Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal
It's been a long time since I've gotten this into a game, or at least since I've allowed myself to get this rowdy. But there were so many Virginia Tech fans there, and they came on a Focus on the Family bus, and they brought signs, and the little kids from the CYO were annoying the living daylights out of us because they spread out over two sections, and it was healthier than swearing at everyone and their mother.
I have no idea why Sky Lindsay's mom and sister parked behind the Virginia Tech bench for the first half- I know they know whose bench is whose, but there didn't seem to be any trouble stemming from it, so no harm, no foul.
Abby Redick, I don't like you. I mean, I respect that she's a woman isn't afraid to use her broad frame to hit someone, but there's a difference between hitting someone and "how did you not foul out in the first half". Nikki Davis has a knack for the pretty play- she set up Porshcia Hadley on one shot that was simply gorgeous. We got to see Taylor Ayers for the first time, another of Virginia Tech's sizeable players. Dunkenberger went pretty deep into her bench, which makes sense in a holiday tournament, but I wonder if she should have done that in the first day.
Brittany Gordon, who had me worrying and fussing all of yesterday because of her build, hardly played, though she started. I don't think her coach was happy with her, and I can't say there's no reason for it. Alyssa Fenyn was a little rougher than yesterday, and to less effect. Lindsay Biggs got her shots off, and deserved to be named to the all-tournament team. Utahya Drye started to crank up that knack for getting to the line in the second half, but it wasn't enough for Virginia Tech to get going. Harrison really didn't do much other than turn the ball over.
Jennifer Blanding is going to kill me with laughter one of these days. She drives me nuts on the court, but when she's not on the court, she's full of laughter. The first big one was during the game- she was yelling encouragement to Coco, hollering, "Yeah, Centhya!" (Coco's full name). There was a beat, then we heard, "...I'm sorry." Then, when the all-tournament team was announced, and the official photographer was taking pictures, Jennifer bolted off the bench and snapped a picture with her own little camera.
Sorry, sidetracked. Small cameos by Buzz and Jennifer. Not a great game by Coco, although she worked pretty hard on the boards. Eugeneia hit the deck hard a couple of times chasing loose balls. Good instincts. I approve. Kelly appears to be trying to play defense, which is a refreshing change, but one I wish she'd tried earlier in her career.
Have I mentioned lately that I adore Joy? I love her rebounding, her hustle, her tenacity, and her ability to put the ball in the basket, even if she missed her first free throws of the season today. Sky's sneaking back to her old ballhogging ways, which I do not approve of at all. Too many plays are coming down to her taking the shot. Nadirah continues to be the best point guard we have, though some of her passes today were to absent receivers. I don't blame her for people's lack of zigging. Shenneika... I don't know what to make with her, not that there's anything wrong with that. When she looks good, she's so good and so unstoppable. When she looks bad, she looks like Inspector Gadget shorted out. Da'Shena played well, though her free throw shooting needs work.
It's not that we played fabulously today, though there were a lot of great plays at the endline and baseline that showed our unwillingness to give up. It's more that we played very tough defense and managed to keep Virginia Tech from scoring well and using their size inside. We outrebounded a team we had no right to outrebound, which bodes well for the conference season. Never give up. Never surrender.
And never challenge fans. Virginia Tech showed up in numbers and our band didn't appear. It seemed meet that someone make noise in their stead. So we took it upon ourselves to get involved, screaming at every possession, chanting along, disconcerting the shooter, heckling the refs, all quite loudly. My throat hurts and my clipboard is cracked down the middle, but it was more than worth it to get to use the cadence we learned from the Auburn band.
All-tournament team: from UT-Arlington, Meghan Nelson, who was a pretty good choice (though I might have taken Martin); from UAB, Amanda Peterson, who I totally agreed with; from Virginia Tech, Lindsay Biggs (yup) and Alyssa Fenyn (a qualified yup); from St. John's, Da'Shena Stevens (yup) and Shenneika Smith (yup). And MVP? Joy McCorvey. It's nice to know people appreciate what she does.
Reasons why I love my team captain, number 32567: so they had the team captains, Joy and Kelly, accept the trophy for winning the tournament. Joy was a step ahead of Kelly, but let Kelly go ahead of her so Kelly got to hold the trophy for the picture. Such a class act.
Last home game of the calendar year for St. John's, and there may be a post in that for Swish Appeal. We'll see. But I'm a happy, hoarse Johnnie.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 20th, 2009: Virginia Tech at St. John's (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
December 20th, 2009: UAB at UT-Arlington (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Comments on this entry are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.
That was an ugly game. That was so obviously a consolation, "you were brought here to lose and you did an excellent job of it yesterday", "no one here actually cares about you guys except maybe the fifteen people you brought with you" game. But damn it all, it was part of what we paid for, and no snowstorm was going to keep us away.
The arena wasn't really into the second day of the tournament. The men's tournament started today over at the Garden, so the band, the mascot, and half the dance team were all over there. I wish they'd taken all the dancing girls and left us the band, though we made use of that section later.
Anthem performance was a pre-recorded orchestral version. I can't say I objected.
I can't say enough about the clutch nature of UAB's bench. No one ever had a lot of plays, but everyone had one or two clutch plays. Nakia McDaniel hit a couple of big threes to stretch the lead. Khalilah Watson was in for key moments down the stretch. Erica Simpson hit a couple of contested shots. Everyone chipped in somehow. I like that in a team.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Amanda Peterson. There was a point in the first half where the score was UTA 19, Amanda Peterson 11. She ended with 17, 14 of them in the first half and the last three as the last shot for the Blazers. Jala Harris took a while to get started, but once she got started, she added back a dimension to UAB's offense that made them much more dangerous. Amber Jones got into some foul trouble and didn't get started. Miteka Truehart didn't play much in the first half, but made good defensive stands in the second half. Tamika Dukes went strong to the basket on both ends of the floor, and had a great finish on a pass from Jones.
I'll give Arlington credit for being balanced. Of course, that's not saying very much when they totaled 46 points. They really seemed to be throwing things at the wall to see what would work. Tamara Simmons worked, unlike yesterday, when she was so bad she didn't seem to be on the floor. Just so many turnovers, so many traveling calls and dumb plays. There were a lot of points in the game where we wondered if anyone actually wanted to win, that's how bad things were.
All-tournament teamer Meghan Nelson was the only bright spot for the Mavericks, and the only player to get into double figures for them. Shalyn Martin couldn't get much started- I think they were calling her for travels on the moves she was getting away with yesterday, because there was an inordinate amount of traveling being called. The quiet allowed us to hear Kiarra Shofner directing traffic, which is something I like to hear from a player. Kiara Parker got the start for this game and got into a lot of foul trouble. Same for Veronica Mergerson, who was pretty effective yesterday.
I really wasn't sure what those refs were doing, but I kinda liked that I recognized one of them from yesterday's game because she showed up in street clothes. Doing your homework- brilliant!
Poor UAB. I don't think anyone came up to support them. I guess the depression hit Alabama worse than Texas. We rooted for them, though, because fire-breathing dragons are very cool.
It was such an ugly game that we had more fun trying to figure out descriptions for how ugly it was than watching the game itself. But if we hadn't been there, we might not have been in the mood for the second game...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19th, 2009: UAB at Virginia Tech (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal
Shame on the people who left the doubleheader early. Even by five-thirty, it wasn't snowing hard enough to be a hazard, but more of the UT-Arlington fans stuck around than did the St. John's people (as few of them as there were). Much respect for the Virginia Tech fans who made it up in this weather, though. I know a bunch of them were there for one of the Hokies who's from New York, but still.
Because my mother ran into a friend of one of the Blazers at the bus stop and brought her over to sit with us, we were rooting for UAB in that game. Their coach is very... intense. And tall. And I don't know if she intended for her sharp skirtsuit to be in Virginia Tech maroon, but it was, and it was beautiful.
There was a bit of roster fail with the cards that St. John's gave out; #25, Erica Simpson, was not listed, which was inconvenient when she picked up two fouls and a field goal in the second half. Khalilah Watson played a lot in the second half and overtime. Shelly Breaux had a well-timed lay-up. LaKenya Lowe had a good putback. TaRonda Randall needs to learn how to control her body, because she can be a lot more effective that way. Unfortunately, the player who had us rooting for UAB, Meagan Brown, didn't get in the game. I feel vaguely cheated. It's okay, though; the lady we sat with was very cool. One thing that impressed me about UAB's bench was their ability to make big plays down the stretch.
Wow, Amanda Peterson's shooting. She was taking threes from deeper than NBA range- and some of them were going in. She's the kind of player who goes to the floor for hustle plays, too. I'd love to see her go up against another redheaded firecracker, Mickel Picco from BC. Jala Harris hit some ridiculous shots, and took some ridiculous shots; there was one point where I found myself yelling, "You're not Mark Jackson! I know it's easy to get confused here, but you're not Mark Jackson!" I like Amber Jones's feistiness, though she has the strangest shot I believe I've ever seen, and that's impressive, because I've seen a lot of shooters. Big block for Tamika Dukes, who really upped her game in the second half and the overtime and helped the Blazers come back from a five-point halftime deficit. If they'd been able to hit their free throws late, they might have pulled this game off.
Virginia Tech has a lot of sweet strokes, and they brought a lot of players with size, which worries me for tomorrow. Nikki Davis impressed me off the bench late in the game- she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it was to get her shot in or get a steal or a rebound. Shani Grey was really good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, in contrast to Davis. Abby Redick's a bruiser- I think Coco's going to need an ice bath tomorrow.
Senior Lindsay Biggs might get a look by pro scouts (or who at least should get a look from scouts), because she's a strong guard with a pretty shot. IMO, she's worth at least a camp look. Utahya Drye has a way of getting to the line that doesn't bode well for tomorrow. Shanel Harrison was handicapped by foul trouble, so she didn't get to do much. Brittany Gordon worried me, but she doesn't impress me. She should be taking more shots than she is- there were two occasions that I can think of off the top of my head where she had the ball in good offensive position, close enough to the basket for a good shot, with the defense too far away to do anything about it, and she passed off instead. Brittany, you're six-four and broad-shouldered. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE. (But not until Monday.) The player who really impressed me for Virginia Tech is just a freshman, Alyssa Fenyn, the New York kid who brought family, even if I don't know where Newark, NY is. (I know where Newark is in Joisey, and I think I could find it in Delaware, but Newark, NY is a new one for me.) She's strong, she's tough, and she gets things done. She's still a rookie in some ways, up to the technical she got when she got tangled up with Khalilah Watson. Great potential, though.
