Lewis and her classmate Treyanna Clay transferred out and loyalty no longer compelled us to follow a coach we didn't respect.

Rumor has it there will be a slew of alumnae in attendance. I'm looking forward to some high-quality people-watching.

"Oh, you've redecorated," the "I don't like it" edition: Iona has added fancy new modern academic buildings without considering the aesthetic of the existing campus, and it looks like someone with no imagination was playing with Legos in the middle of a Christmas village.

"Oh, you've redecorated," the "I love it!" edition: the Hynes Athletic Center has gotten quite the makeover, with a change in orientation, new bleachers, fancy new seats, shiny new scoreboards, and a maroon paint job so fresh I can still smell it. Having but a single entrance for public use, and having that entrance lead directly behind the field of play (to the point where I was stepping around the mop) seems like a bad idea. It's a good thing we get in early. I can't imagine what that's going to look like ten minutes before game time.

There is a woman in the Seton Hall section with a purse made from a Spaulding basketball, and I mentally went full Gollum. We wants it, we wants the preciousssssss.

Iona's band is prepared for war. They have a piper. Yes. Someone just rolled up with a set of bagpipes. And they didn't even play the pipes.

Another member of the Iona-Seton Hall blended family, Aleesha Powell, is currently socializing behind the Pirates' bench.

Today I learned that platinum blonde dye jobs run in families! That is... wow, that's bright. If we stick her behind the basket, we might be able to distract Iona at the line. (I fully expect to be closer to the "Damika's Aunt Helen" end of the scale than the "polite visiting fan" end of the scale today.)

It's 39-17 Seton Hall at halftime, and I still demand more. Officials are letting a lot of contact go, and from the chirping, this is not a good plan, especially when they're calling cheap hand-check fouls. (Lauren Park-Lane is probably especially salty about her third, given that Iona traveled three steps with the ball before she made contact.) Shyan Mwai is the Iona offense, with 13 of their 17 points. Desiree Elmore has 12 for Seton Hall.

I know there are other alumnae here, but I don't recognize them. It's been a long time. And yet being in this building is enough to stir memories of "Let's go Gaels" and "I-O-N-A!" and "go, fight, win".

Not gonna lie, watching Selena Philoxy get her groove thang on to every piece of music she hears, even during timeouts, is a joy and a delight. Even if she probably should be focusing more on the content of the timeout meeting. And I'm also not sure what the protocols are around dancing to the other school's fight song.

That went about how I was expecting, except for our inability to hit free throws and maybe Iona's inability to shoot anything except their own feet. If you can't hit shots, hit the other team.

(New York subway justice: the dude blasting music from his speaker yelling at the dude with the cigarette.)

I shouldn't really be surprised that Jodi-Marie Ramil has fallen as far down the bench as she has. Her hands aren't great, and she missed multiple point-blank shots right at the rim. She slapped the taste out of a couple of weak shots right at the basket. But those shots came from players at the end of the bench, and something tells me most players are going to come at her stronger. De'jah Williams is a bruiser, and admittedly a good first impression is not attempting to put one of my players in a reverse chokehold. She has potential, or at least she would have potential if I thought she had a coach who would help her shore up her weaknesses. She's short for a post, but she's tough. Gabrielle Joseph's communication skills, especially for a sophomore, impressed me; she was out there relaying signals and calling out screens (I think it was her calling out a screen that got the refs to notice Selena Philoxy's screen was not as good as it should have been, resulting in an offensive foul). I'd like for her to pick on someone her own size, though; she put a couple of hits on Lauren Park-Lane that did not please me.

Lucia Becerra Perez popped off the bench and gave the Gaels good minutes at guard- she actually started the second half over Paulla Weekes. If she had better footwork, she'd be a good point guard. But she traveled, and she was careless with the ball. These are habits that can be broken, one presumes. Monica Barefield had a couple of good open looks from the left wing for three very late in the game, when Seton Hall was mostly just trying to avoid fouling. Again, I'm surprised she's slid as far down the rotation as she has, but then again, Billi Chambers's coaching decisions are best epitomized by the shrug emoji.

Juana Camilión has got to stop traveling. She got called for the extra step again and again, and there were at least as many times when she didn't get called for it. If she had a better grasp of the fundamentals, she'd be a star. But she doesn't, so she produces more turnovers than an average bakery instead. Shyan Mwai was the only bright spot for the Gaels in the first half, hitting threes and getting inside for lay-ups. We did a better job on her in the second half, but she also went the bad kind of wild when she had open looks and sent them everywhere but the bottom of the basket.

Tori Lesko is not the player she once was, and it's kind of sad to see. As one of the only players to make it through all four years with Billi Chambers, it seems like she deserves better But the knee injury has robbed her of whatever speed she once possessed, and she either couldn't or wouldn't shoot against our defense. I mean, we did match up well at her position, but still. You genuinely do hate to see it. Morgan Rachu did a good job on the boards, though some of it was as much hockey-style boarding as it was basketball-style boarding. She's not afraid to throw her body around. Her three-point shot was not going down, although her form is decent. Her choice in number pretty much forced that, I'd say. (Yes, I am still annoyed that anyone is wearing #14 for Iona. It's not like Damika Martinez finished among the top scorers in D-I history, after all. It's not like she owns pretty much every record in Iona history and MAAC history OH WAIT.) Paulla Weekes exists. She went out of the game pretty quickly, and I'm not sure she even played in the second half. If you want more than that, play more.

Today I learned that Jocelyn Jones is in fact playing this year for Seton Hall, as she checked in late in garbage time. My understanding is that she was injured, and she looked like a player trying to get herself back into playing shape. That's a whole lot of woman. Whitney Howell came in at the same time, and couldn't quite catch the high pass from McKenna Hofschild. Kailah Harris got some good boards down low. I like her and her stylish goggles. I don't know if the goggles do anything or not, but they look cool. Selena Philoxy brought her usual physicality and multiple moments of "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS". Alexia Allesch got a couple of good looks right at the basket and took advantage of them. I know she likes to take threes, but she really seems to have found a niche in the post, and I hope she becomes more willing to use it next year.

