Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal
It's been a long time since I've gotten this into a game, or at least since I've allowed myself to get this rowdy. But there were so many Virginia Tech fans there, and they came on a Focus on the Family bus, and they brought signs, and the little kids from the CYO were annoying the living daylights out of us because they spread out over two sections, and it was healthier than swearing at everyone and their mother.
I have no idea why Sky Lindsay's mom and sister parked behind the Virginia Tech bench for the first half- I know they know whose bench is whose, but there didn't seem to be any trouble stemming from it, so no harm, no foul.
Abby Redick, I don't like you. I mean, I respect that she's a woman isn't afraid to use her broad frame to hit someone, but there's a difference between hitting someone and "how did you not foul out in the first half". Nikki Davis has a knack for the pretty play- she set up Porshcia Hadley on one shot that was simply gorgeous. We got to see Taylor Ayers for the first time, another of Virginia Tech's sizeable players. Dunkenberger went pretty deep into her bench, which makes sense in a holiday tournament, but I wonder if she should have done that in the first day.
Brittany Gordon, who had me worrying and fussing all of yesterday because of her build, hardly played, though she started. I don't think her coach was happy with her, and I can't say there's no reason for it. Alyssa Fenyn was a little rougher than yesterday, and to less effect. Lindsay Biggs got her shots off, and deserved to be named to the all-tournament team. Utahya Drye started to crank up that knack for getting to the line in the second half, but it wasn't enough for Virginia Tech to get going. Harrison really didn't do much other than turn the ball over.
Jennifer Blanding is going to kill me with laughter one of these days. She drives me nuts on the court, but when she's not on the court, she's full of laughter. The first big one was during the game- she was yelling encouragement to Coco, hollering, "Yeah, Centhya!" (Coco's full name). There was a beat, then we heard, "...I'm sorry." Then, when the all-tournament team was announced, and the official photographer was taking pictures, Jennifer bolted off the bench and snapped a picture with her own little camera.
Sorry, sidetracked. Small cameos by Buzz and Jennifer. Not a great game by Coco, although she worked pretty hard on the boards. Eugeneia hit the deck hard a couple of times chasing loose balls. Good instincts. I approve. Kelly appears to be trying to play defense, which is a refreshing change, but one I wish she'd tried earlier in her career.
Have I mentioned lately that I adore Joy? I love her rebounding, her hustle, her tenacity, and her ability to put the ball in the basket, even if she missed her first free throws of the season today. Sky's sneaking back to her old ballhogging ways, which I do not approve of at all. Too many plays are coming down to her taking the shot. Nadirah continues to be the best point guard we have, though some of her passes today were to absent receivers. I don't blame her for people's lack of zigging. Shenneika... I don't know what to make with her, not that there's anything wrong with that. When she looks good, she's so good and so unstoppable. When she looks bad, she looks like Inspector Gadget shorted out. Da'Shena played well, though her free throw shooting needs work.
It's not that we played fabulously today, though there were a lot of great plays at the endline and baseline that showed our unwillingness to give up. It's more that we played very tough defense and managed to keep Virginia Tech from scoring well and using their size inside. We outrebounded a team we had no right to outrebound, which bodes well for the conference season. Never give up. Never surrender.
And never challenge fans. Virginia Tech showed up in numbers and our band didn't appear. It seemed meet that someone make noise in their stead. So we took it upon ourselves to get involved, screaming at every possession, chanting along, disconcerting the shooter, heckling the refs, all quite loudly. My throat hurts and my clipboard is cracked down the middle, but it was more than worth it to get to use the cadence we learned from the Auburn band.
All-tournament team: from UT-Arlington, Meghan Nelson, who was a pretty good choice (though I might have taken Martin); from UAB, Amanda Peterson, who I totally agreed with; from Virginia Tech, Lindsay Biggs (yup) and Alyssa Fenyn (a qualified yup); from St. John's, Da'Shena Stevens (yup) and Shenneika Smith (yup). And MVP? Joy McCorvey. It's nice to know people appreciate what she does.
Reasons why I love my team captain, number 32567: so they had the team captains, Joy and Kelly, accept the trophy for winning the tournament. Joy was a step ahead of Kelly, but let Kelly go ahead of her so Kelly got to hold the trophy for the picture. Such a class act.
Last home game of the calendar year for St. John's, and there may be a post in that for Swish Appeal. We'll see. But I'm a happy, hoarse Johnnie.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 20th, 2009: Virginia Tech at St. John's (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
December 20th, 2009: UAB at UT-Arlington (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Comments on this entry are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.
That was an ugly game. That was so obviously a consolation, "you were brought here to lose and you did an excellent job of it yesterday", "no one here actually cares about you guys except maybe the fifteen people you brought with you" game. But damn it all, it was part of what we paid for, and no snowstorm was going to keep us away.
The arena wasn't really into the second day of the tournament. The men's tournament started today over at the Garden, so the band, the mascot, and half the dance team were all over there. I wish they'd taken all the dancing girls and left us the band, though we made use of that section later.
Anthem performance was a pre-recorded orchestral version. I can't say I objected.
