You gotta be tough to survive, and tougher to advance, in the Atlantic 10- just ask Temple and Dayton. But you can have a sense of humor about it too- just ask George Washington and Xavier.
Day 3 (well, day 2 for me) dawned far earlier than it should have, thanks to Daylight Savings Time and insufficient sleep the night before. Nevertheless, we hied ourselves hence to Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse for the semifinals, where we met up with and introduced ourselves to the lovely and dedicated dwalkfan. Had we been just a hair more emotionally invested in Temple, we would have bought the awesome t-shirts- "REPO" on the front, with Hooter on the back clutching a net and the A-10 trophy in his talons.
Because the games were on CSTV, and because attendance had blown several large chunks the night before, one whole side of the arena was closed off (later, Charlotte would settle into there, but I don't think that counts so much towards paid attendance, and I wouldn't want to chase the one upset team from quarters out- isn't elimination enough without insult?) to compress the fan base and make the place look full. The Temple fans and the Dayton fans got into it early and often- oh, not fan-on-fan violence, but competing chants. Lots of noise as background to the broadcast, which I'm sure made the execs happy.
Dayton got a lot of breaks in the game; it seemed like a lot of questionable out-of-bounds calls and block/charge calls went their way. They just couldn't get through the Temple defense to capitalize. I… really don't know what Dayton's coach was thinking, to be completely honest with you. Remember how I said that Kendel Ross was the best player for Dayton in the Charlotte game? She was hitting shots, she was getting offensive rebounds, she was doing her share and then some to carry them over the 49ers. For whatever reason, he didn't give her all that much run, even though I see I missed her initial entry into the game. Still, I would have gone with what worked until she proved that it didn't, you know? This time the hot shooting came from Kiki Lund (who also played well in the Charlotte game), but 'most all of the Flyers were shut down.
Lady Comfort stepped up big in this game- Shanea Cotton got into major foul trouble in the first half, so she had to be all the muscle. She completely owned the paint against Dayton, and showed flashes of being more than just a goon. Ashley Morris got hers, but she really showed both her Philadelphia roots and her mentoring by Staley in this game- a lot of her passes were too much for her teammates to handle, and she was a little faster with the ball than her feet were. In that sense, she reminded me of a young Staley, although she doesn't have quite the same build. But leave it to a New Yorker to save a Philly team's bacon; in the second half, when Dayton had taken a one-point lead, Lindsay Kimmel hit back-to-back threes to give Temple the lead and room to breathe with it, and that was enough for Temple to survive, because those two threes gave Temple a five-point lead, same as the final spread. I think that put the swagger back in the Owls' step.
Major awesomeness from Hooter today- he seemed much more enthusiastic than he was yesterday, even getting into a routine with the cheerleaders that ended with the Owl up in a lift. That takes big brass ones to do in a mask that completely covers your face.
I don't envy the Dayton fans having to go back to Ohio and that large snow system that's waiting there for them, but they have nothing to be ashamed of. Their team played well, and if they can just make a run at one of those Chaminade-Julienne kids, they might seriously be something someday soon. And if I'm Temple, I'm not real cocky after this game, because they damn near choked it away, up thirteen with three and a half to go. Their opponent for the A-10 crown shows no mercy and will go for the jugular if they sense weakness.
On to game 2, after a TV-mandated 40-minute break (as compared to the twenty minutes that were afforded the day before). This was the George Washington-Xavier matchup, and it was an utter blast more for the fun in the stands than it was for the action on the court. See, both teams had their bands… and both bands were really into the game… and both bands had eclectic repertoires. George Washington won the first sally with their transposition of "Bohemian Rhapsody"; by the end, the Xavier band had their cell phones in the air. Then Xavier gave Kimberly Beck hell for airballing an early shot- she heard the "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaairbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!" chants all night. Of course, at the other end, GW's fans and band were giving Special Jennings all kinds of grief for her name. And then Xavier started in on their rather traditional "spell out your school name" chant during free throws. Well, the George Washington fans weren't having with that, so they did it too. Yes, that's right. G-E-O-R-G-E-SPACE-W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N-SPACE-U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y. Yes, they added the university part. Yes, they actually said "space!" between each word. Xavier struck back with their cheerleaders and the routine they have with spelling out the school name with their bodies. The GW fans had no answer for that, and of course, Xavier won the most important part of the whole episode.
