After profanity, a respite, as Kia Wright brings the three-ball and Sheree Ledbetter brings the spark.
Now that's more like it. Astute readers of the game notes of doom- such as you are- might have observed that there were no game notes for Baylor's visit to St. John's, despite this being one of the most anticipated out-of-conference games of the year for the Red Storm. I was too furious at the team to write game notes, because they flat-out gave up, and that was unacceptable. But I'm back in the saddle, and today they looked like Coach read them the riot act… and then Kia and Joy read it to them again with a few curse words thrown in for good measure.
Some kind of kids day today. There were hyperactive crotchdroppings running around everywhere, and inattentive parents to go with them. We had trouble getting our regular seats, or the seats we were planning to make our regular seats (we met Kia's grandma at the Baylor game, and had planned to sit with her, but there were strangers in said seats). I don't want to say there was a bunch of cluelessness in the arena, but one of the people in my row asked me if sophomore forward Victoria Hodges, who's been in street clothes and on crutches pretty much since she set foot on campus, was the coach.
Girl Scout choral anthem. It didn't suck. For St. John's, this is noteworthy.
Morgan State has hooded warm-ups. That's kind of awesome. They play with a lot of intensity, something that I'm sure comes from their coach, who reminds me a lot of the guy from Heart of the Game. A lot of ballhawking guards, a lot of physical posts. If they had only been half as sloppy, they might have made this a game instead of a blowout. Corin Adams impressed both me and my mom- she's got a lot of nice moves and knows how to move on the floor, and as a sophomore, there's plenty of room for her to improve as well. The other big scorer for them this game was Aaries Reed. We found ourselves very fond of Tamara Rogers- mom called her a firecracker, and she played with equal passion at both ends of the floor. Britney Griffin reminded us both of Natalie Williams, at least in her build, but her touch was a little softer and her skillset much less impressive.
Lord, but Kia wanted this game. At one point, I was actually yelling that she couldn't hit any more threes, damnit, because I didn't have any more room to put them on my scoresheet- she finished with six, and the scoresheet only has seven. Her hands were pretty quick, too, and she fought for rebounds like you wouldn't believe from her size. I think she was pissed from the Baylor game. Joy was also back to her old self, though with a couple of lapses in concentration. It was nice to hear her voice on the floor again, I'll say that. Monique brought her game, though there were a couple of moments when she probably should have passed but didn't. Kelly started in her place- methinks Coach is NOT happy with Little Sista. Then again, there were way too many possessions, especially in the second half, where St. John's spent too much time passing around, either because they were trying to force-feed scoreless players, because they were working the clock, or because no one wanted to help run up the score. Tiina was completely out of it in the first half, but turned it up in the second- she was the catalyst that reminded the team that the game wasn't officially over yet. Kelly hit the shots she was given- I don't think she was asked to do more than that. I felt we got some great play off the bench, especially from Coco, and from Sheree, who had to come in when Recee got into quick foul trouble. The more I see of Sheree, the more I like her as Recee's backup when Tiina graduates- yeah, she's small, but she plays tough. I think she just needs more time to get accustomed to being on the floor. The only one we weren't really happy with was Kristin, who seemed to think that being part of the mop-up crew meant she didn't have to take the game seriously. Uh-uh.
Hopefully, we didn't use up all our shooting mojo in this game. We're going to need a lot more like this if we're going to look respectable against Rutgers. Ah well. Can't wait. May the best team that night win, that's all I have to say on that.
Monday, April 14, 2008
December 30th, 2007: Morgan State at St. John's
December 29th, 2007: Fordham Holiday Invitational
Rose Hill Gym is beautiful, the Fordham Rams need a lot of help, and Fairfield is all over the offensive boards.
Rose Hill Gym is one of the most beautiful places to go see basketball that I've ever been. The whole campus gives the impression of being archetypal: time is immaterial, and the hubbub of the Bronx is left behind, replaced by a hush as the stone buildings and wide spaces absorb the sound. The gym is small, but surprisingly comfortable. One side of the seating offers actual seats, while the endcourts and the side behind the benches offer bleachers. Unsurprisingly, the seats are the most popular.
I don't know if Fordham normally has a band, or if they were at some other event, or they refrained from using theirs to not show up the other teams in this holiday tournament they hosted. Whatever the situation, the music was canned, and not very well piped. They had a half dozen cheerleaders who were as perky as they could be while maintaining the world-weary sense that they weren't leading much at all. The crowd was surprisingly male-dominated, what there was of it- not very loud, except when Fordham (or, for the visiting fans, Fairfield) made a run. I hope they're more enthusiastic when Fordham doesn't suck, because Rose Hill Gym deserves to have passionate fans rocking it.
Mount St. Mary's started off very balanced, providing an interesting counterpoint to Fordham's one-option system, but when they needed someone to step up on offense, it was Lauren Howell, a sniper from New Jersey who looks disconcertingly like Nicole Wolff (and just to confuse matters even further, one of her teammates looks disconcertingly like a shorter, wider Ann Strother). Tiffany Green was their firestarter, a small, quick guard with very good hands on defense- there was one play where Fordham had a sure fast break that she disrupted with a well-timed deflection. She had a tendency to overdramatize contact, which irked me slightly, because Mount St. Mary's really needed no help from the referees that they weren't already getting- for the record, this isn't a slight on the crew, since I thought it was actually a pretty decently called game, but more a reflection of what Fordham seemed to believe was defense. They got some solid post play out of what bigs they had- Mary Dunn (the super-sized Strother) was especially effective, I thought, in getting position and denying the inside to the Rams.
Fordham, on the other hand, relied on freshman phenom Megan Mahoney. She doesn’t look a thing like her namesake in Connecticut, but there are definite similarities in their playing styles. Young Miss Mahoney plays all out all the time- much like the line about Jessica Bibby, she only knows one speed, and that's 90 mph. Sometimes it's to her advantage, such as when she's diving for loose balls or on the fast break. Sometimes it's a disadvantage, such as when she gets ahead of her passing or loses control of the ball. If she can learn to play within herself, to rein in some of that speed and enthusiasm, she can be a prospect, because the girl definitely has game. Of course, judging her solely on a game against Mount St. Mary's isn't fair. She and Raina Spencer did yeoman's work on Brianna Gauthier, who came in as the top scorer for Mount St. Mary's, but only managed five points. The player I really liked was Takita Earl, who had ten rebounds and a gutsy attitude. She needs to be a little more willing to shoot, though- the people next to me were screaming for her to take some of the open outside shots she had. Also, she may be the first player I've ever seen who's developed her upper body but not her lower body- she's very solid up top, but she's got the thinnest little shins I've ever seen on a post player. The not shooting thing, though, that may be a coaching decision, because the other two people in the general vicinity of six feet tall who played also didn't shoot much. (Actually, I liked the third string center, Alex Zamora, more than I liked the second-stringer, Kassie Humphries- I liked her hustle better and she seemed to have a better idea of what she should be doing on the floor.) On the other hand, one of the starting guards… lord, but I have never seen a player as clueless on the floor as Annie Zopf. She had no idea how to get out of a double team, no idea what she was supposed to be doing during some of the plays… when she was in the game, things ground to a halt and everything seemed to go wrong, not just with her, but with everyone else on the floor. I'd love to see her plus/minus…
Fordham seemed to have issues with not committing fouls. They committed a lot of stupid ones, that's for sure. I don't think they were ready for post players who would provide resistance. At 0-11, I'm not sure why…
I found out after getting to the arena that this was a tournament, and thus a doubleheader, which soothed my soul after seeing the ticket prices (yes, I know, historic gym and all, but the price differential between the A-10 and the BEast should be more than $1, yanno?). Good thing I decided to stay for the second game, because Troy and Fairfield provided a much more interesting game to watch.
Bonita, we must stop meeting like this. I'm serious. I'm starting to think either she's stalking me, she thinks I'm stalking her, or we've both decided to tour D-I basketball in the New York metro area. This is, what, the fourth venue I've seen her at this year alone? Sheesh. I didn't recognize any of the other officials.
Rebounding. Holy hell in a handbasket, can Fairfield rebound and create on second chances. According to their recap, they had 27 second chance points. They had 23 offensive rebounds… out of 45 total, and out of 43 missed shots. They just did not give up. I'm pretty sure Baendu Lowenthal got all her points on putbacks, and Stephanie Geehan had to have gotten at least half her points the same way. Sabra Wrice seemed to be their firestarter- she can actually create for herself, which in turn sets up either a scoring opportunity for her or a second chance for her teammates. The only thing that would worry me, were I a fan of Fairfield, was that once you get past that top three or four (if you toss in Tara Flaherty) there wasn't much on the floor for the Stags. Yeah, three solid players will get you past most of Fairfield's schedule, and probably even past most of the MAAC, but I think they'll have trouble with Marist and Iona. That being said, I think Frager can take them pretty far- it'll be interesting if he starts competing with Hartford for UConn's sloppy seconds.
I was primed to absolutely adore Troy. I mean, come on. Five Aussies in one place that isn't Australia. How cool is that? The funny thing is, though, that the player I walked out with an immediate fondness for and interest in was not one of the half dozen "not from these here parts" players, but forward Audrey Muse: if she could hit half the open looks she creates for herself on the inside, she'd probably be playing at Florida or Florida State instead of Troy. Both visually and athletically, she reminds me very much of Tina Thompson- she doesn't have the outside game, but she's a warrior through and through. Oh, I liked the Aussies, or at least hearing the Aussies- there's something very reassuring about that Aussie twang on the floor, like the universe has been rearranged properly- because Amy Lewis has a nice little shot and Kylie Morrissy has a knack for getting to the line. But Troy seems to be a live by the three, die by the three type of team, and when you play a team that rebounds as fiercely as Fairfield did today, you're going to be shit out of luck if the threes don't fall. They played a stubborn, sticky, man-to-man defense- but only on the first opportunities. They didn't go after the boards, and Fairfield took full advantage of that. Their coach also seemed to be trying to channel Geno. This isn't going to be a successful tactic when you play a team from Connecticut. Frager's Thibault-esque cool served much better.
I saw four different possession reversals in this game, and a completely inexplicable shot clock reset that led to a Fairfield shot hitting iron, a Stag getting the offensive rebound, and Sabra Wrice hitting a three-ball. I've never seen so many possessions reversed. Tres strange.