I can't say enough about the clutch nature of UAB's bench. No one ever had a lot of plays, but everyone had one or two clutch plays. Nakia McDaniel hit a couple of big threes to stretch the lead. Khalilah Watson was in for key moments down the stretch. Erica Simpson hit a couple of contested shots. Everyone chipped in somehow. I like that in a team.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Amanda Peterson. There was a point in the first half where the score was UTA 19, Amanda Peterson 11. She ended with 17, 14 of them in the first half and the last three as the last shot for the Blazers. Jala Harris took a while to get started, but once she got started, she added back a dimension to UAB's offense that made them much more dangerous. Amber Jones got into some foul trouble and didn't get started. Miteka Truehart didn't play much in the first half, but made good defensive stands in the second half. Tamika Dukes went strong to the basket on both ends of the floor, and had a great finish on a pass from Jones.
I'll give Arlington credit for being balanced. Of course, that's not saying very much when they totaled 46 points. They really seemed to be throwing things at the wall to see what would work. Tamara Simmons worked, unlike yesterday, when she was so bad she didn't seem to be on the floor. Just so many turnovers, so many traveling calls and dumb plays. There were a lot of points in the game where we wondered if anyone actually wanted to win, that's how bad things were.
All-tournament teamer Meghan Nelson was the only bright spot for the Mavericks, and the only player to get into double figures for them. Shalyn Martin couldn't get much started- I think they were calling her for travels on the moves she was getting away with yesterday, because there was an inordinate amount of traveling being called. The quiet allowed us to hear Kiarra Shofner directing traffic, which is something I like to hear from a player. Kiara Parker got the start for this game and got into a lot of foul trouble. Same for Veronica Mergerson, who was pretty effective yesterday.
I really wasn't sure what those refs were doing, but I kinda liked that I recognized one of them from yesterday's game because she showed up in street clothes. Doing your homework- brilliant!
Poor UAB. I don't think anyone came up to support them. I guess the depression hit Alabama worse than Texas. We rooted for them, though, because fire-breathing dragons are very cool.
It was such an ugly game that we had more fun trying to figure out descriptions for how ugly it was than watching the game itself. But if we hadn't been there, we might not have been in the mood for the second game...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19th, 2009: UAB at Virginia Tech (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal
Shame on the people who left the doubleheader early. Even by five-thirty, it wasn't snowing hard enough to be a hazard, but more of the UT-Arlington fans stuck around than did the St. John's people (as few of them as there were). Much respect for the Virginia Tech fans who made it up in this weather, though. I know a bunch of them were there for one of the Hokies who's from New York, but still.
Because my mother ran into a friend of one of the Blazers at the bus stop and brought her over to sit with us, we were rooting for UAB in that game. Their coach is very... intense. And tall. And I don't know if she intended for her sharp skirtsuit to be in Virginia Tech maroon, but it was, and it was beautiful.
There was a bit of roster fail with the cards that St. John's gave out; #25, Erica Simpson, was not listed, which was inconvenient when she picked up two fouls and a field goal in the second half. Khalilah Watson played a lot in the second half and overtime. Shelly Breaux had a well-timed lay-up. LaKenya Lowe had a good putback. TaRonda Randall needs to learn how to control her body, because she can be a lot more effective that way. Unfortunately, the player who had us rooting for UAB, Meagan Brown, didn't get in the game. I feel vaguely cheated. It's okay, though; the lady we sat with was very cool. One thing that impressed me about UAB's bench was their ability to make big plays down the stretch.
Wow, Amanda Peterson's shooting. She was taking threes from deeper than NBA range- and some of them were going in. She's the kind of player who goes to the floor for hustle plays, too. I'd love to see her go up against another redheaded firecracker, Mickel Picco from BC. Jala Harris hit some ridiculous shots, and took some ridiculous shots; there was one point where I found myself yelling, "You're not Mark Jackson! I know it's easy to get confused here, but you're not Mark Jackson!" I like Amber Jones's feistiness, though she has the strangest shot I believe I've ever seen, and that's impressive, because I've seen a lot of shooters. Big block for Tamika Dukes, who really upped her game in the second half and the overtime and helped the Blazers come back from a five-point halftime deficit. If they'd been able to hit their free throws late, they might have pulled this game off.
Virginia Tech has a lot of sweet strokes, and they brought a lot of players with size, which worries me for tomorrow. Nikki Davis impressed me off the bench late in the game- she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it was to get her shot in or get a steal or a rebound. Shani Grey was really good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, in contrast to Davis. Abby Redick's a bruiser- I think Coco's going to need an ice bath tomorrow.
Senior Lindsay Biggs might get a look by pro scouts (or who at least should get a look from scouts), because she's a strong guard with a pretty shot. IMO, she's worth at least a camp look. Utahya Drye has a way of getting to the line that doesn't bode well for tomorrow. Shanel Harrison was handicapped by foul trouble, so she didn't get to do much. Brittany Gordon worried me, but she doesn't impress me. She should be taking more shots than she is- there were two occasions that I can think of off the top of my head where she had the ball in good offensive position, close enough to the basket for a good shot, with the defense too far away to do anything about it, and she passed off instead. Brittany, you're six-four and broad-shouldered. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE. (But not until Monday.) The player who really impressed me for Virginia Tech is just a freshman, Alyssa Fenyn, the New York kid who brought family, even if I don't know where Newark, NY is. (I know where Newark is in Joisey, and I think I could find it in Delaware, but Newark, NY is a new one for me.) She's strong, she's tough, and she gets things done. She's still a rookie in some ways, up to the technical she got when she got tangled up with Khalilah Watson. Great potential, though.