At one point near the end of the game, I declared to the world at large that Ta'Shia Phillips could not be allowed to score anymore, as I was running out of room on my bootleg scoresheet to record her points. She went on to add a field goal and a free throw. I was not amused. She had her way in the paint, although some of the bullshit foul calls on the Adairs did not help one bit; by the end of the game, all three major frontcourt players for the Colonials had four fouls. Amber Harris took a hard hit in the second half and came up looking like… well, not so much "who am I and what am I doing here" as "ooooh, pretty colors!" After that, while she had a couple of late shots, she also started racking up stupid fouls. Xavier also got big shots from Jerri Taylor, and Maureen Harter, as she did in the first game, took care of all the team's whining needs- she's one of those players who would swear on a stack of Bibles that she never committed a foul in her life. Perhaps Jennings was disconcerted by the loudness of the George Washington fan contingent calling her name, because she didn't seem to be as much in control of the game as she was against St. Joseph's; of course, GW is also a higher-quality opponent, and she faced a better defender, and she did get her assist numbers.
As mentioned above, both Adairs were hobbled by bullshit fouls- Parrish also had four, but I can think of three calls against the Adairs as a combination that were pure, unadulterated crap. And they weren't effective on the other side of the ball, either. A lot of GW's problems on offense came from trying to force the ball over the top into the post- this is not a brilliant notion when the Musketeers' defense is anchored by a six-five forward with a ridiculous wingspan. Beck didn't play particularly well, I felt; she tried to force too much and let herself get rattled. I don't know if this was a coach's decision or a point guard's decision, but they waited too long to get Lawrence and Allen going, preferring to go into the post instead of onto the perimeter. Why play to Xavier's strengths?
Rule of thumb, dear crew: if you have caused Joe McKeown to swear at you? YOU HAVE MADE AN UNSPEAKABLY HORRID CALL. There were a couple of plays where he got quite animated, and one where I'm fairly certain he dropped the word "bullshit!" Then again, does the name Roy Gulbeyan ring any bells? I thought it might…
I still believe GW was the better team- they just didn't play like it. I'm not as sold on Beck as I was yesterday, but I do think she'd make a great backup for someone in the WNBA.
Temple and Xavier for the title belt. Shanea Cotton and Ta'Shia Phillips should be billed as the undercard; those two deserve each other, with the elbows and the hips they throw, and I wish I could see Morris versus Jennings.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
March 9th, 2008: Atlantic 10 semifinals
March 8th, 2008: Atlantic 10 quarterfinals
The Atlantic 10's new slogan: We know where our towel is.
I don't want to say that I was psyched up for this road trip, but I was up at three in the morning the day we were scheduled to leave, and I haven't slept yet, except for the occasional catnap in the car. So if these notes are a little loopier, a little less coherent, and a little more oddly phrased than you're used to seeing from this prolific note-taker, there's a very good reason for it- I've been up for almost twenty-four hours straight. At least for the first three games of the fourplay. The balance are being written from the familiar confines of the 718.
Part of why I'm a little disoriented is because the quadruple-header tipped off almost two hours late because there was a leak in the roof that came down right over the lane in front of the high seed's bench, and a secondary leak near the scoreboard. Fun times for all as one brave gentleman went up on a cherry-picker several times to sort out what the problem was. He first attempted to hang a bucket from the rafters, but it didn't stick. Somehow, though, stretching a towel between two rafters seemed to do the trick without sagging into collapse for seven hours. I wish I knew what kind of material that thing was made of…
It was very hard to take the PA announcer seriously, because he sounded like a slightly higher-pitched Bullwinkle J. Moose. Same intonations.
Don't know how many teams sent representatives, but even from a distance, we recognized Catherine Proto and Nick DiPillo from the Liberty's coaching staff. Methinks they were scouting Beck; DiPillo was definitely taking more detailed notes in game 3 than he was the rest of the time.
