Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's never trailed and was barely threatened in an 80-48 win over Xavier. Keylantra Langley led the Red Storm with 16 points off the bench, while Amber Thompson notched a double-double in the first half alone, finishing with 10 points and 16 rebounds; all eleven Red Storm players who played scored. Shatyra Hawkes led all scorers with 18 points, but no other Musketeer got into double figures.
For free shirts, brutal chill, epic face palm, the quarantined zone, deep reserves, and mixed up defensive assignments, join your intrepid and stimulated blogger after the jump.
The good thing about there being relatively few weekday games for St. John's this season is that very few of my game notes are started on one of the least reliable bus lines in the fleet, while I grind my teeth in eternal frustration at just missing the bus no matter when I try to sneak out of work, and thus biting my nails to the quick when I'm not grinding my teeth, hoping that I'll make all my connections before 7PM.
Tonight's a revenge match, St. John's looking to make up for that inexcusable loss to Xavier. I'm rocking my red- the supporter's scarf and hat are useful in this cold cold cold cold weather, and the jersey is a nice extra layer. The gates are open by now, and I'm still winding my way down a street in Elmhurst. I hate the MTA so much.
At halftime, St. John's is up 44-23. Amber Thompson has 10 points, at least two blocks, and what feels like ALL the rebounds. Keylantra Langley leads all scorers off the bench with 13 points and sticky defense. Ashley Wanninger has seven to lead Xavier. There's been a lot of hesitation by St. John's, but they're playing excellent defense and pretty much not giving up any offensive rebounds- I think there were maybe two possessions where Xavier got another look.
Lots of offense in this CYO game. I'm impressed.
When Keylantra Langley traveled to keep St. John's from running out the clock at the end of the first half, Selina Archer demonstrated a most epic face palm. It was a good three seconds long and included downward action. I love me a good face palm, though not the reason for one.
Xavier seemed a little short-handed tonight- they only played nine, so there was always at least one starter in the game. It didn't look good on them when they were down thirty and their starters were still going to the basket, but we did the math later. Sydney Neal got to the lane late in the game and had a couple of and-1 opportunities. She was scrappy on the floor as well. Maddison Blackwell showed off a little bit of range- our bigs weren't sure how to handle her taking threes. Kayla Davis was a bit confusing, even with the different spelling, but ineffective.
Shatyra Hawkes decided that she was going to go to the basket, come hell or high water. She's very, very short for a basketball player, but she's determined, with more vertical than you might expect from her build. I'm working under the theory that she's another reincarnation of Hawkgirl, as her name is similar enough to pass and that would explain the levitation. Aliyah Zantt was in the middle of a lot of plays, which was to her team's detriment in the endgame, when she went down in a collision with (I think) Mallory Jones and came up holding her ankle. Ashley Wanninger looked more to distribute than to shoot. I'm not sure this was to her team's benefit. We weren't guarding the three well, and I thought I remembered her being a shooter. I could be wrong, though. Leah Schaefer set screens for her teammates, but couldn’t buy a bucket. I don't remember Briana Glover. I honestly don't remember when she was in.
Xavier really did not seem fond of timeouts. They broke the huddle early almost every time, which disrupted a couple of the cheer routines. Please don't run over the flag boy, yo.
Mallory Jones can shoot, but that's really about it. She doesn't defend well, she barely held on to the one rebound she was able to get, she doesn't pass well... at least she shot well. Selina Archer could do with being a little more assertive on the boards, but I liked seeing her get easy buckets on the inside. I approve of big posts getting the job done down low, and I think it should happen more often unless those posts are playing against my team. She also helped disrupt a couple of loose balls. Aaliyah Lewis finally got to pick on someone her own size, and her speed came in handy during her first run in the second half. Later in the game, her speed was not as much of a necessity because we were trying to run down the clock. Her decision-making and her decision-making speed will hopefully improve with more experience. Jade Walker got called for fouls, to the point where everyone just assumed the foul was going to be on her if she was on the floor- there was a play where Danaejah Grant got called for the foul and the announcer initially gave it as Jade's foul. I'm not sure if Jade was amused or not. Danaejah looked to score, which was good, but I'd like to see a little more defensive effort out of her. Keylantra Langley brought the offense tonight, and for once it wasn't all at the end of the shot clock. She got to the line, she went to the hole, she sank threes, and she even kept up her sticky defense. She had one particularly fierce board where she made it clear that no one in any universe had any chance of taking that ball away from her.
It didn't seem like Briana Brown was shooting a lot, though I think a couple of those misses were really tightly contested. She came up with big shots in the second half- not that the lead was in very much danger at any point, but she abused the corner three, and rebounded well as well. Eugeneia McPherson was the offensive catalyst early, driving hard to the lane and then setting up her teammates. She cooled down later, but by that point she really didn't need to do much scoring. Sandra Udobi provided good defense late in the game and even got a little jumper to fall. I worry about her a little bit, though, if only because that brace on her knee was huge. I think it was actually bigger than the one Rebecca Lobo wore after her ACL tears, and we called that the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Amber Thompson grabbed all the rebounds. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one, given that she outrebounded Xavier all by herself in the first half. She didn't have to be quit as awesome in the second half, because the game was pretty well in hand by that point, but she was still pretty fierce. She owned the paint on both ends of the floor, cleaning up rebounds and swatting shots with authority- and keeping those swats inbounds, which is a pretty impressive feat, since most of the big dramatic swats tend to end up out of bounds. Aliyyah Handford continues to worry me- she showed flashes of her old confident self in drives to the basket, but there was a lot less of her defensive acumen present than I'd grown used to. We need her to contribute at both ends of the floor, not just on offense. I like when she cuts to the basket; I like when she's awesome. I just kind of want her to be ALL the awesome.
The team's defense was good tonight. I was pleased. They didn't deny the three as well as I would have expected them to try, given the way that we lost the last game, but there's only so much complaining you can do when you win by as much as we did. They ran the lane very well and got easy baskets right at the rim.
The officiating crew was quite communicative with each other, getting into huddles at pretty much every timeout. There was a long delay because of some clock issues late in the second half, which was sort of frustrating when we were up thirty and just wanted to get this over with so we could all go home. I think at least one of the officials was new and another was relatively inexperienced; the oldest of the three did a lot of talking. They let a little more contact go than I was comfortable with, but that's a personal preference.
