Just the Facts, Ma'am: Team USA broke open a close game in the second quarter and beat Australia 104-89. Diana Taurasi led the US with 20 points, 16 in the third quarter; she was one of five American players in double figures. Liz Cambage of Australia led all scorers with 22 points, adding eight rebounds, but she and Leilani Mitchell (18 points) were the only Opals to hit double digits.
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And this second game is going to be the most frustrating jingo-fest in the world, I can already tell. I know we're technically on the USA's home turf, but really, doing the t-shirt toss while Australia's on the court? Really?
I'm really tempted to root for Australia, just to be contrary. I'm not okay with treating three teams neutrally and then going all out for the US. This is not okay with me. I mean, literally, they had the USA come out to the Liberty's entrance music. I'm okay with patriotism, but in small amounts.
At halftime, the US is up 54-48. Elena Delle Donne has been perfect, with 17 points. Leilani Mitchell has 16 to lead the Opals.
Maybe it's a stupid petty thing to take the organizers to task for- but why was the US anthem the only one introduced by title? Either introduce all four anthems in the event as "La Marseillaise", "O Canada", "Advance Australia Fair", and "The Star-Spangled Banner", or introduce them as "the national anthem of insert-country-here".
This was a faster and somewhat more interesting game than the first one, although the first one was more competitive for longer. Sometimes it can be fun to see the best players in the world, even when they're outclassing everyone by a country mile.
Is Laura Hodges the artist formerly known as Laura Summerton? She looked vaguely familiar. She was physical, but not always efficiently so. Marianna Tolo didn't have an easy job- congratulations, you're the backup center, so you get to take on Brittney Griner and Sylvia Fowles. Have fun. I thought she had a pretty good handle on the little things for her team- screens, boxing out, that kind of thing. Rachel Jarry mixed it up inside defensively, but I'm drawing a blank on her offense. Cayla George only played very briefly in each half. I don't envy her the expectations that come from being a forward wearing #15 for the Opals.
Tessa Lavey came on a little stronger near the end of the game, though whether that's an improved sense of how the game flowed or a decrease in general defensive attention, I don't know. She had some nice back and forth with Natalie Burton. She shoots very quickly, possibly too quickly. There's such a thing as overthinking things for a shooter, but there's also such a thing as shooting without getting properly set. For a player who did a lot of shooting from the outside, Katie Rae Ebzery got to the line a fair amount (though those might have been for over the limit fouls). Stephanie Talbot is promising. There's something about her that reminds me of Penny Taylor. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something.
Liz Cambage has a huge amount of talent, and if someone could talk her into harnessing it, she'd be unstoppable. But she can't keep her head in the game- she misses a couple of shots, and she starts getting frustrated. She also seems too dependent on her dominant hand- she didn't seem comfortable shooting from the opposite side, and it cost her. When she puts her mind to it and uses her build to her favor, she's amazing. Natalie Burton was solid, if unremarkable. I'm not sure she's long-term starter material, though. Penny Taylor started off decently enough, but tapered off. I think the USA keyed on her and forced her into some really bad shots. She was more focused on the perimeter than I'm used to, and I don't think that's a coincidence.
Erin Phillips remains feisty on both ends of the floor. You already knew she was going to be tough on defense, but she found ways to get her shots off on offense, too. Again, she seemed more reliant on the jumper than she is in the W, which makes me think the US defense was focusing on preventing the drive. Somehow, though, they managed to overlook Leilani Mitchell, who had herself a fine game. Mitchell found the few lanes that opened up and took full advantage of them, and she had a nice game from the outside too. She wasn't really able to keep the US guards in front of her, but they had just as much trouble with her.
(Someone needs to really drill the words to "Advance Australia Fair" into her, though. It's super obvious when she's the only one not singing along. {Especially when Cambage is really animated about it.})
So, uh, in case you didn't know this, Elena Delle Donne shoots real pretty. You give her an inch of space and you might as well just put two points on the board and hand over the ball, just to save time. She was phenomenal in the first half. Angel McCoughtry set things on fire- metaphorically, not literally- in the second quarter. She was fired up and ready to go. Brittney Griner lost the first round against Cambage, when she got two quick fouls and had to sit down, but she definitely won the second round. And then Cambage got the fourth foul, and Tolo and Burton drew the unenviable task of trying to guard her. Sylvia Fowles was strong defensively, but not so much offensively, and her court vision needs work. (Do not pass the ball to Geno. For a myriad of reasons, this is not an effective strategy. She came out of the game right after that.)
Breanna Stewart played briefly, but she left no real impact on me except that she's still a ways off from being the next Delle Donne (I seem to recall Geno subbing her for Delle Donne and vice versa). Lindsay Whalen drove pell-mell, almost recklessly, into the teeth of the Australian defense. She missed her calling in hockey, she really did. (And yes, I know, women's hockey doesn't allow checking, it's a travesty and a sham and a mockery.) Seimone Augustus flashed crossover moves and faked defenders out, but it took a while for her to find her groove.
Tina Charles did not deal well with the size of Liz Cambage, and I think the mask may also have been affecting her vision- her shot looked off when she took it. I think she got the start because of the home crowd (Geno seems to have played to the arena for his starting lineups), but she wasn't on top of her game. Tamika Catchings brought her usual brand of ferocity to the floor, especially on the defensive end. Maya Moore started the game on fire, automatic on the jumper. She started forcing things more as the defense tightened on her. She's really scary when she puts her mind to it, though. Switch in Whalen and Fowles for Bird and Charles, and this starting five might be All-"Team-I-Don't-Want-To-Meet-In-A-Dark-Alley".
Diana Taurasi was the star of the third quarter. Four points at the half, twenty points ten minutes of game time later. That's what Taurasi does. She was bombing threes like nobody's business in the third. Sue Bird wasn't looking to score, which was almost disappointing by the end, when she was the only member of Team USA that hadn't scored a point. She found her teammates well and she controlled the pace of the game. But I think in real competition, as opposed to a friendly, we're going to need her to be more of a threat, either offensively or defensively.
If Team USA has a weakness, it's at point guard. Our guards are capable, but they're not up to the same par as the rest of the squad.
How in the nine circles of Dante's classical inferno did Tiara Cruse get FIBA certification? I mean, the officiating wasn't terrible, but it got very physical, very quickly- there was a back and forth where you had a player basically be allowed a free revenge shot. (I think it was Talbot and Delle Donne, but don't quote me on that.)
I was surprised I didn't hear as much of the Aussies as I expected, though they were likely on the other side of the arena.
