Sunday, March 29, 2009

March 29th, 2009: Arizona State at Texas A&M (NCAA tournament)

Arizona State Sun Devils 84, Texas A&M Aggies 69

Takia Starks presses, but Tanisha Smith impresses, and Briann January takes over.


So, to the credit of the UConn fans, many of them stayed around for the first half of the second game. They were in strange company. Here's a sampling of the gear we saw while surveying the arena. Bear in mind that while some of these are local schools, others are... not.

"Excuse me, sir/ma'am, but you're in the wrong region/round": Maryland, Tennessee, Prairie View, Notre Dame, Villanova, Virginia, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Texas, Pittsburgh, Duke, Rutgers, UNC, Temple

"Excuse me, sir/ma'am, but you're in the wrong tournament": Boston College, Georgetown, Syracuse, St. Francis, Penn State, Princeton, Penn, Mount St. Mary's, Clemson, UCLA

"Excuse me, sir/ma'am, but you're in the wrong division": Caldwell, TCNJ, Pace

"Excuse me, you're doin' it so very wrong": the guy in the Sonics jersey.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you want to die?!": the women in the shirts celebrating Summitt's thousandth win. In Rutgers country. Surrounded by UConn fans. In one of the foulest cities on the East Coast. I wouldn't be surprised if they *hadn't* gotten back alive.

"Excuse me, you're doin' it awesome": the Lobo jersey that was not mine, the old school UConn #23, the Sun cap, McHuskyfan and JJ.

Now that we've done a survey of the crowd, on to the game. Major style points off for the ASU mascot running around without his head on. If you're not going to have it on the whole time, don't come out in the mascot jersey. Liked the ASU band, though. Upbeat and very much into the game. A&M didn't seem quite as loud, but it was hard to tell, given that they were at the other end of the arena, and unlike Cal's band, I hadn't heard them before. The maroon velour was interested for the A&M dance team, but they bore an unfortunate resemblance to harem girls.

I'm selling my draft stock for Danielle Gant. She put up a nice line, but she's not gonna be able to pull those moves off at the next level, and I don't think there's that much room for defensive specialists on the 11-woman rosters. I think Starks let the importance of the game get to her a bit- she seemed to be pressing a bit, though that might have to do with A&M's style as much as anything else. (Is #3 a coincidence, or is she into bad puns?) Micheaux's weird hairstyle kept distracting me from her game, and when that didn't do the trick, her attempt at Lisa Leslie shorts did, especially since she had the Charde Houston saddlebagged shorts going on. Didn't much care for her. Was very impressed with Tanisha Smith, though. Nice shot, great defense. She was all over the place. White and Carter also left good impressions.

Who knew I'd been pronouncing Briann wrong all these years? I get the feeling a lot of people are going to learn the proper pronunciation very soon. Big game for her. She kept the ball rolling for that busy Sun Devil team. Engelbrecht actually shot. I think I heard caune dying of shock from my seat. Sybil Dosty looks like and plays like a woman who would like to know what the hell her parents were thinking when they named her Sybil. She gave them a really good first half. Lacey gave them a really good boost off the bench, for a given value of bench, since Arizona State plays everyone but the team managers. Orsillo showed a great knack for getting to the basket and drawing fouls. Lots and lots of really good bench play. And I approve of any team with a Becca, especially when Becca Tobin played well and did honor to the name. I have to admit, especially as late as this is, it's hard keeping track of everyone. Especially when there are so many numbers, and they're white numbers on yellow jerseys, which, no, just no. I liked the one Sparky was wearing better. Can we go back to the maroon for the sake of my virgin eyes.

It was a very interesting game, with an exciting pace, but damn, it was sloppy. Whether that was forced slop or speed slop, I don't know enough to tell. A lot of great defensive reads by both teams.

Dim recollection of confusing officiating, but the box score tells me Michael Price was involved, so -_- this is my surprised face.

I think Arizona State will at least make the UConn game entertaining, if not competitive. I certainly *hope* they make it competitive. I love Cinderella stories.

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March 29th, 2009: California at UConn (NCAA tournament)

UConn Huskies 77, California Golden Bears 53

Tiffany Hayes goes off, Geno Auriemma outcoaches Joanne Boyle, and drama is brief.


Well, that was a very good half by Cal. Shame they couldn't keep it up, but most teams can't quite keep up with the Huskies, so it's not exactly a surprise. But it was a glorious, exciting half.

We were in the endcourts, seven rows up, which souds great until you learn that Sovereign Bank Arena was built primarily as a hockey arena and the boards are permanently fixed. There was a lot of space between the front row and the court. Room enough for a large track and two band pits. Nice, but a bit frustrating. We were in the middle of a mixed bag of fans- UConn fans in front of us, Cal fans a couple of rows behind, people in maroon to our right, a ow of Rutgers shirts in the front of the section, and I don't want to know where or why or how the woman in the "Feed the Turtle" Maryland shirt ended up in there. But there were a lot of misplaced fans- but we'll get to that at intermission.