Another unevenly reffed game, but I think after they gave the techs, things settled down.
The Blazers never gave up. Whatever Coach Smith said in the locker room at the half, they started rebounding and following their shots much better than they were in the first. A lot of tenacity, a lot of toughness. They just don't have the height or the gas to go the full forty... or forty-five, as the case may be.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's games, even if they start an hour earlier and we'll be tromping through the snow to get to the arena. Just remind me to bring my umbrella.
December 19th, 2009: UT-Arlington at St. John's (Chartwell Holiday Classic)
Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.
I have an inordinate fondness for cute little holiday tournaments, as at least one team is someone I'm interested in seeing and most teams are ones I've never seen before, especially in the New York area. My home team's tournament is certainly no exception.
Since the Columbia game pretty much established that Sky is not a morning person, someone obviously decided to make up the difference with espresso, Pixie Stix, or some other artificial and unhealthy stimulant. She was dancing and strutting like nobody's business during shootaround and warm-ups. Shame it didn't last... but we'll get to that.
The anthem singer was unimpressive, though I'm glad that she didn't perform "God Bless America" as well as the anthem, because I've always thought that was overkill and her voice was too dramatic anyway.
UT-Arlington traveled very well. Lots of folks. They weren't very loud, but there was a long stretch before the game where there were more of them than there were St. John's supporters, and they stayed longer than most of the Red Storm folks into the second game. Shame their colors are so... not necessarily ugly, but badly put together. The uniforms are pretty heinous, though.
The Mavericks went pretty deep into their bench, which I guess you can do when you're down 45-18 at the half. The unfortunately surnamed Donna Dike (say it aloud... does she have to throw herself out of games for slurs if she curses at herself?) was their first sub, but didn't contribute much beyond foul trouble. It really seemed like UT-Arlington was trying all sorts of combinations to see if someone could light a spark. We saw a lot of Kiara Parker and LaTosha Duffey, and at least Duffey provided a little offense.
I want to like Shalyn Martin, because at least she has the nerve to go for the shots that her team needs, but she plays obnoxiously up-close, in-your-face defense- right near the start of the game, she almost kicked Da'Shena in the gut because she raised both her hands and her foot on defense. Despite all that, she was one of the few Arlington players who was in for heavy minutes who didn't get into bad foul trouble- the fouls really mounted up in the second half for both teams. Meghan Nelson stepped up offensively in the second half, driving the lane for the Mavericks when the Red Storm defense softened a bit. They were really up a creek, though- Martin and Nelson were the only ones really scoring for them, and you're not going to get very far with only two scorers. They were committing a lot of errors, and getting rattled into a lot of unforced errors as well. They played like a team that knew they were there to play two games, take fourth place, and enjoy the sights and sounds of New York City.
I think Kelly's found her shot. I could be wrong, but five of six from beyond the arc tells me otherwise. A couple of them were pretty deep, too. Coco was on the boards, though she had one of her Moments of Epic Fail on the endline and wasn't doing much scoring. Good thing we didn't need it. Eugenia tested her range more than I would have liked, even if she did hit one. She hit the deck a lot too. I swear they were marking her. We had brief bursts of Buzz, who swatted a shot, and Jennifer, who was exceptionally passive, even for her. Girrrrrrrl. You're built like Kia Vaughn. Start playing like her already, would you?
I love to watch Shenneika move. She's so slick. And if sticking her finger in the electrical socket helps get her game going, then she can do it whenever she wants as far as I'm concerned. Great defensive work by Nadirah, who notched four blocks on the shorter, slimmer Maverick guards. While she was credited with a lot of turnovers, I still like the way she runs our offense. Sky. Please actually play defense. It's bad enough when your teammates have to remind you of where you're supposed to be, but when you're not actually doing anything while you're there, that's even worse. Time and time again she was out of position or slow on the move, and we probably would have won by 40 if she'd been on her defensive game. Da'Shena started the game hot, and used her body well against the smaller UT-Arlington players. Joy snaked her way into the paint for boards, and had one block that left Nelson sitting on the court from the momentum.
As much grief as I give Jennifer Blanding, I'll say this: when she's on the bench, she's one of the loudest and most involved players on the team. She and Joy both talk a lot.
I wasn't thrilled with the officiating, but I liked how one of the refs- Dillard, I think- managed the game: he was very organized and very clear with his calls, even if I didn't always agree with them. I think it's a very good idea for a referee to call a game clearly and authoritatively.
I think Coach Barnes Arico might be pregnant again. She's wearing loose-fitting tops, and the last time she did that, little Emma came along a few months later. I'm a little worried. Her focus has historically and rightfully been elsewhere when she's in the family way.
A satisfying win. We slacked off a little near the end, and I'm disappointed in Sky's defense, but overall a good thing.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
December 13th, 2009: Rhode Island at St. John's
Comments are closed on this entry- please comment on the mirror entry at Swish Appeal.
The things I do for my team. :D I slog out in the rain, put up with a gods-awful anthem from the regional bad anthem singer, hit myself in the head with my clipboard, and get stuck behind a Rhode Island player's family. But would it sound horribly cheesy if I said that the beam and wave from our team captain when she spotted us in the stands during warm-ups was worth it?
The things I do for my team. :D I slog out in the rain, put up with a gods-awful anthem from the regional bad anthem singer, hit myself in the head with my clipboard, and get stuck behind a Rhode Island player's family. But would it sound horribly cheesy if I said that the beam and wave from our team captain when she spotted us in the stands during warm-ups was worth it?
Dear my team, I love you so very much, but please don't chat during the anthem. Yes, I saw you. Not cool. I don't care how lousy a rendition it is, and for the love of all that is sweet and holy do not play around with the lyrics for 'emphasis'. I have a clipboard and I'm not afraid to use it.
Cathy Inglese came out late from the locker room during warm-ups. Since I know Carnesecca has cable, I'm going to assume she was watching the Maggie Dixon. You can guess for yourself whether BC's former coach was rooting for or against the Eagles.
Heartwarming Lynx link moment before the game: SJU assistant Megan Duffy and URI assistant Amber Jacobs chatting it up on the sidelines. Glasses are quite flattering for Ms. Jacobs.
Coach Louis's suits continue to impress me. Any sharper and she'd cut someone. GNoD approved!
We were sitting behind family and/or friends of reserve guard Anisha Wilson, a stocky combo guard who played the bulk of the bench minutes for Rhode Island with, ah, mixed results. Lara Gaspar was the primary offensive spark off the Rams' bench, hitting some little shots in the lane. We weren't very thrilled with Julia Barac's physicality, but given that she's Canadian and we kept comparing URI's defense to a hockey game, I'm less surprised than I was before. Inglese didn't go very deep into her bench, relying mostly on Gaspar to give her frontcourt players a break and on Wilson to step in for the backcourt players.
Rhode Island couldn't buy a basket in the first half, and not all of it could be credited to our defense. A lot of shots that had all the reason in the world to go in spun out or bounced off the rim. Megan Shoniker drove the lane a lot, and when our defense started to soften in the second half, she got more shots out of it, but she also committed a lot of turnovers. Sort of the same for Ashley Rivera, but more intelligently and to a lesser extent. Lindsay Harris reminds me in appearance of a miniature Erlana Larkins, but other than the rebounding, I can't say the resemblance goes much further. No one really stood out for Rhode Island. I think there's a correlation between that and their 4-6 record.
If Coco Hart keeps this up, I may have to apologize to her. Okay, she still commits dumb fouls and tends to fumble the ball in open-court situations, but this is the second game in a row she's come in and given good minutes without Da'Shena Stevens available- in this case, the problem was three first-half fouls, so Coco only needed to be a temporary stopgap, but she was still solid. And when it came to the offensive boards, she was more than solid. I think she followed everyone's shot but her own. I don't know what's gotten into Kelly, but despite the turnover problems and badly-missed two-point shots, I think more of it would be a good idea. She showed much more moxie than I've seen from her in a long time. Her steal and fast break were beautiful, even if she did blow the lay-up because she couldn't take the contact (but that was all right, because Coco was there for the putback). Eugeneia showed off her range, and set up Kelly on her only three. The play that impressed me most, though, was a save on the endline that she rifled like radar to Nadirah, even if the play ended in a turnover. Buzz continues to bring hustle and enthusiasm, though she couldn't hit her shots. Jennifer continues to bring on the urge to smack someone over the head with my clipboard. She's got to stop being so passive, hold on to the ball, and use her size. Also, not bouncing a rebound off a opponent's head is highly recommended. I find it interesting how her physical passivity contrasts with her vocal aggression- she's one of the loudest players on the team, and she's the ritual greeter during introductions. (You know- the player who's at the end of the line as the starters come out and with whom each starter does their handshake/high-five/secret dance? Like Maddie does for the Liberty.)
Whatever had Da'Shena shivering and looking miserable against LIU must have cleared up by tip-off today, because while she looked ready to go all Jessie Hicks on us during warm-ups, she was on her game in the first half, and then in the second half, with foul trouble somewhat less daunting, she went from two points to double figures in a matter of a few minutes. Sky showed a distressing tendency to lose track of her assignment on defense- she had to be reminded of where she was supposed to be at least once. She, like most of the team, spent a lot of time on the deck after loose balls, though. Shenneika, follow your shot. Follow your damn shot. I mean it. Shenneika has a very funky shooting motion, so her shots can be pretty unpredictable, but she was going back on D every single time without even waiting for the shot to hit its apex. I applaud the dedication to D, but FOLLOW YOUR SHOT. Joy can't do all the offensive rebounding around here. That being said, Joy's work on the boards was phenomenal- she snaked her way through and around everyone time and time again for rebounds. We knew she had a lot at the arena, and we figured that she would have a double-double, but 15 rebounds is unreal. Just about all of her shots were contested putbacks, too. Now that I'm completely certain her listed 6-0 is malarkey, I'm even more impressed with what she manages to accomplish at the 5. Nadirah also had a really good game. I love having her at the point- the offense flows much more smoothly when she's playing the point than when Sky or even Eugeneia is running things, because everyone's moving without the ball.
