Just the Facts, Ma'am: Iona took off fast and withstood several Siena runs to claim victory on Senior Day, 71-47. Joy Adams and Damika Martinez each had 16 points to lead the Gaels, with Adams adding 10 rebounds. Aleesha Powell filled the stat sheet for Iona with 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and six steals. Allison Mullings led Siena with nine points and eight rebounds.
For teary eyes, small posters, parental concerns, offensive rebounding, and deep trust, join your intrepid and flattered blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon, everyone! We're coming to you for what's likely the last time this season from the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, for Iona's Senior Day against Siena. Congratulatory balloons have been tied to the chairs on the Iona bench in honor of Jiya Dorcas-Eya and Diana Hubbard.
After having bused through it in the daytime, I have to admit that New Rochelle's a full-fledged city. What can I say? You have to be a metropolis, or possibly a megalopolis, before I admit to your city status- I'm from New York, so the bar is set pretty high. It's an oddly split city, but it's an interesting one nonetheless. With more frequent bus service, it might even be one I could get used to. I think I need to make more money before that's a viable option, though.
It doesn't take much to become one of the Usual Suspects at Iona, apparently; we've become part of the routine with only really picking it up in the latter part of this season. They're a nice second team to have. And there's a different vibe to the crowd here. It's an interesting contrast to St. John's.
Well, that was the classiest Senior Day celebration I've ever seen. Coach took the mic personally and introduced all of the seniors- not just Dorcas-Eya and Hubbard, not even just the manager, but all the seniors on the cheer and dance teams, along with Lily Grenci from Siena. Everyone got flowers given to them by someone from the Iona bench, either a player or staff, along with a t-shirt for the Iona folks (I suspect Grenci might have seen that as an insult). After pictures and tears, they even played the Nigerian national anthem for Dorcas-Eya (she's from Lagos) before playing the Star-Spangled Banner.
It's 32-17 Gaels at the half, and it was a bit of a cluster at the end of the half, with a lot of missed shots and missed violations. I think one of the referees took it personally that Sabrina Jeridore rolled into him going after a loose ball. Suck it up, princess, that's part of the game.
Coach was kind enough to invite us to the senior reception, so we're currently in that awkward situation where you're there before your host and everyone else is all "WTF are these people and WTF are they doing here?" We're sitting with Aleesha Powell's family (if the hat and interest in Philadelphia are accurate indicators) and they're really nice people. (Aaaaaaand I'm pretty sure Aleesha Powell herself is a pretty accurate indicator.) The pepperoni is GOOD. (This paragraph needed more parenthetical asides; we ended up running into them again on our way to the station, watching as their car was towed away with a broken axle.)
Clara Solé Anglada did a good job getting to the line, and late in the game she was launching threes that looked pretty good. I was tempted to give her a yellow card for simulation after the trip that was called on Aleesha Powell. Ida Krogh was first off the bench in both halves and chewed up a fair amount of minutes. Kim Lysius Côte got some free throws late in the game. I really don't have any clear impressions of the rest of the Siena bench, and therefore cannot fairly judge them; the times when Ali Jaques went to her reserves were generally the times that the Iona fans were getting loudest, and we were getting behind them.
I think I would like Kate Zarotney a lot more if she weren't quite so handsy. I like her work on the boards, and she did a fantastic job cleaning up on the glass- I think all of her baskets were on putbacks. But she just couldn't stop reaching. Ciara Stewart was accidentally announced as Clara the first time around, but the announcer got a handle on her name the second time. She kept committing really stupid fouls on plays she had no legitimate shot at. I'm not sure what her role is for Siena, but I'd hope that's not it. Lily Grenci did work around the basket- I think there were a couple of possessions where she and Zarotney were essentially tipping the ball to each other on missed shots. It was a little crazy, but they worked well together and both took advantage of their height. Tehresa Coles hit a couple of nice baskets, but that's all I remember about her. Allison Mullings really impressed me most in terms of scoring ability and nose for being in the right place at the right time on defense.
My memories of Siena are generally of green jerseys going for rebounds two or three at a time. They killed the offensive boards- 20 of their 42 rebounds were at their own end.
