November 22nd, 2019: Wake Forest at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's took control in the second quarter and never fully relinquished the lead in an 82-74 win over Wake Forest. Qadashah Hoppie had 23 points to lead the Red Storm, with Alissa Alston adding 20 points. Gina Conti scored a game-high 25 points before fouling out for Wake Forest.

For getting back on track, rounding up the Usual Suspects, sketchy contests, an insistence on committing unnecessary fouls, loud noises, and pace of play issues, join your intrepid and ever-so-slowly getting it together blogger after the jump.
It's a cold, windy sort of a night here in Queens, and the traffic on Jamaica Avenue is a nightmare. Maybe that's why no one is here to see St. John's take on Wake Forest. Come on, people, it's not like we get Power 5 teams in here every day, even if they're not very good ones.

I salute you, Wake Forest travelers. So long as all y'all stay behind your own bench, we're all good. On the other hand, I would appreciate the Deacs not attempting to pull down our rim. We've only got two, and we kind of need both of them. The sign might be a little overkill too, although nice job matching the gold.

One of the dance team members is walking around in Under Armour gear, and I'm not sure if that's a sign of rebellion or the dance team didn't get included in the Nike deal.

I've just been informed that Alisha Kebbe is not available for this game. I am not okay with this turn of events.

Okay, I am less enthused about the Wake Forest people now that more of them have arrived and there's the distinct possibility that we'll be outnumbered by opposing fans from one of the lowest-tier teams in the ACC. There are high school reinforcements arriving, but I'm not sure whose side they're on. We also seem to have an unexpectedly high student turnout. They must have been storming the dorms for the two games. (Volleyball had Senior Night earlier today and swept Georgetown.) The people in front of us have been warned.

It's 41-28 St. John's at half. Alissa Alston has 16 points to lead the Red Storm. Ivana Raca has 11 to lead the Demon Deacons. When our offense is moving with speed, we're doing well. When we get bogged down by looking like we've never seen a defense before, we run the clock down, take terrible shots, and either hit deep threes or give up rebounds. This does not feel like it should be rocket science.

That got closer than I'd like at the end, and I get the feeling that Coach Tartamella is going to have some long talks with our guard about fouling people in the final minute up three possessions. But our hustle is there. Our hands are there. Our consistency needs some work, but we're a work in progress. I'm okay with that.

Wake Forest used their height well to get rebounds, especially offensive ones. No rebound was safe- if we held it up too long, a Demon Deacon would be there to tip it around. Their execution at the basket needed work, but they were prepared for that eventuality and swarmed the glass.

Ellen Hahne came in at the end of the game when it was pretty much over. Olivia Summiel got similar minutes in the first half, with the addition of a foul. Christina Morra saw spot minutes in the first half as well. I completely failed a perception check and didn't even realize Raegyn Branch checked into the game at any point, so you can tell how much of an impact she made on the game.

Alexandria Scruggs brought size at the guard spot- she was able to body up less substantial defenders to get to the basket. If she could finish when she got there, she'd have been even more effective. Anaia Hoard got her first name pronounced a couple of different ways and launched threes. Pretty stroke, but when the ball came off her hands it was going every which way. Maya Banks has elbows and she's not afraid to use them. She was physical, and she caused us problems with her size. That was sort of a theme of the night.

Ona Udoh plays even taller than she is. Her hands were very busy, especially on the offensive glass. She erased a Leilani Correa shot like it had been retconned out of the timeline. Either I missed some fouls or some got reallocated without an announcement, because she went from two fouls to four fouls without appearing to have been called for a third foul. She eventually fouled out of the game, so that was important, but she didn't seem to object, so I guess she figured she had committed five fouls. Alex Sharp probably had the best dance moves of anyone on Wake Forest, and demonstrated the utility of such with a nifty step-through and turn along the baseline for a basket. Hugging the opposing player during the game crosses the line of acceptable behavior, though. They list her as a guard, but against us she definitely played more like a post. Ivana Raca laid a painful block on Tiana England (that might have been one of the ones at the end of the shot clock, but we'll get to a more detailed discussion of the Red Storm offense later, when I've stopped swearing a little bit) and demonstrated good touch from the midrange and at the basket.

Gina Conti never stopped playing. Even when all seemed lost, she kept driving and drawing fouls. She picked up three cheap points when Alissa Alston inexplicably fouled her on a three-point heave at the end of the shot clock. She made a really great defensive play to save a loose ball (I think that was the one where she whacked it straight off Alissa's chest, which looked painful but was undeniably effective). Kaia Harrison was the crowd favorite of the Wake Forest fans; she's from Long Island and brought a very large contingent that cheered only for her. It was, frankly, offensive; Our Girls Syndrome is one of my least favorite parts of basketball, but I can sort of meet OGS sufferers halfway if they at least pretend to care about their darling's whole team. These folks roared like crazy when Harrison was announced as a starter, then went quiet as church mice the rest of the way. She scored a couple of free throws, but hit no field goals, and there is a very petty part of me that is happy about that. She's got good speed, and if she can get some of the wonkiness out of her shot she'll be good offensively.

When momentum sits on a knife-edge: at the end of the first quarter, Wake Forest was down three, with the ball, and Harrison threw up a heave that bounced twice and didn't go in. If that buzzer-beater had gone in to tie the game and get the Long Island contingent going, I think the game would have gone very differently. We really didn't take control until the fourth quarter, and Wake Forest could have easily seized control in the second if they had that kind of momentum behind them.

Sophia Nolan and Shamachya Duncan picked up a couple of stray minutes in the first half. I'm pleasantly surprised by this, and at Joe's increased use of the bench this year in general. Sometimes mop-up minutes at the end of the first half are even more useful than the ones in the second half. Cecelia Holmberg got to take free throws today, and good grief there is a funkiness to her release that hurts my soul. The 19th century called; they want their set shot back. It's not present in her jumper, from what I saw. Her defense needs work. It needs a lot of work. She'll get there eventually, but she's not there now.

Unique Drake has got to finish at the rim. She wasn't great, but she wasn't as terrible as the non-existent stat line would indicate. She showed off some fancy passing. Leilani Correa's height was useful for us, and she did a good job getting to the line. Her release is slower than I'd like, and it got her shot blocked at least once. I love what she does when the defense presses, although we didn't use it as much as we did against Lafayette, which I think was a mistake. There are a few things I have issues with in this game, despite the victory, but we'll get to that in the wrap-up.

Kadaja Bailey's offense decided to join us this evening, including one spectacular bucket off an alley-oop from Tiana England. Her defense is still lagging, though; she's getting bodied by wider players, run by by quicker players, and losing the ball to taller players. I know she's better than the way she's started this season, but she looks badly lost. We've got you, K, but you've got to step up, especially if Alisha is out for any length of time. Emma Nolan stepped up to the challenge; while I'd still like to see her be less hesitant to shoot, she answered any questions I might have had about her toughness and her ability to use her build. She was aggressive and physical (almost to a fault- there's no tackling in basketball, and we're not even a football school). Her "hurray, I have forced a held ball, but alas, the arrow belongs to the other team" count is now up to at least four, just based on home games. She did a great job of matching Wake Forest's ability to knock the ball away from our rebounders.

Alissa Alston is going to kill me one of these days. Either that or I'm going to jump the rail and dope slap her upside the head, which I realize is not appropriate but at times feels distressingly necessary. I love her willingness to take the charge, but if she's going to do that, she has to get into position earlier and not still be in motion when the offensive player arrives. (I was in the minority regarding the block call. Other St. John's partisans felt it should have been a charge.) And when she committed the foul on the Conti three at the end of the third, I thought my head was going to explode. She's got swagger when she hits the deep threes, and full body sacrifice is a fantastic defensive philosophy I never want her to give up. I just need her to occasionally be more sensible, preferably before she breaks something. Tiana England showed off some flashy passing (I refer the reader back to the alley-oop to Kadaja) and got buckets off steals and fast breaks. But the offense got bogged down late, and once again I'm not sure if the problem is with her or with Joe. Qadashah Hoppie got off to another hot start, driving the lane and getting her points. She picked up the pace again in the fourth to help put the Deacs away. She, like most of the rest of the team, was better offensively when she was playing with a faster pace.

So we have to talk about the stupid fouls, don't we? Because this would have been a double-digit win if we hadn't gifted fouled Wake Forest on three different shots in the final minute and sent them to the line. Common sense, kids. Learn when to back off. Now, Leilani is a freshman, and she gets a partial pass. But Tiana and Alissa have no such excuse.

We also have to talk about the offense. Now, I do appreciate that there are times and reasons to slow down the offense and burn clock. And I understand that it's early in the season and we're incorporating four freshmen and a transfer who hasn't seen Red Storm game action before this year. I do understand these things. But at the same time, it's painfully obvious that when the offense slows down, everything goes horribly wrong. Everyone loses their willingness to shoot, the opposing defense has a chance to get set, and we look like we've never seen a live defense before in our lives. Like, yes, guys, the other team is allowed to play defense while you're running clock.

Officiating was inconsistent, but it was equal, or even in the Red Storm's favor. I can deal with that, I guess.

The kids who won the three-legged race cheated; they were barely tied together at all!

The "Red Storm Warning" klaxon is cute, although maybe we should not activate it while people are standing right next to it. Alex Sharp got an earful of it. But can we please dump the hype man? He doesn't bring anything to the table and is extremely annoying.

There's a lot of potential here, and for the first time in a while, I'm really optimistic about this team. We'll just never have to have a game with a margin between 15 and 30.

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November 5th, 2019: Notre Dame at Fordham

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Notre Dame used size, speed, and a 33-2 free throw differential to pull out a 60-55 win over Fordham. Sam Brunelle and Katlyn Gilbert each had 14 points to pace the Irish, with Destinee Walker adding 10 points and 10 boards. Bre Cavanaugh and Kendell Heremaia each had 14 points to lead Fordham in the loss.

