Just the Facts, Ma'am: Aliyyah Handford had 23 points and 10 rebounds to power St. John's to a 77-63 win over Fordham in second-round WNIT action. Emily Tapio had 19 points to lead Fordham.
For bittersweet farewells, lost shoes, rhythmic clapping, wardrobe changes, dueling bands, and never winning raffles, join your intrepid and conclusive blogger after the jump.
Off with the blue, on with the red. Can't stay in the Big Dance, time to hit the Medium Dance. Still got some of our Jersey girls playing. Sleep off the heartbreak at Gampel, hit the road with hope for Carnesecca. It's a battle for the heart of the city, as the Fordham Rams come to Queens to play the St. John's Red Storm.
I think the event staff at every staircase is a little excessive today, given that we have approximately 20 people in the stands so far, not including the Fordham band.
The Mighty Sound of the Red Storm is back in action, and ready to rumble.
D'awww, one of the Fordham players is wearing the Senior Day shirt.
In addition to their band, Fordham brought their mascot and cheerleaders. Their cheerleaders have flags, unlike the poor guy from Seton Hall last night.
At halftime, St. John's is up 38-32, in a game that's been a lot faster than I think anyone expected. Fordham likes to slow it down, but they've been content to run with the Red Storm. Aliyyah Handford is back to herself, with 19 points and some athletic rebounds. She's such a joy to watch, honestly.
Fordham has brought a lot of fans along for the ride, and they've been loud. Fortunately, a fair number of Johnnies showed up to counterbalance them. I think some of the guys from the men's team have joined us.
Strong contender for worst feeling in the world: your raffle ticket is one off a winning number. There are a lot of raffles today, though. It's a fan appreciation day. All I want is the UA skyline socks.
Our over-quota dancers have been exiled to the bleachers during the game. At least it helps us get the crowd noise going.
Fordham found their offensive groove in the second half, stylistically, but the game was still moving fast enough that St. John's was able to maintain control, and by the end, we were able to penetrate their defense with relative ease.
Khadijah Gibson came in near the end of the game when it was a lost cause and the seniors were getting their curtain calls. Danielle Padovano got a lot less time than I was expecting and really made no impact. Danielle Burns was first off the bench in both halves, but was so little of a factor that my loyal traveling companion (who knows Fordham better than I do) thought she hadn't played at all. Asnate Fomina brought a little bit of shooting, but nothing on the defensive end. (The box score also shorted her a missed free throw.) Taryn Durant brought a little bit of defense, but not much else.
Tiffany Ruffin played with the speed and passion of a player who knew that this could be her last game, especially in the latter part of the second half. She drove through the lane fearlessly, though not recklessly. I have to admire her toughness on both ends of the floor. G'mrice Davis missed a couple of early shots and got bodied up a little by the defense, and I think that got into her head a little bit, or more than a little bit. She rebounded decently, but she was not fully engaged in the game. Samantha Clark stretched the floor a little, and was certainly tough on the inside (seriously, do not run headlong into this woman, it does not end well for you) but committed stupid turnovers. Hannah Missry put a scare into us early with her stroke, but that was all she could muster for Fordham- even her one 2-point field goal was a long jumper. Once we stayed on her, she was a non-factor. Emily Tapio was great- hitting jumpers and going to the basket, rebounding, setting screens. She threw a couple of really nice head fakes to get good passing lanes or space to move closer to the basket.
I wasn't expecting Fordham to try and run with us, and I don't think they were either. Their offense became more deliberate, albeit not ponderous, in the second half.
Tonoia Wade sighting! I don't know what took Joe so long to find her at the end of the bench, but she came in near the end of the game and made a couple of nifty defensive plays. Tamesha Alexander came in around the same time. Kyra Dunn had some really good rebounds today- there were at least two that she seized with both hands and held on to, which is unusual for her. Imani Littleton played briefly and did nothing of import. Crystal Simmons looked really lost. Except for Kyra, this wasn't exactly a strong game for the Red Storm's bench.