First game was #1 Temple versus #8 Richmond. Richmond brought a fair contingent, and their mascot (who's revamped their costume and looks more like Jessica Drew than Peter Parker, if you follow what I mean) was very animated. The Temple fans were out in force, of course, what with this being Philadelphia and all. One of them brought a title belt emblazoned with the A-10 logo and they hollered "YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS!" when the Spiders came out for practice. Temple, like the other high seeds in the tournament, brought their band, as well as their mascot. Made for a nice loud crowd.
Richmond found themselves forcing shots against the tenacious and physical Temple defense- but I'm definitely not saying that Richmond was innocent in these matters. There was a lot of hitting by both sides. I got the distinct sense that neither team was particularly fond of the other. Unfortunately, the Spiders got the worst of a lot of the calls. Temple's extremely physical style… well, put it this way: if they weren't coached by a Philadelphia legend who's also an Olympian and a WNBA All-Star, I sincerely doubt the Owls would get the benefit of the doubt as often as they do. I was all set to cheer for Temple- home team of sorts and a Board Junkie on the bench- but I was so put off by the rough play that I threw in my lot with Richmond.
For Richmond, I loved me some Brittani Shells- nice aggressive shooter, filled the stat sheet decently. I also liked Christina Campion's all-around game. Most of the offense went through those two in the first half, and in much of the second half, although Joanna McKnight saw fit to make her presence felt in the second, scoring all ten of her points in the second half. I think Crystal Goring has potential if she can put a little meat on her frame and work on her footwork. Also, dear Spiders, please stop going over the top to people who can't catch passes. IT DOESN'T WORK.
Temple was rough, as I've mentioned; the ironically named Lady Comfort, along with the more normally named Shanea Cotton and Shenita Landry, were throwing their weight around freely. Cotton kept putting me in mind of a loaf of Easter bread with her thick plait of hair that kept coming undone, to the point where she actually had to be subbed out to retie her hair. I was impressed with Staley's careful balancing act in handling her post rotation, as Cotton and Comfort both picked up four fouls early in the second half, while Landry played with three fouls for most of the game. She managed to keep all three of them in play for most of the game until Cotton picked up her fifth on a really stupid attempted block. Ashley Morris, while I like the way she runs her team and fears nothing, is not 5'5". 5'3", maybe. On a good day. With Dawn Staley's stilettos on.
I knew Richmond was done for with about twelve minutes left in the second half, when they had four chances to tie or take the lead on this one possession (I don't remember the exact score at the time) and completely blew it. They would keep drawing closer, and then they would lose it. And they don't have time, because while Shells is only a freshman, Campion is a senior. I think Richmond will stay competitive in the conference, though, because they keep getting players and their coach does know how to use them- of course, a solid coach in the A-10 always has the chance to move up on the ladder, if you know what I mean.
Dwalkfan did a superb job mopping up during a set of free throws when the towel dripped slightly. Excellent job camouflaging the Richmond-blue sweater with that jacket, chica.
Gulbeyan worked this game as crew chief, and I think that did affect the officiating in Temple's favor, as mentioned earlier. I'd love to take apart Temple's record and check out the foul differential in wins and losses, see whether that's one of the critical factors.
Game two of the fourplay was #5 Dayton versus #4 Charlotte. From a fashion standpoint, I almost wished Charlotte had been the lower seed, if only because their road uniforms are far more attractive than their home whites. But then they wouldn't have been able to bring their most excellent cheerleading squad and a band that could transpose "Iron Man" into something for marching band and still make it recognizable, so there's that to be said for tiebreakers.
This was a much faster-paced game than the first- it was one of the fastest of the four. Both teams liked to run it a lot. Made it more interesting. Unfortunately, the refs did their damnedest to make it less interesting as a game and more interesting in terms of tournament seeding. Not amusing.
