Just the Facts, Ma'am: Army blew the game open in the second quarter to win going away, 68-47, at LIU. Madison Hovren had 22 points, six rebounds, and five steals to lead the Black Knights. No one cracked double digits for the Blackbirds, who committed 32 turnovers; Aja Boyd's nine points and seven rebounds were team highs.
For bad passes, questionable life decisions, a new angle, a tiny cheerleader, food critiques, the chill of winter, and a color trend, join your intrepid and at-last caught-up blogger after the jump.
Another girl, another planet, another day in paradise, another team, another game.
It's a Saturday afternoon, shading towards evening. 24 hours ago, we were on a bus rumbling through Pelham Bay Park. Right now, we're at a Smashburger in Brooklyn, getting ready for the Blackbirds and the Black Knights. I'm not sure how I feel about this rather random evening start for LIU, but at least it's easy to get home from here.
I just saw a woman wearing all white in this burger joint that prides itself on how juicy its burgers are. Someone is having their lunch on expert difficulty level.
(BTW, in my never so humble opinion, the shakes are better than the burgers. I'm not a huge fan of the ultra-thin patty thing.)
We're going to try something different with LIU, baseline instead of sideline. Trying to find an angle where the stanchion doesn't obstruct my view has been the hardest part.
Looks like LIU has three injuries. Kind of glad mom didn't come, because one of the injured players is her tiny-guard favorite, Paris Jones.
LIU has their names on the back of their shirts, which is very helpful for getting an early jump on "who are you people?!"
I've never seen a team do two separate huddles before, but Army just did during their drills. I think the divide might have been wings and posts. Either that, or they drew straws because otherwise the one huddle would have been too unwieldy. (Army has a lot of players.)
Oh, Coach Oliver, please don't ever do the Nixon V for victory thing again.
The LIU band is so loud that even my husband thinks they're loud. And he's pretty loud. (And is in denial about his encroaching hearing loss, but that's neither here nor there.)
At halftime, Army is up 30-18, thanks to a strong second-quarter run fueled by LIU's inability to pass the damn ball to a player in a white jersey.
Wild Mass Guessing theories: DeAngelique Waithe took ballet as a kid and Lena' Hicks played volleyball in high school.
The men's team is sitting in front of our chosen perch. They seem pretty into the game, which is cool.
The band is playing "The Fox". Judging from the fact we're down 12 at the half, I think the answer to "what does the fox say?" is "a lot of swearing and commentary on passing". (The joke, in case you were wondering, is that Coach Oliver, back when she was Del Preore, played three years at Marist.)
Well, I guess that could have been worse. I guess. Maybe? There's something to be said for the moral victory of frazzling a team full of soldiers in training and breaking down their discipline. The perimeter defense and the on-ball defense are there. The intensity is there, for the most part. But the defense at the basket needs work, and so does pretty much everything on offense.
Army went deep into their bench near the end of the game, much to the delight of freshman Cori Schnell's family. They came in shirts with the family name on the back, and they cheered long and loud when she came into the game. She was very involved in her minutes, to the point where I wonder if she was trying too hard to make sure she put on a good show for them. Morgann Yancey, Shelby Haynes, Julia Gibbs, and Ellen Dougherty all entered when the game was pretty much decided, and I have no clear memories of any of them. But their teammates were very excited when they had scoring opportunities, especially when Haynes converted an elbow jumper.
Aliyah Murray did work in the lane, using speed and athleticism to get what she wanted. Margaret Anne Hubbell was physical, and a bit grabby. Libby Tacka got some time in both halves, with good foot speed. Army should not have given away that they had a backup Morris twin- it got a little confusing when Desiree Morris was subbing for Daizjah Morris. She's not quite as good a defender as her sister is, but she does all right.