Fortunately, when Aliyyah Handford drops 19 points in the first half, you don't necessarily need bench production. She looked more like herself, even in the second half when Fordham was doubling her. Her energy was back and her smile was back. Danaejah Grant had some issues with the rim, but got more of her shots to fall in the second half. Jade Walker committed dumb fouls and mistakes on defense, but her shot was going in nicely, both at the basket and from the midrange. Amber Thompson hit the boards and cleaned up missed shots. Aaliyah Lewis ran the show smoothly. I think I might have liked to see her take some more shots, but I think things worked out well today.
Not much to complain about with the officiating, other than that time Aliyyah took a forearm to the face from Fomina with no call.
Your funny moment of the game: as the second half was about to get started, Liyyah clapping along with "Thunderstruck".
Your maturity moment of the game: Crystal Simmons, badly out of position on defense, makes a weak swipe that ultimately results in Amber Thompson committing a foul. As soon as that whistle blows, Aaliyah Lewis calls everyone together and rips Crystal a new one for being out of position. I love that kind of leadership from a young player.
Your 'do not taunt happy fun band' moment of the game: Fordham's band played "Seven Nation Army", a major piece in our band's repertoire. As it happens, our band has recently added a bass. So, as the victorious Red Storm ran off the court, the band played not "Mars" (our fight song of sorts, because the Red Planet is appropriate for the Red Storm, and Holst is for the win), but... "Seven Nation Army", and proceeded to kick Fordham's butt in that regard as well. Seriously, do not mess with Kevin.
These will likely be the last Game Notes of Doom you'll see this year. St. John's is off to Villanova for the next round, and while I've done Philadelphia, I can't do it mid-week. So, if this is the end of my chronicles of the regular season, it's a good ending. I hope you've enjoyed my rambling, babbling, and incoherent muttering. And if you haven't, well, you've got a month or so's break before I head to Mohegan Sun for the draft, so you can sigh in relief.
To the teams that I love, thank you. Best of luck to my Johnnies and my Wolverines, still dancing in the WNIT. Best of luck for next year to my Pirates, my Gaels, and yes, my Rams. Thank you for the stars and the shining moments, the milestones and the magic numbers.
Thank you, Amber, Selina, and Kyra. Thank you, Janee, Ka-Deidre, Daisha, and Chizoba. Thank you, Damika. Thank you, Liz, Taryn, Tiffany, and Emily. Thank you, Shannon, Nicole, and Cyesha.
See you in the summer!
Sunday, March 22, 2015
March 22nd, 2015: Fordham at St. John's (WNIT)
Saturday, March 21, 2015
March 21st, 2015: Seton Hall at Rutgers (NCAA tournament)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kahleah Copper and Tyler Scaife each had 21 points to power 8th-seeded Rutgers past 9th-seeded Seton Hall. Betnijah Laney added 17 points (including 4-6 3-point shooting) and 12 rebounds to seal the deal. Tabatha Richardson-Smith had 18 to lead Seton Hall, getting 17 points and seven rebounds in support from Tiffany Jones off the bench.
For a sea of blue (but not that sea of blue), road tripping, bad calls, well-aimed kicks, an uncharacteristic lack of poise, and Moooose, join your intrepid and peripatetic blogger after the jump.
Hello, loyal readers! Your intrepid blogger is currently coming to you live and in stereophonic sound from the lobby of Walsh Gymnasium, where the Seton Hall faithful are starting to gather for the bus that will take us to Gampel Pavilion, on a collision course with the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.
You won't be getting in-game notes from me, as Gampel frowns upon both backpacks and laptops. (Moose, however, are strongly encouraged, so Moooose is in the bag with our Seton Hall gear.) At most, if Gampel has wi-fi, you'll get tweets.
I'm rather enjoying the evisceration of C. Vivian Stringer that our boosters are engaging in. Apparently she tried to bar the SHU band from the WNIT game last year, and the WNIT was all, uh, no, you can't do that.
This was not how the story was supposed to end for Daisha and JJ and Chiz and Didi. This is not how it was supposed to go. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, and all I can bring myself to do at the moment is rail at the heavens, because this is not fair and it's not right, and yes, we partially brought it upon ourselves, but not entirely. And as hard as these seniors have fought to be in this place at this time, to have it taken away not entirely by their own hand is heartbreaking.