This was the kind of game both teams needed- they showed enough of their strengths to feel confident, but recognized enough of their weaknesses to know what needs to be shored up before Rio.
See you on the other side of the break, boys and girls!
Sunday, July 31, 2016
July 31st, 2016: Australia at USA
Thursday, July 21, 2016
July 21st, 2016: Indiana at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Indiana Fever started strong and finished stronger in a 80-68 Camp Day win at the New York Liberty. Lynetta Kizer had 21 points on 10-14 shooting to pace the Fever. Tina Charles of New York had game highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds, but no other Liberty player had more than 10 points.
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I hate Camp Days. I hate Camp Days. I hate Camp Days.
I'm saying it three times, because we're on our third camp day of the season, and this one has been a hot mess. I'm not even talking about the basketball. I do not appreciate security checking my ticket, but not the ill-behaved camp counselors' tickets. So far, the kids are fine- the counselors are being jerks.
Shoutout the kid in the Shenise Johnson Miami jersey. You're pretty awesome.
Fantastic Broadway anthem, but the kid didn't even need the mic.
After the debacle with the fines, the Liberty are back to the regular warm-up shirts, and Tina Charles, in an act of most awesome rebellion, has turned hers inside out.
At halftime, the Fever are up 45-38, because Lynetta Kizer is having the game of her life with 15 points. Tina Charles already has 15 points and five boards for the Liberty. We're getting whooped by the Indiana support players. That’s usually what we end up allowing, but it seems more prevalent today because our bench mob isn't stepping up like they did yesterday.
Some mornings you have it, and some mornings you don't. This was one of those days where we just didn't have it. I don't think the bench mob was recharged after the big game yesterday, and the starters weren't ready to resume being the stars of the show. Meanwhile, Indiana exploited all our weaknesses. They're almost built to destroy us.
Marissa Coleman destroyed us with corner threes in the fourth quarter, as if she had telepathically discerned that we were considering the possibility of a comeback and was going to nip it in the bud before we got started. Her length was a huge bonus on defense. You can't leave Shenise Johnson open for jumpers. You'd think we'd have figured that out by now, but we haven't. She created space for herself and used it effectively. Indiana didn't roll very deep, so the minutes she gave subbing for Catchings were huge. Tiffany Mitchell was instant offense- she gets a moment of space, especially beyond the arc, and there she goes. She still has work to do on defense, but she's a rookie and it's not the first thing on her task list, so if I'm Indiana, I'm perfectly okay with that.
Briann January makes things happen. She hustles, she defends like crazy, and somehow she so often ends up being the beneficiary of her teammates' work. I didn't think she had studied at the Cobra Kai dojo- there was a play where she pretty much literally swept the leg on Shavonte Zellous. Her jumper was off today, but she made up for it in the lane. Erica Wheeler got off to a hot start, hitting the first two baskets for the Fever, but her streakiness started to show later in the game- she was playing faster than her body could catch up to. She seems to have a good handle on that backdoor cut (I think we taught her that).
Tamika Catchings hit a couple of shits, and she really seemed to be forcing things near the end to try to get into double figures, but while Catch can score, that's not what she's known for. She's known for her defense- reading passes, getting steals. She's known for her motor, for never giving up on a play, for her physical play and her rebounding and the thousand things a team needs. That's what she did today. There was one sequence where she poked the ball away, chased it down, saved it, poked it away again, and saved it again to January for the lay-up. If that ball was a pinball, Catch was the flipper, except the flipper doesn't literally chase the ball across the table. I'm not going to miss her getting the benefit of the doubt from the officials, though. Erlana Larkins is slick, especially with the screens, and she's not afraid to sacrifice her body (which we already knew). She's got more range than the scouting report apparently gave her credit for, because our defense was backing off her in the midrange. I'm starting to think New York has never credited passing and facilitating centers enough. Lynetta Kizer had probably the best game of her career, which seems to be a pattern when she plays the Liberty. She was scoring at will with pull-ups, elbow jumpers, backdoor cuts- the entire repertoire of a mostly-power forward. She got physical on defense, and we were hoping that she'd get deeper into foul trouble in the second half, but no such luck.
It's strange watching an Indiana team that doesn't depend completely on Catchings on both ends of the floor. I think their defense will be shakier once she retires, but their offense seems to be be rolling along pretty solidly.
Shavonte Zellous. Oh, dear. I love Z as a person, and overall I think she's been a positive to the organization, but dear heavens was she awful today. Stupid fouls. Slacking on defense. Terrible shot selection- she was pressing way too hard and seemed to think she was the best option on the floor at all times. Careless with the ball. The only facet of her game today that was anywhere near being on point was her dance game. Brittany Boyd brought speed, and probably should have brought more of it, to be honest. I love that she's learning to control her speed instead of playing at breakneck speed every single moment, but I think she might have been taking it a little too far in the final few minutes she played. Her passing was on point and I love it. Shoni Schimmel played, but if you're expecting detailed analysis of fifty-five stat-less seconds, you won't find it here. I just find it ironic that the people next to us who yell, "Put Shoni in the game!" left right before Bill put her in.
I know Rebecca Allen technically subs for Sugar and Shavonte technically subs for Swin, but Bec comes off as way more of a forward than Z does, so I reshuffle the lineups the way I see fit. That's how I roll. I like Rebecca's offense, and when she gets into the passing lane she's good on defense, but she's not quick. Seeing her, I understand the difference between being fast and being quick. And she's fast, but she's not quick, and that killed her on defense. If her shot's not falling, against a team like Indiana she's a liability. Kiah Stokes was finishing at the rim when she got her hands on the ball- there were some passes that were out of her reach or were perhaps not the best pass to throw to that particular player at that particular time. Fumbling is not a good look. She got beat on defense more than I like, too. Amanda Zahui B. was aggressive, but sometimes doesn't realize that just because she wants the ball, that doesn't mean it's a good idea to pass it to her. Her one basket came when the game was pretty much over, and to be honest, I think she traveled.
Would whoever stole Sugar Rodgers's shot please return it? It's a very nice shot, and I think we all want it, but it's hers and it needs to not be stolen. She had open looks and that instant release she's so good with, and it just wasn't falling. She rebounded well, but we need her to shoot better. And I'm harping on the shooting because she and Tanisha Wright had a brilliant connection going, with Tanisha consistently finding her across the court with the skip pass, and having those passes wasted is quite distressing. Tanisha wasn't spectacular, and her decision-making still needs work, but she wasn't too awful today. In a game like this, where there was some really bad play, you take "not too awful" and you like it.