I thought to myself that the female commentator for Fairfield looked awfully familiar. At first I thought Doris Burke was slumming, but then I got a look at her profile and said to myself, "Hey, that looks an awful lot like Maria Conlon. Huh. I thought she was busy in the world of high finance and higher heels." But such is not the case- she might also be in the financial advising business, but she's doing the Fairfield color gig. Can't help but wonder if anyone else there recognized her.
All in all, though, I'd have to say that my favorite player on the day was actually the little girl from the first biddy game who spent much of the first half of Mount St. Mary's-Fordham wandering around the arena with a WNBA tucked under her arm. Woo for the second generation!
December 14th, 2007: Maine at St. John's
Cindy Blodgett can't coach, Maine can't dribble, the St. John's posts rock, and there's a little Arico on the way.
Important lesson learned today: having two WNBA players on your coaching staff doesn't guarantee a damn thing about the quality of the coaching. Other interesting thing inferred today: there must have been some kind of party after the Final Four.
Dear pep band: please stop fucking up the anthem. Please. Just stop. I'm begging you here. Play a recorded version. Have someone sing it. Have someone sign it. Do an interpretive dance. Just stop butchering the melody. You guys do kind of suck at what you do, and also, you choose really obnoxious times to interject yourselves into the proceedings.
In all of my born days, I never saw a Division I team take such bad care of the ball as Maine did tonight. Oy. It was brutal to watch. Elena Baranova dribbles better than the Black Bear guards. I'm not really surprised that a black hole like Blodgett and a… whatever Kelley Gibson is… had no real way of imparting the ability to pass and dribble to the players in their care. I'm not impressed with Blodgett as a coach at all. For a lot of the game, her bench players did as much coaching as she did. While I'm sure that teaches them important qualities of leadership that they'll need in their post-college lives, I was always under the impression that coaching was, you know, the coach's job. Not that she doesn't have some talent on that roster- there are some promising big bodies on that roster, including a player who looks like a miniature Cathrine Kraayeveld. But I'm not sure she knows what to do with them.
Maine's offense operated most efficiently when they went inside to Brittany Boser, then were able to swing it outside to stretch the defense. When they could get their inside-outside/outside-inside game working, they didn't look half-bad, but it didn't happen often, because, again, lousy, lousy ballhandling. Christina Mosher provided well in her limited time, but she played most of the game when it was completely in St. John's hands (er, when it was *really* under control). They put on a good press a couple of times, but they didn't use it enough- I think Blodgett's problem is that she just doesn't adjust fast enough. (Her other problem is dry, bleached spikes- she looks like a cougar on the prowl, and 31 is no age for a cougar.)
(I really can't wait for conference play, or at least for Baylor. I'm tired of being so unimpressed by teams that I can't put together appropriately doomtastic game notes.)
St. John's brought a balanced attack, balanced more than usual, because Sky couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and neither could Kelly when she came off the bench- for at long last the day came that Kia Wright returned to the starting lineup. She's got such quick hands, Kia- and Joy, Monique, and Recee aren't so bad in that regard themselves. Granted, maybe they looked better than they are against a Maine team that wasn't completely sure about this whole dribbling concept, but Joy was at least able to even her turnovers committed/turnovers forced ratio again. Kia's court sense was also much welcomed, and I think it brought up the whole team's court vision as well. It also allowed Sky to shift to the two and Monique to the three, insomuch as a difference exists between the two positions at the collegiate level, which only heightens the likeness between Monique and Shameka. Recee was also especially tough- eight rebounds, double-digit points, and a block, all in thirteen minutes. She and Joy were models of efficiency, and Coco wasn't so bad herself. Kelly had the worst luck with her shots in the first half, but she made up for them in the second half with a beautiful spin move and a flying layup- she and Monique both hit crazy circus shots. About the only player who noticeably played awful basketball and looked completely out of place was Tiina, who needs to get her head together and also lay off the bleach, because her hair is rapidly approaching the color of her skin, and that's just not healthy.
Lately, my mom and I have been sitting in the same row as Kelly's parents, and we all agreed that there seems to be another little Arico on the way. (Making a quasi-serious guess at the timing, it looks like that the WBCA throws a helluva party come tourney time.) If such is the case, then congrats to Coach and her family.
This happened to be the annual autograph session game, and I happened to have bought a media guide (it looked so much more informative, and it was women's only- no using half the space on men's stuff). Naturally, I decided to get the headshot page signed. Naturally, while it still has Angel Tate, it does not have Sheree, one of our freshmen, and she was good-naturedly disappointed about it. Joy and Coco had some great by-play- it doesn't surprise me that they would get along off the court,since they seem to have similar philosophies on it (that philosophy being "get the ball away from the other team, make sure the ball stays with our team"). Sky was very charming, and was by far the last to leave the table. She was down at the same end as Kia and Monique, and I'll gladly bet that we'll see one of those ladies at the Garden in the not so distant future, and not just as part of a doubleheader.
Angel was at the game, and she looked so lonely trudging back towards the parking lot. But I suppose she had her reasons for leaving the team- I'm sorry to see her go and I hope she's okay. I think Danielle Chambers was there, too- certainly someone who looked a lot like one of the school's leading rebounders was there.
Black Bears, Lady Bears, Bears- we should have been the ones to play Cal, shouldn't we? Ah, well. I suspect Baylor will put up more of a fight than Maine did.
December 8th, 2007: Maggie Dixon Classic
Shavonte Zellous, Chante Black, and Rashidat Junaid impress; meanwhile, Kia Vaughn is… not well.
Nothing like a doubleheader where the gates open before noon to wake you up, huh?
First of all, I am not pleased with the turnout. Where the hell was everyone? I know the folks on this board did their part- I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd- but come ON. That was some pathetic attendance, and not attendance that would look good at all on the television. It's the kind of thing that makes people who happen to come by ask why it's on TV, or why it's in such a major arena. I mean, we did get some good noise out of the crowd, especially in the first game, where you had the Duke fans hollering, the Pitt fans hollering, and the Rutgers fans hollering for Pitt out of a combination of conference loyalty and the urge to see the team that just beat you lose in turn.
So, after all the talk this year of Marcedes Walker, as compared to the talk of her in previous years, I have to say I'm not as impressed as I used to be. She seems to have let the praise get to her head, because she's gotten very passive on the court- there were times when she was letting the tall but slender Chante Black push her around, and times when she simply wasn't chasing rebounds. At the same time, she's got brass ones enough that when her team needed her, she did step up, and enough that she has the WNBA logo tattooed on her right biceps- I couldn't see closely enough to tell whether she completely copied Cappie's tattoo or whether it's simply the logo. Shavonte Zellous also has the logo, on her ankle, but as of right now, she's got more of a claim to it than Walker does. That girl can ball, jeez. Now I completely comprende what the Maryland fans were talking about. She's a heartless shooter and a damn good hustler. I don't know if she really does have next-level game, or if she'll be exposed on bigger stages and/or without the muscle of Walker to back her up. Mallorie Winn… okay, I didn't get my program until halftime, so when I first saw #0 come off the bench and royally fuck up her first two passes, I turned to the boy and said, "Okay, she needs to not pass anymore." At which point she put up the most godawful three I'd seen all day to that point. So I figured that maybe shooting was a bad idea for her and she just needed to sit down. Then I got the program and realized that this was the once touted Mallorie Winn. Er, what the hell happened to her? No one else from Pittsburgh really stands out in my memory, although this probably has more to do with the fact that this was the first game of a doubleheader.
For Duke: Chante Black. I love her. Love at first sight. I like the way she plays the game, though she could stand to put on a little muscle. But I love the way she moves, the way she positions herself, and the fact that she seems to enjoy doing what she does. So many players have such severe game faces that the *game* portion of the whole thing gets forgotten. I was also very impressed with Abby Waner's hustle- she's got a nose for where the ball is going to be, and a boundless determination to make the ballhander's life a living hell. I don't know if she's a prospect, but she's definitely fun to watch. McCallie's big on posts (and on big posts), so I'm sure we're going to be seeing more and more post offense as she figures out what she has and what she wants. This might be a down year for them, but dollars to donuts their big push is next year. I mildly liked Karima Christmas, but I can't get past her name. (Not so much her last name, even- I work with a Karima who has a less than charming personality.) Again, I'm sure there were plays by Duke that intrigued me and made me go wow at the time, and were not Chante Black blocks, but time has eroded them from my memory. :(
Intermission consisted of some speechifying and some charitable donations, the second of which I approved of more than the first. All four teams were out there, some a bit more enthusiastically and respectfully than others. No brownie points to the two Blue Devils who chatted through the whole thing, and none to the RU players who were fidgeting. Not surprised that the Army players stood stoically through it, and would you really be surprised that Essence Carson was the picture of patience?
As an aside to whoever put together the remembrance videos: why did you think it was a good idea to show the one with Geno? Come on. The rivalry has gotten nasty enough that fans will do embarrassing things because of it. Yes, they booed the video. No, I'm not proud of them.
Beautiful anthem- they did it between games, perhaps so they could have the color guard?
Army was screwed when, three minutes in, Cara Enright went down hard enough that we heard her hit the deck, stayed down for a very long time, needed help to get up, put no weight on her leg, and went straight to the locker room. This is not a good combination of events, and bodes no good for a team when said events happen to their star senior guard. Alex McGuire had to take on the entire offensive load herself, and while she was willing and able, no one else could step up to help her. Hawkins and Anthony both did the bulk of their scoring late in the game, and Stone mostly disappeared after the first few minutes. Unsurprisingly, Army plays very tough, very physically, and very tenaciously. They welcome contact on both ends of the floor. They drive. They have surprising post presence for a team that can't really recruit above a certain height. They're fun to watch- I just don't know if they have the talent to compete, especially if Enright's out for any extended length of time.
I think Coach Stringer was pissed. Perhaps out of concern for nagging injuries, perhaps out of not wanting to run up the score, but IMO mostly because of the Duke game, she benched the entire regular starting lineup. There are small children who might not even have been aware that Katie Adams ever played who saw her start today. And Rashidat Junaid took full advantage to display her post moves and soft touch on the Garden floor. Granted, Rashidat started out with an advantage, in that a) she's already been playing better than Kia Vaughn, and b) er, we'll get to b later, suffice it to say that there may have been a reason Kia was playing like crap. Brittany Ray also decided to shoot the lights out, given the opportunity to start in place of Heather Zurich (who didn't play at all, perhaps because her face still isn't quite right after that hit early in the season, and if you don't have to…). I was glad to see Myia start, too, because I like watching her play- I don't think she's the kind of player who needs to start, but she's a most excellent sixth woman. Honestly, things unraveled temporarily in the first half when Stringer reluctantly began bringing the starters in. In the second, it was clear that the starters, or at least Prince and Ajavon, had gotten things together enough to look good. Essence was very quiet in her limited minutes. The defense was fantastic and the rebounding was splendid.