Gampel Pavilion's security is ridiculously strict. I brought a totebag to carry my clipboard, Moooose, and a few small things. They told me no. It's maybe 14" x 12" x 4". In front of them, we took everything out of the bag, stowed the small things in our pockets, picked up Moooose and the clipboard, and rolled the bag into a tube the size of a tossed t-shirt. Seriously, guys, you need a hobby.
(Also, I don't want to say that the "no flag" policy was strict, but the SHU cheerleader who normally does the flag run had to use an imaginary flag.)
Kathleen Egan gave a few spot minutes at the 4. Jordan Mosley was the sub for Ka-Deidre Simmons when Didi got in foul trouble, and showed guts going after a Rachel Hollivay shot. (She got her hand on it and it still went in.) Lubirdia Gordon brought size down low, primarily in the first half, but seemed a little tentative. Then again, so were most of the Pirates. Tiffany Jones was one of the few people not afraid to attack the basket. I think early on she thought she was going to be more effective from beyond the arc, but someone knocked sense into her, and she went more towards the basket as the game went on. Tara Inman showed spunk, but not always common sense.
Chizoba Ekedigwe was stiff in the middle, and not in the stalwart kind of way. I think she actually played a minority of the critical minutes. She's normally a defensive stopper, but she just couldn't seem to get moving. Daisha Simmons was solid, though she did a lot of unnecessary passing. Janee Johnson was hot from outside. I think she knew what this game meant and wanted it worse than anyone else in a blue jersey. Tabatha Richardson-Smith was solid offensively and made a couple of great, aggressive defensive plays. I could do without the shots from somewhere in the vicinity of Metuchen, though. I've said before that as goes Ka-Deidre Simmons, so goes Seton Hall. And tonight Didi didn't have it. I don't know what was wrong with her. Maybe we'll never know. Maybe it was simply the doubles and triples Rutgers was constantly throwing at her, grinding her down. But she showed only flashes of the fearlessness that has been her trademark, constantly passing when she had interior looks, throwing up bad shots out of desperation, losing the vision that marked her as a point guard to be feared. This was not the Didi who led us to the top of the table.
Accidental funny but shouldn't be funny but funny anyway: Tab chased a loose ball into the Rutgers bench and landed hard on Coach Stringer, and may have gotten a foot to her gut. Later, she would fall into referee Tiara Cruse with the aid of momentum. I am positive Tab meant no harm, but it was a bit cathartic.
Rachel Hollivay came off the bench, though I think she might have started the second half. The PA guy wasn't really clear on announcing subs. She was strong, but her motion seemed limited. Cynthia Hernandez fired off two quick makes in the first half, and thereafter we were forced to devote somewhat more defensive attention to her. She doesn't look like your prototypical three-point specialist, but she's got a nice shot. Christa Evans played brief minutes when both Butts and Hollivay had picked up quick fouls. Shrita Parker has a lot of speed. I'm not sure how much common sense she has on the floor, but she has speed and she has guts.
Betnijah Laney has clearly heard the aspersions cast on her professional prospects due to her lack of a perimeter game at her size. She'll never be asked to participate in a WNBA three-point contest, but she was stroking them today. I'm not completely certain how many of them were fully behind the line, and she needs to get that extra foot or so in the next couple of years. She cleaned up the boards that extra step away from the basket- not necessarily the ones directly at the rim, but a little ways off. Tyler Scaife brought the pretty, pretty offense in the second half, hitting jumpers and getting looks. I can tell from the box score that Briyona Canty did things, but I don't remember her doing things. Kahleah Copper was a matchup nightmare- she ate our backcourt alive. She was too big for either of the Simmonae to handle and too fast for Tab. She's so athletic. Ariel Butts boxed out well, but didn't really make an impact.