Another unevenly reffed game, but I think after they gave the techs, things settled down.
The Blazers never gave up. Whatever Coach Smith said in the locker room at the half, they started rebounding and following their shots much better than they were in the first. A lot of tenacity, a lot of toughness. They just don't have the height or the gas to go the full forty... or forty-five, as the case may be.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's games, even if they start an hour earlier and we'll be tromping through the snow to get to the arena. Just remind me to bring my umbrella.
December 19th, 2009: UT-Arlington at St. John's (Chartwell Holiday Classic)
Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.
I have an inordinate fondness for cute little holiday tournaments, as at least one team is someone I'm interested in seeing and most teams are ones I've never seen before, especially in the New York area. My home team's tournament is certainly no exception.
Since the Columbia game pretty much established that Sky is not a morning person, someone obviously decided to make up the difference with espresso, Pixie Stix, or some other artificial and unhealthy stimulant. She was dancing and strutting like nobody's business during shootaround and warm-ups. Shame it didn't last... but we'll get to that.
The anthem singer was unimpressive, though I'm glad that she didn't perform "God Bless America" as well as the anthem, because I've always thought that was overkill and her voice was too dramatic anyway.
UT-Arlington traveled very well. Lots of folks. They weren't very loud, but there was a long stretch before the game where there were more of them than there were St. John's supporters, and they stayed longer than most of the Red Storm folks into the second game. Shame their colors are so... not necessarily ugly, but badly put together. The uniforms are pretty heinous, though.
The Mavericks went pretty deep into their bench, which I guess you can do when you're down 45-18 at the half. The unfortunately surnamed Donna Dike (say it aloud... does she have to throw herself out of games for slurs if she curses at herself?) was their first sub, but didn't contribute much beyond foul trouble. It really seemed like UT-Arlington was trying all sorts of combinations to see if someone could light a spark. We saw a lot of Kiara Parker and LaTosha Duffey, and at least Duffey provided a little offense.
I want to like Shalyn Martin, because at least she has the nerve to go for the shots that her team needs, but she plays obnoxiously up-close, in-your-face defense- right near the start of the game, she almost kicked Da'Shena in the gut because she raised both her hands and her foot on defense. Despite all that, she was one of the few Arlington players who was in for heavy minutes who didn't get into bad foul trouble- the fouls really mounted up in the second half for both teams. Meghan Nelson stepped up offensively in the second half, driving the lane for the Mavericks when the Red Storm defense softened a bit. They were really up a creek, though- Martin and Nelson were the only ones really scoring for them, and you're not going to get very far with only two scorers. They were committing a lot of errors, and getting rattled into a lot of unforced errors as well. They played like a team that knew they were there to play two games, take fourth place, and enjoy the sights and sounds of New York City.
I think Kelly's found her shot. I could be wrong, but five of six from beyond the arc tells me otherwise. A couple of them were pretty deep, too. Coco was on the boards, though she had one of her Moments of Epic Fail on the endline and wasn't doing much scoring. Good thing we didn't need it. Eugenia tested her range more than I would have liked, even if she did hit one. She hit the deck a lot too. I swear they were marking her. We had brief bursts of Buzz, who swatted a shot, and Jennifer, who was exceptionally passive, even for her. Girrrrrrrl. You're built like Kia Vaughn. Start playing like her already, would you?
I love to watch Shenneika move. She's so slick. And if sticking her finger in the electrical socket helps get her game going, then she can do it whenever she wants as far as I'm concerned. Great defensive work by Nadirah, who notched four blocks on the shorter, slimmer Maverick guards. While she was credited with a lot of turnovers, I still like the way she runs our offense. Sky. Please actually play defense. It's bad enough when your teammates have to remind you of where you're supposed to be, but when you're not actually doing anything while you're there, that's even worse. Time and time again she was out of position or slow on the move, and we probably would have won by 40 if she'd been on her defensive game. Da'Shena started the game hot, and used her body well against the smaller UT-Arlington players. Joy snaked her way into the paint for boards, and had one block that left Nelson sitting on the court from the momentum.
As much grief as I give Jennifer Blanding, I'll say this: when she's on the bench, she's one of the loudest and most involved players on the team. She and Joy both talk a lot.
I wasn't thrilled with the officiating, but I liked how one of the refs- Dillard, I think- managed the game: he was very organized and very clear with his calls, even if I didn't always agree with them. I think it's a very good idea for a referee to call a game clearly and authoritatively.
I think Coach Barnes Arico might be pregnant again. She's wearing loose-fitting tops, and the last time she did that, little Emma came along a few months later. I'm a little worried. Her focus has historically and rightfully been elsewhere when she's in the family way.
A satisfying win. We slacked off a little near the end, and I'm disappointed in Sky's defense, but overall a good thing.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
December 13th, 2009: Rhode Island at St. John's
Comments are closed on this entry- please comment on the mirror entry at Swish Appeal.
