December 15th, 2018: Albany at St. Francis

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Francis staged a spirited comeback in the fourth quarter, but fell short against Albany, 67-60. Amanda Kantzy had 20 points to lead the Great Danes, with Chyanna Canada adding 16 off the bench. Amy O'Neill flirted with a triple-double for the Terriers in the loss, finishing with 15 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds.

For terrible shots, a size disadvantage, small cheerleaders, amazing self-care, and attempting to limit the canine puns, join your intrepid and dogged blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, fellow travelers on the hardwood road! Your intrepid blogger comes to you life and in smell-o-vision from St. Francis College in Brooklyn. We're in for a dogfight today, as the Terriers play host to the Great Danes of Albany.

There's some sort of alumni or welcoming event going on in the main hall where the ticket tables usually are, so they decamped to the student cafeteria. Conveniently, that's where the secret entrance to the seats on the bench side is. Somewhat less conveniently, the tickets are technically for the section opposite the bench, which is counter to good policy and especially inconvenient today, since we would have to navigate back to the entrance to go to the opposite side. Maybe think through the logistics of your building before giving out tickets?

This network has been temporary for as long as I've been coming here. Guys, y'all just need to give up the pretense at some point.

Ah, so that's what it was! SFC is retiring a jersey, and the fol-de-rol up front was for registration for the luncheon related to it. Ceremony is at halftime, so you should see more about it then.

Since what passes for a student section here appears to be mostly student-athletes, I shouldn't be surprised that the trainer gets an enormous cheer.

It's 30-19 Albany at halftime, and Albany is killing us with height. Chyanna Canada has 10 points off the bench for the Great Danes. Jade Johnson has seven points to lead St. Francis, but Dominique Ward has been making more of an impact IMO, playing tough defense and rebounding.

Holy carp, the honoree looks amazing. She looks young enough to be the daughter of someone who graduated in '79.

I think Coach Cim is starting to get frustrated with players not listening to her. There seems to be a distressing amount of it going around. Ebony Horton was giving off the same kind of body language I do when my mom's lecturing me and I'd rather be reading.

The cliché about the size of the fight in the dog versus the size of the dog in the fight is so applicable to this game I'm hesitant to use it. Terriers are definitely smaller than Great Danes, but are known for their tenacity, and St. Francis is definitely smaller than Albany, but mounted a terrific comeback in the fourth quarter. I mean, come on. The cliché is the script.

Lucia Decortes played briefly in the first half, and thanks to no name on the jersey and the PA guy taking a couple of possessions off, I almost didn't see her come in. De'jah Williams hit a bucket in the lane at some point, but I think I credited to the wrong player on my scorecard. My bad.

Kumsal Aslan reminds me of Layshia Clarendon, both in her facial structure and in her defensive intensity. She stuck close to the ballhandler. Patricia Conroy provided a different dynamic off the bench, more of a widebody guard than the lighter starting guards for the Danes. Chyanna Canada displayed game both in the paint and with the elbow jumper. She overpowered us in the first half, with ten points and a big block on Abby Anderson.

Is there some kind of Swedish law that if your name is Amanda, you have to be super emotional on the floor? Because the way Amanda Kantzy was celebrating after fairly mundane plays like drawing a charge or making a block on a smaller player, you'd think they'd just won the conference title or something. She did most of her damage on the inside, then stepped out for a couple of relatively deep threes to force our defense out even further. Heather Forster got into foul trouble, and Albany was getting a lot of offense from Canada, so she didn't play as much. But her size was a factor, as was Alexi Schecter's. Schecter killed us on the glass and defended the inside well. She cottoned on to Amy O'Neill's favorite offensive move and shut her down on it.

"Adorable" should not be a word applied to college players, but there's a certain element of dandelion fluff-ness to Kyara Frames, Albany's quick little point guard. Her threes weren't going down, but she loaded up on free throws at the end of the game. Khepera Stokes wasn't much of a factor; Albany's coach saw the size advantage her team had and rolled with it, whether it was going with three bigs or putting in a larger guard.

Coach Cimino went deep to her bench at the very end of the game, looking for fresh fouls and offense-defense substitutions. Samantha Keltos still had one of her earrings on when she was called upon in the waning seconds. Kate Bauhof probably should have been called for a push on the play where she helped force an Albany turnover, but I guess I'll take it. I appreciate the hustle.

Ally Lassen didn't look comfortable playing against players her own height. I'm surprised, because she was so confident against a better team at Seton Hall, but she really seemed out of her depth against Albany's front line. By the end of the game, she looked ready to cry, whether it was from frustration or something else. Mia Ehling was usually the first one up when Coach Cimino wanted to yell at- er, I mean, gently but firmly explain to one of her players why the last thing they did was a dreadful mistake. Abby Anderson started off strong in the first half, but seemed to lose some of her energy in the second half.

On the one hand, I love Ebony Horton's energy on the bench. On the other hand, her shot is super frustrating, I don't know if she knows the defenses, and she doesn’t seem to be good at taking direction. On the other other hand, she's only a freshman, and with a detail-oriented coach like Coach Cimino, I would expect her to improve, so long as she's willing to do so. Amy O'Neill drove the lane and threw up shots that shouldn't have gone in, and yet somehow managed to do so. She's a bit of a one-trick pony in that regard, but as long as it works for her, I'm not going to tell her to stop. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. She dishes well too, so I guess that makes her a two-trick pony. Okay, I'll stop. I'm underselling her.) Jade Johnson loves her three-point shot. She loves it so much that she'll stand there and watch it, neither getting back on defense nor crashing the glass. I have so many problems with this. I like when she drives, but she doesn't do nearly enough of that.

Dominique Ward had herself a day on the inside- the official scorekeeper only granted her two blocks, but I will swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout that she had at least four. She just went up over and over again against taller players. She was the closest thing we had to an interior presence on defense. If her shot would fall, she'd be amazing, but so many of her shots seemed to be just thrown up there willy-nilly and went hard or long. Maria Palarino seemed to be driving Coach nuts all day- I think she got pulled at least twice for Teaching Moments based on either bad shots, bad fouls, or not being in the right place at the right time.

This team has a lot of mettle, but not a lot of fundamentals. Their shot mechanics are collectively a trainwreck. But when all hope seemed lost, they dug down deep and made hustle plays and big buckets. It's just the inconsistent offense that is going to kill them.

(Coach Cimino, if you're reading this: if you were upset at the Albany player running the baseline to inbound, and that's what got you so mad at the ref that you got the tech, I think the ref was unfortunately right; the player is allowed to run the baseline after a made basket regardless of an intervening timeout.)

This crew did not make any friends with either of the coaches. One of the St. Francis assistants was tasked with writing down their more egregious mistakes, and near the end of the game they lost track of the foul counts on individual players (but so did the coaching staff, so maybe that's on the scorekeeper). It got physical near the end of the game, which seems to be a thing that's happening more and more often, or perhaps my perception is just going that way more and more.

The regular cheer squad was absent, but there was a youth cheer group in attendance, and they were both adorable and enthusiastic. We need more enthusiastic fans.

Given time, I might be able to adopt this team, but they're going to have to grow on me first, and I don't know how long that's going to take.

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November 11th, 2018: UMBC at Kennesaw State (at Seton Hall)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: In a morning match-up, UMBC came out victorious at Seton Hall, overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit in the final minute to win 57-53 over Kennesaw State. Te'yJah Oliver and Janee'a Summers each had 13 points to lead the Retrievers, with Oliver adding a team-high five rebounds. Alexis Poole had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Kennesaw State in the loss.

For a drama in one act, traveling fans, long roads, hazy recollections, and being so tired, join your intrepid and temporally displaced blogger after the jump.


You can't see my face, because this is the Internet, and this will probably be posted several hours after the aforementioned facial expression. But I'm not happy. I'm not happy because it's 7:30 on Sunday morning and I've already been awake for the last hour, because it takes that long to get to Seton Hall from where I am on a Sunday morning. I already disapprove of Seton Hall scheduling games at 11 in the morning, so you can imagine how I feel about scheduling a double-header. Sleep. Sleep is for the weak.

I have such stupid direction-face that I can tell someone I don't know where they're going and they still come back to ask again. And then she gets annoyed that I'm annoyed. I already told you I don't know what you want! Leave me alone!

I think this is the first time I've had a panhandler ask for directions to the place where they're going to beg for money. I'm too tired for this. I'm too tired for everything. Below follows a sample of why.

Panhandler: *panhandles*
Fellow passenger: "You already been this way, go around the other way."
Panhandler: "Nah, I'm not going that way."
(Exit Panhandler, that way.)

So here we are, ready to see Kennesaw State and UMBC in the first game of the second day of Seton Hall's Tip-Off Classic. Didn't get to see a lot of their shootaround because of schmoozing.

Kennesaw State's gear is very yellow. UMBC's gear is very black. They have sort of a baseball look going with their warm-up shirts. I shouldn't be surprised. They're Under Armour. I also shouldn't be surprised at that.

Hi, Danaejah!

At halftime of a competitive but not fundamentally sound game, UMBC is up 23-20 on Kennesaw State.

Under Armour seems to have a sports bra problem. Dominika Skrocka and Kayla Jackson are both bouncing badly. Skrocka is actually giving me sympathy pains in the chest.

Funny moment of the game: ball goes out of bounds behind the "celebrity row" chairs right on the sideline. It ricochets between the chairs and the first row of bleachers a couple of times. Finally, it comes to rest, and Kamiyah Street attempts to pull it up through the space between the seat and the back of the chair, only to discover that said space is not large enough for a basketball. This is followed by Tyler Moore kicking back a completely different chair as if it had offended her sensibilities. (To be fair, it was impeding her ability to inbound the ball.)

Family here for both teams- Berenato's for Kennesaw, Janee'a Summers's for UMBC.

That turned into a very fun game at the end. Free throws win ballgames, or so I've been told. UMBC left the door open briefly, and Kennesaw walked right into the wall.

Sariah Penese played very briefly in the first half and disappeared for the second. Kristen Teklits came into the game and turned the ball over pretty much on her first touch, so that didn't go well. Kayla Jackson got some second half run, and though the foul was a rough start, she played pretty well. Big, tough guard. (for the record, I didn't even notice Silvia Ferreiros come in, which is a little bit embarrassing, so can't comment on a player whose existence I literally forgot)

Dominika Skrocka kept her team in the game late with three-point shooting. Seriously, though, please get her a better bra. I'm about to go beg the Twitter account. Tyler Moore was named by parents who either didn't watch TV or watched too much of it. There's something I like about her, but I can't put my finger on it. Lucrezia Costa got a lot of minutes in the post, and got rough down there.

