December 4th, 2007: Massachusetts at St. John's

St. John's Red Storm 84, Massachusetts Minutewomen 68

Sky Lindsay brings it, UMass doesn't, and Tiina Sten needs to tone down the bleach.


I have a habit of looking for parallels and similarities in everything, so it's no surprise that I thought there were some distinct echoes of Maryland-Rutgers in the UMass-St. John's game. One team got up big early, but couldn't hold the lead and watched the score do a complete turnaround, and while they put up some points to narrow the margin, they just couldn't get over the hump. Granted, there was a major talent differential between the two teams on the floor at St. John's; the run by St. John's came in the second quarter (actually, right around the time my mom got in the building, hmmm), the lead was taken and then some by halftime, and the lead was a lot larger throughout the entire game. The ladies showed a bit of grit and a whole lot of Skyyyyyyyyyyyyy Lindsay.

UMass confuses me, if only because we had played BU the game before and UMass wears the same color scheme as BC. I don't know how many times I started to call them Boston before I reconsidered it. They have a big team that likes to take outside shots. I didn't understand why they were taking quite so many, myself, given that St. John's doesn't really have a lot of size, but maybe that's how they roll in the A-10. I don't know. Not my conference. There were some real shooters on that squad- Stefanie Gerardot had a lovely shot to watch from a pure aesthetic standpoint. Pam Rosenio- who looked a lot taller and bigger than 5-10 on the court- would probably have been even more of a difference-maker if she'd been driving all game, and it wasn't like she wasn't going inside, even. Lot of strength on her frame, and no fear- she was one of two Massachusetts players who had to wear a facemask (the other was Teya Wright, who pronounces it Tia and thus had to have caused anyone who was calling the game all kinds of headaches). The player who impressed me most, though, was Sakera Young, who didn't start, but I get the sense that it was a disciplinary non-start, because she started the second half. Such quick hands, great court sense, no fear, a snappy passer, and very mixed on the offensive end, that being the only big problem with her game. Mom and I both thought she reminded us of Spoon, though she's much more wiry than Spoon. The A-10 isn't a gimme conference, not by a long shot, and I think Massachusetts, if they can avoid the fumble-fingers and play more to their strengths, can do well for themselves this year.

Whatever Sky did to put more spin on her shot worked last night like a charm. I love shooters with a high arc, like K.B. Sharp, and Sky's got quite the rainbow on her jumper. Makes it more unpredictable for rebounding purposes, I would imagine- good thing she's reasonably accurate! She and Monique form a very formidable tandem of scorers, and they see each other well on the floor. I hope this state of affairs continues- I know Sky's got a reputation for not playing well with others, and I can't see her being the lead dog this year and next, not with Kia and Monique. As it is, though, both Sky and Monique found ways to make their own shots and find space to put up shots that went in. They were 16-25 combined and hit their free throws- that's an offensive line that would make anyone drool, methinks. Kelly needs to be ready for Sky's passes and/or Sky needs to take some of the mustard off- two or three passes went off Kelly's hands for turnovers. Not cool. She's still a good shooter, but I've mentioned before that I like her hustle at the boundaries of the court- she wants the ball, she wants to maintain possession, and she'll fight to do so. Tiina needs to lay off the bleach- she's a natural blonde, but she's been enhancing it, and unfortunately, at the same time she's been having some ultimate blonde moments. It's almost like she stole Allie's brain fog. Joy started off slow and seeming half-asleep, which surprised and did not please me, but she did eventually wake up- I'll have to look at the stat sheet to see if there's any marker that coincides her waking up with the team's big first half run, or if she followed the team's example for a change instead of trying to make them follow her example. Alas, she has finally fallen behind in my favorite bizarre stat of the season- through the first six games, she had forced more turnovers (9) than she had committed (7). But 1/4 last night puts her at 10 steals and 11 TOs. I thought our bench played exceptionally well last night. Kia made so many plays happen- 6/0 A/TO makes me a happy Stormie. If Kelly doesn't get her shit together, we'll be starting a small lineup with Monique at the three, Sky at the two, and Kia at the one, and the Big East should quake at the thought. Recee and Coco were both key to neutralizing, or at least countering, the pressure that UMass brought inside- Recee is our only legit big at this point, with Victoria still hobbling around on crutches, and Coco is a fighter in the same mold as Joy. Recee made a lot of good things happen in the second half when UMass was thinking about coming back, hitting her shots inside and getting big rebounds- there was a steal that Monique was credited with but that Recee essentially forced. We got to see more of Kristin, which makes me happy- she's a steady ballhandler, and she'll look for her shot. She brings a different look. Near the end of the game, Coach finally cleared her bench- I think Nikki Jo had an assist and Sheree got to score!

I love the way this team plays together. Coach seems to emphasize togetherness- there's a lot of huddling/everybody touch hands in the air now kind of stuff. Maybe that's why we've had so many players- or it seems to be so many players- leave in the last few years, but the ones who decided to remain have bought into it. They seem to care about each other. They take care of each other. They support each other. That's the kind of team that it's a pleasure and a privilege to be a fan of. I just hope it doesn't fade if we start getting more star-type recruits, the kind that wouldn't have even considered St. John's once, but see our success and want to be in on it.