McKenna Hofschild ran a fair amount of point guard in the second half, and made it clear that she was looking to pass first and foremost. She showed off some fancy no-look stuff. Undersized with a penchant for showmanship? I can't imagine how she ended up at Seton Hall. Jasmine Smith shot a lot of threes. She shot a lot of them in the fourth quarter, which I don't think was Coach Bozzella's game plan. He did not look happy about the number of shots she took early in the shot clock, in any case. My Jackson got some good run early, which gave us the luxury of testing out the guards further back in the rotation in the second half. Victoria Keenan was the one everyone on the bench was rooting for, and when the first corner three went in, the regulars went a little nuts.

Lauren Park-Lane got into foul trouble in the second quarter on cheap reach-in fouls, and then the fourth foul in the third quarter got her extremely upset because it was a very cheap call that could have been a no-call or even an out-of-bounds on Iona. She didn't get a chance to prove much, but she doesn't have a lot to prove. Barbara Johnson was just about the only Pirate who had trouble shooting from the field- for whatever reason, even her open looks weren't going down.

Desiree Elmore started the game like a house on fire- in fact, looking back now, thanks to my color-coded score card, her eight points were more than Iona managed as a team for the first quarter. She got putbacks, she hit from the midrange, she drove and scored. Des is the queen of stealing the spotlight, and I mean that as a compliment. Put Shadeen Samuels on the watch lists? Des will put up the big numbers. Homecoming for the Iona exes? Des will steal the show. I don't know if she has a pro game, or if she's going to be stuck in tweener limbo. But she's been so much fun to watch for Seton Hall. Alexis Lewis was definitely too amped for this game in the early going- when she missed, she missed hard and she missed long. She made up for it on the offensive glass and with blocked shots. I recall one sequence where she got the block, the board, and a fantastic save, or something to that effect, and yelling, "Don't you wish you had someone like that? OH WAIT" at the Iona bench. Me? Petty? Whatever gave you that idea? Shadeen Samuels looks like she's still getting back into game shape- once or twice it looked like she wasn't getting as far up as she usually does- but you know, I don't think the kid from Ossining was going to miss the game in Westchester County. Pretty sure there's a bus you can take for that kind of thing. (My great Westchester bus adventure, which had a crucial transfer in Ossining, connected through White Plains, but I think there's an alternate route through New Rochelle.) She did an especially good job reading offensive rebounds.

Adventures with intros! Credit where credit is due, Iona gave a warm welcome back to the two alumnae and former coach on the Seton Hall bench, and gave Lexi Lewis pride of place at the end of intros... which no one seemed to realize, because they announced Des and Lexi came out. Mildly awkward, but I don't think it was intentional.

Iona seems to get frustrated easily, and when they get frustrated, the shoulders go out and the feet slip out a little bit. The discipline is lacking, and that starts at the top. It really seemed like Seton Hall's bench was pushing harder than they had to in the fourth quarter, and I'm reminded of something Geno Auriemma once wrote about the end of the bench in blowouts. I'm doing a lot of paraphrasing here, but basically, he intimated that in a game where the margin needs to be managed, it might be better to have your starters in, because the reserves are out there trying to prove themselves and thus aren't going to let up on the gas, even when they're up obscene amounts.

Officiating was so-so. I thought they let a lot of things go that could have gotten ugly, with the elbows and the shoulders. I suspect Lauren Park-Lane agrees with this assessment.

I'm disappointed in what Iona's become. There's potential there- Chambers does seem to be able to recruit. But she can't retain and she can't coach.

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November 25, 2019: UMass at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's started off strong in both halves to stave off runs from UMass and come away with the 82-71 win. Qadashah Hoppie led four Johnnies in double figures with 22 points. Bre Hampton-Bey had 16 points off the bench to lead the Minutewomen, who won the rebounding battle 33-30.

For crossing the streams, spinning right round like a record, rethinking things, exploring new depths, and traveling, join your intrepid blogger after the jump. There may be cake.

Just in case you weren't sick of me after the massive note dump this past weekend, we're back in the saddle again with a non-conference match-up against UMass. At least with UMass, I know to expect a presence behind the opposing bench, and all I can do is hope to avoid awkwardness. (UMass guard Destiney Philoxy is the younger sister of Seton Hall's Selena Philoxy, and I sorta feel like it might be a bad idea to run into SHU family while in STJ gear.)

More info on Alisha Kebbe: apparently it's her shoulder and she might be out for a while. Yeesh. Adventures in forward play ahead.

The ticket takers were late to the party, which meant a few minutes of drifting around and aimlessly reading plaques. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed “Your Are St. John's” on one of the trophies dedicated to Lou Carnesecca and that they're just politely ignoring it or the engraving company went out of business sometime in the last fifteen years. Or something.

Update:oh no, I think Papa Philoxy is the other person in our section. Fortunately, he and the family moved to the other side of the floor. This would have been awkward.

25-17 STJ end Q1. Qadashah Hoppie is doing Q things, with nine points and a pocket-picking of Destiney Philoxy so thorough I'm pretty sure she's now the owner of a UMass student ID. UMass has a big center who si extremely not ready for this jelly.

44-37 STJ at half. Q still has 9, but Tiana England has stepped her game up with 13. Paige McCormick has 11 to lead UMass, getting threes on good screens. Our defense loosened up in the second quarter, and I am not okay with this.

Star-watching in the crowd: hi, Jade! Hi, Aliyyah!

Shoutout to the person in the Logowoman hoodie. I love seeing more connections between the W and WCBB among fans. Love all the women's basketball.

There is an adorable tiny future-Johnny in a Red Storm bandanna, and I don't know what to do with this level of cute. (Other than keep it at a safe distance. Kids are cute as long as they're not mine.) (I think that was Sky's mom with the kidlet. Which means that might be Sky's kid. Out Of Cheese Error Please Redo From Start.)

The men's team showed up for a while, but they seem to have bailed.