Janee'a Summers had family, or friends, or someone, in the house, since there was a whole lot of noise for her. I couldn't see them, since they got there after I sat down, but I could hear them. She made some big plays in the fourth quarter. Eryn Fisher got the start, but I don't think she played any of the crucial minutes.

O'lesheya Braxton showed some great defense in the first quarter, then got in foul trouble and sat most of the first half. Then she started the third quarter like gangbusters, driving the lane hard and scoring in rapid succession. I'm very impressed with her- and she's only a freshman! When she wasn't driving, Te'yJah Oliver was. They powered the Retrievers' offense in the second half. Paula Rubio brought height, but left no other impression.

Breanna Hoover didn't start the game for Kennesaw State, but she started the second half, and managed to foul out in those twenty minutes. Well done there, right? Lexi Mann got a few minutes in the first half and didn't look terrible. I'd honestly have gone with her more than I would have Simina Avram, whose only claim to fame in that game was her size. Avram couldn't hit at the rim, couldn't rebound, and kept having to be shuttled in and out of the game because of her conditioning (or lack thereof).

I may be a little tiny bit in basketball infatuation with Alexis Poole. She reminded me so much of one of my all-time favorites, DeAngelique Waithe. Her ups aren't quite as crazy, and she's not the maniac on inbounds that Angel was at LIU. But her style of play is so much the same, in the paint and on the glass (and yes, this does mean missing bunnies). I'm really excited to see how she develops. Carlotta Gianolla had to pick up more minutes than I think she wanted to. I remember her being in the mix a lot, but not necessarily making the play herself.

Amani Johnson ran the show with a firm hand. She's a tough little guard. I like her, too. Visually, she reminds me of Jen Fay, the Quinnipiac player I did so love to hate. (I say this with the greatest of respect.) Their playing style isn't similar, save for their shared love of going after loose balls. I think they need to get more offense from her. I think they also need to get better shooting from Kamiyah Street. I can see the weapon she can be, but it didn't work out in this game.

This isn't quite a power team like Berenato had at Pitt, although they've got some of that with Poole on the inside. I think she's okay with that.

I have to say, this game got pretty exciting in the fourth, when it was a slog of missed shots for much of the first. Both teams stepped up their game late. UMBC just had a little more firepower.

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December 28th, 2017: Hartford at Fordham (Fordham Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham got off to a strong start and was never truly threatened in their 69-44 win over Hartford. G'mrice Davis had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Rams, who also got 18 points from Johanna Klug and 17 points from Lauren Holden. Lindsey Abed and Darby Lee each had nine points to pace the Hawks.

For loud families, hitting the concession stand, piercing cold, injury concerns, paying attention to the little details, and boxing out, join your intrepid and partially frozen blogger after the jump.


So, how were all of your holidays? Mine were very nice, with lots of baked goods. But it's back on the grind now, and how best to round out the year but with a couple of double-headers? It's back to Fordham today, for the first day of the Fordham Holiday Classic. The Rams are first up, hosting the Hartford Hawks.

I don't know how I feel about the more aggressive Hawk on the warm-up shirts for Hartford. But I don't think the gray and black warm-up shirts work for them at all. Under Armour's usually pretty good, but this was a swing and a miss for them.

It is cold today. So very cold. So, so cold. I wondered why it felt like my legs were going to break off at the knee and my fingers were turning into small shriveled sausages, and then I saw it was 15 degrees out, so I guess that makes sense. Who approved this weather? I certainly didn't.

I have been warned that you can bring a kid for free to this game, so there will be very many children here. Fortunately, they mostly seem to be on the other side of the arena. I'll have to brave them at some point because they're over by the concession stand, but this too shall pass.

Oh, dear. Is that Mary Goulding in a cast? That's not a good thing. She's our glue player and so crucial to our frontcourt. That probably explains why Halei Gillis is back in uniform for the first time in a long time. (Speaking of Halei: pull your shorts down. That's a very nice tattoo, but I feel like I'm prying if I can see that much of it. At least it's outer thigh, not inner thigh like Kyra Dunn had.)

You can't say Fordham doesn't know how to pack the house- lots of kid-based promotions through this stretch of the season.

Anthem was nice, but trying too hard.

At halftime, Fordham is up 36-13. G'mrice Davis has 12 points and nine boards (including my favorite, an offensive spike right into the hands of Johanna Klug, who put it right back in the basket). I'm not thrilled with our boxing out- most of our fouls have been over-the-back reaching fouls on Hartford rebounders.

I have to admit, it's weird not seeing Rizzotti on the Hartford sidelines. I keep being like, "who is this person?"

My God, Hartford fans, or at least the fans and family who followed them to Fordham, are a whiny bunch. I realize there were calls that didn't go their way, but you'd think Halei Gillis was out there with a switchblade and a Joker grin from the sounds of them.

I was impressed with Hartford's halfcourt trap and press. They were able to use our slowdown tendencies to their advantage. When our ballhandling got sloppy, they capitalized.

I keep wondering if Brielle Wilborn is related to Amani Wilborn at Marquette, but probably not. She's a big post, who needs to work on her defensive positioning and her hands. That being said, the fifth foul called on her that took her out of the game was a ridiculously cheap call, which was rather a theme of the day. She's only a freshman; there's room for her to improve, if this coach knows how to teach fundamentals. Jada Lucas sneaked in at the end of the game, and I am drawing a complete blank even on what she looked like on the floor. I can usually at least summon up an appropriately sized silhouette wearing a jersey. Mary Pattison got her points in the second quarter, on a nice drive to the basket.

Jade Young might list as a guard, but she's got the kind of length that makes her very versatile- there were a couple of stretches where she was guarding G'mrice Davis and doing quite a nice job of it. I'm impressed with her toughness. Alexia Douglas saw more time in the second half than in the first, or at least it seemed that way. She broke out for some impressively fast breaks off steals. It was like foom! and she was gone.

Don't think I didn't see that shove in the back, Lindsey Abed. Don't think I didn't see you pushing on defense. She had a nice three-point shot once she got into a rhythm, and was one of the catalysts to their run to start the third quarter. I suspect she's the kind of player I would appreciate more if she weren't playing against my team. Sierra DaCosta brought speed, but her defense was inconsistent, which I think is why Hartford's coach relied so heavily on Young off the bench. She was the first one subbed out in the first half when Fordham started out with a 9-0 hole shot. I remember being surprised that Kelly Douglass spelled her last name that way, but I don't recall anything else particularly memorable about her.

I actually don't understand why Janelle Harrison was the player benched to start the second half so that Young could start. I'm not saying Young shouldn't have started, but I thought Harrison had a pretty solid game inside, starting strong on offense and staking out her space on defense. She rebounded reasonably well in the time that she was given (though she did have trouble with ceding position to smaller Fordham players, which might be the thing Hartford's coach was concerned about, given how well they boxed out in the second half). Darby Lee had some nice twisty moves inside (when you're getting compliments from Fordham fans, they're very good moves) but showed a propensity to foul on shots that were going in- I think she gave up two or three three-point plays that way. She's a tough cookie.

The thing about Fordham is if you get down to them, the odds are usually against you coming back, Penn State at home excepted (and that still rankles, almost physically, almost literally). The way Fordham milks the clock, and does a reasonably good job of forcing the opponent to take their time on offense, there's simply not enough time to put anything together.

The freshmen played! Oh joy! Oh ecstasy! Oh, the thrill of it all! Okay, so for the most part the deep bench is not ready for prime time, with shaky passing and weak shooting, but I actually like the chemistry they're developing together. They're going to be stuck with each other for a while, so that's probably a good idea. I still think Ralene Kwiatkowski needs to be worked into the rotation more- she's not great, but she's not terrible, and sometimes that's all you can ask for in your backup point guard, someone who can hold down the fort and not lose too much of a lead.

So because of the absence of Mary Goulding, we got an extended look at Halei Gillis. It's the first look in a while, since the preseason. There's a lot of work that needs to be done with her. She's a big girl with a big body, and seeing her all but cringe away from a rebound is not a good look. She did pull some down, but she was as likely to pick up the low-hanging fruit that the guards usually go after as she was to body up for a board. She has to move her feet and not her hands. I know she's a freshman and maybe I'm being hard on her, but it's going to be a long road to get her to where she needs to be, and I don't know if she's willing to get there, and I don't know if this staff can get her there. I love Zara Jillings's awareness of what's going on out on the floor- she saved Fordham a substitution late in the game when she corrected the foul count on Halei (a foul was announced as Halei's fifth when it was really her fourth, and Zara was right on top of it). She brought the defense and got low for rebounds.

Kendell Heremaia got the start in place of Mary, and I think that changed the dynamic of the offense. Kendell provides an additional ballhandling option, but we lose size. She looked a little tentative out there. Bre Cavanaugh couldn't buy a bucket, but she was rebounding so fiercely out there she and G'mrice accidentally tied each other up in something that would have been a held ball if they were on opposing teams and was technically a travel since they were teammates. I would also appreciate if people would not hit Bre in the head. There is a very good brain in that head and she's already had enough issues. Her hair, though fabulous, isn't quite fluffy enough to be an effective crash helmet. If Lauren Holden doesn't stop shooting threes from somewhere in the vicinity of Delaware Bay, I may throw something, and I'm not completely certain I won't actually be in Rose Hill when I do it. Just because you're from as south in Jersey as it is possible to be without being a mermaid does not mean you have to constantly shoot from there. I like when she uses the long ball as a more selective weapon, because it makes her more of a threat; if she's just going to throw it up, whatever, the opponent just might let her. I like when she drives, or when she drives and dishes.

Maybe Hartford was outmatched, but Johanna Klug looks like she might just have climbed over the freshman wall. She got good position down low and finished strong at the rim. She's not the fastest player on the floor, but she's big and she's tough. She smooshed DaCosta on a block. Like, smoooooosh. G'mrice Davis finished well at the rim and ripped down rebounds like her life depended on it. Someone seems to be out of place in the defensive scheme- I'm not sure if it's her or Halei, though. (Halei is... Halei... but I've seen too many communication issues with G on the floor to make me wonder.) She and Johanna had a nice two-man game going in the psot.

