January 22nd, 2016: Butler at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong defensive effort in the first half fueled St. John's on their way to a 68-41 win over Butler. Aliyyah Handford had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Red Storm, while Imani Littleton had 14 points and nine boards. Brittany Ward and Taylor Buford each had 11 to pace the Bulldogs.

For color confusion, snow, frats, not using one's head properly, making Liyyah smile, disturbing reserves, and the need for sleep, join your intrepid and mildly insane blogger after the jump.


Good evening, fellow travelers! A Storm is coming, and I don't mean Jonas. St. John's hosts Butler tonight, and so far I think the Bulldogs wish they were out in the wind and ice. It's 29-8 at the half. Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant each have 8 points for St. John's.

I would at some point like the announcers to acknowledge the Division I hip-hop dance champions. That would be cool. They do amazing things and should be appreciated for them.

Halftime featured Greek basketball (the frat kind, not the Hellenic kind). It wasn't bad.

In defiance of all logic, today was supposed to be a "blueout". Yes, let's embrace the color that all but one of our conference foes wear. We're the Red Storm, not the Blue Storm. Red is our color. Why do we keep moving away from it?

I'm a little worried about next year, but we're looking okay for this year. We got to see a lot of the young'uns, and see what they have to offer. We got to see Butler's young'uns, too, and while they're definitely not ready for the big time, there's plenty of potential there.

Emmy Schrabel came off the bench near the end of the game and immediately attempted to get tangled up with Tamesha Alexander, which is not a good plan. You don't tangle with the Philly kid. Nicole Orr brought good size and defensive positioning- she always seemed to be in someone's way. I really like Taylor Buford and her defensive intensity. She jumped the passing lanes well and finished on the break.

I remember Alexa Bailey committing fouls, but that's about it. Sydney Buck was small but pesky, all up in the ballhandler's business. Blaire Langlois hit one really deep three, and spent a lot of her time out on the perimeter, taking threes that usually didn't go in. Some missed far more badly than others. Brittany Ward threw her weight around on the boards. She needs a better sports bra. Other than that wardrobe malfunction, she was pretty solid. Belle Obert started the game off well, but one early foul seemed to knock her off her game. Orr and Buford were both more effective off the bench, and when Butler switched to a smaller, more pressuring lineup, she was left behind.

There's potential on Butler, but they're too young right now, and too raw. They make a lot of mistakes on offense, taking bad shots and not boxing out on the offensive glass. Their pressure defense is fantastic, though, and I love the way Buford and Orr play the passing lanes.

Tamesha Alexander wasn't ready for the pressure. The difference in speed between her and Aaliyah Lewis was abundantly clear tonight; she almost seemed to be waiting for the double-team to come and make her life miserable. She's got to deal with the pressure better. Crystal Simmons played briefly, but her defense was not as strong as I'm used to. She was touching more and getting less accomplished with the fouls she was committing. Akina Wellere came on a bit stronger in the fourth quarter, but she, like her cohorts off the bench, was very weak in the passing game.

Jade Walker brought the offense, but not the defense or the rebounding. Her effort in the second half, when we had the 30-point lead, was lacking, and Joe definitely noticed it when he had to put the starters back in. Jordan Agustus tried to do too much- I think she saw this game as an opportunity to be the star like she was in high school, and loked more for her offense than for the team's plan.

I love to watch Aliyyah Handford start a break and finish it. She's so quick, and she's so fluid, and why do I have to lose her in two months? Her long jumper was also working today. And her rebounding! There was one play where she was so high up I thought she was Imani for a second. Danaejah Grant brought the outside shot and made herself an option for beleaguered ballhandlers. Aaliyah Lewis demonstrated that speed kills- she lured Butler into double-teaming her, then raced down the court with all of them behind her and lots of open teammates in front of her.

Sandra Udobi did her best, but her mobility wasn't there today. She kept her head and kept the young'uns grounded in the second half, but she had shots at the basket that she should have made. Imani Littleton was brilliant today; for the first time, I really saw why she was so highly rated coming out of high school. She had good moves at the basket, she rebounded well, she defended well- more importantly, she seemed to have a good head for the game. She recognized the plays she was able to make, and the ones that she wasn't able to make. She needs to work on her hands, catching passes and hanging on to rebounds, but that's something I think can be worked on.

The passing under the basket was great- at least for the starters. Lots of people looking to make the extra pass. It didn't go as well with five reserves on the floor- those passes were not as crisp, and the effort wasn't there. I don't think Joe really wanted to bring Aliyyah, Danaejah, and Aaliyah back in the game, but th bench was not playing well.

We were worried about officiating, because we had an Enterline, but it wasn't too embarrassing. There were a couple of bad over-the-back calls on players who had the audacity to be taller than the player boxing them out, but there was one for either side. You could tell when they were making game management calls in the second half.

I'm worried about next year, but Liyyah gonna Liyyah and Nae gonna Nae (no, I don't know if she nae naes), and this game should have given Imani a lot of confidence.