For loud noises, belated election advice, mixed messages, and starting off the season with a bang, join your intrepid and enthusiastic blogger after the jump.

Good evening, fellow basketball travelers! You know what today is, right? It's Election Day! So if you didn't already get out to the polls... well, it'll probably be too late by the time I get these notes posted. But just assume I'm very disappointed in you if you didn't exercise your right and privilege as an American citizen. (If you aren't an American citizen, or are under the age of 18, or can't vote for some other reason, ignore this part.)

But more relevant to the interests of this blog, it's opening day for college basketball! Your intrepid blogger is typing blindly away on a D train headed to the Bronx, as the Fordham Rams open their season with a bang against the ACC powerhouse Notre Dame. I get the feeling my smooth transfers from train to train are about to be the highlight of the night, but who knows? Stranger things have happened, and CPTV has proof.

Our ace reporter on the scene tells me that the legendary Drums of Thunder are in the building. Given how small Rose Hill Gym is, that might be quite a sound. I'm expecting a packed house. Notre Dame alumni are everywhere, they travel well, and I believe there's a NY-area kid on the Irish roster as well. I'm not looking forward to this part. Notre Dame fans can make UConn fans look like choir members with their attitude.

End of the first quarter, and Notre Dame is up 16-14. We're playing reasonably smart basketball, but can't finish a lot of the plays. Two fouls on Anaya Peoples is a problem for Notre Dame early, but two fouls on Anna DeWolff might be a bigger one for Fordham. Even if we get cheesed later, I like what I'm seeing out of our freshmen guards.

At halftime, Notr Dame is up 36-24. All things considered, this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be when we were scoreless for the first five or so minutes of the quarter. Sam Brunelle is putting on a show with 12 points. The freshmen guards are stealing the show for Fordham; Anna DeWolff is getting looks even if she isn't, and Sarah Karpell is making some astonishingly heady defensive plays for her first real game.

Drums of Thunder is about to get underway. Bring the noise, y'all.

There are a surprising number of split fans- Fordham jackets with Notre Dame hats, that kind of thing. I'm pleasantly surprised by how not-green it is in here, especially since the doubleheader is separate admission- in other words, it's not like people are here for the men's game and sitting on their hands.

Notre Dame's heralded freshmen are very good offensively, but they don't have the defense yet. I mean, it's their first game. I'm realistic here.

In tonight's edition of “counting is hard”: Vilisi Tavui is our starting center and wears 14. Ralene Kwiatkowski is a little-used reserve guard who wears 15. Guess what number the ref flashed when Vilisi committed her third foul (which was, IMO, a borderline call)?

47-35 Notre Dame at the end of the third. The foul differential has been instructive, to say the least. It's not a pretty game, but it was never going to be a pretty game if Fordham was going to have any chance. There have been a lot of “counting is hard”moments in this quarter, with some unusual foul calls and disagreements on who the foul should be called on. Mikayla Vaughn went down hard and stayed down for a while early in the quarter, giving us all a scare, but she was able to put weight on the ankle and came back into the game briefly. She got pulled again, though I think that might have been for blood, or possibly an illegal substitution. Come to think of it, I'm not sure she returned after that.

60-55 Notre Dame final, but honestly, I think there are a lot of positives to take away from this game for Fordham. We came back and stuck with a team that's bigger, faster, and more skilled than we are, and we took them to the last possession. A little more depth, a few less bad calls to have personnel available, and we might just have done it.

Kaitlin Cole played briefly for the Fighting Irish in the second quarter. I don't see a statistical impact for her. Danielle Cosgrove brought good height off the bench when Brunelle was in foul trouble and Vaughn was out of the game, but she's got to hit her shots close to the rim. At her height, with our relative lack of height, she should have been a more dominant force. Katlyn Gilbert impressed me more with her defense than her offense, but then I looked at the box score, and she tied for the lead in scoring. I was impressed with how closely she marked her assignment. And yes, that's it for the Notre Dame bench. McGraw didn't have the chance to go as deep into her bench as she might have liked early in the season.

I like Marta Sniezek's quick hands and her communication on the court. She was quick to call the plays and call out her assignment. I think I expected her to be more of a factor in the scorebook than she was, but maybe that's by design. When this lineup has its act together, it's going to be very offensively potent, and maybe they need her to be a facilitator rather than a scorer. Destinee Walker kept Notre Dame in the game with drives and a midrange game, and kept Fordham in the game with appalling free throw shooting. And it's not like she didn't have a chance to practice, but we'll get to that later, once I figure out how not to swear about it. Anaya Peoples has some sweet moves, but her defense needs a lot of work. She's a freshman, though. That happens with freshmen.

Sam Brunelle has a sweet stroke, especially for a big. She needs to work on her footwork, though. She got dinged for at least two travels in the second half. I can see why she's on the national watch lists, even this early. She's got an amazing amount of potential. I can see her fitting anywhere in a frontcourt and giving McGraw a lot of flexibility with her lineups. Mikayla Vaughn used her length well in the post to get rebounds and putbacks. I'm glad she was able to put weight on the ankle. When she went down I was worried it was an Achilles.

Notre Dame had more size and speed than we did, and there were a lot of plays that we might have been able to make against a typical A-10 team that got shut down against Notre Dame's size. Idon't think McGraw haqs her defense installed yet (note that the best defensive plays were mostly coming from the returning sophomore Gilbert; Sniezek made good individual plays, but not systemic plays).

I was surprised that we didn't give Zara Jillings a lot of run. I guess she falls into the undersized tweener trap against a team like Notre Dame, but she's a heady player and there were times when we could have used her communication skills on the floor, when passes went awry or players were out of position. Megan Jonassen was physical in the post, both on the glass and on putbacks. I like how she's shaping up. Sarah Karpell put in big minutes and made a lot of hustle defensive plays, getting back to stop breaks and getting in for loose balls. Her nose for the ball was fantastic. Katie McLoughlin saw time in the fourth quarter as foul trouble and long minutes took their toll on the starters, and she put up a couple of threes (I think one of them was one of the many Fordham shots that the rim rejected).

(Seriously, at one point my husband said of our shooting, "God hates us." My response, given who we were playing, was "No, God's mom hates us.")

I'm not sure how I feel about Kaitlyn Downey's love of the lookaway pass. On one hand, it's really cool when it works. On the other hand, when it doesn't work, we look stupid. There were stretches when it seemed like she had forgotten how tall she is and was leaving the heavy carrying down low to her teammates (which was not necessarily a great plan given Vilisi's foul trouble). But she had a couple of good blocks. I'd just like to see a lot less of her on the perimeter. (Somehow she snuck up on all the categories in the scoresheet. I don't know how either. I do remember the steals, though- she got into the passing lane and stepped in front of passes. She got by with a little help from her friends- those steals were usually off double or triple teams.) Vilisi Tavui shows some promise, and if nothing else, it's nice to have an actual tall post player to go up against everyone else's tall post player. She's a little more tentative than I'd like her to be, but I get it; this is really her first big action since the injury, and she's suddenly gone from the end of the bench to the starting lineup. That's a big adjustment for a kid who flat out admitted Fordham was her only recruiting opportunity.

Kendell Heremaia is rapidly taking that spot in my heart where I'm willing to fight anyone who makes a bad call against her. She's such a sweetheart. We've already had two games where the Law of Verticality was not only violated but subverted in her case (the Law of Verticality being that if a player falls down, a foul is called on the player who did not fall down, and poor Kene keeps getting the call against her, and it just doesn't seem fair). She's stepping up big for us, and I'm so proud of her. I love watching her on defense, even if it doesn't seem fair that she has to defend other teams' power forwards. I love seeing her run the offense and step into that role so easily. I love her hustle. I keep thinking she should not be taking threes that far back, and then they go in and I shut up for a while. Bre Cavanaugh was missing shots in the first half that it seemed like she should be making- and that she did, in fact, make in the second half. I'm now not sure whether she's actually more potent when she's not the first option or not; on one hand, she can explode in a good way, but on the other hand, it seems like she has her best performances when she doesn't have to be the superstar. It takes the pressure off and lets her play a more complete game. I'm sure Anna DeWolff is going to hit the freshman wall at some point, and I admit I'm worried about the length of time it takes for her to get off good shots sometimes. But until such time as she hits that wall and the shots really stop going down, I'll join the folks in the band who had the DeWolff Pack sign up. She hits shots and she plays without fear. She and Bre have a lot of the same instincts for the ball. Right now, that's a problem because they both try to be in the same place at the same time, and they end up getting in each other's way, which means we lose the possession as often as we gain it. But once they get a better sense of where each of them is on the floor, and they learn to trust each other to get the ball, our rebounding from the backcourt is going to be ridiculous.

I can't overstate the heart of this team. They gave it everything they thought they had, and then they dug deeper and gave some more. Kene was pulling the jersey with three minutes to go, and that was about a minute and a half of game time before she hit the big three. Kaitlyn was starting to register on the Kraayeveld scale. Anna's mask was slipping because of the sweat. But the team just kept coming. If we can take an ACC team to the wire like this, with one of the most lopsided free throw differentials I've ever seen working against them, I look forward to seeing what they can do against teams in their own weight class.

So, about that free throw differential, because we were going to get there eventually. I didn't really think anything of it when Sarah went to the line in the first quarter and split a pair of free throws. It's a thing that happens. We were annoyed that she didn't hit the first, but that's how life is. And then we started racking up fouls, and Notre Dame... did not. I thought there was an imbalance in how the physicality of the game was called, and I certainly objected to the allocation of some of the fouls that did seem legitimate. It just didn't hit me until I was on the train looking at the box score, and the differentials were there in black and white- 27-9 Fordham on fouls, 33-2 Notre Dame on free throws. (And really, if I'm Notre Dame, I'm not happy with my FT%, given that many cracks at it.) It gets frustrating when touch fouls are called at one end and hands to the face aren't called on the other.

