December 6th, 2008: Marshall at Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 73, Marshall Thundering Herd 52

Marshall is outclassed, Seton Hall forces trips to the line, and Patti Fernandes rocks the Game Notes' world.


That was very much a classic example of what should happen, all other things being equal, when a C-USA team visits a BEast team. Maybe the mid-major makes it interesting for a while, then the major conference team turns up the jets and blows the doors off the mid-major, beating them with depth and/or better players.

I'll be honest here. Marshall's not a very good team. I think they're in over their heads in C-USA. There are flashes of moments from some players, but there are a lot of fundamental flaws on that team- the discipline is questionable, most of the shooting forms are abominable, the passing isn't all that great. Maybe that can be excused by a good team having a bad day. There's just something that doesn't sit right with me about them. I do like the Brit they have, Chantelle Handy. If she can get her shots to go down and learn to be a little more aggressive on the boards, she'll have a better shot at making a name for herself. Alyssa Hammond has similar potential and similar problems (though she really doesn't have a national team to shoot for the way Handy does). And other than the tactless tackle at the end of the game, I liked Rashedah Henriques- she seemed to have her head in the game in a way that most of her teammates didn't. Casey Baker had a nice pass to Hammond and a nifty steal in the first half. Tynikki Crook fouled out really quickly, which is probably why we saw so much of Hammond. Barnette shot a lot and lost her temper near the end of the game. Whoever arranged for 5'0" Tania Walters and 6'7" Kamille Lisonbee to take their practice shots next to each other has a strange sense of humor. I found it amusing that the team got more pumped from the Seton Hall band than Seton Hall did. Amping the crowd up: ur doin it wrong.

Nicole Emery, good Lord. She threw down three blocks and almost had a fourth, some of them quite authoritative, one that ended with her recovering the ball and taking it coast to coast for the layup. Suh-weet. And the rest of her offensive game wasn't bad either. Noteisha Womack had her double-double, but scout's honor, three of those twelve rebounds were off her own misses on one possession. She looks like a baller, and I know she is a baller, but this wasn't the best game I've seen from her. I was, however, extremely impressed with the freshman Kandice Green. Off the bench, she really gave the Hall a spark. Yeah, she made a couple of freshman mistakes, but freshmen do that kind of thing, and I think she has the potential to be their next star player once Womack graduates. What I liked about both Emery and Green today was that they got to the line. Especially when going into BEast play, they're going to need those calls and those free throws to have a fighting chance against the rest of the middle of the pack. Kashmere Joseph appears to have improved from the last time I saw her, but that's not saying very much. She's lost the chip on her shoulder, but she also looks like she put on weight. Unfortunately, they really don't have much size behind her, because Whitney Wood looks like a project at best. Shantel Brown still runs that offense quietly and somewhat efficiently, though Baker made her life hell. Jadis Rhodin, whose perimeter shooting has always given me nightmares, put the dagger in, and Green's first make was off a dandy pass from her. Great hands by Womack and Brown on the defensive end, too.

We originally thought the crew chief was DeMayo, which only would have been funny because that would have been the third game I saw him at this season, and I'd start to wonder. I did recognize one of the linesmen from the Stony Brook game, Patti Fernandes, which was a good thing- the Stony Brook game was exceptionally well called. This one wasn't quite as well-officiated- a few blatant infractions and fouls went uncalled, and they seemed to bring the hammer down on Marshall once the Herd got into the penalty, but again, they caught a lot of the stuff that doesn't usually get caught, and the communication was excellent. They weren't afraid to confer with each other to make sure the call was right. Perhaps Fernandes will get her own crew in the near future?

I can see why Seton Hall plays well at home. The way things are set up, at least for the first half, the opposition is driving into the teeth of a ruckus from the cheerleaders, the mascot, the Seton Hall bench, and- when allowed- the band. It's a tight, close, space. Of course, this doesn't really explain why Marshall ended the first half with a lead, or why they so completely imploded in the second. But I can imagine what Walsh Gym must be like when it's full- wow. Not quite a cauldron of noise, if only because it's too small to be a proper cauldron, but that place must rock when it's full. And they've been redoing it a bit, as much as they can, given that it's an ancient facility nestled in a new building. There's much shiny to be had. If you're in the area, I'd really recommend checking out a game sometime- I'd recommend either Colorado on December 9th, Notre Dame on January 3rd, or Marquette on January 10th- all of those promise to be very interesting matchups.

Yes, I’m still a St. John's fan. That doesn't mean I can't shill for other teams. I'm a fan of the game first.