You know it's a blowout when Jordan Henry sees the floor for Iona. We were all hoping that lay-up would go in instead of bouncing hard off the inside of the rim. Shonice Hawkins gives the best "WTF is this I don't even" face I've seen in a while (which is awkward when it's aimed in your general direction). Cassidee Ranger got her shots in the corner, and even buried one of them, but what impressed me most about her today was her commitment to defense. She looked really good at that end of the floor. I don't know that was a situational "I know Diana's getting the minutes as a shooter today" thing, or if she's committed herself to being more than a one-trick pony, but I like it. Sabrina Jeridore had the facial expressions of a woman in agony for most of the game, and the giant bag of ice she was dragging around with her after the game suggested that I wasn't just misreading her face. She seemed a little slowed up and hesitant, but still a gamer, especially on the defensive end of the floor. She and Aleesha Powell came off the bench for this one so the seniors could start, and Powell seemed to adjust better than Jeridore did. Powell had a great second half, and was the only Gael who could get herself consistently to the line. She and Briana Brown of St. John's need to start a support group for guards who repeatedly get hammered on a daily basis without the official being concerned about their well-being. She also had two particularly flashy steals out of the six she nabbed. I like her, and not just because we ended up sitting with her family. Aaliyah Robinson had a solid game with good defensive plays.
Damika Martinez's shooting was Jekyll and Hyde. In the first half, she was awful- I think she missed her first five or six shots before hitting a three late in the half. In the second half, she got her feet under her and got hot from long range. Whatever adjustment she made, it worked. Her ballhandling still needs a little... okay, a lot... of work. Haley D'Angelo was solid but unspectacular, and way more passive than I liked. She passed up a couple of good looks, and I think at least one of those over-passed plays led to a turnover. Diana Hubbard took full advantage of her start- the place went off when she hit the lay-up to get to 10 points. She was draining threes from the far corner, too. Jiya Dorcas-Eya had some bad luck with the rim, and got a little too aggressive on block attempts, but she brought good energy, especially when she hit the one shot she got to go down (I think it was a putback, but even if the NCAA sanctioned gambling, I wouldn't put money on it). Joy Adams started off like a house on fire- at one point she was outscoring Siena 10-9. She cooled off later, but she made her impact felt. That's one impressive freshman.
Iona lost focus in the second half, when Siena made their run, but I don't think they were going to lose on their Senior Day. I don't think anyone was going to let that happen.
I do think the referees took things personally. The black ref (sorry to describe him like that, but I didn't know any of them and I never got their names) seemed irked that Senior Day was so long, and one of the other ones took that hit from Jeridore. There were some very odd non-calls in the second half. While I think Iona could have been more aggressive going to the basket, the 22-7 free throw differential was out of control.
The dance team routine with all the arm holding was very technically impressive. I usually give them a hard time, but that was pretty good. The cheerleaders still need to find some shorter cheers so they don't get stuck on a change of possession, though. It's hard to get involved when the cheer's a minute long.
This is going to be a good finish to the MAAC season- not for first, but for second, where Fairfield and Iona are battling for what might be the conference's automatic bid to the WNIT. In a conference that essentially only gets one bid to the NCAA tournament, that could be huge.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
February 24th, 2013: Siena at Iona
Saturday, February 23, 2013
February 23rd: Rutgers at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's completed the season sweep of Rutgers in dominating fashion, never trailing in a 61-48 win. Nadirah McKenith led all scorers with 21 points, joined in double figures by Briana Brown with 13 and Aliyyah Handford with 12. Erica Wheeler led Rutgers with 11 points, while Betnijah Laney had eight points and 10 rebounds.
For embarrassing parents, self-satisfaction, dancing in inappropriate areas, conquest of the tri-state area, color coordination, and Nadirah McKenith being awesome, join your intrepid and tussis-ridden blogger after the jump.
So this is how it starts to wind down: a dwindling pile of tickets, marks on a calendar, the realization that this is the last walk for a month (Senior Night means I come from work). It's just getting good- I don't want it to end this soon!
The Cagers' bus appears to have been driven by someone more competent than last year, which is good. I don't like people being potentially in car accidents, especially in a steady driving rain. They did try to get some of the RU chants going, which we did not take kindly to, but after the last push by St. John's, they mostly quieted down. Most of them didn't seem to be jerks, which is refreshing.
Solid anthem. Band was on point most of the day, though our drummer was a bit more absent-minded than usual. He's still awesome, though.
I suspect that one of the lessons that Our Lady of Hope's coach will impart after that halftime game is "don't dance the Cha-Cha Slide while playing basketball". Yes, one of the kids was trying to do the dance move in basketball rhythm. It didn't go so well for her.