I loved how raucous thecrowd was. To my surprise, the Notre Dame fans were fairly quiet during the game. They cheered during intros, but that was about it. Maybe it's different when it's non-conference? Because the ones who showed up to games at Carnesecca before the Big East imploded were real jerks, and that did a lot to color my impression of the fan base. (The Internet has done the rest.) I would like for the Fordham fans to bring this energy for the rest of the season, because these kids deserve it. I know it's not going to happen, but your intrepid blogger would like to dream.

On to the next one. Basketball never stops, and I'm going to have to type faster if I want to stay caught up.

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December 9th, 2018: Florida State at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A spirited defensive battle went to Florida State, as they beat St. John's 57-53. Kiah Gillespie led all scorers with 22 points, adding seven rebounds. Alisha Kebbe had 17 points for St. John's, with Kayla Charles adding nine points and 20 rebounds for the Red Storm.

For all the usual complaints, lots of rebounds, terrible shooting, needing some more warm bodies, and autographs, join your intrepid and repetitive blogger after the jump.

It's game day at St. John's, as the Red Storm welcome Florida State to Carnesecca Arena, but your intrepid blogger is not quite dressed for the occasion. Long-time readers of the GNoD know who my favorite Johnnie is, and she's an assistant on the other bench today. Long-time readers also know that I wear her jersey (like, literally, because no one wore that number for something like ten years). It seemed inappropriate to do so today, though, so I'm wearing the jersey my husband usually wears and he's wearing another from our stash, after a little trial and error. (Have you ever almost been strangled by a jersey before? Not fun.)

Kiah Gillespie has a very large contingent here. I wonder if they were the ones who chartered the Dattco bus. (The shirts with Gillespie on the back and her picture on the front were a dead giveaway, if you were wondering.)

I don't even see Curteeona Brelove, on the bench or on crutches or anything. Meemo. :( She came out later with the gold laces wrapped around her boot.

The spear down the side of the shorts on Florida State's uniforms is very dramatic. I like the effect, but I always hesitate before complimenting the Native-based imagery FSU uses. I know, I know, they have permission, but it's complicated and I don't know if I should delve into it.

Something about Sky Lindsay's outfit isn't working for me today, and I don't know if it's the lipstick or the color of the top.

Have I mentioned lately how much I dislike when the men are scheduled at the Garden at the same time the women are scheduled at Carnesecca? Because we have to scramble to put together an alumni band, and I don't see either cheer or dance. And DSPN is working, so it looks like the husband and I are the cheer squad today. And neither of us can really pull off the short skirt.

(We ended up with about half the dance team and maybe a third of the cheer squad. Like many things about this game, it could be worse.)

We're shooting 18% from the field and only down two points, I will take this any day of the week and twice on Sundays, which is good, since today is Sunday. It's 19-17, so I'm sort of glad the only people who are seeing this game are the ones who are here, and the ones who have decided to pay for ESPN+. Lots of missed shots. Lots of questionable shot selection for St. John's and bad misses for Florida State. Kayla Charles has all the rebounds. Okay, not literally all of them, but we have 25 and she has 12, so.

I like Coach Semrau's top. I'm a sucker for the gradient look.

If our substitute PA guy doesn't stop mispronouncing Qadashah's name, I will not be responsible for the consequences of my actions, or those of her dad. Qadashah and Kadaja are different names and different people, okay? Why is this so hard? There's even a pronunciation guide on the scorecards this year.

CYO game and dance clinic at halftime. Neither terribly impressive.

I repeat: that is a lot better than I was expecting things to go. It helped that Florida State was almost as shorthanded as we were, and that they didn't have a lot of shooters. But they've got length, and their defense never let up. That's going to keep them in a lot of games.

Sayawni Lassiter is not ready for primetime. The first time she came into the game, she committed two boneheaded plays right off the bat, and didn't improve much from there. I would have thought she'd pick up more ball thought during her redshirt year, but she did not look ready at all. Savannah Wilkinson had a big block on Akina Wellere in the second quarter. She's a little bit more of a widebody than most of their players.

I honestly would not have guessed that Kourtney Weber played the most minutes off the bench for Florida State. Not by much, I grant you, but still. I'm trying to picture her on the floor, but I'm not seeing her clearly. I was very impressed with Morgan Jones, and since she got the second half start over Amaya Brown, I don't think I was the only one. She's quick and lengthy, and used both of these really well on defense. She had a couple of big blocks on Tiana England, because I'm starting to wonder about Tiana's learning curve. Jones seems like the kind of player I could enjoy watching for a while.

Driving against Valencia Myers seems to be a terrible idea. She swatted a lot of weak shots; if she saw hesitation, the next thing the shooter was going to see was the ball coming back at high speed. I think she was the one who had the really nice strip block. Her jumper needs work. A lot of work. But she's a freshman. Someone can work on that with her. (Preferably Wyckoff. I've seen her jumper and I've seen Joy's jumper, and I know which one is more fundamentally sound. There are many things I loved about Joy as a player, and that ain't one.) Kiah Gillespie got off to a very quick start, then became less of a factor until the fourth quarter. I think we were out of gas at that point, and she took advantage. She had a size advantage for much of the game, but elected to use it from the three-point arc instead of pressing it inside.

Amaya Brown started the game, and like many a Florida State player, she brought a lot of length to the floor. But I don't think Coach Semrau was happy with her defense, so Jones got the bulk of the minutes in the second half. Nicki Ekhomu has impressive ups and good speed. I don't think point is her natural position, but she did admirably filling in; she kept the offense moving at a fast pace, even if it wasn't always the most effective fast pace. I'm assuming Nicoletti was supposed to provide some of the outside threat that would complement this team's ability to get to the basket. Nausia Woolfolk (whose first name is, unfortunately, either pronounced exactly how you imagine it or was being butchered all night by our PA guy) provided solid defense and a fantastic offensive rebound in the second half. She charged the ball on that play like a streak of lightning.

I don't know how the short roster will hold out in the ACC, but they've got some really good young players that are going to get a lot of chances to develop this year.

Shamachya Duncan played briefly, and surprised one of her teammates by passing the ball to her. I should be surprised we didn't see more of her, whether it was as a spare set of fouls late in the fourth or as a breather to give someone, anyone, a much-needed rest. But Joe Tartamella apparently doesn't believe that players need rest or anything like that. On the other hand, Machi is inconsistent and Jasmine Sina is nowhere near the player she was at Binghamton, so I can understand Joe not wanting to give them extended time. Kadaja Bailey continues to look lost, which disturbs me. She looked great at the beginning of the season, but now looks like she's forgotten everything she ever knew about our defense and our offensive sets. There's so much potential there, but there's something not clicking, and it worries me.

I like when Tiana England drives, when she doesn't let fear or the pace throttle her game. It's when she stops and kills the clock that things seem to go wrong, whether it's not having enough time to make plays or excessive dribbling that leads to fumbles and turnovers. I think she's in a no-win situation, though, because she's either going to be too slow or she's going to try to do too much. Qadashah Hoppie did a good job of driving the lane and getting fouled. That kind of play comes with drawbacks, and while the box score doesn't track blocked attempts, I think she came in for a fair few of Florida State's swats.

Kayla Charles was a beast on the boards. I love it. She was relentless, whether it was going all the way up or going all the way down (I had my heart in my throat the one play where she brought the ball all the way down to the floor with three Florida State players surrounding her). She's still getting frustrated too easily when she doesn't get the call, and she has to understand that she's not going to get the call. Akina Wellere's in an interesting and not necessarily good spot. She's definitely shying away from the three-pointer, and the ones she takes aren't from her comfort zones. She's stuck somewhere in the middle, and I feel bad for her; I think she's in a no-win situation. I'm sure it's been spun to her as a chance to expand her skill set and potentially play overseas, but I think it's serving the opposite purpose. She's trying to force things she's not comfortable with. Alisha Kebbe has, in these last few games, been the eye of the Storm, the calm center around which the defense pivots, and the person who comes up with big baskets at the right time. She was on fire beyond the arc in this game. She's been solid for us, the leader that we need.

We came out with really good energy, and we fought back at the end of the fourth quarter, but for much of the third and fourth, we didn't have enough left in the tank to counter Florida State. They carry almost as short a roster as we do, but Semrau was willing to use a lot more of it, and that helped them in the end.

The officials let a lot of contact go on both sides, and we got away with more of it than Florida State did, so all in all, I can't really complain too much, except in the generalized way that a good fan of the overall game should.

Gold laces today in support of battling pediatric cancer. Gold and red are a classic combo. Unfortunately, in some cases, it's the fries and a Big Mac kind of combo. The kid they were honoring was adorable, though.

Today was also autograph day, which meant a chance to say hi to the squad, update the flag, and get the snazzy new poster signed. It also meant hearing more about Meemo's ankle than I really wanted to know, and I'm now sorry I asked. Which, for all I know, was the whole point.

Now it's another month until the next home game. I really want to know who designed this schedule, because it seems to make a negative amount of sense. At least we'll have Awkward Bowl.

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December 3rd, 2017: Pittsburgh at Fordham

Just the Facts, Ma’am: Fordham started off strong, weathered a Pittsburgh comeback, and came away with the 58-55 win. Bre Cavanaugh had 21 points, while Mary Goulding notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kalista Walters had 22 points and 10 rebounds to power Pittsburgh.

For golden Rams, understudies, point guard yelling, redundant raffles, grit, impossible shots, and “thanks, it has chairbacks!” join your intrepid and nostalgic blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, folks! Another day, another game. This time it’s Fordham again, hosting Pittsburgh at Rose Hill.

I put down the wrong game time, so we arrived right at tip off. There seem to be a fair number of Pitt fans in the house.

Fordham’s already starting to advertise the UCLA game, which is fantastic. I’d love to see that be a sellout.

