Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Liberty finished their 2014 campaign on a high note, with a 73-61 win over Indiana. Plenette Pierson put in 15 to lead New York. Maggie Lucas led Indiana with 17 points.
For comparisons, farewells, getting the gang together, the Sound of Music, lots of bench minutes, distracting Tamika Catchings, and pictures, join your intrepid and resigned blogger after the jump.
So this is it. This is the end of the line. This is the last game of 2014 for the Liberty, and the last WNBA game of the season for your intrepid blogger (barring a conveniently timed Finals match-up between the Mystics and the Lynx, and even then that might be pricey).
I'm not used to our fate being decided so suddenly and so swiftly. Usually the last game is relevant even if our fate is no longer in our hands. But this is a meaningless game with no relevance to the Liberty and limited relevance to the Fever (someone may have to correct me on that, as I am completely lost when it comes to the tie-break situation at this point). It's going to be hard for anyone to muster up a give-a-darn, even if it's Fan Appreciation Night.
Look, all I want is a complete team set for 2014. Why are Swin and Natasha so hard to get? Why? But no, every game it's the same few people out. :(
I'm going to take a few moments and just let it soak in what Lin Dunn has done for women's basketball. She's a legend, a pioneer, a trail blazer, and a part of the game's history. She's a builder. She's an amazing woman. I know her journey isn't quite done yet, but this is the last time she's coming to New York, and I wish her all the best. I look forward to seeing what she does when she's off the bench- I know she'll keep beating down barriers and improving the game. I'll miss seeing her white pouf on the sidelines, and miss hearing her wit in that inimitable drawl. (I think my favorite was when someone asked her if she was on or going on a diet. "The only carbs I eat are in my beer.") The Liberty gave her recognition and a little send-off, which was nice.
Again, I'm pretty sure that watching this dance routine is illegal in several states and would add me to the registry.
Our regular PA guy bailed. I haz a sad.
The shirts for Fan Appreciation Night are nice, but they only come in large, and I need at least XXL. I haz another sad.
Our poor unlucky wretch. Not only has she had to put up with us all year, but they put her on dunk tank duty for the fanfest. (We love you, Melissa. You put up with us. Good luck on your travels and in your new job!)
Okay, the Bollywood troupe is better, more dressed, and I don't feel horribly perverted staring at them. This is a plus.
So far they do not appear to have opened up the upper deck, despite the fact that there are lots of people here. (And lots of rude people. There's a line, stop shoving past it. And at least one stupid person, who doesn't understand why "everyone's rushing if they're going to different seats", I'm not making this up.)
Whichever genius put the kid in the Catchings jersey and his dad on the baseline by the Liberty bench really needs a talking to. I'm pretty sure their special experience would have been more special by the Fever bench. (And I think it was. Dude sure got comfortable in those seats, though.)
I really wish the team would be able to track down Tari Phillips. Kym has pretty much lost her voice and is trying to make up for it with dramatics. Loud public speaking will wreck a person's voice, and she's done a lot of that for us.
I am not feeling Shanece McKinney's short cut. And I am still not feeling Lynetta Kizer's blue dreadlocks.
Indiana's bench, and Indiana's hustle, is the season for them. There have been very few clean rebounds for the Liberty- there always seems to be a hand or a slap. The end of the half had a very bad call on Plenette Pierson that I really thought should have been on Lynetta Kizer.
Post-game season subscriber perfect attendance photo op. We are currently dealing with fan-issued awards. Perhaps not the most adept spokeswoman. (Alex is our MIP, Plenette our MVP, so that for star power. New York appreciates hustle and heart more than anything else.)
Which is why it's easy to appreciate Indiana, to be honest. That is a hard-working team, all the way down to position 12. They will fight you. They will scrap with you. They will throw you out of the way if they have to. But they're not going to stop working you. They may occasionally get sloppy, and their reserves are in dire need of a lay-up line or two, but they're never going to give up.
DNP-CDs for Tamika Catchings, Briann January, and Erlana Larkins. Look at all the bothers Lin Dunn gave about this game.