Kaleah Copper showed all the potential she has, being in the right place at the right time for rebounds. We got lucky that she got rim and nothing more on some of her shots. Christa Evans got minutes in the first half, and I think she was more effective than usual because we weren't considering her to be of any importance. Which, after her first basket, she really wasn't, although she used her big frame to make space for her teammates. Ariel Butts played just long enough to get a putback on an offensive rebound, then disappeared into the ether. I don't get that choice either, but that might have had something to do with Rachel Hollivay's play in the second half. Hollivay is an impressively talented player, and she has the potential to be a star with her physicality and her touch around the basket. She's got a bit of a hot head, though, and she got into it with Mary Nwachukwu a couple of times, to the point where Mary got a technical after getting tangled up with her. She's not the kind of player I normally expect from a Stringer team, in terms of personality. Precious Person showed flashes of her potential, but just briefly. With a name like that (and a number like that- Essence Carson was one of my favorite Scarlet Knights) she'd better pan out as something special.
Monique Oliver played well in the time that she had, but she didn't play a lot for whatever reason- she didn't look hurt, and there didn't seem to be foul trouble, but maybe it was the Hollivay factor again. She's a big scary post, and if Rutgers wants to at least go to the WNIT, they should feed her more. Of course, since I don't think they care about the WNIT, I understand getting Hollivay and Butts into the game. Shakena Richardson is adorable, especially when she's arguing a foul call that she clearly committed. And she did commit some boneheaded fouls. Syessence Davis looked good, with some nice plays on defense. Erica Wheeler was inconsistent- she demonstrated some fantastic, ballet-level footwork on defense and the chase for loose balls, but she seems to have had her three-point shot scared out of her somehow. She got a little hot in the second half, but that was also when she blew a fast break lay-up off the corner of the backboard. She still looks like the closest thing they have to a leader. Betnijah Laney continues to demonstrate a remarkable ability to miss makeable shots. She rebounded well, but I'm not sure if she's Big East, or Big Ten, talent. (I also don't envy her adventures with Big Ten fans in her senior year.)
Not to say that Rutgers was getting physical when they were getting frustrated, but they even shoved each other a couple of times after the play. Somehow, Laney always seemed to be in the middle of the contact; take that for what it's worth.
Ashley Perez buried a three near the end of the first half to get us all excited for her. Cedrica Gibson came into the game at the very end to keep a steady hand on the offense. I do like travel-size point guards- they're adorable! Amber Thompson had a good defensive game, but I would have liked to see more offense out of her, both because I want to see her do well and because her very enthusiastic mother was sitting a couple of rows down from us. Keylantra Langley didn't have her end-of-the-shot-clock magic, but was solid defensively.
Aliyyah Handford either has a hard head or a lot of luck- she went down hard at one point and hit her head, then while she was on the floor, got an accidental heel to the forehead from Erica Wheeler. She went out of the game, had the concussion test administered, and was cleared to come back in, and she looked pretty much normal. She drove the lane like a madwoman today, and got a lot of free throws out of the deal. Shenneika Smith couldn't find the bottom of the basket, and her ballhandling was off. Way off. "Did you just do the show-the-ball trick?" off. (For those of you unversed in the ways of the New York Liberty: Tari Phillips used to have a habit of holding the ball out directly in front of her, either as a badly telegraphed hand-off or a brazen challenge to the other team to steal the ball; the other team usually took the challenge gladly.) It might be time to retire the PinkZone kicks, or something. Her move to force the three-shot foul with one second left on the shot clock was dramatic genius, however. Briana Brown continues to be the most improved player in the Big East, with the biggest metaphorical cojones you will find. She was feeling it from the corner, and on the backdoor, and she played solid defense. Nadirah McKenith continues to corner the market on game-controlling awesomeness, driving the lane, finding her teammates, and even blocking shots. She was amazing. Mary Nwachukwu played like someone had lit a fire under her, tough on defense and even hitting the first shot of the game. Rutgers's posts are very physical, and she played them tough. She got a lot of elbows and forearms in uncomfortable places, and somehow she ended up being the only player teched when she and Hollivay got tangled up.
And then the St. John's crowd rallied behind her with an angry roar at the refs, which may have helped silence the Rutgers people. (And no, I never expected to type that the St. John's crowd rallied behind Mary Nwachukwu.) The officiating was sketchy in the second half, and we had the competent Enterline. Rutgers was doing a lot of reaching without getting called, and I'm pretty sure Nadirah could have called "BAD TOUCH!" on one of those reaches. After the tech, the refs got stricter on their calls and kept it from degenerating into anything worse.