Most memorable sequence of the game: Shenneika cans a three while Lara Gaspar knocks over two SJU players. After a long consultation, it is determined that the foul was after the shot, which means the shot counts and we retain possession (as opposed to before the shot, which I think would be two shots and the ball, or during the shot for a four-point play, but I'm not a ref). On the ensuing possession, Da'Shena goes to the hole and is fouled by our kind benefactor Gaspar again. She hits the free throw to complete a six-point trip down the floor.
The rims were kinder, the defenses somewhat less intense, and the offenses more potent in the second half; the Red Storm's splits were 26/43 for a total of 69, while Rhode Island's were 13/31 for a total of 44 (and a lot of those came in the last one-eighth of the game; until about the seven-minute mark, URI was on pace to score less than a point per minute for the game, which I deem to be the absolutely minimum acceptable scoring rate for a Division I basketball team.
The refs. I just. Make up your minds, people, are you going to call every little touch, or are you going to let 'em smack each other around like hockey players? Learn to count. That goes double for you, Mr. Holds Up 3-0 When 3-2 Has Committed The Foul And 3-0 Hasn't Even Played For Rhode Island Yet.
I would have stayed for the men's game against Fordham and written somewhat less detailed notes for my blog, but they wanted to exile the women's fans who didn't have tickets to the men's game into the corners of the upper deck. I'm not so interested in free basketball that I want to stare at the stanchion for two hours, so we left. The doubleheader was badly organized, so whatever. No tiny scrap of free press for you. I appreciate not being thrown out on my ear into the pouring rain, don't get me wrong, but I don't think there would have been that many people there that we couldn't be given seats with a real view.
I'm happy with my team, though. The defense was pretty solid, we got good minutes out of the freshmen, we did well without Sky contributing much, and all of that is good, but the thing that really stands out for me is the rebounding. Just about everyone was crashing the boards, almost to each other's detriment. Good place to be as we head into a holiday tournament.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
December 10th, 2009: Long Island at St. John's
Comments closed here- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal.
St. John's Red Storm 78, Long Island Blackbirds 64
This St. John's team has something that I don't think we've had in a very long time: intestinal fortitude (well, except for Da'Shena in the second half, the poor dear *offers Tamiflu*). Of course, we shouldn't be putting ourselves in a hole against freakin' Long Island, much as I like the Blackbirds, but that's been our habit. It's a bad habit, but I'd rather get the fail out of the way early and build it back up to win.
Before the game, the boy and I were approached by someone from St. John's and offered the VIP seats, which are in the front row, court level, facing the benches. It's something you have to do once, so we took our now-redundant seat cushions, our Johnny Thunderbird bobble-heads, our Jennifer Blanding posters (which were a source of minor lols, as sidelined center Victoria Hodges yelled up to us, "Who's on the poster?" and Not-the-Kia had her moment in the sun), and our heavy winter coats, and hied ourselves downstairs, through the railing, and in front of the band to take our seats. It's an interesting experience, but not one I'm planning to repeat anytime soon. Damn refs kept getting in our way, and when they weren't in the way, it was the dancing girls. Stop shaking what you don't have and I don't want, I'm trying to figure out what Coach is saying in the huddle and why Da'Shena looks like she's about to cry. And my ears still hurt from the band.
I sort of hope Krystal Wells didn't remember us. That could have been awkward.
The anthem was really good this game- vocal performance. She should try out for Idol. GNoD approved!
LIU really didn't get that much from their bench. Wells ran a solid game from the point guard slot, but LIU opted to go with their starters for most of the way. I don't know if I would have done that. To their credit, they played a very disciplined game- 17 turnovers isn't too bad for a women's game, and they didn't get into foul trouble- so going deep into their bench wasn't a necessity. That all being said, I think I would have used Tamika Guz in a few more short spurts, because while she doesn't have a lot of stamina, she's very good in the few minutes she can play at a shot, and we had no answer for her size. (Well, we did, but more on that later.) I admit, I was looking forward to some of the matchups among the starters- but I was also looking forward to the Clash of the Epic Fail Titans, the Red Storm's Coco Hart and LIU's Justine Stevenson, and Stevenson didn't disappoint.
Lots of calf tattoos on LIU. I am intrigued. Some were really pretty tattoos, too.
The big matchup I was looking forward to was their undersized but scrappy frontcourt versus our undersized but scrappy frontcourt. Ashley Palmer and Chelsi Johnson didn't disappoint. Palmer did a great job cleaning up her teammates' garbage, and her threes are starting to fall with a little more regularity, which she'll need if she wants to go any further with her career after college. Johnson, who's one of my favorite collegiate players for just about every single reason that Joy McCorvey is, put on a show in both high and low post, and interposed herself early and often on defense. I think the critical thing that kept LIU from being able to come back in this game was our ability to keep Heidi Mothershead scoreless by keeping Shenneika on her and keeping the ball out of her hands. No long-range threat, no threat to come back. I think we also did a great job denying Kiara Evans the lanes she wanted- she's a drive and dish sort of guard, so if she can't drive, she can't dish quite as effectively. Connie James's shot wasn't falling, but being down on the floor allowed me to hear how vocal she is on the floor. I love players like that. She's such a critical part of what they do.
I'm not going to go so far as to say I owe Coco Hart an apology. She still tends to do incredibly stupid things and overdramatize calls she's never going to get. That being said, off the bench today she played possibly the best game I've ever seen from her. She went strong to the basket, she fought hard on the boards, she did work on defense- I was very satisfied with her. And we needed her to step up, with the limited number of posts we have on our roster, and with Jennifer being ineffective, and with Da'Shena looking like she needed a blankie and a teddy bear. Eugeneia was important during the comeback to take the lead, and on the defensive end. I worry about Kelly- either other teams have keyed on her as a spot-up shooter and forced her off her spots, or her misses early in the season have eroded her confidence and she's hesitating too long before she's willing to shoot. Whatever it is, she needs to get her head right or she's going to lose her minutes to Eugeneia because she's more versatile and to Buzz because no one will ever fault Amanda Burakoski for a lack of confidence or hustle. I might have used Jennifer against Guz for a spurt, just to muscle her up and open up space, but the team won by 14 with our star player sidelined for most of the second half, so hey, Kim Barnes Arico must be doing something right. ;)
Surprised not to see much of the press. I guess deGraffenreid running through it damaged their confidence in it.
Sky got us started in the right direction with early points, and she played a pretty solid game. Nothing really to protest about. Nadirah McKenith makes me happier every time I see her. She makes things happen on both sides of the ball. She had a couple of really nice steals, one of which resulted in a sweet bucket by Da'Shena. Shenneika got some shots to fall that had no business falling, but kept getting lost on defense. I think she's gotten used to relying on her length to be able to beat lesser opponents, and that's not going to work anymore. Da'Shena had a disjointed first half, alternating between great shots and unacceptable lapses, and then early in the second half she left the game and didn't come back. We freaked out a little when we realized that she wasn't on the bench, and when she came back she looked miserable. She spent the rest of the game huddled near the end of the bench, wrapped in her warm-up jacket and downing liquids like there was no tomorrow, looking for all the world like she should have had a hot-water bottle and a hefty dose of Nyquil. That led to the other two posts having to step up. Coco's already been mentioned, but Joy also ramped up her scoring in the second half. She was absolutely brilliant on the offensive glass- which was good, because no one was following their shot. She's been down this road before- I still remember the WNIT game against Iona where three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior had to go the entire second half with no subs, and that's the game that endeared me to Joy. She does what her team needs to do, and she's willing to do it all even if her teammates aren't- there was one series where she was trying to get Sky to come around a screen and Sky went a different way. (I don't think we scored on that possession.)
I probably shouldn't comment about the refs, since I spent most of the night in close proximity to them. Not that many complaints, and most of the things I thought had been gotten away with were by St. John's. One of the guys made small talk with us during warm-ups, because yes, the arena was very cold. Official attendance was a tick over 400, and the arena really needed a few more warm bodies. Also, I'd never sat that close to a ref before, and I liked that the same guy reminded Sky of the shot clock during an inbounds. The boy claims it's standard, but it makes too much sense to be standard.
A couple of former St. John's players were in the house, though this wasn't exactly how I wanted to find out that Britney Murphy is now a former St. John's player. I thought I was going crazy when I thought I spotted Recee Mitchell (usually referred to as "six-foot-one of Texas badass" in the GNoD) in the upper deck, given that, well, this wasn't the first time I thought I saw her this season. I'd like to think that if I'm going to hallucinate post players, I'd imagine them in uniform, not wearing eye-searingly godawful neon things, but apparently she did really make it out. After Da'Shena had to bow out of the game, I was very tempted to see if they had #52 in storage and throw it up to Recee.
Also, Joy, I love you, you're one of my favorites, but you and Chelsi Johnson can't both be 6-0 if she's taller than you. It makes everything you do more incredible, but don't be lyin'.
Johnny Thunderbird, you throw like an injured four-year-old. If the game involves you throwing things that a contestant needs to catch, and the contestant can't cross the halfcourt line, it's unsporting to throw so weakly that the "burrito" doesn't cross the line.
Shoutout to St. Catherine of Siena's CYO team, including the girl in the Liberty t-shirt, #21 who swatted a wicked block, and #51 whose passing skills are pretty good.
I love my team. I may love them too much, though that doesn't keep me from kvetching about the horrible scheduling that put our next game opposite the Maggie Dixon Classic. Last season, even with Monique McLean, I don't think we make comebacks with the regularity that we have this season- this is a team that forged a tie at North Carolina in the last quarter of the game. We have a nice balance of upperclassman leadership and young talent. Now if we just had some more posts. Coco looked ready to fall over on the court at the end of that game.
Friday, December 4, 2009
December 4th, 2009: St. John's at Columbia
Comments closed here- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal.
St. John's Red Storm 75, Columbia Lions 63
The Game Notes come prepared, receive compliments, and do not die of dysentery.
There are things fans should never be asked to do for the love of their teams. Brave the Lions' den, packed with hundreds of screaming children, is one of them. But I love my team, and it was too late to back out of things when I saw the throng of kids anyway.
I often forget how much I like Levien Gym. Especially when full or close to it, that model of homecourt is a very good size and style for the average women's basketball attendance in the NCAA. I was not, however, pleased with whoever had seated two rows of squalling private school students in the first two rows directly behind the St. John's bench. There's a wide aisle and a railing separating the bench and the seats, but it still seemed uncouth. Given that there were several rows of empty seats higher up in the section, I'll just assume that the ushers made an error.