The things I do for my team. :D I slog out in the rain, put up with a gods-awful anthem from the regional bad anthem singer, hit myself in the head with my clipboard, and get stuck behind a Rhode Island player's family. But would it sound horribly cheesy if I said that the beam and wave from our team captain when she spotted us in the stands during warm-ups was worth it?
The things I do for my team. :D I slog out in the rain, put up with a gods-awful anthem from the regional bad anthem singer, hit myself in the head with my clipboard, and get stuck behind a Rhode Island player's family. But would it sound horribly cheesy if I said that the beam and wave from our team captain when she spotted us in the stands during warm-ups was worth it?
Dear my team, I love you so very much, but please don't chat during the anthem. Yes, I saw you. Not cool. I don't care how lousy a rendition it is, and for the love of all that is sweet and holy do not play around with the lyrics for 'emphasis'. I have a clipboard and I'm not afraid to use it.
Cathy Inglese came out late from the locker room during warm-ups. Since I know Carnesecca has cable, I'm going to assume she was watching the Maggie Dixon. You can guess for yourself whether BC's former coach was rooting for or against the Eagles.
Heartwarming Lynx link moment before the game: SJU assistant Megan Duffy and URI assistant Amber Jacobs chatting it up on the sidelines. Glasses are quite flattering for Ms. Jacobs.
Coach Louis's suits continue to impress me. Any sharper and she'd cut someone. GNoD approved!
We were sitting behind family and/or friends of reserve guard Anisha Wilson, a stocky combo guard who played the bulk of the bench minutes for Rhode Island with, ah, mixed results. Lara Gaspar was the primary offensive spark off the Rams' bench, hitting some little shots in the lane. We weren't very thrilled with Julia Barac's physicality, but given that she's Canadian and we kept comparing URI's defense to a hockey game, I'm less surprised than I was before. Inglese didn't go very deep into her bench, relying mostly on Gaspar to give her frontcourt players a break and on Wilson to step in for the backcourt players.
Rhode Island couldn't buy a basket in the first half, and not all of it could be credited to our defense. A lot of shots that had all the reason in the world to go in spun out or bounced off the rim. Megan Shoniker drove the lane a lot, and when our defense started to soften in the second half, she got more shots out of it, but she also committed a lot of turnovers. Sort of the same for Ashley Rivera, but more intelligently and to a lesser extent. Lindsay Harris reminds me in appearance of a miniature Erlana Larkins, but other than the rebounding, I can't say the resemblance goes much further. No one really stood out for Rhode Island. I think there's a correlation between that and their 4-6 record.
If Coco Hart keeps this up, I may have to apologize to her. Okay, she still commits dumb fouls and tends to fumble the ball in open-court situations, but this is the second game in a row she's come in and given good minutes without Da'Shena Stevens available- in this case, the problem was three first-half fouls, so Coco only needed to be a temporary stopgap, but she was still solid. And when it came to the offensive boards, she was more than solid. I think she followed everyone's shot but her own. I don't know what's gotten into Kelly, but despite the turnover problems and badly-missed two-point shots, I think more of it would be a good idea. She showed much more moxie than I've seen from her in a long time. Her steal and fast break were beautiful, even if she did blow the lay-up because she couldn't take the contact (but that was all right, because Coco was there for the putback). Eugeneia showed off her range, and set up Kelly on her only three. The play that impressed me most, though, was a save on the endline that she rifled like radar to Nadirah, even if the play ended in a turnover. Buzz continues to bring hustle and enthusiasm, though she couldn't hit her shots. Jennifer continues to bring on the urge to smack someone over the head with my clipboard. She's got to stop being so passive, hold on to the ball, and use her size. Also, not bouncing a rebound off a opponent's head is highly recommended. I find it interesting how her physical passivity contrasts with her vocal aggression- she's one of the loudest players on the team, and she's the ritual greeter during introductions. (You know- the player who's at the end of the line as the starters come out and with whom each starter does their handshake/high-five/secret dance? Like Maddie does for the Liberty.)
Whatever had Da'Shena shivering and looking miserable against LIU must have cleared up by tip-off today, because while she looked ready to go all Jessie Hicks on us during warm-ups, she was on her game in the first half, and then in the second half, with foul trouble somewhat less daunting, she went from two points to double figures in a matter of a few minutes. Sky showed a distressing tendency to lose track of her assignment on defense- she had to be reminded of where she was supposed to be at least once. She, like most of the team, spent a lot of time on the deck after loose balls, though. Shenneika, follow your shot. Follow your damn shot. I mean it. Shenneika has a very funky shooting motion, so her shots can be pretty unpredictable, but she was going back on D every single time without even waiting for the shot to hit its apex. I applaud the dedication to D, but FOLLOW YOUR SHOT. Joy can't do all the offensive rebounding around here. That being said, Joy's work on the boards was phenomenal- she snaked her way through and around everyone time and time again for rebounds. We knew she had a lot at the arena, and we figured that she would have a double-double, but 15 rebounds is unreal. Just about all of her shots were contested putbacks, too. Now that I'm completely certain her listed 6-0 is malarkey, I'm even more impressed with what she manages to accomplish at the 5. Nadirah also had a really good game. I love having her at the point- the offense flows much more smoothly when she's playing the point than when Sky or even Eugeneia is running things, because everyone's moving without the ball.
