December 11th, 2018: Columbia at Fordham

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong first quarter powered Fordham to a 68-49 win over Columbia. Bre Cavanaugh had 19 points to lead the Rams. Sienna Durr had 19 to lead Columbia before fouling out.

For free stuff, early starts, aborted missions, and seeing the bench, join your intrepid and sneaky blogger after the jump.

You know what today is? That's right. Issa game day. You'll be getting a double dose of Fordham today, as the women play host to Columbia and the men welcome NJIT to historic Rose Hill Gymnasium. Or at least you were going to, but honestly, I didn't feel like staying for the men's game. But it's a double-header anyway.

We get free scarves today! I like how Fordham is handling the promotion- instead of just handing them out at the door, you get a ticket that you can redeem for the scarf in the second half. And I also like that they made it optional, so that you're not wasting resources on opposing fans. (Looking at you, St. John's.) They should probably have made it a little more convenient to get to the

Santa has set up shop in the corner by the entrance, and there's a box to drop off letters to him. I guess it would be awkward for him to have to take the letter personally if he's also doing pictures.

I like Bre Cavanaugh's new braids. She has stripes! And from above the effect is a little more like a coronet. It fits her.

Hooray, we have a band!

Ralene Kwiatkowski is still in the boot, and it looks like a couple of the young guards are taking redshirts.

I understand that they have to be ready for the men's crowd, and that there will certainly be more people coming, but at this point I think we have more security staff on hand than fans.

Oh, sweet summer child. The kid leading the line for Columbia looked so startled at the lusty booing from the Fordham band. If you think that's bad, you haven't seen your own conference yet, have you? As an aside, this is the most disorganized entrance I've ever seen from a team.

I'm not sure how I feel about the navy blue border on Columbia's shorts. I definitely don’t' like the retro script from Nike. Some schools and color schemes make it work, and they're not one of those schools.

Solid anthem from the band. Their version of "Jingle Bells" is a little somber for my taste.

Things are going pretty well, all things considered. It's 38-23 Fordham at the half, with the Rams hitting a three to end each quarter so far. Mary Goulding has 12 points to lead the Rams, who are doing a number on Columbia inside. Columbia's defense has been very aggressive, and we've made them pay. I like the Lions' fire.

Enthusiastic shirtless dude in the gray shorts, I don't know you but I like the cut of your jib. And of your abs.

Columbia takes a lot of risks. For the most part, said risks did not work out, but I can see them being more effective in conference play. Columbia's coach takes no nonsense from anyone, but does so in a very dry manner. I like how she handed the freshmen Markham and Casey- she was always calling them over and giving them a little extra advice. Self-possessed, I think is the word.

The Lions didn't have a lot of height available, and what they did have, they mostly didn't use. Madison Pack saw a little bit of time in the first half and launched an ill-advised three-point attempt. Abby Lee came in and committed a hard foul pretty much as soon as she came onto the floor. She's big, and burly, but I don't know how good she is at using that size effectively. Andrea McCormick was in for maybe one possession- Columbia was going to a lot of players early in the game, as if their coach were trying to see who had the hot hand and who wasn't working out. Stephanie Flynn didn't play a lot of minutes, but she was one of two reserves who started the second half, so I guess she must have been doing something right.

The other reserve who got elevated to starter for the second half was Mikayla Markham, who brought a lot of energy to the floor. I mean a lot. I mean like the human equivalent of a 5-hour energy shot. The first big play she made was a phenomenal runback to kill a Fordham fast break... and on the ensuing stoppage on the out-of-bounds, she proceeded to gather her teammates in and tear at least one of them a new one for the sloppy passing that led to the fast break she had to stop. Her range needs work and her shot's a little funky, but if she can keep her temper a little more in check, she could be really good for them. Riley Casey also got a lot of run at the point, sneaking off with a rebound. Sydney Brown got a long run in the second half, pulling down boards in the scrum (and there were a lot of scrums).