UConn band did the anthem. They did a credible job with it, though I'm not that fond of the steady drum backbeat arrangement (it's one of the things I hate about the Red Storm's rendition). Major points to the UConn band for not needing sheet music, just the prompt sheet from their director. And Cal always brings good band. I think what I like about them is that when they play a tune, it's actually recognizable as the song it's supposed to be. It's not distorted the way most marching bands are.

I really like Ashley Walker, but I think her size is going to be a disadvantage. She did a great job working against Tina Charles, but I don't know if she can do it night in and night out. Great game today for her. I hope Devanei Hampton is getting her degree in something applicable to the real world, because she was really moving awkwardly out there. I know she was never that fast, but she just couldn't keep up, and her shots were crap. Vital was trying too hard, especially in the second half. She was really forcing the offense. Ditto for Gray-Lawson, who hit some shots early like she was trying to restore the Lawson family honor, but who faded down the stretch. Greif didn't get involved much at all. Neither did the Cal bench- Boyle substituted very sparingly, and I think that was a major problem for them in the second half- their key cogs just didn't have the juice left to run with the Huskies.

And Geno did a great job adjusting, too. There's a reason the man's WCBA COY and his team's undefeated. He started the second half big with McLaren for Greene, and that just completely choked off Cal's inside play. No inside play, no points, no rebounds, and it becomes a helluva lot easier to collapse on the outside shooters. Bam. Of course, the fact that Tiffany Hayes had a career game could not possibly have hurt either. She was hitting shots all over the place, setting up her teammates, and I didn't realize how fast she was until she hit the jets like she was at Daytona on a fast break. And then people kept losing Maya Moore in the second half, and I'm screaming words to the effect of "HOW THE FUCK DO YOU NOT GUARD MAYA FUCKING MOORE?! Cal should b smarter than this!" Montgomery is smaller than I thought. Wasn't impressed with her decision-making, but I guess I didn't have to be. Offensively, Charles wasn't much of a factor, though she and McLaren set good screens to get the guards free, but defensively and on the boards, the big Huskies were bigger than the big Golden Bears.

There were a lot of UConn fans in the house. In other news, the sun rose in the east. They really do a great job of taking over arenas and bringing their customs along (which didn't exactly thrill the boy- see remark above about UConn fans in front of us, and consider that Husky fans stand until the first basket). Good pockets of support for Cal, too. For some reason, the RU fans got behind them. Yes, a lot of people in Scarlet- they'd bought those tickets and they were going to use them, gosh darn it. And since the last major sticking point in shared neutral space for UConn and RU is conference loyalty (see: Storrs pod), the Scarlet stuck with the Blue and Gold.

Inconsistent refereeing, but I'm too tired to bitch. Besides, the difference in the game was UConn adjusting and Cal... not... not the officiating. I hate praising UConn, both because it goes against my grain as a hater of hype and because I'm a Rutgers fan, but there's a reason they're undefeated. Several reasons. And they showed 'em all off against Cal in the second half.

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

March 26th, 2009: Boston College at St. John's (WNIT)

Boston College Eagles 68, St. John's Red Storm 64

The Red Storm go out fighting, Carolyn Swords swings a mean pair of arms, and Stefanie Murphy owns the paint.


If it had to end, I'm glad it ended this way, on our home floor, knowing that we left it all out there in a game that was hard-fought to the last seconds. It's better this way.

Very disappointing crowd. I don't think the rain helped, and St. John's is genuinely crap at promoting events. BC brought some very loud fans, which only spurred the student section and the few, the proud, and the random to get even louder. Also, loved Crawley's suit. Considering the perfect fit and the fact that it matched her team colors, I'm going to guess that it was specially tailored. Well done.

The band did not suck tonight. This is some kind of miracle, but small miracles like that were in plentiful supply tonight. Of course, it figures that they'd save one of their better performances for the last game of the season. ;)

Carolyn Swords appears to have found her cojones. Now, if she'd just stop feeling them, she'd be twice as effective. She picked up four fouls I this game, and three of them were offensive. And they were nasty offensive fouls, too- I'm not sure Coco's seeing straight after that elbow she took to the face in the first half. She turns interesting shades of red- not quite Richie Adubato red, but definitely interesting colors. Stefanie Murphy was the difference-maker for the Eagles. Off the top of my head, I can think of four offensive rebounds that she went up and put back in. We just couldn't stop her. Da'Shena tried, Joy tried, Coco tried, Recee tried, and rarely were they effective. Constant double-teams and ball-hawking made Mickel Picco a non-factor- except that the people defending her then couldn't defend anyone else, which led to open shots for Thoman and Brown. Whitehurst off the bench was a defensive presence- in general, those big forwards and center for BC clogged the paint, which really fucked up our offense, and if we can't make that quick entry pass inside, we really don't know what to do next. Though we were trying to run them so that Swords would continue to turn those interesting colors, Crawley answered by going deep into her bench. They fed the post and crashed the boards, and ta-dah, they came away with the win.