Terrapins, we need to have a talk about the use of germ warfare in out-of-conference play. I'm *sure* it's just a coincidence that after we play the Maryland Ptomaines, Kia comes up with two awful games and spends part of the second half barfing into an empty Gatorade cooler. Yes, the joys of sitting in the endcourt and having no one shielding the bench. Come on, guys, we share your team colors, can't you cut us a little slack? At least if you're going to use germ warfare, take advantage of it yourselves, don't hand it off to another team to take advantage of!
In the crowd: a batch of high schoolers and middle schoolers, Blaze and her posse, Dan Hughes, Marynell Meadors. The last two are as per Megan, the Liberty's devoted ticket rep, who joined us for a bit of the second game. During the first game, the Army squad obligingly posed for pictures in their general area. During the second, Pitt brought their own cookies and nifty warm-ups, while Duke socialized quite a bit in our section and the section behind what had been their bench.
I was at five games in eight days. Bonita Spence was at three of them. Bonita, we must stop meeting like this.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
December 4th, 2007: Massachusetts at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 84, Massachusetts Minutewomen 68
Sky Lindsay brings it, UMass doesn't, and Tiina Sten needs to tone down the bleach.
I have a habit of looking for parallels and similarities in everything, so it's no surprise that I thought there were some distinct echoes of Maryland-Rutgers in the UMass-St. John's game. One team got up big early, but couldn't hold the lead and watched the score do a complete turnaround, and while they put up some points to narrow the margin, they just couldn't get over the hump. Granted, there was a major talent differential between the two teams on the floor at St. John's; the run by St. John's came in the second quarter (actually, right around the time my mom got in the building, hmmm), the lead was taken and then some by halftime, and the lead was a lot larger throughout the entire game. The ladies showed a bit of grit and a whole lot of Skyyyyyyyyyyyyy Lindsay.
UMass confuses me, if only because we had played BU the game before and UMass wears the same color scheme as BC. I don't know how many times I started to call them Boston before I reconsidered it. They have a big team that likes to take outside shots. I didn't understand why they were taking quite so many, myself, given that St. John's doesn't really have a lot of size, but maybe that's how they roll in the A-10. I don't know. Not my conference. There were some real shooters on that squad- Stefanie Gerardot had a lovely shot to watch from a pure aesthetic standpoint. Pam Rosenio- who looked a lot taller and bigger than 5-10 on the court- would probably have been even more of a difference-maker if she'd been driving all game, and it wasn't like she wasn't going inside, even. Lot of strength on her frame, and no fear- she was one of two Massachusetts players who had to wear a facemask (the other was Teya Wright, who pronounces it Tia and thus had to have caused anyone who was calling the game all kinds of headaches). The player who impressed me most, though, was Sakera Young, who didn't start, but I get the sense that it was a disciplinary non-start, because she started the second half. Such quick hands, great court sense, no fear, a snappy passer, and very mixed on the offensive end, that being the only big problem with her game. Mom and I both thought she reminded us of Spoon, though she's much more wiry than Spoon. The A-10 isn't a gimme conference, not by a long shot, and I think Massachusetts, if they can avoid the fumble-fingers and play more to their strengths, can do well for themselves this year.
Whatever Sky did to put more spin on her shot worked last night like a charm. I love shooters with a high arc, like K.B. Sharp, and Sky's got quite the rainbow on her jumper. Makes it more unpredictable for rebounding purposes, I would imagine- good thing she's reasonably accurate! She and Monique form a very formidable tandem of scorers, and they see each other well on the floor. I hope this state of affairs continues- I know Sky's got a reputation for not playing well with others, and I can't see her being the lead dog this year and next, not with Kia and Monique. As it is, though, both Sky and Monique found ways to make their own shots and find space to put up shots that went in. They were 16-25 combined and hit their free throws- that's an offensive line that would make anyone drool, methinks. Kelly needs to be ready for Sky's passes and/or Sky needs to take some of the mustard off- two or three passes went off Kelly's hands for turnovers. Not cool. She's still a good shooter, but I've mentioned before that I like her hustle at the boundaries of the court- she wants the ball, she wants to maintain possession, and she'll fight to do so. Tiina needs to lay off the bleach- she's a natural blonde, but she's been enhancing it, and unfortunately, at the same time she's been having some ultimate blonde moments. It's almost like she stole Allie's brain fog. Joy started off slow and seeming half-asleep, which surprised and did not please me, but she did eventually wake up- I'll have to look at the stat sheet to see if there's any marker that coincides her waking up with the team's big first half run, or if she followed the team's example for a change instead of trying to make them follow her example. Alas, she has finally fallen behind in my favorite bizarre stat of the season- through the first six games, she had forced more turnovers (9) than she had committed (7). But 1/4 last night puts her at 10 steals and 11 TOs. I thought our bench played exceptionally well last night. Kia made so many plays happen- 6/0 A/TO makes me a happy Stormie. If Kelly doesn't get her shit together, we'll be starting a small lineup with Monique at the three, Sky at the two, and Kia at the one, and the Big East should quake at the thought. Recee and Coco were both key to neutralizing, or at least countering, the pressure that UMass brought inside- Recee is our only legit big at this point, with Victoria still hobbling around on crutches, and Coco is a fighter in the same mold as Joy. Recee made a lot of good things happen in the second half when UMass was thinking about coming back, hitting her shots inside and getting big rebounds- there was a steal that Monique was credited with but that Recee essentially forced. We got to see more of Kristin, which makes me happy- she's a steady ballhandler, and she'll look for her shot. She brings a different look. Near the end of the game, Coach finally cleared her bench- I think Nikki Jo had an assist and Sheree got to score!
I love the way this team plays together. Coach seems to emphasize togetherness- there's a lot of huddling/everybody touch hands in the air now kind of stuff. Maybe that's why we've had so many players- or it seems to be so many players- leave in the last few years, but the ones who decided to remain have bought into it. They seem to care about each other. They take care of each other. They support each other. That's the kind of team that it's a pleasure and a privilege to be a fan of. I just hope it doesn't fade if we start getting more star-type recruits, the kind that wouldn't have even considered St. John's once, but see our success and want to be in on it.
December 3rd, 2007: Maryland at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 68, Maryland Terrapins 60
Kia Vaughn is a Pod Person, Marissa Coleman is smooth, and for fuck's sake, you do not foul a three-point shooter.
Please note that I'm a bit punchy, and thus these game notes might be less coherent and a bit more ridiculous than usual. Considering my penchant for off-kilter remarks, that's a disturbing thought. But onward, ever onward.
Going to this game might have been one of the least sensible things I've ever done, but if I had chosen the Cal game over this one, I'd probably be kicking myself right about now. What a trip. What an absolute trip. I love my team- but oh, how I love my arena so much more. Hauling ass from Queens takes a lot of hauling- train to train to shuttle bus and almost get run over- but I still made it to my seat before opening tip- to the rest of row H, I apologize for not being able to get to my seat any other way but across all of you.
Maryland is good. No, seriously. Sweet Sixteen, I said in my thread? This was more of an Elite Eight game, much more on the line than anyone would ever guess, pride and passion and a clash of opposites that, in many ways, turn out to be similar, much like mirror images of one another. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Maryland and Rutgers have similar color schemes, or at this point, maybe I'm pulling stuff out of my ass. Whatever the case may be, Maryland brought it to the RAC and brought it well. Except for the free throws at the end, Marissa Coleman impressed me like you wouldn't believe. I wouldn't go so far as to say she can play any position, but she's got a nice combination of power and finesse that ought to make a lot of teams take a look at her come April. Kristi Toliver also played well- but if she's going to make it in the WNBA, either she's going to have to admit that she's actually a shooting guard or she's going to have to lay off the shooting a bit and learn to stop carrying the ball. That being said, girl is money, no lie. I wasn't as impressed with the starting posts for Maryland- neither Langhorne nor Harper did anything that especially piqued my interest. Truth be told, I thought the most effective post player for Maryland was Jade Perry, and I was very surprised to see Maryland not bring her in once in the second half- I think she could have been very effective against Junaid in the second half, with the amount of time Junaid had to log. Strickland… she hit one shot early in the first half and that's the last I remember of her doing anything notable until she fouled late in the second. I'm sure she did other things in the middle, but they weren't very memorable. What really impressed me about Maryland as a whole was their athleticism and their hustle. Loose balls that Rutgers seemed accustomed to not fighting for became all-out scrums and/or Maryland rebounds. They're fast and they're quick, and they fear pretty much nothing. With Duke on a downswing and Carolina inconsistent as all hell, Maryland may well run away with the ACC. Of course, in conference play, one never knows what will happen.
Would whoever stole the real Kia Vaughn give her back? This pod person sucks. Yes, she got her rebounds, and she got a couple of the key ones late. Yes, she got called for a couple of bullshit fouls. But you cannot be a starting center for a top-notch team in a major conference and miss as many easy shots as Kia did. Ironically, the only shot she hit was a jumper outside the paint. I'm optimistically inclined to believe that she and Rashidat teamed up to neutralize Harper and contain Langhorne, but this is based on me hoping and praying that Kia did something positive in the game. Midway through the first half I was about ready to go down there and smack both Ajavon and Prince upside the head for the stupid shots they were taking, but in the second half, Epiphanny found her shot and fueled the key run that Matee capped with her three. That does not excuse the boneheaded foul in the last thirty seconds- no, do NOT foul a three-point shooter, I don't care if God Almighty Himself comes down from Heaven and proclaims that the Eleventh Commandment is Thou Shalt Befoul The Shot Attempt Of The Offensive Player; Yea, And Thou Shalt Send Them To The Line For The Throws That Are Free; And Lo, Thou Shalt Hear The Lamentations From Thy People, you do not foul a jump shooter and this goes double for a three-point shooter. Essence was… Essence, though she had a couple of defensive lapses that surprised me mightily. Love to watch her work, although she and Matee also both need to watch it with the hand under the ball. I love Heather Zurich's hustle- poor girl's face still looks like nightmare fuel under the mask, but she's still fighting and scrapping inside. One of the guys in my section was hollering at her to look for her shot, but honestly, the woman is playing with a serious handicap in the vision department here, and the last I heard, shooting really requires good eyesight, so leave her be. Honestly, I think the difference-maker in the game was Rashidat. She stepped up where Kia failed, hitting her shots in the lane with a beautiful soft touch and bodying up almost as hard on defense. If Kia's not careful over the next couple of games, she may well be benched, and I can't argue she wouldn't deserve it. I still wish Coach Stringer had a little more faith in the bench, because our three starting guards are going to wear down from overuse, and Myia and Brittany can both bring good things to the table. No, Brittany, those things do not include three-point shots. No.