Much love for the gentleman in the "Yale has died of dysentery" Oregon Trail shirt. GNoD approved!
The sound system kept cutting out while the anthem singer was attempting to perform; eventually, the sound people figured out that it was more effective to have her sing a capella and let the little kids back her up. It was kinda cool. Regrettably, many of the giggling, whispering, chattering children who were disrespecting the anthem appear to have been born in various barns. GNoD DISapproved.
Kelly, if the hair dye helps your shot, then go as Nancy Lieberman orangey-yellow tan with your hair as you like. It's good to see her with some of her old confidence, though there were two occasions where she hesitated and passed up a shot that she could and should have taken. Coco's really stepped up her game on the boards and in the post, though she's still prone to making enough incredibly boneheaded plays that I won't rename the Coco Hart Memorial Award For Epic Fail just yet. Eugeneia was a critical part of the press that so frustrated Columbia, and hit a couple of shots on broken plays. Because Columbia kept the game so close for most of the way, we couldn't go as deep into the bench as we would have liked with a road game coming up in two days.
I hope Nadirah's going to be okay- she twisted her ankle in the second half and didn't come back; she was limping pretty badly during timeouts. She got her pocket picked a few times, though- freshman jitters, I can deal with those. Shenneika really needs to work on her ballhandling- I'm stunned she was only called for one turnover, because she was in a lot of awkward situations. But she's so smooth. She's a joy to watch. Which reminds me... Yes, I know, I should be ashamed of myself for wordplay like that. Joy wasn't quite as scrappy as I'm used to, though she hit the deck for a couple of balls. Those graceful flying lay-ups weren't so effective, but gosh, am I looking forward to seeing her versus Chelsi Johnson on the 10th. Sky isn't a morning person- she spent a lot of time doing her best impression of a statue- but she got her offense going when we needed her to. Da'Shena still isn't where I expected her to be- I don't know if USA Basketball wrung her out or she's rusty, but her shot is off and she's not really bringing it well on defense. What, did Tiffany Hayes hire someone to put a curse on the BEast FOY award?
Cameo appearances by most of the Columbia reserves who saw time. I was surprised that Shafer didn't play more when they needed offense, or Stachon when they needed toughness and someone to free up their shooters. I think Nixon was counting on Mary "Lisa Leslie is my fashion role model" Beato to bring the offense, but she mostly just brought the fouls instead. Tyler Simpson was the first sub for the Lions, but she had no statistical presence.
It intrigues me that Columbia uses the standard names for every class but the youngest, who are first-years instead of freshmen. And it's not a gender thing, either, because the male first-year players in the joint program were also listed as first-year and not freshmen.
I honestly believe that one of the biggest reasons we won this game was that we hassled and frustrated and flummoxed Lauren Dwyer. Because she couldn't hit her shots when she even got them off, Columbia lost a major portion of their offense. And while Kathleen Barry and Danielle Browne did their part to pick up the slack- the former from jump shots, the latter from drives inside- they couldn't quite do it. I do like Barry, though- she's a very good player. If she bulks up a little, she might be a prospect next year. Browne's fearless. I don't know how many times she hit the floor, but it was a lot. Judie Lomax set the tone for the game for the Lions; when she was in, getting rebounds and cleaning up the trash, they were doing well, but she committed a couple of critical offensive fouls by not being able to stop, and she fouled out with about three minutes to go, which really screwed up Columbia's chances for a comeback. Sara Yee, one of the GNoD's favorite players, did a helluva job on defense, but got into trouble with the Red Storm press and committed two backcourt violations. Still love Ten Pounds of Crazy in a Two Pound Bag, though.
I'm not sure what game the refs were watching. It wasn't this one, though it had enough similarities to the one we were at that the fouls weren't too bad, but there were some odd calls.
Never let it be said that the GNoD come unprepared. I've been to Levien enough times that I expected to end up in the bleachers and brought seat cushions, figuring I could loan out the spares. I ended up in chairback seating, for which I was exceedingly grateful- but Sky's mom and sister were a few rows up in the bleachers. Nothing makes friends faster than offering seat cushions to people sitting on hard plastic bleachers.
Sky isn't my favorite Red Storm player, not by a long shot. But she's one of the most interesting and funniest people on the team. So after the game I was shooting the breeze with a friend of mine who's a Columbia STH, and we were sitting there a good long time, long enough that the teams drifted back into the gym. Sky came over to us and said to me that they saw me at all the games, that they really appreciated us coming out. Then she really got warmed up. "You're the only real fan we have," she says to me. She gestures a few seats over, where her mom and sister are still sitting there. "If I weren't playing, she wouldn't even be here."
(It's flattering, but not quite true. I don't leave the tri-state for road games, and I have to miss another home game because I am NOT paying MSG prices. But I guess I do stand out with my clipboard. It's such a useful prop, though: I keep stats on it, I beat out tempos with it, I disconcert free throw shooters with it, I hit myself in the head with it when my team commits stupid mistakes.)
What really saved the day for us was the press. We controlled Columbia's offense almost more than we did our own by keeping them trapped in the backcourt and forcing them to hurry up their offense once they did get it over the line. I consider that very promising, because I love a good press.
The kids might have made me crazy, but I wish the ones we get in with camps could be half as organized and purposefully loud as these. Great atmosphere. I still hate kids on general principles, but they did a good job.
Shout out to Tracy and Deb, who made me come home two hours late, but it was all worth it.
I'm not looking forward to the game against Carolina, but I'll take what I can get. GNoD approved!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 1st, 2009: Stetson @ St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 87, Stetson Hatters 51
The Game Notes see you, baby, shaking that ass... oh, sorry, no, you're kicking it, not shaking it.
There's no place like home court. There's no place like home court. There's no place like home court. *clicks Red shoes*
They've renovated the place since last season. Finally, they updated the WNIT banner. Only took them two seasons, but what the hell. It's not like it's something important like the CBI. So much shiny! We have a notreallyJumbomorelikeMediumtron! And an entrance video! And graphics! I'm tearing up here.
This team is much looser than I've seen from them before. They laugh and tease each other a lot during warm-ups and stretches. The seniors don't get much involved in it, but everyone else does. No one else dances the way Sky does, though.
The band does not suck. This is, like, a great revelation for me. It is joy. (But not Joy. This is why capitalization matters.) However, cheerleader third from the left, pull your skirt down, the bottoms of your asscheeks aren't that interesting.
Buzz, you're adorable and we know you love your team, and you seem like a nice kid, but, um, some of your family members appear to have been raised in a barn. Please remind them not to talk during the anthem, especially when ROTC is presenting colors.
Stetson knows the game- they just had a lot of trouble executing. There were a lot of crisp passes that were too fast, too strong, or not well-timed. They kept it close through the first few minutes, and that's with St. John's pitching an eight-minute shutout to open the game. Then we remembered how to rebound and Kelly remembered how to shoot. End of story.
Daphnee Frieson gave us a lot of trouble down on the block, because of her size. She wasn't afraid to body up on our slim posts. Janelle Mills tried to do the same thing, but being slightly shorter and somewhat less talented, she had less success at it. Simone Taylor jump-started their offense off the bench, somewhat aggressively. Don't leave Ashley Dennis open- we're lucky she only put in two triples on us. Hell, even the St. John's men were yelling for her to shoot it. Dashauna Truss also put up in a couple of triples.
I seem to recall Stetson's starting guards doing a lot of stupid things, driving into multiple players and throwing up prayers. (Not smart when the refs are calling it pretty loose.) Ashli Jackson was the only player to break double figures for the Hatters, doing it with a mix of shots. But yeah. Lots of fail and stupid from Jessica Conner, Tierra Brown, Kerri Simpson, and Lyllique Roman.
I'm sorry, Stetson. I only have two plays starred for you, and they both belong to Daphnee Frieson, a nice block and a hard rebound.
Getting up twenty in the first half and stretching the lead further in the second meant that we got to see a lot of the bench. I wish Britney had gotten into the game (no, not that one, where do you think we are, Colorado?), but I'm glad the freshmen got a chance to strut their stuff. Eugeneia was a little over her head, and she didn't play much. Buzz got the bulk of the guard minutes off the bench. She really needs to work on her timing on her defensive plays, but she's got the right instincts and lots of moxie. Her shots were falling tonight, though when they weren't it was obvious why- she uses every bit of the rim and glass that she possibly can- I don't ever want to get into a game of HORSE with her. Kelly found her shot again and it was glorious. We've discovered her problem: if she tries to shoot a women's three, she'll shoot it too long. She was canning them from behind the men's line all night, though. Jennifer, who I keep referring to as Not-the-Kia!, got some time, shoots free throws with too much spin, and managed to foul out in ten minutes. She is also the loudest player I've ever heard. Yeah, Not-the-Kia! needs a bit more polishing, and fast, so we can hit somebody in conference play. Coco's gotten a little stronger, it looks like, and she's crashing the boards well, but she still engages in acts of epic fail that do not amuse.
Sky really dominated the ball today, and in a good way- she scored six early, quick points, including one shot off a carom off the side of the backboard from a truly heinous shot from Da'Shena. Can't make it up if I tried. She set up Joy on a gorgeous fast break, and got one back on a steal from Nadirah in the second half. Joy took a while to warm up- she looked really out of it in the first half, then started going inside again in the second ad doing her thing, tipping balls and getting easy buckets. Nadirah committed some awful freshman mistakes- dumb fouls, sloppy ballhandling- but found her teammates well. She really makes things go smoothly, which opens things up for Sky, which makes everyone happy. Da'Shena had a quiet game, and a lot of the shots she missed were easy ones. But we didn't need her to have a big game, which is a refreshing change. Okay, it was only Stetson, but having such balance is a good thing.
I've seen this crew before. They called it pretty loose. I can't complain too much, since if there was any favoritism, it was towards St. John's, and while I might comment on bias towards my team, I'll never complain about it.
The crowd seemed bigger than I remembered, but they were giving away free t-shirts to students. Whatever. I'm happy with my magnetic schedules. *covers everything*
It was good to be home. GNoD approved!
Friday, November 27, 2009
November 27th, 2009: Georgia Tech at Seton Hall (LIU Turkey Classic)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 57, Seton Hall Pirates 51
What we have here is a failure to communicate. Namely, that the round thing should go through the orange thing.