But not without some friggin' amazing shots from St. John's. Sheree Ledbetter opened the scoring for the Red Storm with a deep heave to beat the shot clock. I think she was just as surprised as we were that it went in. And then there was Kelly McManmon's touch-pass putback as the shot clock was winding down, and then there was Britney Murphy's three near the end of the game, which banked off the glass and bounced off the back iron before going in. I'm really not making any of this up. But I'm worried about my girl Joy. Well, I'd be worried if we had more of a season coming up, but since we don't, she has the rest of the year until November to shake herself out of this slump, whatever it is, and I'm pretty sure she can manage that. She's still making a lot of the defensive plays I love her for, but for the last few games, she didn't contribute much on the offensive end. Kelly seems scared to shoot. Come out of your shell, Kelly! We need you! Sky really stepped it up on both ends of the floor, shooting, stealing, and blocking. I'm starting to think she's going to be our big game player for the next couple of years, and I hope she helps Da'Shena develop that kind of nerve. Da'Shena seemed out of sorts, and that might have had to do with the pressure, or that might have had to do with trying to defend those BC behemoths at one end and having them breathing down her neck on the other. Sheree continues to try and make things happen by being in the right place at the right time, with the mixed results you'd expect from a sophomore thrown into the starting lineup after the star senior decides to be a spectacular dumbass. (No, if you think I'm letting McLean off, even now, think again.) The bench played very well for us. Recee pulled her weight in the second half, though I'm starting to be annoyed at how often she goes to the fadeaway instead of taking a simple jumper. Britney got her feet under her. Coco, though her accomplishments won't show up in the boxscore, had a very good game. I'm rough on her, but she was in the right place at the right time a lot of the time.

Who did Bonita Spence and Denise Brooks piss off to get stuck working the WNIT? Not too many bad calls, and surprisingly few travels, given Bonita's propensities. I hope to see this crew, together or in parts, working in Trenton, because if we get stuck with incompetents like Enterline and Price while this crew's working the second-rate tournament, I will scream, and I will scream so loudly that the Scarlet faithful in Oklahoma City will perk up their ears at the cry of one of their own.

So after two false starts, this really is goodbye to Carnesecca for the year. This really was the end of the line. I'll miss my collegiate home court, the place I call my home base no matter how far afield I wander. I'll miss my friendly security guys, who are used to me and my mom and make small talk when we go through their inspections. I'll miss our DJ, no matter how many times he plays the same songs over again and misses the cues half the time. I miss the nice lady at the concession stand who always serves me when I get my pretzel or nachos. I'll miss the televisions, even when they're not on.

I'll miss Kelly's parents, who stubbornly trucked in from Massachusetts for every game, especially Kelly's friendly, optimistic mom. I'll miss Sky's mom, whose big hair, bigger boots, and even bigger personality make it very clear where Sky gets her personality (and rhythm). I'll miss our one-man noise section (though to be fair to SJU, more people did show up in the student section for some of the later games)- he may not have been very innovative, but he was loud and passionate.

So I guess it's time to say goodbye. Thanks for two years, Kristin Moore. You brought a steady hand to an unsteady backcourt, and your toes-forward, ball-behind-the-head jumper is one of my favorite shots ever. I'd have liked to see more of you, both in terms of minutes and in terms of years. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

And... I guess, yeah. Thanks for three and a half brilliant years, Monique McLean, even if I do want to take a clipboard to your head right now. When you were on, you really were Little Sista Christon, and you really could have been drafted. Such a beautiful shot, such a sense of style, such a clutch player. Why did you have to go fuck it all up a month and a half before your NCAA career was scheduled to end? As the case may be, try not to be a fuckwit in the future, and good things may very well happen to you.

The rest of you? I'll see you in November, with your new friends. Thanks for the ride, Sky, Day, Britney, V, Kelly, Joy, Coco, Sheree, and Recee. As always, it's been a privilege flying with you.

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Monday, March 23, 2009

March 23rd, 2009: Rutgers at Auburn (NCAA tournament)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 80, Auburn Tigers 62

Rutgers plays a complete game, Epiphanny Prince puts on a show, and Brittany Ray and Heather Zurich put the screws to Auburn.


Holy shit, man. I mean. Holy shit. I didn't even think we were going to win this game, much less blow the hell out of Auburn. Maybe there was something in the air tonight. Maybe there was something in the water. Whatever it was, OMGYAY.

It's quite disconcerting to have Rutgers not be Rutgers and someone else be Rutgers. Hmm. Maybe that explains Auburn's offensive fail. They thought they were Rutgers. ;) (Because Auburn was the higher seed, they wore white and were treated as the home team, at least officially. But, well, as hard as Aubie, the cheereleaders, and the band tried, the Tiger faithful didn't have enough flags and signs to properly take over the RAC.)