Hello, young alumni! One of you forgot your pen, but we were very glad of your company for this game. We always like people who chant and stop with us.
I don't know what Xavier's coach said or did to earn the tech- we didn't see anything, and when play stopped we thought it was a timeout- but I can't say I'm surprised. He spent a lot of time out on the court.
Well, someone at St. John's listened. The team wore "We Back Pat" warm-up shirts, and Gina hooked us up with shirts in our size. Highly approved.
I think this team took the loss in Cincy personally, and this team is good at having a chip on its shoulder. It's when they're the hunted that they have a problem. I'm worried about what we're going to do at Seton Hall, and not just because that's going to be a very awkward game for your intrepid blogger. Seton Hall presses, and I don't know if we can handle the press. But we'll find out on Saturday.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
January 29th, 2014: Xavier at St. John's
Monday, January 27, 2014
January 27th, 2014: St. Francis at LIU
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Flash recovered from shaky defense and a slow start to come away with a road win at LIU, 84-76. Aisha Brock had 24 points, 17 in the second half, to lead St. Francis, while Alli Williams had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Cleandra Roberts had 23 points to lead LIU; Fanny Cavallo had 17, and Letava Whippy had a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 11 points.
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So you remember the part of the SJU-Georgetown notes where I mentioned we were sitting with half a dozen St. Francis players because one of them was Selina Archer's sister? I sort of kinda maybe a little got shanghaied into going to their game tonight against LIU, which is a little awkward because I tend to prefer to root for New York teams, but I made a promise (and Selina could probably stomp my face in if I broke it).
It's also awkward because the MTA is the devil itself and it's taken me half an hour just to get to the place where I can pick up the bus. HATE. Haaaaaaaaaate.
Of course this is the one night LIU decides they care about people carrying food in. My eyes, they are rolling.
At halftime, St. Francis is up one on LIU, and I'm seriously wondering why I passed up Big Monday for this. Well, no, I'm not, because Selina's across the court and we're going to have enough issues on February 1st without me breaking promises. Ali Williams is trying to do everything for the Red Flash, but they're missing a lot of makeable shots and throwing really, really, really dumb passes. Guys. How many times does Letava Whippy have to cut across the passing lane like Antonio Cromartie wishes he could to come away with the ball? St. Francis has also not been able to shut the back door- Cleandra Roberts and Fanny Cavallo have both been scoring pretty much at will back there. St. Francis is living and dying by the three, and that's probably going to come back and bite them in the end. All that said, I love their press- it's driving LIU up the wall, though not quite into a 10-second call yet.
St. Francis took their time coming out of the locker room. Also, for some reason I have the devil's own time getting a signal here, and it's upstairs. Logic? (No Iowa jokes, please.)
So that turned out to be more fun than I expected, though I suspect that ND-Maryland was a much more interesting game. There were big shots late, and big defensive plays. There were solid performances, and moments of facepalm. And hugs! More on that later, though.
Hope Phillips gave decent minutes, mostly in the first half. Bridget Murphy came off the bench with a lot of firepower, providing jumpers and a beautiful defensive disruption in the first half. Erin Blaine came in fairly late in the rotation in both halves- fought hard underneath and came up with a big bucket down low in the second half. Rebecca Keegan had a very nice sequence in the first half where she came up with a big block, then was the recipient of the pass for the lay-in as a result of the play. She's a good shot blocker, but she's what Board Junkies used to call a big oafy girl: tall, wide, broad-shouldered, not terribly mobile, and slouches badly (or at least looks like she's slouching). (For some reason, they used to end up at Oregon a lot. Think Jenny Mowe or Cathrine Kraayeveld early in her career, before Kraay decided that she was actually Erin Thorn.) She started the second half, a move I'm not sure I would have made, but I admit my bias in this matter. Shaqeia Stokes got a little run in the first and less in the second- got to the line once.
Samiah Bethel is really kinda fast- almost too fast for her own good, because much like Jessica Bibby or Sherill Baker, the speed does not come with brakes. She can keep up with any ball-handler out there, but the second that ball-handler decides they're going to stop, she's three steps out of position. She committed some dumb fouls out there, but you know how it is. Freshmen gonna freshman. Aisha Brock also committed fouls that she regretted later, but she regretted them much faster, and more than made up for them with hot shooting in the second half. She was feeling it, both inside and outside the arc, with sweet jumpers, including a three that glanced high off the glass before dropping. Alexa Hayward also came up big in the second half, making defensive stops and slamming the door with free throws down the stretch. Corissa Archer could do with some work on her rebounding, but I like a player who listens to her coach as intently as she seems to do on the floor, and she works hard out there. She'll always find a way to be open, and everyone in the room will know it by her scream. Ali Williams could have done with being more efficient, but she was hard-nosed in the paint and determined to catch every miss. I don't know if I would have had her doing as much ball-handling as she was, but this is around the time of year that every forward who would be a tweener on the next level really starts honing their ball-handling skills.
Demi Tomlinson did not dress for LIU. That might actually have been an advantage- that's not to take away from her, but given how often they were getting the baseline, having an additional three-point shooter as an option might have encouraged them to kick out to her more often instead of going back to the well.
Genise Presley came in for defensive purposes late in the game, but didn't do anything of note. Likewise, Brianna Farris, though she almost got called for a foul while she was sitting on the bench (people were mixing up 2 and 22 all night). Sophie Bhasin seems to have toned down her shooting instincts- I think she only hoisted a couple of shots all night. She seemed more involved defensively. Shanovia Dove had a big game off the bench, with a three late in the game that kept LIU competitive. She picked up the two fouls quickly, but played good defense otherwise. Courtney Sullivan was in and did things, but I think they were mostly defensive and missed threes. I know she was there, but I don't have a box score in front of me and I can't remember her doing anything, which is a very frustrating feeling for someone who wants to present an accurate picture of the game.
