November 19th, 2017: Temple at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma’am: In a defensive struggle, it was the Temple Owls who came out on top, 59-54, to spoil Iona’s home opener. Tanaya Atkinson had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Temple. Treyanna Clay’s 16 points led Iona.

For fundamentals, mechanical issues, short benches, long minutes, discount tickets, and defensive struggles, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Tomorrow I get to pass out. I tell myself this so I can survive the rest of the day. Being sick during basketball season is the opposite of fun. Today is opening day at Iona, as the Gaels host the Temple Owls.

Facilities folks are off to a slow start; concession stand is late opening, they’re short on scanners, and tickets didn’t start printing until after the doors opened. On the other hand, marketing is being proactive in making sure everyone has their posters and schedule magnets, and there’s even a souvenir stand set up in the lobby. Buy the shirt! Buy the shirt! (I might actually buy a scarf, if thie prices are reasonable.)

Someone is on crutches for Temple. I can’t see who, though. I’m guessing Alliyah Butts?

One of the Gaels knelt for the anthem. I think it was Ashley Martin, but I’m not sure. New favorite person on the team.

Well, the game hasn’t been a thing of beauty and a joy forever, but we’re up at the half on Temple, 22-19. The first quarter was 8-2, I think I reserve the right to make as many snarky remarks about the scoring as I want. Alexis Lewis has all the rebounds.

I forgot how rowdy the Iona crowd could get, even when there aren’t a lot of people and even without Damika’s family around.

Dance team has new uniforms. I approve.

Well, that game was a thing that happened. I don’t think either team should be particularly satisfied with it. Iona choked, but Temple had to come back from down 11 to a MAAC team that isn’t exactly great shakes. There was a lot of good defense played. There were a lot of good shots missed. It was not pretty, but there were a couple of moments when you could see how pretty it could be.

I thought Lena Niang brought an interesting dimension to Temple on both sides of the floor, but she made a critical mistake on defense that I think led to a three-point play, or some other golden opportunity for Iona. Coach Cardoza pulled her out, gave her a Teaching Moment, and that was the last we saw of her. Shannen Atkinson gave them good height and length, and teamed well with Tanaya Atkinson on defense. (I don’t know if they’re related. I should look that up.) Deja Reynolds had good reason to play angry after the elbow to her throat wasn’t called, and after that play she made her feelings about the officiating clear at every reasonable opportunity.

And then we come to the two shooters, the ones whose scoring and stroke in the second half was a good portion of how Temple made it all the way back. Emani Mayo’s three-point shot was smooth as silk, and she did a good job of getting open. Desiree Oliver was more about the midrange game, but I was more surprised (pleasantly in the basketball fan sense, unpleasantly in that she is doing it to my team) by her shot- for a player as stocky as she is, she moves very well and surprisingly quickly- she had a really nice steal and lay-up. That’s a nice pair of freshmen to build on.

I don’t know what the deal was with Mykia Jones starting and then promptly going to the bench. She wasn’t particularly anything, but it’s usually pretty hard to be particularly anything in two minutes. Tanaya Atkinson had herself a day- she came up with a lot of big baskets and big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. She was quick and opportunistic on defense. I was very impressed with her. Khadijah Berger’s one basket came in the fourth quarter, as part of the run that put Iona away. She brought defense. (Candor compels me to admit I’m intensely curious about the combination of a traditionally Muslim first and middle name with a last name that’s more often found in German Jews. Names are fascinating.)

Getting Mia Davis in foul trouble early was a big advantage for Iona. When she was in the game, she was able to score at the basket and protect the rim. Having her off the floor forced Temple to go smaller, which sort of worked out for them in the long run, but in the short run it allowed Iona’s forwards to make plays at the rim. (It would have helped if we could hit them. But we’ll get to that.) Breanna Perry had some looks, but kept throwing them up wildly. She had a couple of exchanges with teammates wherein one of them would miss the shot and another would miss the putback from the other side of the basket. Occasionally they would repeat this process.