I am not a trained official, but my impression has always been that if a player is touching the ball while her feet are in contact with the floor out of bounds, then she and the ball are out of bounds and it's a turnover. This crew managed to mess that up twice in the first half. Unless there is some new rule I have not been made aware of, and the painted area on the far side of the baseline is now part of the floor, this is a load of hooey. The officiating seemed to deteriorate further in the second half, though honesty compels me to question whether the officiating changed, Seton Hall changed, or my perception changed.
Seton Hall brought about two busloads, more or less. Rutgers may have brought more. There were even a few brave St. Francis fans there to bear witness to the carnage to come. The UConn fans seemed friendly enough.
The ice cream stall was extremely popular. What is wrong with you, Connecticut, there's still snow on the ground!
Damika Martinez of Iona decided, 'you know what, I'm going to the tournament, even if my teammates don't come with me'. We saw her walking the concourse at halftime.
We played our hearts out. It wasn't enough. And I grieve for our seniors, that they had only this night on the big stage. I wanted so much for them. I wanted them to exact satisfaction on Rutgers for last year and for the slights this year, and then who knows? The sky would have been the limit. Why not Seton Hall?
But that's the question for next year now. Why not Seton Hall? Why not Tab and the Pirates?
For this year, though, I'm left saying words I thought I'd never say. Go UConn. Destroy Rutgers. I'm petty, what can I say?
Thursday, March 19, 2015
March 19th, 2015: Army at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: 20 points from Aaliyah Lewis and an 18-point, 13-rebound performance from Danaejah Grant spurred the Red Storm to a first round WNIT victory over Army, 64-56. Kelsey Minato and Olivia Schretzman each had 19 for the Black Knights.
For deferral, splitting up the band, defensive energy, bad body language, ticket gripes, and tedium, join your intrepid and apathetic blogger after the jump.
You thought you were done with me, didn't you? You thought the time of Game Notes had safely passed and you could breathe a sigh of relief, safe from giant blocks of text and irrelevant observations.
You forgot about the WNIT.
Your intrepid blogger is once more ensconced in her familiar perch in section 2 at Carnesecca Arena as the Red Storm host the Black Knights of Army.
Because it's the WNIT, and thus technically sort of neutral, Army brought their band, and they did a rendition of the national anthem that gave me goosebumps. I guess that's to be expected, but still, rock on, West Point Band.
(The Mighty Sound of the Red Storm is not so mighty, since most of it is off to Charlotte for the men's tournament. It's, uh, actually kind of pathetic look I'm sorry guys but you have like eight people today.)
There's nothing quite as disconcerting as seeing an Army officer in dress start yelling his head off at a game.
When St. John's was making their run to end the half, I thought for sure Dave Magarity was about to Reeve his jacket, but the Defcon level was lowered in time to keep the jacket on the chair.
I am not thrilled with the $2 jack-up of ticket prices for this one, especially since for me it's more like a $7 increase, since I normally buy season tickets. I blame the WNIT and its organizers.
The crowd is uninspiring, and heavily in Army's favor. They brought family and officers, and even the SJU ROTC seems to be leaning towards their future employers instead of their present location.
Our dance team has been dislodged from their usual baseline, since that would be where Army's cheer squad would be if they joined us today.
The defensive energy is high for both sides, but St. John's looks like a hot mess on offense.
This was not a fun game to be at. By the end of the second half, I had reached a state of ennui where I genuinely no longer cared whether St. John's advanced or not, and was starting to slide towards, no, lose, end it, I'm tired and I want this to be over. The body language was awful. Maybe they all felt the way I did, but they get hefty scholarships to play basketball- you have to at least pretend to care, or at the very least, your coach has to pretend that he cares whether you care or not.
Fun moment before the game, though. ESPN was red-hatting the tip to extremes, and at one point I may have burst out, "C'mon, ESPN, some of us have to go to work tomorrow!" Or words to that effect. Whereupon Joanne Aldrich turned around with an amused smile and a gaze to the heavens, as if to say, what can you do?
Army brought excellent defense, but was tentative and unfocused on offense. Most of them didn't seem willing to shoot, and insisted on passing to one of the two scoring options.