Most memorable sequence of the game: Shenneika cans a three while Lara Gaspar knocks over two SJU players. After a long consultation, it is determined that the foul was after the shot, which means the shot counts and we retain possession (as opposed to before the shot, which I think would be two shots and the ball, or during the shot for a four-point play, but I'm not a ref). On the ensuing possession, Da'Shena goes to the hole and is fouled by our kind benefactor Gaspar again. She hits the free throw to complete a six-point trip down the floor.
The rims were kinder, the defenses somewhat less intense, and the offenses more potent in the second half; the Red Storm's splits were 26/43 for a total of 69, while Rhode Island's were 13/31 for a total of 44 (and a lot of those came in the last one-eighth of the game; until about the seven-minute mark, URI was on pace to score less than a point per minute for the game, which I deem to be the absolutely minimum acceptable scoring rate for a Division I basketball team.
The refs. I just. Make up your minds, people, are you going to call every little touch, or are you going to let 'em smack each other around like hockey players? Learn to count. That goes double for you, Mr. Holds Up 3-0 When 3-2 Has Committed The Foul And 3-0 Hasn't Even Played For Rhode Island Yet.
I would have stayed for the men's game against Fordham and written somewhat less detailed notes for my blog, but they wanted to exile the women's fans who didn't have tickets to the men's game into the corners of the upper deck. I'm not so interested in free basketball that I want to stare at the stanchion for two hours, so we left. The doubleheader was badly organized, so whatever. No tiny scrap of free press for you. I appreciate not being thrown out on my ear into the pouring rain, don't get me wrong, but I don't think there would have been that many people there that we couldn't be given seats with a real view.
I'm happy with my team, though. The defense was pretty solid, we got good minutes out of the freshmen, we did well without Sky contributing much, and all of that is good, but the thing that really stands out for me is the rebounding. Just about everyone was crashing the boards, almost to each other's detriment. Good place to be as we head into a holiday tournament.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
December 10th, 2009: Long Island at St. John's
Comments closed here- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal.
St. John's Red Storm 78, Long Island Blackbirds 64
This St. John's team has something that I don't think we've had in a very long time: intestinal fortitude (well, except for Da'Shena in the second half, the poor dear *offers Tamiflu*). Of course, we shouldn't be putting ourselves in a hole against freakin' Long Island, much as I like the Blackbirds, but that's been our habit. It's a bad habit, but I'd rather get the fail out of the way early and build it back up to win.
Before the game, the boy and I were approached by someone from St. John's and offered the VIP seats, which are in the front row, court level, facing the benches. It's something you have to do once, so we took our now-redundant seat cushions, our Johnny Thunderbird bobble-heads, our Jennifer Blanding posters (which were a source of minor lols, as sidelined center Victoria Hodges yelled up to us, "Who's on the poster?" and Not-the-Kia had her moment in the sun), and our heavy winter coats, and hied ourselves downstairs, through the railing, and in front of the band to take our seats. It's an interesting experience, but not one I'm planning to repeat anytime soon. Damn refs kept getting in our way, and when they weren't in the way, it was the dancing girls. Stop shaking what you don't have and I don't want, I'm trying to figure out what Coach is saying in the huddle and why Da'Shena looks like she's about to cry. And my ears still hurt from the band.
I sort of hope Krystal Wells didn't remember us. That could have been awkward.
The anthem was really good this game- vocal performance. She should try out for Idol. GNoD approved!
LIU really didn't get that much from their bench. Wells ran a solid game from the point guard slot, but LIU opted to go with their starters for most of the way. I don't know if I would have done that. To their credit, they played a very disciplined game- 17 turnovers isn't too bad for a women's game, and they didn't get into foul trouble- so going deep into their bench wasn't a necessity. That all being said, I think I would have used Tamika Guz in a few more short spurts, because while she doesn't have a lot of stamina, she's very good in the few minutes she can play at a shot, and we had no answer for her size. (Well, we did, but more on that later.) I admit, I was looking forward to some of the matchups among the starters- but I was also looking forward to the Clash of the Epic Fail Titans, the Red Storm's Coco Hart and LIU's Justine Stevenson, and Stevenson didn't disappoint.
Lots of calf tattoos on LIU. I am intrigued. Some were really pretty tattoos, too.
The big matchup I was looking forward to was their undersized but scrappy frontcourt versus our undersized but scrappy frontcourt. Ashley Palmer and Chelsi Johnson didn't disappoint. Palmer did a great job cleaning up her teammates' garbage, and her threes are starting to fall with a little more regularity, which she'll need if she wants to go any further with her career after college. Johnson, who's one of my favorite collegiate players for just about every single reason that Joy McCorvey is, put on a show in both high and low post, and interposed herself early and often on defense. I think the critical thing that kept LIU from being able to come back in this game was our ability to keep Heidi Mothershead scoreless by keeping Shenneika on her and keeping the ball out of her hands. No long-range threat, no threat to come back. I think we also did a great job denying Kiara Evans the lanes she wanted- she's a drive and dish sort of guard, so if she can't drive, she can't dish quite as effectively. Connie James's shot wasn't falling, but being down on the floor allowed me to hear how vocal she is on the floor. I love players like that. She's such a critical part of what they do.