Maggie Lucas is kind of lethal from outside, in case you haven't noticed. We sort o didn't notice for much of the game, and there was a point very late in the fourth quarter where I thought she was going to Reggie Miller Indiana right back into the game. She hit one that was from well outside. She's kind of sneaky as a distributor- I never see her making the pass, but she gets the assists. Sydney Carter is small and fast, though speedy might be a more appropriate word- as a player she's fast, but as a point guard, she spent a lot of time hesitating. (There was one point where she, Clarendon, and Lucas were all on the floor at the same time, which I think technically made Lucas a three. Ladies and gentlemen, the Dance of the Sugarplum IDGAF Fairy!) Krystal Thomas was able to muscle her opponent- usually Shanece McKinney- out of position under the basket easily, and used height to smoosh many attempts at the basket, especially late in the game- only the one on Essence Carson was really emphatic, but they all prevented easy makes. She has to finish at the basket, which you may have noticed as a trend among the Indiana posts. She got decent looks and has to hit them if Indiana is going to make any long-term use of her. Karima Christmas had a nice sideline play to save a possession, but was otherwise quiet- she spent a lot of her time on offense floating around the three-point line. It's a weapon she has, and knowing the Indiana coaching staff, I'm assuming they decided to have her practice that shot this game.
Natasha Howard reminds me of a young Sancho Lyttle or Rebekkah Brunson- at the basket, she's more of a Brunson, further away she's more of a Lyttle. She doesn't yet have the defensive acumen of either of them. But she rebounded on the offensive glass beautifully today. She had a lot of trouble finishing at the basket, but I like the moves she has. Lynetta Kizer was phenomenal on defense, physical and determined never to let anyone she was guarding at the basket. She has the little foul-line/foul-line extended jumper that reminds me of Tamika Whitmore or Ruth Riley, though she's not as automatic with it as Riley was (or at least as Riley was against us). She never stopped woring. Shavonte Zellous was quietly efficient, though she missed some shots she should have hit. I'm not used to her being so willing to give up the ball, but I guess Lin Dunn can teach an old ballhog some new tricks. Layshia Clarendon seemed more hesitant than I would have liked running the offense, and she should have finished a lot of the shots she missed. On the other hand, I should have realized it would be a rough shooting night for her all the way through when her shots in warm-ups consistently fell short. I'm starting to wonder if she either has a low pain tolerance or a very touchy back, because every time I've seen her it looks like she's either caught a cramp or had her back seize up (although to be fair, if Swin Cash got me with one of those bony hips, I'd probably feel back pain too). Marissa Coleman hit her first three, and had plenty of opportunities, but really didn't play a lot, and really didn't have much impact on the game. She seems like the one player who philosophically doesn't fit with this team and their style.
Good Lord, Stephanie White's pants were bright. So was Sylvia Crawley's dress.
Shanece McKinney. Shanece. We were all in your corner coming out of training camp. We thought you got screwed and we were glad to see you back. But you have got to hit a dang lay-up if you want to be a professional basketball player. She got good looks from her teammates and didn't put enough oomph on them, or hesitated long enough for Krystal Thomas to lay the hammer down. Hit your shots, Shanece. Natasha Lacy ran a nice offense- I would have liked to see her call her own number a lot sooner, since she was the last Liberty player to score, and heaven knows that Shanece and Avery weren't helping her assist numbers. She's fast. I like her. Can we keep her? Essence Carson came in for defense, and I honestly don't remember her attempting to do much offensively. Sugar Rodgers looked like she was in preseason mode- that's usually when the team suddenly starts giving up shots under the basket to make quick little passes to other players under the basket. (In that case, it happened to work out.) She started a little slow, but found her groove in the second quarter. Plenette Pierson used all her veteran craftiness to get to the line, and she hit her shots when she got there. She was all up in the paint's business. Alex Montgomery was unmemorable. Last off the bench in the first half, but started the second. This is the logic of the IDGAF Bowl. Chardé Houston has more colors in her hair than I realized. She took a lot of shots, hit some when we needed them, and startled Cappie Pondexter by attempting to pass her the ball. I don't think Cappie expected Chardé to pass. I don't think Cappie has ever expected Chardé to pass.