I loved the defensive intensity of Janae McNeal. She was always on the ball and always moving. She's got great potential, and she's only a freshman. Brigette Ocran was a big body in the backcourt, creating some mismatches with her strength. Dani Failor possesses an unfortunate last name, but solid rebounding ability. Ciara Jackson played briefly in the first half and was so unremarkable that the PA announcer initially announced her as Jordan Elliott. Destinee Morris threw me off because I mistook her for who I presume is her twin sister.
Daizjah Morris left no impression, though, again, that might be because I had trouble keeping her and her sister straight. Aimee Oertner pulled down the boards near the basket. Jean Parker spent a decent amount of time in foul trouble, which opened the door for McNeal to get minutes. Olivia Schretzman got good looks near the basket and in whatever one calls the area between the high post and the low post, and took care of her turf. Kelsey Minato has good speed, and she shoots quickly, but I don't know what to think of her release- it seems a bit crossed up. I think Army also relies on her too heavily- when the game was still close at the end and winnable with swift offense, they passed the ball around too much, looking desperately for their leader to save them.
Imani Littleton saw daylight in the second half, and of course it was after her first positive play- a defensive disruption that ultimately led to an Army turnover- that Joe pulled her. Kyra Dunn played briefly in the first half, but was so ineffective that Joe pulled her in a hurry and started yelling in her general direction, at which point she evinced no indication that she was absorbing his words. Crystal Simmons saw some time and played very stiff.
Jade Walker hit some shots, but did not have what I would call the world's greatest shot selection, and fell into the trap of staring at her shot instead of following it. The only thing I'll say about that is that she seemed to be doing a lot of switching on defense, so she might have been short on energy. Amber Thompson rebounded all the things, hit some nice shots, and even dropped a slick dime to Aaliyah Lewis on a backdoor cut. Aliyyah Handford was hassled by Army double- and triple-teams all night. There were flashes of her unbridled athleticism in the second half when she hit the fast break and when she rebounded. But I'm more worried about her increased penchant for dramatics. Flopping isn't going to succeed as a long-term bodily protection strategy- in the end, you get fewer calls than you would otherwise. (Exhibit A: Coco Hart, who was once knocked briefly unconscious at center court by a West Virginia player without even a stoppage of play.) Danaejah Grant continues to be an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a mini-hawk. She's a brilliant scorer, and without her work at the basket and beyond the arc, Army would be visiting Fordham on Sunday. On the other hand, her body language was that of a woman who cared only for her numbers and had completely lost interest in the game. She consistently gave up on plays, and no one did anything about it. Two examples, both from the second half. First: Nae gets stripped of the ball and doesn't even bother to chase, preferring to marinate in her own pity party in the backcourt. Second, she's the one in an Army 2-on-1, with McNeal and Minato running. She bumps Minato and then immediately starts arguing with the ref that Minato bumped her... meanwhile, McNeal goes for the lay-up. Thank goodness we had Aaliyah Lewis, because Tiny Aaliyah fears nothing. She went to the basket and made plays, and she sealed the deal at the line. She took what she was given, and she took full advantage.
Officiating was loose. I think it was clear that everyone involved just wanted to go home already.
Cheer and dance were also split, with half of each team at the game.
Attendance was sparse, to be generous. Listed at 211, and that might include the West Point Band. I am not looking forward to Sunday.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
March 7th, 2015: Princeton at Columbia
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Princeton Tigers kept rolling towards perfection and clinched the Ivy League title with a 63-44 win at Columbia. Blake Dietrick led Princeton with 17 points, while Annie Tarakchian came up just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Tori Oliver led all scorers with 18.
For the end of all things, a look at history, tracking rebounds, too many stairs, badly designed stations, friendly strangers, and big cats, join your intrepid and gimpy blogger after the jump.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and of course all our readers who eschew the gender binary!
We're wrapping up the regular season here in New York with an evening visit to Levien Gymnasium on the grounds of Columbia University, where the Lions hope to spoil the heretofore undefeated season of the Princeton Tigers. As is customary when chronicling the athletic endeavors of the Ancient Eight, your intrepid blogger will attempt to elevate the level of her writing to suit the academic excellence of these two schools.