Kelly Robinson has a lot of flash and flair to her game. She blew into the lane for lay-ups that had no business going down. Of course, a fair number of those were shots that had no business being taken, even the ones that went down. She also had some gorgeous assists down low, helping the bigs get their baskets. I don't think I've ever seen Fanny Cavallo score that many field goals in a game, but I guess she figured that if the Red Flash were going to let her have that kind of space, she was going to take every advantage of it that she could. She set a lot of screens and picks as well, though with a certain lack of grace, much like a small bulldozer. Cleandra Roberts was very much in her element with the baseline exposed. I don't know how many easy shots right at the basket she had with a couple of simple cuts and a quick first step. She rebounded decently, but the key was her scoring. Aleisha Myers showed off a pretty jumper and some tough defense- she and Sullivan always seemed on the ball. Letava Whippy was on fire today, even if the offensive stats don't show it. She fought for every rebound, sneaking at least two of them out of the arms of larger St. Francis posts. She made cross-court passes an unspeakably bad idea. She ran down loose balls, and I think she put the brakes on a Red Flash fast break by catching up to the play. She was fierce and very impressive.
I think these refs were watching Illinois-Purdue. They weren't watching our game, that's for sure. I've never seen so many block/charge calls finessed by calling them travels. In fact, they were paying so little attention that Archer almost sweet-talked them into letting her inbound on an LIU possession. I LOLed. No one was happy with these guys by the end.
My favorite play of the game: St. Francis inbounding on the sideline, Archer with the ball. She and Ali Williams decide they're not going to wait for everyone to set, and while the other eight players are running around like headless chickens, Archer rifles a pass to Williams streaking to the basket for two.
St. Francis really likes when you keep your promises, apparently. As soon as the game was over and the hands were shaken, Alexa Hayward came through the tensile barrier, up into the stands, and thanked me for coming with a hug. Three of her teammates followed suit. I'm sorry that I'm bad with names, or I would thank you all individually. My team doesn't hug me for showing up. :( It's sweet. A little weird, yes, but sweet.
So I think I have another tertiary team to keep track of now. Great. I just felt so bad and and wrong rooting against LIU. I'm a New Yorker, damn it! I cheer for New York teams!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
January 26th, 2014: Georgetown at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Storm came up with big shots down the stretch to hold off a dogged Georgetown squad 66-63. Eugeneia McPherson and Danaejah Grant each had 16 points for St. John's, McPherson dropping 13 in the first half and Grant 10 in the second half. Andrea White led Georgetown with 18 points, while Natalie Butler had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
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Bleeping expletive unspeakable, it's cold out there. Yet here we are, at Carnesecca Arena for a night game against Georgetown.
Attendance is surprisingly robust, considering the Fimbul-winter going on out there. People keep trickling in, which I was not expecting. I mean, okay, it's Joe Tartamella Bobble-Head Night, but how many people genuinely care about that kind of thing? (Joe joins our bobble-head coaching staff, which is now up to four- Richie Adubato, Brian Giorgis, and Kim Barnes Arico are the others.)
I don't think Katie McCormick is dressed for this game, which is a break for St. John's- she won't be bombing threes and she can't provide on-court leadership.
The band appears to have called up reinforcements, though Kevin is absent. Fortunately, the chain of command is clear-cut. No, never mind, there he is, wearing a nice warm cozy sweater.
Nice anthem. A little nasal, but good technique.
Random Red Flash are random. Someone there knows Selina Archer, I think; they only got into the game when she was there. I don't know what they're going to do with half a dozen Tartamella bobble-heads and a medium St. John's shirt, but I wish them joy of their trophies. (Roster check: well, #23 on St. Francis is an Archer from the same hometown as Selina, so I'ma take a wild guess that they're related.)
At halftime it's 37-30 St. John's, but it should be more- the Red Storm started with four missed free throws. Eugeneia McPherson's got three threes among her 13 points, and there have been stretches of excellent physical defense on Natalie Butler, especially from Sandra Udobi.
However, sustainability, we no haz it. Why we don't press when our entire backcourt is more than capable of it and the one time we did so we induced a 10-second violation, I don't know.
Jim Lewis didn't go heavily to his bench in the first half, though we saw more of the subs in the second half. Dominique Vitalis did well on the boards and threw a couple of nasty trips that didn't get called. Samisha Powell started the second half and played heavy minutes, scoring at the basket and playing good defense. Logan Battle also started the second half- got to the line, was otherwise unmemorable. I was surprised not to see Vitalis much in the second half- I think she would have been very handy, especially with Andrea White in foul trouble late in the game (White eventually fouled out).
Natalie Butler got the job done down low, though I still think a large part of that is strictly based on her height and size. She tried to mix in a midrange jumper, a la Ruth Riley from the free throw line or Tamika Whitmore from the elbow, with mixed results. You can't teach size, but you can make size highly uncomfortable, and our posts got low to disconcert her. Tyshell King got the start, as Lewis went heavy with his freshmen in the first half. She did all right trying to set the offense. Jade Martin got physical on defense, and seemed distressed when calls didn't go her way. Faith Woodard has a lot of potential, and she came up big in the second half, always seeming to be on the play, but she makes stupid freshman mistakes, as all freshmen do- ill-advised shots and accidentally took out Samisha Powell right after the buzzer on a collision. Oops. From what I've seen of Georgetown, though, they're going to rise and fall with Andrea White. She goes hard to the basket and hard on the boards, and when she fouled out, I think the tide turned. There's a toughness to her that I think her team relies on- senior leadership by example, not by word.
Georgetown really needs to work on court awareness, or at least knowing where they are on the court. Andrea White and Natalie Butler fought each other hard for a rebound, leading to a traveling violation. Ms. Butler was not pleased. At the end of the game, Faith Woodard accidentally wiped out Samisha Powell. I felt kind of bad for her, but I laughed. It's human nature to laugh at pratfalls.
The St. Francis contingent was very happy that Selina Archer got two separate appearances, which I think is more playing time than she's gotten in any other game this year. She bodied up decently on Butler, but she needs to be more assertive down low. Can't stand around and watch, can't let things go out of your hands. Jade Walker got called for fouls pretty much for breathing. I know she's foul-prone, but there was one point where I hadn't even registered that she was in the game before the foul was called and she was off to the bench again. She's got to be more careful, but still. Keylantra Langley was good defensively- that missed free throw is uncharacteristic, though. Aaliyah Lewis still drives a little too frequently for my liking, but the jumper was pretty, and she was a much needed change of pace in this game. Danaejah Grant got big minutes and made big things happen on the offensive end. She picked us up in the second half, when we needed someone to step up offensively.