I give Auburn's band the edge for coordination, synchronization, and repertoire. I give Rutgers the edge for extemporaneous enthusiasm. Auburn does have what's becoming one of my favorite cadences: a fast "D-up, D-up, D-up!" followed by three claps. It's an unusual rhythm. If I ever start my own franchise, that will be one of the scoreboard chants.

My word, that KeKe Carrier's a big woman, isn't she? Shame she doesn't have the endurance to play a full game. Fortner could have used her a lot more against Vaughn and Junaid. That forced Bonner into some really bad matchups, and though Bonner hit some amazing leaners in traffic (my viewing partner referred to those shots as "like shooting marbles" for someone of that height and lack of girth), that really took her out of her game, though the other big factor in her being out of her game is named Heather. Boddie looked out of sorts most of the night, though, again, the primary reason for that might have been wearing Scarlet. Smalley, though I absolutely love the quickness of her release, just couldn't hit water if she fell out of a boat today. Sherell Hobbs was really getting cranky. I was afraid she was gonna go after someone. Foul trouble kept Jackson and Hilliard from really getting into the flow of things, which was a major difference from the Lehigh game, since (at least in my mind) Hilliard was one of the best Tigers on the floor when they chewed up the Mountain Hawks. I think Fortner was just as disconcerted and confused as anyone that Rutgers was scoring so much, and didn't know how to adjust.

Epiphanny Prince stole the show with flashy offense, but Rutgers would not have won that game without the work of Brittany Ray and Heather Zurich. Ray was on Boddie, Zurich was on Bonner, and together they made life hell for the two Tigers. Bonner got very few uncontested shots, and she was almost scared to shoot at some points. And meanwhile, Zurich and Ray each put up 12 points. Solid game for Vaughn. Yes, a few of the usual "don't make me go down there and yank on your ponytail!" errors, but she did exactly what we needed her to do. Rushdan looked a little like she was forcing things, but she was nice to see on the break. Did have a freakout moment when she went down holding her knee, but she popped back up, so a sigh of relief was breathed. Stringer went all in for this game, with Junaid being the only reserve to see serious minutes to match up with Carrier- and for one stretch, go to a double-post lineup, with both Vaughn and Junaid in. It was interesting.

As Stringer pulled the seniors from the game with a minute left and RU firmly in control, the crowd started chanting Kia and Heather's names. It was a nice touch. It was also nice to see them goofing around on the bench. I like to see a team having fun, especially when they've just scored a big win. There's a time to be serious, and that wasn't really it.

Here's the move by Fortner that might well define how she coached this game: Rutgers is up 19-4, Carrier in the game. Stringer moves Junaid to the scorer's table to match Carrier almost immediately. Brittany Ray cans a three to extend the lead to 22-4. Fortner calls her second timeout of the half. Complete panic move, because if whatever you said when RU started 9-0 didn't work, it's not gonna work when you're down 22-4, and by calling time, that allows Junaid into the game to quickly counter Carrier's huge size advantage.

Officiating was... interesting. I think that might be the best word for it. There were a lot of odd calls, and a lot of make-up calls for the odd calls to try and even things out. I thought a tightly called game would be in Auburn's favor, since Rutgers is a more physical team, but it was fairly tightly called, and, well. If that was Auburn's favor, I shudder to think of what the margin would have been for a loosely called game.

My ears are still ringing. Have I mentioned that part yet? Because the RAC is an acoustic dream for noise from the stands.

We're going to need that Rutgers team in Oklahoma City, and we're going to need the bench to step up as the rounds wear on.

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

March 21st, 2009: VCU at Rutgers (NCAA tournament)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 57, VCU Rams 51

The Rams throw down, Epiphanny Prince takes over, and there's a whole lot of ugly going on.


*ding ding ding* Let the fight begin!

Rutgers is a hard-fighting, tough defensive team that isn't afraid to get physical. So is VCU. Anyone who didn't think this was going to be a rough game for either team clearly hadn't done their homework.

So what was it with the crazy #23s today? While I do like Jessica Taylor's ram's-horns hairdo, I thought she was going to attempt to kill someone by the end of the game. Maybe we can have her and Crites duke it out at halftime of the Rutgers-Auburn game for everyone's entertainment. Hollingsworth stepped it up in the second half for VCU, taking advantage of some of Vaughn's mental lapses. If Radislava Bacharova had been able to hit the broad side of a barn, I think VCU would have pulled the upset, but with Ray and Zurich taking turns in her face, she wasn't getting a lot of good shots, and most of the ones she did get didn't fall. Such is life. Waller couldn't hit a free throw to save her life, and she was really starting to get chippy by the end of the game. Lane did a good job controlling the Rams' offense. Rorie spent a lot of time in foul trouble, forcing VCU to go to their bench. (For that matter, Hollingsworth and her replacement Courtney Hurt [a very well-named young lady if ever I saw one] also spent a lot of time in foul trouble. It's a tribute to Cunningham's juggling ability that neither of them fouled out, though Rorie, whose trouble started this parenthetical aside, did.) A very physical team, a very physical game. Not much came easy for either team. Lot of elbows thrown, lot of hard screens, lot of bumps, lot of falls.