Pace of play continues to be a bugaboo, but Coach Gaitley certainly isn't going to change for me.

Officials were lax on contact for both teams, and the fifth fouls on both Johanna Klug and Brielle Wilborn were weaksauce calls. Those are not calls you make to foul someone out of a game.

I say this as a semi-professional ref-rider: Hartford, y'all need to chill.

If Johanna can be consistent in the post, we might just survive without Mary. But someone else has to step up too, to replace her leadership and her hustle. Maybe that's Kendell, maybe that's Zara, maybe that's Halei. I don't know.

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November 1st, 2017: Stony Brook at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Red Storm’s defense broke th egame open in the third quarter, allowing St. John’s to cruise to a 66-45 win over Stony Brook in a fundraising exhibition. Maya Singleton had a double-double with game-highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jerell Matthews had 15 points, 13 in the first half, to lead Stony Brook.

For the halfcourt trap, getting used to the freshmen, dubious pronunciation skills, defensive intensity, red jerseys, and somewhat missing the point, join your intrepid and no-longer-unlimited blogger after the jump.

Good morning! Exhibition season is upon us, for a good cause, or so I’ve been told. St. John’s is hosting Stony Brook in a game that’s supposed to be a fundraiser. I’m not quite sure how you raise funds when you put a game at a time when people can’t show up and you don’t indicate where donations can be made, but what do I know? I’m just a random.

At halftime, it’s 24-20 St. John’s. Unsurprisingly, it’s been a bit sloppy, with players not getting to their spots and many a pass thrown awry. Akina Wellere has nine to lead St. John’s. Jerell Matthews has 13 to lead Stony Brook.

Substitute PA announcer should have been given a pronunciation guide. He was messing up names left and right, which means I still don’t know how to pronounce Qadashah.

Inactive for St. John’s: Andrayah Adams and Curteeona Brelove.

I don’t recognize any of these band people. I’m a little disturbed by this.

Looks like Shenneika Smith has joined the Red Storm bench in some capacity. The polo shirt doesn’t work for her; if she wants to get into this full time, she might want to ask Doug Bruno where he gets his shirts. Button-downs look really good on her.

Maya Singleton had a gorgeous steal, then drove the fast break like she’d maybe had a little hair of the dog for breakfast and blew the lay-up. Bless your heart, Maya. She made up for it by pulling the routine off two more times and hitting the layup both subsequent times.

It was a sloppy game, as one could expect from the earliness of it, but a team as defensive-minded as St. John’s will usually be more successful in that scenario, and we broke it open in the third quarter to take it. Stony Brook brought good intensity, but couldn’t keep it up as long as we could (which is saying something since we have no real depth, or at least no numbers).

(You can usually tell exhibitions because the coaches don’t dress up. Everyone was in basic athletics department gear for their respective schools, pretty much.)

Giolibeth Perez was intense on defense, and it was not always to Stony Brook’s advantage- she got reachy and handsy, even at the end when the game was well out of reach. Jonae Cox came in right at the end when Jerell Matthews fouled out. And then immediately committed a foul, because why not?

Cheyenne Clark got a lot of minutes, but I think they were more in the second half. I honestly don’t remember her having much of an impact, even with the amount of time she spent on the floor. She did drop a monster block on an ill-advised St. John’s drive. I was favorably impressed with Hailey Zeise- she’s got some good moves, a good sense of where she wants to be on the floor, and a nice quick free throw motion that’s very hard to disconcert. McKenzie Bushee was physical, setting screens and boxing out. I don’t’ know if I’d say I like her, but I think she has potential for Stony Brook.

India Pagan is still rough around the edges. She has the right instincts when it comes to going to the basket, but she’s got to work on her shooting. She can’t just throw whatever at the basket and expect it to go in. Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (whose name I was pretty sure our substitute PA announcer botched) set a lot of screens up top, but got her pocket picked very thoroughly by Maya Singleton when she tried to pass from the top of the arc. She was a good facilitator, but not much else.

Jerell Matthews lit us up in the first half. She was canning shots from deep, and it was a little embarrassing how easily we managed to lose her. She got in foul trouble in the second half, and I think that limited her somewhat- she ended up fouling out on a really ill-advised play on a double-team. I was expecting more out of Aaliyah Worley, but she never found her footing. It didn’t help her that she had Alisha Kebbe making her life miserable, though. Shania Johnson had some really nice passes and kept the offense moving, but there were a couple of sequences where it looked like she was instigating contact. (Tiana didn’t fall down by herself, ref.) I like her toughness, but if she’s tripping people, I am not okay with that. (I am also not sure how she pronounces Shania. PA guy did two different versions, one where she would be belting out “Honey, I’m Home” and one where she would not be.)

I like Stony Brook’s heart, but I think they need to make better decisions in the lane and they don’t have the depth to keep up with a high-intensity defensive team like St. John’s.

Look, St. John’s, this carrying the bare minimum number of players is not going to end well. We couldn’t even clear the bench fully today.

Shamachya Duncan is going by Machi on the PA. She seems like a nice kid, but she wasn’t very effective out there. She’s still got a ways to go. Qadashah Hoppie, whose name I am now certain I don’t know how to pronounce (seriously, it would have killed people to give the PA guy a pronunciation key?) shows potential, but I think she needs to get used to having to put in D-I effort instead of coasting on talent. She seemed to be a step slow, and not just because she was still figuring out where she needed to be. One does not make a good first impression when the first play of the game involves you standing and staring at a loose ball.

Tamesha Alexander remains my favorite even if she isn’t the best player on the floor. Fight me, I don’t care. I think the fact that she’s acting as a captain from the bench says a lot about her and why she’s my favorite. I love the potential of Kayla Charles. I’m going to need her to not commit stupid fouls at the end of the game, but she’s so springy that I think she can do great things in the paint. She did really nice work on the offensive glass, and I’m a sucker for offensive rebounds.

Speaking of rebounds, my goodness, Maya Singleton, you do your thing! I love when she rips the ball away from her opponents. She was fierce and she was tough. It seemed like she got stronger as the game went on. Imani Littleton had a quieter game, and had a lot of trouble holding on to the ball early on. I wondered if she was on a minutes count because of the knee injury from last year. She had a really good block in the fourth quarter, though.

Alisha Kebbe came on strong in the third quarter. Her shot wasn’t falling, even at the rim, but she did a good job getting to the line, and her on-ball defense was ferocious. I’m still getting used to the long hair, but that’s a small, stupid thing. (I’m not good at change.) I love watching her work on defense, and sitting near the sideline, I got a lot of good looks at her hassling Stony Brook’s guards. Tiana England looks like she’s still trying to find her footing, both in the literal not-falling-on-her-ass sense and in the sense of figuring out what her role is and where she’s supposed to be on the floor. I can see why the team might be excited about her, but I don’t think she’s as far along as they thought she was going to be. Akina Wellere got the scoring started early for the Red Storm, and it looks like she’s going to be the workhorse for this team. She seemed to be more willing to go to the basket than she was last year, which is good. We need her to have a really well-rounded offense.

It looks like another season of a defensive mindset and questions about who’s going to bring th eoffense. It's going to be a rough year, but I knew that already, and I’m ready for it. I’ll still be there for them.

Guys, seriously, if you’re going to do something as a fundraiser, you might want to have a spot where people can make donations. Official attendance was 110, and I suspect paid tickets were in the low double-digits... if not single digits, given that Coach Tartamella paid for 100 students (though 100 students didn’t show up) and I think those numbers also included family tickets. I was ready to give money or buy things as fundraisers, and that didn’t happen.

Cheer’s still figuring out the routine. Dance looks good.

I’m looking forward to the actual opener. I’m still pessimistic about our chances against Big East competition, but maybe we won’t be as hard to watch as I thought we would. I mean, they’re my team and I’m going to love them no matter what, but maybe this love won’t hurt as much.

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December 21st, 2016: UMBC at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma'am: After an offensively challenged first half for both teams, UMBC came out strong in the second half to knock off LIU at the Barclays Center, 57-45. Tyler Moore had 17 of her team-high points in the second half to lead the Retrievers. Shanovia Dove came off the bench to lead LIU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but no other Blackbird cracked double digits.

For clarinets, accordions, mediocre guitarists, excellent Diet Coke, so much dribbling, bad passes, biting the hand that feeds you, and deep concerns about interpersonal relationships, join your intrepid and pensive blogger after the jump.

On the road again, this time off to the Barclays Center for half of a double-header- we'll be watching the Blackbirds of LIU take on UMBC.

(Why only half the double-header? Because I don't care enough about men's basketball to get home at 11:30 when I have a meeting early the next morning.)

We've had fantastic music on this long R ride from Continental to DeKalb. First there was a clarinet player who did beautiful work on some Christmas tunes, then an accordion player who was really good. I love my city sometimes. Most of the time.

We're at T-minus 24 minutes, and there are maybe twenty to twenty-five people in the stands. And I think about a quarter of them are LIU band members. It's weird having a little bit of distance from the team, but I like having some perspective.

Lost Albany fan is lost. The women are playing UMBC; the men are playing Niagara. So think I can ask him for any tips on Imani Tate?

I don't think I like the Nets making all their banners black and white, even from the times when they were red, white, and blue. It just looks wrong somehow. At least the Isles are still rocking the city colors. (White, blue, and orange are kind of a thing with New York teams- see also the Mets and the Knicks. It's a flag thing.)

Looks like we weren't the only ones who made the trip out to Brooklyn from Queens. Hi, Veronica!

At halftime, it's 15-13 LIU. This... has not been an inspiring half of basketball in the name of Brooklyn hoops and the women's game. Six points and five boards for Aja Boyd for LIU; Taylor McCarley has eight out of 13 for UMBC.

The guy across the aisle from us knows his stuff. He agrees that LIU needs to be way more aggressive on offense. There's way too much passing the ball around, not enough attacking. And then Aja drops the ball.

It's kind of cool to have an entrance/intro video for once. LIU's normal scoreboard doesn't allow for one. The whole team was watching in fascination, including the staff.

So, uh. That was a thing that happened. The easy way out would be to say, "Look, I don't want to revisit this game, you don't want me to revisit this game, and Coach Oliver definitely doesn't want me to revisit this game. Let's just talk about the band and the arena and the overpriced but delicious Diet Coke." But I don't take the easy way out in GNoD, so you're going to get the cold hard truth as I see it from the stands.