Swin Cash wasn't hitting her shots, but she was strong in the paint, and she drew the unenviable task of guarding Catch. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I don't usually say this, but I think she should have played more today than Z did. Carolyn Swords doesn't have the sure hands that her teammates seem to think she does- too many passes went off those hands, so it might be back to the drawing board on those passing drills they've been working on with her. She had a monster block on Catch that was very satisfying. She could have used a few more touches today, if she was able to keep her hands on the ball- Indiana's posts are feisty but undersized. Tina Charles was on a mission today, and it was glorious. Her shots weren't falling short off the front iron- if anything, she was shooting it too strong, with the misses coming off the back iron. She looked like MVP Tina again, which is good, because we need MVP Tina if we want a shot at the double bye. Which, hey, maybe we don't. Maybe this team won't play as well with an extra round of rest. But what I liked most about Tina today was her choice to speak out with her shirt turned inside out. We'll see if the league tries to Photoshop in the appropriate logo for her Player of the Month picture, because she wore plain black for that.
Other than the usual biased opinion that we don't get calls and Tamika Catchings does, no real complaints about the officiating. It was a very physical game, and one that was allowed to be very physical. I'm okay with that, as long as it's called both ways, and for the most part it was.
Of course, there may have been plays I didn't see, because the camp group around us couldn't figure out what row their seats were in, and they were parading in and out of the aisle like it was going out of style. It didn't seem to occur to them that people might actually want to watch the game. This is not okay. For the most part, the kids themselves were pretty well behaved (but if your thunderstick falls in my lap, I get to keep it, it's the spoils of war). The counselors were far more obnoxious. And then the usher goes and asks for my ticket- not theirs, mine. My season ticket. Melissa- our long-suffering, painfully-educated, former ticket rep- picked these seats out for us at the border of the price change. These are our seats. We're here every game.
(Painfully-educated = survived getting her head bitten off because she wanted to make small talk while Nadirah McKenith was in the "oh God what have I done to my knee" position during the Maggie Dixon game against Baylor. Thank all the gods it wasn't an ACL, but we sure thought it was at the time, and no, if my point guard appears to have a torn ACL I do not want to talk about Christmas plans. Melissa at least learned from that. But as usual, I digress.)
This isn't the feeling I wanted to go into the break with, but we need to recharge. We'll be okay. For now, I'll take a firmly entrenched third and growth from the bench. I'll take the ups and downs.
Most importantly, we go into the break knowing who we are and what we stand for. In the end, basketball is a game- and it's a platform. I stand with the Liberty. Their lives matter. Their voices matter. So does yours.
Monday, July 18, 2016
July 17th, 2016: Connecticut at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Down by seven after giving up a nine-point lead, the New York Liberty came back to beat the Connecticut Sun 83-76. Swin Cash led the way for New York with 16 points, while Tina Charles notched another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Chiney Ogwumike led Connecticut with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench; the Sun also got 16 points from Jasmine Thomas.
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Good afternoon, fellow fans! It's game day at the Garden, where the Liberty host the Connecticut Sun.
You didn't get pregame notes because I am an unabashed Pokemon Go player and mama wasn't letting that Fearow go without a fight. The dance group looked rather uninspired, though. (Go Team Mystic. Also, my seat is above a Pokestop, and I am extremely pleased with that.)
Gorgeous, gorgeous anthem. If someone wants to make her our permanent anthem singer, I'd be okay with that.
Jonquel Jones is a sweetheart, even when she's looking for the bathroom.
I didn't watch the halftime entertainment. I wasn't impressed with what I saw, though.
I have a lot of problems with this crew. You can't miss a very blatant timeout signal. You can't let play continue with blood on the floor. Mount Laimbeer is going to erupt in the third quarter, I know it.
To my pleasant surprise, Mount Laimbeer did not fully erupt, though there were definitely some seismic readings in the third quarter. We gutted it out in the fourth quarter. It was a total team effort, and that's when I love this team the most.
Kelly Faris got a couple of minutes in the first quarter, but she really didn't do much- she was feisty on defense and got called for a foul, and at the other end she completely lost clock awareness, leading to a shot clock violation. She didn't play again in the second half. Shekinna Stricklen brought the deep ball in the fourth quarter. I'm always surprised that someone of her build doesn't do more than just set up outside for threes, but then, I'm sure Curt Miller isn't exactly in any hurry to have her do anything that isn't taking a three. Courtney Williams isn't afraid to shoot from anywhere on the floor- the shot she hit was a very pretty finger roll, but you can already see that she's high usage. I don't know if that's what Connecticut needs.
Morgan Tuck was unremarkable. I think she might have been in a little over her head in this one. Fortunately for Connecticut, they retain the services of the truly remarkable and surprisingly unpronounceable (no matter how many times you throw the pronunciation guide at people) Chiney Ogwumike. She was in beast mode for this one, ripping down every rebound she got anywhere near and putting up hook shots so pretty you could almost see the formulae swirling over her head in the moment before she released the shot. She was very physical at both ends of the floor, and got almost as good as she gave. I think she wants to start again, and if Little continues to struggle, I can see it happening.
Alex Bentley got off a couple of quick ones in the first quarter, and one in the fourth when Connecticut looked like they were revving up for tone last comeback. She got a lot of defensive attention and a lot of contested looks. There was also one possession where she appeared somewhat confused as to what sport she was playing, as she tucked the ball under her arm and ran down the lane like a running back, a maneuver that- as per my understanding of the rules of basketball- would be considered a travel. It was not called as such, so perhaps my understanding of the rules of basketball is incomplete. Our defensive attention to Bentley and to the frontcourt left Jasmine Thomas with a lot of room to operate, and she took full advantage of it. She drove well, finishing with sweet finger rolls, and wasn't afraid to let loose from deep. She was aggressive defensively as well. Really great game for her, and since we won, I can afford to be happy for her; she's one of those players who isn't a superstar but can be so crucial to a team's success.
Alyssa Thomas played ferociously today. She was hobbled early on by two quick fouls, but she was relentless in following shots- I'm pretty sure most of her stats came on the same early play whers she was rebounding like nobody's business. She still needs a little polishing, but she's going to be a star. I just don't think it can be with Connecticut. Jonquel Jones still needs to work on her shooting. Most of her shots were horribly awkward-looking. She looks like a woman who's still trying to adjust to her body. Camille Little stretches the defense admirably, and she is ferocious defensively herself. She couldn't get her long-range shot to fall for most of the day, and she had good looks. She always seems to find ways of doing something good for her team.