Huh. I think the dasher boards on the other side of the court actually work. I can see the reflection of statistics in the boards opposite them.

I don't know if I personally would have gone with the sneakers, but Alisha Kebbe's outfit is otherwise pretty sharp.

Never change, Sky. I see you bobbing your head to the arena music during the commercial break.

65-51 STJ end Q3. Qadashah started off hot again and gave us some separation.

Dance team reversed the polarity of the rhythm flow, which is kind of refreshing, because I am not an ass woman.

The steals and turnovers are instructive- most of our turnovers are travels and offensive fouls, while most of their turnovers are on our steals.

UMass is an interesting team. They're technically sound in a lot of ways, although they need to do a better job not telegraphing their passes. They know their strengths, and they know how to play to their strengths. Their coach needs to maybe switch to decaf, and consider the teams I follow when I make this recommendation. I didn't catch his name during intros, so I spent most of the night referring to him as "Captain Stompy" from his sideline demeanor. It seems a little ridiculous to be berating the officials when the foul differential is 5-1 in your favor, for example.

Whether from lack of availability or lack of desire to do so, the Minutewomen did not go very deep. Bre Hampton-Bey provided the reserve guard minutes and got her points with speed and canny changes of direction- when that first step got her an inch of space, she turned it into points. She had a fantastic steal off an inbounds on a free throw- I blinked and suddenly she had the ball for a lay-up. She's got a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, but I'm kind of used to that with undersized guards. Angelique Ngalakulondi was very physical, sometimes to a fault (I realize "over the back" is not the actual name of a type of foul, but the way she had Alissa bent over on one rebound was as close a textbook "over the back" play as you'll ever see). She sets a good screen, and she knows how to use her height, which is definitely an advantage she has over her classmate Maeve Donnelly. She needs to learn to moderate her physicality a little bit, and I don't know if Captain Stompy is the right coach for that.

Maeve Donnelly is tall. Right now, that's about all she's got going for her as a Division I basketball player, at least based on that game. She couldn't hit shots close to the basket, and her attempts at a midrange game were laughable at best. She didn't rebound well. She did okay at getting position, but given that our tallest active player is three inches shorter than she is, that's not as difficult as one might imagine. 6-5 always has the potential to be a game-changer in WCBB, but right now, she's not ready for primetime. Hailey Leidel did a lot of hard, physical work on the boards and laid a smackdown of a block on Q. She's got a good long-range stroke, but I'm more impressed by her physicality.

Vashnie Perry ran point and got yelled at by Captain Stompy at least once. She did all right behind the line when she got an open look, and her teammates were good at creating open looks. Paige McCormick did a better job of taking advantage of them- her release seemed faster than her teammates'. Destiney Philoxy, on the other hand, was much more of a drive-and-sometimes-dish player, using bursts of incredible speed to get to the basket and convert, either by getting the basket or getting to the line. She showed quick hands and a lot of tenacity.

(I, uh. I think she might also have recognized some of the sounds from the audience. It maybe doesn't help our case that we borrowed the four-foul taunt from Seton Hall's band. But the husband swears we actually got a visible reaction from her when we made loud noises while she was at the line. Please don't kill me, Selena.)

I'm not used to this whole rotation concept Joe seems to have adopted. Don't get me wrong, I quite like it. I just find myself nervous that he's going to abandon it at the first sign of trouble and revert to running our starters into the ground. Going eight deep when you're already down a starter? Priceless.

I may have to start learning Swedish between seasons. Between Cecelia Holmberg and Amanda Zahui B, I'm going to have a lot of occasions to yell, "You didn't need to take that shot from Stockholm!" and maybe it'll get through that way. (Also, that way I can learn Swedish geography and make more informed international references.) (Look, at least I'm not making Swedish Chef jokes and I'm trying to discourage others that way as well.) She's going to take some time to develop, but once she figures out how to stay in front of her man, she'll be fine, and she'll bring a dimension we don't fully have yet. Unique Drake showed good driving ability, but needs to work on her decision-making a little bit (although to be fair to her, that was Cecelia's bad pass, not her turnover). Leilani Correa's defense wasn't as solid as it had been through the first few games, but she made up for it at the other end of the floor with backdoor cuts and corner threes.

I feel like Qadashah Hoppie may have been watching tape of Angel McCoughtry. I don't know if that's the comparison I'd personally have chosen for her, but the aggressive, high-risk/high-reward way she played the passing lanes brought McCoughtry to mind. This is the second game this season where she's come on strong early and dialed it back later, although in this game it was more that she started both halves strong and then didn't score in the second and almost didn't score in the fourth. It's sort of like a relay race- yeah, you want a strong runner on the anchor leg, but you also need someone to give you a head start on the first leg. Alissa Alston picked up a technical for taunting on her three-point shot late in the game- I didn't see the exact sequence, but my understanding is that she kept flashing the three signal all the way down the floor and did it in the opponent's face, which would count as taunting (but if Hampton-Bey clapping in the face of a downed opponent doesn't qualify, then I'm not sure we're even calling taunting techs anymore). She's quick and light on her feet, and she's stubborn as all get-out. She had a big offensive rebound that she turned into two free throws. Tiana England ran the show in her usual style- fast when we needed it, but way too slow way too often, and while one of these days I might figure out if the problem is her or Coach Tartamella, this is not that day. She's growing into her number, but those are mighty big shoes to fill, even if they're in different positions.

Kadaja Bailey is very quietly developing into a solid rebounder and starting to develop a little bit on defense, instead of being the offensive powerhouse I think we thought she was going to be. Her man-to-man defense is still a work in progress, but she anchors us very well. She was pretty solid on offense in this game, too. I've been hard on her to start the season; maybe it's time I reexamined her strengths and focused less on her weaknesses. Emma Nolan added another "the arrow is pointing in the wrong direction" jump ball to her growing tally. She put a block on Leidel that might just have hurt the poor Minutewoman's soul. I think she's getting used to the collegiate three-point line (it doesn't help that the men's line and the women's line are both on the floor at all times) and when that happens, her stroke will be even more deadly. Meanwhile, she's been stepping up big time for us to bring some of the interior play and interior defense that we've been missing with Alisha out. Kadaja too, but it's more noticeable with Emma. Maybe we just got a bad scouting report on her.