In the first half, that player was Amber Thompson, who showed off a nice array of low post moves and easily got around Butler planted in the paint. She swatted shots with very loud authority, too. Amber made things happen. Briana Brown never gave up on a play- she wasn't shooting a lot, but her defense and her work on loose balls was crucial. She went toe to toe with Butler on one, and came away the victor just after the whistle. Eugeneia McPherson lit up the scoreboard with threes in the first half, but seemed to become more shy about shooting in the second half. She remains a capable, but uninspired point guard, which I think suits Tartamella but might not work in the long run- both of them like to slow things up, and while that works when you have a lead, it's not the world's greatest plan when you're down. I think there's also a lot of cringing when she takes any contact. Sandra Udobi didn't play a lot, but she gave excellent defense on Natalie Butler- played her tough, played her physical, and knocked her off her marks. Aliyyah Handford still looks like she's trying to find her confidence again, but she was good today. Not as incandescent as she was to start the season, but good.
St. John's-Georgetown hasn't been a big rivalry on the women's side for a while, if only because it hasn't been until recently that both programs have given enough of a damn about women's basketball to make it anything worth mentioning. But it's a school rivalry; each school takes beating the other one seriously, no matter what it's in, and it showed. There was a small student contingent that got loud today, and Georgetown certainly played with more passion today than they did at Seton Hall.
The officiating was pretty putrid today. A lot of contact was missed, and some of it dangerous. We're lucky no one got badly hurt, because it was hit and miss with Amber near the end of the game. I still don't know what she injured, though the ankle seems most likely. (Fortunately, I think her big ol' pile of hair partially padded the impact on her head.)
Tonight was the post-game autograph session, so we got to say hi to our team, talk our way out of awkward situations, and congratulate them on the things they did well. There may have been a miscommunication or two somewhere along the line. I'm pretty sure my husband's not actually related to the coach at Seton Hall, though it's an understandable mistake. They're both loud. My team is adorable, though. Gina's so used to us. It's like she's been here an extra year or something.
One of these days, slowing down the game is going to bite us somewhere soft and vulnerable. But I'll take the wins as long as we get them.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
January 18th, 2014: Georgetown at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Pirates came out shaky but righted the ship midway through the first half, coming away with a 73-62 win over Georgetown. Tabatha Richardson-Smith led all scorers with 22 points, 17 in the second half, while Bra'Shey Ali had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals for Seton Hall. Andrea White had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Hoyas; Natalie Butler had 16 points and 14 rebounds.
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Hello again! Or should I say "Hallo?" We're coming to you in stereophonic sound from Walsh Gymnasium on the campus of Seton Hall University for the Pirates' matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas. My first Seton Hall game since the first matchup with St. John's, after which there was much awkwardness, so I'm expecting more awkwardness. Look, guys, I have my team and I will root for other teams, but I can't root for you against my team!
Stupid MTA. I hate the MTA. We left at about 9:50, and it took us until 10:30 to actually get on a train. A bit troublesome when you're trying to make an 11:11 train at Penn Station.
Janee Johnson has a plethora of dance moves. In that regard she reminds me of some of my Johnnies back in the day, especially Sky Lindsay, who couldn't seem to walk without shimmying if there was music around.
Not to say that Georgetown's rebounding needs work, but a ball pretty much crashed into the Seton Hall bench off a missed shot. As long as they remain unaware that Natalie Butler can't do everything until January 26th, I'm okay with this. (Why, yes, St. John's hosts the Hoyas on the 25th, thank you for asking.)
Entirely too much vibrato in that anthem.
At halftime, it's 34-25 Seton Hall. Bra'Shey Ali is making some noise, with 11 points and a fair number of boards. Janee Johnson is playing through at least two hard hits, and I think she's my new favorite. A lot of sloppy play from both teams- inbounds issues, missed rebounds, fumbles, that kind of thing. Neither of these teams seems particularly strong on the fundamentals. Katie McCormick scored the first nine points for the Hoyas, then went quiet.
I like the Kashmere Joseph shirt that one lady is wearing, with a British flag replacing the Pirate's bandana.
It was closer than it needed to be, but apparently it takes a full half and change to get the Tab delivered to Seton Hall- Tabatha Richardson-Smith dropped 17 of her 22 in the second half, and I think about 12 of those were in the third quarter or equivalent thereof.
Jim Lewis went deep into his bench, especially in the second half- I think he wanted to give his reserves more of an opportunity to produce when the game was just out of reach. If they could get them back in it, great; if not, then at least he knows what he has and they have a few more minutes under their belts that might help them somewhere down the line. It was easy to mix up Jade Martin and Tyshell King if you were just going by hairstyles- rare to see two sets of braided pigtails on the same team. It doesn't help that they were in during the same part of the game, or that they both did their part bringing the ball up. Martin was bigger and a better rebounder; King was more defensive-minded, especially on the traps that the Hoyas threw near the end of the game. Ki-Ke Rafiu came in briefly, long enough to snag a nice pass, hit the shot, and get fouled. (She missed the free throw, but Georgetown came out with the rebound. I think. Unless that was one of the ones Shey stole.) Dominique Vitalis slithered in on the offensive rebounds well- she found nooks and crannies and exploited timing mistakes by Seton Hall. Faith Woodard, I suspect, only comes off the bench because she's a freshman and not quite as indispensable as Natalie Butler. She was very impressive on the inside today. She has to work on her passing, but she was dangerous.