At halftime, it’s 29-27 Fordham, after a run by Pitt. All things considered, this is better than I’d think we’d do if you told me before the game that we wouldn’t have G’mrice Davis. She’s in sweatpants, walking stiffly enough that I’m worried it’s either a knee or a back injury. I don’t know how much of this we can sustain; Mary Goulding has three fouls and Johanna Klug two. If things get bad, it might be Kendell Heremaia at center.

I’m not sure how I feel about the Pitt coaching dynamic with the McConnell sisters. Wouldn’t it be weird for players to have someone on the bench you know you can’t go to with any doubts about the coach, because of blood ties? I don’t know. Seems weird to me.

Pika Rodriguez got time in the first half, and yes, I did spend a fair amount of time trying not to think of little yellow Pokémon. Since she’s not particularly fast and she’s not particularly electric, it worked out okay. Cassidy Walsh likes to shoot the three. She’s got good length, but I don’t know if she’s really thrilled about being as tall as she is.

Suzie McConnell-Serio changed up the starting lineup in the second half, going with Kauai Bradley and Kyla Nelson. I can’t say as I blame her. Nelson has a nice shot, though she started trying to rush it in the second half, and made some intense defensive plays. I think she has a lot of promise. Bradley had great positioning on the offensive glass, including one that set up a putback by Kalista Walters. She’s got good speed as well; both of her baskets were on very fast dribble drives.

I don’t know why Danielle Garven didn’t play the second half- she didn’t appear to be injured from what I saw of her. She wasn’t impressive, either, but that’s not exactly a reason to go from starting to completely dropped down the memory hole. Yacine Diop and her strangely colored hair got off to a good start with the early three, but then the two charging fouls hit, and she never got into a groove before fouling out. She’s gangly, and I don’t know if she’s completely used to her body. Star of the show for Pitt was undoubtedly Kalista Walters, without whom Pitt would have been utterly screwed. She powered to the basket for lay-ups and floaters, and tore down offensive rebounds. I don’t know if she was already on the ACC’s radar, but if she wasn’t, this game should have put her there.

I wasn’t expecting that pronunciation of Alayna for Alayna Gribble. You’d think I’d remember more than that about someone who played just over half the game, but she didn’t make any mind-meltingly stupid mistakes or any particularly brilliant plays. She just played. Jasmine Whitney hit a couple of shots in the fourth quarter, but was otherwise unremarkable.

(It is at this point that I misplaced my notes, which aren’t always the greatest notes, but do help me highlight particular plays. I am annoyed by this.)

Katie McLoughlin is enthusiastic, and at least has a vague sense of where to be on defense, but offensively, she is not ready for primetime. Give her another year, though, maybe have her catch up to the speed of the college game, and she’ll be very serviceable. Zara Jillings brought the defense, and one of these days she’s going to get called for the blatant foul she seems to commit in every game I see her in; this time it was a hip-check that led to a Pitt turnover. The McConnell-Hyphens were not amused. Somewhat better offense from her than I’ve seen before, but so far it seems clear she’s more of a defensive specialist. And I’m okay with that. Defense is awesome. Everyone should play more defense, except my teams’ opponents.

(Hello, internet. I am a wee tiny bit loopy right now, and I don’t know why. I haven’t been up that long!)

Ladies and gentlemen, playing the role of G’mrice Davis in today’s performance will be Mary Goulding. So gritty. So clutch. Usually her ratio of “YAY!” to “WTF?!” is 2:1, but today it was more like 8:1. She threw up some wild ridiculous shots that had no business going in, but they did, and the crowd went wild. She rebounded hard and made big defensive plays. Some of the fouls were ticky-tack calls, but she does need to be more careful with her fouls and more aware of the foul situation. Johanna Klug does appear to have run headfirst into the freshman wall and begged for more. She was getting called for travels all day, with a three-second violation or two thrown in for good measure. Whoever’s in charge of post player fundamentals needs to get her in the gym and just work with her for a few hours, or days, or however long it takes, until her footwork is up to snuff.

Kendell Heremaia slid into the starting lineup with the injury to G’mrice Davis. Her three and a slick defensive play got her off to a good start, and her help defense was crucial in preserving the fouls on Mary and Johanna. But she was careless with the ball (there was one sequence where she threw it to somewhere she thought Lauren Holden was going to be, and Lauren was not, whereupon Lauren ripped her a new one with emphasis, which is sort of cute coming from a 5-5 guard). Lauren had a couple of bad, bad three-point attempts that airballed, but her drives down the lane made up for them, and she ran the offense well. Clock management could use a little more polish, but that’s been improving. Bre Cavanaugh had ice in her veins, running down the shot clock to the very end on two different occasions, making big hustle plays, and generally being awesome. She’s such a change of pace for this team. She takes a lot of hits but I could do without some of the embellishment. She’s going to get called for simulation one of these days.

Now that cheer and dance are occasionally making noise, the next step is to coordinate them.

Please stop hitting Bre, y’all. And if the officials could call it, that would be great.

That was a huge win. Pitt’s not necessarily a good ACC team, but they’re still an ACC team with ACC size. To get out ahead of them, lose that lead, and come back, and do it all without our star post- that’s big.

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November 29th, 2017: Boston College at Columbia

Just the Facts, Ma’am: Rebounding and defense keyed a second half comeback for Columbia in their matinee win against Boston College, 68-60. Camille Zimmerman had 14 points and seven assists in the win for the Lions. Georgia Pineau led all scorers with 22 for Boston College.

For missed chances, going the long way around, a lack of creativity, cranky coaches, undisciplined fouls, showcases, and restraining children, join your intrepid and curious blogger after the jump.

Good morning, folks! Your intrepid blogger, two apple cakes later, is back on the basketball grind, doing the twi-night doubleheader, as you do. First it’s off to Columbia for their game against Boston College.

Note to self: stop trying to walk from the C train, it’s not a good plan. Too many hills and my feet already hurt from being on them so much of the day yesterday. Ended up going around the hilly side of the campus and losing track of avenues. I’ve lived in New York all my life, but named avenues still throw me off when I go uptown.

So far this appears to be one of the better-organized kids’ day games I’ve ever been to. They’re loading the groups efficiently, and there are actually seats reserved for those few adults brave enough to dare the screaming. Also, we have band. I am pleased by this turn of events. Now, if the wi-fi would cooperate, we’d really be on a roll.

There was a pregame presentation to honor Camille Zimmerman becoming Columbia’s all-time leading scorer, which is very cool. Records are made to be broken, after all.

This has not exactly been inspiring basketball. At halftime, BC is up 29-27, and it would be more if they could hit a free throw. It’s a miracle that Columbia is this close, given that Camille Zimmerman got called for three straight fouls in the second quarter, cutting her minutes. But BC has been turning the ball over and not capitalizing when they manage to hold on to it. I don’t know how much longer Columbia’s luck can hold, and I feel like it’s going to depend on when Zimmerman picks up the fourth foul.

There’s being agnostic about ticket sales, and then there’s selling tickets behind the home bench to two vocal BC fans. This is not a good plan.

To the kids behind me: I get what you’re saying, and I’m not saying you’re necessarily wrong, but could you find something more creative than “You suck!” to yell whenever Columbia makes a stupid mistake? Thanks.

I want a drink so badly, but I don’t think daring the concession stand is a good idea, especially since Columbia has apparently switched to being a Pepsi place. Booooooo.

At LIU, before the home team takes free throws, the band yells in chorus, “FREE THROWS WIN BALL GAMES!” I feel like BC’s coach is going to be doing the same thing as soon as they get into the locker room... and on the bus... and off the bus... and back to Chestnut Hill. For most of the game, the Eagles outplayed the Lions- but they choked at the line, and I think that made all the difference.

Katie Quandt is a load down low, not afraid to muscle her way to the basket for offensive rebounds and either putbacks or free throws. I can imagine how she got the injury that led to the facemask. Milan Bolden-Morris wears her shorts just a little bit too tight for my liking- not short like booty shorts, but tight like they look uncomfortable. She had a good fourth quarter- big shots, big defensive plays. They list her as a guard, but she takes on some of the frontcourt duties when she has to. Martina Mosetti was busy on defense.

Sydney Lowery’s a gunner, or at least she was in this game. But I still like her potential. She definitely had her freshman moments, but I think she can learn from those and develop her judgment. That head fake she threw was sweet. Andie Anastos got most of her points driving the lane, with the Columbia defense parting before her. I don’t get that either. Taylor Ortlepp was out there, but she didn’t distinguish herself. I think she might have been the one who committed the lane violation that sealed BC’s fate, but I’m not sure.

Georgia Pineau was big on the inside, barreling into the paint for lay-ups and pulling down boards. She had quite a few blocks, with especially spectacular ones on Josie Little and Maya Sampleton. Her conditioning needs work- there was a point in the third quarter where she was pulling on her jersey in the time-honored signal of “I need a break”. But when she came down the lane, Columbia defenders either got out of the way or fouled her. Emma Guy was equally tough (I suppose a “tough Guy” joke is expected here), with a nice offensive rebound and putback on a missed free throw. I thought the fourth foul call on her was dubious. They aren’t the best, or the most physical, post tandem I’ve ever seen from BC, but bear in mind we used to get the Carolyn Swords/Stefanie Murphy combo visiting St. John’s. That’s a high standard to live up to. She needs to be more careful with her footwork.

Appropriately enough for a hockey school, Boston College used line changes in the final minute or so. I’m used to single-player offense/defense substitution, but BC’s coach was calling on entire three-person units.

It’s a good thing Columbia isn’t one of my usual teams. I’d spend an awful lot of time confused, since the Lions have a guard named Maya Sampleton. She did not get off to an inspiring start (I think she was the player who let a pass hit her in the face and go out of bounds) but came up with some big threes in the third quarter to help Columbia seize the lead. Andrea McCormick saw time very briefly in the second quarter, right around the time when Columbia’s coach was yelling at her bench that someone else had to score and was throwing in pretty much anyone. The three probably calmed the coach’s nerves slightly. Janiya Clemmons was a shot in the arm of offense, hitting floaters in the lane. She played well enough that she got the second half start.