We got bogged down late in the game too often for my liking. I don't like when we commit shot clock violations. I like when we cause them (and yes, Captain Stompy, we did, that shot only touched glass). We need to stay on the glass harder- we got outrebounded again, despite winning the game. But the depth is real, and it's something we haven't had for a long time. We don't necessarily have height, but we have power. We need to consistently take advantage of that depth to hammer at our foes.

Not the worst crowd we've ever had, but it was hard to get any noise going.

If the dizzy shootout contest doesn't end with someone throwing up on the hype man, I will be very disappointed, because a) it is a stupid contest, b) the hype man is annoying, and c) the rules aren't clearly defined (one contestant only spun around five times before her first attempt from each location, the other spun around before every attempt, and she was still the better shooter).

I like how this team is coming together. Next stop, Vegas! (For them, not me. I have the sinking suspicion my next stop is Hackensack.)

(There is no cake. The cake is a lie.)

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November 22nd, 2019: Wake Forest at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's took control in the second quarter and never fully relinquished the lead in an 82-74 win over Wake Forest. Qadashah Hoppie had 23 points to lead the Red Storm, with Alissa Alston adding 20 points. Gina Conti scored a game-high 25 points before fouling out for Wake Forest.

For getting back on track, rounding up the Usual Suspects, sketchy contests, an insistence on committing unnecessary fouls, loud noises, and pace of play issues, join your intrepid and ever-so-slowly getting it together blogger after the jump.
It's a cold, windy sort of a night here in Queens, and the traffic on Jamaica Avenue is a nightmare. Maybe that's why no one is here to see St. John's take on Wake Forest. Come on, people, it's not like we get Power 5 teams in here every day, even if they're not very good ones.

I salute you, Wake Forest travelers. So long as all y'all stay behind your own bench, we're all good. On the other hand, I would appreciate the Deacs not attempting to pull down our rim. We've only got two, and we kind of need both of them. The sign might be a little overkill too, although nice job matching the gold.

One of the dance team members is walking around in Under Armour gear, and I'm not sure if that's a sign of rebellion or the dance team didn't get included in the Nike deal.

I've just been informed that Alisha Kebbe is not available for this game. I am not okay with this turn of events.

Okay, I am less enthused about the Wake Forest people now that more of them have arrived and there's the distinct possibility that we'll be outnumbered by opposing fans from one of the lowest-tier teams in the ACC. There are high school reinforcements arriving, but I'm not sure whose side they're on. We also seem to have an unexpectedly high student turnout. They must have been storming the dorms for the two games. (Volleyball had Senior Night earlier today and swept Georgetown.) The people in front of us have been warned.

It's 41-28 St. John's at half. Alissa Alston has 16 points to lead the Red Storm. Ivana Raca has 11 to lead the Demon Deacons. When our offense is moving with speed, we're doing well. When we get bogged down by looking like we've never seen a defense before, we run the clock down, take terrible shots, and either hit deep threes or give up rebounds. This does not feel like it should be rocket science.

That got closer than I'd like at the end, and I get the feeling that Coach Tartamella is going to have some long talks with our guard about fouling people in the final minute up three possessions. But our hustle is there. Our hands are there. Our consistency needs some work, but we're a work in progress. I'm okay with that.

Wake Forest used their height well to get rebounds, especially offensive ones. No rebound was safe- if we held it up too long, a Demon Deacon would be there to tip it around. Their execution at the basket needed work, but they were prepared for that eventuality and swarmed the glass.

Ellen Hahne came in at the end of the game when it was pretty much over. Olivia Summiel got similar minutes in the first half, with the addition of a foul. Christina Morra saw spot minutes in the first half as well. I completely failed a perception check and didn't even realize Raegyn Branch checked into the game at any point, so you can tell how much of an impact she made on the game.

Alexandria Scruggs brought size at the guard spot- she was able to body up less substantial defenders to get to the basket. If she could finish when she got there, she'd have been even more effective. Anaia Hoard got her first name pronounced a couple of different ways and launched threes. Pretty stroke, but when the ball came off her hands it was going every which way. Maya Banks has elbows and she's not afraid to use them. She was physical, and she caused us problems with her size. That was sort of a theme of the night.

Ona Udoh plays even taller than she is. Her hands were very busy, especially on the offensive glass. She erased a Leilani Correa shot like it had been retconned out of the timeline. Either I missed some fouls or some got reallocated without an announcement, because she went from two fouls to four fouls without appearing to have been called for a third foul. She eventually fouled out of the game, so that was important, but she didn't seem to object, so I guess she figured she had committed five fouls. Alex Sharp probably had the best dance moves of anyone on Wake Forest, and demonstrated the utility of such with a nifty step-through and turn along the baseline for a basket. Hugging the opposing player during the game crosses the line of acceptable behavior, though. They list her as a guard, but against us she definitely played more like a post. Ivana Raca laid a painful block on Tiana England (that might have been one of the ones at the end of the shot clock, but we'll get to a more detailed discussion of the Red Storm offense later, when I've stopped swearing a little bit) and demonstrated good touch from the midrange and at the basket.

Gina Conti never stopped playing. Even when all seemed lost, she kept driving and drawing fouls. She picked up three cheap points when Alissa Alston inexplicably fouled her on a three-point heave at the end of the shot clock. She made a really great defensive play to save a loose ball (I think that was the one where she whacked it straight off Alissa's chest, which looked painful but was undeniably effective). Kaia Harrison was the crowd favorite of the Wake Forest fans; she's from Long Island and brought a very large contingent that cheered only for her. It was, frankly, offensive; Our Girls Syndrome is one of my least favorite parts of basketball, but I can sort of meet OGS sufferers halfway if they at least pretend to care about their darling's whole team. These folks roared like crazy when Harrison was announced as a starter, then went quiet as church mice the rest of the way. She scored a couple of free throws, but hit no field goals, and there is a very petty part of me that is happy about that. She's got good speed, and if she can get some of the wonkiness out of her shot she'll be good offensively.