Many ducks have been chucked and donations made, and today Clare Droesch's parents were presented with a check for $3,758 to help crush her cancer. I wish her good luck with that.
We keep doing what we have to do. That's all I can ask. That's all we can do.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
February 17th, 2013: Cincinnati at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Cincinnati got off to an 8-0 start, but then the Red Storm's Nadirah McKenith went on an 11-2 run to spark St. John's to a 75-46 win. McKenith finished with 20 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Cincinnati was led by 12 points from Jeanise Randolph.
For concentrated awesomeness, pinkness, ducks, and warm and fuzzies, join your intrepid and musophobic blogger after the jump (oh GOD what is that noise behind the couch).
Because I love you guys, and because my mother would have words for me, I'll save you several hundred words of ranting about pinkwashing and the enforcement of BHA/Play4Kay as The Holy Cause For Women's Basketball. Besides, that would make me angry, and after a game like that, I don't want to be angry.
Great attendance for this one! We had some of the clinic kids whose events were pushed back from last week, of course, and the athletes running the clinics mostly decided to stay for the game, but there were a lot of other folks around too. Our section was full of people from Newark- they cheered loud and hard for all of the Newark players in the game, both St. John's and Cincinnati. There were guys from the men's soccer team behind us, cheering on a friend of theirs who was in the timeout shooting contest. (He didn't make any of the shots; I still maintain that if he was a soccer guy, he should have tried to throw it in over his head like Erin Thorn did that one time.) The crowd didn't really get into it unless Nadirah or Aliyyah did something awesome, but since they were often awesome, that worked out well.
Solid anthem. Band put in a lot of work because of ESPN's tendency to delay things. Cincinnati walked through the end of a dance routine once. (Still need to figure out what that song is that sounds a little like "Carol of the Bells" but is appropriate for all seasons.)
Lesha Dunn appeared to have a different definition of fouls than the officials and other participants in the game. I don't know, maybe they call things differently in Canada or something. I expected her to be more of a factor, but I don't know if Cincy wanted to take advantage of the height differential; looking at their roster, they're really not that tall a team, just a little bit taller than us. Alexis Durley had a really nice steal that she converted to a fast break lay-up. She played well for them off the bench. Jasmine Whitfield gave them some time in the second half. I sort of remember Shelbi Chandler being big, but that's all I can think of when I think of her. Tiffany Turner was first off the bench in both halves, but I don't remember anything that she did.
Dayeesha Hollins was in foul trouble for a good part of the game, and by the time she could get back into it, Cincinnati was well out of it. While that allowed the freshman Durley to shine, I think Jamelle Elliott would have preferred to get more than eight points out of her senior guard. Kayla Cook's hair kept distracting me; those little hanks of blonde hair at each of her temples made me want to attack her with hair elastics. I imagine they didn't help with her shooting, either. Chelsea Jamison was able to be in the right place at the right time a lot on defense. I don't know what it is, but there's something I like about her. Jeanise Randolph exploited the paint for most of her baskets. That's a big load of woman. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. I think the folks in front of us wanted to cheer for Alyesha Lovett, since she's from Newark, but other than her rebounding, she didn't do much to cheer about.
Early on, Cincinnati was exploiting our defense beautifully, making backdoor cuts and taking advantage of every mistake we made. It was 8-0 Cincinnati, and I felt the tournament fading out of our reach.
And then Nadirah McKenith happened. And then it was Nadirah 11, Cincinnati 10. And the rout was on.
Cedrica Gibson got to run the point for most of the second half, and she's a steady hand. She needs a little more time to learn the college game, but I think she'll adjust to being a solid guard. Sandra Udobi had a nice run in the second half- she did an amazing job of getting to the line, and while she needs to work on her quickness a little bit, she looked like the top notch recruit we brought in. Ashley Perez got hot from the corner and showed off her three-point shot (though not her two-point shot). She needs to get smarter on defense, but she's got time for that. Keylantra Langley demonstrated that old habit of hers where she hits the shot with the shot clock running down. She also played well on D. Amber Thompson got lucky that she didn't get tagged with any turnovers, because there was a loose ball that she looked like she kicked out of bounds. I'd like to see her be more aggressive after the ball, but she was efficient and reasonably effective in her minutes and new hairdo. Be more awesome, Amber! I know you can!