I had the pleasure of sitting with a batch of season ticketholders, and they were my kind of fans- people who know the game and love the game, are passionate about the game but can analyze it at the same time, who give the refs shit for bad calls but can admit when the bad call is in our favor and/or the no-call is in our favor. The extra four bucks was definitely worth it for their company. Great crowd. Not as many people as there should be for a 5 versus 3 game, but on a Monday night with a start time that does not jive with the NJ Transit/Rutgers shuttle schedule, I can sort of understand it. Not that it really matters in the RAC, though, because even a small crowd combined with the band echoes and reverberates. When you've got a very decent crowd, on the other hand… by the second half, the place was rocking. My heels still hurt. How I'm going to get to work tomorrow, I have no idea. It's been a long time since I've been in the middle of anything that compares to a RAC crowd in a close game. And I loved every second of it. Okay, maybe not the seconds when we were down ten, but other htan those I was pleased.
Referees. Oyyyyyyyy. What else is new, right? I'm writing this without having looked at the game thread, so I don't know who's bitched about what, but I can think of four crap calls in Maryland's favor off the top of my head: Kia's third, Matee's fourth (which would set her up to foul out on the dumbass foul against Coleman), and the last two out of bounds calls. Also, counting above two seemed to be a bit of a challenge for them, as I recall one play where a Terrapin was parked in the paint for six seconds with no call. Come on, Bonita. You and me, we go way back. We've been at so many of the same games. Is a good call too much to ask? Look, I know the Scarlet Knights are no angels, and we like it that way. But how is it that the foul differential gets racked up so quickly? Are we playing our out of conference schedule against the Celestial League or something? Look past the name on the front of the jersey, guys, please?
In the crowd: Mike Thibault and at least one of his sidekicks. Patty Coyle, both her sidekicks, and Loree Moore. Former Rutgers player Mariota Theodoris, or at least someone who stole her warm-ups. At least three Board Junkies.
Next up, Army. I'm pretty sure that Coach Stringer will keep the score down in this one. I mean, more than usual. It'll be nice to be back at the Garden, though.
December 1st, 2007: Boston University at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 76, Boston University Terriers 69
Obvious referee is obvious, crazy coach is crazy, Monique McLean is Shameka Christon, and turnovers are bad.
Important life lessons learned today: throwing a temper tantrum will sometimes get you your way, but you'll look like an idiot afterwards and in the end you won't get what you really want out of the deal. Also, making nifty passes is good for the team and good for the karma. Also, it is possible to win a game despite making every apparent effort possible to throw it away, often literally. Also, I love this team, and love for one's team should be reiterated at every possible moment.
Let's not even talk about the anthem. Really, it's come to a point where it would be more respectful for the team to just play a recorded version, because the band kind of sucks at it. Also, Sky? Please stop fidgeting through the whole thing; if you simply have too much nervous energy to keep still, could you at least be more subtle about it than stretching your arms out wide and then rolling up your jersey straps? Show a little respect, kplzthx.
For most of the game I kept thinking, "You know, I've seen the BU coach before, I know she's been here before, where have I seen her before?" The answer, when it hit me, was so obvious that I felt exceptionally stupid for asking it- the last time I saw her was the last time I saw BU at Carnesecca. Wow, I think this is the first time I've been at a repeat performance. Ahem. Anyway, Coach Greenberg was… very spirited, and very much embodied the concept of being a Terrier. She never shut up and she kept at the officials as if she wanted to pick them up by the back of the neck and shake them until they went limp. At one point, she honest-to-God flipped her shit and yelled at her team "Don't let them push you around! Push them back!" loudly enough that half the arena heard her. Not exactly smart, ma'am. Not exactly smart.
As for the actual players in the game… we were fortunate that Kasey Devine got in foul trouble, because when she got the ball on the inside, she was too big and too strong for us to answer. One of her fouls was the breaking point for the BU coach; yeah, she might have ended up with an elbow in the eye, but that was because she grabbed the rebounder's arm. Monique doesn't play dirty; she'd break a nail if she did, and that wouldn't be good. Our defenses too often left Jesyka Burks-Wiley and Amarachi Umez-Eronini open, and while Umez-Eronini didn't take as much advantage of it as I'm sure BU would have liked, Burks-Wiley did, finishing with what would appear to be 23 points on my scoresheet. By the end of the game, I was hollering at my team to stop leaving her open, because I was running out of slots to put the field goals made. Cheri Raffo was a dead-eye shooter, nailing four threes to make the game a little more interesting- being as she's a Jersey girl, the boy tossed a couple of pointed remarks in her direction. I suspect that BU plans to make their big conference run this year: their top players are all either juniors or seniors, so this may be their last chance for a few years, depending on how the current underclasswomen and recruits pan out. I don't know if they're going to get some of the calls they got today, or if they're going to wear down from their coach's hysterics, but they've got the tools to make a good run: they have a big post in Devine, they have a shooter in Raffo, and they have a scorer in Burks-Wiley. (According to the boxscore, they also have an efficient distributor in Christine Kinneary, but one of the few things I'm not good at is noticing a point guard who doesn't at least look for her shot.)
This would have been a great game for a Liberty fan to be at, because Monique McLean was doing her best, full-blown, "are you sure she doesn't go to Liberty games?" Shameka impression. She hit the long shots, she hit the shots that were just a smidgen not long enough because they were only twos, she rebounded (though not to her usual standards), she played startlingly inconsistent defense, and she had occasional brain freezes that made me think that she'd snuck a Cold Stone before the game. It wasn't Kelly's day, on the other hand, although I love the way she makes plays along the sidelines. Sky… on the one hand, we do need a scorer to take the pressure off Monique and Kia, but on the other hand, do we really need a singularity in the lineup, one from whom the ball does not escape once it enters her event horizon? Too many times today I saw her go for her shot early in the clock and/or when teammates were in better position. She needs to watch her own team: the law of reciprocity is always in effect, so if she passes off to one of her teammates, they'll hit her back not long after. (Remember during the Dartmouth game, I remarked on Joy and Tiina sharing one of those? Today it was Coco and Kia- Coco dished a gorgeous little pass to Kia in the lane, and Kia returned the favor two possessions later.) Tiina seemed to spend most of the day in an extended blonde moment, which caused Coach to yell at her quite audibly near the end of the game, when we just needed to inbound the damn ball before the BU coach tried to bully the refs into calling a fast five seconds. Joy worked her ass off, as always, fighting for the ball, and I recall one of her tie-ups resulting in either a jump ball or a steal by a teammate when BU was starting to make things a little interesting in the second half. There were a couple of moments, though, when she was open and supposed to be receiving a pass and just completely blanked out. I don't know what's up with that; she's usually the one keeping everyone else awake, with a loud deep voice you could probably hear up in the upper level bleachers. Kia's almost back to speed, although I wonder if her ankle's bothering her; she doesn't seem to have her full speed and there's no lift on her jump shot, which defeats the "jump" portion of the program, or so I thought. She had two absolutely boneheaded stupid passes today that were completely inexplicable, but she also had a pure teardrop that brought to mind another St. John's point guard. Recee was the victim of one utter bullshit call and one verrrrrrry borderline call, and I'm sure it's a coincidence that both of those calls came after the BU coach called her out by number and told the refs to watch her. She did not look pleased about this. Strong as she is, she still needs to learn to be more assertive about gaining position, and someone needs to work on her footwork- while she's fast for a big girl, a la Ebony Hoffman, she's not so good at maintaining position with her feet. Coco is rapidly shaping up to be Joy's heir and apprentice, which makes me happy. Now, if only both of them could hit free throws, we'd be in shape. Kristin barely played, much to my dismay. Moar Kristin, kplzthx.
I decided today that I was going to put my knowledge of the basic jumper to the test and watch warm-ups to see who was shooting well, who wasn't, and why this might be. That's why I guessed Kia's ankle was what was bothering her, despite the lack of medical attention that seemed to be paid to it. There's that, and there's the almost total lack of spin on Sky's shots, which makes them pretty when they go in, but a whole lot less likely to go in in the first place. And there's Joy's form, which- I love the girl, but someone has got to get her hands under control when she shoots. It's ugly. She's got potential as a useful spare part if she puts on a little muscle and develops a shot, but she's gotta do that ASAP. Kristin has major ups- she seemed to be doing all the jumping that Kia so far couldn't. I think Coco was the one with no followthrough, but don't hold me to that. These are correctable things, though. These can be fixed with a patient coach who knows his or her shit.
"Let's Make a Deal" was one of the in-game activities today, and the contestant was Coach's son Trevor, who ws so damn cute it wasn't even funny, except that it was funny when he kept imploring his mother with the puppy dog eyes to help him pick the items or the box, while she was completely immersed in telling her team how not to lose the game.
These were clearly not experienced referees. Travels, they mostly knew how to call, but they didn’t seem to be able to count above that. I'll gladly admit that in the beginning of the game, we got the benefit of the doubt on some non-calls, and perhaps that was good for BU, but there were some horrendous calls that had both coaches in rage. The refs were clearly intimidated by the BU coach's tantrum instead of telling her to suck it up and stop screaming. There was one play I recall pretty clearly- Coco had gotten into the paint and was scrapping for a rebound with two Terriers. One of them pulls her down by the ball. Jump ball called. Coach is not pleased and yells, "Why was that not a foul?" One of the officials replied, with maddeningly simple logic, "It was not a foul." Oh, helpful!
