November 13th, 2015: Bryant at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall started on a 10-0 run and never looked back as they defeated Bryant 93-57. Tabatha Richardson-Smith led the Pirates with 25 points, 20 in the first half. Shakena Richardson added 17. Ivory Bailey led Bryant with 21 points.

For flaws, blowouts, bom-bom-bom, so very much traveling, sweet shooters, and silent communication, join your intrepid and belated blogger after the jump.


Strike up the band, get loose, get your gear out, find your tickets, bang a gong, and let's get it on! Basketball season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with a day-night double-header?

First up, it's off to South Orange for a morning tip as the Pirates host Bryant. I'm not really a fan of home grays- not that I don't like the Pirates' uniforms, but I believe in wearing white at home, it's a thing.

Another chapter has begun in our eternal battle against the PATH and the 31 bus; today there were signal problems on the PATH and street closures on the 31 route. They better not mess with us on the way back.

Seton Hall seems to be up for the game, or at least better morning people than the Johnnies have ever been. Tiffany Jones busted some impressive dance moves during shootaround.

I salute you, student of "communications and the arrrrrrrts".

I like Seton Hall's new band shirts. The best way to wear a tie is to have it printed on your shirt in school colors.

We passed several school buses coming out of the parking lot, so it appears that there will be plenty of kids here, but as long as they don't shriek directly in my ear and they don't throw things at me, I'll survive. And since the kids are all in the upper deck while I'm in the lower deck, I'm really okay with this.

At halftime, Seton Hall is up 58-28. Tabatha Richardson-Smith has 20 points for Seton Hall, with Tiffany Jones adding 13 and Aleesha Powell adding a boatload of assists. Ivory Bailey has 15 of the 28 for Bryant- and three fouls.

SHU's been sloppy, but they've been able to get away with it. I'm worried about how Shakena Richardson is integrating into the offense- or not integrating. It looks like she's not reading the signals correctly.

Yes, Tara. I saw you mouthing along the "bom-bom-bom" during "Sweet Caroline".

Good times have, however, seemed better. I will happily take a blowout that was in the 40-point range for stretches of the fourth quarter. I'll take it and I'll like it. But there were a couple of things nagging at me for much of the game. We'll get to that later.

Naomi Ashley did not endear herself to anyone when she almost kicked Tabatha Richardson-Smith in the head late in the game. Accidental or not, that's not a move that makes a lot of friends. Chanel Ramcharran hit a long two that had originally been called a three and then reversed, then took a deeper one as if to say "call this a two, I dare you!" She seemed to get a little shot-happy in the fourth quarter. Dani Anderson is apparently a shooter (or so the defensive calls from the Seton Hall bench would indicate), She made more of an impression getting beaten on defense, though. Haley Connors came in in the first quarter as Bryant's coach made more subs and seemed to be searching for an answer. Kierra Palmer was first off the bench in the first half, but unless I've messed up my second half rotations, she didn't enter in the second until the fourth quarter. (There is a distinct possibility my second half rotations are messed up, though.)

(You may be able to determine from this that Bryant plays a lot of guards.)

Maureen Leahy was the sole post player off the bench for the Bulldogs, a tall center who rebounded well and at least got good shots at the basket (even if she only hit one of them).

I was expecting a lot more out of Breanna Rucker, from everything I've read about Bryant, but Seton Hall put the clamps on her. She didn't have a field goal until the fourth quarter, and never seemed to get comfortable on the floor. I was, however, very impressed with Ivory Bailey. She knows how to get buckets, and how ot take advantage of smaller defenders (the Pirates kept running Shakena Richardson at her, and, well, Shakena is smaller than pretty much everybody). She's got great moves. She's a little over-aggressive, but I think that can be harnessed in time, and they've got a coach who I think is good enough to do that. But as many accolades as Rucker has and Bailey will have, I feel like so much of Bryant's success this year will hinge on Tiersa Winder. And you're going to look at that 2-14 shooting and conclude that your intrepid blogger has gone and lost her mind. But it felt like she was the orchestrator of things- offense, momentum plays, hustle plays. If this game was any indication of how Bryant usually plays, she's their leader.

Morgan Olander hit the boards well on the defensive end and caused a little defensive mayhem in the middle. Alex Klein left no real impression despite starting.

So many reserves! Play ALL the reserves! (Except the ones who are redshirting.)

Tara Inman does not dribble as well as she thinks she does. I'd really like to see her stop trying to do the fancy stuff. I like her defense and her hustle. Jordan Mosley got a bit shot-happy late in the game- we were rooting for Seton Hall to get everyone on the scoreboard, and Jordan kept taking shots. I expect more ball thought and more sense out of a senior, even one who doesn't play a lot, but she was committing dumb fouls and not working the ball. On the flip side, LaTecia Smith's clock management skills still need work- Coach had to remind her to back the ball out when the game clock (not the shot clock) was under 30. Martha Kuderer played a little scared, but I don't think I can blame her- she's the last player off the bench, after all.

Jordan Molyneaux laid the blocks down and disrupted Bryant's offense in the middle. Claire Lundberg shoots threes, and I'd like to see her learn to do more than that if she's going to give Tab any sort of consistent relief. Taylor Byrne still has a lot to learn, but I like the way she boxes out. The three is not, or at least not yet, her shot. But with both her and LaTecia, I can see the potential to learn.

Thing #1 that worries me, though I think and hope that it's temporary: Shakena Richardson really does not seem to know the signals, either on offense or defense. She's a talented player, fun to watch- she shook and baked a Bryant defender so hard I thought less of the basketball terminology than of the hockey term "filthy dangle". I definitely wouldn't give her the ball in the midst of a triple-team that includes post players, though. She drives like crazy (you can insert a New Jersey joke in here if you want). Aleesha Powell is so quick, and she plays such fierce defense- sometimes to her detriment, when she picks up quick fouls. By midseason, I expect her passing to be much sharper. Leesh just does everything, and does it well. If she were just a little bigger and a little stronger...

Thing #2 that worries me, and I have more reservations about it being long-lasting: Lubirdia Gordon, for the second game in a row, couldn't hit water falling out of a boat. I think two of her shots were so far off, went so far over the basket, that the official scorer didn't even count them as shots. She's always had small hands for a post, and that's always worried me, but she seems to have regressed. She's not being aggressive, and she's not hitting easy shots in the lane. Tiffany Jones just does her thing, quiet and consistent. She does a little bit of everything. Tabatha Richardson-Smith started off red-hot- for a fair amount of the first half, she was either leading or tied with Bryant all by her lonesome. I think it got to her head a little bit after she hit a ridiculously long three, because then she started taking higher degree of difficulty shots that weren't necessarily within the flow of the offense. Coach did not seem to be amused. I love Tab, and people are going to take this the wrong way if I say it, but sometimes she doesn't seem to take the game seriously enough, and sometimes she seems to take her importance to the stat sheet more seriously than she should. She has WNBA skills and a WNBA-ready build, but I don't know yet if she has the right attitude to be a complementary part in a system.

The officiating reflected part of the problem with the quarter system: in a blowout, there's a psychological difference between 10 minutes of second-half garbage time and an entire 10-minute period of garbage time. There were ticky-tack calls in the third and then essentially a fourth quarter of no calls, even when there were wrestling moves on the hardwood. I think we're going to see some very sloppy fourth quarters this season across the NCAA.

I don't know how good a warm-up that really was for the schedule ahead. The level of competition ramps up fast. But it's good to see them do well- and to see their flaws laid out so we know how to handle them.