UMBC's coach is kinda loud and seems fond of using his timeouts. I know you don't get to take them home with you for the next game, but if you're up eight with 11 seconds to go, it might be okay to leave one on the table.

Carly Harris and Kayla Hinderlee only came in at the very end- I think there were 11 seconds left. Come to think of it, that might have been why he called the timeout, which is kinda sweet, but at the same time, is eleven seconds really a reasonable amount of playing time? Hinderlee was so unprepared that she had to be called back to the bench to get her earrings off. Lucrezia Costa was awkward in the middle, picking up three very quick fouls in the second quarter. UMBC's coach went back to her in the second half, with slightly better results.

I honestly didn't notice Emily Russo in the game until the second half, so I don't really have much to say about her. She was probably scrappy on the ball, though- most of the Retrievers were. Taylor McCarley started off like a house on fire- she was pretty much the sole source of offense for UMBC in the first half. She's long and lanky, and used her length and speed to press ahead on fast breaks, slicing through LIU's defense like a hot knife through butter. She started the second half.

McCarley got that start over the other McRetriever, Allison McGrath. I liked McGrath on defense. I'm wondering if she got hurt; she didn't play at all in the second half, and I didn't think she had done anything worthy of being buried on the bench. I didn't see an injury, though. Amanda Hagaman should really have been much more effective- she had good looks at the basket and blew them. She made life difficult on the inside for LIU, though.

Laura Castaldo took her turn as the star of the UMBC offense in the early part of the third quarter, hitting from range. She was a demon defensively, leaping on the slow and telegraphed passes of LIU. (There were a lot of those, but we'll get to that.) When she cooled off slightly, there was Tyler Moore, hitting corner threes and scoring on the break. Te'yjah Oliver quietly ran the point and took contact. (There was one play where I thought LIU was backing off under the mistaken impression that Coach Oliver was somehow related to the Retriever guard and thus fouling her would be a Very Bad Idea.)

LIU, I can't even with the extra passing and the bad passing and the telegraphed passing. More importantly, I can't even with the endless dribbling, the cold-blooded murder by strangulation of a perfectly innocent shot clock, and the utter lack of urgency.

I don't know what Brianna Farris did to get buried at the end of the bench, only dredged up in the fourth quarter to take corner threes off the heel of the rim and devour fouls when the Blackbirds tried to extend the game. On the other hand, the way she played would not indicate that further minutes were deserved. DeAngelique Waithe remains my favorite, despite her occasional bouts of offensive ineptitude. I still like watching her play defense, especially when she drops monster blocks.

Shanovia Dove was unafraid to shoot, which was a marked contrast to the rest of her teammates. She was hitting from deep, as well as from the lane. She's always been streaky, and this was a good day for her. Coach Oliver rode her hot hand for most of the game. Stylz Sanders was extremely active on defense, especially early on. She deflected a lot of balls. Drew Winter, when she took her shot, had a good shot, but like many Blackbirds, she was tentative with it and took too much time to even work up the nerve to shoot.

I don't know if there are drills that a player can practice to improve their hands- their ability to catch passes and hold rebounds. If there are, someone please send a link to Aja Boyd so she can start doing them. She had good passes and fumbled them; she had rebounds and lost them. And she has to finish better in the lane. I think the latter is easier for a freshman to fix than the former. Gabrielle Caponegro was playing scared, and this isn't just my assessment- the guy across the aisle from us was talking about how she wasn't like this in high school. She was hesitant to shoot and unsure of her place in the scheme. I think she has a lot of potential. I don't know if she has the makeup to tap that potential at LIU.

Dionne Coe is going to drive me crazy if she doesn't either start hitting shots or stop dribbling. So much dribbling. So much wasted time dribbling, dribbling, dribbling. The problem was that either she would dribble herself right into a steal or throw the ball right to UMBC because the pass was telegraphed. She's not the answer at point- obviously not for the future, since she's a grad transfer, but I don't think she's even the answer right now, despite her experience. Victoria Powell was just as timid, but slightly more accurate, and at least you can excuse a freshman for being timid. Seneca Richards was in to shoot threes, and while her shot was pretty, it was all she brought to the floor. I'm not sure that a single-dimensional player is a luxury this team can afford to have in the starting lineup.

So, this team. We're in the NEC here. This isn't the Big East; this isn't even the higher echelons of the MAAC. You're not going to get players with full skill sets. If you do, or if you get a player who's only missing one piece, she's probably going to climb the ladder. Witness Jasmine Nwajei going from Wagner to Syracuse, or Sofia Roma going from Wagner to Duke. For that matter, LIU has a history of feeding the BCS, with Kim Mac Millan going to St. John's and Valerie Nainima going to South Carolina. At this level, there has to be a lot more teaching of the game. I'm not sure that's being done. Now, I'm only seeing things from the stands, so I'm not even getting one side of the story. I don't know if the coach isn't coaching, or if the players aren't listening, or if there's some other gap that's not being bridged. But there's a fundamental disconnect between what's being said and what's being done on the court. There's a stark difference between what the flow of the game might dictate and what's actually happening.

I want to get behind them. I really do. The game day experience at LIU is great- cheer is enthusiastic, the band's interesting, and nobody brings the noise like LIU's spirit squad. But I feel like the joy is being squeezed out of everyone once the ball goes up. It's hard to keep your own spirits up that way.

So, uh, Merry Christmas? Happy Hanukkah? Joyous Festivus?

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November 30th, 2016: Albany at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: After a tied third-quarter, St. John's tightened up the defense on Albany and came out with a 54-36 win. Jade Walker led the Red Storm with 13 points, with Andrayah Adams coming off the bench for 10. Imani Tate of Albany led all scorers with 18, but no other Great Dane had more than 6.

For missed opportunities, people who just look right in purple, a Sacramento Monarchs reference, a Minnesota Lynx reference, sekrit compartments, thunderous blocks, superstars, and a freshman breakout, join your intrepid and somewhat cranky blogger after the jump.
Good evening, fellow travelers, or perhaps people hoping not to be called for travels. We're on the campus of St. John's University for an in-state battle between the Red Storm and the Great Danes of Albany.

Anthem singer was trying. Not necessarily succeeding, but trying.

Aliyyah Handford and Briana Brown are both in the house. Looks like Liyyah got her hair did. She's been spending most of the game with the strength and conditioning coach/trainer/dude who needs a beard and an axe to audition as a dwarven extra for the next Hobbit movie.

At halftime, St. John's is up 28-19, and my favorite play of the game is the volleyball-style deflection by Crystal Simmosn that led to Crystal's rebound and a lay-up by Jade Walker. Jade Walker has found some of her stroke, with 8 points, while Imani Tate has impressed for Albany with 6.

This halftime biddy game has been pretty good.

Shoutout to the loud students, possibly athletes, in the next section over.

We still have to figure out how to coordinate our chants with the cheer squad. I might need to buy pom-poms. I'd look silly with them, though.

I wasn't expecting Albany to be as one-dimensional as they turned out to be. They have a star in Imani Tate, but I'm not sure the supporting cast is up to the task, even collectively, of filling the shoes of Shereesha Richards.

Alexi Schecter played briefly, just long enough to be called for an offensive foul that Jade Walker did a remarkable dive job on, and was promptly pulled, never again to see the light of day. Cassandra Edwards played a stretch in the first half and was forgettable, which made me a little sad- I thought I remembered her being more of a factor for them. Khepera Stokes apparently did not come equipped with a pronunciation guide, because our PA guy paused noticeably pretty much every time he had to say her name. She was aggressive offensively, perhaps a bit too much.

Bailey Hixon showed some nice stroke, and great hustle on deflections defensively and on the glass. I can see why Albany's coach went to her early and often. Tiana-Jo Carter was called upon to do a lot of physical work in the post. I swear half her missed shots came on Albany's final desperate possession, when they threw everything at the basket and the rim denied everything. Very tough, but wild on offense.

I thought Heather Forster played more than the box score indicated. She made some good defensive plays on the baseline, and had a monster block on an ill-fated drive by Aaliyah Lewis. She also set a really nice screen on a three that didn't go down- but the screen was pretty sweet. I'm not sure if Jessica Féquière's name was being pronounced correctly, and there were enough opportunities for the announcer to try to get his mouth around it. She stepped her game up somewhat in the fourth quarter. Bose Aiyalogbe was very active on both ends of the floor, though not always effective. She has a pretty shot, but it wasn't going down.

Mackenzie Trpcic ran the offense with a firm hand. She's pretty quick, and stuck on defense to our ballhandlers. Her ballhandling needs some work, and I think she was pressing too much near the end of the game, but she might just turn out all right for them. Imani Tate is awesome, and a whole lot of fun to watch. Her release is so quick, and she has such a knack for creating space for herself. She jumps the passing lanes well, and she uses her reach effectively to tip balls away, both as a pass defender and as a rebounder. She has to be less reckless when driving- she got called for some offensive fouls in the second half that took her and Albany out of the game. (though I'll admit the fourth foul was a pretty cheap call) Some refs are going to catch those pushoffs and those moments where she doesn't look before she drives.

We have a bench! And we even got to see the very end of it! Shamachya Duncan, Kendyl Nunn, and Tamesha Alexander all played the last minute or so and showed a lot of hustle. Kendyl and Sox were both especially aggressive going after potential held balls. I get the feeling we're going to need a pronunciation guide soon. We also got some good defensive minutes from Sandra Udobi, though you can tell there are plays she thinks she can still make, but the flesh is weak.

Andrayah Adams showed a little more today than she did the last time I saw her. I'm not sure about running her at the point with Crystal Simmons, as Coach did to get Aaliyah a little rest- she seems more suited to being the offense instead of initiating the offense. She's still got some freshman jitters to work through- the fumbled pass at the end of the first half when she was being set up for the corner three comes to mind (as an aside, the name of that play amuses me immensely, because I understand the reference, and no, I'm not going to give you my team's signals). Crystal Simmons had an impact beyond the box score- she was everywhere on defense and kept her hands active on loose balls. She made a lot of things happen, and that's what I love about her. Her jump shot is still one of the weirdest things I've ever seen, and she needs a geological epoch to get it off, but it goes in. Maya Singleton's strength was her strength, and that's not redundant or tautological. She ripped down rebounds with sheer, raw power and tore balls away from opponents (there was one play where she basically un-held a held ball situation with {I think} Féquière). She finished strongly at the basket, and delivered resounding blocks with the dominance of a certain other Maya. (She also had a pretty hilarious flop that was rather more DeMya than Maya, if you know what I mean.)