Shenneika Smith had a tough night shooting, whether it was because she was taking stupid shots (I'm thinking of the one that hit the side of the backboard that looked like she was going for the foul instead of actually attempting to hit the shot) or because she was well guarded. Fortunately we didn't need her to get going. Briana Brown was solid, cleaning up on the boards and snagging loose balls. She wasn't as effective on post defense as she usually is, but she's 5-8, I don't exactly expect her to play in the post. I'm 5-8, and I definitely don't expect me to play in the post! Mary Nwachukwu didn't play a lot of the game, and was kind of tentative when she did. I expect her to at least try to grab at least one rebound, but she didn't even seem to be looking for her shot when the team wanted to get everyone on the board. Aliyyah Handford had a rough start, but then she got hot and started doing amazing things that should be on SportsCenter.
But not quite as awesome as Nadirah McKenith, which is why Nadirah gets her very own paragraph. I repeat: Nadirah 11, Cincinnati 10. And then she assisted Aliyyah's first basket. She hit shots from all over the arena. She picked a Bearcat's pocket clean as a whistle and broke it down the floor. She had a little bit of everything, and all of it without a turnover. She proved her worth as a pro prospect today. She dragged her team back into the game, and they followed her lead.
The officiating was... I believe our colleague Ray would refer to several of the calls, especially late in the game, as "game management" calls. Out-of-bounds, travels, differing levels of contact... it felt like we were getting the worst of the calls, but clearly it didn't matter. (And we hit our free throws! It was amazing! It was a revelation! I heard a choir of angels with every rustle of the net! Okay, not really, but St. John's is Catholic, you never know.)
This was PinkZone/Play4Kay/whatever it is they're branding it as these days, so pink shirts abounded. The cheerleaders with the donation box had parked themselves in front of the t-shirt bin, and we had a communication breakdown, but I was okay with that. It was a better shirt than most years. The corporate branding wasn't as obnoxious. And internally, the focus was on the fund for Clare Droesch, not on Play4Kay, for which was relieved; I'd rather the focus at the game be on something that's relevant for the school, while ESPN can do their thing over the airwaves. (Also, my belated and eternal gratitude to the St. John's graphics crew, which has finally stopped referring to the "Crush Clare Droesch Fund" and clarified it to "Crush Cancer for Clare Droesch". Much easier to donate to that!) Your intrepid blogger ran around the arena until finding the guys with the ducks, then handed them twenty bucks and came away with a tray full of ducks. We started naming them during slow parts of the game: Cathrine, Jillian, Paul, Daisy, Darkwing, Jean-Sebastien...
"Go home, mom, you're loopy. GO HOME, MOM. You're loopy." Because I love my mother, that's the only part of the conversation you get.
It was a really good game, a really good atmosphere, and a great chance for Nadirah to strut her stuff. I can't ask for any more than that.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
February 9th, 2013: Georgetown at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Shenneika Smith put up 26 points and Nadirah McKenith flirted with a triple-double as St. John's took a 76-72 overtime decision from Georgetown. Sugar Rodgers led all scorers with 29 points, 22 after halftime, and the Hoyas also got 21 points and 11 rebounds from Dominique Vitalis.
For corner threes, traveling fans, bodily fluids, second impressions, and not quite that many overtimes, join your intrepid and hoarse blogger after the jump.
I shouldn't have to end up sounding like a chain-smoking diner waitress after playing Georgetown if the Hoyas are down two starters and we have a ten-point lead at any time in the game. And yet the husband and I had to turn it up as loud as we did against UConn. I'm not pleased with the folks in the seats on this one.
Nice anthem by the band- we missed you, Kevin, but your substitute did more than admirably. They stepped up their cheering game in the second half when the Georgetown fans actually started making noise, and we needed them, since RedZone didn't seem inclined to actually cheer despite showing up in impressive numbers. I really appreciate you guys coming out, but it doesn't help when you don't cheer.
Part of me wants to credit the Georgetown fans that came out for this one, partially for simply existing and partially because organizational skills are to be credited, but at the same time, I hate when opposing fans treat a road arena like their own house, and one of the Hoya assistants even got their supporters riled up. Meanwhile, I've got people asking me not to yell during overtime of a game against Georgetown. Seriously?