We play the A-10 for a change next game, which ought to be more of a challenge. We need to work on our shooting and our turnovers, because even with the comfortable lead we built late in the first half and early in the second, we almost threw the game away, in as literal a fashion as possible. 18 turnovers is not good.
November 25th, 2007: Dartmouth at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 74, Dartmouth Big Green 31
Dartmouth is… not good. But Recee Mitchell and Kelly McManmon are.
So after one exhibition game and three games on the road, we finally got to see the real Red Storm show up at Carnesecca. At least I hope these are the real Red Storm, because if they are, this is going to be an awesome season; if nothing else, it'll definitely be better than the debacle of last season that I'd much prefer to forget, if it's all the same to you.
We got in the door late, so no anthem report, although I'm sure they had the band do their usual… ah, less than stellar arrangement, unless they brought in a sub-par singer; for whatever reason, they tend to have really awful anthems at St. John's, and I haven't been able to figure out a reason why. Starters were transfer Kelly McManmon and freshman Sky Lindsay at the guards, junior Monique McLean and sophomore Joy McCorvey at the forwards, and senior Tiina Sten at center (although, given the propensities of Tiina and Joy, it's likely that Joy played more center than Tiina, and I think Joy even jumped center to start the game). Alas, we also missed the traditional rituals of greeting that each player shares with one of her teammates- you know the kind I mean; on St. John's, the player who helps dust Monique off or chest-bumps with Tiina is sophomore center Recee Mitchell.
I have to admit, I was surprised to see three Texans on the Big Green roster- granted, two of them were sisters. Possibly. Probably- same last name, albeit a common one; same hometown, albeit a medium-sized city; same size and build, and they looked a lot alike. I get this feeling I've seen the Dartmouth coach before, possibly in the Pac-10, though I'm not exactly sure why. She was a hoot, not so much arguing with the refs as pointing things out to them that it occurs to her they might have missed- my favorite moment was when she described a Red Storm player as "do-si-do-ing through the lane". Considering that the player was Tiina, who's Finnish, this gave me some unusual mental images. Dartmouth seemed to be playing a very large and interchangeable rotation with a lot of players who could fill each other's role if necessary- well, except for Darcy Rose, who was a big center and the only one of her ilk on the squad. She impressed me, as did both of the Smiths, Margaret and Brittney (you can see why I wasn't sure if they were related or not; people who name their daughter Margaret don't tend to name the next one Brittney, or vice versa). Sydney Scott, the lone senior on the roster, impressed me with her leadership and the way she took charge on the court. Since Dartmouth did have trouble at both ends of the court- they didn't break the point-per-minute barrier and got blown out by forty points- you can understand why I'm having trouble trying to pinpoint notable players and great plays by the ladies in green. I recall being surprised that they didn't take a lot of outside shots- I had assumed from their tournament game against RU a while back that Wielgus was a live-by-the-three-die-by-the-three coach- and that they were really awful on their free throws. These are not things I expect from an Ivy League team, and I don't care if that's feeding the stereotypes. It was… I really am trying to find positive things to say about Dartmouth, but they got three points off their bench, all on FTs (obviously, since they hit no threes), had almost as many turnovers as points, and couldn't stop a team that was missing one of its reserves and had just lost to Vermont. Um, at least they'll have an Ivy League education to fall back on?
So, my ladies in white and red. Okay, maybe we weren't playing the most challenging opponent, but the kids looked all right. It's so weird not to hear Coach yelling at one particular player- last season, if it wasn't Allie who was clueless out there, it was Nikki Jo, to the point where Joy pretty much had to be a leader on the floor so Coach's orders could get relayed. Well, Allie's evaporated into thin air and three guards have dropped Nikki Jo to the bottom of the rotation, so the hollering is a lot more evened out now, though Coco and Sky both seem to be getting the brunt of it so far. The team still needs to work on not getting in each other's way, but the hustle warms my heart. What I love is the way they work together- one series near the end of the game comes to mind in that regard. Tiina fed Joy under the basket for two points. As they ran back up the court, I saw Joy saying something that looked like "I'll get you back". Sure enough, the next time down the floor, Joy had position under the basket and dumped it off to Tiina for a shot. I like the way the kids work together. The first half today, though- y'know, when it was still a game- was the Kelly show. Kelly sat out last year because of the transfer requirements, and she looked like she wanted to prove she fit in here- so she racked up 16 points in the first half, at some points having scored more than the entire opposing team, and including four long-range bombs. She's got good instincts. I like that in a guard. Sky was quiet today, although those high, arcing shots of hers had a knack for going in just when Dartmouth seemed to believe that they could make the game somewhat respectable. Monique didn't look right- maybe it had to do with the bandage on her wrist, but she looked easily winded, and she wasn't looking for her shot- which, considering she shot more than just about anyone on the team, says something about her trigger finger. Tiina was solid, which was all we really needed her to be, because we got unbelievable post play out of Recee. Damn, but she can move for a big girl- reading the postgame quotes, she lost 35 pounds over the offseason (you GO, girl!), which explains why she's quicker than I recall, because she's light on her feet for a big girl. I'll also bet you dollars to donuts she played volleyball in high school, because twice during the game I swear I saw her try to dig the basketball, which hurts when you try it. She was an absolute monster on the glass, very tough and very physical- oooh, I'm looking forward to seeing her play against Marcedes Walker. Joy… well, it's hard for me to be objective about Joy, even more than it is for me to be objective about anyone on my teams. I just love her hustle- though she's bulked up a little, she's still damn skinny, but she's a scrapper for all of that, down on the floor for every loose ball and in the paint for every rebound. She had an awesome "not in our house, hon" block near the end of a Dartmouth shot clock, and though she had three steals credited, she'd probably have a couple of more possessions to her credit if it weren't for that damn possession arrow. We got nice solid play from Kristin Moore as the backup point guard- I really like her court vision. The dropoff is going to be pretty minimal when she comes in and once Kia's back to speed.
Oh, yes. She's baaaaaaaack. After sitting out the first three games of the season with an injured God only knows what at this point, Kia Wright suited up and took the floor for the first time this season, in front of an adoring crowd of… er, 416, according to the boxscore. Guys, we need to work on this. Kia's still shaking off the rust, but she still put up a few points, got a couple of rebounds, made a couple of nice passes, mixed it up with the big girls- there was one play where she and two Dartmouth posts were going for a rebound under the basket and little ol' Kia came up with the board. When she's back up to speed and starting again… hoo, boy, with Kristin and probably Kelly coming off the bench, and with Recee in the post, we are going to be something to contend with. Just a little more time to get to know each other- although they seem to be doing quite well at that- and they'll be quite a team… and while two of them are seniors and another one or two are juniors, the others have a few years to gel together.
I have a bad habit of making parallels with everything and everyone, but these kids do remind me of the Libkids. My nickname for Monique has long been "Little Sista Christon" after Shameka- they even wear the same number, and Monique's just as girly. Joy's an undersized scrapper and a team leader in the same vein as Ashley Battle, though not quite as strong. But I honestly do think that someone who loves the Liberty and what they seem to be developing into would also love this St. John's team- and the tickets are even cheaper!
Those who followed St. John's the last couple of seasons might have noticed a few players dropping off the roster for no publicly given reason, most notably Angela Clark, the tall, slim all-conference forward who wore #3, and Lisa Claxton, the short, bulky, well-pedigreed guard who wore #10. Both of them were on the roster at the start of last season but never made an appearance. Well, they've not been forgotten. I actually noticed this at the exhibition game, but the gear made a reappearance today and I thought I'd mention it: like most teams, St. John's has a dress and dribble. Last year, the gear was clearly men's gear- numbers all wrong and clothes ridiculously too big. This year, the gear is clearly women's gear, both in decoration and in size. The jersey numbers? #3 and #10, and #3 doesn't hang very loose and #10 isn't very long. Hey, now you know what happens to jerseys that are ordered and not used.
Now, I hear tell that there are only so many players one can have dressed for any given game, and since Sheree was dressed today, someone else would have to be in streets. But Angel Tate, the backup center who started much of last season, was nowhere to be seen today. I'll be keeping an eye on the boxscores to see whether she resurfaces or whether she, like Coach's former favorite target, has decided that her life would be better doing something other than playing for St. John's. (She too parallels a young lady who once suited up for the Liberty; unfortunately, since she's a post with a tendency to shy away from contact, and tends to be easily distracted, the parallel is Iciss Tillis.)
About the only regret I have is that Charisse, who walked on the team last year after the spate of injuries and returns this year (possibly even with scholarship in hand), didn't score in today's game. It would have been nice, since she's clearly going to be the one the crowd roots for as the last woman off the bench.
Next up at home is Boston University, and something tells me that BU will put up more of a fight than the Big Green did. I'm looking forward to it.
November 11th, 2007: Stanford at Rutgers
Stanford Cardinal 60, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58
It's good to be back at the RAC, but Epiphanny Prince needs a smack upside the head and Stanford is pretty good.
There is something to be said for home openers, no matter the result of them. It's good to be home again, even if the RAC is at best a third home for me (after the Garden and Carnesecca Arena). It definitely helped that it was a competitive matchup. And there's definitely something to be said for the new banner hanging over the offices.
That being said, even a day later, I still want to give Epiphanny Prince a good smack upside the head. Actually, several good smacks upside the head.
We had general admission tickets and got there at 7:30 or thereabouts. We were still able to get decent seats- row M, approximately center court. Good crowd, though; a lot of people must have gotten snarled in some of the same traffic we did. More to the point, I liked the people around us: to one side, there was a very nice, if quiet, lady; to the other side, there was a guy who spent his timeouts reading; behind us was a guy who sounded like he knew his shit; in front of us were a pair of very loud, very enthusiastic guys, one of whom had clearly been following the women's game for a while when he declared to the world after another Stanford sub, "Who are they going to bring in next, Kate Starbird?" We did, however, find his lack of faith in the WNBA disturbing.
Anthem was done by the president of the Cagers Club- I suppose, as this was my first RU home opener, I should ask whether this is a tradition or not. I certainly hope it was, because otherwise there was no excuse for letting him near a microphone. Good power, I'll give him that, and he held the last notes beautifully, but he didn't have the range, and some of his phrasing was odd, to say the least.
What's up with Stanford wearing black uniforms? I'm pretty sure black doesn't appear anywhere in the Stanford color scheme, and I'd be inclined to think that they might want to emphasize the color that, oh, they're named after. I do like that they had names on, though. Made it easier to tell who was who. Jerseys with the name on seem to be a lost art, which is a shame.