Aaliyah Lewis has started falling into the habit of dramatically protesting pretty much every call against her, and it's not a good look on her. She gets caught palming, or reaching in, and she starts stalking around like a petulant child. I get that it's frustrating to actually be caught, but staaaaaahp. It detracts from her pinpoint passing and her defensive disruptions. Alisha Kebbe was quiet, and Joe was swapping her out frequently for more advantageous match-ups. After the good start, I think the speed of the college game is starting to catch up to her, more mentally than physically.

Akina Wellere was hobbled early by foul trouble- she picked up two fouls in the first quarter and Joe sat her for the entire first half. She never really had a chance to get her shot off- I don't know if she's adjusting to being a primary focus of defensive attention well. Near the end of the game, she was making up for lost time with steals in rapid succession- she read Albany's telegraphed passes like she was working for Western Union. Imani Littleton had a quiet game offensively, but laid the hammer down inside on the Great Danes' shots. She had a real beauty on Féquière late in the game to help seal it, and the one shot she hit was a sweet hook shot. I am, and always have been, a sucker for hook shots. Jade Walker found her shot, or at least her willingness to shoot, but I'd like to see her finish better at the basket and move back in towards the hole. Long straight-away threes are not her shot, at least not yet (and since she's a senior, I'm not holding my breath). I am also a sucker for strong play in the paint, and I feel like Jade relies too much on her jumper; the big girl's ability to shoot the sweet J becomes less of a secret weapon if it's her only weapon. (And it is a sweet jumper. Don't get me wrong.)

I don't know if the strategy was to let Tate get hers and lock everyone else down- I've seen teams use that strategy because they know the superstar will get it anyway- or if it just worked out that way. But Tate was the only Great Dane to score in the third quarter, and the only one with a second-half field goal until deep into the fourth. The defense really clamped down, and it was glorious.

I have no real beef with the officiating, which is a blessed relief. I think I want Kathleen Lynch at all the games.

It was YMCA night, but not only did there not appear to be any YMCA groups, neither the band nor the arena played "YMCA", nor did the cheer squad or the dance team do the Y-M-C-A. Theme night, you're not doing it wrong so much as you're not doing it at all.

I'm not sure if the art on the roster cards is done by an artist or an Instagram filter, but it's pretty cool-looking anyway.

Nice to get that home win. Now it's on to the next one. Lafayette, we are coming!

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November 11th, 2016: Stony Brook at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A third-quarter defensive clampdown was the key to Iona's 57-46 season-opening win against Stony Brook. Alexis Lewis led all scorers with 18 points, adding eight rebounds, while Tori Lesko flirted with a double-double in her debut of 14 points and nine boards. Kori Bayne-Walker had 17 to lead the Seawolves in the loss.

For a quick change, buses, wrestling references, facing down the dreaded, yellow ribbons, a sparkling debut, and numbness, join your intrepid and easily distracted blogger after the jump.
And it's off to Iona for the second half of a day-night double-header that seems set to become a tradition. The Gaels will be hosting Stony Brook in the return match of a home-and-home series, and their first home game since being crowned MAAC champions. Tonight should be the banner-raising, and I am hyped.

It's 4:30 on the 45 bus. We hit our connections like clockwork, so we're already in New Rochelle. The sun is low in the sky, and where there is sunlight, it's a rich gold. We travel in the company of about a dozen high school students, who are loud but not too much trouble otherwise.

Someone please remind me to keep the obstreperous hinge of my laptop taped. It's making it difficult to write notes, and my ankles hurt from keeping my feet up to maintain the proper angle. I'd rather be on point than en pointe.

Overheard on the bus: "Booyaka is a word." They're amusing themselves with a game of telephone, and somehow they went from Rey Mysterio to Ric Flair in seven steps.

Our favorite eatery on North Avenue went out of business (again), so we're trying a new place. So far I like their philosophy, but their quesadillas are mediocre.

If Billi keeps forgetting to put us on the pass list, I'm going to start forgetting where Iona is on my spreadsheet. We were able to get in touch with the director of operations, who knows us, but this is the one team that forgets us the most.

The light bulbs appear to have been changed, or are at least brighter. So vey bright. Unfortunately, the banners face the side opposite the bench, so we're looking at the back of black vinyl from our spots behind the bench.

Y'all. Look, Iona. Y'all have literally one player on the roster from the state of New York. Y'all have more players from Arizona than from the tri-state. You can miss me with this hyped-up NYC connection.

We have a band! With people and everything! And there are more than five of them! We even have a mascot! Looks like all you have to do to get taken kind of seriously at Iona is win the conference tournament and rep the school in the NCAA tournament.

Oh, dear. There's a group of Stony Brook fans in the next section over from us (which is the center court section, to be fair), and when they cheered for their team, the band turned around with various flavors of "WTF" on their faces.

My fingers are still blue, by the way.

I always thought it was "Gold Club" for the Iona boosters, not "Goal Club". You know, because the colors are maroon and gold? Today I learned a thing!

Gorgeous anthem pregame.

At halftime, Stony Brook is up 32-25. Early foul trouble screwed up Iona's rotations, with Treyanna Clay and Marina Lizarazu both picking up two fouls in the first quarter. But we've had other defensive issues, losing both three-point shooters and lane drivers.

And the defense clamped down when we needed it most. Stony Brook had 15 points in the first quarter, and 14 points the entire second half. I think I might be a little in love with Tori Lesko.

Anamaria Skaro attempted the Andrea Stinson weapons of mass distraction approach on defense. It's not quite as effective when one is not quite as blessed in the frontal regions as Stinson was. Her late threes were heaves of desperation. Ayshia Baker saw time late in the game- how late, I can't tell you precisely, since the PA guy never got around to announcing her entry into the game. Ditto for Jerell Matthews, an issue compounded by the fact that I had her number and Kina Smith's number mixed up.

(You know what's really disconcerting? Being on a new bus route in a strange city, next to a dude who has the funk of forty thousand years wafting off of him, with a misbehaving computer on your lap, and having the bus abruptly go dark. Fortunately, it was a momentary issue, nothing more than "have you tried turning it off and on again?")

Kina Smith brought height to the table, and worked on the glass. Giolibeth Perez, whose name did not seem to come with a pronunciation guide, was very fast, but not always in control. Davion Wingate was solid defensively- she had a really nice steal that led to a fast break basket.

Elizabeth Manner wasn't flashy, but whenever Stony Brook needed a basket with the shot clock running down, she got in the lane and she hit that basket. Always gotta watch out for that big girl. Aaliyah Worley was bombing away from deep, and her wild drives were not answered as frequently as her teammates'.

Lauren Williams is one of those people who doesn't believe she fouls. And she fouled out, which should indicate something. What, I don't know. She was one of the people who exploited the baseline that Iona was leaving open. Kori Bayne-Walker, she of the truly epic last name, is a lot quicker than one would think from her frame, and will not be denied on the drive. She hits hard. Christa Scognamiglio, whose name was reversed in my box score and is thus causing me great confusion, brought a large contingent that wanted to see her score, but none of the long jumpers she was taking went down. Her people were very disappointed.

Stony Brook did a good job of scrapping for loose balls, but they couldn't capitalize. I don't have a good angle of the opposing bench from where I sit, but it didn't look like McCombs was getting very animated about this game. I don't know if that's just her or if she doesn't get up for non-conference games, or what.

Philecia Atkins-Gilmore better be hurt or suspended or something, because otherwise there's no good reason for her not to have played in this one. I don't care that her playing would have cost us her singing along with "We Will Rock You", I'd rather have her actually rocking people.

Iida Ahvenainen still needs to get her ass in the weight room. She doesn't do a good job of holding on to the ball, and she doesn't seem to have the strength to hoist a consistent jumper- her first three was very short, and then she was overcompensating on the next couple of shots until one of those high arcers went in. Kristin Mahoney got a few scattered minutes and still looked like a deer in the headlights out there. She's running out of excuses and running out of time. Amelia Motz is still looking for her shot, but at least she's a freshman, you expect that sort of thing out of freshmen.

What you don't expect out of freshmen is the kind of debut Tori Lesko had for the Gaels. I love her hustle. I love her rebounding. I love her screens. I love her putbacks. She reminds me of a young Cathrine Kraayeveld, before Cathrine got addicted to the long ball. She took charges and made play after play. Treyanna Clay got in foul trouble early, and I think that set the tone for her all game. She wasn't as aggressive and assertive as she usually is, but she was making some very good plays at the basket. Karynda DuPree is going to kill me one of these days. I hate when post players are passive, and she always seems so very disconnected from the game when she's not directly involved. I like her shot-blocking, and I'm glad she's finally stopped chucking threes, but she's a senior now. She has to be more of a leader on the floor.

Alexis Lewis's shot took the night off, especially from long range- a strange thing to say about someone who poured in more points than anyone else, but her jumper was wild. She's got a little bit of the same problem Joy Adams had, where the shot rims in and out or takes wild bounces inside the rim. Maybe a little less oomph? Marina Lizarazu has upped the flash factor on her game, which is fun when her teammates catch the passes, or when her offense gets hot in the fourth quarter. It's somewhat less fun when she misses deep threes that she has no real reason to be taking.

I love the defensive intensity this team brings to the table. And I know it's going to be even better when we get Fee back. The rebounding is fantastic. The offensive execution needs work, and I feel like this is the eternal story of my life as a basketball fan. I don't know if they can defend their MAAC title successfully, but I also get the sense this is a down year for the MAAC, so anything can happen. It's exciting.

Officiating could use a little work, especially around the circle.

It was great to have a full band there! MOAR BAND.

So long as we can maintain diplomatic relationships with New Rochelle, and so long as we can find somewhere decent to eat, Iona's going to be high on the list for quite some time.

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November 13th, 2015: Iona at Stony Brook

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Stony Brook overcame early turnover issues to come away with a 58-53 home win against Iona. Kori Bayne-Walker led the Seawolves with 14 points; Stony Brook also got 13 points from Christa Scognamiglio and 12 points and 10 boards from Brittany Snow. Iona's Marina Lizarazu led all scorers with 21 points.