I was very impressed with Keith Brown as a coach. He was always correcting something or working on something with his players. They did a beautiful job playing their zone defense. It rotated in ways that would make me very happy if I weren't cheering for the opposing team. When they promoted him to head coach, I thought it was just to keep Sugar Rodgers from transferring and to maintain an AAU pipeline, not for his coaching chops, but it looks like I was wrong, and that's something I'd like to be wrong about. (There can never be enough good coaches in the game, and I don't want Georgetown to completely fall off a cliff after Rodgers graduates.)
I honestly didn't realize that Ki-Ke Rafiu played as much as she did until I got home and looked at the box score. I mostly remember her doing stupid things and shooting two free throws that were so bad she was almost an honorary Johnnie. Jasmine Jackson was kind of handsy. I don't remember her doing much else. Vanessa Moore played the bulk of the bench minutes, and there were times when she was more of an asset to St. John's than she was to Georgetown- she saved two balls right to Nadirah McKenith (getting, um, awkwardly entangled with the dance team on the second one) and getting into stupid foul trouble at the end of the first half. She hit the boards well, though. In general, Georgetown hit the boards well. They've got long, tall players who go up hard.
I was very impressed with the freshman Dominique Vitalis. She's got a great nose for the basket. She's really tough, too. Brittany Horne found her way to the boards and the ball a lot too. She was always up in someone's business on defense. Hands always moving, always in the way, always up or out. Katie McCormick looked to be the designated shooter- she looked a little lost when asked to do anything else. I know that the Hoyas were down two starters (White and Powell) so maybe McCormick isn't always a starter? Sydney Wilson kept missing shots down low that should have been easy for her- fortunately for her, Horne and Vitalis were able to clean up the garbage. I don't think she expected the defense to be as up in her business as it was, since St. John's is not exactly known for having a plethora of post players. (Which you would then think meant that guards would be going after your dribble, but I don’t play basketball, I just yell about it in the stands and write about it hours later.) Sugar Rodgers demonstrated that while she's a chucker, she's more than just a mindless automatic shooter. One of the key buckets for the Hoyas in the second half came when she gave up an easy fast break to set up a wide open Vitalis under the basket. But she showed that she's got range all over the court- do you know how rare an actual-facts mid-range game is these days? She scored from all over the floor. She did seem to take a lot of contact, and that might worry me if I were a Georgetown fan, or a WNBA scout.
No, seriously, if this game had been on television, the Big East and WNBA coaches everywhere would have been holding their breaths after that collision between Rodgers and McKenith near the end of the first half, because they both went down hard and stayed down a fair while.
I would really like to see Amber Thompson get more minutes, but we all know this. She was solid today, except for one exceptionally stupid hack on the wrist of a Georgetown player after the shot was already in the air. That, and I hope she gets the knack of running backwards on defense. Keylantra Langley chose a good time to find her stroke again, and she also had a couple of nice defensive plays.
This was the first time that I can remember in a long time that I thought Aliyyah Handford looked like a freshman out there. She's totally entitled, as super awesome as she's been for us all year. But she wasn't taking great shots and she made a couple of bad decisions. I think her teammates were trying to force the issue for her a little bit too. Shenneika and Nadirah both made the extra pass to her on plays they should have taken. I think Mary Nwachukwu was a little distracted by what's going on with the big storm- she looked a little out of it at the start of the game, and she is from Massachusetts, so I do get it. I loved how she temporarily shut up the Georgetown fans, though- they got a rip-roaring "DEFENSE!" chant going, and she proceeded to hit a lay-up off an o-board and get fouled on the play, then convert the lay-up. I'd like to see her be a little less terrified of the ball, whether she's on the court or on the bench, but you can't change people at this point, can you? Briana Brown sniped threes from the corners like there was no tomorrow, and she went to the floor for loose balls like she always does, and she valiantly defended 6-6 Sydney Wilson whenever she was called upon to do so, and she's grown by such leaps and bounds this year that it still amazes me. Nadirah McKenith couldn't get her shots to fall through most of the game, though her second-half three was crucial, but she did everything else, and I mean everything else. She was superb at finding her teammates and coming up with long rebounds off the rim, and her defense was on point. Shenneika Smith played lights out, coming up with big shots and a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor. I think she wanted to show that she was also a first-round talent, that Sugar wasn't the only future WNBA player in this game.
Officiating was mostly solid. If anything, I thought St. John's got the benefit of a lot of non-calls on travels and contact. I don't know what Aliyyah did to draw the technical, though. I suspect it may have been one of the magic words.