Oh, Amanda. Amanda Zahui B. came into the game and committed a foul after fourteen seconds. She got better after that, energetic and involved on the glass. She takes a licking and keeps on ticking, and I love that about her. Kiah Stokes was solid defensively, and she finished at the rim, which has been a bugaboo for her in recent times. She cleaned up on the offensive glass- I think most of her makes were off putbacks. (The team also put out "7th Avenue Block Party" shirts for her, and they're pretty cool.) Rebecca Allen brought hustle on defense, but she got popped in the face fairly early on, and it got to everyone because of how the refs reacted to it. (That turnover in the box score? So many flavors of bullshit, and you know I don't swear lightly in the GNoD.)
Brittany Boyd was the energizer- she controlled the pace of the game, especially in the second half. I think the Golden Bear took great pleasure in stripping the Cardinal player. I've also concluded that she needs a degree of difficulty to hit her shots- when she's wide open, she misses, but when she's fighting through contact, they go down. She's not logical, but I think that's one of her more endearing qualities. Shavonte Zellous has to understand that sometimes she commits fouls. Her reaction is hilarious, but it wears on you after a while, and I'm sure that opposing fans find it even more annoying. She brought hustle and defense. She brings the leadership for the bench that Swin Cash brings for the starters.
Speaking of Swin Cash, she had probably the best game she's played in a Liberty uniform. (You know the joke that's been going around- "Clinton is running for office, Pokémon is big, and Blink-182 just released a new album- what year is this?" Maybe you can extend that to Swin's play. :D) When no one else seemed to have the fire, she had it. She went to the basket, she hit jumpers, she tore down rebounds. I like this Swin. We needed her, because Tina Charles has not been herself. Of course, Tina Charles playing at half-capacity still puts up a double-double, so what does that tell you? But her jumpers were consistently missing off the front rim. Her shot's always been flat-footed and high-arcing, so it's going to be inconsistent, but I never realized just how dependent it was on her energy level. She had better luck going to the basket. Carolyn Swords falls down a lot, and her teammates seem to think she can handle passes both high and low that she wasn't able to. She didn't play very much, and I'm okay with that.
I know I've talked about ball security and Tanisha Wright before. Bill has to have talked to Tanisha about ball security before. I'm starting to feel like a broken record, and I don't like it. She brings solid defense, and today she was hitting jumpers, but sometimes I think I might be more comfortable with Boyd down the stretch. Sugar Rodgers found her groove in the third quarter to spur the comeback, but her shot was off most of the day. I think the dependency on her is starting to wear- for the most part, we know what we're going to get out of Tina, but as Sugar goes, so do we go most of the time. It's only been the last couple of wins where that hasn't been the case, and I like that it hasn't been.
This was really a game about energy- when we didn't have it, or when it was disrupted, Connecticut had the advantage. When we had it, we had the advantage, and it powered our defense, which powered our offense.
I've grown accustomed to questionable calls from officials. I've mostly learned to ignore inconsistency. But when you're talking about health and safety issues, then I have a problem. In the second quarter, Rebecca got hit in the face and was bleeding from the nose. No real problem, Rosemary stuffed some gauze in her nostril and she went back out there, because she's an Aussie and that's how they roll. At some point, the gauze came out and she started bleeding again. She went to the sideline and attempted to call time. The officials ignored the timeout request. They ignored the blood on the floor. They sure didn't ignore the foul Boyd had to commit to stop the clock, though. Then, in the fourth, Amanda got her contact knocked out. She was trying her best to get it in, and the officials forced the Liberty to use a timeout. I find the latter darkly funny because Amanda needed less time to get the contact in than Curt Miller had spent arguing in the first half.
I lost a lot of respect for Miller in this game. You don't call for the steal when a player is literally bleeding in front of you. (And if he didn't, I lost a lot of respect for Stricklen.) He should have gotten a delay of game warning at best for the extensive discussion he had with the officials in the first half. A coach's discussion with the officials should not be measurable in multiple minutes without a whistle being blown. Wooten gave him way too much rope.
We won, and I'm happy we won, and I'm happy that we won without superhuman games from Tina or Sugar. But Connecticut's demeanor bothered me, and so did the officials.
I'm going to leave you with a happy mental image, though: the fan tunnel for this game was a Native American group in dance regalia. For the most part, they took their job very seriously, waiting patiently for the team to come out... except for one woman who was gleefully shaking her booty to the music.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
July 13th, 2016: Atlanta at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty found their footing in the second quarter and never looked back in a 86-62 win over the Atlanta Dream. Tina Charles led all scorers with 18 points, adding nine rebounds; the Liberty also got double-figure scoring from Sugar Rodgers (13), Rebecca Allen (11), and Shavonte Zellous. Tiffany Hayes led Atlanta with 12 points.
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Grunt. Grunt. Snarl. CAFFEINE. Seethe.
In other words, it's Camp Day at the Garden; for the second time this season, the Atlanta Dream bring an unwanted wake-up call to the New York Liberty.
Have I mentioned how much I don't like Camp Days? Because I could tell you again. I could tell you in detail, if you want. There's lots of detail I could give you.
Atlanta Zerg rushes off, which is annoying, or at least it would be if I were autograph hunting today. (Except for Meighan Simmons, who I guess started shooting late, so she has to do detention or something.)
It's 40 minutes before the game and I think I only see three or four groups. They better be coming soon, or I'm going to be very annoyed.
Ooooh, I like how that dress looks on Gold-Onwude.
At halftime, the Liberty are up 39-29. Strong performance from Rebecca Allen off the bench, and Tina Charles is being the MVP we know she can be. Atlanta's thrown pretty much everyone out there.
Beautiful bilingual anthem- English and ASL simultaneously.
Okay, whoever sold this enormous group tickets in our section did not think their cunning plan through. I think they've got kids clear down from row 16 to row 7, and whoever distributed their tickets forgot to sort them by row. It is very confusing.
To the kid behind me on the left: if your thundersticks go in my seat, they go in my backpack. Spoils of war.
I wasn't watching the rhythmic gymnastics at halftime. Sorry not sorry.
The Liberty are not wearing their #BlackLivesMatter shirts, but neither are they wearing the regular Liberty warm-up shirts. They're wearing plain black Adidas shirts. My guess would be that they wanted to wear them again, but got blocked for some reason. Speak out, Libs! Your voices matter as much as your lives!
Amanda's mom was here, with a couple of Gopher fans, cheering loudly with their thundersticks. She sat a section over from us and a few rows down.