For fumbles, missed opportunities, fantastic bands, so very many trains, souvenirs, shiny things, new favorites, and wind, join your intrepid and anachronic blogger after the jump.


We are never going to Stony Brook again.

That's nothing against the town, or the school, or the facilities. We haven't even made it there yet. LIRR is ridiculously expensive and I refuse to pay those prices ever again.

That being said, the food is good (we went to a place called The Bench, right after the Iona team meal, and got to say hi to their bus) and the facility still has that new arena smell from the heavy internal renovations. It's a bit confusing to get around, and I'm not a fan of putting suites that low in the building. But it's really nice otherwise.

No, Iona, don't do this to me, why is Aaliyah Robinson not dressed, please let A-Rob be okay, please. NOT MY FAVORITE DAMNIT

Of course Stony Brook's band knows Billy Joel. It's like we're out on the Island or something.

What is with Stony Brook's penchant for fearsome and/or terrifying names? You've had a Sabre, you have Bayne-Walker (which phonetically sounds like an awesome horror series) and now you have a Skaro. If she starts screaming "EXTERMINATE" we all run.

I think Stony Brook's band has too many Yankee fans in it. They're doing roll call in time with the test of the graphics system. It fits better in the college system, but as a Mets fan, I'm obligated to mock Yankee things.

Kiddy anthem. I've heard worse kids.

At halftime, Stony Brook is up 29-23, and if neither team hits 58 I'm declaring them both losers and giving Bryant the win, because this has just been bad basketball. Stony Brook is turning the ball over like crazy, while Iona is turning the ball over and making absolutely no sense. I don't understand Iona's offense. I don't understand Iona's rotations. I don't understand why Iona is trying to turn an athletic rebounder who's at her best scoring off boards and down low into a small forward and having her shoot from the outside when she shoots. I don't understand anything.

But I really like Stony Brook's band. What they do with the student section is what we're trying to do in section 2 at St. John's- bring the noise, get good call and response going.

That game got fun for a while, but in the end, Iona couldn't buy a basket and Stony Brook could seal the deal with free throws and defense. The pedant in me thinks it might have been easier for them to buy a basket if they sent the right people to the store, but I recognize my biases and attempt to either work around them or acknowledge them so that others may recognize and take them into account.

Iida Ahvenainen came out shooting, but didn't come out hitting. She was first off the bench in the first half, but didn't play in the second half. I understand why. Philecia Gilmore is doing her best to become my new favorite, though not for her play on the court. She's passionate, she's intense, she's loud, and she has presence beyond her years on the bench. She didn't have a great game on the court, but on the bench she reminds me of Erin Thorn, and I can already see her as a coach in the future. (Yes, I'm thinking specifically of the years Erin suffered through Pat Coyle.)

I really like Ashley Murray's hustle. She sacrifices her body on defense to draw charges, and she's not afraid to bang. I think I'd like to see her be more of an offensive option, but then again, I don't know what the offensive options are, so. Aurellia Cammock got a couple of big boards in the second half, but she's got to hold on to the ball, she's got to be more careful with her body, and she's got to finish plays.

Alexis Lewis certainly isn't afraid to shoot. I'm sure there will be days when I think this is a good thing. This was not one of those nights. I like her intensity and her passion, but I don't know if she's ready to start yet. Marina Lizarazu set the nets on fire in the first half; in the second half, she seemed to fall back into old habits of endless dribbling left and stalling the offense. Stop being afraid of action! Good things happen when there is action!

Treyanna Clay intrigues me. You can see how raw she is, but you can see that there's potential there. I don't know if she's ready for the big time yet, but I like her fearlessness. She's got good instincts- she just needs to hone them. Karynda DuPree is right back to that style of play that makes me want to tear my hair out: she stands and stares at rebounds, she's careless with the ball, she's taking deep threes at angles she's not good from. She'll have moments, especially on the defensive glass, where she looks aggressive and plays with the strength of that solid frame. And then she goes back to half-speed. Joy Adams seems to be wedged into a three-hole that her style of play doesn't suit. She's a phenomenal athlete who's best running the break and close to the basket off rebounds. Why she's being set up for threes is utterly beyond me, and I think it's affecting her game both physically and mentally (though her catching ability has never been great, she's being called upon for more dribbling than usual, and her handle is not that great). She missed a couple of shots late that she should have had.

I realized what the Joy-at-the-three experiment reminds me of: when Bill Laimbeer tried to convert Toni Young from 4 to 3. Joy's a little bit smarter than Toni, and definitely has a better work ethic, but it's still trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.

Kim Hanlon came up with some big plays at the end of the game, icing the deal at the line and making the big steal. She seems like a solid, heady player. Davion Wingate came in for an offensive boost, with mixed results. She's got some moves. Alyssa Coiro coordinated the defense when she was in, and seemed to be a leader on the floor.

A lot of people at Stony Brook and in the America East are going to be annoyed with this team, because they're going to have to spell Ogechi Anyagaligbo a lot, because she's very, very good. She had a big swat to help seal the game for Stony Brook late, and she's got good moves in the lane. I really like her and her potential. Brittany Snow played well down low. She was phenomenal on the offensive boards, with some help from her teammates keeping balls alive.

Jerell Matthews got the start, but didn’t play a lot (I think this is part of why I lost track of the rotations a little in this game). She was mostly out on the perimeter. Kori Bayne-Walker moves deceptively gracefully for a woman of her very broad build. Sometimes it works for her; sometimes it definitely doesn't. On a night when the officials are calling block/charge pell-mell, it doesn't work. Christa Scognamiglio hit a couple of big buckets late in the first half, after the first time Iona took a lead behind Marina. She's got nice touch.

Stony Brook's announcer seems to relish long, complex last names, much as Mike W. does for the Liberty and the Knicks. I love it.

The officials got kind of inconsistent about block/charge in this one- in the first half, everything was a charge, but in the second half, everything became a block. I think this crew might have been confused about the presence of both the men's and the women's circles on the court. I think the rules committee should look at that.

Stony Brook does postgame autographs after every game, and since our train didn't leave for another forty minutes, it seemed like a good use of our time to get on line. They were all really nice, but someone needs to talk to administration about getting better and/or more markers. Poor Anyagaligbo got stuck with one that was drying out.

All in all, my biggest problem with Stony Brook is the same problem I had with the Prudential Center: it's a beautiful arena, with great atmosphere, all the necessary amenities, transit nearby, good food in the area, a team that can be fun to watch... but it's just too far away to be realistic for me.

The problems I have with Iona, however, run deeper.

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November 30th, 2014: Stony Brook at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Damika Martinez's 2000th career point was among her game-high 29, spurring a 73-62 win over Stony Brook. Joy Adams added 14 points, eight boards, and three steals. Sabre Proctor had 17 to lead the Seawolves, with Jessica Ogunnorin adding 14 points and nine rebounds.

For hard choices, small children, flicking tiles, amazing names, pacing issues, hard bleachers, and smoking on the subway, join your intrepid and mildly ashamed blogger after the jump.



These are not the droids St. John's Game Notes of Doom you were looking for.

I've always been a fan of defensive basketball. The New York Liberty started me that way, the Miami Sol developed me further, and Rutgers finished the job. But every so often you have to stop and appreciate a scorer. The peril of following defensive teams, though, is that you rarely see a phenomenal scorer. I haven't had a college team with a 2,000 point scorer since I was a Rutgers fan back in the day and Cappie Pondexter scored all the points.

But that was then, and this is now, and at 1:25 PM before the Iona-Stony Brook tip, Damika Martinez is sitting on 1,994 points. And I want to see her do it. So St. John's plays Wagner at 2, and Iona plays Stony Brook at 2, and I'm in New Rochelle.

Graphics team is already ready for Mik2K, but it's bad luck to keep it up quite so long.

I wish you could see this roster card. Typesetting, you're doing it so wrong, and possibly drunkenly.

Even the toughest basketball players love small kids. Damika and one of (I think) her little cousins were just too adorable.

Mik2K has been achieved. Damika has 14 at the half, and Iona is holding on to a 31-25 lead over Stony Brook. Only three Seawolves have even scored, led by 11 from Sabre Proctor. But I do not like the pace. All our guards are capable of running- so why are they slowing down the pace and pounding the dribble like it's a Rutgers-Villanova-Utah round-robin? "Don't think too much- you'll hurt the ballclub."

That game had the odd feeling of both feeling like it was closer than it should have been and not as close as it should have been. Does that make any sense? I felt like Iona should have been pressing more on offense- but Stony Brook had a lot more makeable shots and looks at the basket, and the margin sort of ballooned during a second half run and with Damika getting free throws (which, hey, cool, freebies as she winds toward 2467!)

Kristie Costantino had a couple of fantastic defensive plays, especially one in the second half where she flew in to deflect a ball that would have been a sure fast break lay-up. Kim Hanlon committed pretty much all the fouls. She looked taller than she's listed, though that might have been in comparison to shorter teammates. I'm also considering the possibility that the roster listed on Iona's scorecard is inaccurate. Alyssa Coiro was tall and got inside well, though she took it kind of personally when Aaliyah Robinson got her hard on the inside (to be fair, it should have been a foul on Aaliyah) and checked her from behind. I think Stony Brook does have hockey, but playing hockey in the middle of a basketball game is uncalled for. Christy Scognamiglio managed to sneak in for offensive rebounds.

I know it's petty, but Sabre Proctor pronouncing her name "sa-BREE" makes me sad. Your name is a sword! You have an Awesome McCoolname, and you make it mundane? Okay, fine. She was solid for the Seawolves, hitting jumpers and holding down the fort in the first half. Brittany Snow is tall, and Stony Brook used her size well early, setting her up on the inside for easy, easy lay-ups. She was also active on the boards, using her height against smaller Gaels. (Which would be most of them.) Miranda Jenkins really didn't make much of an impact- Stony Brook went a little larger off the bench, and she was the odd woman out. Jessica Ogunnorin was pretty impressive, and would have been even more impressive if a lot of those pretty jumpers had gone in. She was a mismatch on both sides of the floor, getting to the basket with some speed on offense and guarding Damika Martinez on defense, making sure Damika had a lot of trouble getting the ball. Kori Bayne-Walker, possessor of another Awesome McCoolname (no, seriously, whenever I see Stony Brook, I am possessed with an urge to write a fantasy series called "Banewalker"), ran the offense- she's a very wide guard, hard to put most guards on, and she started finding her threes in the second half.