We're up in row Q at Levien, having been assigned to the Princeton side of the court. It's already bustling half an hour before tip. There are a lot of people in orange and black, and a lot of alumni showing their pride.
I believe several members of Leslie Robinson's family, including her father, have joined us this evening. Since security hasn't been amped up and I haven't been strip-searched, I'm assuming Aunt Michelle will not be coming.
The Columbia band has chosen to wear their most formal gear for this game. I suppose that makes sense. You dress up for Saturday night, right? I don't understand the pink foam whales people are wearing on their heads, though.
Columbia's Senior Day preparations include balloons in the shape of the seniors' numbers. For some reason, the jerseys are also reversed. Perhaps that reflects Columbia's awareness that Princeton fans are likely to outnumber Columbia fans.
I love the faded shadow effect of the inlaid center court logo, though the giant trademark symbol detracts from the effect.
There is a young woman in a Harvard sweatshirt in the Princetonian section. Lost, related, or just trolling?
After a short disappearance, the Columbia band has marched into the gym. Bonus points for the violin.
Very sweet of the announcer to take the time to introduce each member of the color guard.
At halftime, Princeton is up 36-23, but the Tigers have underwhelmed against a Lions team that's in transition from Nixon's seniors to Glance's recruits. Blake Dietrick leads the Tigers with 11, while Tori Oliver leads the Lions with 10.
The Princeton fans have flags, but have mostly been quiet, except for the older gentleman next to us who's enjoying the game quite a bit.
Princeton turned up the defense in the second half, but they did not look like a team that could threaten in the NCAA tournament tonight, nor did they look like a team that's undefeated. Ominous for the road ahead.
The Tigers went deep into their bench in the second half, so we got to see a fair number of their reserves. Leslie Robinson was physical, as well as foul-prone (though in her defense, one of those calls was a very poor one). Vanessa Smith showed some pretty moves on the inside and facilitated the fast break. Taylor Williams played long stretches in the second half and couldn't quite take that next step in the post- lots of foul trouble, especially on the defensive end. Mariah Smith made some nice defensive plays.
I love, love, love the way Michelle Miller reads the ball off the rim on missed jumpers. She tracked long rebounds really well. Amanda Berntsen is super fast- she accelerated and attacked beautifully. Annie Tarakchian came through with threes at the right time and smashed a second half block so fierce that one of the Princetonians behind me was impelled to scream, "NOT IN MY HOUSE!" (I did have to remind him that this was, in fact, not his house.) She's sneaky good on the glass, too. Alex Wheatley had shots on the inside that she should have hit, but she was solid down low overall. Blake Dietrick was very impressive, showing speed and solid game management. I suspect she was in with the deep reserves to keep them from running up the score- Princeton was looking to keep scoring until the last few seconds, though they did run clock. I like her all-around game.
Princeton ran a motion offense that showed flashes of pure beauty, and was sticky on defense, switching between a tight man and a zone.
Jillian Borreson's brief appearance was at the end of the first half- I think Stephanie Glance was using her for a little height. Camille Zimmerman showed speed and mobility for a big player- the guy behind us (who I think was a youth coach) was really impressed with her. I question her ball security, though. Columbia got unremarkable minutes from their bench, for the most part- better than I would have expected from their record, but not statistically relevant.
Campbell Mobley got the start because it was Senior Day, and that's pretty much all we saw of her. Miwa Tachibana also didn't start the second half after starting the game- the tiny guard was hot from the field, but couldn't keep up with Princeton's speed. Sara Mead found ways to get to the line and was solid for the Lions. Amara Mbionwu hit the boards, but I don't know if she was looking to shoot, or if any shots she intended to take were off offensive rebounds that she never grabbed. Tori Olvier showed some fantastic moves and was the bright light for Columbia.
Actually, that's a pretty harsh assessment. The upperclassmen on this team, for the most part, are not up to the par of Princeton or Penn, or even Yale. The underclassmen, on the other hand, show a lot of potential and stood their ground against the Tigers. I'm looking forward to a resurgence in Manhattan.