When momentum sits on a knife-edge: at the end of the first quarter, Wake Forest was down three, with the ball, and Harrison threw up a heave that bounced twice and didn't go in. If that buzzer-beater had gone in to tie the game and get the Long Island contingent going, I think the game would have gone very differently. We really didn't take control until the fourth quarter, and Wake Forest could have easily seized control in the second if they had that kind of momentum behind them.

Sophia Nolan and Shamachya Duncan picked up a couple of stray minutes in the first half. I'm pleasantly surprised by this, and at Joe's increased use of the bench this year in general. Sometimes mop-up minutes at the end of the first half are even more useful than the ones in the second half. Cecelia Holmberg got to take free throws today, and good grief there is a funkiness to her release that hurts my soul. The 19th century called; they want their set shot back. It's not present in her jumper, from what I saw. Her defense needs work. It needs a lot of work. She'll get there eventually, but she's not there now.

Unique Drake has got to finish at the rim. She wasn't great, but she wasn't as terrible as the non-existent stat line would indicate. She showed off some fancy passing. Leilani Correa's height was useful for us, and she did a good job getting to the line. Her release is slower than I'd like, and it got her shot blocked at least once. I love what she does when the defense presses, although we didn't use it as much as we did against Lafayette, which I think was a mistake. There are a few things I have issues with in this game, despite the victory, but we'll get to that in the wrap-up.

Kadaja Bailey's offense decided to join us this evening, including one spectacular bucket off an alley-oop from Tiana England. Her defense is still lagging, though; she's getting bodied by wider players, run by by quicker players, and losing the ball to taller players. I know she's better than the way she's started this season, but she looks badly lost. We've got you, K, but you've got to step up, especially if Alisha is out for any length of time. Emma Nolan stepped up to the challenge; while I'd still like to see her be less hesitant to shoot, she answered any questions I might have had about her toughness and her ability to use her build. She was aggressive and physical (almost to a fault- there's no tackling in basketball, and we're not even a football school). Her "hurray, I have forced a held ball, but alas, the arrow belongs to the other team" count is now up to at least four, just based on home games. She did a great job of matching Wake Forest's ability to knock the ball away from our rebounders.

Alissa Alston is going to kill me one of these days. Either that or I'm going to jump the rail and dope slap her upside the head, which I realize is not appropriate but at times feels distressingly necessary. I love her willingness to take the charge, but if she's going to do that, she has to get into position earlier and not still be in motion when the offensive player arrives. (I was in the minority regarding the block call. Other St. John's partisans felt it should have been a charge.) And when she committed the foul on the Conti three at the end of the third, I thought my head was going to explode. She's got swagger when she hits the deep threes, and full body sacrifice is a fantastic defensive philosophy I never want her to give up. I just need her to occasionally be more sensible, preferably before she breaks something. Tiana England showed off some flashy passing (I refer the reader back to the alley-oop to Kadaja) and got buckets off steals and fast breaks. But the offense got bogged down late, and once again I'm not sure if the problem is with her or with Joe. Qadashah Hoppie got off to another hot start, driving the lane and getting her points. She picked up the pace again in the fourth to help put the Deacs away. She, like most of the rest of the team, was better offensively when she was playing with a faster pace.

So we have to talk about the stupid fouls, don't we? Because this would have been a double-digit win if we hadn't gifted fouled Wake Forest on three different shots in the final minute and sent them to the line. Common sense, kids. Learn when to back off. Now, Leilani is a freshman, and she gets a partial pass. But Tiana and Alissa have no such excuse.

We also have to talk about the offense. Now, I do appreciate that there are times and reasons to slow down the offense and burn clock. And I understand that it's early in the season and we're incorporating four freshmen and a transfer who hasn't seen Red Storm game action before this year. I do understand these things. But at the same time, it's painfully obvious that when the offense slows down, everything goes horribly wrong. Everyone loses their willingness to shoot, the opposing defense has a chance to get set, and we look like we've never seen a live defense before in our lives. Like, yes, guys, the other team is allowed to play defense while you're running clock.

Officiating was inconsistent, but it was equal, or even in the Red Storm's favor. I can deal with that, I guess.

The kids who won the three-legged race cheated; they were barely tied together at all!

The "Red Storm Warning" klaxon is cute, although maybe we should not activate it while people are standing right next to it. Alex Sharp got an earful of it. But can we please dump the hype man? He doesn't bring anything to the table and is extremely annoying.

There's a lot of potential here, and for the first time in a while, I'm really optimistic about this team. We'll just never have to have a game with a margin between 15 and 30.

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November 17th, 2019: Villanova at Fordham

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Post play fueled Villanova in their 73-66 win over Fordham. Madison Siegrist led the Wildcats with 29 points, with Mary Gedaka hot on her heels at 27 points. Bre Cavanaugh had 23 points to lead Fordham in the loss.

For unstoppable forces, a local inversion of reality, back pain, betting the dogs, a light roast, and dazed confusion, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
One quick change and a scoot down the aisle later, your intrepid blogger is back in her accustomed perch behind the Fordham bench, as the Rams prepare to defend the A-10's honor against the Big East's Villanova Wildcats.

I don't know who this dude in the Penn State sweatshirt is, but I'm pretty sure that by wearing that he has declared himself the sworn enemy of everyone in the building, so well done there.

SHU friends and family have gathered in the corridor to greet their team. We are not over there, obviously, because right now we are Fordham fans.

I'm not sure if the stippling on Fordham's warm-up shirts is intentional or born from laundry, but it looks cool.

A dude in a Phillies cap just plopped himself down behind the Fordham bench, so this is probably going to be fun.

(Sidebar: Ms. Carangi and Ms. Siegrist were announced as “Sam” and “Maddie” respectively, but they're on Villanova's roster as Samantha and Madison, so I'll be referring to them by their full first names.)