I'm not going to go so far as to say I owe Coco Hart an apology. She still tends to do incredibly stupid things and overdramatize calls she's never going to get. That being said, off the bench today she played possibly the best game I've ever seen from her. She went strong to the basket, she fought hard on the boards, she did work on defense- I was very satisfied with her. And we needed her to step up, with the limited number of posts we have on our roster, and with Jennifer being ineffective, and with Da'Shena looking like she needed a blankie and a teddy bear. Eugeneia was important during the comeback to take the lead, and on the defensive end. I worry about Kelly- either other teams have keyed on her as a spot-up shooter and forced her off her spots, or her misses early in the season have eroded her confidence and she's hesitating too long before she's willing to shoot. Whatever it is, she needs to get her head right or she's going to lose her minutes to Eugeneia because she's more versatile and to Buzz because no one will ever fault Amanda Burakoski for a lack of confidence or hustle. I might have used Jennifer against Guz for a spurt, just to muscle her up and open up space, but the team won by 14 with our star player sidelined for most of the second half, so hey, Kim Barnes Arico must be doing something right. ;)
Surprised not to see much of the press. I guess deGraffenreid running through it damaged their confidence in it.
Sky got us started in the right direction with early points, and she played a pretty solid game. Nothing really to protest about. Nadirah McKenith makes me happier every time I see her. She makes things happen on both sides of the ball. She had a couple of really nice steals, one of which resulted in a sweet bucket by Da'Shena. Shenneika got some shots to fall that had no business falling, but kept getting lost on defense. I think she's gotten used to relying on her length to be able to beat lesser opponents, and that's not going to work anymore. Da'Shena had a disjointed first half, alternating between great shots and unacceptable lapses, and then early in the second half she left the game and didn't come back. We freaked out a little when we realized that she wasn't on the bench, and when she came back she looked miserable. She spent the rest of the game huddled near the end of the bench, wrapped in her warm-up jacket and downing liquids like there was no tomorrow, looking for all the world like she should have had a hot-water bottle and a hefty dose of Nyquil. That led to the other two posts having to step up. Coco's already been mentioned, but Joy also ramped up her scoring in the second half. She was absolutely brilliant on the offensive glass- which was good, because no one was following their shot. She's been down this road before- I still remember the WNIT game against Iona where three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior had to go the entire second half with no subs, and that's the game that endeared me to Joy. She does what her team needs to do, and she's willing to do it all even if her teammates aren't- there was one series where she was trying to get Sky to come around a screen and Sky went a different way. (I don't think we scored on that possession.)
I probably shouldn't comment about the refs, since I spent most of the night in close proximity to them. Not that many complaints, and most of the things I thought had been gotten away with were by St. John's. One of the guys made small talk with us during warm-ups, because yes, the arena was very cold. Official attendance was a tick over 400, and the arena really needed a few more warm bodies. Also, I'd never sat that close to a ref before, and I liked that the same guy reminded Sky of the shot clock during an inbounds. The boy claims it's standard, but it makes too much sense to be standard.
A couple of former St. John's players were in the house, though this wasn't exactly how I wanted to find out that Britney Murphy is now a former St. John's player. I thought I was going crazy when I thought I spotted Recee Mitchell (usually referred to as "six-foot-one of Texas badass" in the GNoD) in the upper deck, given that, well, this wasn't the first time I thought I saw her this season. I'd like to think that if I'm going to hallucinate post players, I'd imagine them in uniform, not wearing eye-searingly godawful neon things, but apparently she did really make it out. After Da'Shena had to bow out of the game, I was very tempted to see if they had #52 in storage and throw it up to Recee.
Also, Joy, I love you, you're one of my favorites, but you and Chelsi Johnson can't both be 6-0 if she's taller than you. It makes everything you do more incredible, but don't be lyin'.
Johnny Thunderbird, you throw like an injured four-year-old. If the game involves you throwing things that a contestant needs to catch, and the contestant can't cross the halfcourt line, it's unsporting to throw so weakly that the "burrito" doesn't cross the line.
Shoutout to St. Catherine of Siena's CYO team, including the girl in the Liberty t-shirt, #21 who swatted a wicked block, and #51 whose passing skills are pretty good.
I love my team. I may love them too much, though that doesn't keep me from kvetching about the horrible scheduling that put our next game opposite the Maggie Dixon Classic. Last season, even with Monique McLean, I don't think we make comebacks with the regularity that we have this season- this is a team that forged a tie at North Carolina in the last quarter of the game. We have a nice balance of upperclassman leadership and young talent. Now if we just had some more posts. Coco looked ready to fall over on the court at the end of that game.
Friday, December 4, 2009
December 4th, 2009: St. John's at Columbia
Comments closed here- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal.
St. John's Red Storm 75, Columbia Lions 63
The Game Notes come prepared, receive compliments, and do not die of dysentery.
There are things fans should never be asked to do for the love of their teams. Brave the Lions' den, packed with hundreds of screaming children, is one of them. But I love my team, and it was too late to back out of things when I saw the throng of kids anyway.