Imani Whittington did not cover herself in glory in her brief time. Ill-advised fouls have a tendency to do that. I barely noticed she was there until she started committing the fouls. Abby Lee was solid rebounding, and hit a three in the second quarter that helped pull Columbia closer. She got the second half start for Madison Pack, but that was due to injury. Not that she didn’t play well, but this was a case where it wasn’t that one player had clearly outplayed another.

Riley Casey started the game, but she was the one benched for Clemmons. I understand the move- she was very hesitant at point guard, holding the ball too long and missing open shooters in the corners. Going to the bench seemed to enliven her, as she scored almost all of her points in the fourth quarter. When her three goes down, it’s a pretty shot, high-arcing. Paige Tippet shut the door with her free throws at the end of the game. Good hustle player.

Why, yes, I did pretty much bury the lede. It’s my standard procedure, build to the good stuff. In this case, the good stuff is Camille Zimmerman, the Lions’ star utility forward. She plays the game at a different level from her teammates. She’s looking for angles they don’t see. She’s making plays before they are. There were at least two occasions where she collided with a teammate on a rebound or a loose ball when her teammate was the one in position to make the play. I recognize that Columbia is a fantastic option for one’s future, but I believe with all my heart that she’d be a far better basketball player at another school, with more talented teammates and a better coach. (And it’s not like there aren’t academic schools out there with strong women’s hoops programs. God, what VanDerveer could do with her.) There are limits to her game- she didn’t seem to have a strong perimeter shot, and she can’t get into foul trouble the way she did in this one. But I love her vision on the floor and her versatility inside the arc. Madison Pack was shot happy from outside, and she rebounded well. I didn’t see the play where she injured her ankle, only that she came off the court limping and didn’t play in the second half (she didn’t even return to the bench until midway through the third quarter). Josie Little was strong on the inside, with a couple of monster blocks, one on Guy, one on Pineau, and she seemed to pick up steam as the game went on. She helped make her team and her teammates better.

Columbia’s coach appears to be very frustrated with her lot in life. She is of the “if I yell at the bench after the players on the floor screw up, magic will happen” school, though slightly less caustic than Coach Del Preore. (Stephanie, if you’re reading this, I really do like you and would love to sit in the stands with you at a game. It’s just that if I played for you I’d try to punch you in the face.)

If Camille Zimmerman’s third foul had been allocated to Madison Pack the way I thought it should have been, this might have been an entirely different game. The officials were lax on three-second calls and got looser on travels as the game went on.

I don’t know if this falls under the referees’ or some other officials’ purview, but there were long delays before tipoff and before the start of the second half. I know the game was on SNY, but the red-hatting seemed excessive.

I expected more out of an Ivy League band. Columbia’s band was very disappointing- competent, but not innovative.

I understand why Columbia scheduled up this year- Camille Zimmerman deserves a showcase. But I don’t think the rest of this team, including its staff, is on the same level. And I don’t know how much room for improvement there is.

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December 4th, 2016: Wake Forest at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Wake Forest raced out to a 16-point lead in the first half, but Seton Hall clamped down on defense in a 23-6 third quarter and rode out a wild fourth for the 70-63 comeback win. LaTecia Smith had 19 points to lead Seton Hall, while Lubirdia Gordon shone with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. Elisa Penna led Wake Forest with 15 points.

For tall shooters, big post plays, rocking the house, angry overcaffeinated Italian leprechauns, and all kinds of comebacks, join your intrepid and property-damaging blogger after the jump.

And here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again. I'm too tired for this, but here we are in South Orange anyway, getting ready to see Seton Hall take on Wake Forest.

We figured out where the secret-ish seating area is in the lobby, which allowed me to finish yesterday's notes with some semblance of back support. I'm getting too old for this, but not old enough to be anyone's mother.

Great anthem by the band, which has been rocking some great material. The emphasis on flute has set them apart, and gives the anthem a bit of a retro feel.

At halftime, Wake Forest is up 32-21 on Seton Hall, and it should honestly be more. This game has been full of brain farts. It has not been good to watch, for either team. At least we're at full strength, though that might be false now (Jayla Jones-Pack took a hit to the back of the head midgame and eventually came out). Officiating has been a hot, reckless mess, more fixated on procedural mistakes than people getting hit.

How the worm turns, or some other similar expression. Seton Hall laid the smackdown defensively in the third quarter, and at the same time we found our offensive mojo. The offensive mojo stayed, even as Wake Forest found their own way on offense late in the fourth. It got pretty wild and it got pretty loud.

The Demon Deacons were pretty short-handed, between one thing and another- it looked like half their roster was either ineligible or injured. They only brought three players off the bench, and those not for very long. Clarisse Berranger's stint was so short and so unmemorable that ESPN doesn't even bother mentioning her in the box score; I had to get validation of my sanity from the SHU box score to confirm that I hadn't hallucinated her. Ona Udoh got tangled up with players a lot and ended up committing fouls in a hurry- when Wake Forest wasn't getting called for fouls she was still picking them up, which is pretty impressive in the wrong kind of way. Tyra Whitehead brought a lot of size in reserve too, and did her damage late, at the basket.

Milan Quinn has one of the weirdest free throw wind-ups I've ever seen, and there are a lot of very strange free throws out there. She actually goes up on tiptoe, almost leaving her feet, before coming down to release it. In a live-ball situation, I think that might actually be a travel. She's very smooth when she's not at the line, and has a pretty nice sweeping sort-of hook. Elisa Penna was killing us in the first half with midrange jumpers. Like a lot of European posts, or at least players who are assigned to the post by coaches, she has a very nice jumper, but she's willing to go to the rack as well. Alex Sharp was very physical, and did not make herself the most popular person in South Orange with her hard hit on Kaela Hilaire. Ariel Stephenson found her shot late in the fourth to pull Wake Forest back into the game, and had a nice steal to go along with it. Amber Campbell dropped a most righteous block on a Deja Winters corner three and played the passing lanes well.

Wake Forest has some of the worst passing and ballhandling I've ever seen out of a major conference team. They whipped a lot of passes past their intended recipients, out of bounds. I think they might still be a year away from really contending.

It's good to see Martha Kuderer back on the floor for the Pirates- she's a little ahead of schedule. She's still very tentative, passing up shots that are in her wheelhouse and causing turnovers because of that, but I'm glad to have her back- especially since we might have lost Jayla Jones-Pack for the near future. She took a tumble in the first quarter, hit the back of her head, tried to stay in the game despite the official's suggestions otherwise, left the game a few possessions later, and didn't return to the game, though she did stay on the bench. Shadeen Samuels played briefly in the first half, but I think her knee was bothering her- she wasn't as aggressive as she usually is. Jordan Molyneaux played like a bit of a klutz, but finished at the basket on a pretty pass from Kaela. If Jayla's injured ofr any length of time, we're going to need her.

Claire, we need to have a talk about your shot selection. If the game is winding down, the team is trying to run clock, and there are 16 seconds on the shot clock, the situation does not call for Claire Lundberg to take a somewhat contested three from two feet behind the line. Claire baffles me. There are days when all she seems to be is a spot-up shooter who can deflect passes just by being taller than the person she's assigned to defend. And there are days when she goes into the lane and takes lay-ups like the tall person she is. Today was a shooter day. Skyler Snider brought solid defense in her short minutes. Kaity Healy brought vocal leadership and direction.

Kaela Hilaire's another player who might need a talk about shot selection. I feel like her reaction under pressure is to take the shot herself instead of looking for other options, and that led to a lot of really bad shots, both in the sense of timing and in the sense of being nowhere near going in the basket. I love the intensity and the passion she brings on the defensive end- watching her play the press with TT or Quanny is a thing of terrifying beauty. I also love watching LaTecia Smith regularly rebound like she's about six to nine inches taller than she actually is. She has ups and she has moxie. Clock awareness is still an issue for her, though. But she picked her moments well on offense.

JaQuan Jackson did not have her shot until very late in the game, and it seemed to throw her off on both ends of the floor. She scrambled after loose balls, and came up with her defensive plays that way, instead of playing the passing lanes with her usual effectiveness. She was the recipient of a lot of her teammates' hustle. Deja Winters got three-point happy, and I don't know whether that was part of the game plan or just Deja's preference. Other than her shooting, I thought she played well. But the unquestioned star of the game was Lubirdia Gordon. Bird had herself a day, and it was glorious. She took down rebounds and secured them, which had been a problem for her. She hit her lay-ups, and the ones she didn't hit, she rebounded. She hit her free throws, and after all the years I've spent raging about post players not hitting free throws, this is a glorious and blessed relief. She shut things down on the inside for Wake Forest. I think we can dub this beast mode. It's been a rough start of the year for Bird, so I'm so happy for her that she had a day like this.

Officiating was uneven and fixated more on procedural calls than contact. On the other hand, they didn't throw Tony out for being extremely angry and somewhat overcaffeinated. I didn't see the exact moment he lost the jacket, but at some point in the second quarter it was gone. I don't know if he Reeved it or just tossed it to the side in disgust. It went back on eventually, when the Hall had taken control back.

By the way: Tony, you know how much we love you, but you looked at all that height Wake Forest was throwing at us and you went small in the starting lineup? I think the diplomatic way to address that is, "I find your decision highly unusual and would greatly appreciate hearing the logic behind it, because it appears to have evaded my grasp."