No, here's a slightly better illustration of how physical and hard it was: by the end of the game, Myia McCurdy was wearing #30 and Brittany Ray was wearing #40 because their real jerseys were bloodstained. (I thought Ray coming out in Linda Miles's #40 was a declaration of war, to be honest- "Okay, fine, you wanna hit? Well, guess what? We have people who can do that professionally. Bring it on.") But blood, sweat, and fistfights aside, this was Epiphanny Prince's game. When it got close, she pretty well decided that she wasn't letting this upset happen on her floor, and she turned on the jets. I keep forgetting, or maybe today was just exceptional, just how quick her hands are- she got a lot of her rebounds by stealing them away from bigger players, and then there were the straight-up steals on defense. Vaughn played all right, although I'm not enthusiastic about her constant forays out of the post on defense- she doesn't quite have the foot speed to make the cut back inside to get back on her assignment when the ball goes back inside. And if I start on the free throw shooting, I'm gonna barf all over the computer, and this computer's been through more than enough crap. Ray and Zurich had the busy tasks of stopping Hollingsworth's sidekicks, so any offense from them was a nice little bonus. Rushdan looks recovered (though there was one heart-stopping moment when she landed awkwardly and her braced knee bent oddly- she was fine, though), even if she couldn't quite keep control of the ball. McCurdy's giant, strappy knee brace makes her look like she's being assimilated by the Borg, starting at the bottom and moving up. It's actually kinda scary. Speed got some good minutes, and though she did make a questionable decision or two, she didn't play too badly, and with the RU freshmen, I'll take what I can get. (Baby steps. Baby steps. Not everybody can be Da'Shena Stevens. ;)) I'm terribly afraid I'm going to spend the next four years mixing up Lee and Pope unless one of them gets into high rotation. Junaid just didn't have her head in the game.

The refereeing in this game was loose and very inconsistent. I think the elbow-throwing/trash-talking incident that led to the two techs at the end could have been avoided if some of the other extracurriculars had been called beforehand. It seems like the refs are letting them play- at least that's the impression I got from the two games I saw- but there's letting them play and then there's letting them brawl. If that's the officiating style for the tournament, then I like Rutgers's chances against Auburn on Monday, because I don't think Auburn can bang that long unless Carrier stays miraculously out of foul trouble.

Shame on the fans behind the home bench for not showing up until the second game. That swath of seats that stayed empty throughout the first game, visible with every sweep of the camera, could not in any way have looked good.

Auburn versus Rutgers is going to be a very interesting game, and I look forward to seeing it. The strategy should be very, *very* exciting, but I'm a dork like that.

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Saturday, March 21, 2009

March 21st, 2009: Lehigh at Auburn (NCAA tournament)

Auburn Tigers 85, Lehigh Mountain Hawks 49

DeWanna Bonner impresses, the Auburn band rocks out, and at least Lehigh travels well.


What, you were expecting competitive balance in a 2-15 game? In the women's tournament? What do you think this is, 1998?

Auburn traveled surprisingly well for a team from Alabama- they had a lot of distance to cover. Lehigh traveled very well. They brought signs, and guys with body paint. It's tourney time, bay-bee!

Two very good bands with very different styles. Lehigh brought a traditional pep band and a lot of enthusiasm. Auburn went all brass, except for a drum kit. I liked them both, but I give Auburn the edge. They performed an excellent anthem.

Lehigh looked out of sync, out of sorts, and out of luck. Alex Ross couldn't get a lot of good shots, and the ones she did get mostly didn't go down. If they didn't have that, they didn't have much at all. Erica Prosser only really found her cojones in the second half, driving and either scoring or drawing fouls like Suzie McConnell-Serio had shoved game tape of Merlakia Jones down her throat. Haly Crites is nuts. I really thought she was gonna start a fight by the end of that game, as physically as she was playing. They really didn't get a lot from their starters, especially in the first half, when one of their reserves was tied for the team lead in scoring. I think they were genuinely stymied by Auburn's size and speed. Trying to think back on that game, I just get the mental image of a lot of brown blobs with ponytails. There were no spectacular plays by them. No phenomenal moves noted down. Just a lot of missed shots and turnovers.

DeWanna Bonner scares me a little. There's skinny, and then there's "did someone stretch her out on a rack before the game?", and Bonner is the latter. In terms of build and the way she moves, I found myself thinking of one of my Red Stormies, only Bonner is way taller. She's got some nice moves, a long lanky grace, and the ability to really screw with a team's game plan. Boddie's shooting is... yeah, I'm going to be diplomatic and go with "interesting" here. Good hands, though, especially on the defensive end today. Unfortunately, Lehigh's boxscore is fucked up, so I'm trying to match a bunch of random names to a bunch of random numbers and another bunch of names I don't know all that well. There's something I like about Chantel Hilliard, but I just can't put my finger on it. As you can tell, I say that a lot about players.