I said it at halftime and I'll say it again: I'm pretty sure Lena' Hicks played volleyball, possibly even as her primary sport, in high school. There was one possession where a scrum for a loose ball occurred, and she slid on her knees and I swear she set the ball. Please note: the Game Notes of Doom do not advocate attempting to set a basketball. Madison Hovren had a lot of trouble with her free throws in the first half, which I and my fellow fans will happily take credit for, as she was much more consistent in the second half. She was a solid low-post presence for Army, hitting shots deep in the paint (including a couple of baby hooks, and I'm a sucker for a hook shot).
Daizjah Morris was really persistent on defense, creating a lot of loose balls and going after all of them. She seemed like a one-woman press at times. Jess Lewis was the deep threat, and occasionally the most animated of the Black Knights (there was a sequence where she indulged in righteous outrage when she thought she was called for a foul... only to discover that the ref had signaled #23, not #3, and the foul was on Daizjah Morris, and she stood down). Janae McNeal was really solid along the baseline and made some great defensive plays.
I was surprised how undisciplined Army was at times. They were able to minimize their mistakes later in the game, but there was a stretch where they just weren't getting the passes along the sideline to the places they wanted them. But when they were able to execute, they finished well, and they drove LIU nuts on defense.
Autumn Ashe is a pretty name. She was the last one in, and she did some good work on the boards. Seneca Richards seems to be the Blackbirds' designated three-point shooter- that ws the only offense she seemed inclined towards. Brianna Farris brought the defense, and seems to have really narrowed her offense down to the coner three. I thought she and Hovren were going to throw down by the end of the game- there was one sequence where Brianna was trying to stop her on the fast break and Hovren practically demonstrated some bad-ass hand-to-hand combat moves that left Brianna flat on the floor.
I think there might be potential in Gabrielle Caponegro, but she might not be fast enough to really capitalize it. She's only a freshman, so I shouldn’t be judging her so harshly for seeming lost on the floor. I think- I hope- she'll find her way sooner rather than later. I love watching DeAngelique Waithe on defense- spidery sounds like a terribly creepy word, but it's the first one that comes to mind when watching her work. I seem to have a thing for somewhat offensively limited power forwards who are tenacious on defense and hit the boards hard. (Hi, Joy.) I feel like I should be worried about Dionne Coe's lack of ball control, given that she's a graduate student and thus should be more experienced than anyone else on the roster. I like her jumper, but if she's going to run offense for any extended length of time, we're in trouble.
I was really disappointed in Stylz Sanders- usually she has one drive per game where she fully lives up to her name, but she was unusually tentative on offense in this one. I don't get it, and that's going to be a problem going forward if she keeps playing like that. Aja Boyd has potential, and she shut a lot of things down in the middle. I'd like to see her move a bit more, though. Drew Winter had some good moves in the lane.
I think Shanovia Dove still thinks she has to be the entire offense. That kind of take-charge attitude can be a good thing, but hitting shots wasn't necessarily our problem- hanging on to the ball to make sure we did shoot was. I don't know whether she should be the focal point of the offense, or if Coach Oliver wants her to be the focal point of the offense, or if she's just doing her own thing. Victoria Powell was uneven, but intriguing. needs
There are just so many things that need work. The passing to be crisper. The ballhandling has to be better. What bothered me most was actually at the end of the game, when the effort was visibly absent. You have to at least pretend to care, even when it's over. You can't visibly give up on the play.
Going from the Big East to the MAAC to the NEC in the span of forty-eight hours really emphasizes the issue with officiating in women's basketball. As bad as the refs are at the higher levels, they're even worse at the mid-major level. This is not a good thing.
Still can't keep up with the spirit squad, but I'm starting to get the hang of some of the simpler chants. Someday I'll have enough rhythm to ride this ride, but this is not that day.
Coach Oliver looked very glamorous in her gold dress and matching shoes.
This team is going to be an adventure, but at least they'll be a fun one.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
November 12th, 2016: Army at LIU
Thursday, March 19, 2015
March 19th, 2015: Army at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: 20 points from Aaliyah Lewis and an 18-point, 13-rebound performance from Danaejah Grant spurred the Red Storm to a first round WNIT victory over Army, 64-56. Kelsey Minato and Olivia Schretzman each had 19 for the Black Knights.