Tina Charles started the game, played most of the first quarter, then retired permanently to the bench. We didn't expect much more than that from her. Cappie Pondexter played limited minutes, and I don't think any of them were in the fourth quarter. She looked a little out of sync, but that might have been the oddness of the number of reserves getting time- the lineups were not the usual lineups. Anna Cruz kept up the defensive intensity and cut well to the basket. I do like to see her being aggressive offensively! Avery Warley-Talbert, by this point in the season, seems to have been conditioned to believe that if a whistle is being blown while she's on the floor, there's a foul on her- she had quite the WTF face while Swin Cash was being called for a defensive three seconds. Granted, Avery is usually correct that the foul is being called on her, whether she's earned it or not. She had a nice lay-up inside from a Swin pass. Swin Cash was passing well tonight- she had the previously mentioned look to Avery, plus she got Natasha her basket right before the shot clock expired to make sure everyone scored. She also brought some defense and some rebounding. I don't know if she's worth inviting back next season, but she showed quality today.
I expected better from a Denise Brooks crew than fouls that were essentially coin tosses, long discussions where a linesman seemed to be trying to overrule a crew chief, and an inability to count steps. (Also, officiating pet peeve: if the player with the ball runs around a screen so that her defender is scraped against the screen like a bug on a windshield, why is it a foul on the defender? What else is she supposed to do?)
One of the timeouts had an awesome dunk contest- real players on real baskets, instead of the kiddie contests we usually get. Much better. Tamika Catchings kept trying to look past the huddle to get a view.
Props to the guy who hit the three for a grand. It was the only three the Liberty hit all day.
I'll miss the Garden for a few months. I'll miss the Usual Suspects. We're both going to miss our neighbor Dan, who's moving to California. (Good luck in Cali, Dan!) I'll miss slipping on my black jersey and heading down to the rail. (And I never did get Swin and Natasha on the hat.) This is it. Lights are out, Garden is deconstructed, stanchions are down. Season's over in New York. Time to regroup, get healthy, figure out the situation, and possibly learn some crowd management skills.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
August 17th, 2014: Indiana at New York
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
August 12th, 2014: Phoenix at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A spirited effort by the Liberty fell short against the Mercury, as Phoenix came away from New York with a 76-64 win. Five Mercury players notched double figures, with Candice Dupree leading the way at 18 points, adding 10 rebounds. Brittney Griner added 14 points and a team-high 11 boards. For New York, Tina Charles notched game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds.
For heart, hustle, purple and black and blue, office supplies, pain, hard screens, noses to the grindstone, and dodging bad acts, join your intrepid and clichéd blogger after the jump.
Hello, fellow Swish Appeal type people! (What are we, anyway? Swishers? Appelates? I feel like I've made this joke before, too.) It's gameday at the Garden, and the Liberty have the daunting task of facing down the Phoenix Mercury- oh, and the Mercury need one win to clinch the West and pretty much seal up homecourt all the way through the Finals. No pressure, Libs.
(My expectations and hopes for this game pretty much boil down to "no one get hurt". I'll be euphoric if we win, but I can't bring myself to believe in anything more than not dying.)
I'll be getting to the game early today, as I took the afternoon shift volunteering with Operation Backpack. It's my third year doing it, and it's a worthy cause. (There are several drives across the country- see if your area has one! Won't someone please think of the children?!)
DeWanna Bonner was really happy to see Anna Cruz. I don't know the degree of separation there. She was last off the floor, and for a while I think she lost track of time, because she suddenly ran off the court like a bolt of greased lightning, then stopped to talk to some Mercury fans and returned to normal socializing speed.
Brittney Griner received Skittles. She got a lot of attention at the Mercury end of the court, so she ran off in a hurry through the tunnel. I'm annoyed/regretful, but not mad. She was swarmed. Her sleeve is prettier up close than in pictures, but I think I still like Seimone Augustus's better.
There is a lot of purple and radioactive orange in the building tonight, most of it Taurasi and Griner themed (as opposed to general Phoenix stuff). It distresses me, but on the other hand, you have to expect it. Griner is a cultural phenomenon, not just an interesting opponent.
