January 13th, 2019: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's fought hard, but came up short again in their 65-63 loss to Creighton. Alisha Kebbe had 18 points to lead the Johnnies, with Kadaja Bailey adding 10 off the bench. Temi Carda led the Bluejays with 22 points in the win, while Audrey Faber added 17.

For ruling the roost, backdoor cuts, polite bumping, an inability to hold the line, piercing whistles, and devotion to duty, join your intrepid and frustrated blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, and otherwise-identifying folks of all ages! We're back at Carnesecca Arena, where St. John's will be taking on Creighton in the back end of the We Couldn't Find You A Better Travel Partner schedule pod.

(In case you were wondering, I think of the pods as the following: Eastern Seaboard {Villanova/Georgetown}, Great Lakes {DePaul/Marquette}, Old Northwest {Butler/Xavier}, New York Metro {STJ/SHU, aka Awkward Bowl}, and The Leftovers {Providence/Creighton}. We really need two more teams for this to work properly.)

Our team looks so sparse during warm-ups. It makes me sad. Creighton looks like they've been hit by the injury bug, too, with three players in the tees and sweats of the inactive.

Solid anthem. I approve.

It's 31-22 St. John's at the half, and there are moments I'm still wondering how. Scoring is pretty balanced for the Johnnies, with Alisha Kebbe's nine points leading the way. Temi Carda has nine to lead the Bluejays. We've been able to force them into turnovers, and even capitalize on those turnovers! There have been some rough moments, and I'm pretty sure Q is playing sick. I can't see us continuing to stymie Creighton the way we have so far, and I can't see us maintaining this level of shooting. Creighton uses a lot of movement and has gone deep into their bench. Technically, we've gone as deep into our bench as we can, too, but that just means giving Jasmine Sina meaningful minutes.

Machi, when Debbie says to shoot 'til your arm falls off, you know that's a metaphor, right? That's not what she literally wants you to do. She's got a torn muscle in her shoulder. This is not good.

I am completely here for Meemo's WTF face at the PA announcer butchering her name. It doesn't rhyme with Oneonta.

Welp. That was a thing that happened. We did so much right, and yet here we are, having a game come down to a call in the final second. This time we got the foul in our favor, and we still couldn't capitalize. It's exceedingly frustrating.

I'm starting to think these two teams don't like each other very much. There was a lot of bumping going on, more than I'm used to for either team. Nothing that went too far over the line (and in fact, there was a moment where Payton Brotzki bumped Meemo and promptly apologized profusely), mind you, but it was unexpected.

Chloe Dworak got some extended run in the first half- it was a little hard to tell initially because there was some confusion with the subs. She ran some point. I wasn't impressed. Brooke Kissinger got the start in the second half over Jade Owens, and took over point guard duties. Her shot did not join us for this game, for which I am extremely grateful. Rachael Saunders provided some offensive pop for the Bluejays off the bench, and Coach Flanery rewarded her with big minutes down the stretch.

Payton Brotzki probably still needs to get into collegiate shape, but she's got a lot of potential for the Jays. She drove the lane hard and finished pretty well. Morgan Turner is tall, and when she gets the hang of Creighton's motion-heavy system, she's going to be very useful for them. She might not put up the big numbers, but she'll make sure that her teammates have the opportunity to put up the numbers- she had a particularly nice screen on a three-point attempt from Carda.

I have no idea what happened to Jade Owens, or why she went from starting the game to not playing at all in the second half. I didn't see an injury, though maybe there was something that I didn't see. She didn't play well, but not badly enough to be completely passed over in the rotation. Jaylyn Agnew had a large wrap on her right hand, and I think it might have affected her shot a little bit. She's fast, and explosive with that speed, which makes a lot of things happen for Creighton. Temi Carda used hesitation moves effectively to get space and finish on pull-ups and floaters. She had a knack for finding the places where we weren't and scoring from those spots.

Gracey Griglione got herself into foul trouble early in the game, and with the guards being more effective off the bench, Creighton could afford to go smaller. She'll be useful for them after a year or two. Creighton gets a lot of use out of tall forwards like her to free up their shooters and slashers. Audrey Faber cleaned up on the offensive glass, and took advantage of terrible defensive match-ups to slice us up inside. She also had a couple of big blocks, including one on Alisha Kebbe right near the end of the game.

So much cutting. So much movement. So many mismatches. Creighton isn't necessarily the most talented team in the conference- in fact, on sheer talent, I think we might be better. But they executed well, and they forced us into bad situations.

Jasmine Sina got some run at the end of the first quarter into the beginning of the second, which I actually agree with; short-handed as we are, especially if anyone's under the weather, stealing a few minutes here and there can't hurt. And she hit the three! We were so happy for her! It's kind of hilarious how small she is on the floor- I have to resist the temptation to lapse into netspeak and refer to her as a smol. Kayla Charles has got to do a better job of finishing at the rim. We need her to play heavy minutes, especially on days when Meemo is in foul trouble. This didn't happen today, but it's still disturbing. I like her work on the glass, but she still has to finish. On the other hand, Kadaja Bailey looked like she might be finding her stride again. She was at her best on the fast break, both leading it and finishing it. When she's on her game, she's so smooth.

Alisha Kebbe has really stepped up her game in the last couple of weeks. Her three-point shot has improved (though we've established I'm still not the world's biggest fan of it) and today she maintained her intensity on the glass. She got blown by defensively more than I'm used to, and I'm going to need to keep an eye on that going forward. Qadashah Hoppie came off in the first half at one point, looking ready to throw up, which is what makes me think she's under the weather. She had a rough game shooting, and she made some dubious decisions on defense. But if she wasn't at 100%, then I can't really complain too much. Tiana England had a solid game at the point, at least passing. I'm not sure how I feel about her shot selection, or how many of them were desperation shots at the end of the shot clock because too much of it had been run down in hesitation. But it's not just her, or at least it's not just her anymore.

Because we need to have a talk with Akina Wellere, or at least with Akina Wellere's shot and her confidence in said shot. It's something we noticed in the Friday game, and I see it more now that I know to look for it. For whatever reason, she's not taking open shots; instead, she's letting the defense come to her, and then not taking advantage of the open teammate. She used to be faster, I know it. I don't think she was ready for the responsibility inherent in being the lone four-year senior on the squad. Curteeona Brelove had a couple of communication issues with Q, including one at the end of the first half that led to Meemo taking a long two and both of them barking at each other as they came off the floor. She played well on the inside, but I do wish the box score had blocked attempts so I could see how much Creighton's length bothered her.

To borrow a popular memetic mutation, I just don't know what went wrong. For that matter, I just don't know what went right. We were able to force them into dead-ball turnovers, but we tried to cross them over too many times and lost the ball for our troubles. And when we lost the gamble, Audrey Faber going backdoor happened.

Officiating was the standard hot mess, and I'm pretty sure that if they didn't call the last foul to get Qadashah to the line, Joe might have actually lost his mind, given the way the Providence game ended. As it was, the crowd was irate that it wasn't a three-shot foul (which turned out to be crucial, since Q missed the first), but I thought she was not in the motion. There were terrible calls favoring both teams- we spent most of the fourth quarter lambasting the officials only to see Creighton get nailed on a terrible call. (Not the last one, though. One about a minute of game time earlier.)

It's kind of a shame the game got off to such a slow start, since it was a pretty good crowd. I don't know if this was the kind of game that would encourage people to come back.

Not that the call in the Providence game was a sore spot, or a dubious call, or anything of that nature, but Akina didn't even realize it was on her until well after the fact.

Today was another autograph session, and since we don't need anything else autographed, we just rolled through to give our regards to the squad. They had an impressive array of posters available, though. I was impressed.

I just don't know what to do with this team. I love them dearly, but I just don’t know what to make of them, where they're going, or if they're even completely certain of who they are. There's the potential for passion- we saw it in the third quarter when the bench woke up a little. But the word that comes most to mind right now is "dutiful", and I don't know if that's a good defining attribute for a team.

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January 5th, 2018: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's found itself once more in overtime, but this time held off Creighton 72-65. Tiana England notched a double-double to lead the Red Storm, with 17 points and 10 assists; Alisha Kebbe matched her with 17 points, including two threes in overtime. Sydney Lamberty had 14 points to lead Creighton.

For adequacy, seniors, a biting cold, the possibility of a gender-swapped Othello, setting screens, and insufficient levels of caffeination and intoxication, join your intrepid and still pessimistic blogger after the jump.

PSA: it is as cold as the deepest levels of Dante's inferno out there. You do not want to be out there unless you have to be.

But since St. John's has a home game and I'm not actually dead, I do have to be out there, so here I am at Carnesecca Arena, watching St. John's and Creighton face off. I would like to not be 0-4 in conference. Let's see if we can manage that.

At halftime, we attempt to be considering the possibility of attempting to win our first conference game of the season. It's 30-29 St. John's behind 10 points each from Tiana England and Qadashah Hoppie. There is an adorable biddy game going on as I write.

The officiating has been pretty terrible, and this is not of the good. I was actually expecting the officiating to get better as we got into conference season, not worse.

I have no idea how we've managed to stay this close. We haven't looked good, but the kids are hitting the right shots at the right time.

Creighton really plays at a difference pace when Agnew's pushing the ball than when anyone else is running point.

At least Akina isn't completely in need of the crutches to get around. But she looks sad and lonely on the bench. The reserves did a better job of keeping her company this time.