I went in with the intent to keep an eye on two players: Candice Wiggins, because I devoutly hope I'll be seeing a lot of her at the Garden come May, and Jayne Appel, because one of my friends talks her up a lot. I came out impressed with both of them, but also with Kayla Pedersen. Stanford's got a damn good team this year. Wiggins- well, I'll say that the Ice nickname serves as more than a way to differentiate her from Parker. She doesn’t seem to fear anything. I wonder sometimes if she gets her calls on reputation (although we will get into the black hole of suck that was the refereeing later), but she works her ass off to get in position where a call can be made. I like the way she moves, too, although her footwork might give her some trouble in the W- she made a couple of really nice moves, but also got caught traveling a couple of times. Appel- damn, that is a big girl. I didn't even think Stanford recruited that kind of size. The way she worked on Kia Vaughn- who's no slouch herself- was damn impressive. She knows she's a big girl and she seems to be loving every second of it. Nice soft touch. Still a little awkward- late growth spurt?- but that'll work itself out in time, since she is only a freshman. Pedersen is fierce, and she's got a nice outside touch for someone her size. Gold-Onwude… I wasn't really impressed, although I got the impression that the Stanford offense ran more smoothly when she was in. West Coast folks might know better than I do- is she one of those point guards who doesn't appear to make an impact because she doesn't put up stats, but who runs her team well? For all that VanDerveer played the daylights out of her bench against Yale, she didn't give them that much run last night, and they didn't do much with the run they did get, which might have been why. I mean, Appel and Wiggins both went 40 minutes. I know VanDerveer prides herself on the conditioning of her teams (excuse me while I ponder Jennifer Azzi for a moment… okay, I'm back), but that might be asking a lot, especially from a big like Appel.
Speaking of 40-minute efforts, I think the only reason there were more bench minutes for RU than for Stanford was because Heather Zurich got her face rearranged and because Ajavon got herself in foul trouble with way the hell too much time to go. Essence and Epiphanny both went the full 40, and even with the four fouls, Ajavon played 32 minutes. I can almost understand it- it's not like we were playing a gimme, but have a little faith in your bench, you know? God, I sound like a broken record. I've been kvetching about the same thing for three different teams over the last five years. Anyway. Memo to Ajavon and Epiphanny: you see those people who are wearing clothes very similar to yours? It's okay to give them the ball. Good things will happen. Coach Stringer will not yell at you. Essence also had that problem a little bit, though less than either Ajavon or Epiphanny, who both showed a disturbing willingness to go into triple teams and try to throw up something that might have a prayer of drawing a foul (if, you know, this wasn't Rutgers). Find your shots. Take good shots. 8-13 is one thing, and Epiphanny did a great job on the break. 5-10, somewhat better. 6-18, less so, especially when the last of those shots was a three with too much time on the clock that gave Stanford a chance to have a decent possession. Kia was… some of those blocks were pure beauty, and Appel was giving her all she could handle. Still. As a St. John's fan and a Rutgers fan, I am perhaps more qualified than most to quote timber's mantra: "Give Kia the ball." I'd like to see what happens if Myia and Brittany are given a little more run, because though I can't put my finger on what I liked, I know that I liked having them on the floor. The problem is that we really don't have a lot of size, a lack that Stanford exploited rather glaringly. I'm really not looking forward to Sylvia Fowles's return to the RAC, and I may be thanking my lucky stars I'll be at St. John's that day when all is said and done. The intensity is still there- I doubt it will ever leave so long as Stringer is coaching there- but the teamwork seemed to be lacking. 12 assists on 23 field goals… that makes me a bit queasy. There's no excuse for it, either- all of these players played together last season.
Referees, oh, wow, they were special. I've gotten used to the array of missed calls and phantom calls in women's ball- and I'm not disputing the last foul, just to let you know; my issue with it was the mind-boggling stupidity of charging the damn ball in the backcourt with that little time left- but last night's crew made me shake my head. There was one point where I saw one official call a carry even as the official turnover was a three-second call (which was something they didn't seem all that capable of calling most of the night, but I'm not so sure refs can count). There was a play where Ajavon went barreling into two Cardinal defenders and correctly had an offensive foul called on her- except that the signal the ref made indicated push off when it was a pretty clear charge. I'm not quite sure how you can commit a travel without moving your pivot foot- in fact, I'm fairly certain that's the definition of what a travel is NOT- and yet they called one on Kia. Je n'comprende. They got worse and worse as the game went on; truthfully, I think they could use a session of conditioning with either of the coaches, along with a good lecture.
I always worry about chemistry, and while this year will be fine, I really worry about next year. We might actually see Kia grab Epiphanny by the throat and yell "GIVE ME THE BALL!" in the middle of a game. Oh, and I'm really looking forward to the St. John's game on January 5th. Ajavon and Prince can go two-on-two with Monique McLean and Sky Lindsay while the Kias sit on the sidelines and kvetch about their teammates.
Can I say how much I'm loving the information added to the boxscore this year? Score notations include whether a shot was in the paint or on a fast break; foul notations include both how many the player has and how many the team has. I don't know how long this has been going on, but it rocks my socks.
Does anyone know what the hell happened to Dee Dee Jernigan? She seems to have disappeared again. Damn it, if she's left, we should get Tudy Reed back! ;)
On our way out, we saw a Queens private car parked in the lot, driver waiting. Either someone has a helluva lot of money to blow or someone's related to a driver who took the night off to see his kinswoman. In either case, I salute *you*, Mr. Private Cab Driver.
But, as the avatar says, I bleed red, come hell or high water. My next game is Maryland- I already bought my ticket.
September 19th, 2007: Australia at USA
The Game Notes of Doom are fangirled and fangirl in return, Val Ackerman finally gets a good night's sleep, Courtney Paris is slick, and Cheryl Miller may or may not be drunk.
You know that phrase, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world"? I generally try not to use it because it's so over the top, but in this case, it's actually kinda true. Every game is a unique experience, but this one was a little more unique than most.
Took the 12:30 bus from Chinatown- rode standby and managed to get the last seat, which was in the back of the bus and with a party of guys who descended in some way from the Iberian peninsula. One of them was a Spaniard, another said he was Brazilian but had a Spanish-speaking brother. We talked sports part of the way up, and I think if it had been a slightly earlier tip I would have been able to talk them into going. The bus got in a little after three, allowing me to get to the box office and score a seat four rows off the floor for $30. Alas, I won none of it back, but such is life.
Got to meet a couple of Mikes from the boards (well, say hi to SportsPageMike again) at Geno's- mikejofm had the good sense to wear a Rebkell shirt so he would be more easily recognizable. I'd started my lunch/dinner a bit early, so I only got to have my soda with him and his companions before heading into line for the game. If anyone else was there, I was the one in the Rebecca Lobo Liberty jersey.
For once I have to specify that it was her Liberty jersey, because there was a woman there wearing her National Team jersey. We bonded immediately. And then she found out I do the Fan Blog (yes, I know, not as often as I should) and she fangirled me. I think that was a first. It was very gratifying. I walked around the arena with a huge grin on my face for a good long while after that. I felt like such a big shot.
Recorded instrumental rendition of "Advance Australia Fair". Live vocal rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner". We would have been better served by a recorded instrumental rendition.
Aussies look weird when they're wearing regular shorts and their national team gear. It's disconcerting. I thought for a second they were experimenting with a new style of uniform while they were overseas, but no, just part of the warm-ups. This time around, Carly Wilson was activated, Michelle Brogan was deactivated, and the numbers got shuffled around a bit. Wilson put on a bit of a shooting show, especially early in the game and early in the… fourth, I think? You'll have to pardon me if I'm a bit fuzzy. Porter was less stupendous offensively, but I still like the way she moves on the floor. Also, the general consensus among people at the game was that there's no way she's only 27, that she's gotta be in her 30s at least. Then again, everyone seemed surprised at Tully's age. Maybe you're only as old as you feel, or some claptrap like that. Tully, at one point, went flying into the scorer's table… and as she left the game, the announcer gave the substitution and added "She told me she's okay!" Which, okay, you know she'd tell him even if she had just broken three bones and was gushing blood all over the floor, but I thought it was a sweet moment. She runs her team well, and the US is going to need a second point guard just to make sure that Tully and Birdy never match up in Beijing- Tully knows the kid too well. I like watching Rohanee Cox on offense- okay, obviously not if she's playing against my team, but she seems to know when to pick her spots and hit her shots. I will be very surprised if she's not in the W by, say, 2010. Most of the Aussies who came on the trip seemed to be tall, blonde, and interchangeable, and all of them seemed willing to use whatever joints they could on their opponents. Hollie Grima especially put a hit on Seimone Augustus that had the EMT sort of sauntering towards the court in case he was needed, which is never something you want to see at a game.
Anne, whatever plan you were going with that night, don't go with it again, 'kay? That was a little too close for comfort against an Australian side that was seriously lacking in star power. I understand what she was doing; what she did on Sunday worked, but it's nice to see what else might work- or in this case, didn't exactly work and really wouldn't have worked if it hadn't been for Candace Parker. She just went off on the Aussies, hitting every big shot she needed to hit and fighting on the boards- there was also one play where she probably could have dunked but settled for the soft finger roll. Probably for the best ;we might have seen someone's knee get taken out if she'd dunked in an exhibition game. Brilliant as she is, and lucky as the lottery winner will be to have her, though, I'm happy with who my team has- I don't want Ace so much as I want Ice. Wiggins didn't have a great shooting day, but I love her defensive intensity and her intensity overall. Lawson's shooting was a bit off, and she's not a point guard, but she captains that defense most sturdily, and I wouldn't want to be a ballhandler in the same building as her, let alone be a ballhandler she's defending- seeing her up close and personal kind of hammers home just how intense she is. Bird was still shaky- there were some points where I found myself thinking she'd be better off as a two than as a one, which is definitely not an opinion I want to have of our starting point guard. I'm sure that given time with this batch of players she'll develop a proper sense of timing in how they work, but I didn't like the chemistry I was seeing out there. Augustus is getting a pass (for what it's worth, although she was playing well early on) after that hit from Grima put her shoulder out of joint and gave her serious breathing problems. It's never fun to see a player curled up on the court in agony, looking for all the world like someone's going to have to administer the kiss of life any moment. Thompson looked like she left her brain in Trenton- she was completely discombobulated out there, although I liked some of what she did on the defensive end, in the paint. Milton-Jones was not memorable, although she managed to look shorter than I remembered her. Cash played some minutes and looked a little out of place, although I do know she has a lot on her mind. Brunson was Brunson- I swear, she looks more and more like her "mama" every day. Very little of Paris, and Jess didn't play at all, which made me very sad.