There appears to be a lonesome scout in the upper deck.. Either that, or someone really got screwed by the ticket office.
Do not adjust your Liberty bench. We control the horizontal. We control the vertical.
You didn't get a halftime report because I had a tape dispenser to deliver to my mother and an Anna Cruz jersey to get 30% off on in the team store. I skipped the dance routine. I do not feel like anything of value was lost in my life. Unfortunately, I had to sit through the pregame Simon Says game, with that annoying host.
That went better than I was expecting. Phoenix is much more talented than we are, but we came at them consistently through most of the game, except for a brief patch at the end of the second quarter. We needed that intensity, and we needed to remember that there are four quarters in a game as we hit the stretch run. I'll take it.
Tiffany Bias is adorable and clearly has decent cojones, if she's going to walk into Phoenix and take that 23. She came in at the very end of the game, along with Ewelina Kobryn. Kobryn was a little handsy, but honestly, it was, like, the last two minutes, I don't think anyone actually and truly gave a bother. Anete Jakobsone-Zogota was a late insert in both halves, as a spot-up shooter and a defender of questionable skill. Phoenix hid her on Essence Carson whenever possible. Mistie Bass did Mistie Bass things- physical defense, tough screens to free up her teammates (occasionally illegal ones), and boxing out. Mistie Bass is, to me, the quintessential intangibles post- she will make you better and you will like it, though it will not be pretty. Shay Murphy brought the defense (Murphy's latest law: if there is a mid-air collision between two bench players, the foul will be on the player who appears least likely to have initiated the contact). Love her work. Erin Phillips seems to have gained back her speed, along with her shot when she was left open repeatedly beyond the arc. She was tenacious on defense, though perhaps sometimes to her detriment- she did get away with at least one trip.
DeWanna Bonner is really tall and skinny and kind of long-armed. For once, she wasn't launching ill-advised threes, and she seemed to be everywhere on defense. As a basketball fan, it's nice to see her using her height. Diana Taurasi seemed to have a chip on her shoulder for most of the game, starting with her deliberate lingering on the logo during Maddie's pre-game routine (yes, try that again, Diana, Maddie will step on you) and through her demeanor on the floor throughout the game. She didn't seem in control of herself for much of the game, with bad passes and bad decisions. She still had the long ball working with no hesitation and no fear. Penny Talor had a lot of shots altered by Liberty defenders or changed by the rim, but she sure is pretty out there. I love the way she moves. She sets their break off well. Candice Dupree is so smooth. No fuss, no muss, just efficient and smooth both in the paint and just outside it. And no one notices her because there are so many other players to notice. Brittney Griner is ridiculously tall and even skinnier in person. I love her little hook shot. She dunked in warmups, but not in game play- though she did almost put up some basket interference with her fingers in the net on Alex Montgomery's three. She is not very good at down. Up, she's good at, but down appears to be more of a challenge. Up allows her to influence shots even without touching them.
So many weapons. It's not fair.
Shanece McKinney saw second half minutes, presumably to save Plenette Pierson and continue the physical defense on Griner. She was somewhat less successful than Avery Warley-Talbert. Chardé Houston was inserted a couple of times in hope that she would provide some offense. She didn't. On the plus side, she seems to have corralled all the braids that she bought, as opposed to having one try to escape. We actually got to see a lot of Essence Carson tonight, both because the options around her were not of great use and because she looked like a fair amount of the rust had flaked off. She could still be relied upon for the Plinko shot (you know the one, that shot that goes so high that it bounces off the top of the backboard and rattles around the supports before falling through), but her defense was back and she was hitting some jumpers. Nice to see her back. Sugar Rodgers is still in regression to Georgetown mode- firing up so-so shots and playing so-so defense. She had a nice little hustle play gong for a loose ball. Plenette seemed more offensive-minded than defensive-minded for this game, floating around the outside and throwing up jumpers. She gave some toughness inside, but overall seemed to be marking off time to the end of the game. Alex Montgomery played some defense and hit a big three, along with a lay-up along the baseline that she almost traveled on.