I often forget how much I like Levien Gym. Especially when full or close to it, that model of homecourt is a very good size and style for the average women's basketball attendance in the NCAA. I was not, however, pleased with whoever had seated two rows of squalling private school students in the first two rows directly behind the St. John's bench. There's a wide aisle and a railing separating the bench and the seats, but it still seemed uncouth. Given that there were several rows of empty seats higher up in the section, I'll just assume that the ushers made an error.
Much love for the gentleman in the "Yale has died of dysentery" Oregon Trail shirt. GNoD approved!
The sound system kept cutting out while the anthem singer was attempting to perform; eventually, the sound people figured out that it was more effective to have her sing a capella and let the little kids back her up. It was kinda cool. Regrettably, many of the giggling, whispering, chattering children who were disrespecting the anthem appear to have been born in various barns. GNoD DISapproved.
Kelly, if the hair dye helps your shot, then go as Nancy Lieberman orangey-yellow tan with your hair as you like. It's good to see her with some of her old confidence, though there were two occasions where she hesitated and passed up a shot that she could and should have taken. Coco's really stepped up her game on the boards and in the post, though she's still prone to making enough incredibly boneheaded plays that I won't rename the Coco Hart Memorial Award For Epic Fail just yet. Eugeneia was a critical part of the press that so frustrated Columbia, and hit a couple of shots on broken plays. Because Columbia kept the game so close for most of the way, we couldn't go as deep into the bench as we would have liked with a road game coming up in two days.
I hope Nadirah's going to be okay- she twisted her ankle in the second half and didn't come back; she was limping pretty badly during timeouts. She got her pocket picked a few times, though- freshman jitters, I can deal with those. Shenneika really needs to work on her ballhandling- I'm stunned she was only called for one turnover, because she was in a lot of awkward situations. But she's so smooth. She's a joy to watch. Which reminds me... Yes, I know, I should be ashamed of myself for wordplay like that. Joy wasn't quite as scrappy as I'm used to, though she hit the deck for a couple of balls. Those graceful flying lay-ups weren't so effective, but gosh, am I looking forward to seeing her versus Chelsi Johnson on the 10th. Sky isn't a morning person- she spent a lot of time doing her best impression of a statue- but she got her offense going when we needed her to. Da'Shena still isn't where I expected her to be- I don't know if USA Basketball wrung her out or she's rusty, but her shot is off and she's not really bringing it well on defense. What, did Tiffany Hayes hire someone to put a curse on the BEast FOY award?
Cameo appearances by most of the Columbia reserves who saw time. I was surprised that Shafer didn't play more when they needed offense, or Stachon when they needed toughness and someone to free up their shooters. I think Nixon was counting on Mary "Lisa Leslie is my fashion role model" Beato to bring the offense, but she mostly just brought the fouls instead. Tyler Simpson was the first sub for the Lions, but she had no statistical presence.
It intrigues me that Columbia uses the standard names for every class but the youngest, who are first-years instead of freshmen. And it's not a gender thing, either, because the male first-year players in the joint program were also listed as first-year and not freshmen.
I honestly believe that one of the biggest reasons we won this game was that we hassled and frustrated and flummoxed Lauren Dwyer. Because she couldn't hit her shots when she even got them off, Columbia lost a major portion of their offense. And while Kathleen Barry and Danielle Browne did their part to pick up the slack- the former from jump shots, the latter from drives inside- they couldn't quite do it. I do like Barry, though- she's a very good player. If she bulks up a little, she might be a prospect next year. Browne's fearless. I don't know how many times she hit the floor, but it was a lot. Judie Lomax set the tone for the game for the Lions; when she was in, getting rebounds and cleaning up the trash, they were doing well, but she committed a couple of critical offensive fouls by not being able to stop, and she fouled out with about three minutes to go, which really screwed up Columbia's chances for a comeback. Sara Yee, one of the GNoD's favorite players, did a helluva job on defense, but got into trouble with the Red Storm press and committed two backcourt violations. Still love Ten Pounds of Crazy in a Two Pound Bag, though.
I'm not sure what game the refs were watching. It wasn't this one, though it had enough similarities to the one we were at that the fouls weren't too bad, but there were some odd calls.
Never let it be said that the GNoD come unprepared. I've been to Levien enough times that I expected to end up in the bleachers and brought seat cushions, figuring I could loan out the spares. I ended up in chairback seating, for which I was exceedingly grateful- but Sky's mom and sister were a few rows up in the bleachers. Nothing makes friends faster than offering seat cushions to people sitting on hard plastic bleachers.
Sky isn't my favorite Red Storm player, not by a long shot. But she's one of the most interesting and funniest people on the team. So after the game I was shooting the breeze with a friend of mine who's a Columbia STH, and we were sitting there a good long time, long enough that the teams drifted back into the gym. Sky came over to us and said to me that they saw me at all the games, that they really appreciated us coming out. Then she really got warmed up. "You're the only real fan we have," she says to me. She gestures a few seats over, where her mom and sister are still sitting there. "If I weren't playing, she wouldn't even be here."
(It's flattering, but not quite true. I don't leave the tri-state for road games, and I have to miss another home game because I am NOT paying MSG prices. But I guess I do stand out with my clipboard. It's such a useful prop, though: I keep stats on it, I beat out tempos with it, I disconcert free throw shooters with it, I hit myself in the head with it when my team commits stupid mistakes.)
