March 5th, 2016: Providence at Creighton (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton started strong and finished strong, staving off a Providence run in the middle, to win their first-round Big East tournament game 70-53. Audrey Faber had 16 points, 12 in the second half, and eight rebounds to lead the Jays. Clara Che's 14 points off the bench led Providence.

For bending the rules, traveling, band battles, signs on heads, hats on heads, moves in the lane, and a lot of potential, join your intrepid and dilatory blogger after the jump.


Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Game Notes of Doom are on the road for the next few days, dancing in Chicago with the Big East. We're coming to you from section B of McGrath-Phillips Arena, watching as Providence and Creighton prepare for their first-round game.

It looks like Providence brought their band, or someone's band. That's good. Drum kits were setting up so far ahead we thought that was all they had, but there's the rest of the instruments. I don't see Creighton, though.

McGrath-Phillips is a nice enough arena. I like the way the banners are mixed on the walls. I do feel kind of awkward with the Latasha Byears banner staring at me. Worse, there are two softball banners over to the right of it...

Technically, backpacks and totes are not allowed in the arena. No one said anything today, though. We'll see how long that lasts. It might just be because of attendance or lack thereof for neutral games.

Great. They're packing the place with kids' groups. Fantastic. And of course the ones in front of us are among the first ones to show up.

We have Bluejays! Not sure if they're band or cheering students, but they have the blue tees and the blue-and-white striped pants. One guy has his face painted. I approve. Creighton cheer has arrived as well.

On band uniforms, I give Providence's gray bowling-style shirts the edge over Creighton's shirts.

The group in front of us is doing an appearance thing with some of the DePaul players. Lots of picutres are being taken. If I cared about seeing the Creighton dance team in action, I might be more annoyed than I am.

Harry Perretta and Doug Bruno are sitting together in the next section over, and my God do I want to be a fly on the wall over there. Such knowledge. Very basketball.

At halftime, Creighton is up 33-28. That's after opening the game on a 15-0 run. Providence actually had a chance to cut it even closer, but Aliyah Miller missed two free throws after a post-trey foul by Audrey Faber. Creighton is doing a nice job of getting inside. Providence is living and dying by the outside jumper- not necessarily the three, but long jumpers.

Oh dear gods that woman is wearing an emoji purse. I can't.

I tell you, Creighton is going to be scary next year, with all these players back plus Marissa Janning. Jade Owens is just fun to watch.

Providence made it very interesting in the third quarter, getting it down to 40-38 at one point, but they couldn't sustain it. The defense started to fall apart and lose steps, and once that happens, Audrey Faber starts doing things.

I like the Providence band better than the Creighton band as a band, but I like Creighton's band better as a supporters' section. Edge in cheer goes to Creighton- they had fewer people, but their routine was better and I like their dresses better. Billy the Bluejay wins the mascot contest by default, as Providence didn't bring their mascot. Creighton obviously brought more fans, since a) Omaha is closer than Providence, and b) Creighton has more of a chance to advance than Providence did.

Very nice touch by the announcer when Evi Iiskola was subbed out near the end of the blowout- he indicated her class, giving us a hint that it might be time to applaud her as she left her final collegiate game.

T-shirt toss fail: one of the t-shirts landed on top of the cage that protects the emergency lighting/camera. One woman tried to boost her kid up so he could grab it. Security told her that was a bad idea. They ended up fetching a broom to bring it down. People. Seriously. It's only a t-shirt.

I'm working on the theory that as Sarah Beal goes, so go the Friars. It's not necessarily a statistical thing, but she got hit with a cramp in her right leg that brought her to the ground and forced her out of the game. Second time I've seen that happen to her in the third quarter- happened against St. John's too. They wrapped her up and hydrated her, and she was eventually good to go back in.