20-14 Villanova end Q1. Madison Segrist has A) a lot of friends and family in attendance, B) 15 points. Neither of these sparks joy.

31-21 Villanova at half. Segrist has sat down, but Mary Gedaka picked up the baton with 9 of her 11 points in the second quarter. You know, I could have just had my wisdom teeth extracted.

Shout out to the dude in the student section in the A'ja Wilson jersey.

Two pregame ceremonies today, one honoring Coach Peretta on his upcoming retirement and one for Coach Gaitley's 1000th game.

48-42 Villanova end Q3. We tied it and then Nova remembered what threes are.

I'm not saying that we have issues with consistency, but if we could get maybe three players to play at or above average, we could actually win some of these games that we keep falling apart in. It's frustrating. We don't seem to have finishing ability. And when we pressed, Villanova was able to pass out to the wide open player under the basket. I'm not used to Villanova using the post so effectively and so heavily. Is this Peretta's version of a midlife crisis?

I'm also not used to Villanova not going that deep. Mackenzie Gardler came in briefly in the first half to give the guards a break, but I don't think she played in the second half. She's small but not all that quick, which is not a good combination. Brooke Mullin's first shot was a disaster, but once she got off one with her feet squared and time to set, it was worthy of her last name. She found her stroke in the second half to help Villanova pull away. Samantha Carangi came in to run point for long stretches- she was first off the bench in both halves. She was pretty solid on the intangibles.

I would not have expected an experienced senior like Bridget Herlihy to commit a stupid touch foul while leading in a two-three possession game with somethine like two minutes left to put the opponent in the penalty. She did lay some monster blocks on our guards, though. Made it hard to drive. I don't even remember Madison Segrist picking up the first two fouls, though that would be a reasonable explanation for why she was MIA in the second quarter. That kid is fast, and she's the usual Villanova match-up issue for a big- she can take you outside or inside. So she pretty much got what she wanted, whenever she wanted it, and when she didn't, she got the rebound. We did a not-terrible job of keeping Mary Gedaka off the offensive glass, but she more than made up for it with hard drives and an ability to create space for herself with excellent body control.

Cameron Onken had a really fantastic hustle play in the first quarter to break up a Fordham break. She was pretty good on defense. Raven james drove and dished effectively to set up the bigs (who also did a pretty good job of setting themselves up with dribble drives, to be fair).

I look at this and it looks like I'm short-changing the guards, but honestly, the starting guards for Villanova did not distinguish themselves well. The three-point offense mostly came from the bench or from the posts, which is either a credit to our defense or a credit to Madison Segrist, and I think I know who I'm crediting here.

Officiating made themselves heard in the second half, but we got ourselves into as much un-called trouble as we did called un-trouble. I have no right to be upset.

Clever things veteran coaches do: Bre Cavanaugh hits a deep jumper that's called a three on the floor but looks like a long two, putting Fordham within one and extending a Rams run. Peretta calls timeout. It's not just a smart move to curtail the run- I'd bet dollars to donuts he knew that call would be reversed, and made sure to call timeout so that the refs would review right then and there, taking the point off the board and messing up Fordham's momentum just that much more.

I don't know what to do with this Fordham team. It seems like if everyone could maybe get on the same page in the same game, we could make some noise. But right now we're playing like a box of puzzle pieces that's been dropped on the floor and played around with by a hyperactive six-year-old. Sometimes things fit together, but mostly they don't, no matter how hard we hammer at them.

Katie McLoughlin came on for hustle, but the biggest problem with her is that she doesn't bring anything else to the table. She fights for boards, and sometimes she even gets them, but she doesn’t score and her defense has yet to develop. I continue to wonder what's going on with Zara Jillings. Something's not right with her, and it's throwing off all our rotations, because we have very little height and if she's not contributing then we end up with Kendell Heremaia, Power Forward Extrordinaire, and I don't like that plan. Megan Jonassen was physical, but not much else.

Sarah Karpell looked really good- she's developing good defensive instincts quickly and demonstrating good court awareness. She started off the season with a bad game, but she's shaken it off in a hurry. Anna DeWolfe scored most of her points late, and I thought she looked like she was in over her head a little bit. Bre Cavanaugh looked like her old self in the second half, scoring with confidence and getting to the line. It took her a while to get going, and I worry about that still.

Have I mentioned how unenthused I am about the concept of Kendell Heremaia, Power Forward Extrordinaire? Because I love Kene, and all gods know that she tries to match up with the bigs, but she doesn't have the height and she doesn't have the quickness to get into the positions she needs to be in if she's going to make up for that. I do also need Kene to remember who her teammates are, because this is the second time in three games I've seen her take out a teammate in pursuit of a rebound. This time it was Anna. The people in the white jerseys are your friends, Kene. (Unless you're on the road.) Kaitlyn Downey was ineffective and often in foul trouble. We need her to be more consistent. I don't know what else to say.

Time and score awareness: on one possession, Sarah gets the offensive rebounds and keeps feeding Kaitlyn for three-point attempts; on the next possession, Anna gets the offensive rebound and immediately puts it back. IMO, we needed threes more than twos in that stretch, but looking back, I understand Anna's logic too.

I don't know what else to say about Fordham. There were moments when it worked, but then we couldn't execute. It feels like it was forever ago. I can't get a sense of this team and who they are yet.

Someone in the student section brought a drum. I question his reading of the rules on artificial noisemakers, but as long as he doesn't get in trouble, I'm down with it. I hope these heartbreakers don't dissuade the student section from showing up and getting loud- this team needs and deserves that kind of support at every game.

We can beat Northeastern, right? Right?

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November 17th: Seton Hall at Saint Joseph's (at Fordham)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: In a low-scoring affair, Seton Hall prevailed over Saint Joseph's, 55-39. Desiree Elmore had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Pirates. No Hawk cracked double figures in scoring, with Claire Melia's seven leading the way.