Katie McCormick scored the first nine points of the game for Georgetown, canning threes and getting to the line. Our defense did a better job closing on her in the second half, though she did sneak open a little bit more as more of the defensive pressure focused on the paint late in the game. She had a nice little leadership moment late in the game with Faith Woodard. Logan Battle didn't play a lot. I think she was there for defense, though I'll freely admit that I might be thinking that because her last name is Battle and she wears #22, and I really like Ashley Battle (though I don't think they're related). Samisha Powell was unmemorable, except for being solidly there- it's hard to put a finger on what she was doing while she was there, but I remember her being out there. Natalie Butler is a load in the middle, but if referees decide to call three seconds, she's in a lot of trouble, because she's not very mobile. She's powerful, and she's tall, and she rebounds well. She'll get her numbers. She'll get the job done. But she's vulnerable if you keep her running. Andrea White is a crucial glue player for this team. She gets the boards, she gets the big shots. Her team needs her in the game if they're going to do well. I'd need to get a look at the plus/minus, but I think she's one of those who has a strong one. Wouldn't surprise me.
Chizoba Ekedigwe played briefly in the first half when Janee Johnson was hurting and Breanna Jones needed a breather, but it's clear that her knee is bothering her, because she's lost most of her mobility. Tara Inman got some run at the very end of the game, which I think was just to test her defense in a late-game situation. Teresa Kucera showed off her pretty three-point shot and her willingness to work on defense, the latter of which appears to have improved immensely in the last couple of months. Breanna Jones worked hard on the boards and on defense, and proved why she's one of my favorites, but more about that later. Sidney Cook seemed to have her timing off all day- shots weren't falling, she wasn't staying on the play as much, she mistimed her leaps on rebounds (not that she didn't get her fair share of them).
Before the game, Alexis Brown was actually practicing the wild, throw across the body from one side of the basket to the other, sweeping lay-up. It served her well in the second half. She seemed to be everywhere, especially on the fast break. She found players, and players found her. Ka-Deidre Simmons took some stupid shots, and had some ill fortune with the rim, but hit the free throws when it came down to crunch time, a talent that's very important to shut the door on teams you should be beating. Bra'Shey Ali is a high-risk player- when those little reaches are successful, she gets steals on rebounds the opponent thought were secure; when they're correctly called as fouls, she doesn't get either the rebound or the steal. She's got to do a better job of not reaching. Either go for the rebound or go for the boxout, but if you try to do both at the same time, things aren't going to go well for you. Tabatha Richardson-Smith spent a lot of time beyond the arc. In the first half it was a bad plan. In the second half, it was a good plan. See above regarding the availability of Tab in South Orange grocery stores. She needs to be more consistent defensively, and I'd like to see her attack the rim more, instead of camping out beyond the arc and making like Laurie Koehn.
Whoever is in charge of shooting fundamentals and basic mechanics for the Pirates really needs to step their game up. Too many players were just tossing up too many bad shots at the rim that had no rhyme or reason to them. There's trying to draw the foul, and then there's desperation, and many of those heaves were at times that were not nearly desperate.
The officials didn't make themselves popular in this one. Georgetown got the benefit of a lot of procedural non-calls- if Natalie Butler is in the lane when the shot clock says 10, and she's still in the lane when the shot clock says 6, how is that not a three-second violation? On the flip side, Seton Hall got more than a few non-calls regarding grabby hands. It all comes out in the wash, though I was amused at Coach Lewis's pleas to the officials when his players were committing fouls near the end of the game. If Jade Martin can't keep her hand off another player's arm while trying to trap her, that's the player's problem and the coach's problem, not the official's problem.
Seton Hall actually throws shirts that fit! Well, more or less. An XL sort of works on me, but much better than the smediums that St. John's throws out. (No, that's not a typo.)
Curious about Brittany Webb- she wasn't with the team, per se, but she was in the front row and got pretty into the game at the end- she almost tried to get on the court at one point, which is not a good plan when gameplay is happening and you don't have a uniform anyway. Took a while to recognize her, but the blue hair gave her away. You gotta have blue hair.
Why Breanna Jones is my second favorite: during the post-game autograph session, I complimented her on her rebounding. Her response, paraphrased: "Yeah, but I need to hit a lay-up." Gotta love that kind of recognition of your weaknesses and that kind of willingness to get back on them.
Why Janee Johnson is my favorite, besides the dance moves, part one: very early in the game, she got an elbow to the jaw, courtesy of Natalie Butler. She winced, tried to play it off, worked her mouth around, rinsed and spat a couple of times, then hit the first three points of the game for the Hall. She took a couple of hard hits and came back just as tough.
Why Janee Johnson is my favorite, besides the dance moves, part two: I think they put her at the end of the autograph line because she's the most gregarious and the best with kids. So she signed my poster and the following exchange occurred, with a bit of paraphrasing:
"Hey, how are ya?" (because my folks taught me to be polite to people)
"Hey!" spots my shirt and side-eyes me "Oh. Hey. You want me to sign 'Go St. John's' under that?"
So: she hustles, she has a sense of humor, she's good with kids, and she's 100% into everything she does. Oh, yes, definitely a favorite.
In conclusion, Georgetown has potential, but they need a lot of work, and Seton Hall just needs to put in work on the unglamorous basics.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
January 15th, 2014: Butler at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Storm gave up a 20-point lead to the Bulldogs, then came back themselves for a 58-55 win. Briana Brown led St. John's with 16 points, with Aliyyah Handford contributing 10 of her 14 in the second half. Taylor Schippers of Butler led all scorers with 18 points, 17 in the second half.
Get off your intrepid blogger's lawn after the jump.
I hate Kids Days/School Days/Field Trip Days/Camp Days, whatever you want to call them. I hate them with a passion and a fury. If I want to see my team, I have to take time off work and reschedule my entire day, just to accommodate thousands of screaming children who only care about having an excuse to not be in school. And St. John's does a really bad job of organizing it for those few fans who are actually here for the game instead of an excuse to play hooky from school. We're currently sitting behind the band section, as our regular seats were already taken when we arrived 51 minutes before tip-off. Somehow they managed to completely load the second deck and most of the lower deck in nine minutes, unless we got lied to about when the doors opened. Again. I honestly don't know what kind of educational value these events have, but I hate them with a fury and a passion.
(Don't get me wrong, I love the band. Hi, guys! But I can't imagine my eardrums are going to make it through an entire game with y'all.)
Worse, they've got that stupid lousy DJ again. Stop it stop it stop it stop it.
I like Sandie's new haircut. Suits her face. Briana looks like she didn't want to get up this morning. Not that I blame her.
