Sunday, November 13, 2016

November 12th, 2016: Army at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Army blew the game open in the second quarter to win going away, 68-47, at LIU. Madison Hovren had 22 points, six rebounds, and five steals to lead the Black Knights. No one cracked double digits for the Blackbirds, who committed 32 turnovers; Aja Boyd's nine points and seven rebounds were team highs.

For bad passes, questionable life decisions, a new angle, a tiny cheerleader, food critiques, the chill of winter, and a color trend, join your intrepid and at-last caught-up blogger after the jump.


Another girl, another planet, another day in paradise, another team, another game.

It's a Saturday afternoon, shading towards evening. 24 hours ago, we were on a bus rumbling through Pelham Bay Park. Right now, we're at a Smashburger in Brooklyn, getting ready for the Blackbirds and the Black Knights. I'm not sure how I feel about this rather random evening start for LIU, but at least it's easy to get home from here.

I just saw a woman wearing all white in this burger joint that prides itself on how juicy its burgers are. Someone is having their lunch on expert difficulty level.

(BTW, in my never so humble opinion, the shakes are better than the burgers. I'm not a huge fan of the ultra-thin patty thing.)

We're going to try something different with LIU, baseline instead of sideline. Trying to find an angle where the stanchion doesn't obstruct my view has been the hardest part.

Looks like LIU has three injuries. Kind of glad mom didn't come, because one of the injured players is her tiny-guard favorite, Paris Jones.

LIU has their names on the back of their shirts, which is very helpful for getting an early jump on "who are you people?!"

I've never seen a team do two separate huddles before, but Army just did during their drills. I think the divide might have been wings and posts. Either that, or they drew straws because otherwise the one huddle would have been too unwieldy. (Army has a lot of players.)

Oh, Coach Oliver, please don't ever do the Nixon V for victory thing again.

The LIU band is so loud that even my husband thinks they're loud. And he's pretty loud. (And is in denial about his encroaching hearing loss, but that's neither here nor there.)

At halftime, Army is up 30-18, thanks to a strong second-quarter run fueled by LIU's inability to pass the damn ball to a player in a white jersey.

Wild Mass Guessing theories: DeAngelique Waithe took ballet as a kid and Lena' Hicks played volleyball in high school.

The men's team is sitting in front of our chosen perch. They seem pretty into the game, which is cool.

The band is playing "The Fox". Judging from the fact we're down 12 at the half, I think the answer to "what does the fox say?" is "a lot of swearing and commentary on passing". (The joke, in case you were wondering, is that Coach Oliver, back when she was Del Preore, played three years at Marist.)

Well, I guess that could have been worse. I guess. Maybe? There's something to be said for the moral victory of frazzling a team full of soldiers in training and breaking down their discipline. The perimeter defense and the on-ball defense are there. The intensity is there, for the most part. But the defense at the basket needs work, and so does pretty much everything on offense.

Army went deep into their bench near the end of the game, much to the delight of freshman Cori Schnell's family. They came in shirts with the family name on the back, and they cheered long and loud when she came into the game. She was very involved in her minutes, to the point where I wonder if she was trying too hard to make sure she put on a good show for them. Morgann Yancey, Shelby Haynes, Julia Gibbs, and Ellen Dougherty all entered when the game was pretty much decided, and I have no clear memories of any of them. But their teammates were very excited when they had scoring opportunities, especially when Haynes converted an elbow jumper.

Aliyah Murray did work in the lane, using speed and athleticism to get what she wanted. Margaret Anne Hubbell was physical, and a bit grabby. Libby Tacka got some time in both halves, with good foot speed. Army should not have given away that they had a backup Morris twin- it got a little confusing when Desiree Morris was subbing for Daizjah Morris. She's not quite as good a defender as her sister is, but she does all right.

I said it at halftime and I'll say it again: I'm pretty sure Lena' Hicks played volleyball, possibly even as her primary sport, in high school. There was one possession where a scrum for a loose ball occurred, and she slid on her knees and I swear she set the ball. Please note: the Game Notes of Doom do not advocate attempting to set a basketball. Madison Hovren had a lot of trouble with her free throws in the first half, which I and my fellow fans will happily take credit for, as she was much more consistent in the second half. She was a solid low-post presence for Army, hitting shots deep in the paint (including a couple of baby hooks, and I'm a sucker for a hook shot).