Nice shooting during the timeout games. That always makes me happy.
I spent halftime horking up phlegm in the bathroom (I know, TMI) so I missed the biddy game.
Crowd was a bit lacking, but that's because today was supposed to be clinic day, but then blizzard. So those kids will be at the Cincy game instead.
We finally won a game after messing it up in the last minute. I think that does a lot for the team's morale and momentum. We need every game we can get. It's a long climb, but we're ready.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
February 2nd, 2013: UConn at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: UConn broke open a close game in the last two minutes and pulled out the road win at St. John's, 71-65. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis led the Huskies with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelly Faris scored 13 of her 17 in the second half. Shenneika Smith of St. John's led all scorers with 21 points, adding four steals; Briana Brown had 12 of her 16 in the first half.
For pride, ferocity, stubbornness, defense, shooting, and knitting, join your intrepid and hoarse blogger after the jump.
My team doesn't surrender. My team doesn't give up. My team fights to the end against even the best teams in the game. We looked UConn in the eye and led them into the fourth quarter. For a long stretch we even shut up the UConn fans, and if you know me, you know that that means a lot to me. (It dates back to my Rutgers days, when hating UConn was part of the job description.)
Because the UConn fans overwhelmed the place and don't tend to listen to friendly "um, hey, our point guard's family likes to sit there" or "excuse me, that's the home bench, please don't sit behind it" explanations, we decided we weren't going to start trouble and decamped from our usual section by the band, joining RedZone in the endcourt student section closer to the St. John's bench. And even then there were UConn fans trying to get in. GUYS SERIOUSLY CAN WE HAVE ONE CORNER OF OUR OWN ARENA?
RedZone put in work for this game, I'll give them that. We might have gotten them started, but the team kept them in the game for most of it. And I think the UConn fans starting DE-FENSE chants on the road spurred them on too. Do not taunt happy fun New Yorkers. We can be louder than anyone.
Nice anthem. Nice dress, too. Yes, I notice these things.
Morgan Tuck moves well for someone of her build. I wasn't expecting her to be able to be so comfortable both deep in the paint and out in jump shot territory. I think she's put a lot of expectations on herself with that jersey number, and while I don't know if she can live up to those expectations, she's going to be a very useful piece for them. I can see her playing a similar role to Danielle Adams offensively, only without the flopping tendency. Moriah Jefferson seems to have a chip on her shoulder- maybe it's just her build? I don't know but there's something about her that I don't particularly like. I did like her tendency to get faked out by our guards' fancy dribbling, though. She's dangerous on that press- she and Tuck (I think) killed us on something like three straight possessions. I'm sorry Brianna Banks screwed up her knee, and I hope she gets well soon, but that was a charge. Run into two defensive players, and things will probably not end well for you. Breanna Stewart didn't impress me. Yes, she's tall, and she can play Geno's defense, but if I were a UConn fan, I would be screaming the same imprecations at her that I currently scream at Amber Thompson- you have to hit your chippies if you're a post player, and she had a lot of shots that she should have hit. Yeah, a couple of those were victims of the peculiarities of Carnesecca's rims, but if this is the best freshman in the Big East, it's going to be a long four years in this conference. (I disagree, by the way, but I'm biased and I'm proud to be biased in that regard.) She's also a little freer with her elbows than I like, but I guess that's what happens when you can't get anything else going.
I'm surprised that no one's gotten the memo that you can't leave Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis open. Seriously, her stroke is a thing of beauty and lightning-fast. You can't give her any daylight. At all. You have to lock down on her and never let up. She uses her build well, too- there's something of the football player to her body, but if I compare her to Kara Lawson, I'm probably going to end up with Boneyarders trolling me and claiming that I've committed some kind of mortal insult by comparing a Husky to a Vol. Bria Hartley had a rough time of it, but she was hassled for most of the day. I suspect that the scouting report focused more on her than KML. But she did always seem to have a big shot at the right time. Kelly Faris caught fire in the second half, much to my chagrin. Sorry. I try to admit my biases so everyone knows where I'm coming from, and I think Faris is overrated, overhyped, and obnoxious. I see her throw too many elbows for my liking, and while I appreciate that she does the hustle work, there are enough players who bust their butts out there in college that I don't think it makes her the greatest thing since sliced bread. (I also suspect she's going to get dinged for a lot more fouls on the next level.) Kiah Stokes was a useful piece down low- if Dolson's out for any period of time and she figures out more about where she needs to be on the floor and what the role of a UConn center is, that makes their offense even more dangerous. Which it totally needs to be, am I right? Leading the nation in scoring and scoring defense is not enough! Caroline Doty got after some loose balls, and she's awfully pretty in person, but I can't remember her doing anything of note in the game.