So I'm not actually sure how much Michael Cooper cared about winning this game; it seemed like whenever Atlanta had acquired a little momentum, he'd make a sub and they'd lose some of it. It was strange. I also don't understand the long stretches without McCoughtry.
I love some Cal Bears, because underappreciated nerds need to be appreciated, but Reshanda Gray is not one of my favorite people right now. I was glad Cooper finally gave her a chance in the second half, but it very quickly turned into seething rage after she pulled down Amanda Zahui B. and put a foot in her face (and only because I respect Cal and Gray, and because I didn't see a specific motion, am I not calling it a kick). That earned her a flagrant 2 and a very quick removal from the site of play. Markeisha Gatling is a lot of woman- not very mobile and not necessarily skilled, but if she gets in position, she's going to get the rebound, and there's pretty much no way she's being moved. Rachel Hollivay plays very physical, and today it wasn't terribly effective, and then she lost her temper a bit near the end of the game.
I do not like Matee Ajavon. I have never liked Matee Ajavon. So when Ajavon came into the game and immediately fouled Tanisha Wright by putting her hands... uh, somewhere where an invitation is normally required for hands to be... I wasn't terribly surprised and I'm pretty sure it was a little bit of a mind game. She has an eminently punchable smirk. It's probably not a good sign for the Dream that Meighan Simmons took more shots than anyone else. She got most of those looks in the fourth quarter, though (one of her makes and a couple of open misses were very late, when Shoni Schimmel was on the case). Bria Holmes also likes to shoot, and she gives Atlanta a threat from beyond the arc. Carla Cortijo brings speed and aggression. She had a pretty finish in the second (I think) quarter where all you could do was shake your head and give her her props.
Elizabeth Williams is a rock down low, though her midrange game needs some work. She's a solid rim protector- she had one wicked one on Sugar Rodgers. She's developing beautifully. Angel McCoughtry didn't play all that much, and I'm not sure it was actually in the game plan for her to play all that much- it looked like they were force-feeding her somewhat in the first quarter, which seems to imply that she was trying to get her stats before she sat down. We thought she might get hot in the first, but she forced the issue too much. Sancho Lyttle had moments, but her strength was more defensive than offensive- her shot was all over the place, but she got her hands on a lot of balls (oh, dear Lord, that came out wrong).
Tiffany Hayes fell down a couple of times, and one time she even got the call. She likes that deep three rather more than most teams I think would find healthy. She's reckless and dangerous. Layshia Clarendon played with a lot of energy and speed. She was looking for her shot early, then they switched to force-feeding McCoughtry. I'm not sure how much of that was called and how much of it was desperation.
I feel like Atlanta might have had some idea of what our weaknesses were before the game, when they were shooting from deep, and then they completely forgot about it and went about what they normally do.
Shoni Schimmel sighting! (As an aside, a month too late, we've figured out what her Cheesy Musical Hook needs to be: the opening to any good subway breakdance routine. "What time is it?" "SHOWTIME!") She needs to hit free throws when she has them, and she really needs to be able to hang with her defensive assignment- she's lousy at the switches our system requires. Brittany Boyd brought speed, hustle, and strong disapproval off the bench (she let Gray know how much she did not approve of knocking Amanda over). She's so much fun to watch, and I'd love to see a backcourt of her and Shoni in a game where we're actually trying to score. That would be a lot of fun. Shavonte Zellous is occasionally where offense goes to die, and she really needs to stop begging for calls. But she brings it on both ends of the floor- there was one play where she leaped on a ball that Lyttle was holding and forced a jump ball pretty emphatically, sort of with the enthusiasm one sees from piranhas when they see meat.
Adut Bulgak sighting! They were so adorably happy for her. She needs to work on her handle, which is a problem because so do most of her teammates, so it's not like anyone on the team can give her good tips and tricks. There are a lot of things for her to learn, but I think she has the capability to learn how to get in position and how to scramble for those balls that she can get. I love her flexibility- she needs to maintain that while getting a little bit stronger and adding a little bit of bulk (otherwise she will get very broken and that will give us all a sad). Amanda Zahui B. wasn't as spectacular as she was against San Antonio, but she seemed to get stronger as the game went on, and she recovered well from being taken down. I like that her more successful plays were at the basket, not from the outside- I love to see post players do work in the post. Kiah Stokes hit her shots at the rim and protected our rim. She did some kind of work on the glass. Rebecca Allen had one of the best games she's played in a Liberty uniform. She was hitting from the outside, plus she had a sweet little finger roll down the lane (I believe the usual colloquialism is "like buttah"). She jumped the passing lanes really well- it'd be like, oh, hey, there's suddenly an Australian in the path of this pass.
(Everyone should have an Aussie. Canadians and Swedes are cool too, but we've got the only Swede, neener neener neener.)
Tanisha Wright brought the defensive hustle and ferocity, as well as the veteran leadership (she was talking to the ref after a bad call on Boyd). She's going to be a brilliant coach someday if she wants to be. Sugar Rodgers did the levitation thing again, which was pretty cool. (Off-guardium Leviosa?) She hit the quick shots, which was exactly what we needed from her. She almost seemed disappointed that she wasn't playing more, but honestly, we're going to need her more on Friday than we did today, and I'd rather she save a few of those threes for the Lynx.
Swin Cash appears to have misplaced her shot, so if she could find it again, that would be great. She brings scrappiness and defensive length, which is useful. I just wish she could be more consistent in something other than missing shots. Tina Charles's shot continues to be astonishingly flat-footed and high-arcing, and yet it works. It defies logic- but I'm a Mets fan, so I should be used to athletes doing the impossible. ('sup Bartolo) She did solid work in short minutes. It's good to be able to have her rested. Carolyn Swords was beasting on the boards, which is a good and wonderful thing. Having big games down low from the posts really takes the heat off of Tina.
The officiating was very light for most of the game, then things got a little unglued in the fourth quarter. I don't know whether it was that the officials realized they'd been letting a lot of contact go, or whether Atlanta got chippier as the lead got bigger, or what, but people lost their minds in the fourth. You had Hollivay getting the T, you had the questionable review on Boyd's foul, you had that nonsense with Gray- we were one moving screen away from something really bad happening, IMO.
The problem with doing three camp/school days in the same season is that the place doesn't get properly packed. Camp Days are supposed to be sellouts- 11317 is nice, but c'mon, man. And I bet it'll be the same next week instead of doing one big 17000 and a good 9000 night game. Worse, the kids never really seemed to get into it.
They're off to Minnesota now. Let's see if they can keep the momentum going.