But let me tell you something. In that third quarter, when the defense picked up and the offense picked up and the gap started closing, there's no place I would have rather been than in the middle of that crowd, husband to the right of me, band to the left of me, managers and boosters across from me, Tony waving his arms, the bench players clapping the rhythm. It got loud in a hurry, and it was amazing. We were stomping the bleachers (or, in my case, slamming the clipboard against the bleachers) and screaming at the top of our lungs. When it gets like that, there's no time for the complex chants. You can't get that many people that organized that fast. You have to stick with the classics. "DE-FENSE!" *clap-clap* "LET'S GO PIRATES!" *clap clap clap-clap-clap* (or insert your team) Sometimes you can't even do that, and it's time for sheer, raw, noise, anything that gets into the other team's head and jams their signals. Walsh whips into that kind of focused fury faster than any of my other homecourt.

So that turned out to be pretty fun, though if we have to do that much more often I may end up breaking the bleachers, but hey, they need to be replaced anyway.

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November 20th, 2016: Miami at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Miami brought the pressure and finished strong in their 62-50 win over St. John's. Erykah Davenport had 16 points to lead the Hurricanes, with Jessica Thomas contributing 15 (all but 2 from the line) and Keyona Hayes dropping a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Akina Wellere had 19 points to lead St. John's, but no one else mustered more than eight.

For the ref show, small children, STOP MAKING ME FEEL OLD, unexpected shooters, being up in one's feelings, and the biting wind of winter, join your intrepid and shivering blogger after the jump.
Waitin' all day for Sunday night- but I'll leave the football to everyone else. St. John's is hosting Miami tonight, and we've got a lot to prove.

This remix sequence is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. Some songs you just don't mess with; "Don't Stop Believing" is one of them.

Miami must have been running late or something, because they only arrived about ten minutes before the gates were scheduled to open. (The doors actually opened a little early, mostly because one dude kept whining that it was too cold for his kids to be outside. It's 40 degrees and they have winter coats. Suck it up, buttercup.)

Oh, good, someone clued in the dude in the orange Miami shirt that he had parked himself behind the St. John's bench. I was about to get righteously indignant.

Alisha Kebbe seems to be back, which is good. We'll see how effective she is.

At halftime, Miami is up 28-23, but dear Lord has the officiating been hot trash on a platter. Late whistles, an overabundance of travel calls, and a lot of very physical contact that's going uncalled. Either someone's going to get hurt or Joe Tartamella is going to do his best Cheryl Reeve impression, and I don't wish that on any jacket.

I admire Miami's dedication to their font, but it doesn't work for the name on the back of the jersey.

Looks like Alisha's got family in the house. I wonder how long it takes to get back to Philly from here.

We showed a lot of heart and hustle out there, but there's only so much you can do when it seems like it's 5-on-8 out there. We need a consistent scoring options- we have scoring options, but they're all inconsistent. Miami brought a lot of pressure, and we weren't able to handle it.

Nigia Greene has really quick hands. I was impressed with the work she did low to the ground. Sarah Mortensen got some minutes late in the first half, and made a hustle play on the sideline that had Coach Meier and the team cheering her on. Shaneese Bailey had her hand in a lot of plays defensively, and showed good speed. (I'd say she had her hand on a lot of balls, but, uh...) Khaila Prather got good position on the offensive glass, especially in the second half. I was impressed with her movement.

I thought I read about Adrienne Motley being a prospect at some level, but she did not have a very good game. The defense planned for her, and she did not get good looks. I didn't really see anything about her that screamed "pro-ready". Jessica Thomas is the prototypical very small, very fast, very feisty point guard you see a lot of in college basketball. She drove hard and got a lot of free throws. (I would normally say earned, but I have several bones to pick with the officiating.)

The defense, however, did not plan for Keyona Hayes, who's faster than she looks, and who has range one wouldn't expect from her. She killed us with some long threes that we weren't ready for (we gave her way too much space out there) and threw her body around down low to get boards. I was impressed with her toughness and her ability to create, then exploit, mismatches. Erykah Davenport was a monster on the offensive glass, cleaning up her teammates' sometimes terrible shots. She delivered two thunderous blocks on Maya Singleton. (Poor Maya.) Keyanna Harris went by Kiki most of the game, possibly because Keyanna and Keyona were pronounced the same way and the PA guy might have had an aneurysm trying to keep them straight. She got nailed for a couple of offensive fouls (one of which she might have had a case about, but my lack of sympathy, let me show you it).

Miami was really prepared for our switching on defense, which led to a lot of strange mismatches. They brought pressure, and especially in the fourth quarter, we weren't ready for it.

Oh, Sox. I love Tamesha Alexander to itty bitty pieces as a person, but whatever development we were expecting from her as a point guard has not materialized. One will not make a good first impression in a game with an immediate turnover. We needed her to step up with the foul trouble Aaliyah Lewis had, and she did whatever the opposite of rising to the occasion is. Jordan Agustus was the offense-defense switch for Imani Littleton, but if she's going to take that role, she has to hit the shots in the lane, and she has to have better shot selection overall. Kendyl Nunn does in fact exist, and got short minutes at the end of the game. Good hustle.

There are people on this team who should be taking eight shots in a game. Andrayah Adams is not one of them, not yet and possibly not ever. She was pressed into service due to foul trouble on both Akina Wellere and Jade Walker, and there were points near the end of the game where she was either the primary offensive option or she thought she was the primary offensive option. I get the feeling she's yet another streaky shooter. (She also got a little too into intentionally fouling at the interminable end of the game- Joe was even asking her, "Why are you fouling?") Maya Singleton needs to follow her shot, because it isn't as reliable as she thinks it is, especially when trying to get it over and around taller players. I love to watch her defend in the paint. And I love to watch Crystal Simmons on defense in general. On offense, she's not pretty- her shot has some of the strangest footwork and follow-through I've ever seen, and that's when she takes it. But she works on the ball and on the in-bounds like you wouldn't believe. Sandra Udobi has all the heart and knows where she should be, but doesn't have the oomph it takes to get there. She was the one who left Hayes open for the threes, though she got closer on the second one.

Jade Walker spent a lot of time out of the game, both physically because of fouls and mentally because of fouls. Maybe I'm misreading her and she's got the infamous "resting bitch face" (hey, I have it too). But she looked like she was in her feelings more than she was in the game. I understand her frustration, especially since this crew was following the first rule of SJUWBB: when in doubt, call a foul on Jade. You know the refrain as much as I do by now: Jade needs to go to the basket more, then start launching that pretty jumper. Akina Wellere was on fire from beyond the arc, but as the game went on, Miami's defense started to collapse on her, and she wasn't ready for the pressure. She made ill-advised passes and coughed up the ball. Imani Littleton continues to be solid on defense, and I'd like to see her be a more potent offensive option. I feel like the potential's there.

Aaliyah Lewis's shooting line looks a lot worse than it should be- she was the one with the ball in her hands at the end of every quarter and usually when the shot clock was running down. I suspect that might say something about who has confidence in whom when, and if it does, we have work to do. She was a little too in love with the shake-and-bake, highlight-reel kind of offense in this one, which didn't help either. Go for the shot, not the foul; heaven knows you're not going to get the foul call. Alisha Kebbe's shot was off most of the night, and Joe benched her pretty early. I don't know if I would have done the same thing, but on the other hand, I can understand not wanting to spend the time it would take to have a freshman find her feet against a ranked team. (On the other other hand, then why would Andrayah get so much time to work through her mistakes?)

I think Joe's a little too much in love with the straight-swap, offense-defense substitution philosophy. I'm worried that's he's allowing them to specialize too much and not be well-rounded players.

Time and distance have soothed my raging fury at the officiating, but it was still terrible- bad enough to be turrible, even. Poor Aaliyah came away from one drive/no-call/Miami recovery holding her shoulder. Foul differential killed us: by attrition, by forcing us into passivity on defense, and by forcing players into positions they were not ready for. And it was inconsistent, which is the worst thing.

Admittedly, my mood at the end of the game was not helped by the trio of preteens who sauntered into the section at the beginning of the fourth quarter and proceeded to ask if we were rooting for St. John's because we had a daughter on the team. I'm honestly not sure whether to be more confused about the visuals (I'm white, my husband's white, here's the team photo) or insulted at the age thing. (I would have had to have been pregnant in my early teens to have a daughter in college.) They then proceeded to root for Miami. (One of them was wearing Miami-colored socks, so they may have had their own kinfolk ties to do so, but still.)

Tonight was also an autograph session night, which might have been a wee bit awkward after a game like that. Senior privilege in action: pretty much everyone was up at the table, and yelling for Aaliyah and Jade to get up there so they could get started. Short line, which was good for getting home (though clearly not good for timely GNoD). Sorry, Maya, but I'm not quite up to kicking the refs' asses.

Could have been worse. Could have been better. We know what we need to work on.

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November 28th, 2015: Sam Houston State at Florida State (LIU Turkey Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Florida State leaped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back as the Seminoles dominated Sam Houston State 94-37. Brittany Brown's well-rounded effort led the way for Florida State, with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, and foru steals. Leticia Romero notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists against zero turnovers. Angela Beadle was the only Bearkat in double figures, with 10 points.

For orange, handicrafts, cheesecake shots, intercepted passes, guards, hand stamps, and friends in all the right places, join your intrepid and pebbled blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, boys and girls! It's another basketball day here in Brooklyn, as the Turkey Classic lumbers on. Florida State is in action again, this time playing Sam Houston State.

This format is terrible. I blame Texas Southern, the team that backed out of the tournament and turned it from a four-team, two-day, two-doubleheader affair into this three-team, three-day, two-arena, round-robin mess.

Mom is distracted by small, adorable Seminole fans.

SHSU's uniforms are really, really orange.

Unsurprisingly, there aren't a lot of people here, and they seem to be mostly family and friends.

At halftime, Florida State is up 51-18, and Brittany Brown is up 22-18. Florida State's been intercepting passes like nobody's business. Sam Houston State is not good. They're not accurate, they're not sharp, and they don't move without the ball.