As negative as that assessment sounds, I think the issue here is more getting used to each other and less having the talent. Once we get the team together that we're going to take into competition, and they start getting used to who zigs, who zags, and who does the jitterbug. We'll also have the more vocal players back, which we really don't have right now- I was struck by how little talking the US players did to each other. Oh, they'd make a ruckus to distract the Aussies, but they hardly ever communicated with each other. Compare to Trenton, when there was a whole lot of playcalling and signaling coming from Jess. Now, somehow, I doubt Taurasi will put up with quiet on her floor, so that's a problem easily solved, but we need to not make everything reliant on one player.
I had the pleasure of sitting with a couple of very well-informed, knowledgeable, and very long-time followers of the women's game who were familiar with the international nuances and knew the game inside out. We all concluded that the US needs at least one more point guard, and I took rather vindictive pleasure in dissecting Bird's mistakes while the UConn faithful cheered the things she did well. One of them also said that Hammon had declined for certain, and she claimed a pretty damn good source at USA Basketball, so I'm inclined to believe her. So with Loree injured, Lawson playing well, and Hammon a decline, can we just shut the door and lock it tight on the whinging there?
After the game, 'twas off to the hotel lobby. Mohegan Sun is the only place I do this, and that only because it's the only reliable spot and it's part of the complex- within the arena, it's touch and go because of the narrow space and high rail (though I did net about half of the Aussies). A couple of the folks I've come to know as Connecticut's Usual Suspects were around- also got to say hi to Rothum and #1Margofan, and one of my fellow Liberty Usual Suspects was around, although she didn't have her iconic backpack. Dan Hughes paced across the lobby several times- I finally jokingly asked him if he was waiting for someone to recognize him. The Aussies were the first team up, still in uniform. Michelle Brogan seemed surprised that someone recognized her from her W days- I probably should have mentioned to her that there was someone wandering around in a Michele Timms jersey, too; she might have gotten a kick out of that. Our former Madam President, Val Ackerman (looking like she at long last got a good night's sleep), came through. A few of the US players did, too: Bird, who was in a bit of a mood (then again, if I had a bag of ice half the size of my head taped to my knee and I'd just had Tully down my shorts for an hour, and I just wanted to get to my hotel room, I'd be pretty cranky, too; hell, I'd be downright antisocial, so props to her for stopping), Parker, Davenport (who I probably should have told I was wearing her shirt under my jersey), Milton-Jones, and Cash. Courtney Paris went around us, which ought to earn her full points for disguise and concealment, since we didn’t see her until she was at the elevator to the hotel, and how does one miss a 6'3", 250lb center? Thompson signed for some people, but she was on the move, and with her son and possibly her mom.
Cheryl Miller was in the house again- she's changed over the years; she looks a little softer around the face, although that might have been a function of the hairdo. She had a Reggie shirt on. She was very genial, although one of my companions wondered if she might have been a bit sloshed. Well, it's certainly a Mercury tradition…
I also got to do something I've always kinda wanted to do ever since I read The Same River Twice, and it's going to sound absolutely silly to most of you. I almost didn't get Cash for the scorecard that's going to a friend of mine in Australia, because she was deep in a long conversation with someone, an older woman elegantly dressed. Turned out that that woman was Chris Dailey, she of the many myriad rules UConn players must follow- including this thing she has where she'd like them to sign a legible autograph. As a collector, I too appreciate the finer points of penmanship, and I always told myself that if I ever got the chance to meet her, I was going to thank her for making sure that there would always be at least some presentable signatures in the league. So I did, and I did.
(As an aside, one of the things I really like about WNBA fans, as compared to the stories you hear about fans in other sports: pretty much everyone, except for a couple of kids, waited for Cash to finish her chat with CD {and then Bird and Jamelle Elliott}- and gave them a clear bubble of space for privacy when it became clear that Cash *was* in fact pouring her heart out.)
One of the best plays of the game was by the Aussies- Porter (I think) got a rebound, zipped a pass to Poto, who barely touched it over to Wilson in the corner, who then buried a three. Parker and Thompson did some great work on the boards. My scribbled notes indicate that Cox and Porter also had great assists, but I can't remember what they were. I know Lawson had a nifty recovery that led to one of Parker's many buckets.
I think one of the things I found so fascinating and compelling about that night was how it brought together the past (Val, Cheryl Miller), the present (most of the players on the floor), and the future (Parker and the young Aussies). It felt very cyclical and deeply right.
September 16th, 2007: Australia at USA
All kinds of interesting people show up to Sovereign Bank Arena for an international friendly… including the Game Notes of Doom and Jessica Davenport's A-game.
So the interesting thing about this game was that it wasn't the A-list team, for the most part, which meant seeing a lot of unfamiliar faces- and in the Aussies' case, matching faces and game to players I've heard about from the Aussie correspondents. It was almost nice not to really know who anyone was; I didn't go in with expectations.
So after all these years, I finally get to see Natalie Porter play. Man, talk about the one that got away! I wouldn't have minded *her* coming off the bench instead of any of the array we had behind Whitmore in 2000. Big, strong, quick, nice outside shot, though she's a little chippy for my liking. Liked Rohanee Cox's shooting- looked like she had both a nice shot and good shot selection. I also see the potential in Abby Bishop that some of the Aussie posters had mentioned- she looks kinda like the impossible lovechild of Penny and LJ, just the way she holds herself. Laura Summerton has either lost weight or those bodysuits are much more flattering than WNBA uniforms are, because she looked quite slim, and I recalled her being much bulkier in the W. Mom thought she was playing dirty, but I disagreed. Tully was Tully- I had thought she wasn't playing this tour, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her out there. The Aussies seemed surprisingly physical, although it was more out of the guard spots than it was the post spots. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the younger players come over eventually. There aren't enough Aussies in this league. Something needs to be done.
What a wonderful day for Jess to have one of her best games of the year. No, she didn't hit her shots, but she did a damn good job drawing fouls and getting to the line. There was one play where she was on the boards and the ball just went to those big hands of hers like it was magnetized. If she can work on her footwork and foot speed, or just steal Courtney Paris's feet, she'll be a monster. She did take a hard hit to the face in the late third or fourth and was pretty much out after that. Tina Thompson looked *good*- maybe it was just because she didn't feel the need to put on her lucky lipstick, maybe she finally put her shoulder back together, but she was ON. She played a lot of three with two bruising post players out to help her, which I thought was an interesting little wrinkle; who are our threes with Catch out? Kara Lawson was all over the damn place- if she keeps up this pace, I don't want to hear any more about any damn Becky Hammon. I'm officially on the "Liberty, please draft Candice Wiggins" bandwagon. Love to watch her go. Parker was hot early on, but seemed to cool early in the game. Loved me some Courtney Paris, but that's nothing new; big girls need love, too, no discriminating. Most of the Americans seemed to be on top of their game. Milton-Jones wasn't particularly memorable. Augustus showed she really was working on the defense thing, but… eh. Bird really did not look good, and there were a couple of moments in the game where I turned to my mom and said, "You know, it'd be nice if we had a backup point guard, one who could make good passes, maybe shoot a little, defend, take a lot of punishment… wow, I wish I knew of a guard like that in the pool."
Sarcasm. Just another service I offer.
The stargazing was almost as much fun as the game itself! St. Joseph's was tailgating about two parking spaces over from us, we spotted Patty heading for will call, and we were in the row behind Michelle Edwards (who was going over this season's Rutgers uniforms with someone, presumably another employee of the state university of New Jersey), who gave me a peculiar look when I whooped and hollered for Jess until I popped my shirt. A few seats down was Jenny Boucek, who, um, really shouldn't walk around Trenton like that. There were Owls and Tigers and Pirates, oh my! (I have the sneaking suspicion that one of the Temple student managers was in our row; she looked rather familiar.) We almost got run over by a Princeton center. Chelsea Newton was in our section- RU has some really nifty sweatshirts this year! I think I also spotted Anne Donovan's mum, or at least a Donovan of some sort; she looked just like AD, except older, with fluffy white hair. Someone else spotted Blaze, and yet someone else spotted Cheryl Miller. Took all the intestinal fortitude I had not to walk up to Patty and say, "That Davenport kid can play, huh? Would've been nice to see her on the court for us." I think I was afraid she'd think I was serious- please bear in mind that the shirt I was wearing was my Davenport tee.
I'm really looking forward to Wednesday; maybe we'll have more of the roster by that point and it'll be more competitive.
Requisite ID: brunette, blue Davenport tee, section 115, abandoned all hope of finding everyone.
August 24th, 2007: Detroit at New York, Eastern Conference First Round
New York Liberty 73, Detroit Shock 51
This is how it's supposed to be. This is how it's going to be, with the team we've got. But this is how it's supposed to be. The Garden was rocking, the crowd was pumped, and the team kicked ass. That's how it used to be; that's how it will be again. I believe this with all of my heart and soul. For this year, yeah, maybe it's a fluke. But they believe now. They believe like we believe, and that's always been the ingredient that took the Liberty far further than their talent would have allowed.
Everything was clicking. Shameka, pregame, rocked a little black dress slit up to hello-how-are-you; Barbara was also rocking the little black dress, a bit more demure and a bit better worn. And the one thing I thought was a bad sign turned out to be pretty damn awesome: Megan, our darling season ticket rep, messed up our seats, accidentally selling us seats for the Finals when they ought to have been tonight's game. She offered us her tickets in section 92. Hey, cool, upgrade, so we took them. About seven o'clock, I got a text message from Kate, the erstwhile administrix of WNBATalk- she's sick, she can't make the game, would we please take her seats? I argued with her a bit, seeing as how I didn't want to look Megan's gift horse in the mouth and we didn't have physical tickets for her seats. She talked me into it.
Did I mention that Kate sits behind the bench? Or the next best thing to it? I ended up yelling in Matt's ear all night. (Um, sorry, Matt. I hope you survived the experience with most of your hearing intact. I tried to bring the octave down.)