Charlotte goes full throttle in everything they do. They brought a sizeable, if not very loud, fan base; their cheerleaders were the most athletic out there (and at one point, they proclaimed themselves to be fuckin' metal); their band was among the most enthusiastic; their team, until approximately the fourth quarter of their game, left it all on the court. Remind me again why the Sting couldn't draw in the same effing town? The 49ers, at least in the first half, went after every loose ball and played tough, sticky one-on-one defense. I loved senior forward Sabrina Gregory, who had a way of running her team and was the linchpin of their defense. Guard Shannon McCallum also impressed me; I liked the way she looked for her shot. In general, though, Charlotte played a very balanced game; everyone scored, and looking at the boxscore, everyone played at least ten minutes, so there's that to be said for their coach's style. On the other hand, Charlotte doesn't seem to know what to do when things go bad. They got a lot of crappy calls against them on the offensive end, and when Dayton started to pull away on the strength of free throws and three-pointers, they just wilted. You could almost see the intensity level drop. It was a sad, sad thing.
Dayton looked like they weren't quite sure what to do with prosperity. Even at the end of the game, when they were running away with it by damn near thirty, they were taking threes with time on the shot clock. This is not on, people. This is not on. Running up the score on Charlotte is not going to make Temple quake in their sneakers; it's going to make Lady Comfort flatten you against the stanchion. Dayton looked to be a "live by the three, die by the three" team, and they survived by the three. That being said, I loved sophomore forward Kendel Ross, who came alive in the second half on the offensive boards- she had two that spring to mind as fierce follows, and one amazing pass to Nikki Oakland that resulted in an assist. I think she recognized the urgency that her senior teammates were playing with, recognized that Dayton needed this game to be even seriously considered as a tournament at-large, and kicked it up a notch, and I like that in a player.
Sometime during the game, the refs just turned on Charlotte like the 49ers owed them money or something, and it got ugly fast. At one point, when the foul differential was something like 8 to 3 with a lot of time left in the second half, I caught Gregory looking at the scoreboard and shaking her head in frustration. That was about the time that Charlotte took it down a notch, and it's a crying shame to see a team brought that low that easily, though I'm sure the onus is as much on the coach as it is on the uneven calls.
The worst part about the way the first half of the fourplay shook out is that I don't want to root for Temple, I don't want to root for Dayton, and I can't even root for the flaming abyss, because I don't want to end up in the flaming abyss myself, and also, where would they play the second game? I like GW. I don't want them to end up in a flaming abyss.
Speaking of George Washington, game three pitted the #2 Colonials against #10 Rhode Island (who, fortunately for GW's sanity, knocked St. Bonaventure out in qualifiers). GW does things right, man. Their band has jerseys with their class number on them, and they rocked out pretty hard. A big loud fan base came down for the game- makes sense, because they were pretty certain that they'd be around for the whole weekend- but it's still pretty damn awesome. They brought their mascot, and while they didn't have their cheerleaders, they did have their dance team, and strangely enough, I can see parallels between the dance team and the basketball team: they go about their business competently and classily, they're very good at what they do, they work well with each other, and there is a minimum of wasted motion in everything they do.
Rhode Island was in over their heads, and I think they knew it, but that didn't keep them from trying to make it interesting, and I salute them for that. Definitely didn't help their cause that their leading scorer was held to 1-12 shooting and got into foul trouble early. That all being said, I loved LaQuanda Brandon, who decided in the second half that she was going to do her level best to make this a respectable game. She seemed to be everywhere. This is a good thing. They also got great shooting out of Amanda McGrew, although GW seemed to figure her out after her third three. I enjoyed the bench play from Rhode Island more than their starters, actually; Brandon, Sierra Cooper, and Ebony Evans brought a lot more intensity and passion than the starting five.