Monday, July 11, 2016
July 10th, 2016: San Antonio at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: It wasn't pretty, but the Liberty turned on the afterburners to knock off the San Antonio Stars, 75-65. Amanda Zahui B. had 14 points off the bench to lead a balanced New York offense. Monique Currie had 17 in the loss for San Antonio.
For touching on intersectionality, missed chippies, that guy with the Sugar thing, a lack of ball security, activism, and holding on tight, join your intrepid and proud blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon! Your intrepid blogger continues her drawl-tinged adventures this week as the Liberty host the San Antonio Stars.
Just as a warning: these notes may appear to be written by a drunk. I'm not drunk, I'm sleep-deprived; it's like being drunk, but you can do it for free. Went to the Garth Brooks concert last night, which got delayed three hours and didn't start 'til quarter to twelve. I got home at 4:30 in the morning. I'm not used to that. So I'm still exhausted but exhilarated and my filters haven't properly reset.
Monique Currie seems to have picked up DeLisha Milton-Jones's mantle as "superbly hateable on the court, superbly cool off it". She was really friendly with fans today. (And, uh, sorry for accidentally throwing my Sharpie at you, Dearica Hamby. Seriously. I am not coordinated today, but you are- that was a nice catch.)
I wasn't paying attention to the dance troupe before the game. Sorry.
Liberty have black t-shirts for this one, hashtagged both #BlackLivesMatter and #Dallas5. Can't see what the line on the back says. (Oh. Oh, my heart. It's a blank hashtag. Like they're waiting for the next one. Because we know there will be a next one. Or they're waiting to tell their own stories.)
(And I wonder: how do the Australian, the Canadian, and the Swede look at this country? How did the discussion go down? Did the poster girl for Native success speak up for Native American lives? Did anyone utter the fateful words "All Lives Matter"? Is it different if you're white, biracial, black? If you're from the North or the South? If you're a city girl or a small-town kid? Who spoke first? Who spoke last?)
At halftime, it's only 33-31 Liberty, but the reserves got a long stretch of time in the second quarter. I'm not too worried yet. San Antonio can't hit the broad side of a barn from inside the barn, and Tina can't be this bad forever, right? On the other hand, we have no ball security. It's terrifying.
On one hand, that game was closer than I felt like it needed to be, at least until the final couple of minutes. On the other hand, we won by ten with the role of Tina Charles being filled by Amanda Zahui B. and all the reserves played at least a quarter's worth of minutes. On the other hand, I'm worried about Shavonte after that dirty play by Jefferson. On the other hand, where are all these extra hands coming from?
You knew it was "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" time when Jazmon Gwathmey was set to check in at the end of the first quarter. I've been hoping to see her get work done, but she looked very tentative out there (which isn't a surprise if you're talking about a rookie who's barely playing). There was a possession where she had a shot I've seen her take at James Madison that she passed up for a play to the inside (I think that was one where the Stars blew the initial shot but picked up the offensive rebound and scored). Astou Ndour is almost ridiculously tall and skinny; if she played for one of my teams, I'd be able to bring back the old jokes I used to make about Shenneika Smith, about go-go-Gadget arms and the viability of folding her for convenience. She didn't play a lot, which was a surprise, since she kind of did a number on us last game out. Kayla Alexander travels a lot. Maybe Canadian steps aren't worth as much as American steps, so she can take more of them? (That's an exchange rate joke, son.) I like her hustle on the boards, but she's got to learn to play more with her feet than her arms. But one of the silver linings to this season for the Stars is that players like Alexander are able to develop- I wonder if that's one of the reasons they felt they could let Adams go.
Sydney Colson played the part of Danielle Robinson pretty well today, except that she's actually got a jump shot. She was throwing up some ridiculous shots that somehow went down, and could even have gotten a little more help from the rim. She brings good speed for them- she's a real firestarter. Haley Peters used her height to get looks, but she couldn't get them down. She was mixing it up a little bit on the glass, too.
Dearica Hamby crashed the boards like her life depended on it. By the end of the game, you could see how thoroughly her jersey had absorbed sweat- she was soaked with it, and there was a line on her shorts where her jersey was tucked in. Her rebounding was the best part of her game- she had a lot of trouble hanging on to the ball and hitting shots right at the rim (she had some really good looks). Jayne Appel-Marinelli does a nice job facilitating for her teammates as a screener and a passer, but she doesn't bring enough to the table offensively (her one basket was on a play near the end of the game where the defense bailed) or defensively. Monique Currie decided pretty early on that she was the option of first and last resort for her team, and she did well with the mid-range jumper. She used to get a lot of her stuff off penetration, so she adjusted well to our defense. (Saying first and last resort is not to say she was ballhogging, either. First resort- she was making herself an option. Last resort- when the Stars needed someone to score in the fourth, it was her.)
Moriah Jefferson has to have rockets hidden in the heels of her ruby slippers. That's the only thing I can think of to explain how high she goes up and how fast she goes. With the ball, she's faster than a lot of players without it. She has both inside and outside game. She's got such vertical lift that she's able to counteract her lack of height- she was killing us on the glass, and not just the usual way guards get rebounds (either long ones outside or going low to steal them from post players who persist in bringing the ball down). I would like her a lot better if she didn't leg whip Shavonte right at the end of the game. Alex Montgomery got most of her run in the first half, and seemed to be focused on shooting from the perimeter, which is amusing given how we pigeon-holed her as a defensive specialist in New York. She doesn't seem to fit into that lineup.
San Antonio is... not a good basketball team. They need a coach who can work with fundamentals, who can design an offense that plays to that team's strengths, and who can help get them a front line in order.
Amanda Zahui B. put in work today off the bench down in the paint. She got a little foul-happy in the fourth quarter- I don't think she was prepared for that many minutes in a row. But it was nice to see the variation in her game, and to not see her taking threes (and to see her defending them). Someone still needs to work on Kiah Stokes and her finishing at the rim, but I love her defense and her rebounding. Rebecca Allen brought hustle off the bench, even if she couldn't hit a shot. Someone's got to get some of that weird spin out of her shot somehow. It affects her consistency.
There are going to be more nights when Shavonte Zellous doesn't get the calls. She has a persistent habit of going for the contact instead of the shot, of jacking up things that aren't really shots as soon as she sees the potential of contact. She got the benefit of the doubt today, for the most part. I like her work on defense, too. I hope she's okay- she was limping after taking a leg whip/kick to the ankle from Jefferson. We really needed what she brought today, because we were getting nothing out of Swin, but more on that later. Brittany Boyd was the Energizer Bunny that the crowd has come to love- she finished with panache on her first two makes, then brought it home with the jumper. She and Jefferson were going at it hammer and tongs- I can't remember if they played each other, but I thought someone might have said something about someone's mother at some point. It's good to see her bringing that energy again.