I actually am honestly not sure how we won this game. I mean, I know some of the rational reasoning behind it- Alisha Kebbe with two threes in overtime, huge clutch plays from Imani Littleton in the second half- but I still feel like I watched a team that should still not have a conference win. But you better believe I'll take it. We need all the good luck that we can get.

Creighton's bench should maybe consider shutting up and sitting down before the game's over. I think it bit them in the ass a little bit, and I'm okay with that.

I admit that Harvard and the Lynx set certain expectations for me. When I saw Temi Carda on the Creighton roster, I was not expecting a little blonde guard. She did the sorts of things one might expect from a small guard who plays for Creighton, which is to say she hit threes from behind screens. Her drives need work, though- she had a couple of chances close that she wrecked by trying to make it too fancy. Tatum Rembao didn't get heavily involved in the game until the second half, when she started being more able to slide into scrums for loose balls. She insinuates herself into small spaces well. Olivia Elger defends hard, which I appreciate, but demonstrated a propensity for dramatics on the floor that I do not appreciate. You're not going to get the call if you keep flopping like that, sunshine.

Bailey Norby seems to have gotten a bit, ah, heftier since last I saw the Jays. She set a lot of screens, but did not seem to move very well, even considering her size. I seem to remember the same thing happening with Brianna Rollerson, and that might be something to keep an eye on with the Jays. Kylie Brown played briefly in the first half, when Creighton got pretty much everyone into the game at one point or another. Long, tall, and otherwise forgettable. Brooke Kissinger came in to commit a rather unnecessary foul- I think it might have been a shooting foul, possibly even an and-1.

I realize Creighton likes to have flexibility and have everyone able to at least take the three, but it's not Ali Greene's strength if this game is anything to go by. She did much better in the paint, using her height to take advantage of defenders. She also set a lot of the screens that got the Jays' shooters open. They did quite a lot of shooting on us. I am not okay with this. I don't tend to think of Jaylyn Agnew as a forward, because she plays so much point and generally keeps the offense flowing. The uptick in pace when she's running the point is very noticeable- everyone else seems to slow it down somewhat, but she's going full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes. She laid one of the two big blocks in the overtime that turned a St. John's possession into a disaster (Elger had the other one). Quiet game for Audrey Faber, and she wouldn’t' be the first Creighton player to fade out after a hot start to her career. She fits well in their sceme, and she gets to the basket well, but I think she's taken a step back from their tournament run a couple of years ago.

Sydney Lamberty will outwork everyone on the foor, anywhere, any time. Clever little bird made the smart play to give Creighton the best chance to win in regulation- Bluejays were up three, but St. John's had the ball. She gave the fifth team foul in order to prevent the three-point attempt. I don't think she was expecting St. John's to get the offensive rebound off the second free throw and Tiana England to tie the game with that drive. She's a playmaker on both ends of the floor and I will be very glad when we don't have to play against her anymore. Myah Mellman is a steady hand at point, but she was sort of a nonentity on the floor, and a lot of the minutes at her spot went to Elger instead.

She didn't play a lot, but Tamesha Alexander made an impact when she did. I love Sox to itty-bitty pieces, and I love it even ore when she makes heady plays like knocking the ball off an opponent to make possession, or comes up with big offensive rebounds down low, or plays that tough St. John's defense. We're going to need everyone to step up, and she's answered the bell. Ditto for Kayla Charles, who I would have liked to see more of tonight- she was rebounding really, really well. She looked like she was understanding her height on the collegiate level for the first time. She's got to do a better job of getting position- so many times it looked like she was just being tall and expecting that to be enough, and she was lucky this crew wasn't calling over the back fouls very often. But I love her tenacity- she's learning some of the right lessons from Maya Singleton in that regard. I don't think I'm a fan of the Andrayah Adams at the four experiment. Yes, she's rebounding very strongly, and I can sort of understand the match-up if I squint and tilt my head, but it seems counterproductive to have a post player and not use her as such, while using one's best three-point shooter as an interior player, which is very much not her strength. (That being said, Andrayah, please feel free to keep tearing down rebounds with the force of the North Wind.)

This was one of the least energetic games I've seen out of Maya Singleton in her St. John's career. I don't know if she wasn't feeling well to start the game or something, but I've never seen her be so passive on defense down low in the paint. She recovered a little bit, and had a strong block in the third quarter, but this wasn't the Maya we've been used to all season, which led to Joe having to juggle the reserves. Fortunately, it also led to Imani Littleton doing the senior step-up thing. I don't know if she's had two bigger offensive rebounds back to back than she did in the overtime to essentially end the game. She hit more lay-ups tonight than I can remember her hitting in a single game ever, while rebounding more fiercely than I've seen since before the knee injury, and dropping blocks like they were hot. I am here all day for this version of Imani and would love to see a lot more of her.

I remember a time not too long ago when Alisha Kebbe was one of our most reliable defenders. Today was not her day in that regard- she got beat bad and she got beat often. The two threes in overtime were huge, and I would love for her offense to make its triumphant permanent return, but maybe not at the expense of that much of her defense. Tiana England started the game off on fire, and I was absolutely in love with the idea of her being more assertive on offense. But a little bit of defensive pressure and a couple of misses later, and she had retreated back into her shell. Play through the mistakes, Tiana! It's all right! We probably won't kill you! (I can't necessarily say the same about Joe, which is probably more her concern.) Qadashah Hoppie was sloppy with the ball- Creighton is opportunistic, you can't dribble casually around them. She came up with some big threes at the right time. Her freshman tendencies are starting to come through more and more, and I don't know if she's in the right place to fix them.

Perhaps this is why I am not a coach, but it seems like if you are doing a thing, and the thing is doing well for you, you should keep doing the thing, instead of going back to the thing you did when you were losing. And yet, after we built the lead, it was back to Maya (even though she wasn't having a good game) and back to Tiana pounding out clock. And hey, guess what? We choked away a 10-point lead. I have problems with this.

I also have problems with an officiating crew that might only recognize a blatant pushoff if it was perpetrated upon their person. There was one play where the ball was clearly off Creighton and everyone could see it- well, everyone except Audrey Faber, whose contact was knocked out by the contact. The refs stopped play so she could once more see things- and then gave the ball to Creighton. Guys. The ball hit her in the face. Literally, this was why there was a stoppage. And somehow it managed to be Creighton ball? C'mon, man. Horribly called game all around. Fortunately I think everything shook out in the end; also fortunately, no one got seriously hurt because of their incompetence.

I don't know if it was the temperature or a coincidence, but the rims did a lot of strange things on both sides of the floor- they were very tight. Something the guys will need to consider tomorrow against DePaul (your intrepid blogger has other plans that may or may not be preceded by smothering her husband).

I still can't believe we won this game. We did just enough to get over the line, and I'm happy with the grit our four-year seniors showed. But I don't think this game was a wake-up call or a turning point for the season. It's a bad loss for Creighton and it's nice to get that first conference win on the board.

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January 20th, 2017: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton broke open a close game in the second quarter, and St. John's was never able to fully recover in the 55-43 Bluejay win. Lauren Works had 12 points to lead Creighton. Aaliyah Lewis had 12 points to lead St. John's.

For harsh words, a lack of effort, very short possessions, contenders, and pretenders, join your intrepid and exasperated blogger after the jump.

The grudge match is upon us. It's St. John's and Creighton all over again, a rematch of last year's memorable for sentimental reasons championship game.

Solid anthem by an alum.

Something may actually be wrong with the basket in front of the St. John's bench; at halftime, the maintenance crew is putting in a new net and making some adjustments to the rim.

At halftime, Creighton is up 28-19. I am not amused. St. John's appears to have abandoned the offense that works for a half-hearted attempt to emulate Creighton's offense, only also attempting to up the difficulty level by putting the conference's most accurate three-point shooter on the bench while doing it. Our posts are shooting jumpers and standing there to admire them. This is somewhat understandable for Jade Walker. This is somewhat less understandable for Maya Singleton. Crash the boards and follow your shot!

The biddy game at halftime is actually pretty good, and has been a halfcourt game by necessity, since the rim's still being worked on. Oh, dear. The game may end up being delayed. They just started redoing the net again. They got it done in time, not that it seemed to help much, and St. John's came out of the locker room fairly late, not that it seemed to help much.

That could have gone better. That could have gone a lot better. I'm not angry at Creighton- well, except for Lauren Works taking down Alisha Kebbe, I'm pretty angry about that. But I'm angry at the inconsistent effort from St. John's that was so often a lack of effort. You have to know going in that Creighton will outwork you- they even have a player *named* Works, to demonstrate! You have to match that effort if you want to win, because otherwise the Bluejays will win time of possession and every loose ball to make up for the talent level.

I was very impressed with the redshirt freshman Jaylyn Agnew. She set good screens (though her best was wasted on a terrible shot by Janning) and scrambled well. Kylie Brown has that awkward adolescent gazelle look to her, where she has the potential to move that long lanky frame with grace, but currently isn't quite sure what to do with her arms and legs. She had a couple of shots in the lane that went in through very strange angles. Myah Mellman played point for bits of the first half- I know she was the point guard because Coach Flanery was yelling at her to take point. Bailey Norby saw some time in the first half and set picks. Creighton tightened up their already tight rotation further in the second half, and Flanery used his subs effectively to keep everyone reasonably fresh.

Maybe this was a bad night for Marissa Janning, but if this night was average, then she hasn't recovered from the ACL. There's no oomph in her shot- her threes were all short in various ways and angles. She still showed good heart, but her offense was utterly absent. As mentioned above, Lauren Works is not my favorite person in the world right now, though I don't think she was aiming to hurt Alisha. She brings the defense and the effort.