For unaccustomed seating arrangements, terrible shooting, some height issues, and details lost to the fo of time, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, fellow travelers! We come to you from an unaccustomed spot at Rose Hill Gymnasium, as Seton Hall plays St. Joseph's in an A-10/Big East double-header. Since St. Joe's is an A-10 team, they have been extended the courtesy of the home bench, which means we, as Seton Hall fans, are behind the road bench. It's weird. I don't think I like it.

I do, however, want that Mad Magazine jacket one of the Fordham staffers is rocking. I want it very much.

Seton Hall is short-handed today; in addition to the players already injured, Shadeen Samuels tweaked her hamstring in their last game, and is in sweats. This is another thing I'm not thrilled with.

15-10 SHU end Q1, but it should be more. We're missing shots we should be hitting.

37-22 SHU at halftime, thanks to a deep three from Alexis Lewis at the buzzer and St. Joe's forgetting how time works. They went into their offense way too early with 27 seconds left in the half, ceding last shot to Seton Hall. Now, I'm not exactly thrilled with the way SHU ran that possession either- I thought Lauren Park-Lane ran too much time off the clock and Lexi was forced to take that shot too deep, but in this case, it worked.

Fordham is not running stats for this game, so I must rely on my trusty clipboard. It tells me that Lauren Park-Lane is leading the pirates with 10 points, while Claire Melia's six off the bench are a team high for the Hawks.

St. Joe's has size, but not finesse. They're not finishing at the rim, and they don't seem to have outside shooting to complement their bigs.

Yes, the Hawk traveled. Yes, she's flapping her wings. Yes, I know she's female because it was in their game notes. (Said game notes also felt the need to clarify that it's Saint Joseph's or St. Joe's, but you can't abbreviate only one part. I'm now tempted to refer to them as St. Joseph's the entire time, because I'm that kind of petty.)

You know a ref has done a lot of MAAC games when Alexis Lewis commits a foul and the signal goes up as 20. (Lexi wears 10 at SHU, but she wore 20 at Iona.)

Starting lineup shenanigans: so we see the lineup tweeted out as Barbara Johnson, Lauren Park-Lane, Mya Jackson, Alexis Lewis, and Whitney Howell. Everything goes as expected until the last player, at which point Barb gets off the bench and the PA guy announces Desiree Elmore. There is a small discussion among Coach Bozzella and the officials, after which Barb is called back to the bench and Des takes the floor. Since Barb proceeded to come in for Whit about a minute in, it became moot.

45-33 SHU end Q3. The refs seem to think we missed hearing from them.

It's final here at Rose Hill, 55-39 Seton Hall, in a game that probably featured terrible shooting percentages. There were certainly lots of rebound opportunities.

I see why Cindy Griffin is happy with her young posts. They still need some work, especially Gabby Smalls, whose shooting form is... uh... not good, and I say this as someone who loves her some post players with dubious shooting mechanics. She had success with spins and lay-ups, and she thinks she has a hook shot, but her jumper is not there right now. Claire Melia got off to a strong start for the Hawks, which I think is why she started the second half. She's got good touch inside and out and pretty good range and power. She's got to be better with her footwork, but as a freshman, she's starting off with a good toolbox. Katie Mayock started the game and moved to the bench for the second half. She's got size, and she sets good screens, but her teammates need to be better at using them.

On the other hand, their guards are a work in progress. Devyne Newman got run in both halves, second more than the first, I think. She and Lauren Ross did not impress terribly much.

I liked Mary Sheehan's hustle- she notched a couple of blocks and some good loose ball recoveries. Nailah Delinois used her bulk to push defenders around and get into the paint. Katie Jekot drove the lane and couldn't hit. Lula Roig got into foul trouble which took her out of rhythm and never allowed her to get started. I think that helped us get on top of them early and stay on top. There was a definite lack of discipline with St. Joe's that got them rung up for charges on a regular basis, usually at the most inconvenient times.

I love Selena Philoxy dearly, but one of these days you're going to find me in a corner with concussion symptoms and heavy bruising on my forehead, and this will be because I have facepalmed at her too hard. I love her energy. I love her hustle. I love when she's able to safely bring the ball in to her teammates. But she commits a ridiculous number of fouls and half the time when she grabs the ball on the glass she ends up tipping it out of bounds instead. Jasmine Smith extended the offense, but unsuccessfully. Victoria Keenan will get her basket someday. Alexia Allesch is tall. I think I'd like to see more of Kailah Harris to see if she can produce.

Come to think of it, I might just have rolled with Whitney Howell as a starter and seen what she could do against the Hawks' posts. In the worst case scenario, you'd bench her and proceed with the plan Seton Hall eventually went with. She managed a couple of rebounds in her brief minutes. Barbara Johnson got physical and got tough. She set up Desiree Elmore on a play beautifully. Des had herself a day. She plays so much longer than her height. I don't know if it's vertical or long arms or what, but she gets way more rebounds than it seems she should.

I love Alexis Lewis, but sometimes I forget just how streaky she can be, and how determined she is to live by the adage that "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". When she's on, she's a one-woman wrecking crew, but when she's off, she just keeps on going. She was off in this one, and it was painful to watch. Mya Jackson had a nifty steal that she turned into a fast break lay-up. Lauren Park-Lane's passing vision continues to amaze me for her age. I know she's from Delaware, but if you told me she was kin to either Didi or Daisha Simmons, I would absolutely believe it. I know those are names one does not bandy about lightly at Seton Hall.

This was an offensively challenged game, to say the least, perhaps even in honor of our hosts. It's hard to find a lot to say about it, especially at this point. Our execution needs to be better, but at least our defense did enough to keep St. Joe's from scoring. We also need reliable size, because Alexis Lewis, Center At Not Particularly Large, does not spark joy. Yes, I know Shadeen Samuels was out, and that does terrible things to our post play, but we still need some height.

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November 13th, 2019: Lafayette at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's started strong and kept the lead up in a 76-44 win against Lafayette to open the home schedule. Qadashah Hoppie led all scorers with 22 points. Alexis Santarelli led Lafayette with 14 points and five rebounds.

For trying to get back in the groove, physical posts, and the fly in the ointment, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.