Lousy, lousy refs. No game-changing calls, but lots of bad procedural calls and no-calls. I expect refs doing Ivy games to be able to count to two.
I think Princeton was looking ahead to Penn and to the tournament. In a year or two, Columbia will make them regret that kind of attitude.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
March 1st, 2015: Davidson at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Fordham Rams gave up a 10-point halftime lead, but finished on a 12-2 run to win 54-46 on Senior Day. Emily Tapio led the Rams with 12 points, adding 10 boards, while Samantha Clark had a game-high 12 rebounds. Alexandra Long and Dakota Dukes each had 13 to pace Davidson.
For travel issues, tight hugs, disjointed play, unmarketable skills, free food, FEELINGS, and word of one hot minute, join your intrepid and bedraggled blogger after the jump.
We conclude our session of getting smacked repeatedly in the feels at beautiful, historic Rose Hill Gymnasium, where Fordham honors their four seniors against Davidson.
There appears to be a minion theme to the shirts Fordham is wearing for their seniors. It's weirdly adorable. "One in a minion", apparently. Which I don't know makes sense when you have four seniors, but this isn't my job. THE MINIONS ARE WEARING TINY JERSEYS. *heart emojis go here*
Reasons I love New York: six kids and a dragon performing one last New Year's celebration as we pass a corner in Flushing.
Reasons I side-eye New York sometimes: pretty sure there is nothing innocent about a guy squeezing lotion on one hand, then covering himself from head to knee with his coat.
We were trying so hard not to make alcohol references for Emily Tapio's senior day poster... and then the band plays "Tequila".
They're paging the parents. Senior Day is about to get started. Lots of flowers. Someone forgot to bleach the Ram on the tablecloth- it looks like it's being used for PinkZone.
Poor Taryn Durant. :( Her family was supposed to be at the Senior Day ceremony, but they no-showed. Her teammates walked her out, but you could tell that she was disappointed. Her face was pretty much :-[ the whole time, and everyone made a point of giving her an extra hug. (And Stephanie Gaitley does not believe in senior=starter on Senior Day- she came off the bench.) (I think it was travel difficulty- folks showed up fairly late in the game, and I think that was her family.)
Nice enough Senior Day- flowers, framed photographs, highlight reels and accolades. Nice touch for the senior manager- his framed picture is of him cutting down the net at the A-10 tournament.
Fordham is up 31-21 at the half, but it's been disjointed and ugly. Neither team looks like they know what they're doing.
The news from Indianapolis will make this second half easier to watch, methinks. So did a vast, vast improvement in play.
We've been invited to the post-game reception, so your intrepid blogger is typing some GNoD from Dagger John's, a couple of flights down in the McGinley Center. Smells like cafeteria pizza, to be honest.
Davidson is... not a good team. There's really no way to sugarcoat it. They have dubious fundamentals, play undisciplined physical defense, don't pass well, and don't take care of the ball all that well. This game should not have been as close as it was, but Fordham broke down on both ends of the floor.
Mellissa Giegerich cleared space on the inside in the first half, and hit a basket almost as soon as she entered the game, so it's a little unclear to me why she didn't play in the second half, unless she did and she was just far less effective. If I'm unfamiliar with a foe, and they don't have names on their jerseys, it's a little harder for me to spot people. Lillian McCabe maintained poise and took outside shots. Kayla Seymour disrupted a lot of passes for both teams and pulled down some boards during the big second half run.
Dakota Dukes has a shot I haven't seen in decades. She shoots the one-handed set/push shot like back in the olden days. And weirdly enough she hit a lot of them. I thought Fordham was doomed when Dukes hit a left-handed lay-up, because I figured that if she had learned how to use her other hand, she was going to break through to another level. Alexandra Long came up with offense in the lane and from the midrange. She was their primary scorer and one of the catalysts for their second half run. Saadia Timpton certainly has gumption- one does not challenge a tall, stocky post player like Samantha Clark when one is an eeny little guard without having gumption. But you have to temper that gumption with some common sense, and the foul trouble she got herself into in the second half did not help Davidson's cause. Mackenzie Latt showed flashes of promise on the boards and on defense- she missed shots that she should have hit in the post, and shots that she probably will hit later in her career. Hannah Early got good position on the boards, especially when Fordham got confident in their shots falling.