Tina Charles, oh my goodness. She just had her way with Griner in the first quarter. It was a fine example of a savvy veteran using her size, strength, and knowledge against a younger player with a height advantage. She moved around those long arms and got the job done. Avery Warley-Talbert defended Griner well, making her uncomfortable in space and forcing her to change her moves constantly. The shot she hit was off the offensive rebound, on a nice play. Swin Cash was up and down all night, from hard-nosed hustle to plays that harked back to the "Crackhead" days in Detroit. I don't know if I like her as a starter here. I would have liked more of Anna Cruz in the fourth quarter, since I think she could have contributed more offense than Sugar and kept the play moving faster than Essence could (I love Essence, but when she's running point, she flashes back to Stringer's system, and then I want to gouge my eyes out as the universe grinds to a halt). I understand the logic, but I don't agree with it. Cappie Pondexter came up with midrange jumpers for most of the night. She looked partially like her old self. I missed that.
The intensity was there for New York, which was a blessed change from the last couple of hot messes that the Garden has seen. We faded a bit near the end of the first half, and I think that clinched the game for Phoenix, but the Mercury didn't look quite as juggernaut-esque as they have most of the year.
Auriemma was in the house, two seats over from Sue Wicks (fortunately, Sue's time at Rutgers predates the RU-UConn rivalry, so there was no bloodshed).
I cannot even with the officials, and we're lucky no one got hurt in that regard. (Both sides, to be fair.) Lots of holding and grabbing by both teams in the first half, lots of holding and grabbing and ticky-tack calls in the second.
Survive and advance. Survive and advance. That's all there is to it.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
August 10th, 2014: Indiana at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Tamika Catchings poured in 29 points to lead Indiana in a wire-to-wire 90-74 win at New York. Erlana Larkins added 14 points and six rebounds for the Fever. New York got 18 points from Cappie Pondexter, and 17 points and six assists from Tina Charles.
For frustration, incomplete sets, wanting to smash things, the big black scary paint, and harassing opposing fans, join your intrepid blogger after the jump, though she's going to go play Heretic now to get this game out of her head.
Good afternoon, loyal and disloyal readers! We're coming to you from a warm summer afternoon safe in the air conditioned confines of Madison Square Garden, as the Liberty finally get to host the Indiana Fever.
Getting Swin and Natasha on the cap continues to be a challenge. All I want is a team set. :(
Several families here from Penn State, presumably because of Maggie Lucas. She stopped for pictures and autographs for them- she stopped for everyone, but she came out and around behind the benches for them. (That is not to say she was showing preference- they were the only ones who tried.)
Layshia Clarendon seems to have mastered the art of the 'oh crap I'm late but I'll do pics and signatures as fast as I can anyway' run. I do like her.
To the fans in the Briann January shirts: I am so sorry about that guy. He's autistic, and not as high-functioning as he used to be.
I think they overbooked entertainment for the last few games- they've had "God Bless America" performances and more dance groups than you can shake a stick at. I have not been impressed by most of them.
At halftime, it's only because Anna Cruz hit a buzzer beater that we've cut it under 20, at 51-32. The entire team has decided that taking long two-point jumpers is the most brilliant idea in the universe. (There was actually a point during one of the timeouts that either Bill or Katie wrote in huge letters on the clipboard "BRAIN!")
Well, at least we pretended to care in the second half. I guess that's better than not even bothering to pretend to care. I love my team, but they're very frustrating sometimes, especially when we're stupid, and we spend so much time being stupid. Indiana played tough defense in the lane, that's true, but we reacted to that defense as if it were on fire.
Krystal Thomas got time early in the fourth quarter, and early on it looked like she was going for the record for fastest DQ in league history. She didn't play much. Sydney Carter saw the floor late in the third quarter, with an encore appearance in the fourth. She's fast, and smoother than I remembered, and she showed more interest in going to the basket in six and a half minutes than most of the Liberty showed all game. Layshia Clarendon played briefly in the first half, but either she twisted her ankle or something flared up in her calf, because she hobbled off the floor and was never seen again (and that golden 'hawk does stick up from the crowd). Lynetta Kizer is an adult and allowed to make whatever bad decisions she wants to, but that particular shade of bluish green looks like her hair has mold in it. She was unremarkable- a little bit of toughness, a little bit of shooting. Karima Christmas was tough defensively, and seems to have extended her shooting range a little bit, since she was comfortably going for threes in this one. I think her bigger impact was defensive, though. Maggie Lucas can shoot. We kept leaving her open. This was a bad idea. She also did a nice job passing out when she didn't have shots. Natasha Howard's athleticism impressed me- she showed why she was a first round pick, and that she can be the kind of inside-outside threat that Tamika Catchings is (not that she is Tamika Catchings in level yet, but stylistically).