Sydney Lamberty lists as a guard, and on offense she plays like one with her three point shot- but on the boards, she crashes as hard and as tough as any forward. She came up with the rebounds that the Red Storm's posts should have been chasing down. She got a lot of help from Audrey Faber, who was remarkable at boxing out. She's not good at handling passes, but for a tall forward, Faber's got a pretty good handle for bringing the ball up. Brianna Rollerson takes no nonsense from anyone- she was deflecting and disposing of weak shots thrown up at the basket with no real aim or forethought. Her physical play in the middle was key for Creighton, and Flanery juggled her foul trouble well, albeit with the help of convenient stoppages.

Oh, my Johnnies. I am so cranky at you right now you wouldn't believe it.

Tamesha Alexander saw a few seconds at the end of the first quarter so that Aaliyah could get a break. She fought hard for that one rebound. Joe was trying rather a lot of different things- he used Sandra Udobi often in an attempt to tighten up the interior defense, but Creighton was able to exploit her lack of mobility, and her elbow jumper was not with us this evening. Andrayah Adams was used to try and spark some offense, with no luck, though I like how her defense is improving.

Maya Singleton does not have a jump shot. I feel like I shouldn't be revealing this in public, but anyone who really wants to know these sorts of things is getting game tape, not reading the long-winded rants of a blogger. Maya does not have a jump shot, and thus if she takes a jumper she better be calculating where it's going to come off the rim, not standing there admiring it. She pounced on any moment of hesitation or weakness by Creighton; if a forward took a moment to gather a rebound, that moment was going to be full of Maya. I wish she'd finish better at the rim. Crystal Simmons brought that bizarre, sort of underhanded, three-point shot, but her defense wasn't as strong as usual, and she was too hesitant to shoot anything other than threes. She had good lane penetration a couple of times, and passed out to teammates who had no reason to expect the pass.

I love Jade Walker as a player, I really do, but there are many times when I want to love her with a two by four upside the head. I'm super proud of her hitting 1000, and I wish I could have been there for it, but I think she let it go to her head a little bit tonight. She was slacking on her effort, both on offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds. She was happy to settle for bad shots, or to put up weak shots and then throw up her hands when she didn't get the call from the ref. At leat she was going inside, but I'd like to see her be more forceful about it. Imani Littleton seemed disengaged again, which is more of a problem than it should be. Even on her bad days she has her good moments- a strong defensive stand on the inbounds, a smart pick- but I feel like there's another level there that we haven't been able to crack.

Can we now say that Akina Wellere is in a sophomore slump? Is that something we can admit? She's scared to shoot. She's committing stupid fouls on defense. I'm almost hoping there's a nagging injury that we haven't heard about, because otherwise there's no reason Works should have been able to take her to the basket so easily- there were two plays where Works took a first step and suddenly she was four steps ahead of Akina. Her inconsistency worries me. Aaliyah Lewis wasn't herself today- backing out when the play was to go go go, holding the ball for too long, calling her own number way more often than usual. She was stymied, and that's not a good look for her. Alisha Kebbe drove the lane well and played solid defense. I shouldn't have had to find out about her awesome Batman socks by watching her trying to get up with a bum ankle. (They are awesome socks, though.)

Some strange officiating on the sidelines and baselines, and I'd like to know how Aaliyah got taken down without a call. I really don't understand how, if the ball went out of bounds in the backcourt, the inbounds can take place in the frontcourt. Joe was just as confused by this.

You can't go up against a contender to the conference crown and not bring your best game. I expect better from my team.

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March 8th, 2016: Creighton at St. John's (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's locked down on defense to take the Big East crown 50-37 over Creighton. Aaliyah Lewis led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Audrey Faber led Creighton with 12 points and seven rebounds.

For missed shots, sheer joy, relationships with trophies, plays for naught, missed shots, cutting down nets, and DOING THE DAMN THING, join your intrepid and euphoric blogger after the jump.
Here we are. Here it is. This is the big one. Win and you're in. This is for all the marbles. The Big East title game is here, red-hot Creighton and determined St. John's. The bubble's getting thinner with an upset in the WCC and trouble brewing in the Ivy. The Bluejays' backs are to the wall, and the Red Storm faces choppy waters. This isn't the SEC, the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big XII, the Pac-12. The only guarantee comes with a new t-shirt thrown over your jersey, with a cap rakishly tilted on your head, with a trophy raised to the rafters and a piece of net in your hand.

Does... does that little girl have Sonic/Shadow fanart in her binder cover? You go, girl.

Ow. Danaejah, I know this is a thing, but punching the trainer still looks like it hurts.

Okay, Creighton, it is not cool of you to send your student section to the kids' group sitting behind OUR bench and have them try to cheer for Creighton. One of our managers noticed and went up there to straighten things out. Go get the ones on the other side of the arena. I don't care if your responsible adult is a Creighton booster. Go sit behind the Bluejays' bench if you want to cheer for Creighton; there will probably be plenty of room back there. They moved further up in the section, which is somewhat more tolerable, but it's still not cool. We need cheer to be ready to snipe the next group.

Danaejah's family is a few seats over from us; her mom came over to introduce herself, and there's a guy with the same eyes she has. The shirt's a pretty good giveaway too. (He is, in fact, her dad. Which makes sense.)

Creighton likes to put on a show. I'd rather get the job done.

Lovely anthem by the DePaul a cappella choir. We even got color guard for this.

At halftime, it's 21-20 St. John's in a game with scores of missed opportunities for both teams. Way too many missed shots. Creighton's on their fourth game in four days and St. John's has had the nightcap both days, so I can't say I'm surprised. Officiating has been lousy- light contact called at one end, heavy contact not called at the other, and St. John's is convinced they can get those calls. Stop it, Aaliyah.

OH MY MY OH HELL YES! WE'RE DANCING, BABY! 28 YEARS! 28 YEARS AND HERE WE ARE! It wasn't pretty. It was, in fact, pretty hideous. But a defensive game favors the Red Storm, and our upperclassmen stepped up in a big, big way. Creighton threatened, but we shut the door and we did the damn thing!

I have to give the Bluejays their props. They didn't have enough left, but that's because they gave so much for three games and three quarters. This Creighton squad will be back in the Big East final, and probably more than once in the next four years, and it won't be an upset when they do it.

Jim Flanery went deeper into his bench earlier than he had in the previous games. Ali Greene saw time in the first half in relief of the posts, and she wasn't bad. She moves well to the hoop. Brianna Rollerson had questionable shot selection and missed shots at the rim. I was surprised that Flanery had lost so much confidence in her that she didn't play in the second half- she might have been a more effective counter to Sandra Udobi and Jade Walker. Olivia Elger came in in relief of the DQ'd Jade Owens, and took a highly questionable shot on a closely guarded drive. She was pulled pretty quickly, and the senior Tessa Leytem replaced her to try to calm things down. Lauren Works brought it on defense, but her drives were going off the rim.

This game sealed it for me- MC McGrory shoots better through contact than she does when you give her space. She got open looks from her teammates, with Norby and Lamberty and Faber setting screens, and those shots were going all over the place. On the other hand, when she took it inside into the teeth of the defense, she either hit the shot or drew the foul. I have to admire her toughness. Jade Owens brought a lot of energy, but the backcourt defense swallowed her up, and she wasn't able to penetrate with the same ease she had all tournament. Combined with her foul trouble, she was rendered a non-factor.

Sydney Lamberty can board, but her shot was nowhere near accurate. She was putting it up a touch too fast, and I think it showed in the arc. She had a beautiful boxout on Danaejah Grant early on that allowed Creighton to take the board. Bailey Norby had a very quiet game- she did the little things her team tends to rely on her for, but she wasn't able to get to the basket. Audrey Faber was a bright spot for the Jays, with a couple of big blocks, some nice rebounding, and good shooting inside and out. She was a mismatch on both sides of the floor, and if I had been Creighton I might have attempted to push that a little bit further.

So nice to see the deep reserves get some time! Jordan Agustus, Tamesha Alexander, and Kimberly Spruill didn't play much, but Tamesha came hard on defense against McGrory. I love that kind of passion. Akina Wellere kept getting called for nonsense fouls, but the one basket she came up with was absolutely huge. I'm so happy for her winning this in her hometown, in front of her family. Crystal Simmons brought the defense, though I question her shot selection- she was terrified at all the wrong times and trigger-happy at all the wrong times. Jade Walker was taking logner shots than she should have, but she was big when we needed her. She had a huge stop on Rollerson.

I can't say enough about the hard work that Sandra Udobi did on the inside. She had one of her best games of the year, and what a time to have it. She cleared the boards and hit the shots she took. And Imani Littleton did her job too- she was almost always in position on defense. She was solid. I feel like I'm short-changing the two of them, but what they did to anchor the paint was huge. It's hard to quantify statistically, but they were fantastic.

I spent much of the game questioning Aaliyah Lewis's shot selection, but the little bitty guard came up huge in the fourth quarter. She sneaked inside for rebounds, and everyone overlooked her on the inside- she made the cuts to the basket that we usually see from Liyyah, and Creighton never rotated to her. Danaejah Grant had double teams flying at her all night, so she wasn't able to get a lot of shots up, but she was able to find the open player on the cross-court skip pass. Aliyyah Handford sliced through the defense and created space for herself, though she wasn't as accurate as we would have liked. She made some amazing defensive plays- a great flying steal, a hustle save that left her tangled with the press table- but the offense couldn't turn them into points.