The Bearkats used a lot of subs, often at the same time- there were more than a few three-at-a-time subs, at least one instance of four-at-a-time, and at least one where five players checked in at once. (Poor Shadijah Moore drew the short straw on that one, being the last player sitting on a bench otherwise emptied of players.) They stayed stationary often on offense, and instead of throwing the ball to where a player was going to be, they would throw it to where she was- at which point Florida State would intercept the pass and run the break. It wasn't pretty.

Ashleigh Cooper played a few sporatic minutes late in each half and provided no marked impact. Jasmine McCants, who is not a center anywhere outside the Southland, was solid, and I think she was able to play a little more outside than her team would ordinarily ask of her, since she was closer to the size of the Seminoles' perimeter players than she was their post players. Shadijah Moore brought physicality and occasionally questionable plays.

Morghen Day reminded us physically of Lindsay Whalen, but not in style of play- she was more of a shooter than a driver. Jasmin Anderson and her tall hair made a little noise late with a three-pointer. Kamry Orr fearlessly drove the lane, you should pardon the pun.

Angela Beadle was outmatched by the Seminoles' posts, but she showed flashes of skill down low. She has an unusually exaggerated followthrough on her shot. Saundra Guillory came up with some nice strong rebounds late in the game.

Because Sam Houston State went through a lot of players, it's hard to differentiate among their guards except as people who were throwing the ball to Florida State players. Shernice Robertson was the most aggressive, which led to the most mistakes, but at least also led to some points for the Bearkats.

I think my favorite thing about SHSU was the personalized clipboards the coaches were carrying around. I know that's damning with faint praise, but they were distinctly unimpressive and lacking in effort.

It took a long time to get Rachel Antoniadou into the game, which I thought was ridiculous, given how far ahead Florida State was for most of the game. She shows promise as a shooter, but she needs a lot of work. Emiah Bingley ran a fair amount of point, or at least dribbled the ball at the top of the key to run out the clock. Maria Conde really got a lot of run, both because Sue Semrau was experimenting with different frontcourts and because the margin started out ridiculous and stayed ridiculous. She's very raw, and she seems terrified of contact, but there's a lot of potential for her. I'm not sure Florida State is the right system for her, though.

Kai James was intimidating down low, but more for her size and physical presence than anything she was doing near the basket- she didn't seem to be calling for the ball very much, and did little with it when she got it. Ama Degbeon moves like a woman who's terrified that her knees will fail her- she shot her free throws very stiffly and didn't seem to move well on the floor.

Leticia Romero is slick. I had forgotten about that ankle injury she was recovering from, which might explain why she wasn't as sharp as I was expecting her to be. But she still dropped some beautiful lookaway passes to her teammates, and made good decisions with the ball. I understand the Ticha Penicheiro comparison I've seen once or twice. Brittany Brown decided she was going to have herself a day, whether it was from behind the arc, hitting lay-ups on the break, or finding her teammates on the break. The shots she missed were hittable shots, and I think that got into her head a little bit. I really enjoy watching her play.

Ivey Slaughter has some nice inside moves. She has to remember that there's no checking in basketball the way there is in hockey, though. You can't bump someone that hard on the baseline and expect to get the call. Shakayla Thomas provides interesting lineup flexibility and can score both inside and out, but was careless with the fouls she committed on the defensive end. Sometimes you have to remember how breakable mid-majors are. Adut Bulgak looks like a pro player playing amongst college kids. She moves with more confidence and grace among them, and scores well inside and out. I think she gets one three-point attempt per blowout, when Sue Semrau decides to let her go a little wild.

Refs called a tight game early, then swallowed their whistles, then seemed to realize that things were getting a little out of hand in the second half and adjusted accordingly it got physical.

LIU came for the first half of the game, coaches sitting center court, players sitting in the endcourt. They left before halftime, but came back in the second half. To be honest, I think LIU might run SHSU's plays better than the Bearkats do.

Of course we went to Junior's for dinner. Expensive, but worth it. The chocolate mousse cheesecake is to die for.

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November 27th, 2015: Florida State at Long Island

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A spirited defensive effort from LIU-Brooklyn was no match for a taller, faster, stronger Florida State team. The Seminoles won going away, 78-42, behind 20 points and nine rebounds from Adut Bulgak and 15 points and seven assists from Brittany Brown. Paris Jones led LIU with 12 points off the bench.

For seat cushions, new teams, ill-advised drives, disconcerting the shooter, questionable uniform choices, a lack of rstoer cards, changing numbers, elegance on the bench, and a work in progress, join your intrepid and stuffed blogger after the jump.

Happy Day After Turkey Day, everyone! Today is not Black Friday- it's Blackbird Friday, as LIU-Brooklyn hosts their first home game of the year against Florida State.

I don't know anything about LIU basketball so far, but the softball players are really nice- they were manning the table where the complementary tickets are held, and they were very helpful.

I forgot how much I liked LIU's facility, except for that one flight of stairs that is an inconvenience when traveling with my mom, who has two artificial knees and two artificial hips. (She's the Bionic Woman, but don't tell anyone I told you.)

The band is less jazzy and more percussion-driven than I remember. Dance team is more traditional, too. I'm a little sad about that.

Mom decided that sitting directly behind the Florida State radio team was a good idea, so we're mostly around FSU fans. I do not like this and do not recommend it as a course of action.

At halftime, Florida State is up 41-26. They're bigger, faster, stronger, and more aggressive. LIU's playing spirited defense, but the offense is stagnant and the shot selection questionable. There's still a lot of work to be done.

(Is it petty to say that Sue Semrau looks like a version of Kim Mulkey with fashion sense? Well, I can be petty if I want to be.)

Emiah Bingley seemed very fond of the weak-side three, with mixed results for the Seminoles. Maria Conde is extremely raw and still seems to be growing into her body, but she has the right moves and a lot of potential. Rachel Antoniadou was aggressive on defense late in the game, and had the favor returned by Paris Jones so hard that she was rubbing the back of her hand before she took the free throws.

Kai James is a lot of woman. Nobody on LIU was capable of moving her. Ama Degbeon started to get some reps in the second half, running some of the same plays that Adut Bulgak was running.

Brittany Brown impressed me, getting all up in people's business on defense and hitting threes. She wasn't spectacular, but she was solid, the kind of presence Florida State needs to complement their star parts. Leticia Romero really didn't impress me in this one. She was there, and she read the passing lanes well, but she didn't make a lot of big plays. On the other hand, she really didn't have to.

Adut Bulgak is the real deal. I love how gracefully she moves, and how she's able to get position down low on the boards. Granted, she was playing against much shorter players who she could just reach over, but she moves really well, and I can see her being able to adjust smoothly to the 4 in the WNBA. Ivey Slaughter started the game off very well for the Seminoles, scoring down low around the basket. She cooled off a little bit, but still played well on the glass. Shakayla Thomas showed a tendency to add unnecessary degree of difficulty to her shots, which meant she was throwing the ball over the basket a bit. She's tough and very aggressive.

Florida State adjusted very quickly to the LIU defense, and to LIU's lack of size, going to big lineups with Kai James and Adut Bulgak. They had much bigger players and dominated the boards.

Lily Abreu looks a lot like Stephen Curry around the face, but she doesn't shoot like him. Shame- we need an outside shooter. She, like many Blackbirds, looked like she was still trying to find her place in the defense. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I like about DeAngelique Waithe- she seemed to put herself in the right place at the right time much of the time. Paris Jones made a good first impression, hitting shots and bringing energy. She won over the Queen Mother in a hurry. She seemed to be one of the few players for LIU playing with any sense of urgency.

I really like Brianna Farris's defensive intensity, but she needs to pick up some discipline and stay with her man- a lot of the time she was ducking out to get on the shooter and leaving people open. I'm also not sure about her shot selection, but her defense is her strength. Jolanna Ford reminds me of a couple of Red Storm forwards from back in the day- mind you, she's going to have to get a lot more floor burns and pull down a lot more rebounds before I really compare her to Joy McCorvey, but she has a similar build and can play a similar style. She's not consistent, though.

I... get the feeling that there wasn't a lot of structured offense at LIU before Coach Oliver took over. Shanovia Dove and Shanice Vaughan were both guilty of repeatedly driving the lane without even looking for a teammate to pass to, and then throwing up bad shots that had no chance of going in. Dove was at least rewarded with free throws for doing so more often than Vaughan was, but I don't think this was supposed to be the game plan. Stylz Sanders drove the lane hard as well, but looked for her teammates more. On the other hand, she was also more careless with the ball.

I knew going in that LIU was a work in progress, but there's still a lot of basics that have to be covered before we can get to the more complex issues of designing an offense. The biggest concern was an overarching lack of speed of play. As a team, LIU was too hesitant to shoot (granted, they were all facing larger defenders, even when they had shooting guards on them), slow moving without the ball, slow making decisions with the ball, and telegraphing their passes when they did decide to pass. They have to think faster and be faster on the floor. Learning to run backwards and prepare for passes would also be helpful. Outside shooting is something we can recruit for given time.

Perhaps not the most optimal of introductions, but I've seen worse. And Florida State is a very good team with a very good coach.

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November 30th, 2013: Georgia Tech at McNeese State (Turkey Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Georgia Tech withstood a dogged McNeese State team and claimed the Turkey Classic title with a 69-60 win. Ty Marshall led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points off the bench, with Kaela Davis and Sydney Wallace each adding 13. Jayln Johnson led four Cowgirls in double figures with 14 points and eight assists.

For clashing shades, bright shoes, flying guards, slipping the baseline, and big shots, join your intrepid and belated blogger after the jump.


As the ticket booth clerk was so eager to remind me, this is a double-header, which means the championship game is up next, featuring the Cowgirls of McNeese State and the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. I'm going to be up-front about this- until I realized that Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett had graduated, I was actually more intrigued by McNeese than Georgia Tech. These are the perils of playing a full Division I fantasy league.