For deferral, splitting up the band, defensive energy, bad body language, ticket gripes, and tedium, join your intrepid and apathetic blogger after the jump.
You thought you were done with me, didn't you? You thought the time of Game Notes had safely passed and you could breathe a sigh of relief, safe from giant blocks of text and irrelevant observations.
You forgot about the WNIT.
Your intrepid blogger is once more ensconced in her familiar perch in section 2 at Carnesecca Arena as the Red Storm host the Black Knights of Army.
Because it's the WNIT, and thus technically sort of neutral, Army brought their band, and they did a rendition of the national anthem that gave me goosebumps. I guess that's to be expected, but still, rock on, West Point Band.
(The Mighty Sound of the Red Storm is not so mighty, since most of it is off to Charlotte for the men's tournament. It's, uh, actually kind of pathetic look I'm sorry guys but you have like eight people today.)
There's nothing quite as disconcerting as seeing an Army officer in dress start yelling his head off at a game.
When St. John's was making their run to end the half, I thought for sure Dave Magarity was about to Reeve his jacket, but the Defcon level was lowered in time to keep the jacket on the chair.
I am not thrilled with the $2 jack-up of ticket prices for this one, especially since for me it's more like a $7 increase, since I normally buy season tickets. I blame the WNIT and its organizers.
The crowd is uninspiring, and heavily in Army's favor. They brought family and officers, and even the SJU ROTC seems to be leaning towards their future employers instead of their present location.
Our dance team has been dislodged from their usual baseline, since that would be where Army's cheer squad would be if they joined us today.
The defensive energy is high for both sides, but St. John's looks like a hot mess on offense.
This was not a fun game to be at. By the end of the second half, I had reached a state of ennui where I genuinely no longer cared whether St. John's advanced or not, and was starting to slide towards, no, lose, end it, I'm tired and I want this to be over. The body language was awful. Maybe they all felt the way I did, but they get hefty scholarships to play basketball- you have to at least pretend to care, or at the very least, your coach has to pretend that he cares whether you care or not.
Fun moment before the game, though. ESPN was red-hatting the tip to extremes, and at one point I may have burst out, "C'mon, ESPN, some of us have to go to work tomorrow!" Or words to that effect. Whereupon Joanne Aldrich turned around with an amused smile and a gaze to the heavens, as if to say, what can you do?
Army brought excellent defense, but was tentative and unfocused on offense. Most of them didn't seem willing to shoot, and insisted on passing to one of the two scoring options.
I loved the defensive intensity of Janae McNeal. She was always on the ball and always moving. She's got great potential, and she's only a freshman. Brigette Ocran was a big body in the backcourt, creating some mismatches with her strength. Dani Failor possesses an unfortunate last name, but solid rebounding ability. Ciara Jackson played briefly in the first half and was so unremarkable that the PA announcer initially announced her as Jordan Elliott. Destinee Morris threw me off because I mistook her for who I presume is her twin sister.
Daizjah Morris left no impression, though, again, that might be because I had trouble keeping her and her sister straight. Aimee Oertner pulled down the boards near the basket. Jean Parker spent a decent amount of time in foul trouble, which opened the door for McNeal to get minutes. Olivia Schretzman got good looks near the basket and in whatever one calls the area between the high post and the low post, and took care of her turf. Kelsey Minato has good speed, and she shoots quickly, but I don't know what to think of her release- it seems a bit crossed up. I think Army also relies on her too heavily- when the game was still close at the end and winnable with swift offense, they passed the ball around too much, looking desperately for their leader to save them.
Imani Littleton saw daylight in the second half, and of course it was after her first positive play- a defensive disruption that ultimately led to an Army turnover- that Joe pulled her. Kyra Dunn played briefly in the first half, but was so ineffective that Joe pulled her in a hurry and started yelling in her general direction, at which point she evinced no indication that she was absorbing his words. Crystal Simmons saw some time and played very stiff.