Was it pretty? No. Not until the final buzzer. But sometimes it doesn't have to be. Sometimes all you have to do is hit one or two shots at the right time.

Officiating was less consistent and less accurate than I would have expected from a crew that has both Dee Kantner and Denise Brooks. Lots of travels missed early, lots of contact missed later. The bad calls went both ways, though, and the ones that Creighton would have liked to have were probably more critical (they probably would have gone into halftime with the lead if Crystal had been called for the reach-in late in the second quarter).

Jade Walker had an idea, but unfortunately, we weren't allowed to have the Gatorade bucket out on the floor, so everyone had to settle for squirting Joe and the rest of the staff with their water bottles.

All-tournament team: Allazia Blockton of Marquette, Shakena Richardson of Seton Hall, Megan Podkowa of DePaul, MC McGrory of Creighton, and Danaejah Grant of St. John's, with Aliyyah Handford as tournament MOP. All good picks. McGrory made a case for MOP even in the losing cause.

I think Jade might be trophysexual. She certainly seemed reluctant to let it go.

My team, you guys. My adorable team. This couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. There aren't enough words to describe how thrilled I am- for Liyyah, who is as sweet as she is talented; for Danaejah, who came home to make this happen; for Akina, who got to win the 'ship in front of her family; for Sandy, who has fought back from injuries and pain; for all our girls who I love so much. More- for Joe, who came in with Kim and helped build all of this from the ruins; for Da'Shena, who made the riskier choice when she could have been a Husky; for Jonath, who left and came back; for all the support staff who make the miracles possible. It's been a pleasure and a privilege to be the tiniest part of this.

Let's go dancing, ladies.

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March 7th, 2016: Creighton at Seton Hall (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton finished strong in their 77-56 win over Seton Hall in the Big East semi-finals. MC McGrory had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bluejays. Shakena Richardson had 20 points, 13 in the second half, to lead Seton Hall.

For frustration, questionable personnel choices, breaking the press, a recurring headache, trying too hard then not trying at all, and encouraging college players to gamble, join your intrepid and discombobulated blogger after the jump.


All right, here we go! Good afternoon from McGrath-Phillips Arena on the campus of DePaul University! We're coming to you from the semi-finals ofo the Big East tournament, where upset-minded seventh seed Creighton looks to extend their hot run, while the third-seeded Seton Hall Pirates look for their second straight trip to the Big East title game.

I'm glad Creighton is a Nike school, because our gear would be too similar otherwise. Our blues are already way too close.

This zone defense drill tht Creighton is running is pretty cool. (Also, in unrelated news, Marissa Janning is gorgeous up close.)

D'awwww. (No, you're not going to get more than that, I respect people's privacy.)

I kind of love the ceremony of Coach Bozzella getting the blazer and putting it on. Given that it has its own Twitter account...

The Creighton dance team and student cheer are getting hyped early. Well, one of their hashtags is #GetCreigh. And they're giving out swag to the kids' groups that are sitting near them, so this is going to be a bit of an uphill battle. That's all right. I can drink.

No sign of the borrowed high school band that was representing Seton Hall- ah, a band has arrived, and they appear to be a college of some variety. They're older. The big UIC on the drum kit and the flames on the drums should have been a hint of where they're from, huh? They're really loud and really jazzy.

The Sapphires and Seton Hall cheerleaders are now working on the kids in their section of the arena. We'll need all the help we can get.

There is no consistency to the way the teams are done on the scoreboard. Bluejays but SHU? Go either school name or team name, jeez.

At halftime, Creighton is up 29-21. MC McGrory seriously needs to hit Rivers Casino, because she's getting the most ridiculous rolls off the rim and deflections off the glass. Seton Hall's missing too many shots at the rim, and missing those shots at the rim has caused us to take too many shots from bad angles. We have to play smarter, not harder.

Apparently this was too much to ask for the Pirates. We took stupid shots. We tried to rely on our press, even when Creighton was breaking it easily. And I'm not sure about some of Coach Bozzella's decisions, either. We handled this game like the cakewalk we thought it was going to be because they got an upset and a #7 seed. You can't do that in the Big East.

Jim Flanery got to empty his bench near the end of the game, which I'm sure he was quite happy about. Myah Mellman seems to be a magnet for hard contact from opposing guards- she took a hard hit from LaTecia Smith near the end of the game. Ali Greene got herself to the line for a couple of free throws, even if she didn't hit the first. Olivia Elger committed a stupid foul in that fourth quarter that sent Smith to the line for an and-1. Once again, everyone for Creighton was hoping Tessa Leytem would score, and once again, they were disappointed. Brianna Rollerson played a lot less than I realized- she had a big impact in her limited minutes, owning her space on the inside. Lauren Works was great defensively.

I feel like this is a recording, but this is not a recording. MC McGrory is so tough. I think she likes contact more than she dislikes it. She hit one shot off the glass, and I'm pretty sure it was at the shot clock buzzer, that was a heartbreaker. Jade Owens is fantastic- she can be a little over-aggressive sometimes, but that fuels her team. She did a great job of finding her teammates to break the press. Sydney Lamberty was solid, and her three at the end of the third quarter was pretty much the backbreaker- we'd cut it back down, we were on a little bit of a run, and BAM. Right near the end of the clock.

Bailey Norby slipped around ahead of the defense and was available either for the lay-up ahead of the press or for the extra pass to the cutter. They use her so well. She's not called upon to be the star, but they don't need her to be the star. Audrey Faber had a monster block on Aleesha Powell (which I'll admit is a bit of a size mismatch) and was a match-up problem all day. She cuts well and has good range.

Creighton did a phenomenal job of breaking the Seton Hall press, and when that happened, the game was over. That's what the Pirates go to when they need to save a game, so when that doesn't work, there is no recourse- that was the recourse.

LaTecia Smith hit the paint well and was energetic on defense. Martha Kuderer is still not ready for the big stage, and I don't know why she got such extensive minutes (I would kill for +/-, because I think that would give a better picture and confirmation of my impression). Claire Lundberg was ineffective, but at least neutrally so. Jordan Mosley hustled on defense. I'm kinda sorry she didn't get the big send-off like the other four seniors did; on the other hand, that would have meant putting a starter back in the game, and Flanery might have taken that the wrong way. Jordan Molyneaux was a desperation move that was of limited effect.

And the reason Coach Bozzella had to make desperation moves and play forwards out of position and go as deep into his bench in the first half as he did was because he was getting pretty much nothing out of his frontcourt. Lubirdia Gordon's offensive rebounding numbers look good, but don't get fooled- most of those were off her own close-in misses. She's got to go up stronger. She can't bring the ball back down. And she has got to hit the bunnies at the rim. Tiffany Jones started off well, and smacked a Faber shot for great justice, but had double teams coming at her most of the day and never really found the moxie to work through them. Tabatha Richardson-Smith never found her groove, and as the game wore on, she started pressing more and more, taking shots earlier in the clock and further behind the line.

Shakena Richardson had herself a third quarter, pretty much single-handedly trying to drag the Hall back into the game, and one of the turning points was when Coach took her out. Kena never wants to come out, but I think I agree with her on this one- if she thought she could go, you have to ride with the hot hand until it cools off. You can't blast chill the hot hand and expect to win. My favorite play of hers was actually the jump ball she forced on Rollerson, if only because I love when tiny feisty guards tangle with big ol' posts. Aleesha Powell brought the speed, but her ballhandling was not up to par. I've never seen her dribble the ball off the back of her own foot before.

This was one of the flattest performances I've ever seen from the Pirates. They didn't go into this game like a chance to play for the title was on the line. By the fourth quarter, you could see from the body language that they'd given up. There was no comeback left. There wasn't going to be a hot minute like the Butler game. There was no fight left. Who's that on? Coaches? Team captains? I don't know.

Officiating didn't really help, but it didn't hurt much either. It certainly didn't make a difference in the outcome.

I think Seton Hall took this game too lightly. I think we thought it was going to be a cakewalk because we'd beaten them twice, including coming back once. I think we were looking ahead to the 'ship and either the top seed or the local rival. You can't do that in the Big East.

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March 6th, 2016: Creighton at Villanova (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Cold three-point shooting doomed Villanova in Creighton's 57-48 quarterfinal upset. MC McGrory scored 20 points to lead the Bluejays, 14 after halftime, and Sydney Lamberty put up a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds). Samantha Wilkes had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats, but no one else cracked double figures for Nova.

For being out of order, unnecessary threes, setting screens, celebratory Jays, face paint, nifty hats, and riding the horse into the ground, join your intrepid and travel-wearied blogger after the jump.
Good morning, loyal readers! It's going to be a long day, but a fun one, as the Big East heads into its second day of tournament play with four games. Second seed Villanova and seventh-seeded Creighton will start things off.

Creighton's student section is rocking out to the music.

Fair number of Villanova fans have already arrived, including Papa Coyer in his custom jersey.

We're showing color solidarity with Creighton for this game. That, and they're fun to watch. That, and I like the part where Villanova loses.

If it holds throughout the day, the scoreboard operator is acknowledging high seeds and "home court advantage"- Creighton is the Bluejays, but Villanova is Nova. We'll see if it's an aberration or a habit.

We swiped a "Go Bluejays" sign from the Creighton ticket table, because, well, I like the part where Villanova loses.

There was a video tribute to Harry Perretta's 700th win before the game. That was very nice.