I'm actually hoping for a decent turnout- the Georgia Tech men are also in town, and there's a large Georgia Tech alumni contingent in the city for at least that game, as we ran into them at the Buffalo Wild Wings across from the Barclays Center yesterday.

Georgia Tech is wearing very yellow sneakers. They're a bit more florescent than the usual Georgia Tech gold, though. Their gear is all numbered, which will make it easy to identify them in the pregame. McNeese is working on ballhandling drills in a circle. Those are some strange stretches that Georgia Tech is doing.

Timing, Georgia Tech, you no haz it. Arena security was escorting a blind guy along the baseline, right when the Yellow Jackets were coming out. There are better ways of establishing yourself as the bad guy than running over a blind guy. They successfully dodged collisions, much to everyone's relief.

We've been seeing more of the Bonita Spence memorial patches, which I noticed yesterday but forgot to mention. Full name on the left breast of the uniform- yes, this is one of those times when using the initials is a bad idea. (Referees don't need to be labeled BS.)

At halftime, Georgia Tech is up 40-31 on McNeese State. McNeese has shown a lot of fight, but Georgia Tech has been too big and too fast for them most of the time. Sydney Wallace has 11 to lead the Yellow Jackets. Cecelia Okoye has eight for the Cowgirls. So far, I'm most intrigued by Shayla Bivens. Well-proportioned, athletic size with touch doesn't come along every day.

I don't know why Ty Marshall wasn't starting, but I'm presuming it was some sort of disciplinary action, since she didn't seem to be injured. She seemed to come up with all the big shots for the Yellow Jackets. Dawnn Maye was that player who missed the memo on points of emphasis, kept trying to put her hands on the opponent, and got called for the foul for it. Every team has one. Nariah Taylor was a big presence in the middle, a nice security blanket for when the guards weren't sure what to do with the shot clock running down, and a physical presence on the boards. Donnaizha Fountain had family at the game, or at least people who she was hugging during the LIU-Southern Utah game, and she came up with a big rebound in the second half.

Roddreka Rogers got her points on the inside, but I was more impressed with her movement off the ball, setting picks and screens for her teammates. I don't know if she's the regular starter, or who was starting instead of Marshall, but she's the kind of player you like to have on your team even when she's not putting up numbers. I'd have liked to have seen Shayla Bivens get more touches to see whether all the things she showed were things that she could do consistently, or whether they were all flukes. I don't think the blocks were flukes, though. One of them was so spectacular that you could probably have heard it at the Barclays Center, five blocks down Flatbush Avenue. Sydney Wallace seemed to get into her own head a lot, taking stupid shots that MaChelle Joseph did not approve of. She was stronger defensively in the second half, with a sweet steal leading to a lay-up for her only second-half points. Aaliyah Whiteside was quiet- I think Marshall took the starter's minutes at her position. Kaela Davis has the moves, and the shot, and the build, but I don't know if she has the attitude to succeed. She didn't seem to take well to being pulled early in the second half, and it didn't look like she wanted to listen to her coaches. That all being said, she put the game away for the Yellow Jackets with back to back buckets late in the second half, an athletic two in the lane and a sweet three from the right side. If she can get her head together, she'll be a legitimate player- but I need to be sure that she can get her head together.

Victoria Rachal was a fearless gunner, going to the lane no matter how big her opponents were (I think hers was the shot that Bivens so thoroughly swatted). She was cold in the first half, but caught fire in the second. Amber Donnes made some good defensive plays. Arianna James rebounded well.

Jayln Johnson impressed me a lot. In a sense, she reminded me of Leilani Mitchell, only on college scale- very small, very fast, runs a good offense, hits the three, and gives it all she's got on defense, but is a defensive liability because of her size. Allison Baggett has a very sweet shot, but hasn't learned how to defend without getting in foul trouble, and doesn't seem to know how to defend with four fouls. She's only a sophomore, and I think she'll learn. Cecelia Okoye rebounded powerfully, and her go-to move on the left wing fooled Georgia Tech more than once (which made it pretty funny during the second double-header, when Texas Tech tried to run the same play and botched it). She's not the most reliable shooter, but rebounding like that, she doesn't necessarily have to be. Alaina Verdin did a lot of small things, but none of the big things.. NeTanya Jones cleaned up under the basket, slipping behind the Yellow Jacket defense early and often.

I was very impressed with the Cowgirls. They looked to have mastered the element of surprise, and they know how to adapt. The threes weren't falling early when they were taking a lot of them, so the plays started to go to Okoye and Jones on the inside. Brooks Donald-Williams struck the right notes on the sideline, and I do like a coach who keeps her arguing with refs to a minimum.

Officials missed a couple of bad trips, which is impressive given the bright yellow sneakers on Georgia Tech, but I don't think they affected the game.

That was a much better game than I was expecting it to be, and I think McNeese has served notice to the Southland that they would very much like to be taken seriously.

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March 30th, 2013: Maryland at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Breanna Stewart each had 17 points to lead Connecticut over Maryland, 76-50. Alyssa Thomas had 13 for the Terrapins, while Tianna Hawkins and Chloe Pavlech added 11 each.

For chanting, tricks, blood relatives, the wrath of Geno, accidental deflections, and bodies all around, join your intrepid and sleep-deprived blogger after the jump.

Being at a game in Connecticut is sort of like being in the middle of Beatlemania. It's intimidating, and not entirely pleasant. They don't understand why you'd root for any team but UConn. (I'm from Queens, this is how I roll, deal with it.)

Maryland, I love you, but really, this obsession with the state coat of arms has to stop before it leads you into any more bad fashion choices. However, bringing a state flag is cool.

UConn up 35-26 at the half, and I think UConn smells blood in the water. The officials have been a bit strict about travels and VERY loose about everything else. Geno got his T for arguing for a call on what looked like a body slam by Hawkins. And the crowd had his back all the way. That was a truly deplorable and dangerous non-call. Maryland's chucking a lot of shots. UConn's had some bad luck with the rim, but that'll change in the second half; that rim's been messed up all game.

I think Elena Delle Donne accidentally set a screen for Stefanie Dolson; while Dolson was down and hurt, Delle Donne got up and drew the attention and cheers of the crowd in the endcourt section, so they weren't staring at Dolson until she was up.

Malina Howard, if you're going to call and flail for the ball as if your very life depended on receiving the pass right that second, you don't immediately pass off the ball as if it grew spikes and stabbed you in the palms. It is very hard to take you seriously when you tend to disappear. Sequoia Austin got in at the very end of the game. Sparkly Brenda Frese mostly went with Howard and the starters.

Does Alicia DeVaughn always try to make with the three-pointers? I don't expect a tall, long-armed rebounder to decide that she's going to put up long shots when she doesn't to my knowledge do it all that frequently. She had her hands in on a lot of plays, but I think she went over the line on her physical play. Katie Rutan is automatic from those corners, and while she's not a great defender, she does work hard on defense. Tianna Hawkins consistently got on the boards, but also got beat to them by good Connecticut boxouts. She made her presence felt on defense, but not on offense. Chloe Pavlech looked like a freshman out there, though she got her long-range shot going in the second half. At times, it almost looked like Maryland was taking their cues from Delaware and making everything about Alyssa Thomas the way Delaware made everything about Delle Donne. Thomas has a decent handle for a woman of her build, and I understand the exigencies that led her to playing the point for the Terrapins, but I think Maryland would be better off with her not bringing the ball up as much and being able to get herself into position instead of having to bring the ball up, dish off, and then get in position. She played well, but she couldn't do it all herself no matter how hard she tried.

Maryland just didn't seem to know how to get out of the trouble they were in, but that might be because they were short-handed and because when UConn smells blood that's the end of the game.

Hello, Moriah Jefferson! You are tiny, but you are fast and sneaky and slice through the lane like a hot dagger through butter! She had one beautiful steal and fast-break lay-up (I think Thomas was the victim) in the second half that set off the crowd. She actually got the start in the second half, because she was playing that well. Morgan Tuck looked a little slowed up by her knee brace, but she bulled her way into the lane and along the backdoor cuts with great efficiency. Geno probably wants to see her get more comfortable with her off hand, though. Kiah Stokes got time near the end of the game and got in on the boards. Bria Hartley was... well, I think I understand why Geno exiled her to the bench.

Which I'm pretty sure is also the only reason why Caroline Doty was getting the start. I really don't remember her doing anything. Kelly Faris didn't necessarily make much of an impression, but at the same time, always just seemed to be there. Her two-pointer in the second half came off a gorgeous look-away pass from Jefferson. Breanna Stewart actually looked comfortable for the first time that I can remember when seeing her. If she's starting to settle into her height, it's going to be a long three years in the Big Metro American However Many. She was blocking shots not just on the perimeter but on the inside. Stefanie Dolson had a quiet night offensively, but she was a monster on the boards and in the paint. The final rebounding numbers don't reflect how hard Connecticut was working to seal off the glass. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was using that strong build of hers to create space in the first half, going closer to the basket before unleashing the jumpers in the second half. She was good.

There were flashes of that terrifying UConn tendency to immediately create offense from their defense- Stewart blocked a first-half shot, and two passes later she drained a three from the right side. Jefferson had a sweet steal and a lay-up. UConn basketball, in its purest form.

These officials were not particularly interested in calling fouls until the second half, and it did not make them popular with either team and either coach. A lot of bodies were hitting the floor with very few calls being made.

I'm impressed with the Maryland cheer squad's strength. It takes a lot for an all-girl team to pull off some of those stunts. And you've gotta love a band that uses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme as an alternate fight song. Their version of "All of the Lights" pales in comparison to DePaul's, though.

Sitting low in the endcourt is a very bad combination, especially when coupled with barriers for the band sections. You see virtually nothing, between distance and the stanchion and the barriers. I have to remember that for next time.

If Kentucky is as lax as they were today, UConn will run all over them. If UConn takes their foot off the pedal as early as they did today, Kentucky will rip them to shreds.

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