Sienna Durr is high-usage, but very intriguing. It looked like she was getting a little frustrated by the end of the game, with a stray elbow here or there. Lilian Kennedy had a really strong first half, and I was surprised that she didn't start the second. She seems to have a lot of potential. Imani Whittington got called for two charges in the first half, and that seemed to be enough for Columbia's coach to cut her minutes.

Janiya Clemmons brought a lot of offense for Columbia, mostly on jumpers, although I think she was also the one who gave Fordham a taste of their own medicine with a twisting lay-up in the second half- it was the same sort of play that Fordham had been making successfully in the first half against the aggressive Columbia defense. She had a ridiculous offensive rebound in the fourth quarter where she practically appeared from nowhere to keep the possession live for the Lions. Madison Hardy has a nice shot, but she also seemed to get frustrated as the game went on.

Columbia has a lot of freshmen, and that bodes well for the future- but at the same time, their present is rife with frustration and letting their feelings affect their game. It's a collective problem, and it's one they'll have to solve if they want to be truly competitive in the Ivy League.

We actually went fairly deep into our bench in the second half! It was a pleasant surprise to see some of the young guards, and everyone got so excited when Katie McLoughlin hit the contested floater. Okay, so she missed the free throw, but she tried. Catherine Polisano got in a nifty hustle play right at the end of the game. I'd actually like to see more of Alexa Giuliano running the offense, either with Lauren Holden (thus moving Lauren to off guard, where shooting threes from Cape May is not the most terrible thing in the world) or without Lauren (thus letting Lauren get some well-earned rest, because she's going to fall over one of these days). She seems solid.

Vilisi Tavui is still not ready for primetime. I don't know if she's tentative because of the leg injury last year, or that's just how she is, but she was consistently a step slow on offense and in the wrong place on defense (tallest player on the floor should not have been on 5-7 Markham for two straight possessions). Halei Gillis had a nifty pass inside to Megan Jonassen for a shot. I'd like to see more of Halei- we don't have a lot of height, and she's got most of it. For her part, Megan had a bit of a rough time of it. She disagreed with a lot of the fouls that were called on her, but I think she was out of position on the boards. Zara Jillings had a good game, but what intrigues me more and more about her every time out is how much time she spends working with Coach Gaitley. Zara's only a sophomore, but if she doesn't end up on Coach Gaitley's bench as soon as her senior year is over, I'll eat my hat. And I like my hats, so you know this isn't something I say idly.

Bre Cavanaugh didn't have to be the star of the show in this game, and that's probably the best thing about the day. She still brought her swagger to the floor, and when she drove the lane, Columbia couldn't stop her. I still find Lauren Holden's propensity for long threes frustrating, but when they go in, her entire game changes. She had a big third quarter, and that helped break the game open for us. She went hard after the ball; if Columbia hesitated, they were lost, and she was down on the floor with the ball. Kendell Heremaia, whether intentionally or not, did a good job of drawing the Columbia defense to her in twos and threes, leaving her teammates open for jumpers or backdoor cuts. (Also, this is a very shallow observation and not relevant to her basketball skills, but her hair looked fabulous. Kenny, I need to know what conditioner you use.)

Kaitlyn Downey seems to have found her shot, and that's led to her really seeming to have found her footing on the court. She used her size well to get inside, and to get midrange shots going. Mary Goulding went off in the first quarter, and ended the first half with a bang on a three-pointer. She's tough, and she's scrappy. She didn't do anything remarkable in this game, but she didn't really have to.

What we did to Columbia's defense in the first half was just mean. Mind you, I'm not objecting. We baited them into doubling and tripling down, and we took advantage of open shots. They were a little cagier in the second half, but we were still able to take control on fast breaks.

I will say that Columbia's Coach had good reason to be annoyed at the officials. We got away with a lot of three-second calls. I know counting is hard, and not everyone can get into an Ivy League school, but that's no excuse for not doing one's job correctly.

I'm really glad we got to go a little bit deeper into our bench, even if it was only at the end of the game. I'd still like to see Bre and Lauren get a little more of a break, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to conference season, I suppose.

The scarf is amazing, and WBB specific, and will probably be one of my new favorite things this winter. It goes better with my coat than my St. John's scarves do. There should be more promotions like this!