At halftime, Creighton is up 27-21. Pretty balanced scoring for both teams, with Jade Owens's 8 leading Creighton, and Adrianna Hahn and Samantha Wilkes each with 6 for Villanova. One thing worries me- it feels like Villanova is controlling the pace of the game, despite the Creighton lead. The Jays are running the clock down way too much and way too far.

The halftime game is amusing.

We're sitting behind the Creighton fans with the awesome (home-made, hand-knit) bluejay hats. There will be pictures.

Seton Hall is starting to trickle in. We're greeting them appropriately. Fans are trickling in for the second game too. I think Claire Lundberg brought family.

That was one heck of a finish. Villanova was ice-cold from outside today, but if you live by it, you have to die by it. Some days the system doesn't work, and this Villanova roster doesn't have the flexibility to work outside the system. Did Creighton get lucky? A little. They had good puck luck, but you don't get good puck luck without being in position to take a good shot. They came on strong late.

Lauren Works probably doesn't appreciate puns off her last name, but she really did put in work on the defensive end. She was amazing down the stretch, tough on both sides of the floor. I think I would want to smack her in the face repeatedly if she were playing my team, but when I can root for her, I will. She has that Taurasi-McCoughtry over-exuberance to her. Brianna Rollerson played less than I would have expected, but she didn't really earn more minutes. You can't be passive if you're the biggest player on the floor. You can't pass up shots in perfect lay-up position. You can't give up space to more slender players. You have to be assertive, especially when Villanova isn't an interior team. You can't pull down just 1 rebound in seven minutes.

Bailey Norby had a quiet game, though once again I call attention to her unsung work- she had a nifty pick to break Audrey Faber free for an early three. She didn't play a lot, as Creighton went small, but she was there when it counted. Sydney Lamberty owned the boards. Her shots went in odd directions, like many a Bluejay's shot, but she was fearless. Audrey Faber had foul trouble for most of the fourth quarter, and eventually Flanery rolled snake eyes and she got her fifth foul. She was tough when she was in, and she gives the Jays such versatility.

Jade Owens's shot wasn't falling quite as well as it was yesterday. She's so fun to watch, but I can see some of the flaws in her game now- she relies too heavily on that wild floater in the lane, and she gambles too much on defense. She seems to rely on luck, and as we've seen, that can go against you. Or one of your teammates can bogart all of it the way MC McGrory did. I think only one of her shots that bounced on the rim more than once bounced out. She got glass. She got the rolls. She fought through contact to score big and-1s in the second half. I wonder if she shoots better when she's got contact than when she's got space. She is so damn tough. I admire that.

Kavunaa Edwards has a very weird looking shot. It looks like it has all the mechanical flaws you tell shooters not to have, but it goes in rather more often than you think it would. She was blocking shots in the second half, too, using her length to make life difficult when Creighton penetrated. I really don't remember much about Kendall Burton's play or Jordan Dillard's play. There may have been a dumb foul or two sprinkled in there somewhere- I think Burton's third was unnecessary.

When the system works, it works. When the system doesn't work, Adrianna Hahn gets the urge to throw it up from wherever she is on the floor, whether that's somewhere in the general vicinity of Gary or into the hands of a double-team. Perretta's been hard on her whenever I've seen them- I'm not sure if that means he's giving her the keys to the car or if she's going to flee screaming to St. Francis Katherine Coyer makes a lot of good hustle plays- she rebounds well, she works the baselines well, and she has a nose for the ball. Alex Louin got open early on and made a nifty defensive play, but Creighton didn't leave her open for long after that.

Megan Quinn is another one with a really awkward looking shot, but hers wasn't going in as often as it did the last time I saw Villanova. She's one of the few players on Nova who I don't think should have the three-point green light that most Wildcats have. Samantha Wilkes had herself a day. Something tells me she wasn't on the scouting report for the Bluejays, and it showed. But here's another example of "you live by the three, you die by the three": all of Wilkes's makes came either on midrange jumpers or in the lane. All of her misses came beyond the arc, and most of them weren't all that close. She's got good height, and when she uses it, she's very effective. But when you get sucked into the system, then sometimes the system has its effects.

Right now I couldn't tell you a thing about the officiating. I vaguely recall Villanova being extremely upset about a call, but I can't remember who or when or why.

Creighton's band won pretty hard, in my opinion, but Villanova didn't have their full band. At least Villanova didn't have the audacity to perform "Mars".

The more I watch Creighton, the more I enjoy watching them play. Of course, this will have to end in the semis.

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March 5th, 2016: Providence at Creighton (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton started strong and finished strong, staving off a Providence run in the middle, to win their first-round Big East tournament game 70-53. Audrey Faber had 16 points, 12 in the second half, and eight rebounds to lead the Jays. Clara Che's 14 points off the bench led Providence.

For bending the rules, traveling, band battles, signs on heads, hats on heads, moves in the lane, and a lot of potential, join your intrepid and dilatory blogger after the jump.


Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Game Notes of Doom are on the road for the next few days, dancing in Chicago with the Big East. We're coming to you from section B of McGrath-Phillips Arena, watching as Providence and Creighton prepare for their first-round game.

It looks like Providence brought their band, or someone's band. That's good. Drum kits were setting up so far ahead we thought that was all they had, but there's the rest of the instruments. I don't see Creighton, though.

McGrath-Phillips is a nice enough arena. I like the way the banners are mixed on the walls. I do feel kind of awkward with the Latasha Byears banner staring at me. Worse, there are two softball banners over to the right of it...

Technically, backpacks and totes are not allowed in the arena. No one said anything today, though. We'll see how long that lasts. It might just be because of attendance or lack thereof for neutral games.

Great. They're packing the place with kids' groups. Fantastic. And of course the ones in front of us are among the first ones to show up.

We have Bluejays! Not sure if they're band or cheering students, but they have the blue tees and the blue-and-white striped pants. One guy has his face painted. I approve. Creighton cheer has arrived as well.

On band uniforms, I give Providence's gray bowling-style shirts the edge over Creighton's shirts.

The group in front of us is doing an appearance thing with some of the DePaul players. Lots of picutres are being taken. If I cared about seeing the Creighton dance team in action, I might be more annoyed than I am.

Harry Perretta and Doug Bruno are sitting together in the next section over, and my God do I want to be a fly on the wall over there. Such knowledge. Very basketball.

At halftime, Creighton is up 33-28. That's after opening the game on a 15-0 run. Providence actually had a chance to cut it even closer, but Aliyah Miller missed two free throws after a post-trey foul by Audrey Faber. Creighton is doing a nice job of getting inside. Providence is living and dying by the outside jumper- not necessarily the three, but long jumpers.

Oh dear gods that woman is wearing an emoji purse. I can't.

I tell you, Creighton is going to be scary next year, with all these players back plus Marissa Janning. Jade Owens is just fun to watch.

Providence made it very interesting in the third quarter, getting it down to 40-38 at one point, but they couldn't sustain it. The defense started to fall apart and lose steps, and once that happens, Audrey Faber starts doing things.

I like the Providence band better than the Creighton band as a band, but I like Creighton's band better as a supporters' section. Edge in cheer goes to Creighton- they had fewer people, but their routine was better and I like their dresses better. Billy the Bluejay wins the mascot contest by default, as Providence didn't bring their mascot. Creighton obviously brought more fans, since a) Omaha is closer than Providence, and b) Creighton has more of a chance to advance than Providence did.

Very nice touch by the announcer when Evi Iiskola was subbed out near the end of the blowout- he indicated her class, giving us a hint that it might be time to applaud her as she left her final collegiate game.

T-shirt toss fail: one of the t-shirts landed on top of the cage that protects the emergency lighting/camera. One woman tried to boost her kid up so he could grab it. Security told her that was a bad idea. They ended up fetching a broom to bring it down. People. Seriously. It's only a t-shirt.

I'm working on the theory that as Sarah Beal goes, so go the Friars. It's not necessarily a statistical thing, but she got hit with a cramp in her right leg that brought her to the ground and forced her out of the game. Second time I've seen that happen to her in the third quarter- happened against St. John's too. They wrapped her up and hydrated her, and she was eventually good to go back in.

Physically, Clara Che reminds me of Ticha Penicheiro. There's very little similarity in terms of style of play, since Che actually shoots, but I can't get past the resemblance. I think she's still trying to grow into her body, but I like her potential. Jovana Nogic spearheaded the big run in the second quarter to get the game to within five. I thought the matchup of Aliyah Miller and Brianna Rollerson was going to be interesting, but it turned out to be Miller versus Audrey Faber that was a more even match. Miller's a bruiser, but she was wild shooting, pressured by the Creighton defense. Erica Meyer isn't ready for the big stage yet. She had a couple of moments, including a big block on Jade Owens to set up a break opportunity, but she showed some freshman jitters. Another year and some time in the weight room will help her.

Brianna Frias took the tip for both halves, but Coach Fruchtl was quick to take her out when she could see who the hot hand was. She really didn't make much of an impact. Evi Iiskola had some moves in the lane. Allegra Botteghi lists as a guard, but she plays more like a forward, so she's going to go in the frontline paragraph. She's very tough on the glass and has a good nose for getting to the basket.

Sarah Beal never seemed to find a good shot to get off. She scored a little on jumpers, and had a nice steal, but I felt like she was trying to do more than the defense was allowing her to do, and at the same time was trying to do too much for her team. Sometimes it's better to lead by an example of omission, not commission, if that makes sense. Maddie Jolin has decent defensive instincts, and you always want to see a player try on defense, but she needs to do more to get into position so that she reaches left. But stop me if you've heard this one before: she's a freshman, she'll learn.