I've seen Swin Cash play some pretty bad games in a Liberty uniform, but this one was right up there. Down there. Whatever the applicable turn of phrase would be. She was out of position for her passes, careless with the ball, and just generally off her game. Maybe she was distracted. I don't know. But Shavonte took a big chunk of her minutes, and for good reason. Tina Charles's shot was way off. She was taking a lot of jumpers and not getting in position to rebound them. It's a good thing we didn't need her to be MVP Tina in this one. She had flashes of her MVP glory, but they were mostly in the paint, and she was mostly not in the paint. Carolyn Swords had the big right-handed hook working today, and she was a beast on the glass. I think the competition behind her has lit a fire under her- Amanda's ready to take more minutes, and Kiah's always been an option at center. She has her good days and her bad days, but I'm hoping we see more of the good than the bad.
Sugar Rodgers got off to a slow start, but picked up a little bit in the third quarter. She was fantastic for her size on the boards- there was one play where I swore she levitated across before she landed. Her development this season has been fascinating, and I look forward to seeing more of it. Tanisha Wright still needs to do something about her ballhandling. She's way too careless with the ball, especially when someone's starting to guard her. And opposing guards are sensing weakness and going at her. We really need someone with a solid handle to give her a break- Boyd's not as consistent yet as we need her to be for that.
We didn't play well, except maybe for Amanda and Carolyn, and they even had their issues. But we answered every time it looked like San Antonio might have rallied behind Currie or Jefferson. We shut the door on them each time. Sometimes, all you need to do is do enough to win.
Officials mostly let 'em play all night (we thought it was funny that Shavonte was arguing calls when she had committed a couple of blatant reach-ins with no whistle). We got more of the benefit from that than the Stars did, so I can't complain too much as a Liberty fan (just as a fan of reasonable officiating).
Kind of a quiet crowd, no matter how much we did. Sometimes that's the problem with packing the house (today was "Show Up for Daughters", MSG Family Day, and there was an autism awareness event as well). People who are only there because free tickets were tossed at them don't get as loud as quickly, and for the most part this wasn't the kind of game that would coax cheers out of newcomers.
Any moms out there want a picture frame?
We got the win, and that's good, but honestly, I think the best takeaway from this game was proof that this is a team willing to hold up Liberty's torch, to speak out and say, our lives matter.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
July 6th, 2016: Seattle at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Storm made it interesting, but the Liberty rode first and third quarter surges to a 78-74 win. Tina Charles and Tanisha Wright each had 18 points to pace New York, with Sugar Rodgers adding 14. Breanna Stewart made a statistical splash for Seattle in the loss, with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
For musings on names and stardom, parenthetical asides, bailando con sabor, timing issues, missing guards, defensive lapses, and grit, join your intrepid and surprisingly philosophical blogger after the jump.
Hey, gang! It's gameday at the Garden, which is the best of all possible days. Tonight the Liberty host the Seattle Storm, in a game that'll surely have UConn fans of all eras filling the place. It's also a good day to be an international tourist (Tok gets a lot of touristy attention).
Hello to all my fellow fans taking in their first WNBA games! I know there's at least one of you!
Seattle, as always, continues to be exceptionally accommodating to fans along the tunnel, both in terms of being willing to stop and in leaving one by one instead of in a Zerg rush. (And Alysha Clark came back when she said she was going to come back! Is this a Sun Belt thing? Because she and Crystal Kelly are the only ones I've ever seen keep their word like that.)
I actually feel kind of bad for Breanna Stewart. Yes, she has phenomenal cosmic powers talent, but she's been constantly in the spotlight for more than four years now. ESPN won't leave her alone. Fans won't leave her alone (and yet while part of me regrets being a miniscule part of that burden, that didn't stop me from pulling out the Sharpie). She needs a break. Start the overseas season a couple of weeks late, Stewie. Go off and be yourself without everyone else wanting you to be who they think you are. If you belong to everyone, that means you belong to yourself too.
At halftime, the Liberty are up six, 39-31. Could be more, but we got a very long stretch of five reserves on the floor, so we really didn't push the offense as much as we could. Breanna Stewart got hot late in the second to lead Seattle with 12. Tina Charles has eight to lead a balanced and scattered Liberty attack.
Our halftime entertainment has been Spanish-flavored ballroom dancing. Sexy dresses for the ladies, and sleeveless vests for the men. I'm down for that. Equal opportunity ogling is best ogling.
National anthem was an intriguing blend of chorale and drum rhythms. Whoever in the chorus has delusions of being Kristin Chenowith, STAHP PLZ.
Oh, loveable neighbor, the second my butt hits the seat cushion is not the second you should decide you need to get through. The second before my butt hits the seat cushion is that moment.
That game was tighter than it needed to be, but the Liberty made plays down the stretch. Both teams left the door open, Seattle with free throw shooting and the Liberty missing bunnies at the rim. Very fierce game, and entirely too much fun to watch.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis showed her offense, both on jumpers and on one hard-nosed drive through the lane (though I'm not actually sure how much interest Sugar Rodgers had on playing defense that possession). Defensively, she was surprisingly pesky. I don't know if she's a player who would have been worth last year's #1 overall, but she's starting to look like a high-caliber offensive player who can play a little defense. I find it very hard to believe that Noelle Quinn played over eight minutes the way the box score said she did, because she did so little of note that I thought she was only in to bridge Bird's rest through the quarter breaks. I'm sure she's a lovely person, but I can't for the life of me see what she brings to a basketball team.
There was a sequence where Jenna O'Hea boxed out so hard she forgot to rebound. (I think Seattle ended up with the ball in the resulting scrum, but Shavonte Zellous made 'em work for it.) But that's the only thing I really remember about her. Krystal Thomas was in mostly for height (she didn't play in the second half until the last possible play). She fouled Amanda Zahui B.'s hair, and I think Amanda was deeply, gravely offended. DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN HAIR. Ramu Tokashiki has mastered the backdoor cut to the point where I wonder what it would take to get her on the Liberty (because we rock that backdoor cut). She got foul-happy in the fourth quarter, and couldn't quite get out of that mindset.