Jade Walker hit some shots, but did not have what I would call the world's greatest shot selection, and fell into the trap of staring at her shot instead of following it. The only thing I'll say about that is that she seemed to be doing a lot of switching on defense, so she might have been short on energy. Amber Thompson rebounded all the things, hit some nice shots, and even dropped a slick dime to Aaliyah Lewis on a backdoor cut. Aliyyah Handford was hassled by Army double- and triple-teams all night. There were flashes of her unbridled athleticism in the second half when she hit the fast break and when she rebounded. But I'm more worried about her increased penchant for dramatics. Flopping isn't going to succeed as a long-term bodily protection strategy- in the end, you get fewer calls than you would otherwise. (Exhibit A: Coco Hart, who was once knocked briefly unconscious at center court by a West Virginia player without even a stoppage of play.) Danaejah Grant continues to be an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a mini-hawk. She's a brilliant scorer, and without her work at the basket and beyond the arc, Army would be visiting Fordham on Sunday. On the other hand, her body language was that of a woman who cared only for her numbers and had completely lost interest in the game. She consistently gave up on plays, and no one did anything about it. Two examples, both from the second half. First: Nae gets stripped of the ball and doesn't even bother to chase, preferring to marinate in her own pity party in the backcourt. Second, she's the one in an Army 2-on-1, with McNeal and Minato running. She bumps Minato and then immediately starts arguing with the ref that Minato bumped her... meanwhile, McNeal goes for the lay-up. Thank goodness we had Aaliyah Lewis, because Tiny Aaliyah fears nothing. She went to the basket and made plays, and she sealed the deal at the line. She took what she was given, and she took full advantage.
Officiating was loose. I think it was clear that everyone involved just wanted to go home already.
Cheer and dance were also split, with half of each team at the game.
Attendance was sparse, to be generous. Listed at 211, and that might include the West Point Band. I am not looking forward to Sunday.
Monday, December 15, 2008
December 14th, 2008: Rutgers at Army (Maggie Dixon Classic)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 59, Army Black Knights 38
C. Vivian Stringer is inexplicable, Kia Vaughn is inconsistent, and Alex McGuire is accurate.
I despair of understanding Rutgers, I really do. And I despair of ever understanding Coach Stringer. I'm starting to believe that there's something genuinely wrong with that team- and with a fan base that's part New York attitude and part Philadelphia hellraiser, that's the last place you want to have something wrong with your team.
Nice crowd for the doubleheader, and many props to the folks from Connecticut and Penn State who made it out for the noon tip. I've been to Gampel; I've been to the Bryce Jordan Center. It's a hell of a haul between either of those and New York, so they must have either stayed over or gotten up at the crack of dawn to make it for the first game. Compared to the Rutgers fans, the bulk of whom left after the first game, or stayed to the end of the first half of PSU-UConn, y'all made a much better show.
Beautiful anthem, and having the cadets present the flag was the right touch. I especially liked that the cadets started the flag waving at the song cue.
Army really looked like they were in over their heads. A lot of sloppy passing/passes that were never in a million years going to get over or around the defenders, some very hurried shots. RU did a nice job of containing Megan Evans, who I recall going off like a firecracker against St. John's. But then, St. John's doesn't have anyone quite like Kia Vaughn, which might make a difference when attempting to put the clamps on a six-two fforwrd. McGuire had a nice shooting day, at least in the first half. Erin Anthony really got into the game in the second half, but by that point, most if not all hope was gone. Not a lot of spiffy plays by Army- the only ones I have down were by Courtney Wright, a nice block in the second half, and a steal to set up one of McGuire's threes. And again, I stress that Magarity really needs to calm down. Then again, if he was prescribed Valium, I'm pretty sure Stringer stole it.