Kimberly Beck. Mother of mercy. WANT. SO MUCH WANT. She could do with some muscle, especially on her toothpick legs, but WANT. She's one of those players who, as soon as she walks on the court with her team, owns the game and is clearly and totally in control of her team. Love her court vision. Love her defense. Love her shooting- she had one amazing clutch three as the shot clock was winding down, although I hesitate to use the word clutch when it comes to a game that was won by 27. Love her hustle. Love her intensity. I hope she's around with our second first-rounder. I think she'd be a great complement to Loree Moore. But George Washington brought a full team effort, and I think Whitney Allen may have played herself into the attention of WNBA scouts with her shooting and rebounding. Sarah-Jo Lawrence started off hot, but she got hurt in the second half and never came back in (though, granted, that might just have been because there was no reason to bring her back, but we'll know more about that during the semis). The Adairs are… well, the boy described them as a poor man's Paris twins, and I suppose that's true in a sense, but McKeown seems to have a rule that there must always be an Adair on the court, but almost never more than one; either that or he likes to screw around with PA announcers, because they were almost constantly in and out for each other. I think the better one came off the bench, but both of them seemed to be in the mold of big girls who are simply just big. I also don't think GW is going to lose as much as people think in terms of point guard play when Beck graduates, because I like Rivera; she just needs to get some of the rough edges smoothed out.
On to game four, Xavier versus St. Joseph's. If you're exhausted from reading these notes, don't worry; I was just as exhausted the day of the game, and by the time this matchup rolled around, there were kids asleep in the bleachers. This was a game that I thought St. Joseph's had a decent chance of stealing, since I wasn't sure how good Xavier was, and St. Joseph's has pulled interesting upsets on their home floor in the A-10 tournament before. The crowd wasn't as big as I would have expected it to be, but then again, there was that giant delay, and Hawk fans might have considered it a lost cause. Besides, a fair number of GW fans stuck around, so the arena looked halfway decent.
I really don't like the way these Musketeers handle themselves. I don't remember them having this kind of arrogance the last time I saw them, in the A-10 tournament two years ago. I'll admit that I'm a little biased because I don't like the way Xavier's been recruiting lately- the Purdue situation, the transfers from Rutgers- it all makes me uneasy about what McGuff is doing or promising. But they seem to carry themselves with a large chip on their shoulders. Honestly, if I were a Purdue fan and I saw this team, I'd be relieved that Ta'Shia Phillips wasn't on my team. She's nasty. Talented, don't get me wrong, but she plays dirty. She and Amber Harris seriously seemed to have it in for one of the Hawk forwards, and I don't understand why. Harris… she's freaky. She looked so out of place on the court because of her size that it was frightening. She reminded me a little of Garnett in her build. St. Joseph's had no answer for her, or for Phillips. Bear these words in mind. I liked the backcourt tandem of Taylor and Jennings, especially Taylor's shooting. On the other hand, while I enjoyed watching her on the court and the way she ran her team, I cannot take anyone named Special seriously. Yes. Special Jennings. I wish I were kidding.
Most of the Hawks had been wandering through the building throughout the elongated quadrupleheader, so I grew quickly fond of the tall, eccentric redhead who spent a lot of time shaking her booty to the music coming over the sound system. She turned out to be the hustling and oft-whacked freshman center Sarah Acker, who did her best against the bigger, stronger, and more aggressive Harris and Phillips. I'll say this for St. Joseph's: they embodied the essence of their school, the whole "The Hawk will never die" thing and the motto on all the banners around the campus- "The faith and strength to dare". They never gave up, even when Xavier was up big at the end of the game and showboating. Amy Wold's shooting and Loschiavo's playmaking impressed me- I think St. Joseph's, if they didn't have the rest of the Big Five to compete against in terms of recruiting, could do very well for themselves with the coach they have, if she doesn't decide to leave for a better position.
So after the second day, four teams were left to dance for the A-10 title: Temple, Dayton, George Washington, and Xavier.
Awards for the first day, from yours truly:
Best players: Ashley Morris, Temple; Kendel Ross, Dayton; Kimberly Beck, George Washington; Amber Harris, Xavier
Best coaching job: Dawn Staley, Temple
Best cheerleaders: Charlotte, by a mile- their squad was classy and athletic.
Best band: George Washington by a hair- the jerseys put them over the top. But all four top seeds brought great bands.
Best mascot: Richmond. Spidey actually worked with the Richmond cheerleaders on a couple of routines.
Best fan contingent: Close between Dayton and GW. Sorry, Philly fans, but you're going to have to do a lot more than you did to get the award.