Extremely bad form, St. John's. The section behind the Butler bench is completely packed, and I'm pretty sure there's a Butler fan here who would like to sit with their school. I couldn't read his sweatshirt clearly, but it looked like Butler's font and logo, and he gesticulated repeatedly at the visiting bench. I'd be irked if I were him- come all the way out here for a morning game and you have nowhere to sit to support the team you've traveled this far for? Dude in the Butler sweatshirt, I don't know you and you don't know me, and I have no power here, but I am so, so sorry.
By the way, don't believe any attendance number you read from this game. Our tickets were not scanned, torn, taken, or otherwise acknowledged past a cursory glance. I have no reason to believe any others were.
At halftime, St. John's is up 35-17. Butler appears to be without the services of Daress McClung, which is kind of a problem for them. Briana Brown leads St. John's with 12. Liz Stratman has 10 of Butler's 17, including two threes (which means Amber needs to get her butt out to that three-point arc and defend). It's been solid effort for the Red Storm, especially as the half has worn on. Excellent rebounding. Butler's passing is pretty crisp, though.
We've come to terms with sitting in the back row behind the band. Given that the men's team is in the back row the next section over and Nadirah McKenith is three seats down from me, I think we've found where all the cool kids sit.
Okay, lousy DJ, you're playing De La Soul, I guess you can live. Though this really bad mix of "Apache" is making me expect Chardé Houston to spontaneously appear and teach the DJ a lesson.
Another reason I hate when my team hands games over to the reign of small children: school groups leave early, and when they leave early, a lot of the energy goes out of the building. I appreciated being able to get my bleacher seats back at the under-four timeout, but at the same time, why would you go to an event that you can't finish? (That also explains why there was only one door open: half the security guys were stuck playing traffic cop in the parking lot.)
Yes, I'm a cranky old bat at heart and apparently always have been. Moving right along to the actual game notes.
Butler relied heavily on their starters, even moreso given the absence of the reigning A10 player of the year. Ashton Feldhaus caught my attention with her long braid and her goggles, but ze goggles, ze do nothing. Blaire Langlois picked up a lot of the fouls in the foul derby at the end of the game, and spent a lot of time on the floor. She wasn't much of a scorer, and this NCAA box score doesn't tell me assists, but I seem to recall her, or someone with her general build, passing the ball well- not necessarily getting the immediate assist, but getting what would be an assist in hockey- the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the shot, a play that I'm fond of and that doesn't get a lot of statistical traction in basketball.
Liz Stratman found her way open in the first half, whether it was from beyond the arc (where her defenders were clearly not comfortable with her) or shouldering her way to the basket. She was also strong on the boards; even if she didn't end up getting a lot of the rebounds she got her hands on, she was able to tap them out to her teammates. Lexus Murry was a pest defensively, usually on the ball. Haley Howard had a great deflection that was apparently not counted a block even though it totally was. She lists as a guard, but they use her much more in a forward role, especially defensively. Mandy McDivitt scooped up all the loose balls. I think she was the one who managed to garner the timeout on a loose ball in the first half, a heads-up play that secured Butler the possession. You cannot give Tayler Schippers a second or an inch. She'll take that time and she'll take that space, and she'll pop a jumper or drive to the lane for a lay-up. Her offense is incredibly quick, and once she gets going, she doesn't stop. She hauled Butler back almost single-handedly in the second half.
Butler had great ball movement, especially in the second half. They forced a lot of defensive switches, ones that St. John's couldn't keep up with, and got open shots. They also swarmed the glass well. You'd see four or five black jerseys and maybe one white one on a lot of plays.
Keylantra Langley brought the defense, as she always does, up in her assignment's face with her hands out. Unusually for her, she hit her shots in the flow of regular play instead of late in the clock. (Yes, this is going to be a recurring thing, as it's been for years. Not my fault most of Key's offense comes with the shot clock running down.) Danaejah Grant came off the bench fairly late in the first half, but started the second half and brought the offense. She had a beautiful poke-check that led to an Aaliyah Lewis steal. She does have a tendency to go for the more attention-getting plays than the practical ones that get things done, but she might mature out of that one of these days. Aaliyah Lewis gave decent minutes at point guard, though I'd have to take a good look at plus/minus to determine how good they were and how accurate the number is. I think she's adapted to being more of a distributor, and she's not doing as many stupid things to try and prove that she has a place. (The 1-on-4 drive that ended with losing the ball out of bounds is a notable exception to this observation.) Jade Walker was good on the boards, but couldn't get her shot to fall and got some really bad calls against her.
Sandra Udobi got the start, as she's been doing, and played very limited minutes, as she's been doing. She chased down rebounds and came up with a beaut on the offensive end. Amber Thompson grabbed ALL the rebounds. Well, you know, not literally, but metaphorically. She went hard on the boards, boxing out when she couldn't get the board herself, and just generally being the hard-nosed awesome Amber we've been looking for for some time. Eugeneia McPherson was a non-factor- had some bad luck with the rim but mostly took bad shots and ran a decent offense. She's not an inspired point guard, but she's capable of running the team. I'm not sure it's a good idea, though, and there'll be more on that below. Aliyyah Handford had a really rough day at the line (seriously, did we bring Coco Hart back from Finland to run a free throw clinic?) and looked to be nursing a couple of injuries early in the game. She had a five-point spurt in the second half that helped St. John's regain control of the game, but I'm still worried about her shooting. Briana Brown was our captain today, coming up with big shots and free throws when her team needed her. She seemed to be making all the big plays (except for the aforementioned spurt by Aliyyah).
Part of why we lost this game was crisp ball movement by Butler that led to open shots. Part of it was our inability to guard those passes. Part of it was Taylor Schippers getting hot and hitting shots she'd missed earlier. Part of it was really questionable officiating. But a large part of it was the same thing that I've been noticing about this team: we run clock like Rutgers and Villanova do, except that our players are much more comfortable in a fast-paced, breakneck, high-scoring game where they can score in transition and get the press going. Running the clock down to the buzzer every possession bogs everything down. We choked away a 20-point lead and barely had time to get it back because every possession came down to the last few seconds, with no one even looking to shoot. If that's a team issue, then Joe has to coach them through it; if that's coach's decision, it's a bad decision that's going to come back and bite them against a team they shouldn't lose to. It almost did today- Butler without McClung should have had no chance of coming back like that.