Providence showed a lot of heart and a lot of hustle, but they don't have the talent to compete. Fruchtl's done a lot to get talented internationals to Providence, and we'll see how well they blossom in the next couple of years.

Jim Flanery emptied his bench in the last couple of minutes, so we got to see a lot of the deep reserves. Honestly, I didn't even realize that Aimee Rischard was eligible this year, but there she was with the rest of the bench. Everyone was trying to get a shot for Tessa Leytem, and they were super disappointed when she wasn't able to score. Myah Mellman showed some hustle, and her reward for it was to get scratched in the eye by Sarah Beal for no good reason. Ali Greene looked a little scared to be out there. Kylie Brown showed a little bit on defense. Brianna Rollerson was a presence down low, but seemed a little slow to react on both sides of the floor. She looked like a woman coming back from injury and trying to get back in the saddle. Lauren Works brought the defensive hustle (and a student with a "WORK IT!" sign, which seems appropriate).

(There were a few other signs, including a shaped "FEAR THE FRO" for Rollerson that one girl wore on her head.)

Bailey Norby really didn't see a lot of time- Flanery had her on a short leash, and went small for much of the game as well. But I like the work she does on the floor, rebounding and setting screens- she had one fantastic play on the boards that set up MC McGrory for the rebound. She's so good at the little things. Audrey Faber got loose in the second half to get buckets inside. She set a really nice pick to get Lauren Works open for a three to help Creighton pull away.

I just really like watching Jade Owens play basketball. She brings energy at both ends of the floor. She has a beautiful finger roll and a shot that's sort of just a "throw it up, oh hey, nothing but net, that's cool" thing. She had a steal to get a fast-break bucket. And she passes well, too. Sydney Lamberty had a block so monster I didn't even see who it was on. She's tall for a guard, but she plays like a guard, and it gives Creighton much more flexibility with their lineups. MC McGrory came on strong in the second half when Providence was threatening. She made a key defensive play on a Providence break in the fourth quarter and shut them down. She brings a lot of toughness to the floor (and cleans up surprisingly well- I almost didn't recognize her when Creighton came to sit by us).

I don't always like Flanery's attitude on the sideline, but he coaches his team well. There's a nifty little change of direction move that a lot of their players use that demonstrates good body control and court awareness- I saw it first from Owens, but Faber and McGrory showed it as well. I'm also not used to a Creighton team shooting so few threes with Rollerson off the floor, but they adapted well to Providence hustling on the perimeter.

I thought the hit by Beal on Mellman should have been reviewed for a flagrant, but it may have been inadvertent. Officiating was otherwise unremarkable, which is always a relief.

I really liked the bluejay hats two Creighton fans were wearing. I'm going to try and get a picture during the quarterfinals. Creighton-Villanova will be very interesting.

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February 28th, 2016: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton broke open a nip and tuck game with a strong fourth quarter to win 64-57 at St. John's. Sydney Lamberty led the Jays with 18 points, 14 in the final frame. Aliyyah Handford of St. John's led all scorers with 19.

For giving up too many opportunities, missing too many makeable shots, bad calls, seniors, small posters, large quantities of New Jerseyans, dancing in unauthorized areas, switching to decaf, and going it alone, join your intrepid and penultimate blogger after the jump.


It's Senior Day at St. John's, also known as "Punch Me Right In The Feelings, Why Don't You?" Day. Two of the best to rock the red, Danajah Grant and Aliyyah Handford, play their final regular season home game today against Creighton.

So that was Jennifer Blanding I saw on the bus! Or if not, someone else closely affiliated with St. John's. (No, that's definitely Big Love. Nadirah arrived at halftime and made a bee-line for her and the adorable kid. Ballers and small children are an adorably hilarious, or hilariously adorable, combination.)

People. Y'all have got to stop putting kids behind the opposing bench. It's really super bad manners. Creighton actually brought a fairly large contingent, and they're eight or nine rows above their team because there are kiddy groups parked in the seats that are supposed to be theirs.

I'm pretty sure a statistically significant portion of the population of Newark is here today.

O HAI BRI. Or maybe that's not Briana Brown chilling with Team Jersey. I detect a theme here.

Senior Day was, as usual, uninspired. Managers got flowers and a framed jersey with either #11 or #12. Not sure if those were leftovers or the year of their matriculation. Our senior stars got one of their pink jerseys in a frame. And of course there were flowers. But that's really about it. Seton Hall does it better.

At halftime, St. John's is up 32-27, #Liyyah2K is 17 points away from happening, and it's going to be a race to see who can throttle the refs first. Flanery has the hotter temper, but Jade Walker is losing her patience with the travel calls, Liyyah had a crap call right before the half on a pushoff by Creighton, and Joe never likes refs.

DSPN brought a few friends this time around. Let's get some noise in this joint!

Another autograph session, but I might just hang around to wish 'em good luck in Chicago and maybe squee a little at Liyyah. (Which I did. I don't know if I should have, but I did.)

Senior Day should not turn into a #refshow. No game should ever turn into a #refshow, but Senior Day definitely should not turn into one. Two calls made too much of a difference.

Creighton really rubbed me the wrong way in this one. I suppose losing instead of winning might have something to do with it, and part of me does get that getting a win to end the regular season is a big deal. But Creighton celebrated the end of that game as if it had clinched them the Big East championship, and that bothers me. Don't dance on the logo, even if it's only a far corner of it, on someone else's floor. Lose with grace, win with grace.

I didn't even notice Kylie Brown enter the game, so you can tell how much of an impact she had. Tessa Leytem came in very briefly in the first half- I think she was helping relieve some of the foul issues with MC McGrory. Lauren Works is much more annoying when you don't have the bench drama between you and the court. She makes shrill, distracting noises on defense (which, yes, is a valid strategy, but an annoying one) and celebrates a bit too much for my liking. She does work hard, and probably hears puns like that far too much in her life, but I don't like her. And I don't have to like her. Neener neener neener. Brianna Rollerson was stronger today than Friday, and I think that was part of Creighton's change in strategy- the weak-side corner was being more closely guarded than in the Seton Hall game, but that opened up space in the middle both for the big girls and for the guards to cut.

Or, if you're Jade Owens, you throw up one-handed push-roll-shot-things and they go in. I'm
really impressed with her. She's fiery, she's got sweet moves in the lane, and she knows how to find the open player. MC McGrory got into foul trouble real quick in the first quarter, and somehow managed to not foul out. She's very tough. She had the advantage of being well-rested in the fourth quarter, which gave her a chance to make some big plays late down the stretch. Sydney Lamberty has such a pretty shot. She finds ways to get open. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say she can make her own shot, but she's good at using the space she gets. You'd think we'd have figured out the three-point shooting thing at some point, but nooooo. She's a mismatch and then some.

Bailey Norby continues to make smart, heady, frustrating plays. In this case, it was the rebound of the missed Owens free throw that then set up Lamberty for the three that ultimately won the game for the Bluejays. She makes things happen on the glass. Audrey Faber showed a little bit on defense, with a big block on Crystal Simmons. She's got decent stroke from outside, too, but that's sort of to be expected if you're playing for Creighton.

Jade Walker's back! She was playing more outside than inside, but that's pretty normal for Jade on a good day, much less Jade two days after sitting out with a knee injury. They were calling her for the step on her move to the inside today, and she was not a happy camper. Crystal Simmons brought the defense, but she has to stop being afraid to shoot, this is not a recording. She passed up good shots for panic shots. That's not a good thing. Akina Wellere brought some rebounding, but she also needs to be less afraid to shoot the ball. There aren't that many games left for y'all to rely on Aliyyah and Danaejah, y'all are going to have to step up around them.

Aaliyah Lewis got off to a hot start in the first quarter, but you can't run the same plays for her that you can run for Aliyyah Handford. Tiny Aaliyah has spectacular ups that give her somewhat of a height advantage, but she's still shorter and she's still not as athletic as Liyyah. She can't make all of those shots. Danaejah Grant had two Jays on her pretty much all night, usually Owens and either McGrory or Works, and it curtailed her ability to do pretty much anything offensively. On the plus side, we got to see her ability to pass out of the double-team. Aliyyah Handford tried to take the game back single-handedly in the waning minutes, with two steals and fast breaks, but the third time was the reverse of the charm- she got called for the reach-in for her fifth foul, and that pretty much ended the game.

Too much hesitation. Too much time wasted. Too much time spent in our own heads and not enough spent focusing on the game. Creighton took us out of our game, and we let them do it.

We let the refs get to us too. There were calls that went in our favor, to be sure. But there are two calls that stick in my craw, because I think they together changed the tenor of the game. The foul at the end of the second quarter on Aliyyah- where it looked like a Creighton player pushed her and she got called for it- turned out to be the second of five. It doesn't look like the end of the world when it's the second, but when there are three legit fouls after it, that's a problem. The other one came at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Jade Walker got called for a block that sure looked like a charge on Jade Owens. Owens hit the basket, then missed the free throw- but Norby got the board and set up Lamberty for a three that was compounded by Imani fouling away from the ball- which in college is a sideout to the team so offended. Thank all the forgotten gods that Faber committed an offensive foul, or it might have been a seven or eight-point possession and either Joe would have done something drastic or Mama Handford might have jumped the rail.

General inconsistency bothers me. Calling cheap contact bothers me. Ignoring blatant travels on one end bothers me. But I'm starting to feel like I should yell at these refs to get off my lawn.