Daizjah Morris was really persistent on defense, creating a lot of loose balls and going after all of them. She seemed like a one-woman press at times. Jess Lewis was the deep threat, and occasionally the most animated of the Black Knights (there was a sequence where she indulged in righteous outrage when she thought she was called for a foul... only to discover that the ref had signaled #23, not #3, and the foul was on Daizjah Morris, and she stood down). Janae McNeal was really solid along the baseline and made some great defensive plays.

I was surprised how undisciplined Army was at times. They were able to minimize their mistakes later in the game, but there was a stretch where they just weren't getting the passes along the sideline to the places they wanted them. But when they were able to execute, they finished well, and they drove LIU nuts on defense.

Autumn Ashe is a pretty name. She was the last one in, and she did some good work on the boards. Seneca Richards seems to be the Blackbirds' designated three-point shooter- that ws the only offense she seemed inclined towards. Brianna Farris brought the defense, and seems to have really narrowed her offense down to the coner three. I thought she and Hovren were going to throw down by the end of the game- there was one sequence where Brianna was trying to stop her on the fast break and Hovren practically demonstrated some bad-ass hand-to-hand combat moves that left Brianna flat on the floor.

I think there might be potential in Gabrielle Caponegro, but she might not be fast enough to really capitalize it. She's only a freshman, so I shouldn’t be judging her so harshly for seeming lost on the floor. I think- I hope- she'll find her way sooner rather than later. I love watching DeAngelique Waithe on defense- spidery sounds like a terribly creepy word, but it's the first one that comes to mind when watching her work. I seem to have a thing for somewhat offensively limited power forwards who are tenacious on defense and hit the boards hard. (Hi, Joy.) I feel like I should be worried about Dionne Coe's lack of ball control, given that she's a graduate student and thus should be more experienced than anyone else on the roster. I like her jumper, but if she's going to run offense for any extended length of time, we're in trouble.

I was really disappointed in Stylz Sanders- usually she has one drive per game where she fully lives up to her name, but she was unusually tentative on offense in this one. I don't get it, and that's going to be a problem going forward if she keeps playing like that. Aja Boyd has potential, and she shut a lot of things down in the middle. I'd like to see her move a bit more, though. Drew Winter had some good moves in the lane.

I think Shanovia Dove still thinks she has to be the entire offense. That kind of take-charge attitude can be a good thing, but hitting shots wasn't necessarily our problem- hanging on to the ball to make sure we did shoot was. I don't know whether she should be the focal point of the offense, or if Coach Oliver wants her to be the focal point of the offense, or if she's just doing her own thing. Victoria Powell was uneven, but intriguing. needs

There are just so many things that need work. The passing to be crisper. The ballhandling has to be better. What bothered me most was actually at the end of the game, when the effort was visibly absent. You have to at least pretend to care, even when it's over. You can't visibly give up on the play.

Going from the Big East to the MAAC to the NEC in the span of forty-eight hours really emphasizes the issue with officiating in women's basketball. As bad as the refs are at the higher levels, they're even worse at the mid-major level. This is not a good thing.

Still can't keep up with the spirit squad, but I'm starting to get the hang of some of the simpler chants. Someday I'll have enough rhythm to ride this ride, but this is not that day.

Coach Oliver looked very glamorous in her gold dress and matching shoes.

This team is going to be an adventure, but at least they'll be a fun one.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

While this is comment not related to the game notes of Army at LIU, which were entertaining as usual, and getting me ready for the season at hand, I want to comment on UConn vs. Florida State last night. The huskies have a long way to go to equal the best teams in the country. They would have lost this game if the Noles shot the ball like normal. And it was not the puppy dogs defense that caused poor shooting. It was the yips. I'm going to Storrs on Thursday to watch Baylor take on the depleted dogs. I expect to see a strong Baylor effort and a weak Uconn team.

Rebecca said...

John, I always appreciate your comments, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I don't give a flying fuck about UConn unless one of my teams is playing them.