As you can also tell, it's been a very long night, and I'm tired, and I really don't remember much about this game, and honestly, I'm not sure I want to. I mean, there's only so much you can write about a 36-point ass-whipping, right?

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Friday, March 20, 2009

March 20th, 2009: Harvard at St. John's (WNIT)

St. John's Red Storm 83, Harvard Crimson 60

Da'Shena Stevens turns on the afterburners, and Red beats Crimson in a battle of shades.


I think what I am coming to love most about Da'Shena Stevens is that she is so damn determined never to lose. That's going to be so important in the next few years, assuming she doesn't make the same mistake as Kia Wright and let her emotions get the best of her.

Harvard brought a pretty decent-sized fan contingent. They brought signs. I couldn't help but think of the Eddie Izzard sketch. "Have you got a flag?" I think "Have you got a sign?" is the basketball roadie's equivalent. However, the guy that threw the rally towel back on the court is a jerk, and I curse him with a murrain.

The good news is that the horrible anthem singer of games past did not butcher the anthem. The bad news is that the St. John's band did. I think going to Ivy League games has spoiled me for fun marching bands.

Harvard, much like Dartmouth, has a lot of long, lanky players. Their offense mostly went through Emma Markley, who has the kind of aggressive presence I'm not used to seeing in the Ivy League. She wants the ball and isn't afraid to call for it. I like her. She made her mark on the game, no pun intended. I also really liked Emily Tay. She's got a nice build, she's got a nice shot, and she brings good on-ball defense. She had one wicked block in particular on what was going to be a great fast break for St. John's. Brogan Berry was the kind of pest you expect someone to be if they're six inches shorter than everyone else on the floor, not when they're five-eight. Christine Matera brought red-hot shooting off the bench, canning threes all over the place- she finished with four triples. Emma Moretzsohn somehow doesn't look intimidatingly huge, despite being 6'7" and therefore four inches taller than anyone else on the floor. I think it's because she's slightly built. Harvard has a very communicative team. I heard the players and the coaches being verbally involved with the game constantly. I like that a lot in basketball, and I think it encouraged our ladies to start talking to each other, which has been one of their major problems this season.

Off-court amusements: Coco's hair exploded. Sky gets her dance moves from her mother- it was particularly hilarious when they were both dancing to "Let It Rock". During one shot during shootaround, Sky came down really weirdly on one foot and just started cracking up.

Da'Shena started off hot, then cooled off, then decided, "Fuck this, I'm taking over." in the second half. Twenty points, all on two-pointers; not a bad haul, all things considered. Good hands, too. Not a great night for Joy, but it didn't have to be, with the minutes we got from Recee and Victoria. Yes, Victoria. I nearly fell off the bleachers when KBA brought V in with ten and a half minutes to go. And we all burst into wild applause and whoops of joy when she hit her first two shots and got fouled on both. The free throw shooting is a problem. Victoria, may I suggest hanging around Kelly for that? She's the only reliable FT shooter we have left. But I'm really, really glad she's starting to get into the flow of games. We're going to need her next year. Sheree kept making things happen. She's a very energetic player, and though her enthusiasm sometimes gets the better of her, she's an asset to the team. Kelly didn't find her groove until the second half, but she had the most dynamic play of the game. Sky pulled the trigger a bit quickly sometimes, I thought, but overall she didn't have a bad game. Solid bench play tonight, too. Well, Coco was Coco- if there's a dumb mistake to be made, she'll make it- but other than that we got really good bench play. Kristin played a few good minutes. Britney took a little while to get into the flow- she made a couple of dumb freshman mistakes, and then almost got broken on a three-pointer, but she got herself straightened out eventually. Recee played tough, and I think she changed the complexion of the game, especially when she and Victoria were in- Dartmouth wanted to get physical, but when we came with the bigs, they couldn't answer, because their posts were tall and skinny.

Kia Wright was at the game- she's been at quite a few of them, actually, but she brought a really bad haircut to this one. Some of the recruits were behind the bench. Monique McLean was wandering around. This last made me want to hit something with my clipboard.

So it's on to Hartford now. Anyone wanna give me a lift? I'll pay gas money.

There will eventually be pictures here, as there are for St. John's games, but it might take longer than usual. Be patient. It's tourney time.

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

February 28th, 2009: Dartmouth at Columbia

Dartmouth Big Green 63, Columbia Lions 61

Run, assholes, run! The Ivy League provides the drama that the Big East lacked.


After due consideration, and with the nagging need to wash the foul taste out of my mouth after the mess at St. John's, we headed uptown, where Columbia was hosting Ivy-leading Dartmouth. Turned out to be a much more interesting game. As this was an Ivy League matchup, I'll attempt to keep my diction as elevated as the Ancient Eight would demand, and I beg your indulgence if I fall short.