Game 2 brought more repetition from the blue nano, a shuffling of fans, and an influx of people in really bright blue. I admit, I love the Hall's blue. It's much more striking than most teams' blue.
Apparently we were sitting by LIU family, because a bunch of them came into the stands briefly and chatted before wandering off. Palmer, Johnson, and Evans stayed for the whole second game, and I think I saw a couple of the others as well.
Georgia Tech's uniforms disconcert me. It's not that they're ugly, but I'm not used to bare shoulders. I kind of have this urge to take some of the fabric from the enormously huge shorts and use it to cover the bare shoulders. They run some of the most intense practices I've ever seen, though my traveling companion pointed out that that might just be because they wouldn't have had a chance to do their usual morning practice, so they made up for lost time during shootaround. Whatever the case may be, I've never seen a player knock one of her teammates to the floor during shootaround. That's some intensity.
Sharena Taylor had a nice stroke. So did Alex Montgomery, although she was ineffective for stretches when she got into foul trouble. Chelsea Regins has the most aggressively regulated dreadlocks I've ever seen. I think she shaves part of her scalp to delineate things more clearly. She was in a lot of places, trying to make things happen. Georgia Tech was very frenetic, in general, so if you don't see notes on a specific player, just assume that she was running her ass off in the trap.
I really like the Aussie they have, Brigitte Ardossi... at least on offense. She's not so good at staying with her assignment on defense, but she did a lot of good stuff on offense. ("Good stuff." This is why I shouldn't be letting the Internet distract me so that I'm only getting to these notes six hours after the end of the game.) Yeah, four steals, but much like Sherill Baker, either she'll get the steal or the other team will get the basket. Metra Walthour's sense of timing was impeccable- she hit a couple of early shots for GT, then put in the third one during a Seton Hall run. Mo Bennett was off and on. So was Deja Foster, who needs to learn that cute is for the team picture (and with a team like this, even that statement's debatable- tough as this team is, I don't think they do cute). Goodlett shows promise- I'm so used to the lower rung of the ladder that 6'5" makes me do a double-take. She needs to know a little more about the game, but otherwise she'll be right.
Seton Hall's running short-handed, with only 11 on the roster and only 9 playing. I don't even know anymore. (Confusion here: my notes say the starters were Booker, Emery, Wood, Curry, and Green, while Seton Hall's site has Williams instead of Wood; I'm thinking I misaimed my starter star, in which case you can smack me.) If so, then this is the right place to mention Whitney Wood's earning of the Coco Hart Memorial Award For Epic Fail on an open lay-up. Shanai Heber played starter's minutes for Booker, but still came off the bench. Nice job rebounding, but she picked up a lot of fouls. More of the officiating later. Terry Green had some enthusiastic fans behind us, but I'm not impressed with Mangina's recruit. Kashmere Joseph's really fallen down the depth chart, which, when the depth chart is as shallow as the Pirates' is, is kinda pathetic. I mean, it's not like I was ever terribly impressed with her, but c'MON.
Booker barely played. I'm going to have to go on Seton Hall's site to confirm dimensions, positions, and hometowns, because the roster at LIU was jacked up, but if the numbers I have are accurate, Booker only started because of her build. Ebonie Williams was really the only reason they ever got into the game- she got them off the schnide with a three, and she was hitting pretty consistently once she got going. Nicole Emery and Kandice Green joined the party in the second half, and that was enough to save the team. Emery was at least getting to the line- that's the only way Seton Hall could score for a large chunk of the game.
I don't have much to say specifically about the players from either side because of the way the game shook out. At the beginning, Georgia Tech looked like something out of a defensive maven's wet dream. They were trapping hard ad pressing harder, forcing bad shots and contesting most shots. Seton Hall couldn't buy a bucket. It took almost thirteen minutes of game time for them to finally register a field goal, but once that happened it was like the floodgates opened. Six field goals in seven minutes isn't a bad clip. Once the Pirates got going, the Yellow Jackets' lack of discipline really showed, more on the offensive end than on the defensive end, but they started to fall apart in the halfcourt defense as well. As long as they were able to hawk the ball, they could disrupt Seton Hall's offense, but once the Hall got into a rhythm, assignments were blown and open shots were found- and in the second half, Seton Hall wasn't missing the open shots they were blowing in the first half.
It was an ugly game, plain and simple. The refs didn't help either. The calls got oddly inconsistent near the end of the game, because I think the three guys were overwhelmed by the physicality of the mess.
Here are the two plays, both near the end of the game, that seemed ot encapsulate the fail that the Pirates brought to the yard: with about fourteen seconds left, Seton Hall was down 54-51. This was after fucking off about nineteen seconds from the clock. Instead of going for the three, Emery drove the lane for two. Except that she got called for the charging foul on a sketchy call, her fourth, and possession went back to Georgia Tech, who sank two free throws. Now Seton Hall, down 56-51 with about four seconds left, decides to try a three from the corner closest to the bench. It goes up... and gets wedged between the rim and the backboard. Jump ball, alternate possession gives the ball to Georgia Tech. As hot a mess as that game was, I can't think of two more jacked up ways to end a game.
Seton Hall, OMG, you made my conference look bad, stoppit. Georgia Tech, don't rest on your laurels, because that almost lost you the game.
GNoD DISapproved!
November 27th, 2009: Brown at Long Island (LIU Turkey Classic)
Long Island University Blackbirds 68, Brown Bears 55
Brown is a bit confused, LIU puts the pieces together, and teamwork is of the good.
The day after Thanksgiving, some people like to sleep off the turkey and the overindulgence. Some people prefer to indulge in greed on the heels of their gluttony.
The Game Notes of Doom prefer basketball as their vice, so we were off to LIU for the Turkey Classic. LIU's cute little arena and New York location (one stop away from Manhattan!) do a pretty good job in drawing schools that usually wouldn't deign to visit an NEC team, both in terms of class and in terms of location; the second game in the Classic was Seton Hall and Georgia Tech. I thought it was very realistic of LIU to put themselves in the first game, knowing that Seton Hall would probably be bringing a lot of people (in relative terms) for the second game.
Signs you are at an NEC arena: the musical options were "Black Classic iPod with rap/hip-hop" and "Blue Nano iPod with Top 40 hits". The blue nano won the day, and we ended up hearing "Paparazzi" six times and "Disturbia" four (and it would have been more if we hadn't finally let the guy in charge know that enough was enough, because while I like "Disturbia", hearing it four times in three hours is much of a muchness).
Anthem was tolerable, except for one egregiously bad horn player who needed to be taken out into the parking lot and thwacked with a stick with nails in. What's up with the holding-hands-during-the-anthem trend? FAIL.
Did you know the mayor of Baltimore played for Brown? No, I think this was a different Sheila Dixon; no one would be fucking with her if this were she. Brown uses a lot of line changes in the mold of Charli Turner Thorne, so a lot of people rotated back and forth. I sort of felt bad for Taylor Masaschi, who ended up being the eleventh woman sitting forlornly on the bench while five played on the floor and five waited at the scorer's table. Aileen Daniels was the first player to score for Brown, which took a while, which is why I remember it, because the bench opened the scoring. Christina Johnson sort of wants to be Kristi Toliver when she grows up, which isn't necessarily a good thing. She's good, but she seemed to be trying to do too much. The other reserves were unmemorable.
Natalie Bonds was really the only player on that team who seemed to be a legit player. She did nice work inside and worked on the boards. Hannah Passafuime looked like she was trying to work out some unresolved hostility. I'm sort of looking forward to their game against Columbia. Unresolved Hostility versus Ten Pounds of Crazy in a Two Pound Bag is gon' be good. The other starters didn't really impress me, though that may simply be because I'd not seen Brown before and it's always a little easier for me to keep an eye on a team if I've seen them before.
LIU already seems to be going deeper into their bench than they were two games ago, as I don't recall Kayla Ramsby playing in the Columbia game. I would have remembered a player who basically looked like a poor man's version of Deanna Nolan, not just in superficial physical appearance, but in speed and vertical leap. I like her. I like a lot of LIU's freshmen. Krystal Wells is a pretty solid young point guard with a good sense of the game. Tamika Guz has size and (at least in practice) hands like clamps; she just needs a little more wherewithal and some shooting lessons to be a real force on the inside. Ify Obianwu gave them some good minutes, and she's another player who saw very limited time in the Columbia game. Because it was such a blowout, we got to see MaryAnn Abrams, who couldn't buy a basket no matter how hard she tried but at least got a rebound, and Tessy Hetting, who moves very gracefully. Justine Stevenson needs to learn not to bring the ball down; if you're going to play the post, you never bring the ball down because the guards will go "OOOOH NEW TOY SHINY *grab*" and there will be a scrum. Marika Sprow's minutes were unimpressive, but whatever, she's still a fellow Liberty fan.
Heidi Mothershead sneaks up on you. I looked down at my clipboard at halftime and went "!!! Mothershead has 12 points! How the shit did that happen?" She had one wicked block that made us all go "ooooh!". Kiara Evans still needs to learn when not to shoot (for example, going one on three: don't shoot), but she rifled some passes to Chelsi Johnson that were things of beauty. Making things happen- always good. Johnson is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine, because she's a very communicative player and because she gets it done on the inside, plus that sweet little foul line jumper makes her a threat further out as well. Palmer looked a little winded before the game, and when she went down in a heap in the first half, I was a little worried (also, to the troglodyte behind me who complained because of the injury timeout, I must hope that you are not related to a Brown student, because otherwise I must assume that you have been cuckolded, because no one sired by a troglodyte would be able to get into an Ivy League school). Fortunately it looks like it was just her ankle, and not a severe injury; she spent part of halftime and a couple of timeouts running, presumably to keep it from getting stiff, and there was one long runout that pretty much proved that as long as she kept moving the ankle would be fine.
Pretty solid reffing crew. No real complaints here.
I really like Streigler's coaching style. She usually stays very calm, but always stays involved in the game, always keeps her players on their toes, and instills pretty good sportsmanship in her team. They're pretty good about having a hand to help an opponent up.
All in all, a deeply satisfying game. GNoD approved!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
November 18th, 2009: Columbia at Long Island
Columbia Lions 64, Long Island Blackbirds 62
The Game Notes of Doom step down in conference class- but not in the quality of the experience.