I think this is going to be a rebuilding year for Temple, but I can see the foundation that Cardoza is building. If she can keep them all- and these days, that’s a tall task for any coach- this is going to be a very solid AAC team in the next couple of years.

Ashley Martin’s brief cameo was for the sole and express purpose of making sure neither Alexis Lewis nor Treyanna Clay picked up an extra foul. It was bad enough when Trey was going after the intentional foul when she had three, we didn’t need her doing something stupid like fouling out. Jayden Eggleston was mostly in as a stopgap- she stepped in when Trey was injured, and when we needed a spare set of fouls at the end of the game. Tilasha Okey-Williams had a stretch in the second half when we tried to go a little bit bigger and counter Temple that way in the paint. I think she needed to be a little more assertive on the floor. Rebekah Justice is a big girl. The pass to get her the assist was a nice enough pass, but it was a good look for her as well, so I’m not sure how I feel about the play. Amelia Motz was our primary option off the bench, and while I like her hustle and her scrappiness, she can be a liability on offense. I like her, but she’s got to work on her shot, either the mechanics of it or her willingness to put it up.

So, the freshmen. We have two of them starting, at least for the moment. Adrienne DiGioia has her jitters (the husband called them “the freshman OMGs” and I think I like that turn of phrase) but she shows promise as a steadying guard. I don’t think she’s ready to start, but our options are limited. (Gosh. It’s like you had a competent guard with a nice three-point shot who would have been a senior leader on the floor, Billie. Oh, yes, we’re going to fight about Phee all season.) Toyosi Abiola has a lot of raw talent and seems to be ahead of the curve in terms of conditioning for a freshman. She’s got to work on her ballhandling and the mechanics of her shot, but I love what she might turn out to be. (When she’s a senior, do we have to spell out the defense chant with a C?)

Alexis Lewis, I am shaking my head at you right now. You can’t see it, because you’re in New Rochelle and I’m not, but I’m shaking my head so hard. She had so many missed shots right at the rim in the first half that were wild off the rim, or the glass, or all-in-all not completely thought all the way through. I love the high arc of her three-pointer, and her never-say-die attitude towards rebounding, but she has to be more offensively consistent if she wants to succeed beyond this level. (I mean, okay, if she had better mechanics, she probably wouldn’t be in the MAAC.) Tori Lesko took more charges than I could count- three or four at least, not including the ones that were called blocks, or not called at all. I’d like her to be more willing and more able to shoot, but I think that can be learned; everything she’s shown indicates that she works hard, and if she puts her mind to it she should be able to do something about her offense. Her rebounding and defense are already there, and so is her vocal leadership on the floor. Ditto on that last for Treyanna Clay, who made sure that Adrienne was in position on defense more than once. She was the focal point of Temple’s defensive plan, and she too often chose to try to pass out of the trap, with dubious results. When she went up, she got buckets. I’d like to see her do that more.

Coach Chambers (it’s going to take a while to get used to calling her that) took every opportunity to pull her team aside to talk to them, whether it was during the first of two free throws, a stoppage to get some kind of biohazard off the floor, or a clock review. I love that communication.

(I also love the two bench players getting the defense chant started with the quickness. Still haven’t proven themselves worthy of 14 and 24, but they seem to have their heads on right, anyway.)

We got the benefit of the doubt on pretty much all the calls in the first half, even if the people around us immediately assumed any call on the Gaels was a terrible call and a sin. Things evened out a bit more in the second half. I still can’t believe Amelia didn’t get hit with a foul for that elbow, though.

Props to the video guy for putting together an intro video with footage from the two away games that opened the season. (Though one wonders if they had to pull one together in a hurry... yes, I’m petty, yes, I’m salty.)

It’s early in the season for both teams. I’m not sure what they’ve learned. I’m pretty sure Iona needs to bring in an assistant who specializes in fundamentals, though. I’m looking forward to the next game.