Levien Gym may be my favorite "gym that is clearly not in a discrete building" facility in the area (as opposed to "gym that is clearly in a discrete building", such as Carnesecca or Mack, and "gym that might be in a discrete building, but I'm not sure", such as LIU's court). s court). It balances the necessity of being small with a lot of the amenities of a larger arena, and does so with great practicality. The pleasing shade of blue might also have something to do with it. It looks like they've done some work with Levien since the last time I was there. The video board pleases me, and the fact that Columbia makes use of it makes it even better. I don't think any other team I've seen has an animated intro quite like Columbia's, with Roar-ee's run to the gym.

Senior Night for Christina Gordon and Katrina Cragg was very touching. It's a bit harder to get blue roses than red and white ones, so they had to be satisfied with Columbia-blue ribbons around their bouquets.

Anthem was by a nervous-sounding member of the dance team who eventually got over her nerves and gave a very pretty rendition.

Signs you might be at an Ivy League sporting event: the band's repertoire includes the theme from the original Tetris. I really liked them, and their trick of "slow counting" the clock- it actually worked on one play!

So, Dartmouth. They all seem to have very similar long, lanky, physiques- length, not breadth, is the key. Brittney Smith dominated the offense in the first half, and while she still got hers in the second, the other two major players for the Big Green that night stepped up next to her. Margaret Smith (her older sister, in case you were wondering; I know I have since they visited St. John's last year) didn't contribute quite as much. Koren Schram was quiet in the first half, but her shooting got hot in the second. Combine that with Darcy Rose's knack for getting to the line, and Dartmouth ran away with the second half. McFee, their last starter, really got taken out of the game by foul trouble. It's funny- it felt like Dartmouth was having their way inside, scoring in the paint and controlling the interior game, but statistically, Columbia outrebounded the Big Green and outscored them in the paint. (Of course, since free throws don't technically count as points in the paint, the disparity becomes a little clearer.) Rose swings a mean pair of elbows. Actually, most of the Dartmouth players do, though that may be a function of long skinny arms being bent in defense of the ball. Their long-range game got them right back into things at the beginning of the second half- Columbia seemed calm with a twelve-point lead, then Dartmouth uncorked three threes to put them right back in range, and from there it was nip and tuck right up to the end.

I got the sense that only one of Columbia's seniors starts on a regular basis, judging from rotation and minute allocation. Gordon acquitted herself well in her start, and Danielle Browne, who she displaced, was a real spark off the bench- if she's not careful, Nixon might think that's a good idea for next season, a la Candice Wiggins for the Lynx or Becky Hammon in 2000 for the Liberty. Sara Yee remains two pounds of crazy persistence in a one-pound bag, the kind of player I have a very soft spot for, especially when they hit big shots. There's something I like about Lauren Dwyer, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I can see how Judie Lomax started out at a Pac-10 school- she's tough and fearless, with good instincts for the ball. I can see why she would choose to move down several notches on the athletic totem pole, setting aside the obvious advantages of a Columbia education over an Oregon State education: at 5'11", she wouldn't survive as a power forward in a BCS conference, she doesn't have the speed or consistent outside shot to transition to an offensive wing player, and at least in the one game I saw, didn’t seem very interested in playing defense. Caitlin Stachon seemed a little too interested in adding degrees of difficulty to simple shots, which became important when the game got tighter.

And the game got tight in a hurry. The refs helped. Sorry, but a cross-check at midcourt on a stationary defensive player is not a block. The last play of the game was one of the more egregious lack of calls, though. Columbia, down two points, missed a shot, and a scrum developed under the basket. Pretty clear foul on Dartmouth- Darcy Rose, I think. No whistle. Then, as the buzzer goes off, they whistle a foul... on Judie Lomax, adding insult to injury (since Columbia was already in the double penalty). The referees conferred, decided not to call the foul on Lomax, and then ran out of the arena as fast as they could, with the Columbia crowd booing, hissing, and yelling at them, and the Columbia band chanting "Run, assholes, run!" Cowards!

I think we were sitting behind family or friends of one of Columbia's assistants. That makes me somewhat more relieved that we threw in our lot with the Lions, then, though it would have been uncouth to do anything but when we were sitting five rows behind the Columbia bench.

Watch this space for pictures; they should be up by the end of the night.

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February 28th, 2009: Rutgers at St. John's

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 65, St. John's Red Storm

We heard you like fail, so we put some fail on your fail, so you can fail while you fail.


Well, that sucked. Certainly not how I wanted the last home game of the season to go. And I'm starting to understand why Rutgers isn't all that popular in the rest of the conference.

We finished brunch around quarter to one, and pulled into the parking lot at St. John's (having rented, ironically, a Kia with Jersey plates) just ahead of the RU bus; the identity of the bus's occupants became a lot more obvious when they started unloading their gear, since fans don't generally roll suitcases along with them. The few minutes before the doors opened made it clear that Carnesecca's security guys haven't had to deal with large crowds in a while, at least not for a women's game. With the kids inside and the folks outside, there was a lot of confusion.