Okay, seriously, what the fuck? So much what the fuck. Why did it take so long for Stringer to sub when her starters were obviously fatigued and making stupid mistakes because of it? We were screaming for her to pull Vaughn a good five to eight minutes before she even thought of subbing, and when it was Zurich she pulled, I was extremely o.O. It took her until the end of the first half to pull Vaughn, and not until the second for her to actually put in the player who normally replaces Vaughn in the lineup, Rashidat Junaid. And she always seemed to be blaming the freshmen for something, even if it wasn't the freshmen who were playing badly. Vaughn did seem to have it together early in each half, but she gradually faded in the first half. There was one play where she was walking back on offense. Not running, not jogging. Walking. Dudenotcool. Piph made me happy, though. Brittany Ray's timing tends to be impeccable. McCurdy was one of many Scarlet Knights with a nice block. Freshman sightings- I like April Sykes a lot in game action; she seems to be the most into Stringer's defensive system, and she showed impressive range during shootaround. Pope seems to have the right ideas, just a little too much enthusiasm about trying them out in game action. Speed seemed a little too interested in getting on the board and not enough interested in getting her teammates involved, though I think that may have been a function of the limited playing time.
In the first half, it looked like the refs wanted to help Army keep the game respectable, and the weirdest calls were on Rutgers. In the second half, it looked like the refs wanted Rutgers to blow it open, and the weirdest calls were on Army. (And on Brooklyn Pope- clearly one of the refs likes freshmen as much as Coach Stringer does.)
It's just as well we were playing Army. We wouldn't have won this game if it were against a better opponent. We didn't play the way we're capable of, and I'm pretty sure our coach is insane.
Friday, November 28, 2008
November 25th, 2008: Army at St. John's
http://redstormsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2008-2009/stj04.html
don't ask. Don't even ask. And this is coming from a fan of the winning team...
I genuinely have no idea how we managed to win this game. I mean it. We shot horribly from the field and almost as badly from the line. We couldn't take care of the ball. We were outrebounded. We just managed to play a team that really couldn't hold on to the ball. It was, beyond a doubt, one of the most depressing games I've ever been to.
Part of that came from the setting. We only got a few days' notice that game time had been changed from 7PM to 3:30- it seemed that St. John's had won a host bid for consolation rounds of the men's NIT, and the fact that the arena was already booked didn't seem to matter to them. St. John's doesn't get much of a crowd anyway, but the official attendance was 122. We couldn't even get enough cheerleaders or dancers together for them to do any routines. We didn't have the band. It was like something out of a nightmare. It's probably for the best that there weren't a lot of people there, because it wasn't a very good game.
Dear Coach Magarity, please take better care of your health. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep yelling like that. I liked what I saw out of Megan Evans- I think I remember her from the Maggie Dixon game last year. And Erin Anthony probably would have gotten more involved if she hadn't had the foul trouble- most of Army's key players got into foul trouble, which is really what screwed them in the end. Laura Baranek hit a couple of unbelievable bank shots, though one of them was after the shot clock had expired and shouldn't have counted. I really liked Courtney Wright, but I can't put my finger on why, and writing these notes several days later certainly isn't helping that. She hustled. Naliki Hawkins was a sneaky little thing with really good hands.
I don't think we'd have been able to pull that game out if Kelly hadn't been shooting so well from beyond the arc. Some of those threes were from the men's range. Da'Shena really couldn't get going, although she has a nose for the ball on the offensive glass the same way Joy and Coco do, as if it wasn't already obvious what Coach likes in her post players. Sky's shooting woes continue, but she had a really nice rebound sometime in the first half. Monique couldn't hit the broad side of a barn- Army was marking her really well and daring everyone else to score. Forcing the ball inside, while it didn't always work out, got Joy, Da'Shena, and Coco to the line a lot once the bigs for Army were in foul trouble. Coach experimented some more with Sky at the two, bringing in both Kristin and Britney for looks. Kristin was unremarkable, Britney made freshman mistakes. Aricia started to wake up a little bit.
