November 26th, 2016: San Diego State at UT Arlington (Seton Hall Thanksgiving Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: UT Arlington took the lead early and fended off San Diego State the rest of the way in their 64-58 win at Seton Hall's Thanksgiving Classic. Christina Devers and Rebekah VanDijk each had 14 points to pace UTA. Kymberly Ellison led SDSU with 13.

For team pride, Halloween color schemes, questionable sartorial choices, sceens, hand-checks, and launching threes, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good morning from historic Walsh Gymnasium on the campus of Seton Hall University! We're in the house, along with a dozen of our closest friends (so far), for the first game of Seton Hall's holiday tournament, featuring San Diego State and UT Arlington.

Not that SHU can be a bit parochial at times, but the tickets only even mention Seton Hall's game at 2:30. This may be because last time they listed it differently and people ended up missing the Seton Hall part of the show. But I do love some free basketball and I've never seen the Aztecs before.

#34 for SDSU has her shorts rolled up so far that she looks like she's wearing a volleyball uniform. It's not a good look.

The Mavericks' orange is very orange. It's like they took the UT Austin orange and nuked it a couple of times.

We're on the same side as the reserved seating for UT Arlington, so it looks like that's who we'll be rooting for in this game (though SDSU would probably be more of an RPI boost for the Hall).

Guys, y'all should not be playing uncensored Eminem. If I can't use "motherf*cking" at a game, neither can you.

At halftime, it's 36-27 UTA, the current margin being provided by a last-second basket by Aysia Evans that was initially ruled no good, then correctly counted. UT Arlington has really been bringing the pressure defense; basically, the Aztecs have only been able to score either when they beat the pressure on the fast break or when they get fouled and go to the line.

Country anthem- perhaps too country. She seemed to be trying too hard.

Protip: if you're going to advertise the concession stand, you should make sure the concession stand is open.

Well, that game got a good bit more dramatic than it really needed to at the end, but it was tough and scrappy all the way through. Lots of hustle by both teams, but especially UTA. Bodies hit the floor all over the place, for both teams. Love it.

I found myself wondering for stretches whether Monique Terry was related to Stacie Terry- not just because of the surname, but they do look similar around the eyes. She had a really solid game off the bench, I thought, and has a lot of potential to get even better. She's already got a good knack for knowing where to be on rebounds. Arantxa Gomez Ferrer started off pretty strong, and her teammates were really hyped when she hit the free throws and made the big defensive stop. Naomi Ekwedike is still raw, especially offensively- a whole lot of woman, but no offensive skill whatsoever. I'm impressed with the sheer determination, or possibly just epic failing a spot check, that led to her playing without a sneaker for two minutes- something like four or five possessions went by before a stoppage.

I thought Geena Gomez did a pretty good job of running the offense- if she had a team with more defined offensive options, I think she would be better off, but with the personnel the Aztecs currently have, the point guard has to call her own number as much as she's dishing the ball, so yeah. Cheyenne Greenhouse has one of the most ridiculously California names I've ever heard, and a very basketball-suited build.

Literally five seconds into the game, Ariell Bostick announced her presence with a deflection into the SDSU bench. She brings speed and feistiness to the floor- she was very expressive and emotional. Near the end of the game, she was doing everything she could to drag the Aztecs back into the game by herself. Kymberly Ellison was the designated three-point shooter, though she was more active as such in the first three quarters- she got stepped on in the fourth quarter, and she seemed to lose some mobility after that. She tried to tough it out, but you could tell she was reduced to spot shooting. McKynzie Fort was the most assertive player on offense, who seemed to be calling for the ball more than the rest of her teammates. Her foul trouble really put a wrench in the Aztecs' offense- they very often looked like they didn't know who to go to.

For a starter, Lexi Thorderson didn't play a lot- SDSU was getting pretty good minutes from Terry and Gomez Ferrer. I suspect her skill set is more perimeter oriented and less post-oriented than was needed in this game. Baylee Vanderdoes, she of the questionable sartorial choices, threw her weight around down low, though her coach was riding her pretty hard about setting solid screens- we could hear her calling from the bench even from the other side of the arena. I like that attention to detail.

I don't know if I'd call SDSU's coach a good coach, per se, but she seems to have a good eye for what young players need to do to improve. I don't follow SDSU, or the Mountain West, closely enough to determine whether she and her staff can help them follow through with that.

Aysia Evans was solid in her minutes, showing athleticism and a nice shot. Greta Kairyte showed that she wasn't ready for prime time- very slow reaction time, no offensive polish. Allyson Te'o set hard screens, and got called for offensive fouls on them late (on a couple of those calls, I disagreed strenuously).

Ericka Mattingly brought a lot of hustle and scrappiness, especially in the second half- she came up with a couple of great hustle baskets and boards that kept the pressure on the Aztecs. Lauren Billie opened up the floor with her shooting- she seemed to be everywhere at once in the third quarter. Shelby Richards had a really nice offensive rebound that led to a bucket. I love offensive rebounds.

I get the feeling UTA's coach has had to give some variation of the "cute is for the team picture!" lecture a few times, especially to Christina Devers, who felt the need to pull up for early threes when the Mavericks were trying to run clock in the fourth quarter and thus opened the door for SDSU to attempt a comeback. I have no doubt that she's fun to watch when the game's decided, but I question her clock management skills. Miranda LeJune was a competent floor general, but not much more. I think her family was over in the next section; at least, the dashing gentleman with the camera was at his most snap-happy when she was bringing the ball up the floor. Breck Clark reminds me of someone, and I can't for the life of me put my finger on it. She tried really hard, but I'm not sure she had it today.

Cierra Johnson seemed to be everywhere defensively in the fourth quarter. She throws her whole body into defending the inbounds pass, much like one of my favorites at LIU, DeAngelique Waithe. I think she had two kicked balls on inbounds in a minute. Super athletic and super intense. Rebekah VanDijk was solid down low- she got herself in position for her teammates to find her, and she finished at the rim. She's not the most graceful center, and she's not the best rebounder, but that's not her role. When she was out of the game with four fouls in the third quarter, the Mavericks' offense had to shift to a more perimeter-oriented scheme. What helped was that they're ready for that, with Johnson and Devers.

Lots of ticky-tack foul calls in this one. Questionable screens, reaches and phantom reaches- not fun. The game got very choppy in spots.

I wasn't expecting quite so many fans from either Texas or California. I guess there were more tourists than I thought there would be.

In Pokémon Go news, the gyms at Seton Hall are appropriately blue. (And as of Sunday night, the Vaporeon I left over at the gym by the entrance is still there. Bless your pixelated heart, Madison.)