This was a bad loss. This was a loss we really shouldn't have taken. We're down to the four seed now, when we had a shot at second or third. It's on to Chicago now, and your intrepid blogger will be there every step of the way. There's just one more bit of business to take care of…

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February 26th, 2016: Creighton at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 15-0 second quarter run was the deciding factor in Seton Hall's 77-71 win over Creighton. Tabatha Richardson-Smith notched 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Hall, with Tiffany Jones just missing the double-double (13 points, nine rebounds). MC McGrory led Creighton with 20 points.

For lots of blue, bus adventures, perhaps being in the wrong place at the right time, three-pointers, wheels within wheel plays, late-night travels, and crucial bench three-pointers, join your intrepid and tumbling blogger after the jump.


Stop me if you've heard this one before: since I had the day off anyway, I figured I might as well pull the day-night double-header and head over to Seton Hall for my last regular-season trip to Walsh Gymnasium.

Important life lessons learned: do not experiment with new bus-based routes into New Jersey on a Friday afternoon. Such traffic. Much confuse.

Creighton's bright blue is so similar to Seton Hall's bright blue that I accidentally helped a pair of Creighton fans.

Seton Hall may have done something very clever, or it's a total coincidence. This is the first home game after Tabatha Richardson-Smith broke the career scoring record set by Geraldine Saintilus way back in the day. One of the guys from the color guard today had a name tag that said Saintilus...

Briana Rollerson has big hair. This isn't actually relevant to anything, but it's an observation.

"Mic check one, two- that sounds great."

Tiffany Jones and Tabatha Richardson-Smith seem to be having an impromptu dance-off. Worrrrrrrk.

For heaven's sake, Tab, don't crash the opposing line. That's just rude.

Yeah, okay, if that's a knee injury for Taylor Byrne, I'm Sue Bird. She's wincing at the sound of the band, and they're not bad. They are, in fact, doing a rousing version of "Evil Ways". (Poor Grumpy Byrne.)

At halftime, Seton Hall is up 40-28, after dueling runs in the first quarter led to a 15-all deadlock and a big Seton Hall second half push.

These little kids in the biddy game can really score. Someone even had a boss blocked shot.

This shouldn't have been as close as it was, but Creighton can shoot, and if their picks are working, and their fakeouts are working, they can get on a hot streak and make games entirely too interesting.

Not that the anthem singer was overdoing his melisma, but Shakena Richardson was mocking him after he was done. Nice voice, but badly trained.

Tessa Leytem sneaked around behind the full-court pressure for a pretty sweet lay-up (it was similar to a play from the morning game, where Brianna Frias of Providence, fresh off the bench, went picking cherries in her frontcourt). Myah Mellman got a few minutes in the first half and even less in the second half. Given that I had to check the play-by-play to confirm that she played in both halves, she didn't exactly leave much of an impression. Lauren Works lives up to her last name- she made plays happen on the offensive boards. She was aggressive defensively, too. Like many a Bluejay, she has a nice outside stroke. Flanery went to Olivia Elger late in both halves, most likely just to eat up minutes.

Brianna Rollerson brings an inside presence that changes the way Creighton plays on offense. They didn't use her a lot, but she was enough of a threat that the defense had to respect her. In her brief shift, Kylie Brown looked a little like a deer in the headlights- there was one sequence fairly early in the game where she had a good-looking shot, but hesitated far too long. Ali Greene saw some time in the second half, to bring a little height and a fresh set of fouls. I think she can be a useful part in their system, given time- those three-point shooters need screeners, and she seems like she could be a good one for them.

Bailey Norby was an excellent screener- she set two picks early on that busted shooters open for threes. In the second half, she became a three-point shooter herself. Her shot looks awkward, but it goes in. Audrey Faber still looks a little like she's finding her way, but when she does, she's going to be pretty darn good. She put up a monster block on Aleesha Powell.

I really like the energy that Jade Owens plays with. She took a lot of shots, but it seemed like the ones she hit came at critical times for the Bluejays. And if she wasn't doing that, she was making the big steal, or a nifty defensive play. She seems very much in command of herself and her team, and that's a neat thing to see from a sophomore. MC McGrory plays hard, and I think she can get a little too easily frustrated sometimes- her play got much more physical in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. She had a martial-arts style takedown of (I think) Tab that would have impressed a karateka. Sydney Lamberty needs a moment to get that shot off, but when it does, it's super fast. If she has space, it's going up. She was able to use her height advantage well against the small Seton Hall guards.

There was one epic fail near the end of the game that Jim Flanery is still probably screaming at his team about. With 47 seconds left, Seton Hall had the ball and a four-point lead. Creighton pressured, but didn't foul- despite Flanery yelling at them to do so repeatedly. SHU was able to work the clock down until Shakena dropped off a sweet little pass to Tiffany Jones wide open at the basket. I understand McGrory and Works backing off, since they both had four fouls, but Leytem and Owens both had fouls available, and it would have extended the game (and since the 9:15 didn’t come until 9:45 or so, I would have been okay with that). You have to know time and score.

Jordan Molyneaux saw a little bit of time in the second half when both Tiffany Jones and Lubirdia Gordon got into foul trouble. She did nothing of note. Claire Lundberg showed fight, but more importantly, her ability to hit threes countered the Creighton run in the second quarter and got Seton Hall back on track, and she made a game-saving play after the Faber block with a block of her own. Martha Kuderer held her own a little bit, but didn't get involved in any of the big plays.

Jordan Mosley was also part of the second quarter, three-fueled, pushback that Seton Hall used to give themselves a cushion. She's really done a lot of heady stuff in this season, and I'm going to miss her (and I didn't think I'd miss her as a player, just as a person, though that sounds awfully calculating). LaTecia Smith is working on her clock awareness (and she's ahead of Creighton on that score). She put up some acrobatic shots, some going in, some not. She used her speed well to jump the passing lanes.

Shakena Richardson looks so right with the ball in her hand, coming up the court, controlling the dribble and controlling the game. It's where she seems to belong. She had some pretty passes, but she left a lot of her shots short, or put them up at weird angles. Aleesha Powell's speed was on show- she played the game at a different pace from anyone else out there. She takes so much contact that it scares me sometimes, but she gets right back up again. Tabatha Richardson-Smith had a couple of WTF moments, but this is part of the Tab Experience, so it's to be expected she'll chuck a three or two from, like, Rahway, or throw up a shot in the lane from an unreasonable angle. She rebounded really well, sometimes even muscling her teammates out of the way. When she decides she's going to take control of a game, watch out- and that goes for both the opponent and for her team.

Tiffany Jones looks like she's still in the slump, but she's come out of it enough to know she has to fight her way out. Her long shots aren't falling, but she's making plays at the rim and keeping balls alive. I like to see that out of her- sometimes post players get so distracted by outside jumpers that they forget they have an advantage on the inside. Lubirdia Gordon gt called for a couple of weak fouls, and I think that got into her head a little bit; she was barking at the refs by the fourth one. I really like her knack for turning broken plays into something, though.

The Pirates were very loose before the game. Maybe too loose. I think they saw that this final weekend was against the bottom of the pack and got too comfortable. Creighton's not a team you can do that against. Creighton's streaky, and you can live by the three at any given time.

The refs started calling the game tighter and tighter as time went on, and it started to grate on everyone in the building. Coach Bozzella's face was red for much of the night. Flanery got T'd. Tab needed a cooldown talk from Aleesha (at least, that's what it looked like Aleesha was doing). People get upset when you start calling touch fouls or cheap jump balls. And Bryan Brunette has a very annoying smirk.

First time I've ever seen the ball get stuck on a shooting contest. There should be a special prize for that, but that would be akin to a prop bet, and that would be bad.

Keep it together, Hall. SHU's emotion fuels them, but sometimes I think it might be too much.

Not that I was waiting for the bus back to Newark-Penn Station for a while, but Creighton's bus beat it down South Orange Avenue.

Next up: FEELS I CANNOT SHARE because Aliyyah and Danaejah will be hitting me right in the feels.

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February 6th, 2015: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton surged out to a 22-4 lead and never looked back as they throttled St. John's, 75-50. Alexis Akin-Otiko led five Bluejays in double figures with 16 points, while Brianna Rollerson added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Crystal Simmons was the only St. John's player to notch double figures, leading the way with 11 points off the bench.

For despair, a lack of alcohol, hugs needed, three-pointers, Mark Jackson references, frustration piled on frustration, and generally not good things, join your intrepid and achy blogger after the jump.

Hopefully the shooting tonight won't be as cold as the air outside, but with the Creighton Bluejays in town to visit the Red Storm, I somehow doubt it. I just hope ours is just a little bit better!

Aaaaand so much for that. At halftime, Creighton is up 39-21, with eight triples to their credit, including five in the first five minutes. They run beautiful screens and we look like we have seen neither a screen, nor a three-point arc, nor a rebound before in our collective lives.

I don't know what Aaliyah Lewis did, but she has not played in this one. She's in uniform and shooting around, but not yet active. Kyra Dunn is in street clothes. I like the jacket, but I am not feeling the plum-colored platform shoes, or the copious eyeshadow.