The anthem! I love those guys, and while this wasn't their best work, it was still almost enough to bring me to tears, not to mention it hearkened back to '04, and we all know what the Liberty did to the Shock that year…
And that intro. Okay, my first reaction during the pan was "whose Kermit is that?", but then they panned to the old jackets, and a blind woman could recognize Spoon, and then they shucked the jackets and those were real black jerseys and then they talked about tradition and loving the team, and I felt chills down my spine. The place went off like fireworks on the Fourth of July. If you haven't been following this team, or don't know the history, you're not going to get it. But if you know the history, if you understand what Spoon and Kym meant to this team, if you know what the team did in the black… that was everything. Everything old is new again.
Except for Ivory Latta, who I am beginning to believe is fazed by nothing, the Shock seem to have lost their swagger. They were all business when they came onto the floor, and that might well have cost them. They were not themselves, not the team that won 24 games. Deanna Nolan, once she started shaking herself free of her defender, was knocking down everything in sight… until Patty did something smart and switched Shameka onto her, and the bigger, longer defender shut her down. Without her, the Shock had nothing. Katie Smith didn't bother to show up, which both deprived them of an offensive option and completely killed their ball movement. (Not to mention that her whiteness is terrifying close up, and this is coming from someone who describes herself as white-ass white.) Cash isn't 100%, and that was one of the reasons Shameka could switch over to Tweety: Cash was no threat, thus a lesser defender could be switched onto her. Ford… again, you could tell she was giving it all she had, but she didn't have very much. Without her ups, she couldn't get on the boards at either end as she would have liked. There was one play where Erin successfully blocked her out, which is disturbing on so very many levels. She tried to make up for it by being more physical than usual, but that's not a great move to make with Janel, or even Cathrine. Early on, it looked like Katie Feenstra might make some noise in the game, but she got kind of quiet- she did a good job of forcing Janel into jump shots early on, but then she started playing… almost scared, I'd say. There was one play where she proved that even 6'8" centers have blonde moments- I think it was one of the many moments of miscommunication among the Shock. And Braxton was a complete waste of space. (Not to mention that she needs a new sports bra. Seriously, I get sympathy pains in my chest when she's flopping around out there.) Pierson as a starter loses a lot of her effectiveness, although I got to see up close just how hard her screens can be- she accidentally clocked Smith near the end of a Liberty possession; it was the closest thing to a Screen of Death I've seen all season. Pee-Wee was a spark early, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her starting in Detroit. Latta was a spark late; she's got one spot on the floor from which she's money, and she's the last Shock player with the swagger, so I wouldn't be surprised to see her get more minutes in Detroit. Bill knows he has to shake things up, and he's smart enough to do it.
You know who Shameka Christon was that night that she hasn't been in ages, to the point where the name was almost lost in the sands of time? Baby Swoopes. That's right. Never thought I'd be the one buying into it, but the way she was shooting, the way she was defending, the way she was fierce and proud and damn near unstoppable when she put her mind to it. She was a difference-maker. She was awesome. She was what we needed to get everyone else started. I still don't want to see her ballhandling, but that's about the only criticism I can level at her from that night. Loree was solid all across the board, though I'm worried about her hand- she came off shaking it after one play where Pierson whacked her. Erin was very, very quiet, and then she hit those threes to keep the run going. And I don't care if Ford is injured, it takes big brass ones for a 5'10" guard to try and box her out. Cathrine had horrible luck with some of her shots, but then, again, threes, and that and-1. Janel forced shots to get fouls, so her percentage kinda looks shitty, but she started heating up late, and I think the Janel we'll see in Detroit is the second-half Janel, not the first-half Janel. I'm also betting we'll see Janel in full Mohawk glory by the Finals, if we make it that far, but that's a whole other story. Off the bench, I loved Tiffany's toughness, although that layup over the basket was pretty gross. And Jess with those big quick hands- although, Jess, hon, you are not Tim Dunca, you are not the mistress of the glass, please stop trying to bank *everything*, okay? I do love her stroke, though, because I seem to have a soft spot for left-handed shooters. Ashley needs to stay on her shooter, damn it, but that layup in the lane was sweet. And it was so nice to see a little bit of Lisa, Barb, and Shay- oh, man, if Shay's three had gone down, the roof would have come off the building.
During timeouts, it was hysterical to watch Martina, Lindsay, and occasionally Shay, Lisa, and Tiff paying attention to the entertainment. I hope Lisa's as good at watching the ball on defense as she is in following it during the shuffle game, because it looked like she had the ball with the logo in the entire time, whereas Shay lost it about a third of the way in, to judge from how they were watching the screen. Best moment: during the balloon popping contest, one of the contestants wet her pants. Lindsay was standing behind Shay, watching the whole thing while Shay watched the huddle like a good little active player. A moment later, Lindsay leaned forward, and Shay got this "Oh, my *God* (as it were)" look on her face- eyebrows up, clearly trying to hide her incredulous smile behind her hand. These kids really do like each other, and while it does seem to shake down to the guards and the posts, there are enough cross-size currents that there aren't really dangerously separate cliques forming, at least as far as I can tell.
After the game, when we went out to dinner, we had the pleasure of having a waiter who was up enough on the league to remark, "Bill must have been upset" when we told him the final score. That was a perfect ending to a perfect night.
Okay, the Libkids know what they have to do. Take down Motown. I want this again in the conference finals. I'm not ready for the ride to be over.
August 19th, 2007: Chicago at New York
New York Liberty 58, Chicago Sky 52
Where there is Liberty, there must be Maalox Moments- but the Libkids are ready for the pressure.
Right now I don't care about the repercussions of making the playoffs. I don't care that we don't have a lottery pick, and I can even make myself not care that this probably means we'll be stuck with Coyle next year. Right now I am just happy and proud and excited for the Libkids and their heart and determination, and I believe in them wholeheartedly, completely, and without reservation. Goddess, how I love this team!
We watched the Washington-Connecticut game at Café 31 beforehand, and you could tell the tankers from the playoffers by the cheering, since 'most everyone there was a Liberty fan who had some stake in the game. The air went out of the place when Currie hit the three to keep the Mystics alive, since most of the fans there were thinking playoffs and a pressure-free game. But where there is Liberty, there must be Maalox Moments, and so Currie hit the three and the pressure was on.
The shirts actually seem to fit this year! Always a plus. I can display my Liberty love with a little extra pride.
Kym, as is tradition, performed the national anthem for Fan Appreciation Day. She still has a beautiful voice, but it doesn't sound like she's been keeping it up; I swear she cracks more every year, and I inherited my dad's distaste for warbling- if a note needs to be held, hold it.
Thank all the gods Dupree was off her game today. She just wasn't moving as smoothly as she usually does, which meant that she was more easily stopped, which meant that we had a fighting chance. Her foul trouble also definitely helped. Brooke Wyckoff… man, I used to like her hustle and her play, but these days she just seems to push the envelope right off the table. So many extra little pushes, so much rough stuff that just doesn't get called but is flat out reckless and unnecessary- has she degraded that much in a few short years, did Cowens get her into bad habits, or was it always this bad and I just always never noticed? Dales took a lot of long shots- not just threes, but NBA threes. She's big for a guard; is she too scared to go inside and use that size to her advantage? Price- jeez, that girl is fast, and pretty smooth, but she's still out of control both physically and- I think- emotionally. I doubt she's still unhinged from the Melvin incident, but she just hasn't matured y et in her decision-making. Canty works very smoothly in that lineup, both because she's a solid passer and because she can drive the lane. The boy and I were wrangling over whether Perkins should be a starter for that team over Canty, but if she starts, it'll be Dales's spot she takes, because the scorers in that lineup need someone who can swallow her pride and distribute, and I don't think that's Stacey Dales. It took me the longest time to realize that Chicago was shorthanded, probably because the last time they came to the Garden they hadn't made the deal yet, and yet I've gotten used to Currie as a Mystic. Off the bench, I thought Joens came with a bit of an edge, like she had something to prove- I suppose she does, to this front office. I didn't say I didn't like it- I think it's good. Perkins made us hold our breath whenever she came in, for fear that she was about to do something that would get Chicago back in the game. Thomas is tough, and physical, and that's a woman I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley- but precisely who told her she had a jumper? Don't rightly remember much about Moeggenberg, except that I thought she and Janel made an interesting matchup. I think that if I were in Overton's position, I might have gone deeper into my bench, just to see what I've got for next year, but that's my personal inclination, and I understand why he wouldn't.
The funny thing about winning this game is that no one really stands out in my mind other than Shameka for that last three. Erin was awful offensively- at least she kept the ball moving, although I don't even want to think about how many turnovers she had. She was pissed at herself after the game, as well she should have been- let's hope she takes the right lessons away from that and comes back revved up to take on that dangerous Detroit backcourt. Janel… I don't know where her head was at at the beginning of the game- maybe it's because she forgot her headband- but she just was not with it until late in the game. Good for us she showed up, though. I like that Cathrine is going inside again, because it always bothers me when she stays outside, but this aversion to defense must stop. I don't know where she got into the habit, but it's not acceptable. Whatever happened to the Screens of Death? Loree seemed to fade into the background too much for my liking, but that might just be my perception moreso than the rest of this is. Tiffany came in out of control, but she settled herself down in the second half, which gave Shameka enough time to gather herself and hit those clutch shots. Not only that, she and Jessica gave Janel (and, to a lesser extent, Cathrine) time to get their acts together while keeping the team in the game. While that's not a role I'd like to see them get used to, it's a good role for them for now. Ashley's got this notion in her head that she's a shooter, but she did change the defense when she came in, and that's her most important role on this team. I would have liked to see a little of Barb in the first half, if only because this was before either Tiffany or Janel had really gotten it together and we were starting to get all sputtery. Things did work out, so I can't complain too much, though.
Bohemian Rhapsody is so for the fucking win. This time around, Ashley was watching it during the timeout, and I'd swear that her facial expression said, "Wow, okay, how drunk was I when I thought that was a good idea?" On the other hand, I'd forgotten just how fetching Janel looks with long blonde hair. It's quite disconcerting.
If the refs were biased, they were biased in our favor. I ain't fussin'. There were some counting mishaps, and a whole bushel of late whistles. I think they let the game get away from them a little bit, but not too much. I don't think there was much the crew could have done about the pure ugly of that game.
See y'all on Friday. That's really the conclusion.