I get the feeling that we're not going to be the ones complaining most vigorously about the seating arrangements. They seriously only saved two rows for St. John's friends and family, plus maaaaaaybe one of the crappy corner sections, and never saved anything for the Butler fans. Meanwhile, hundreds or thousands of those kids left in the second half, some of them almost as soon as the second half started. And they get priority? Tell me why I should either pay for a game I can't go to, or rearrange my schedule, when I'm going to get jerked around for doing it.
I don't know if I'd be less cranky if we'd won bigger, but my knees are still sore from that railing.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
January 11th, 2014: St. Francis at LIU
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A team effort from the Terriers of St. Francis crowned them the queens of Brooklyn, as they knocked off the Blackbirds of LIU-Brooklyn 69-48 in the Battle of Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. Eilidh Simpson led the Terriers with 17 points, 13 in the second half; Leah Fechko had 12 with a team-high six rebounds. Cleandra Roberts of LIU led all scorers with 27, but no other Blackbird had more than eight points.
For smuggled goods, a contrast of styles, belated body paint, too much up and down, and kicking it mid-major style, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good morning, everyone! We're back at the Barclays Center for the Battle of Brooklyn, the epic duel between LIU-Brooklyn and St. Francis College. $17 for general admission isn't bad, though generalish admission might be closer; they're herding people into the three sections behind the benches, center court. I think this game's on regional television, which is why they want it to look as crowded as possible (though given that we were the 49th and 50th tickets sold for actual-facts money, about twenty minutes before tip, I'm not holding out much hope for that).
This is an LIU home game, not just because LIU is wearing the white and St. Francis red, but because this is LIU's announcer and they're running the usual LIU ads.
St. Francis has a mascot! I've never seen the mascot at games before, so this is kind of cool. Rivalry games tend out to bring out all the stops for everyone- I remember Lafayette-Lehigh, when Lehigh's mascot and cheerleaders were in the stands at Lafayette's gym, in full game gear. So far the mascots haven't come into direct contact, but they've both been having fun. The Terriers' mascot danced with LIU's dance team, the Blackbird wandered around the empty seats on the other side of the arena.
At halftime, St. Francis is up 37-26, and they've been playing really well. It's a good, competitive game, though it was a bit shaky at the outset. St. Francis has had eight players score, led by the seven points of Leah Fechko. Cleandra Roberts leads LIU with 12. She's been gtting the back door and the baseline all day. Jessica Kaufman's been caught sleeping more than once.
Dude behind the St. Francis bench, why are you not wearing a shirt, you need to be wearing a shirt, you are not attractive Oh, okay, he's putting on body paint. A little late for that, son.
Lots of people here. The center section, where we are, is pretty well mixed LIU and SFC.
Awkward LOL moment: a loose ball in the first half bounced off about six players. I yelled "PINBALL!" at the same time and in the same intonation as the stranger behind me.
Seriously, y'all should have thought of the body paint earlier, it's almost time for the second half. They got it together before the under-12, though.
It was a surprisingly competitive game for a game without a competitive score. It was also one of the purest examples I've ever seen as to why a team effort will defeat a spectacular single-player effort almost all of the time.
St. Francis went deep into their bench at the end of the game, when they were up 20. Colette Hounshell showed good hustle going after a loose ball near the end. Olivia Levey didn't play much, but made a big impact when she did- she's not very fast, but she's very big, and LIU didn't have anyone who could realistically get in her way. Kiley Grabbe, who has the third most apropos surname I've ever seen for a post player (second being Jessica Anger, first being Sylvia Fowles) gave good defensive minutes on the inside. Jasmin Robinson ran a solid offense, though she had an extended brain fart with two quick fouls in the second half- boxing out a rebounder is a good plan, boxing out a shooter is less than effective. Nice shot, though- she hit a three in the first half off a pretty pass from Jaymee Veney. I honestly thought Sarah Benedetti started, but she just gave a lot of critical minutes. Didn't shoot well, but defended well enough. She went down with a foot injury late in the game, and I think her team was worried about her- the mascot was one of the people (creatures? Beings?) to check in on her while she was being tended to on the bench. The bench didn't necessarily produce great stats, but they kept the pressure on LIU and continued to execute.
I honestly don't remember Katie Fox. Her name never got spoken, and the NCAA box score I'm using to complement my bootleg scoresheet doesn't include assists. Eilidh Simpson kicked up the offense in the second half, getting open on the wing for quick jumpers and making things happen for her team. Jessica Kaufman didn't seem to be looking to score, but set a lot of good screens to get her teammates free. Jaymee Veney got in early foul trouble, which kept her on the bench and made her less effective. She was more of a factor in the second half, and I still want to know if she called glass on that three high off the side of the backboard. Leah Fechko had a big second half, coming up with jumpers and hustle plays- I saw a lot of the back of her jersey as she went after loose balls. I think she was the one who went into the flimsy seats of the front row after a loose ball.
St. Francis is not the most talented team out there, not by a long shot. But they work well together and execute well. They had a couple of nice passing sequences that led to baskets.
Genise Presley got good hard rebounds for LIU and set good screens, but some boneheaded defensive plays that were a little too physical for my liking. Sophie Bhasin looked to shoot, but for most of the game, she couldn't get that shot to go down. Demi Tomlinson had a really pretty three-point shot that she showed off early in the game, but her defense had much fault to be found. She flopped a fair bit. LIU cleared their bench near the end of the game, but none of them were memorable.
Cleandra Roberts did all the things for LIU. She was their primary, secondary, and tertiary offensive option, whether in the paint, on the wing, or cleaning up the endless misses of her teammates. Everything ran through her, everything was for her, everything was because of her. She's very athletic, not the best shooter, but a solid player. A little lazy on defense. Fanny Cavallo is an excellent rebounder, but a very bad shooter who relied a lot on the glass. Letava Whippy made a lot of hustle plays that turned into dead ends with missed shots or blown passes later in the possession. Kelly Robinson ran the offense when she was in, but I don't know how much trust her coach had in her today- it looked like Tomlinson was getting more of her minutes. Aleisha Myers was pesky defensively, but ineffective offensively.