I forgot how much I missed the mid-major experience, and how much I like going to games at LIU. It has a certain charm that a lot of arenas just don't possess (and they charge you for it- $8 a pop!).
There are disadvantages. I swear the Blackbirds have to be the worst free throw shooting team I've ever seen because their fans, band, dance team, and pep squad make more noise when they're shooting than when their opponents are shooting. Guys, seriously, don't disconcert your own players. It does not end well. And I think I'm still recovering from the loudness of the band. They play at a volume more suited to the RAC than the WRAC.
I do like the programs, though, and the team poster is very nifty. Sort of a cross between picture day and complete chaos. Reasons I <3 Chelsi Johnson...
Dear Mary Beato: you are not Lisa Leslie, nor are you Charde Houston. Please to be pulling your shorts out of your crotch. If I am forced to see cameltoe at a basketball game, it damn well better be from one of the dance team. Other than that, your shooting is good but your driving sucks. Jazmin Fuller did a decent job running the offense in the short time that the responsibility was in her hands. Melissa Shafer did work on the boards. Caitlin Stachon shows good promise as a reserve for the Lions- a big girl with a bit of a touch.
Everyone act surprised that an admirer of Debbie Black, such as yours truly, has great love for Sara Yee, who I refer to with great fondness as "ten pounds of crazy in a two-pound bag". She ran a fairly sharp offense, though I noticed that later in the game she was backing the ball out more and spending more time setting up in the backcourt. And of course, she was ballhawking on the defensive end and jumping for rebounds that a 5'1" guard has no right to be trying for. Judie Lomax didn't really seem to be as involved in the offense as I would have expected- she got some touches, but she was looking to pass more than I thought, and some of her moves have been dubbed travels thanks to the point of emphasis this year. Also, what's up with the soaking wet uniform? No one sweats that much. Lauren Dwyer's a tough customer. Good range, gets her shit done. Barry played well, except for occasional miscommunication- I think she was the one who had the ball in her hands when Columbia committed a shot clock violation.
Impressively, everyone got in the game for Long Island. Sure, Hetting, Obianwu, and Abrams all played a mere handful of minutes combined, but they got in. The freshman backcourt of Kayla Ramsby and Krystal Wells played well together. They intrigue me. I also like their reserve posts, Justine Stevenson and the freshman Tamika Guz- both of them big-framed players, but using it in different ways. Stevenson did more fighting for rebounds and driving, while Guz used her build more defensively and to clog the middle so she could set up shots outside (like McLaren for UConn, as an example of that type of player). And Marika Sprow gave good minutes at the guard position. (There's the problem with being a mid-major- all y'all are guards.)
Ashley Palmer was hampered by foul trouble in the second half- oh, and the inability to hit a fucking free throw, oh my God, seriously 0-5 is unfuckingacceptable. She gets very, very tentative when she's in foul trouble. There's a difference between cautious and tentative, and she's on the wrong side of it. Kiara Evans, on the other had, was trying too hard, making stupid drives when LIU was down that resulted in easy steals and fast breaks for Columbia. She's got game, but she's got to learn that she can rely on her teammates. Connie James came off as the steadying hand, even though she couldn't get her shots to fall. Chelsi Johnson came up big in the second half, when LIU let the lead slip away. If she hadn't fouled out, I think the Blackbirds might have pulled the game back out. They also got big shots from Heidi Mothershead, who came out firing from almost NBA range.
Play of the game: loose ball on the floor at LIU's end. Ashley Palmer hits the deck, grapples with a Columbia player, and is able to shovel the ball out to Mothershead. Mothershead whips it over to Johnson, who puts it in for two. I love ball movement, have I ever mentioned that?
There was precious little, but I can't say I'm surprised. Neither team prides itself on protecting the ball, and both teams scrap and hustle for anything that even vaguely resembles a ball that could be pried out of someone's hands.
And after the game, after a close loss where the Blackbirds had the lead and let it slip through their fingertips, they did the opposite of what most teams would do. The echo of the buzzer had barely faded before Krystal Wells was past the tape and up four rows of bleachers to say, "Thanks for coming out to our game tonight! I'm Krystal, how are you?" Connecting with the community: you're doing it right.
I really do think LIU has all the pieces: a good coach, better players than many in their conference, a nifty little arena, an enthusiastic core of fans, and impressive networking skills. Be ready for them to make some noise.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
November 15th, 2009: St. John's at Stony Brook
St. John's Red Storm 89, Stony Brook Seawolves 52
Guess who's back? The Game Notes of Doom are back again. Tell a friend. While you're at it, tell them about Shenneika Smith, Nadira McKenith, and Eugeneia McPherson.
Sorry for the delay- the layoff was so long that I started getting spam comments. If it makes you sad, then tell the Liberty and the Sun to make the playoffs so I can go to their games.
There are things that are just good for the soul. A 30-point win in the season opener is one of them.
We got bumped out of the bigger gym for a craft fair, but that's okay, because the bigger gym is dark and dingy and occasionally leaks. Pritchard Gymnasium is small, but at least it's brightly lit and has good seats. The sound system is designed for a larger building, but that's not important once the music's off.
Things that are not smart: playing "Thunderstruck" when your opponent is the Red Storm. Especially since that's how St. John's starts their games. Right at the start, Sky did something that almost made me snort tunafish out my nose, and I wish I could remember what it was.
Stony Brook and St. John's have very similar uniforms with the exact same font for the numbers, which is very confusing.
Reason 425 why Joy McCorvey is one of my favorite players in the history of ever: she has an eye for faces and she remembers people. I admit that I blushed like a schoolgirl when she smiled at me, but that's because I have a crush on players who do all the gritty little things, keep their eyes and ears open, stay involved in the game, and appreciate fans.
For a very long time, the only offense Stony Brook could muster was "throw the ball to Misha Horsey, let her drive the lane, and hope that the runner goes in". She was aggressive, because it was very clear that no one else was going to get anything done in the first half. Destiny Jacobs is a big, bulky woman who knows how to use her size. Kirsten Jeter, who I recalled being rather good from having seen Stony Brook before, couldn't get started in the first half- all her points came in the second, when she started to get more aggressive. Joia Daniels didn't score all that much, but unlike many of her teammates, she wasn't completely awful and did things that benefited her team.
I'm trying to be nice, but we won by 37. It's hard.
Lot of bench play for the Seawolves, obviously. Crystal Rushin had a nice block. Gerda Gatling played up-close-and-personal defense. Sometimes a bit much. Taylor Burner, the big freshman from right down the road, impressed me the most- she knows how to use her size and wasn't afraid to do it. A little hot-headed, and prone to freshman mistakes, but she has potential. Unfortunately, I don't know that she'll reach it at Stony Brook. Not with Michele Cherry as coach.
It was a very physical game from Stony Brook. It got worse in the second half. And those are just the fouls that were called...
Speaking of benches. We have one! And we have freshmen! And they're really good! And I have to remind myself that bad things happen when I get optimistic and if I keep thinking we're good, someone's going to rip open her knee. That being said, we have a point guard- Nadirah McKenith did a great job distributing and getting to the line to make herself a viable option. We got to see Elón Sidney on the court for the first time, so congrats to her- she picked up a steal on a joint play with Amanda Burakoski. Amanda played tenaciously, though she wasn't able to get her shots to go down. Jennifer Blanding looks so much like Kia Vaughn in body type that it's frightening- she walks like Tammy Sutton-Brown, though, which is not a good thing. She was willing to get physical and get inside, though she's got to learn when to move and when to back down- she got into a little bit of foul trouble. Britney Murphy made a cameo, but with Nadirah's distribution and Eugeneia McPherson's tough, tough defense, she wasn't really necessary, and she was a bad match-up with Stony Brook's guards. I'm worried about Coco being our primary reserve post, though, because while she crashed the boards harder than I remember seeing from her, she's still prone to making boneheaded plays, which we can't afford from our bench.
Da'Shena, we see you! We also hear you... as your free throws bounce off the rim. 9 of 10 from the field, with a lot of those being contested shots (3 of 'em were and-1s), is a fantastic percentage. 4 of 15 from the line is absolutely abhorrent, appalling, shameful, and other such words. We are not amused. Sky's offense was good early, but she started trying to force the issue, and she really shouldn't have looked for her own offense late in the game, up 30, with scoreless Elón and scoreless Buzz in alongside her. Shenneika showed a lot of what made her such a highly touted recruit- very athletic, very fast, very aggressive. She made a lot of rebounds happen. Joy is as persistent as ever, going hard to the boards, going to the ground, and keeping her eyes and ears on the game. Kelly didn’t get a lot of touches and was really a non-factor in the game. I'd like to see her get back to making the big baseline/sideline plays on defense- sometimes I wonder if that helps her get into her offensive rhythm.
The game got physical, and I don't know that the refs were ready to handle that.
It was very emotionally satisfying. I missed my team.
Many thanks to Kelly's folks for the lift home. And dinner. And company. I think there were more Red Storm fans there than Seawolf people. At most it was a draw. There are advantages to recruiting locally after all.
Monday, September 14, 2009
September 13th, 2009: Washington at New York
New York Liberty 86, Washington Mystics 65
And boom, it was over, just like that.
It's a bittersweet ending, because it is an ending, and it's an ending that we've known was coming for a week and more. It's not like we were part of the group fighting for the last berth on the 12th. We were already out. It's a discomfiting feeling for a Liberty fan, something that just doesn't happen all that often.
Today was perfect attendance picture day. Thanks for getting me on the list, Megan- my ticket for the July 26th game hadn't been scanned, so I never got the letter, but Megan was kind enough to put me on after I sent her a link to the GNoD for that game. (If necessary, I also have a signed ticket from that game- good thing I never sent it to Frisco!) The pictures were pretty quick, though they paused between each fan shot to get a team photo. Janel kept bumping Cathrine. Cathrine's body language was "OMG, stop it, I can't take you anywhere." Seriously, though, we didn't even have time to say "Cheese!" (or "Liberty!" like the group before us) before they hustled us off. I was the one who put the devil horns on. It's amazing how many people had normal conversations with me while I was wearing them.
Vicky Bullett is still awesome and great to talk to. And her penmanship is exquisite. I've had a soft spot for her since her Sting days, so that was OMGyay! *squee*
Dear choir: "purple mountain's majesty". Majesty is singular, like Liberty. It's not majesties. Nice job otherwise, though.