Briann January knows how to fall- I swear she slapped the mat after one play. She wasn't called upon for a lot, but she ran the offense and did her job. Shavonte Zellous didn't really get shot-happy until the third quarter, and even then, she seemed to have found a comfortable place in the flow of the offense, taking good shots instead of firing away randomly. Marissa Coleman was given open looks and took a plethora of them, both good ones and ones that were a bit longer than expected. Erlana Larkins moves with unexpected fluidity for a woman of her solid build. She took over offensively in the second half, including one on a pretty feed by Briann January. I know she wouldn't have developed into this kind of player in New York, but I still resent that a New York castoff has become such a solid contributor elsewhere. Tamika Catchings remains Tamika Catchings, film at 11: she can score from the outside, she can score from the inside, she can get you on the glass, she'll defend you 'til her last breath, and she can occasionally play as if she is unaware of the presence of other human beings. Putting Avery Warley-Talbert on her to start may not have been the brightest thing Bill Laimbeer has ever done in his life.
Indiana played tough and got the job done inside, so that New York was flat out terrified of the concept of going into the paint. Meanwhile they were going to the basket at will.
Natasha Lacy came in at the very end of the game, and at least she could hit her free throws on the clear path foul. Hitting free throws is a bit of an issue for this squad, especially ones without players lined up along the lane. Essence Carson still looks like she needs to get the rust off- I was surprised she played at all, given that she was talking to Laura Ramus and holding her knee before the game, and that she was sitting on the floor with her legs stretched out for much of the second half. Oh, hey, it's Shanece McKinney. She did not play the most relevant 122 seconds in the history of basketball. Chardé Houston actually got the second half start ahead of Alex Montgomery, and brought a little offensive punch. Not a lot, but a little. At least she occasionally dared to set foot in the scary paint place. Sugar Rodgers, in one swell foop, reverted back to her Georgetown style of play. She got some offense going in the second half, but she did not seem efficient and she did not seem smart. Plenette Pierson was physical and seemed to enjoy taking jumpers just a little outside her range. I feel like we got lucky on some of her foul calls. Swin Cash at least hit jumpers, but overall, I don't think she should have been taking them. I also think Bill had too much faith in her defense.
I don't know when exactly Alex Montgomery suffered her recto-cranial inversion, though I suspect it was after the halfcourt shot, but she really needs to seek treatment for it. She's taking bad jumpers and her defense has deteriorated. Since her defense is her calling card, this is a bit of a problem. Avery Warley-Talbert was tasked with the impossible duty of guarding Tamika Catchings, and was abused outside by her. It was not pretty. Anna Cruz did not play much of the second half, as Bill looked for more dynamic offense, and Anna seemed scared to shoot for much of the game. Cappie Pondexter started off hot, but I think she may have had to carry too much of the load. You can't expect her to score, and distribute, and defend on top of everything else. Not with the condition she's in. Not at this time of the season. Tina Charles relied too much on shots outside the paint- solid, but not MVP solid. Passing out for stupid jumpers is a nice way to pad assists, but it doesn't help the main problem of the offense settling for those jumpers.
Yes, I've looked at the box score. Yes, I've looked at the stats. But for most of this game, the Liberty were terrified of going to the basket, and even when they did score in the paint, it was on questionable jumpers. There was way too much backing out. Go the basket. Good things happen when you take lay-ups.
The officials called a lot of ticky-tack stuff, then let the wrestling matches go. I'm not impressed.
At this point, my goal for the Phoenix game is "don't get hurt and don't look like a D-III team".