I never thought I'd see the day when I found UConn fans less obnoxious than Rutgers fans. But at least the UConn fans mostly left their chants at home. The Rutgers fans didn't. And trying to set up the R-U call and response within a section is kinda pathetic. Objectively, I appreciate the enthusiasm. Subjectively, if I see that middle-aged blonde woman with the glasses, or the old guy next to her with the Rutgers cap, at the tournament, I'm probably going to deck her without thinking.

It was really nice to see a lot of St. John's people come out, though. We actually made a good amount of noise, more than I'm used to hearing from the home team. Too bad that was the last game of the season- nothing to build on.

Senior Night was sweet- one advantage to having red and white as your colors is that it's really easy to make bouquets. It probably would have been more poignant if Kristin Moore weren't a bit player and Monique McLean weren't a spectacular dumbass. Way to get suspended for DWI less than a month before Senior Day, genius! And way to not wear pink for the PinkZone game! Peacock blue and black plaid? Really, Little Sista? REALLY?

Absolutely beautiful anthem by a group called the Metropolitones. Great harmony. A refreshing change from the crap we've been shoveled.

You know, as much as I've been kvetching about Kia Vaughn's head being up her ass this season, I was kinda hoping it'd stay there for this game. It didn't. She showed the speed and agility that make her a very interesting prospect for her size, and she made it impossible for us to get much of anything done on the inside. She'd be better off laying off the pouting, though, and she and Prince need to switch shorts before someone has a wardrobe malfunction. Rushdan really impressed me- very good instincts on both ends of the floor and a good strong build. Prince didn't need to do much, and she just kept getting to the line in the second half (although I laughed when she crossed herself over- ur doin' it wrong). Zurich got into foul trouble, and always seems to be at the wrong end of Stringer's quick hooks. Ray hit the next to last shot, much to my annoyance- we'd been doing so well at keeping her out of her comfort zone, and it was one of the few things we could take pride in. McCurdy's knee wrap/brace thingy frightens me. It seriously looks like she could take her leg off and beat someone with it. We had freshmen sightings, mostly in line changes. About the only thing I remember about that is that Stringer took the time to ream out Pope and Speed on the floor before she let them go back to the locker room with the rest of the team, which seemed uncalled for- they hadn't done anything so egregious that they needed to be punished immediately. But that's been Stringer's MO this season.

Our free throw shooting did not help us. At all. And inside, we couldn't get much of anything done, which is Da'Shena's and Joy's bread and butter. Da'Shena kept trying threes by the end of the game, either panicking or afraid to take a shot at the Scarlet defense (or maybe she was just tired of being hit), and they didn't go so well. I expect her to improve that in the years ahead if she wants to make anything of herself. Monique really would have been fucking useful, but I'll get over that sometime in the near future. Joy worked her ass off, but when you're 6'0 and skinny, having Kia Vaughn as your matchup is kind of the dictionary definition of having drawn the short straw. There's a reason Vaughn was having a block party. And RU's defense really hacked at Joy's fatal flaw: her utter inability and unwillingness to handle the ball. A lot of St. John's turnovers were on the long passes that were desperate attempts to get the hell out of the trap. That went for Britney and Sheree, too; Britney's just a freshman, and Sheree's never been a good ballhandler. Sky kept trying, but she doesn't know her weaknesses, and while that's sometimes an advantage, it's not when you're launching deep threes as a 21% shooter. Kelly tried to keep us in it in the first half, but we couldn't get the ball to her in the second. I really think Coach should have given Recee more run and Victoria some, at least to get some size in there against Vaughn and Junaid and open up a little space for the rest of the team to work. And I just don't understand why no one on this team doesn't seem to know how to set screens and picks. Work with your teammates, people. Help them out. You're supposed to be able to work with them, remember?

The refereeing sucked. I've said this once and I'll say it again: at this point, I'm no longer asking for competence, just consistency. If you call a hack on one end, call it on the other. If you call a play a travel on one end, call it a travel on the other. Although, if we're going to get into competence, I think the one play where Coco was trying to box out Kia Vaughn and suddenly levitated backwards might be the worst no-call I've seen in a long time. Or, well, one of the worst, but more on that later. I really don't like the deterioration of RU's style- they've always been defensive, and always been physical, but they're getting dirtier and nastier. More holding, more hitting. I don't know if it's just the rough edges showing for a team with limited veteran presence, or if they're just frustrated at the way this season's gone, or if this is one of the ways where Stringer seems to be losing her team, but I don't like this direction, and if I didn't have tickets to the first two rounds at the RAC, I'd have handed in my fanship card for good after this game.

No pictures. There were people in front of me and the Senior Night/Day/WTFEver ceremonies weren't facing me.

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