LIU honestly looked like they didn't have a plan beyond "give it to Roberts", and while that was a very effective plan, generally success in basketball requires having a second plan in place in case the first plan doesn't work. St. Francis had plans. LIU, not so much.
The officials were really good, IMO, and communicated well with coaches and players on calls, though there were a couple of oddities. The strangest was on a St. Francis inbounds: a player was ready to throw the ball in, another player ran out of bounds to the end zone to receive the pass, and the first player passed to the second player, who inbounded the ball. I wasn't sure if that was a situation where that was permissible.
I love the Battle of Brooklyn. I love this rivalry. I love the idea that, if LIU gets their act back together and Thurston can keep developing things at St. Francis, the NEC title game could someday be a deciding Battle. That would be boss.
St. Francis has really lousy facilities, but I think it might be time to pay them another visit...
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
January 8th, 2014: Creighton at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's came out strong and never looked back in their 67-48 win over visiting Creighton. Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm with 16 points off the bench, while Amber Thompson added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Marissa Janning led the Bluejays with 16.
For bitter cold, concerns, victory, and well-timed threes, join your intrepid and uninspired blogger after the jump.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the frozen wasteland of 2014! We're coming to you in stereophonic sound from Carnesecca Arena, where the Red Storm meet up with the Creighton Bluejays. Observant readers will recall that the Red Storm and the Bluejays have a bit of history, having met up a couple of years ago in Norman. I suspect St. John's remembered.
No thanks to the MTA, I missed the very start of the game, so you get no anthem notes. There are not a lot of people here, and most of them are the basketball team, or in some way affiliated with the CYO team that ran up and down the court at halftime. We even got a shirt. Granted, it's a small, which might maybe make it over my head before, er, getting stuck. But it'll make good raw materials for my new quilt.
At halftime, the score is 35-18 St. John's. Amber Thompson has been owning the boards, and everyone's scoring. The scoring leader, with eight points, is Jade Walker, which I'm sure all of you were expecting. Alexis Akin-Otiko leads Creighton with five.
Either Jim Flanery is exceedingly irked at his team or he made subs very early in the first half; three players differ from that lineup. (looking at the box score, it looks like he made quick subs).
Tessa Leytem looked lost out on the floor- out of position, which I think led to Creighton having to take a foul on one defensive possession. MC McGrory, in addition to having a name that sounds kind of like the lost member of the Dropkick Murphys, always seemed to be on the ball and in the middle of every play. Alexis Akin-Otiko made her presence felt underneath, shouldering her way to the basket. For a team that shoots a lot of threes, the Jays have a lot of big players who clog up the middle. I feel like I should remember more about Lauren Works and Jordan Garrison, but I think they did most of the missing and some of the trapping.
Sammy Jensen bailed St. John's out twice with badly timed fouls at the end of the shot clock. I think she was supposed to be their point guard, but their offense, for the most part, wasn't running crisply enough for me to determine who was supposed to be running it. McKenzie Fujan had a pretty shot. Alyssa Kamphaus got a little friendly with the elbows while she took up space in the middle. That's one tough lady down low. Sarah Nelson spent a lot of her time, especially in the first half, running around to set screens for her teammates. I expected her to be more of an offensive presence, but she didn't even really look for her offense until the second half. I wonder if the transition to the Big East has hit her harder than the rest of her team, or if this was just an off day for her. Marissa Janning was the hero of the day for Creighton. She turned up the offense in the second half, and brought good on-ball defense as well, with nifty poke-checks and quick hands. Her release was very quick and impressive.
Creighton ran a lot of screens, especially in the first half. I think they were trying to get their shooters open, but for the most part, St. John's was able to get around and through the screens (well, except for Sandra Udobi chasing Sarah Nelson through more picks than an obstacle course).
O HAI DERE Jade Walker. We see you. Oh, do we see you! She's still having issues with the holding thing on defense, but her step-back jumper was a thing of beauty. She mixed it up a little on the inside, too, living a bit up to her surname. Selina Archer spent the end of the game mostly staring at rebounds and letting other people get them. I'm starting to understand why Miami wasn't exactly all torn up about losing her. Mallory Jones had a good look at a three at the end of the game, and we were all kind of bummed that she missed it. Keylantra Langley brought the defense and the well-timed shots, because that's what she does. Danaejah Grant lit it up in the second half on offense, putting up jumpers and driving through the lane with the greatest of ease. She did have a tendency to stand around and look pretty on defense, though. (Though she and Aliyyah teamed up for a nice trap in the second half.) Aaliyah Lewis seemed a bit tentative, and I'll swear that she managed to get a blocked shot, no matter what the stats say.
Speaking of tentative, I don't know what's gotten into Aliyyah Handford, but whatever it is, she needs to gt herself dispelled of it in a hurry. There's no reason for someone with Aliyyah's superb offensive skill and incredible athleticism to take only five shots. I know Danaejah has been awesome lately, but that doesn't mean that Aliyyah has to let up. She had a couple of pretty defensive plays, but seemed to be more interested in making the big play than the nitty-gritty play. Eugeneia McPherson showed off spectacular timing with her threes coming at the end of the shot clock, but she's going to drive me to pulling out my hair if she doesn't stop dawdling in the backcourt. Sandra Udobi started, but played very little in this one, with Danaejah getting the second half start. I think the knee was barking. Briana Brown got in early foul trouble, which I think limited her defensively, and once she starts getting those mismatches, it doesn't end well for her. Amber Thompson played like we've always known that she could play- ferocious on the boards, strong on the inside. She was fantastic.
A lot of missed travels in this game. I didn't approve of the missed trip that sent Gina to the floor, either. We got the benefit of most of those travels, but I still don't approve.
The DJ that appears to have taken up residence at St. John's games is not popular- not with the fans that we've spoken to, certainly not with the band, and now not with the dance team. Messing up their music mid-routine is not going to make you their favorite guy. To their credit, they finished the routine as if the music were still on. More power to them
The Big East is definitely a rollercoaster this year. I'm looking forward to it.