Oh, Kym. The voice is still beautiful, but it's not been treated well. Repeating phrases is really annoying. The team gathering around her is also starting to smack of cheese, given that none of them played with her, and only four of them even played with someone who played with her, and if she weren't hammered into everyone's heads as a Liberty legend, I honestly think Essence is the only one who might know her from a hole in the ground.
(Does anyone else wish FFO would kiss and make up with Tari already? Those were some pipes.)
Big, big contingent of Mystics fans in attendance. Very enthusiastic before the game, not so much during, but that's 'cause the Mystics were trying to keep everyone from getting hurt and didn't really care about winning it because the seeds were locked.
I really don't like Matee Ajavon. I was glad that she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in the first half, and that the first Mystics' possession ended in her losing the ball to Essence. I don't know what happened in the second half that lit a fire under her ass, but I did not like it one bit. Also, kinda jerky that she kept going for her own and not spreading the wealth to scoreless teammates when she had an opportunity. Melvin didn't play a lot, and I don't remember her doing anything remarkable. Harding ran the team all right, but there was something about her performance that I can't put my finger on that would have bothered me if I were a Mystics fan. Currie still maintains that attitude that endears her ever so much to opposing fans and to referees. I think I yelled, "Shut up, Monique!" at least three times in the first half. She was hitting her shots today, so I have to at least give her credit for that. Langhorne was relatively quiet, because the outside shots weren't falling and she was getting exploited in terms of height- she's one of the few players the Liberty can do that to, especially when we're going to our bench, where the taller players are. (well, and Erlana)
Nakia Sanford still has a chip on her shoulder, and at this point it really should have fallen off. She kept holding and kept getting annoyed that she was getting called for it. Blue kept getting into it with Leilani- I don't know what it was, either. Mosby probably would have been more effective if she hadn't been so rudely introduced to center court. When she came back into the game, she was limping and I think things were still a little fuzzy. Coleman had a wicked block, but couldn't get her shots to fall. Mann looked all right, but honestly, you could tell it was going to be a reserve-heavy night when she got into the game in the middle of the first quarter. No disrespect, but we all know the only reason this game mattered to New York was to not cause the fans to rise up en masse and storm the court in a fit of rage- and it certainly didn't matter to Washington, except in the "let's try not to demoralize or injure ourselves before we have to go to Comcast and take on the Fever, kplzthx?" sense.
Light day for the Liberty starters, too. Cathrine looks good for jetting back and forth from Prague. (No, not really seriously, but apparently her name is showing up in the boxscores for her overseas team. I doubt she's been flying back and forth- she'd look like four miles of pounded crap- but it's funny.) Janel hit one of those "oh God, oh God, oh God, OH MY GOD!" underhand shots she's inordinately fond of. Shameka didn't look quite right, but recalling that she lost seven pounds from the flu, and that she doesn't really have that much spare weight to lose, I'm okay with that, as long as she rests up and gets herself back to fighting trim for Russia and 2010. Essence was the lucky one who got to play swing shift, and someone lit a fire under her ass at halftime too. (No, seriously, I wonder if Stringer wandered into the locker rooms, because that's the only thing I can think of that would encourage both Essence and Ajavon.) Loree didn't end on a high note, though again she had good hands on defense.
Credit where credit is due: Sidney Spencer actually had a good game. Her shots were falling, and she was aggressive on defense- she had one wicked block and a couple of plays that were either steals for her, led to steals by teammates, or led to rebounds by teammates. Of course, I do reserve the right to scream, "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG NOT TO SUCK?!" Leilani ran a pretty smooth game, except when Nikki Blue was hitting her with her ass. Nothing ends well when someone is hitting someone else with their ass. I could have sworn that was Kia's Screen Of Death, but other people are saying Erlana, and this is what happens when you wander off to the ass-end of Queens after a game and have to pick up your notes the morning after on six hours sleep and all kinds of reactions churning in your gut. Whoever it was, it was a truly awe-inspiring Screen Of Death. They nearly needed a scraper to get Mosby off the floor. If it was Lark, I'm not surprised. She had a very concentrated game. In that regard, I like Donovan not using her much. It's like she bottles it up and saves it all for the one in four games she gets into. If Donovan used her every night, she might not be as effective. Kia was pretty solid, too. 3-4 from the line is good for her. I'll take that percentage from a post every night and twice on Sundays. Ashley had a couple of big plays, brought the energy. Tiffany came to life in the second half, weaving her way into the paint for baskets and boards.
Essence, I love you as a player and respect you as a person, and if anyone could talk logic into Kurt Walker, it would be you, but... you can't talk logic into Kurt Walker. The calls were both odd and uneven- some seemed random, and there was no consistency.
There were a lot of highlight reel plays in that game. The one that still stands out to me a day later is Leilani's save to Spencer for the deuce. That was pretty sweet.
Shameka spoke to the crowd afterwards. I applaud the sentiment and the words, but it seemed really stilted, like she wasn't comfortable being the one to do it. I guess they figured that Shameka was the only one who'd get a completely positive reaction from the crowd, given Janel and Loree's inconsistency this season. I'd have still picked Janel, though. She seems to be best at off-the-cuff large-scale fan interaction out of the three captains. Shameka's good on a small-scale basis, while Loree doesn't seem to be very good at sociability with strangers at all.
We got to see Ashley do her MC Hammer thing again. Still LOLing forever. She gets so into everything she does, whether it's a rebound or a parody.
What do you mean it's over? It can't be over! September's only half-done! There's slightly over two months to the college season! What do you mean I don't get any more basketball? You're kidding, right? This is a joke, right? YOU LIE!
I wish I could be more optimistic about 2010, but we don't have a first-round pick, everyone will be a year older, and all the other teams have a chance to improve. I don't even know that there are any free agents out there that could help us, and I don't trust the FFO to make a deal that isn't fucked up the ass. And I can foresee a power struggle between Donovan and Blaze, and I don't know that Donovan has the backing to win this, which means she probably wouldn't come back, because I can't see Donovan agreeing to another round of Blaze's fuckery. So, woo.
So... I guess you guys won't see me again until November, because Washington will have to make it back to the Phone Booth for me to even consider going down there for a playoff game, and I don't find that likely. Come college season, the GNoD will return, just as snarky, observant, random, detailed, occasionally analytical, subjective with attempts at objectivity, and rambling as you've grown to love. I hope to see you at St. John's... and the Garden... and Princeton... and Iona... and Columbia... and LIU... and Fordham... and maybe Marist... and possibly Monmouth... and maybe Wagner... and possibly Bridgeport... and maybe New Haven... but definitely in the bleachers at Carnesecca. I'll be the one with the purple clipboard, writing. Always writing.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
September 8th, 2009: Indiana at New York
Indiana Fever 69, New York Liberty 63
It's a moral victory. Here, Libs, have some chicken soup.
I'll take my silver linings where I can find them. I'll savor what little victories there are to be had. In my view, forging a tie in the fourth quarter with three starters sitting on the bench speaks volumes to the grit and guts of some of these Libkids. Cutting four points off a ten-point halftime deficit for the final, with Catchings, Douglas, and Hoffman all playing their usual minutes in the second half, is a satisfying achievement, because I know that under Coyle we would have lost by twenty instead of clawing back.
Long hair, straight down, loose, suits Ashley's face very well. Damn, she looks pretty like that. Poor Loree looks like she needs a few weeks with some Tylenol, a bag of ice, and nothing vaguely resembling basketball in her life. Her face is getting scowl lines worn into it. :( Feel better, Loree!
For all the nonsense that goes on during play, Indiana is one of the most sociable teams in the league when it comes to schmoozing with the Liberty and the Liberty fans. Jessica Davenport was warmly greeted by a few of her former teammates- she and Leilani spent forever chatting at midcourt. Janel and TSB caught up, as did Janel and Katie Douglas. AD and Tully had a long talk, and don't think that didn't look silly with the height difference. Ashley smacked someone's ass, and it was one of the Jessicas, but I can't remember if it was Davenport or Moore.
Cathrine has awesome taste in music, if indeed she picked that mix (I have wondered all season, but I have no reason to doubt it, as I remember actually recognizing and liking one of the songs in her first playlist). She blushed stoplight red when they actually played it. Cat, if you ever see this, you shouldn't have blushed. Not only do you have awesome taste in music, "Runaround Sue" is actually Sue Wicks's old Cheesy Musical Hook, and I've always thought that was the appropriate old-Liberty comparison to what you bring to the table.
Should I have LOLed at Essence singing/rapping along to "Hypnotize"?
Continuing on the "Cathrine does awesome things" theme, all season I've been impressed by her throwing arm- she hits the 100s with regularity, without going all the way to the edge of the court. Tonight she must have felt like airing out her arm, because she stepped up and got one into the first row of the 200s. Fuckin' A. If she gets cut by the Liberty, the Sharks or the Justice should snap her up in a heartbeat.
The anthem singer's fashion sense was deplorable, but his rendition was one of the best I've heard at the Garden all season.
Speaking of fashion sense, Shameka had on tight black pants (someone else swears they were leather, but I refuse to speculate about Shameka in leather pants), a long blue-green top, and a broad black belt. Hair down, longish, crimped. I didn't realize Shameka had that much ass- it doesn't show up at all in the shorts.
Okay, wow, we can haz basketball notes nao. First off, screw you, Lin Dunn. I rocked the Davenport tee tonight for Jessica, and you put her in for a total of two minutes? Whatever. At least she gets to go to the playoffs. We have to buy tickets. Christina Wirth... I can see, a little bit, why the Fever fans are down on her, or at least down on her place in the rotation- she's a dirty work player with a sweet little shot, who'll get you rebounds and not fuck things up too badly, and I don't know that that's worth 11 minutes a game. Maybe it's not and Wirth just got more time because of the wonky rotations. January really needs to learn to judge her angles to the basket a little bit better. Her body's too sharply angled, and she flails her arms too much when she's trying to get to the rim. Calm down, Briann. No need to throw yourself quite so headlong into things. Dixon still has a little bit of the old magic, or maybe that was just because Spencer was guarding her on those baskets and Spencer has no foot speed. Jessica Moore got into foul trouble, really couldn't contribute as much as she'd like. I suppose she deserves some credit for making Kia's life miserable, though.