Stephanie Gaitley is currently thanking all the people. It amuses me how little Hannah Missry appears to care- she's steadily working the buffet table like it ain't no thing. (Ahahah. One of Liz Milner's family members was apparently supposed to be on a flight to Arizona… which was canceled... so she decided to come to Liz's Senior Day instead. Emily Tapio: "I have kind of a crew, so bear with me." Taryn Durant: "It hasn't been an easy journey, but I made it to senior year... thank God.") The seniors each got scrapbooks, which was adorable. And there is a minion cake. (Dad, I know you're not reading this. But if you are, no, I'm not stealing it for you.)
He's schmoozing, and I'm scribbling. That's how we roll. We did corral Asnate Fomina briefly, since she was standing right there. He's currently tracking down seniors to provide them with the tiny posters we make for all the seniors. As you can imagine, he was very busy in Photoshop with 12 seniors distributed among four teams. (He made one for Kyra, even if she wasn't part of Senior Day at St. John's.)
Taryn Durant came up big at the end, pulling down a critical rebound to help secure the win for Fordham. She was tenacious, and seemed to have a little bit of a chip on her shoulder. Asnate Fomina came in for a little bit of shooting, but got few touches and generally seemed to be flailing on defense. Danielle Burns seemed to be taking shots that were outside her comfort zone. Some of them fell, but her role at Fordham might be better suited to something like Taylor Holeman's role at Villanova, the player in the system who doesn't play the system and thus provides a crucial mismatch when the system starts to break down, the driver who forces the defense to sag and creates space for the outside shooters. Danielle Padovano played a couple of stretches, but made no measurable impact.
Emily Tapio missed a lot of shots that she should have hit right at the basket, and she knew she should have had them- you could tell by her demeanor. Early on, she was letting a lot of rebounds get by her. But when the chips were down, she woke up, crashing the glass and getting to the line. That's what I like about her. She'll find what her team needs and do it. Hannah Missry was one-dimensional, almost to the point where she seemed about ready to have a panic attack if she had the ball anywhere but beyond the arc in shooting position. Two of her shots were blocked back into her face. Her reaction time was really slow today, but I'm inclined to give her a pass because she's still a bit hurt (she came to the post-game reception with her left foot in a boot). Her shot is a thing of beauty when it's on, but she needs to be a little more than a three-point shooter. Tiffany Ruffin turned up the defense on Long in the second half, and that was a huge reason why Fordham was able to recover from Davidson taking the lead away from them. She ran through the backdoor for a couple of crucial lay-ups, too. G'mrice Davis, whose name I probably won't get right on a consistent basis until sometime in her junior year, was ferocious on the glass early. She's got to hone her shooting a little, as well as her defense, but if she does that, she'll be an absolute beast. (In the complimentary way.) I love her hustle and her rebounding ability. Samantha Clark hit the boards hard too- again, she had trouble finishing, and as the game went on, she had trouble keeping up with the pace. That is not a woman I would want to tangle with in a dark alley. That is a lot of very intense, very tough, woman.
Fordham had a lot of communication issues on their passing and positioning- there was one play I remember in the second half where Clark was sort of wandering around the outside as if offering her skills as a freelance screener to anyone who wanted to take them. Davidson was disruptive, this is true, but Fordham let it get to them. They lacked focus. I don't know if their seed was locked, or if they were looking ahead to the A-10 tournament, or what, but they did just enough to survive. It was as if, in the last three minutes, the seniors decided, You know what? No. Everyone else can do what they want, but we're not losing on Senior Day.
Officials let them play early, tightened up later. The biggest issue I had was that I thought two of Tiffany Ruffin's fouls were on other players. Not a gamechanger, but annoying.
It's not a skill that has any application in the real world, but the kid who won one of the timeout contests has a real knack for the hippity-hop.
No. I am not allowed to get attached to another team. No. Fordham has to wait until I'm done with Iona, this is entirely too silly.