Physically, Clara Che reminds me of Ticha Penicheiro. There's very little similarity in terms of style of play, since Che actually shoots, but I can't get past the resemblance. I think she's still trying to grow into her body, but I like her potential. Jovana Nogic spearheaded the big run in the second quarter to get the game to within five. I thought the matchup of Aliyah Miller and Brianna Rollerson was going to be interesting, but it turned out to be Miller versus Audrey Faber that was a more even match. Miller's a bruiser, but she was wild shooting, pressured by the Creighton defense. Erica Meyer isn't ready for the big stage yet. She had a couple of moments, including a big block on Jade Owens to set up a break opportunity, but she showed some freshman jitters. Another year and some time in the weight room will help her.

Brianna Frias took the tip for both halves, but Coach Fruchtl was quick to take her out when she could see who the hot hand was. She really didn't make much of an impact. Evi Iiskola had some moves in the lane. Allegra Botteghi lists as a guard, but she plays more like a forward, so she's going to go in the frontline paragraph. She's very tough on the glass and has a good nose for getting to the basket.

Sarah Beal never seemed to find a good shot to get off. She scored a little on jumpers, and had a nice steal, but I felt like she was trying to do more than the defense was allowing her to do, and at the same time was trying to do too much for her team. Sometimes it's better to lead by an example of omission, not commission, if that makes sense. Maddie Jolin has decent defensive instincts, and you always want to see a player try on defense, but she needs to do more to get into position so that she reaches left. But stop me if you've heard this one before: she's a freshman, she'll learn.

Providence showed a lot of heart and a lot of hustle, but they don't have the talent to compete. Fruchtl's done a lot to get talented internationals to Providence, and we'll see how well they blossom in the next couple of years.

Jim Flanery emptied his bench in the last couple of minutes, so we got to see a lot of the deep reserves. Honestly, I didn't even realize that Aimee Rischard was eligible this year, but there she was with the rest of the bench. Everyone was trying to get a shot for Tessa Leytem, and they were super disappointed when she wasn't able to score. Myah Mellman showed some hustle, and her reward for it was to get scratched in the eye by Sarah Beal for no good reason. Ali Greene looked a little scared to be out there. Kylie Brown showed a little bit on defense. Brianna Rollerson was a presence down low, but seemed a little slow to react on both sides of the floor. She looked like a woman coming back from injury and trying to get back in the saddle. Lauren Works brought the defensive hustle (and a student with a "WORK IT!" sign, which seems appropriate).

(There were a few other signs, including a shaped "FEAR THE FRO" for Rollerson that one girl wore on her head.)

Bailey Norby really didn't see a lot of time- Flanery had her on a short leash, and went small for much of the game as well. But I like the work she does on the floor, rebounding and setting screens- she had one fantastic play on the boards that set up MC McGrory for the rebound. She's so good at the little things. Audrey Faber got loose in the second half to get buckets inside. She set a really nice pick to get Lauren Works open for a three to help Creighton pull away.

I just really like watching Jade Owens play basketball. She brings energy at both ends of the floor. She has a beautiful finger roll and a shot that's sort of just a "throw it up, oh hey, nothing but net, that's cool" thing. She had a steal to get a fast-break bucket. And she passes well, too. Sydney Lamberty had a block so monster I didn't even see who it was on. She's tall for a guard, but she plays like a guard, and it gives Creighton much more flexibility with their lineups. MC McGrory came on strong in the second half when Providence was threatening. She made a key defensive play on a Providence break in the fourth quarter and shut them down. She brings a lot of toughness to the floor (and cleans up surprisingly well- I almost didn't recognize her when Creighton came to sit by us).

I don't always like Flanery's attitude on the sideline, but he coaches his team well. There's a nifty little change of direction move that a lot of their players use that demonstrates good body control and court awareness- I saw it first from Owens, but Faber and McGrory showed it as well. I'm also not used to a Creighton team shooting so few threes with Rollerson off the floor, but they adapted well to Providence hustling on the perimeter.

I thought the hit by Beal on Mellman should have been reviewed for a flagrant, but it may have been inadvertent. Officiating was otherwise unremarkable, which is always a relief.

I really liked the bluejay hats two Creighton fans were wearing. I'm going to try and get a picture during the quarterfinals. Creighton-Villanova will be very interesting.