March 19th, 2016: Iona at Maryland (NCAA tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Maryland held off a feisty Iona squad, 74-58. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led five Terps in double figures with 19, while Brionna Jones added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Philecia Gilmore of Iona led all scorers with 21 points on seven triples.

For hustle, Latin, bouncing, maroon and gold, pride, defense from offensive-minded players, and fighting the good fight, join your intrepid and proud blogger after the jump.
Hello, fellow Dancers! Your intrepid blogger comes to you from the road, where the debutantes of Iona take on the veteran belles of Maryland.

Getting there has already been an adventure. Have you ever taken a bus with worn out shocks? Yes? Have you spent four hours on said bus? I refuse to admit or deny yelling, "Ride 'em, cowboy!" after one spectacular bump.

Everyone in Maryland is so very nice! We stayed at the Marriott on campus, and it's really nice. The cozy room is fairly efficient, and the people are really sweet. The folks at the Xfinity Center (I still have the urge to call it the Comcast Center) are super friendly, without the perverse in-your-face-ness that we were getting from Marylanders the last time we came to town. Thanks for letting the backpack in- we really had nowhere to put it.

Sometimes the school size difference is really obvious. Iona has five people in the band. Maryland has… a lot more than five.

Pretty good Iona turnout. I mean, it is our big debut, and it's not that far. I'm still proud, though.

At halftime, Maryland is up 42-27. Philecia Gilmore has four threes to lead Iona in scoring. Maryland has spread the wealth, with Shatori Walker-Kimbrough's nine as the team-high. Marina Lizarazu is making me want to tear my hair out.

Bonum certamen certa. Fight the good fight. That's Iona's motto. And I think it's safe to say that the 15th seeded Gaels fought the good fight against a bigger, stronger, better Maryland team. I hate the "chuck everything from beyond the arc" game plan, but with Maryland's size inside and ability to go deep themselves, it wasn't the worst idea in the world, though my opinion of that might be colored by the fact that it sort of worked.

Iida Ahvenainen came in at the end so Joy Adams could get her well deserved curtain call. Treyanna Clay had one of her better games, hustling on the boards and finishing at the rim. She really showed the potential she has. Alexis Lewis was solid on the boards, but Lex has always been a streaky shooter, and today she came up snake eyes. I still love what she brings on both ends of the floor, and she's going to be huge for us in the next three years.

Karynda DuPree really just makes me want to scream sometimes. I'm very glad she's no longer chucking the stupid threes she used to, but I'd like to see her be more assertive near the basket. She has moves. I've seen them. She just doesn't do enough to put herself in position to score. I like what she brings on defense, but she has to step up offensively next year. Joy Adams missed way too many bunnies at the rim- she had at least two clear looks that she left short. She can't do that. I realize, of course, that she's played her final collegiate game, so she can do whatever the hell she wants now, but if she wants to continue playing basketball as a career, she can't miss easy shots at the basket. She showed flashes of the athleticism and power that made her the terror of the MAAC, and of that I am very proud.

I love Marina Lizarazu's tenacity on defense, and her willingness to dive for loose balls. The problem was that today half those loose balls were her fault. You can't sneak dribbles behind your back if you're a MAAC point guard facing a Big Ten defense. You have to be careful with your passes, but half of Marina's passes went to Maryland players. She found her offensive groove in the second half, when the drives started falling and she got the jumper working a little bit. Aaliyah Robinson was quiet today- tenacious on defense and scored a little, but she wasn't the senior leader we needed her to be. Thank all the gods for Philecia Gilmore. Fee had herself a day from outside- scored the first six of the game for the Gaels from beyond the arc, and by the end of the day, I was trying to figure out how to squeeze a seventh trey into six spaces, something I've never had to do before. I love her so much. She's only a sophomore, and that's awesome and terrifying at the same time. If anything, she should have taken more threes- her twos mostly missed long or strong. (They were not, however, bound to get the friction on.)

I could have sworn Kiah Gillespie played in the first half for more than the paltry seconds the box score gives her- ESPN claimed she didn't even play, but I remember hearing her name. (I also thought it was pronounced Key-ah, like pretty much every Kia/Kiah I've ever seen, not Kye-ah, but you learn something new every day.) Brianna Fraser was a load down low, but her hands were hard- she let passes slip by her down low. Brene Moseley took over in the fourth quarter, hitting on jumpers and wild drives. I was surprised that she didn't start, given how much I've heard about her. I like her poise late. Tierney Pfirman seemed to pick up her scoring later as well.

Brionna Jones had a huuuuuuge block on Joy that got the crowd going, and picked off Philecia to open up Shatori Walker-Kimbrough for a shot. That's a lot of woman to try to contend with. She dominated on the boards- there was a play where Treyanna had the rebound all but secured and Jones took it away. She also had trouble keeping her hands on the ball on offense, though. The post players for Maryland in general were having trouble receiving passes, whether it was being out of position for them or letting them bounce off their hands. Malina Howard came on strong in the fourth quarter, partially because I think Iona was just flat worn out. She got what she wanted at the basket when she wanted it.

I had no idea who Kristen Confroy was when I came into the game, and to be honest, I still have very little idea of who she is, other than the person who opened the scoring for the Terps. She read the long bounces really well on missed jumpers, because there were a lot of shots that took odd bounces. I genuinely have no recollection of Chloe Pavlech, though I suspect she was one of the people who didn't react well to Philecia and Marina on the trap. I think she was the one who got stripped a couple of times. I came into the game hearing a lot about Shatori Walker-Kimbrough as a shooter, but I was more impressed with her hustle and savvy on defense. She has a pretty shot, but I think Iona's game plan was to deny her the shot as much as possible- which is how she ended up at the line so many times. She's a great piece to build on, and criminally underappreciated.

Officiating got a little out of control in the third quarter- I always find it a bit sketchy when the foul differential is penalty-zero, and you should have heard the Bronx cheer that went up when Maryland finally got called for one. There were weak calls on both sides. Obviously nothing ultimately affected the game, but I hate to see officiating that seems slanted. Maryland didn't need the help.

Terrapin fans turned out. I love it. They were pretty quiet until Iona made the runs in the third and early fourth, and then the defense chants started up. The Iona contingent was pretty loud, but that might just have been us. I love when fans get loud. Be proud! Support your team! Especially when your team is as good as Maryland!

We lost, but I'm glad I came. We put up a fight. We never quit. When you're an overmatched 15 facing a 2 that plays to your weaknesses and can counter your strengths, there's only so much you can ask. The Gaels went above and beyond that. It was a fitting sendoff for Aaliyah and Joy, and I can't thank them enough for leading us to this pinnacle.

We'll be back. And next time maybe we won't be a 15.