Friday, August 8, 2014
August 8th, 2014: Connecticut at new York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty came away from a game full of missed shots with a 71-66 win over the Connecticut Sun. Tina Charles had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead New York, while Avery Warley-Talbert had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Katie Douglas led all scorers with 26 points, with Alex Bentley chipping in 14.
For clanks, auld acquaintance not forgot, clunks, Californian hair dye, clonks, the world's most annoying cotton candy vendor, clinks, conflation of cultures, and missed shots, join your intrepid and blurry blogger after the jump.
Good evening, everyone! Actually, as I type these words, it's afternoon. Your intrepid blogger took today as a half-day and is currently on a Manhattan-bound F train coming up through Brooklyn, sitting across from one of the Lil Torches and her mom. Couldn't quite take the long way around that I wanted to, since HopStop wouldn't give me a route through Brooklyn to the Staten Island Ferry, but it is what it is. We're coming down the backstretch now, and every game in this utterly ridiculous Eastern Conference counts. Not to mention, we kind of have this thing with the Connecticut Sun.
Finishing off my hat has gotten tough to the point of ridiculousness. At this point, my best bet for getting Natasha is going to be begging her wife for a favor.
Adorable meter broken. Avery Warley-Talbert came out with cupcakes for her family. Not realizing at first that they were her family, I assumed they had a super-double-plus awesome ticket plan (because there's only one way to one-up seatside service) and made an ass out of myself. (Also, Mr. Talbert is quite attractive. Well done, Avery. Hey, when all you can see is the outside of the book, you can at least pay compliments to the cover.)
Renee Montgomery was so happy to see Ashley Walker in the stands she heaved herself up on the railing to say hi, and needed Ebony Hoffman to catch her on the way down. No joke. (Also, I'm assuming one of the team's favorite electives at Cal has to do with the proper application of hair dye. The body of evidence: Layshia Clarendon's golden 'hawk, Gennifer Brandon's Sailor Berkeley pink braids, Ashley Walker's dark purple hair {which is more the shade Stefanie Dolson should have gone with, IMO}).
We have a drum team. I approve. The guy drumming upside down was pretty impressive.
Okay, hands up anyone who got a very weird mental imge when they announced "DJ Lobo" on the mix?
Well, that's a first half I would like to scrub from the inside of my eyelids. New York is up 33-25, but that's mostly because Connecticut spent most of the second quarter being able to hit water by falling out of a boat. New York decided that the substantial lead thus built up provided a wonderful opportunity to practice taking their really bad jumpers. We're rebounding well, though that might just be because both teams are providing plenty of opportunities.
It's Noche Latina at the Garden, nominally to exploit honor Anna Cruz. On one hand, a celebration of Spanish-speaking cultures is a good way to get folks in the door. On the other hand, celebrating a Spanish player with South American and Caribbean culture is sort of like celebrating English Heritage Night with hockey, kangaroos, and Bermuda shorts. Nothing that is related to the actual country of Spain where Anna hails from has been involved tonight.
They showed a little message for Bill Laimbeer and his wife's 35th wedding anniversary. I have never seen that man turn so red in my life. We're talking Houston Comets road jersey red here. (And yes, I did have a sample to work from- there's a woman in a Cynthia Cooper jersey here.)
That game was all kinds of hot mess, and everyone involved should just try to pretend it didn't happen and move on. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Oh, all right, fine.
Kelly Faris was inserted in the first half as Anne Donovan desperately sought something that would work. She scrapped, but was irrelevant. Ebony Hoffman got some decent run, and though she wasn't effective statistically, she used her frame well and forced Tina Charles to put in more effort defending her on the outside. Definitely an upgrade on Kelley Cain. Danielle McCray hit a three, at which point I was sure all hope was lost for the Liberty. We pulled through somehow. I like her hairstyle- very reminiscent of Le'Coe Willingham. Renee Montgomery seemed to speed up the Sun's offense, which didn't necessarily seem to jive with what Donovan wanted to do. She did NOT want to come out of the game after her second foul. Kelsey Griffin was tough on the inside- got the scoring going in the first quarter for the Sun, and set things up with screens and rebounds in the second half. I still don't like the way she plays, though I probably would if she were in New York. She's just that kind of player. You can call her dirty- it's not always accurate, but she spends the kind of time around that line that you usually see from much more veteran players. Her battles with Plenette Pierson are pretty intense.