Stop shooting, Jade, or I am going to admire and respect you with a two-by-four. Danaejah, hold on to the ball, or it's two-by-four time for you.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand so much for that. That second half was, if at all possible, even more of a hot mess for St. John's than the first half, and I didn't even think that was possible. I don't leave games early- if nothing else, because of my little scorecards- but this is the kind of game I would not lambaste anyone for leaving early from. Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Creighton played every active player on their roster. Their team was really excited when Tessa Leytem hit her three in the second half. Bailey Norby brought some size inside and out. Kylie Brown had a pretty little jumper in the second half and mixed it up well on the boards. Lauren Works, which is a really phenomenal last name, put in that work on the defensive end. Jade Owens played a lot of time off the bench and facilitated the offense. I like the way she moves on the floor and the way she handles her team. What do you mean she's only a freshman?

The only flaw I can detect in Marissa Janning is her fondness for the finger roll, even in situations where it isn't called for. She threw up three or four of them, and I think only one of them went in. But she's a solid player with a killer shot. She didn't take a lot of shots in the second half, and the ones she did take fell short, but then, her team didn't need her. MC McGrory hit a couple of shots near the end of the clock. Briana Rollerson was really impressive, setting screens in the first half and becoming more proactive offensively as the game went on. She's a big body, and when she's not afraid to use it, she adds a dangerous dimension to Creighton's offense. She boxed out well, too. Alexis Akin-Otiko set up her teammates in the first half with strong screens, then started going to the rack in the second half. She also threw her weight around. Sydney Lamberty is another great shooter in the long line of great Creighton shooters.

Creighton shoots threes. They're really good at it. Perhaps getting out around screens would be conducive to not allowing them to hit five threes before the first media timeout. But what do I know? I just buy the tickets. To be fair, Creighton does set a lot of good screens- but that just means you have to call them out!

Imani Littleton finally got into a game, after what felt like forever, and she looked rusty- not necessarily bad ideas, but a step slow on executing them. Crystal Simmons was first off the bench in the first half to relieve Tamesha Alexander, then resumed her normal place in the rotation in the second half. She looked like she'd lost some of her fear of shooting, and her shots went in, which is a blessed change from most of the times I've seen her this year. She still missed some easy ones, including her free throws ("¡Crystal, me matas!" I yelled once or twice. Having Spaniards on two of my teams has really encouraged me to practice.) Tonoia Wade hustled after rebounds, even if she wasn't always successful at getting them. She'll develop better positioning with time, one might hope. Aaliyah Lewis started the second half, but the change in speed between her and Sox was a non-factor in our death spiral in the second half. At least Joe actually punishes players for infractions, which is more than I can say for his men's counterpart.

Y U NO PUT KIMBERLY IN GAME, JOE?

The Creighton defense covered Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant tightly, leaving Jade Walker with plenty of long outside shots. She decided that taking those long outside shots would be a brilliant plan. There's a reason the defense is giving you those shots, Jade. That is because they are bad shots. Her rebounding was sketchy most of the night, too. I was not a happy camper. I don't know what Danaejah's problem was holding on to the ball, but she kept losing her handle as if it were one of those jury-rigged tape handles the cashier puts together for you on a large electronics box. I have no idea how she committed only four turnovers. Amber Thompson has suddenly gotten very tentative on the boards. I don't know if it's just that she's worn down from the strain of the season, but she's not the rebounding force of nature she was early on, and that makes me sad. She showed a little bit of her senior leadership at the end of the first half, with the back to back three-point play opportunities- but then, being a Johnnie and being Amber, she missed the free throw both times, because that's how we roll at St. John's. By the end of that first half, she looked like she needed either a hug or a shot of vodka. Tamesha Alexander was capable in her first start, but looked lost on defense. I liked seeing her shoot more, though. I think that'll help her confidence. Aliyyah Handford was a non-factor most of the night, both because Creighton played her very tough and because that defense led to the rest of the St. John's players not giving her touches. When she did get touches, her shots were contested.

"YOU UTTER IMBECILE!" moment of the game: so Aliyyah has made two great offensive plays in a row and keyed a defensive play. There's a little life in the team. Maybe they can make a run the way they did at Seton Hall. This is, of course, when Joe decides it would be a brilliant time to sub out Aliyyah. I am not making this up. Two quick Creighton baskets and a turnover later, Aliyyah was back in the game.

The refs were bad tonight, but they were blatantly bad in our favor, so I'll take it and be grateful. Pretty sure Jade Walker should have fouled out. It's a bad sign when the crew's making game management calls in the first half.

It's been a long time since I've seen a team quit this badly in the middle of a game. Too many lapses on defense. Too many mental errors. Stupid things, like stepping on the baseline. How do screens even work, right? The only saving grace was that the freshmen showed life. But I'm not holding out much hope for this year.

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January 8th, 2014: Creighton at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's came out strong and never looked back in their 67-48 win over visiting Creighton. Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm with 16 points off the bench, while Amber Thompson added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Marissa Janning led the Bluejays with 16.

For bitter cold, concerns, victory, and well-timed threes, join your intrepid and uninspired blogger after the jump.


Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the frozen wasteland of 2014! We're coming to you in stereophonic sound from Carnesecca Arena, where the Red Storm meet up with the Creighton Bluejays. Observant readers will recall that the Red Storm and the Bluejays have a bit of history, having met up a couple of years ago in Norman. I suspect St. John's remembered.

No thanks to the MTA, I missed the very start of the game, so you get no anthem notes. There are not a lot of people here, and most of them are the basketball team, or in some way affiliated with the CYO team that ran up and down the court at halftime. We even got a shirt. Granted, it's a small, which might maybe make it over my head before, er, getting stuck. But it'll make good raw materials for my new quilt.

At halftime, the score is 35-18 St. John's. Amber Thompson has been owning the boards, and everyone's scoring. The scoring leader, with eight points, is Jade Walker, which I'm sure all of you were expecting. Alexis Akin-Otiko leads Creighton with five.

Either Jim Flanery is exceedingly irked at his team or he made subs very early in the first half; three players differ from that lineup. (looking at the box score, it looks like he made quick subs).

Tessa Leytem looked lost out on the floor- out of position, which I think led to Creighton having to take a foul on one defensive possession. MC McGrory, in addition to having a name that sounds kind of like the lost member of the Dropkick Murphys, always seemed to be on the ball and in the middle of every play. Alexis Akin-Otiko made her presence felt underneath, shouldering her way to the basket. For a team that shoots a lot of threes, the Jays have a lot of big players who clog up the middle. I feel like I should remember more about Lauren Works and Jordan Garrison, but I think they did most of the missing and some of the trapping.

Sammy Jensen bailed St. John's out twice with badly timed fouls at the end of the shot clock. I think she was supposed to be their point guard, but their offense, for the most part, wasn't running crisply enough for me to determine who was supposed to be running it. McKenzie Fujan had a pretty shot. Alyssa Kamphaus got a little friendly with the elbows while she took up space in the middle. That's one tough lady down low. Sarah Nelson spent a lot of her time, especially in the first half, running around to set screens for her teammates. I expected her to be more of an offensive presence, but she didn't even really look for her offense until the second half. I wonder if the transition to the Big East has hit her harder than the rest of her team, or if this was just an off day for her. Marissa Janning was the hero of the day for Creighton. She turned up the offense in the second half, and brought good on-ball defense as well, with nifty poke-checks and quick hands. Her release was very quick and impressive.

Creighton ran a lot of screens, especially in the first half. I think they were trying to get their shooters open, but for the most part, St. John's was able to get around and through the screens (well, except for Sandra Udobi chasing Sarah Nelson through more picks than an obstacle course).

O HAI DERE Jade Walker. We see you. Oh, do we see you! She's still having issues with the holding thing on defense, but her step-back jumper was a thing of beauty. She mixed it up a little on the inside, too, living a bit up to her surname. Selina Archer spent the end of the game mostly staring at rebounds and letting other people get them. I'm starting to understand why Miami wasn't exactly all torn up about losing her. Mallory Jones had a good look at a three at the end of the game, and we were all kind of bummed that she missed it. Keylantra Langley brought the defense and the well-timed shots, because that's what she does. Danaejah Grant lit it up in the second half on offense, putting up jumpers and driving through the lane with the greatest of ease. She did have a tendency to stand around and look pretty on defense, though. (Though she and Aliyyah teamed up for a nice trap in the second half.) Aaliyah Lewis seemed a bit tentative, and I'll swear that she managed to get a blocked shot, no matter what the stats say.

Speaking of tentative, I don't know what's gotten into Aliyyah Handford, but whatever it is, she needs to gt herself dispelled of it in a hurry. There's no reason for someone with Aliyyah's superb offensive skill and incredible athleticism to take only five shots. I know Danaejah has been awesome lately, but that doesn't mean that Aliyyah has to let up. She had a couple of pretty defensive plays, but seemed to be more interested in making the big play than the nitty-gritty play. Eugeneia McPherson showed off spectacular timing with her threes coming at the end of the shot clock, but she's going to drive me to pulling out my hair if she doesn't stop dawdling in the backcourt. Sandra Udobi started, but played very little in this one, with Danaejah getting the second half start. I think the knee was barking. Briana Brown got in early foul trouble, which I think limited her defensively, and once she starts getting those mismatches, it doesn't end well for her. Amber Thompson played like we've always known that she could play- ferocious on the boards, strong on the inside. She was fantastic.

A lot of missed travels in this game. I didn't approve of the missed trip that sent Gina to the floor, either. We got the benefit of most of those travels, but I still don't approve.

The DJ that appears to have taken up residence at St. John's games is not popular- not with the fans that we've spoken to, certainly not with the band, and now not with the dance team. Messing up their music mid-routine is not going to make you their favorite guy. To their credit, they finished the routine as if the music were still on. More power to them

The Big East is definitely a rollercoaster this year. I'm looking forward to it.

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