What really saved the day for us was the press. We controlled Columbia's offense almost more than we did our own by keeping them trapped in the backcourt and forcing them to hurry up their offense once they did get it over the line. I consider that very promising, because I love a good press.
The kids might have made me crazy, but I wish the ones we get in with camps could be half as organized and purposefully loud as these. Great atmosphere. I still hate kids on general principles, but they did a good job.
Shout out to Tracy and Deb, who made me come home two hours late, but it was all worth it.
I'm not looking forward to the game against Carolina, but I'll take what I can get. GNoD approved!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 1st, 2009: Stetson @ St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 87, Stetson Hatters 51
The Game Notes see you, baby, shaking that ass... oh, sorry, no, you're kicking it, not shaking it.
There's no place like home court. There's no place like home court. There's no place like home court. *clicks Red shoes*
They've renovated the place since last season. Finally, they updated the WNIT banner. Only took them two seasons, but what the hell. It's not like it's something important like the CBI. So much shiny! We have a notreallyJumbomorelikeMediumtron! And an entrance video! And graphics! I'm tearing up here.
This team is much looser than I've seen from them before. They laugh and tease each other a lot during warm-ups and stretches. The seniors don't get much involved in it, but everyone else does. No one else dances the way Sky does, though.
The band does not suck. This is, like, a great revelation for me. It is joy. (But not Joy. This is why capitalization matters.) However, cheerleader third from the left, pull your skirt down, the bottoms of your asscheeks aren't that interesting.
Buzz, you're adorable and we know you love your team, and you seem like a nice kid, but, um, some of your family members appear to have been raised in a barn. Please remind them not to talk during the anthem, especially when ROTC is presenting colors.
Stetson knows the game- they just had a lot of trouble executing. There were a lot of crisp passes that were too fast, too strong, or not well-timed. They kept it close through the first few minutes, and that's with St. John's pitching an eight-minute shutout to open the game. Then we remembered how to rebound and Kelly remembered how to shoot. End of story.
Daphnee Frieson gave us a lot of trouble down on the block, because of her size. She wasn't afraid to body up on our slim posts. Janelle Mills tried to do the same thing, but being slightly shorter and somewhat less talented, she had less success at it. Simone Taylor jump-started their offense off the bench, somewhat aggressively. Don't leave Ashley Dennis open- we're lucky she only put in two triples on us. Hell, even the St. John's men were yelling for her to shoot it. Dashauna Truss also put up in a couple of triples.
I seem to recall Stetson's starting guards doing a lot of stupid things, driving into multiple players and throwing up prayers. (Not smart when the refs are calling it pretty loose.) Ashli Jackson was the only player to break double figures for the Hatters, doing it with a mix of shots. But yeah. Lots of fail and stupid from Jessica Conner, Tierra Brown, Kerri Simpson, and Lyllique Roman.
I'm sorry, Stetson. I only have two plays starred for you, and they both belong to Daphnee Frieson, a nice block and a hard rebound.
Getting up twenty in the first half and stretching the lead further in the second meant that we got to see a lot of the bench. I wish Britney had gotten into the game (no, not that one, where do you think we are, Colorado?), but I'm glad the freshmen got a chance to strut their stuff. Eugeneia was a little over her head, and she didn't play much. Buzz got the bulk of the guard minutes off the bench. She really needs to work on her timing on her defensive plays, but she's got the right instincts and lots of moxie. Her shots were falling tonight, though when they weren't it was obvious why- she uses every bit of the rim and glass that she possibly can- I don't ever want to get into a game of HORSE with her. Kelly found her shot again and it was glorious. We've discovered her problem: if she tries to shoot a women's three, she'll shoot it too long. She was canning them from behind the men's line all night, though. Jennifer, who I keep referring to as Not-the-Kia!, got some time, shoots free throws with too much spin, and managed to foul out in ten minutes. She is also the loudest player I've ever heard. Yeah, Not-the-Kia! needs a bit more polishing, and fast, so we can hit somebody in conference play. Coco's gotten a little stronger, it looks like, and she's crashing the boards well, but she still engages in acts of epic fail that do not amuse.
Sky really dominated the ball today, and in a good way- she scored six early, quick points, including one shot off a carom off the side of the backboard from a truly heinous shot from Da'Shena. Can't make it up if I tried. She set up Joy on a gorgeous fast break, and got one back on a steal from Nadirah in the second half. Joy took a while to warm up- she looked really out of it in the first half, then started going inside again in the second ad doing her thing, tipping balls and getting easy buckets. Nadirah committed some awful freshman mistakes- dumb fouls, sloppy ballhandling- but found her teammates well. She really makes things go smoothly, which opens things up for Sky, which makes everyone happy. Da'Shena had a quiet game, and a lot of the shots she missed were easy ones. But we didn't need her to have a big game, which is a refreshing change. Okay, it was only Stetson, but having such balance is a good thing.
I've seen this crew before. They called it pretty loose. I can't complain too much, since if there was any favoritism, it was towards St. John's, and while I might comment on bias towards my team, I'll never complain about it.
The crowd seemed bigger than I remembered, but they were giving away free t-shirts to students. Whatever. I'm happy with my magnetic schedules. *covers everything*
It was good to be home. GNoD approved!