I like watching Geno coach. You can actually see coaching going on. It's refreshing in the women's game when you can actually see strategy on the floor and have it work.
Amber Thompson, one of these days you're going to drive me to drinking if you don't catch those passes under the basket that Nadirah and Aliyyah try to feed you. I love Amber's defense (though I'd like to see her pick up the knack of running backwards) and if she can hit her chippies she'll be a stud on the court. She had to play a lot of minutes with Mary Nwachukwu's foul issues in the first half, and she made a different. Keylantra Langley should not have the ball against a press. The shot she missed was beautiful and open and she usually hits those shots when the shot clock is running down. Sandra Udobi got a couple of minutes in the second half- I think Joe was thinking he could body up on UConn.
Mary was in foul trouble in the first half, and by the second half, Amber had shown what she could do, so Mary was mostly relegated to being an offense-defensive switch. She did hit a lay-up, which is a bigger deal than you'd think- she does most of her work from the elbow or other parts of the court that are not in the paint, to my eternal and infinite frustration. Briana Brown torched UConn in the first half- she had three threes and just didn't seem capable of being stopped. UConn paid a little more attention to her in the second half, and I don't think she knew how to handle it. But I love, love, love the way she gets after loose balls. She has a great nose for the ball, both when it's on the floor and when she's flying for a rebound. If she keeps this up in her senior year, I will happily eat a heaping helping of crow for doubting her. (Then get treated for West Nile, probably, but it'll be worth it.) Nadirah McKenith just couldn't get her shot going- she was either leaving her lay-ups short or overcompensating and sending them too hard. But she made up for it with her vision finding her teammates. If her teammates had hit a couple of more shots she might have hit double figures in assists, which would have been awesome. (There's a specific play I'm thinking of where she fed Amber and Amber promptly fumbled it.) She reads defenses well and finds people well. Aliyyah Handford came out like she wanted to pull a Da'Shena Stevens and stake Big East Freshman of the Year on one big game against UConn. She didn't quite go as off as Day did, but she slashed through the Husky defense like there was no tomorrow and was generally awesome. Shenneika Smith also played like she knew people were watching and she needed to have a big game. She pressed too much in the last couple of minutes, but I think part of that had to do with knowing what the game meant. I'd rather have her pressing than have her backing off and having someone else take a bad shot. She was also solid defensively.
Poor Briana got destroyed on a screen with no call, but I've gotten used to that; I think there's some kind of secret deal that Bri must suffer during a game. There were also a couple of very odd out-of-bounds calls (if it goes off two UConn players, I'm pretty sure it should be St. John's ball, and if Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis's foot is on the endcourt paint, I'm pretty sure she's out of bounds). The free throw discrepancy irks me, but not as much as you would think. I'd have liked to have seen more calls go against UConn when we had the ball, but a lot of our fouls were to stop the break and were therefore shooting fouls. 25-9 enrages me on general principles, but we needed to do a better job of not getting into situations where we had to foul the shooter.
I generally try not to be a flaming snotrag to people at games. You do you, I do me, we'll all be good. But if you come to a basketball game- to arguably the biggest home game of the year- and you sit in the front row of the student section, and the people behind you are decked out in jerseys and beads, it might be stupid to ask those people not to scream through the entire game. If you want to sit there and do the Madame DeFarge thing with your knitting, fine. But it's a little unrealistic to expect the people around you at the game to be quiet, especially when you come to a section that's supposed to be loud.
I think I messed up my throat screaming, but that's because it was that close a game and I felt I was needed. Sorry to those who had to put up with my shrillness. I wasn't exactly concerned with ameliorating my pitch.
Lots of dancing at halftime. I was trying to talk to my mom, so I didn't really watch. Sorry, guys.
Don't have much else to say about this one. We played well. We didn't quite play well enough. But we made a statement. Okay, so we made that statement with Stefanie Dolson not playing (found out after the game that she was sick- chicken soup and don't infect your teammates, Stef!), but I'm okay with caveats and asterisks. UConn is still UConn. And we are (still) St. John's.