I'm trying to remember if Tully hit the floor or not. I mean, it's not a game if Tully doesn't hit the floor. That's one of the by-laws, dontchaknow. Sutton-Brown's block was memorable because Janel should have known better. It was a very dismissive swat. Alas, she didn't score, so we didn't get to hear the distaste drip off Mike W.'s voice as he said her name. Hoffman had the worst kind of luck on offense- her shots all rimmed out or didn't get the bounces, it was ridiculous. She was living hell on defense, though. She was part of a lot of critical double-teams that forced steals from the Liberty. People keep forgetting that she's a dancer. She has very quick feet for her build. *ahem, announcement* KATIE DOUGLAS IS LEFT-HANDED. SHE WILL GO TO THAT HAND. GUARD HER FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK. *end announcement* Some of those shots were impossible, except that she's Katie Douglas and impossible is a word for mere mortals. Also, see note on doubles. Tamika Catchings... my mom says, "I don't like what Tamika Catchings has become," and I can't say I don't think that's the best way to describe her. Her recklessness on the court has crystallized into an unpleasant tendency to shove people around. Ashley was the unfortunate recipient this time 'round, getting a dose of the Tamikaze's upper body and ending up on the floor with no call. She's still a talented player, with the ability to get in the paint for big boards (though she'll occasionally shove her own teammates out of bounds, good Lord) and a nasty knack for sinking jumpers in New York. But... she's not a player I necessarily want on my team anymore.
I hope Janel's gonna be okay. She played pretty well in the first half, even though she was obviously hurting... and then she didn't start the second half, Lisa White was probing her right ankle, and she spent a brief stint in the locker room. So that sucked. Loree also didn't start the second half. (Dear Briann: Loree's shoulders will not move if you throw yourself into her. This will only cause you pain, and to look like a right idiot. Love, Queenie.) Cathrine looked good in the first half, except when dealing with Hoffman, and then she barely played the second half (if at all). Ashley got the start for Shameka, and she alternated fucking awesome plays with OMG WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT plays. I swear, the refs must have felt pity for her, the way Tamika Catchings was beating her up- she just kept getting to the line. Essence was hot like fire in the first quarter- could hardly miss, and she was pretty tough on Douglas and Catchings, depending on how the assignments ended up. But Ashley and Essence did the bulk of the work making up for the lack of Shameka, and I think it wore on them. I don't think either of them will want to move until they absolutely have to.
Erlana got into the game early, and I liked that she threw her weight around a bit. Indiana'd been getting away with a bit of nonsense, so she put the fear of Liberty into them. Rebounded well, too, but damn, girl, hit a lay-up. Spencer got extended minutes, and did not suck on offense. Defensively, yes, I had Yamasaki-on-Sales flashbacks, and I can place the nine points she allowed. But for all that I bitch about her, she was open on a couple of possessions and should have got the ball. It was one of the better games I've seen her have at the Garden. Kia... I don't know. She's gotta work on her hands, whether the strength or the ability to catch the ball. I liked her work on the o-boards, though. Leilani did yeoman's work at the point- I don't think she's played this much in a single game since college, but with Loree unavailable for most of the game, FLB had to step up. Couldn't get her shot to fall, but she read the jumpers well and got the rebounds, plus kept the offense running smoothly through Indiana's chaos. I can't remember a damn thing Tiffany did, but I know she was out there.
What did we do to deserve June Courteau again? I mean it. There was some slop by both sides that should have been called for the sake of everyone's safety, and some ticky-tack calls that didn't benefit the flow of the game, but it wasn't as bad as last time (then again, good ol' Diamond Jim wasn't around this time). I pity anyone Indiana plays soon, though. I do think Catchings is going to put someone out for the season one of these days.
Also, what did we do to deserve that rendition of "New York, New York". OMG. Don't any of you Libkids quit your day jobs. Can't sing, can't dance, can handle a ball a little. (All right, all right, Essence. At least you know what a tune is, and the proper method of carrying it. But don't quit either your day job or your night job.) Dear FFO: we are past the days of Kym and Tari. Make the hurting stop.
Also, can we please recruit people who know how to play Tic-Tac-Toe? I'm tired of epic strategic fail in a game as simple as that. You try to make three. You block the other guy. Not rocket science. For that matter, if you see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and are asked where it is, don't hesitate before picking Italy. (Though Essence was in Venice, so shouldn't we have gotten some canals instead?)
Disappointingly tiny crowd. There were sections with one or two people in them. This is what happens when you schedule a game the night before the first day of school. Real women of jeenyus, eh?
Patricia, if you don't try out for the Timeless Torches, I will never forgive you. But if you do, and you block my mother from making it by taking the spot, I will be very pleased.
I'm almost up to my fourth page in 12 point Times New Roman, so maybe I should wrap this up. And I haven't even mentioned Erlana's awesome steal, or how cheesed off Shameka was by being on the bench, or Erlana's sneezing during a timeout that has me worried the whole damn team's gonna be sick by Detroit. But I guess it was an inspirational game. I love my team. <3!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
September 4th, 2009: New York at Connecticut
Connecticut Sun 88, New York Liberty 85
If it's going to end, better with a bang than with a whimper; better for the bubble to be popped in a well-played, well-coached, and not-horribly-reffed game.
And now the season officially means shit.
Vols should not go to Geno's. I don't care that the color scheme is orange. When Spencer walked in, I held my breath waiting for the matter/antimatter explosion to end the world in fire. It didn't happen, much to my relief. (I don't want the world to end. That's where I keep all my stuff! /Tick)
Someone thought it would be a good idea to present Erin Phillips with a Yankees t-shirt. East of New Haven, that is not a good idea. She got ribbed for it, and I think some of the Sun fans are planning to give her a Red Sox shirt come the 13th.
Anthem was okay. Nothing spectacular, nothing that made me go "OH GOD NO MAKE THE HURTING STOP".
Apparently the WNBA does not follow the NBA dress code. This is the second game Asjha Jones has worn jeans to. Not that she looks bad in a pair of jeans, not at all, and the shirt was very nice too. It's just... they're jeans.
Shameka tried to do the late-arriving Meeksiah thing, but it fizzled out for her, and for the life of me I have no clue why she was anywhere near the ballhandler when she had five fouls. I don't get it. That block on Jekabsone-Zogota was pretty, though. Loree still has time management issues, but she showed her old cojones for the first time in a long time, snatching down rebounds, driving the lane, and hitting jumpers. I hope she doesn't let the results of this game dissuade her from taking a more active role in the last few games this season and into next year. Cathrine wasn't able to look for her own shot, whether because of play-calling, defense, or lack of initiative, but she continued her solid work on the boards and set a couple of nice screens. Essence started off hot, and had a decent defensive game, but again, stupid in the overtime. Janel still doesn't look like she's all there. I mean more than usual. She's not going up with any authority and she's settling for outside shots, plus she seemed to be under the impression that she was still on the same team as Whalen. Sit her ass down and keep her healthy.
Ashley had a lot of big plays, a lot of hustle plays- but her man-to-man defense was pretty bad. Holt blew by her a couple of times. Tiffany went to the Loree Moore school of clock management and took a lot of dumb (either contested, off-balance, or out of range) shots early in the clock, which didn't help our offensive flow all that much. Kia- girrrl, hit somebody! This isn't college. The sportsmanship rules are different, and if you don't hit them, they'll hit you, and it ain't gonna be pretty. Leilani was a decent match-up against Phillips, but she didn't do anything, and especially against a team that tinkers with lineups the way the Sun do, we need everyone to contribute, not just to not fuck up. Spencer got in briefly when Shameka had to sit down, whether because of exhaustion or stupidity, and didn't do anything. *sigh* Used to it by now.
Lindsay Whalen doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit". I think calling her the Sun's quarterback is appropriate, not just because of her solid build but because she orchestrates everything so well. She made sure the Sun kept their cojones by driving the lane- and our defense parted for her like the Red Sea. Jekabsone-Zogota continues to impress me not just with her shooting form and accuracy, but with her smarts on the court, both defensively and offensively. She shows a lot of hustle that I don't expect to see from European players and can't in my life remember seeing from European guards. She had the play of the game that was so amazing that it gets its own paragraph later. Gruda looked out of sorts, but I think that's as much to do with Janel keeping her out of her comfort zone and the constant doubles coming at her as it did with any attitude she may be showing. Tan White seems to be after Tully Bevilaqua or Debbie Black's record for most times laid out on the floor. Not exactly the world's greatest defensive plan, but it shows nerve. Kerri Gardin got the start, but I don't really remember much she did except for the three.
Erin Phillips may be crazy, but she makes things happen. Keeping her as a point guard is a waste of her talents. I don't know that she has the... not temperament, but the word will do... for the position. Holt drove the lane hard. She threw up some stupid shots too, but I think she kept the fire burning for the Sun. Whitmore was useful as a screen-setter, and, hey, it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it, especially when your roster makeup means you're taking a lot of threes right now. Black was pretty well neutralized. Woo-hoo. Brown got in, didn't do much.
There were some dicey calls in the game, but I'll be fair and say a lot of them went the Liberty's way. Not as many of them were bad calls as the Sun fans two rows behind me thought- one of them was so pissed that he called out Spence... and Spence did a double take and glared up at him. Bonita takes shit from no spectator.
Play of the game: one of the previously mentioned doubles comes at Sandrine Gruda. She throws a wild pass towards Jekabsone-Zogota, who leaps into the air and saves the ball from going into the backcourt by maybe two millimeters to Erin Phillips. Phillips makes a move, then sinks the jumper from the free throw line as the shot clock expires. Unfrigginbelievable. The first two times I saw the replay, I thought Jekabsone-Zogota was over and back, but the third time showed just how close she was to the line. Helluva play. Quick, name the one thing all three of these players have in common. Mike Thibault, this is why I think you're awesome.
What I liked about this game was that it was well-coached. Donovan recognized that Gruda was the only legit post threat left for the Sun with Jones's injury, so she made sure that Gruda wouldn't be able to use her height and outside shot effectively against us by having Janel pressure her and always having someone come double on her. Unfortunately, that strategy left the perimeter open, and the Sun took advantage of that with 11 threes. That's probably why Holt was taking so many more long shots than usual. Attack, counterattack; IIRC, when the Liberty started to defend the perimeter, the Sun started to go inside, forcing the Liberty back in.
All in all, it was a good game, and one that I enjoyed right up until the part where the Liberty lost.