July 20th, 2003: Indiana at New York

New York Liberty 73, Indiana Fever 65

Elena Baranova makes more than a cameo, the English language suffers terrible abuse, and the Game Notes wish Coquese Washington were still on the Liberty.


The real Elena Barrrrrrrrrranova has arrived. Y'all on notice now.

Nooooo!! Suuuuue has been corrupted by the ebil that is the cell phone! Oh, gods, if someone as good as Sue cannot resist the ebil, there is no hope for this world, none at all. Yes, Kate, I regret to inform you that you're missing a game blessed by the presence of Sue. Hey, stalking the Liberty has its disadvantages. I got to chill with your peeps, though, so that was good. My favorite pregame moment has been, so far, when two of my friends offered their own Doritos to one of the Garden food vendors. And then I thought Indiana had cloned Erin. Then i realized that that was Kelly Schumacher. Jeez, depth perception problem much up here?

Aw. Becky and Sue are having a moment. And Sue is making Becky laugh. This is good. Becky needs to laugh, and Sue is the right person to make that happen. And Sue’s girlfiriend was nice enough to vamoose so they could have their blonde moment. Becky is garbed in long khaki shorts and a couple of white shirts. Beyond that it gets kinda vague. Hey, I think I have those shorts in white! Poor kid has to crutch all the way across the Garden floor. She looks very pained.

Did I ever mention that we really miss Coquese? She burned her defender (K.B?) for a three a little while ago. When you think about it, Indiana has a really deep bench if they can bring out Coquese, Nikki McCray, and Kelly Schumacher, all of whom have won championships at at least one level in this game. Elena actually landed on her butt at one point. I was very impressed. Go Elena! Elena be hustling her butt off! (Okay, I’m done abusing the English language now.)

Schumacher is some rebounder. And we had a Linda sighting! Go Fro! Hustle thy butt off! Wow. Holy guacamole with a double order of nachos, Lindsey’s coming in too! I guess whatever that lady said at the pregame gathering worked- she wanted him to play Fro’ and ‘Saki more. Linda’s family is actually in town to see her. She’s provided them with instant gratification, scoring on her first shot as the shot clock expired. *applause* Alas, the youth movement isn’t putting up the points. Richie’s bringing the starters back in. Too bad. Well, it was nice to see you, kids. The problem is that Indiana’s been burning up the nets from beyond the arc. I think they might be doing a zone, and it’s not working.

Sigh. Halftime now, and Coretta Brown just scored two runners in the paint to give Indiana a three-point lead, after Crystal hit two free throws to give the Liberty a one-point lead. Tamika Catchings has been a surprising non-factor so far. Emphasize the so far. Has Catchings ever had two bad halves in a row? It’s been the role players who have keyed Indiana’s success- Coquese, Schuey, and Coretta Brown, along with the starter Rasmussen. For the Liberty, it seems as if someone’s finally found Crystal’s on-switch and flipped it to the ‘on’ position. Please God, let it remain jammed that way all season. VJ hasn’t shot well, but she’s done everything else well, as she always does. We’ve got a whole passel of hustle out there, but it’s not turning into puntaje. We just need a little more defense. Just a little, little more…

Gah! An incredible pass by VJ and finish by Tari just got nullified by a lousy screen by Tamika which left VJ in the teeth of a nasty double-team and caused a turnover. They *do* know that they can’t afford to fuck this one up, right? Tamika Catchings is handing them a golden opportunity, and they’re screwing it up most merrily.

Elena! Elena! Elena rules! Elena’s been making it happen and Tamika’s watching her basketball life flash before her eyes. Poor Miko. In a way, I feel bad for her; it’s not her fault she’s not three inches taller and trained in the ways of international basketball. Then again, if she would work her butt off and do her job, maybe she wouldn’t be at the end of the bench and looking like a week of thunderstorms. I’m amused by the conversation that Spoon and Elena were having while Crystal shot her free throws; they seemed oblivious to everything until Crystal swished the second one. But Indiana’s making this one dicier than it needs to be with their three-point shooting. And New York is proving that it’s just a reflex to throw VJ passes that are nearly impossible to catch. And once again we’ve outrebounded our opponent.

Ah, I like this feeling of going home from a Liberty game elated and tired in a good way. We need to do it more often. Solid, solid game for la Libertad. Tari was one point away from a double-double, Crystal found the on-switch, Spoon found a little offense, and we even got to see the bench mob. VJ didn’t score so much- and isn’t it a strange game when Spoon scores more than VJ?- but she once again proved why she’s so indispensable. And the defense! I haven’t even talked about the defense that held Catchings to 12 points and five boards. They paid a small price by being nibbled to death by the role players, but they held on enough to win the game. This is good. For Indiana, I found Schumacher, Rasmussen, Coquese, and Coretta Brown all very impressive. Indiana has a very flexible team that can transform in the blink of a substitution- they can grind you, they can run you, and they can keep you from scoring. I think that’s part of why they’re so wonderful.

But there’s almost always bad news. Tamika. Not Catchings. She spent most of the game on the bench, looking intensely pissed off at the universe. Mamacita thinks that Miko might be on the trading block, but I don’t think that’s likely unless Elena commits to play for the Liberty next season instead of Russia, and that’s not going to happen. Still, I might see a deal happening if we can get a bruiser; I think if a deal went down, Erin or K.B. would be a throw-in. This road trip is going to be so crucial in so many ways. We’re going to need to at least split it, and Tamika’s going to need to have at least one good game out of the lot. Kate, I expect detailed game reports from you when you travel. (By the way, can I bring my mom when you take me to dinner?)

Unwanted Midriff Sightings: VJ, C-Rob, and either Rasmussen or Schumacher.