Katie Douglas either hit her shots tonight or missed them badly. There was no in between. Either they were sweet and through the net with much grinding of teeth in our section, or they glanced off the side of the rim or only hit glass. And she was hitting a lot of those shots. She pretty much decided that she was going to take over the third quarter. It helped the Sun's cause that she had a relatively immobile defender on her. She was solid on defense, too, including one crushing block on a bad decision by Sugar Rodgers. Much of the offense in the first quarter seemed to be running through Kelsey Bone. I'm not sure if that was a plan by Donovan to try and get Tina Charles into foul trouble, but it was not terribly effective. She missed a lot of chippies. She pulled down rebounds decently and filled up space in the middle on defense, but was not an offensive threat. Alyssa Thomas started using her athleticism more in the second half, going strong to the basket, and Connecticut might very well have won that game if she could shoot more effectively with her off hand. She had a couple of opportunities that she couldn't take proper advantage of. She did help galvanize Connecticut in the second half. Kayla Pedersen is not Chiney Ogwumike, despite the same alma mater, but she was ferocious on the glass. She went after rebounds with a single-minded intensity that was kind of scary- she had a really nice one that she flat-out stole away from the Libs that led to a Douglas three-pointer. Alex Bentley came up with pretty much all the field goals in the second quarter, with midrange jumpers and cuts to the hoop. She had a nice steal in the first quarter- I think it was off Anna Cruz, but don't quote me on that.
Chardé Houston, one thin blonde braid dangling from her bun like the pull-cord to a ceiling light, proved that the only shot she's ever seen and disliked is the one that someone else is taking. She had some pretty bad ones out there, egregious even by the standards of this bad-shot-happy game. Essence Carson got some first-half run, threw up a horrendous shot, played minimal defense, and proved why she has not been getting playing time for most of the season. I love Essence, but this season has not been her finest collection of moments. Swin Cash had a nice play near the end of the game to help salvage a loose ball, but was otherwise not impressive- when she fouled Douglas on the three near the end of the game, I'm pretty sure there was an epidemic of gray hair in the stands. Sugar Rodgers demonstrated a lack of shot selection that I haven't seen from her since the Georgetown days. She came up with big shots, but she also took some spectacularly dumb ones. She has perfected the soccer knee-slide of triumph. Plenette Pierson got away with an elbow- it didn't make contact, but it was pretty vicious- and did a lot of falling and slipping.
I think Cappie Pondexter's Achilles issue flared up again. She did not have any lift on her shot, nor could she keep pace with Douglas on defense. Connecticut used Pedersen and Bone well to get Douglas space, but Cappie got caught on those screens like... well, a moth on a screen door. She didn't play much of the second half, but came in to hit a couple of those legendary fadeaway midrange jumpers right when we needed the offensive boost. Anna Cruz was strangely reticent to shoot for much of the third quarter, penetrating and then dishing to places where there were no players to catch the ball, or if there were, they were Connecticut players. She got over it a bit more in the fourth quarter. Avery Warley-Talbert did nothing flashy, but fought hard for every rebound and went hard to the basket. It was one of her better games this year. She's a bit of a liability defensively, but I love her hustle and her work. Every team needs a player with that kind of mindset. Alex Montgomery demonstrated all the shot selection of a concussed lemur- bad jumpers, badly off line. Go to the hole, Alexandria. Go towards the basket. It's nice there. Defensiely, she was solid. Still would like to see her make that more of a focus. Tina Charles started off hot, then cooled down, with some unfortunate misses. I'd like to see her rebound a little harder, but she got the job done on a night when no one seemed familiar with the concept of throwing the round thing towards the other round thing.
You may have noticed I have harped on the bad shots taken and missed in this game. There were a lot of ugly shots, and a lot of ugly misses on shots that shouldn't have been missed. I swear, I think I would have done something drastic if the Libs had missed one more free throw. My eyes.
The officiating veered in terms of bias. I don't get it either.
We won, I'm relieved, can we never talk about this game again?