Stony Brook has better size than I remembered, and a better idea of how to use that size. I'm interested in how that low post game is going to work out against Albany- yes, Albany lost Craig, but they still have strong forwards.

Kristin Mahoney still looks like a freshman out there- and worse than a freshman. Maybe it was intentional (though I certainly hope not), but she was constantly moving to the ball instead of staying with a specific assignment on defense. That's high school gym class instincts there. Philecia Gilmore gave good minutes in the backcourt, though I was surprised that we didn't try to use her to defend Bayne-Walker and give our shooters a little more space to move comfortably. I like her instincts on the court. Cassidee Ranger tried to defend at the four (she's more of a three, IMO) and fired off one of her sweet threes from the corner. Aurellia Cammock took a little while to get her groove, but got her feet under her in the second half to pull down rebounds and defend down low. She's starting to show me something this year, and I like it.

I still think Marina Lizarazu is a capable point guard, but I'm starting to be less enamored of her style. She seems to be a slow-it-down, pound-the-dribble guard, or at least that's the system she's being told to run, and it's frustrating when you know how good the transition game can be with this team. Maybe it's a trust issue early in the season, and maybe it'll change. She had some beautiful passes when the game sped up, including a wrap-around pass to Joy Adams for a basket down low that got the crowd going. The aforementioned Joy got off to a slow start in the first half, but her teammates were able to find her more in the second half, and she really took off. She was badly out of position often at the defensive end, though. I thought one of her teammates was going to drag her into place at one point in the first half. Karynda DuPree had a gorgeous block and pulled down a couple of boards, but she needs to be more assertive on offense- there was one play where Damika rifled her a pass inside in perfect position for a lay-up- and she threw the ball back out to Marina so unexpectedly that Marina stood there and stared as the pass went out of bounds. (Bad play by both of them.) Aaliyah Robinson put up threes and didn't make too many mistakes- a lot of the time that's what Aaliyah's there for, to hold down the fort and keep everyone's keel even. Damika Martinez was hurting- she had an enormous bandage wrapped around her ribs in the pregame, and seemed to be moving stiffly. She went for three quickly, then went cold for a while, then started popping threes. She seemed to loosen up more in the second half, and padded her totals with cheap free throws at the end. I am okay with this.

Officiating was interesting. It always is. Tight, for the most part, but there was a fair amount of contact late that they let go.

I still worry about Iona, but I'm happy for Damika. 444 points to go..

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Noember 28th, 2014: Binghamton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Bearcats came in feisty, but the guards stepped up for St. John's once more in a 67-51 win over Binghamton. Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant had 19 points each to pace the Red Storm; 15 of Handford's came in the first half, while 12 of Grant's came in the second. Jade Walker (11) and Amber Thompson (13) fueled a 51-26 edge on the boards. Jasmine Sina had 20 to lead Binghamton, with Imani Watkins adding 18.

For swag, turkey comas, mild worries, guards guards!, gearing up, and fan hypocrisies, join your intrepid and flushed blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, and other sorts of loyal readers! Your intrepid blogger has done her Black Friday shopping here at Carnesecca Arena, and now awaits the St. John's-Binghamton game.

The jersey selection wasn't as good as in previous years, so we claimed our Pink Zone jersey (#15, Jennifer Blanding from the era) and a couple of shirts. Aliyyah Handford is awesome and I would love to wear her jersey, but she and Amber Thompson both only take medium, and my chest does not accept mediums.

Everyone was kvetching about having to wait outside for the gates to open, and most people found excuses to cajole their way into the building early. In a dose of irony/cruelty, the person who had the most trouble getting in was the pizza delivery guy. SMH. Whiny suburban moms can get in, but the guy with the food has to be cross-examined.

One peeve about the rummage sale: no socks. I want the Under Armour cityscape socks so badly and I still can't get them. I am willing to give people money for them. I'm not even asking for a freebie. I want to buy socks. Let me buy your socks!

Since the men are playing at the Garden, the band and cheer squads are split. The band is supplementing with alumni.

Dude in Seton Hall Paradise Jam shirt, you had a pretty awesome week, but you are just a wee tiny bit lost. Trust me on this one. I've learned to tell the difference. (As it turns out, Binghamton's lead guard is the sister of a Seton Hall men's player, so a bunch of people have turned out for her. I'm not taking any bets on any of these people showing up for the Thanksgiving tournament tomorrow at Walsh, though.)

It's 35-24 St. John's at halftime, after a first quarter that was closer than it needed to be. Jasmine Sina, the aforementioned Pirate sister, was hot to start for the Bearcats, but Aaliyah Lewis has stepped up the defense on her. Aliyyah Handford has 15 of the 35. Amber Thompson has pretty much all the rebounds. (No, really. Just looked at the box. Amber has 11. Binghamton has 10.)

St. John's turned it up in the second half to pull away, but I have to admire Binghamton's fight. When they got down, they didn't get emotionally down. They got angry, and they made a couple of little runs to keep the margin under twenty. I have to respect that.

Binghamton doesn't have a long roster anyway, and they were even shorter-handed than their roster would suggest; only nine players were in uniform, and only seven of them played. Our PA guy had a lot of trouble with Gintare Surdokaite's name, which makes me think someone forgot to get the pronunciation guide out in time. I think she played most of her minutes in the first half. I don't have many clear memories of her. Kylie Libby was first off the bench- I think she was mostly in the second half. I seem to remember her on the boards.

(By the way, this is why I prefer jerseys with names on them. It's a lot easier to remember who you are if your name is on your back. Otherwise, it's easy to mix you up with a player who wears a similar number and quite possibly has a similar build to you.)

Jasmine Sina lit us up from the outside in the early going. She's very small, but she's excellent for her size. Aaliyah Lewis locked her down on defense in the second quarter (as a shorter form of saying "in the latter stages of the first half", I'm well aware that college doesn't use the quarter system). As her teammates became more effective in the second half, and as the defense shifted in response, Sina was able to get open again for the long ball. She's a feisty little thing. Imani Watkins took advantage of the lane in the second half and really drove hard to the basket. Kristin Ross got whatever rebounds Amber didn't. She was the Bearcats' size not necessarily directly in the middle, but in the post. Kim Albrecht did a little bit of everything, and seemed to be doing a lot of the right things at the right time on the floor. (It's more of a hockey phrase- "doing something good with the puck"- but it can be adapted for basketball.) Sherae Swinson was mostly quiet, though there were some strong moments down low.

Play I was most impressed with: Sina's last three-pointer, high and sweet and perfect over the long arm of Amber Thompson.

You may add to my list of things that frustrate me about Kyra Dunn the inability to grasp a rebound once she's on the case. She tipped out a lot of balls. Teaming her up with Amber might be better than teaming her up with Jade- she can tip the balls and Amber can catch them, because Amber catches all the rebounds. Crystal Simmons played big, solid minutes with Aliyyah Handford out for much of the second half. That created some interesting backcourt dynamics with Aaliyah Lewis, with Aaliyah almost seeming to move to the two while Crystal handled more of the ballhandling. Imani Littleton got her time in the second half, and seemed strangely unbalanced, ending up on the floor a surprising amount of times. She lurked around the basket and got buckets. Tamesha Alexander ran point for stretches in both halves and seemed fairly steady, but as a placeholder, not as a playmaker. That last turnover on her was not a fair call- that should have been a trip on Binghamton.

Today we saw what happens to a two-player team when one of those players can't hit the broad side of a barn. Danaejah Grant was not getting good shots in the first half, and was taking bad ones. There were at least two occasions where she ignored a player calling for the ball and instead took and missed a shot. She got a little better in the second half- I think she realized that without Aliyyah in there she was going to have to be the primary scoring threat, and made better decisions. Amber Thompson backed off a little bit in the second half, but in the first half she took down everything that looked like it might even consider being a rebound, with phenomenal positioning and great ferocity. Jade Walker stepped up her offense in the second half, with soft midrange jumpers. She was as fierce on the boards in the second half as Amber was in the first. Aaliyah Lewis stepped her game up. I know I keep saying she's growing on me, and part of that may be my feeble, futile hope that she'll sprout a few extra inches somewhere along the line, but I'm impressed with how she's developed at the beginning of this season. Her passing vision still needs a little work, but that should come with time. Aliyyah Handford had a fantastic first half, including some long jumpers, and since I've been saying that she needs to develop her jump shot if she wants to be the next Johnnie in the WNBA, I'm happy with that. She took a hard hit near the end of the first half and spent much of the second half on the bench with a towel over her head like a Russian grandmother's shawl.

One of the Binghamton (or possibly "Binghamton" fans) in the next section over wouldn't stop riding the refs. Every. Single. Possession. Every single possession he was either complaining that there hadn't been a foul on Binghamton, that there had been a foul on St. John's, or that a violation of some sort had occurred. Not that I haven't had my share of disagreements with officiating, and not that Amber didn't get away with a couple of shoves, but you've got to know when to pick your battles. (Such as the travel called on Tamesha that should have been a trip. Or Aliyyah getting hit in the face.)

Player families, or at least the specific subset that I tend to call "Team Jersey", have started helpfully labeling themselves- Danaejah's family had t-shirts with her name and number on them, Aliyyah's mom had a sweatshirt, Amber's mom was rocking a nifty shirt.

I still think the prize for the shopping spree game should have been whatever the kids could get into the cart.

I think Jade and Aaliyah proved in this gae that they have the capability to step up if one of our backcourt diarchy is out of the picture, whether that was Danaejah with the bad shooting in the first half or Aliyyah with the injury in the second half. That's bigger than any rough opening against a team that shouldn't have been a challenge for as long as they were.

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December 7th, 2013: UMass Lowell at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Strong team play, a 66-37 rebounding edge, and 50.7% shooting allowed the Seton Hall Pirates to get past 33 turnovers in a 97-68 thrashing of UMass-Lowell. Tabatha Richardson-Smith led all scorers with 27 points, 18 in the first half, also adding 12 rebounds. Chizoba Ekedigwe had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Ka-Deidre Simmons had 15 points and 12 assists for the Pirates. Shannon Samuels had 18 points to lead the Riverhawks; Lindsey Doucette added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

For lots of big numbers, yet another injured Pirate, having to have blue hair, willing spirit, two minutes for embellishment, and priests praying overtime, join your intrepid and cognitively dissonant blogger after the jump.