Good evening! We come to you on an entirely too-cold night from the cozy confines of the redecorated Carnesecca Arena, as St. John's opens the season against Lafayette.

Men's soccer is in the Big East tournament against Providence (and has scored at least one goal) so attendance is scanty, to say the least. Most of the Usual Suspects, SJU Edition, are passionate enough about all Red Storm sports that they're at the soccer game and will be coming sometime after that finishes. So band appears to consist of one guy with a drumset, cheer appears to consist of four people, and dance has, like, two representatives. Well, guess we're going to have to work a little harder. Okay. Emergency reserve band has been revealed.

The new banners are very modern. The place still has that new vinyl smell. I don't know if I like them yet. Something rubs me the wrong way about having the Final Four banners and the NIT banners center-hung, but I realize I'm being irrational about this.

Magnetic schedules are pretty sharp. Already grabbed one for the door. The posters also look good, though that gets grabbed on autograph day and no sooner. I like that they're not the same design as the men, although a running motif with a coach that likes to slow down the offense is either misleading or indicates that Joe has maybe stopped playing scared.

At the end of the first, it's 22-14 St. John's. Qadashah Hoppie has gone nuts with 11 already. Defense looks good early. Yeah, the field goal percentage doesn't show it because when Lafayette has the ball long enough to get a shot, they can get a good shot. But we're doing work making sure they don't have the ball in the first place.

It's 39-25 Johnnies at the half. The freshmen need work, which makes sense this early in the season. Alexis Santarelli of Lafayette is probably not going to have a lot of friends in Queens by the end of the night.

So if a St. John's alumna who works for another Big East team shows up to a St. John's game, is she doing it in a personal or a professional capacity? Asking for a friend, or at least someone who says hi at games. (Meanwhile, I almost swallowed my Tootsie Roll whole {this is not a euphemism, it's medicinal} when I saw Curteeona Brelove approaching the bench with a warm-up shirt on, but it was one of last year's shirts and she kept going.

The rec life halftime game was plagued with turnovers, but hey, there were dunks, so there are people who almost certainly think it's inherently better than D-1 action.

I'm not sure what to make of Lafayette, except that they seem to know that they have tall, physical post players and want to use that to their advantage. Against a team that doesn't run a trap, or against teams that aren't as good defensively, they might be able to get their pick and roll action going on a more regular basis, and they might be able to use those screens to get their three-point shooters open more often. We are not that team.

Makaila Wilson was able to take advantage of her size in the post and put in some buckets- either she had a shorter defender on her or she had Kadaja Bailey, who couldn't make the turn with her in the paint. Jiselle Havas didn’t see a long stretch of time in one shot until the second half, at which point she and Tiana England seemed to be having some polite disagreements. Sydney Sabino saw time in the second and fourth quarters, though it was hard to tell sometimes (our PA guy needs to step up his game on substitution announcements). Tasha Vipond picked up mop-up minutes.

The stats aren’t great for her, and admittedly she got wrecked by the press, but I thought Sarah Agnello actually played pretty well. She looked the most in control of any of Lafayette's guards. The others were not particularly notable, especially at this late stage. (The catching up has been a nightmare.)

Alexis Santarelli definitely threw her weight around down low. She was able to get baskets close to the rim on offense and make space for her teammates with screens, some rather harder than others. Same deal with Natalie Kucowski, with somewhat less success. They brought a level of physicality to the floor that we couldn't match, even as we outplayed them on the rest of the floor.

So we got to see some of the deep bench in the fourth quarter, and the freshmen definitely need some work. Cecelia Holmberg doesn't have a sense where she needs to be on defense. Sophia Nolan made no impact. Emma Nolan got some good run, but she needs to be less scared to shoot. I don't know how many times we were yelling for her to shoot the ball. She forced three jump balls, and Lafayette had the arrow every time. Points for hustle, but a little help from the universe would be nice.

Unique Drake looks like she's fitting in pretty well. She wasn't spectacular, but I like her driving ability, and she didn't seem to be making too many mistakes. Honestly, sometimes that's what you want to see out of a freshman. I love the energy Leilani Correa brought on defense. She and Alissa Alston ran the backcourt trap and press to perfection. It gave me warm and fuzzy flashbacks of our old defenses. Shamachya Duncan hit a three and the squad rejoiced. Mascot is too strong and too dismissive a word for who she is to this team, but it's clear that she's their favorite.

There is a large part of me that loves Alissa Alston's policy of full body sacrifice, of going hard for loose balls and taking every possible charge. There is another large part of me that wants to scream, "Please stop breaking yourself, Alissa!" every time she measures her length on the hardwood. She's reckless and sometimes a little bit stupid, but I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it. So she'll be the Johnnies' entry in the "most likely to concuss your intrepid blogger via facepalm" contest. Tiana England had a nifty steal that she turned into a fast break lay-up, which makes me wonder why she doesn't do this more often. We keep blaming Joe for the team's tendency to slow things up, but there are times when I think it really is T's problem. Faster is better with this squad. Qadashah Hoppie bombed threes all night and kept the pressure on Lafayette. When she's on, she's so much fun to watch.

Alisha Kebbe continues to be rock solid and an all-around star. I love what she brings to the floor. Kadaja Bailey was the only real disappointment to me in this game. She was consistently a step slow on defense, she took bad shots, she couldn't get a hold of rebounds- basically, it seemed like wherever something went wrong, she was there. I know that sounds like a terrible thing to say, and I'm probably exaggerating. But she did not look good, and that worries me. She's a stud, or at least she has the potential to be one, if she uses it properly.

We've got to be better at dealing with physical contact. We have size, and we have players who are physical, but the Venn diagram of those two characteristics is a pair of non-congruent circles at the moment. Lafayette took advantage of that with their posts, and if a middling Patriot team can do that, then I don't know how we're going to deal with Mary Baskerville or Mary Gedaka.

That all being said, we have a lot of firepower if we just use it, and we have a level of depth we haven't had in years. I'm looking forward to seeing how this team develops.

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