Things I do not understand, part something of many: Alysha Clark is one of Seattle's best defenders, so why put her on arguably the second least offensively adept member of the Liberty's starting lineup? Don't get me wrong, she shut Swin Cash down completely, but it seems like Seattle could probably have gotten a better +/- by getting fewer points from Tina Charles in exchange for maybe letting Swin score an extra basket. Crystal Langhorne started the game red hot, because we plan for superstars, not necessarily All-Stars. I like the work she does in the paint, getting to the glass. Breanna Stewart is pretty amazing. She has the range, she has the feather-soft touch in the paint, she has liquid flexibility. I feel like she's being asked to do a lot for Seattle, and it's wearing her down physically- there were stretches in the second quarter where she wasn't moving around a lot on either end of the floor. I realize that if there's a W player she should model herself on, it's Delle Donne, but that doesn't mean Boucek should be cribbing notes from the Chicago offense, because Chicago's offense is a terrible thing.
Things I do not understand, part another of many: Jewell Loyd is a fantastic athlete, one of the few players in this league who can play above the rim on a consistent basis, skilled at creating her own shot. Why would you waste that skill set by trying to turn her into a facilitator? I get expanding a player's skill set and all, but this doesn't seem like the most effective use of her physical gifts. I think we were able to take away the shots she wanted and force her into more difficult shots. Sue Bird still has the knack for finding her teammates, and she hit a big three late that brought to mind her Rebkellian nickname, but her age, in basketball terms, is beginning to show. I don't think I've ever seen Bird telegraph a pass as thoroughly as she did tonight, or botch a handoff as badly. It was strange. She's still brilliant, but less consistent. Her mastery of the game was not as apparent as it once was.
Rebecca Allen played briefly, but left no impression. (She hung out with Abby Bishop before the game for a long while. I <3 Aussies.) Amanda Zahui B. got some first half run, but after the play where she attempted to field the ball with her hair, well, that pretty much ended her night. She's got such potential, though. I'm hopeful for what we can do with her during the Olympic break (Sweden's not in the Olympics, right?) Kiah Stokes can't be missing shots right at the rim- she had a couple of relatively easy ones and missed them. She was a beast on the boards, though, especially offensively. She anticipates so well.
Shavonte Zellous got hot at key moments, but not nearly as hot from the field as she thought she was. I was having flashbacks to Cappie with some of her decision-making. She was solid on defense, though, making all the hustle plays on the floor. Shoni Schimmel got some minutes in the first half, but she was tentative on offense and completely lost on defense- there was on possession I remember very clearly where she was in the middle of the floor and looking wildly from side to side, like she had no idea where she was supposed to be.
(So now I'm worried about Brittany Boyd, because she was a DNP, and there were plenty of situations where her services were required. Please don't be hurt, Boyd! You're fast and you're super fun to watch!)
(Y'all may be wondering why Brittany Boyd, unlike any other home team player, is listed by her last name, and that's because the name Brittany fits on her like an extra-small jersey fits on Danielle Adams. Much like Tweety Nolan or Pee-Wee Johnson, the first name is a forgotten legality; the only difference is that the sophomore doesn't have a cool nickname yet, just Flav's "yeahhhhh, Boyyyyyy(d)!" Even the spelling matters; the implicit extra syllable in Brittany as compared to Brittney has a fru-fru effect to it that is... not relevant to the woman and player she is.)
Seattle, Imma need you not to hit Tina Charles in the face when she's wearing a face mask. The Storm got a three-pointer on a play where she was out of the defense because she was holding her face. Her shot is so ridiculously high-arcing, getting over the defense and looking like it's going to go every which way but in. You wonder just who she had to spend her life shooting over. She didn't have the three-point shot in this one- both of the threes she took from the top of the arc were well short. Swin Cash hustled, but she didn't play a lot- Bill went with Shavonte down the stretch. She got her points mostly on jumpers, but the jumper was very hit or miss. Carolyn Swords got her game on whenever Kiah or Amanda were in the bullpen. She set tough screens, almost to her team's detriment. I could do without the missed free throws, she's got to move her feet better, and ball security is super important, but she gave good minutes.
I'll swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout (troop 4839 4 lyfe, yo) that Sugar Rodgers played most of the second half injured. She took a hit that I think was a domino effect from a crushing screen by either Tina or Carolyn and came away holding her left side very stiffly. I couldn't tell if it was her ribs or her hip, but you're not going to tell me Sugar passes up an open jumper with an optional drive to the hoop without being hurt. But because Shoni can't defend and Boyd was unavailable for reasons, she played, and she came up with huge defensive plays at the end of the game. Her third-quarter threes- boom, boom, boom- were emotionally a stabilizer; it was as if she said, oh, you wanna play the long game? I can play that to Seattle. The talk before the game was about the Huskies, either Tina versus Stewie because of stardom or Kiah versus Stewie because of that one block. The talk after the game, unfortunately, was still about Tina versus Stewie. The talk should have been about Tanisha Wright. T had one of the best games I've ever seen her play in a Liberty uniform. She still needs to work on ball security, though at this point in her life, that's probably not changing very much. But when we needed a big shot, she hit it. When we needed a stop, she got it. She frustrated both Bird and Loyd in equal measure- watching her and Bird, the two former backcourt partners, go at it was a pleasure. She took over, and she deserves all the credit in the world.
I think we took Seattle, and their collection of useful parts behind their All-Star five, too much for granted. That stretch in the second quarter, where the reserves played most of the way, allowed Seattle to come much of the way back, and to believe that they could come all the way back. I wouldn't have wagered my life on Sue Bird missing a game-tying free throw, and I sure wouldn't gamble a game on it. (That being said, this was some solid end-game management from Bill, which is a refreshing change.)
The UConn poke-check in action: near the end of the second quarter, Tanisha had the ball, Bird on her, Stewart closing fast. They're both going for the ball, and T can't hold it for the last shot the way she wants to. They force her to pass and initiate the play a good nine seconds earlier than intended. It ended with a basket by Carolyn Swords- but that gave Seattle time for an answer by Stewart.
The call that gave Bird the free throws was a pretty weak call, but the Liberty were getting the benefit of a lot of contact early on. I'll let it go, since we won, but I think Roy Gulbeyan has something against Sugar. Must be the son of a dentist or something.
Someone needs to give our organist coffee. It's one thing to let the crowd dictate the pace, but on a night with heavy walk-up, in a close game, it's time to step up and lead the noise. Two loudmouths and one clipboard can't go it alone.
I'm not sure how okay we'll be for Chicago's perimeter attack next game, with the potential injuries to our backcourt, but we got through this and got a win we needed. Seattle's still one or two players away from making real noise- and in my opinion, they might be a head coach away, too.