After that epic weekend of basketball last week when your intrepid blogger pretty much took over Swish Appeal for a while, we needed to recharge, so it's been a whole week. But we're back in the swing of things at Seton Hall, getting our first ever look at the Riverhawks of UMass-Lowell.

Almost died of squee from Alexis Brown and Bra'Shey Ali playing with one of the kidlets. Something about Bra'Shey using her dreads as a toy for the kid was just too adorable for words.

At halftime it's 56-37 Seton Hall, but Coach Bozzella is still cranky enough to stomp so loudly that the ref on the other side of the court came over to give him a warning. When Seton Hall has been able to maintain possession of the ball, they've been very good. But UMass-Lowell plays a very tough press, and it's become painfully clear that Seton Hall only has one ballhandler that they trust, Ka-Deidre Simmons. Tabatha Richardson-Smith has 18, 10 of which came in something like the first five minutes of the game, before the Riverhawks got their press really well established.

I don't know what the context was, but Coach Bozzella got into a very intense discussion with the Riverhawks' coach before the game. It went on for several minutes. Granted, pretty much any conversation is going to be animated if Coach Bozzella is involved, but he did not seem happy. Until I hear anything real, I'm going to assume they were having a fierce debate about the merits of Rainbow Dash versus those of Twilight Sparkle.

In case it wasn't obvious UMass-Lowell is a hockey school, the Riverhawks come at you in waves, to the point where even Seton Hall's PA announcer was referring to their substitutions as line changes. Their coach backed off the full-five substitutions after a while, but I don't think fewer than three Lowell players ever came in at a time. So it's kind of hard to keep everyone straight unless they really stood out. Ten players came off the bench for the Riverhawks, so yeah you're not getting detailed breakdowns on everyone. Kenya Stewart is going to be a very nice player one of these days, in my opinion. She's still raw- she miscalculated the length of the court two or three times. But she's got a lot of athleticism and a pretty little turnaround jumper, and she gets in the lane well. Brittany Lomanno showed off a little bit of stroke and made a couple of good defensive plays late. Olufemi Hamilton, who was not wearing the number expected on the roster, worked the wings well. Jennifer Gonsalves had a pretty steal very late in the game.

Shannon Samuels impressed me a lot. You know how they say players can get to the basket in an eyeblink? This is the first time I've ever literally seen it. I blinked, and in that blink her first step was complete and she was to the basket for the lay-up. She's fast, and she has a knack for getting to the line. Lindsey Doucette has a pretty little quick turnaround from the free throw line, and her threes get some serious arc on them. She got into foul trouble early in the second half, but that turned out to be nothing. Jasmine McRoy popped a couple of quick threes in the first half- in general, the Riverhawks relied heavily on the three. Nicole Hayner got in foul trouble early, and because of all the subs, didn't see much of the floor after that. She left no impression. Neither did Lauren Fiola.

UMass-Lowell pressed and trapped pretty much constantly. I think that's the advantage of always having fresh players in. Once the press was broken, they looked disoriented, and when defense impeded their ball movement, they were very out of sync.

We all thought Kathleen Egan was going to redshirt this season. Surprise! She got a couple of stretches, and while the spirit was willing, she was in over her head. Teresa Kucera had her chances to score, but missed everything she took and committed a couple of stupid fouls. Tara Inman did a nice job on the boards and picked up some cheap points on free throws near the end of the game. Breanna Jones played briefly in the first half, but disappeared for most of the second half- not in the sense of not playing well, but in the sense of "where did she go, she's not on the bench". She only came back out when Brittany Webb twisted her ankle. I suspect she was just under the weather, and they didn't want to play her in a thirty-point game unless they really had to. Jasmine McCall seems to like her shot a lot. It was good to get to see everyone get some time. Brittany Webb was tough inside, with some resounding blocks, but went out very near the end of the game with a badly twisted ankle. I'm really tired of Pirates getting hurt, you know.

Sidney Cook was an absolute monster on the boards. If the Riverhawks put a shot up, she was pulling it down. Ka-Deidre Simmons had a lot of responsibility, with her teammates unable to advance the ball without trying to get it to her. She had a couple of gorgeous drives in the second half, drawing contact and getting to the line. She did well finding her teammates, as well. Chizoba Ekedigwe was everywhere on the offensive boards, but missed a couple of sequences of chippies that had her teammates even more frustrated than they had us. She came up big in the second half. Janee Johnson came up with a lot of big plays in small ways- she was one of the few players who was at least willing to try to get the ball across without immediately panicking and trying to give the ball to Ka-Deidre. She's a strange hybrid type player, neither guard nor forward, but she works in this system. Tabatha Richardson-Smith started the game on fire- cooled down a little bit later on, but found her stroke again in the equivalent of the third quarter. I think she was a little too interested in scoring as opposed to playing a complete game- she didn't tend to leave her hands up on defense, and her rebounding was inconsistent- she got on the boards a fair amount, but in streaks. It was funny when she rebounded two straight shots that didn't actually go up, though.

The officiating was woefully inconsistent, and it damaged both teams. Seton Hall got the words of it in the first half, by far- I thought Coach Bozzella was going to pop a vein when Tabatha got called for a carry on the same play where blood somehow magically ended up on her jersey. He spent a lot of time being angry. In the second half, more of the fouls went against UMass-Lowell, and some of the calls looked as dicey as the ones against Seton Hall from the first half. I don't mind, necessarily, if officials are unable to make a specific type of call, or if they emphasize one kind of foul or violation over another- so long as that is applied consistently. It was not applied consistently, and that's dangerous to everyone on the floor.

Duck! Beware flying forwards! Tabatha went flying out of bounds and cleared a photographer. (We thought there was a collision. The photographer in question assured us later that she was fine, after she gave us a lift back to the city.)

It annoys me that the band only got into the game when the Pirates were up 25 and more. Show some fight earlier, guys.

It was good to get a win like this, but I think the more valuable takeaway is the glaring weakness in the backcourt. We'll see how that develops with the eventual return of Alexis Brown and the possible development of Tara Inman, but right now, a good press will utterly destroy Seton Hall. Now that they know that, how will they combat it?

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December 31st, 2011: Boston University at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's put four players in double figures and led wire to wire in their 75-38 win over Boston University. Eugeneia McPherson and Shenneika Smith each had 15 to lead the Red Storm, with McPherson adding six steals. Chantell Alford had 12 for the Terriers, while Rashidat Agboola had eight points and eleven rebounds.

For cool hats, exhaustion, ennui, and unexpected points in the paint, join your intrepid and ringing blogger after the jump.
The last Game Notes of Doom of 2011! Hard to believe, isn't it? The year's gone by so quickly...

I have to give BU fans credit- they took advantage of the three-day layover in New York and came in force. There were a lot of them. I also like their player-family gear. Johnny Thunderbird was almost too friendly to them- he darn near ran out of hats by the time he got to our section. (Yes, we got New Year's hats. Mine was red. /preens)

Our band has a gnome. Your argument is invalid.

BU looked exhausted. They were a step slow for most of the game; we're a good defensive team, but I've never seen us stay with a team through as many moves as we did. They would fake one or two or three times, and we'd be with them every time.

We saw a lot of their bench in the second half, because, y'know, thirty-point game, even a Terrier knows when to lay off. The spelling of Troi Melton's name makes me wonder if her family were Trekkies (but that's just because I'm a Trekkie myself). She gave them some good minutes. Whitney Turner was the first one off the bench in both halves, bringing them some size and physicality. Kristen Sims played a lot, but wasn't able to accomplish much. Greenberg started mixing in her deeper bench early in the game, so we saw a lot of players for short spurts.

Chantell Alford played well. She has a nicely balanced game, which I like in a player. Caroline Stewart didn't have a boxscore kind of game, but I like the way she took up space and the defense she brought. Rashidat Agboola did not demonstrate the world's greatest ball control, especially in the first half, when she had two bad turnovers in a row. Alex Young tried to make something happen, but it didn't happen. Mo Moran, who I dimly recall from her freshman year being someone to keep an eye out for, wasn't much of a factor.

Maybe someone gave Kelly Greenberg downers, maybe she's gotten one too many technicals, maybe she was wiped after three days in New York, but she was a lot calmer than I remember her being. I'm not sure if this is a good thing for her team or not.

Jennifer Blanding! The most popular woman in the room and the namesake of our Christmas tree, she got in late and made an impact. Big girl takes up a lot of space in the middle, and I wish Kim Barnes Arico would use her in those situations more. Briana Brown can't shoot straight, but she hit a three in an attempt to light the tree (alas, Mallory Jones went scoreless, meaning that Jennifer Tannenbaum is the only St. John's tree lit up today). Tesia Harris played surprisingly well, coming up with more loose balls than I think even she was expecting. Keylantra Langley was solid but unremarkable except for the one three that beat the shot clock. (Her flair for the dramatic usually annoys me, except when it has to do with the shot clock.) I think someone clued Mary Nwachukwu in to the fact that she needs to get her act together if she's going to get minutes, with Da'Shena's return and Amber's improvement. Either that, or she's still BC enough to get up for a game against BU, and she'll go back to soft mediocrity against Providence. But it was nice to see her hitting shots and going for loose balls.

Oh, hey, Nadirah McKenith! Nice to have you back. She's still a couple of steps slow, and the knee's bothering her, but she's going to be back, and I'm quite glad of it. She and Amber Thompson hooked up for a couple of beautiful plays. Amber was more assertive on offense than I've seen her in a while, and kept up her hustling for rebounds, even if she wasn't always able to get her hands on them. Shenneika Smith was quiet and a bit fumble-prone early in the game, but as time went on, that dagger-like shot showed up for the party. Eugeneia McPherson went for the shot instead of the foul, and her game was better for it. This is the Gina I enjoy watching- the one who goes to the rack without fear, who gives up her body without hesitation, and who strips the ball from her opponents like a pickpocket working Times Square. Da'Shena Stevens was bothered by injury- she was noticeably slow getting up and down the floor, and her shots were way off to the right.

The offense was a little loosey-goosey, and I think the coach got a little frustrated with the way they weren't taking care of the ball. But I liked the defense. Defense is good.

The officiating was the usual combination of confusing and solid. I'd really like to see more of an emphasis on tripping in the women's game, though. Too many knee injuries for us not to be careful with that.

It was hard to really get into this game after the big run in the first half. After it was 7-6, things got rapidly out of hand, which was refreshing and much needed. Now the hard part begins...

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