I think I managed to guilt people into using the student sections behind the baskets. At one point, to distract Megan Evans at the line, I yelled, "Just let yourself be disconcerted by the imaginary students!" A few minutes later, the cluster of guys who had been sitting in the section next to mine moved into the student section behind the Army basket and proceeded to help disconcert the Black Knights on offense, and they migrated at halftime so that they could do the same in the second half. They were hysterical, and they kept it clean and, for the most part, polite. It was awesome. It gave the game a little tiny bit of that collegiate atmosphere that I find myself missing at St. John's games.
I had the displeasure of sitting near one of the loudest and most obnoxious fans I've ever encountered, and that's pretty impressive. I don't mind noise. I don't mind yelling. I'd be a hypocrite if I did. But you really shouldn't be trying to get a player's attention for real. Unfortunately, I have the horrible feeling he was Sky Lindsay's dad. For future reference, Sky? Feel free to ignore orders barked from the stands. You're a BEastie now; your orders come from the bench. Most of us aren't really trying to talk to you, we're just venting frustration.
It'll be interesting to compare this game to the Maggie Dixon game in December, seeing how Army develops in the next couple of weeks and how they fare against a more talented but less experienced opponent than St. John's.
Monday, April 14, 2008
December 8th, 2007: Maggie Dixon Classic
Shavonte Zellous, Chante Black, and Rashidat Junaid impress; meanwhile, Kia Vaughn is… not well.
Nothing like a doubleheader where the gates open before noon to wake you up, huh?
First of all, I am not pleased with the turnout. Where the hell was everyone? I know the folks on this board did their part- I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd- but come ON. That was some pathetic attendance, and not attendance that would look good at all on the television. It's the kind of thing that makes people who happen to come by ask why it's on TV, or why it's in such a major arena. I mean, we did get some good noise out of the crowd, especially in the first game, where you had the Duke fans hollering, the Pitt fans hollering, and the Rutgers fans hollering for Pitt out of a combination of conference loyalty and the urge to see the team that just beat you lose in turn.
So, after all the talk this year of Marcedes Walker, as compared to the talk of her in previous years, I have to say I'm not as impressed as I used to be. She seems to have let the praise get to her head, because she's gotten very passive on the court- there were times when she was letting the tall but slender Chante Black push her around, and times when she simply wasn't chasing rebounds. At the same time, she's got brass ones enough that when her team needed her, she did step up, and enough that she has the WNBA logo tattooed on her right biceps- I couldn't see closely enough to tell whether she completely copied Cappie's tattoo or whether it's simply the logo. Shavonte Zellous also has the logo, on her ankle, but as of right now, she's got more of a claim to it than Walker does. That girl can ball, jeez. Now I completely comprende what the Maryland fans were talking about. She's a heartless shooter and a damn good hustler. I don't know if she really does have next-level game, or if she'll be exposed on bigger stages and/or without the muscle of Walker to back her up. Mallorie Winn… okay, I didn't get my program until halftime, so when I first saw #0 come off the bench and royally fuck up her first two passes, I turned to the boy and said, "Okay, she needs to not pass anymore." At which point she put up the most godawful three I'd seen all day to that point. So I figured that maybe shooting was a bad idea for her and she just needed to sit down. Then I got the program and realized that this was the once touted Mallorie Winn. Er, what the hell happened to her? No one else from Pittsburgh really stands out in my memory, although this probably has more to do with the fact that this was the first game of a doubleheader.
For Duke: Chante Black. I love her. Love at first sight. I like the way she plays the game, though she could stand to put on a little muscle. But I love the way she moves, the way she positions herself, and the fact that she seems to enjoy doing what she does. So many players have such severe game faces that the *game* portion of the whole thing gets forgotten. I was also very impressed with Abby Waner's hustle- she's got a nose for where the ball is going to be, and a boundless determination to make the ballhander's life a living hell. I don't know if she's a prospect, but she's definitely fun to watch. McCallie's big on posts (and on big posts), so I'm sure we're going to be seeing more and more post offense as she figures out what she has and what she wants. This might be a down year for them, but dollars to donuts their big push is next year. I mildly liked Karima Christmas, but I can't get past her name. (Not so much her last name, even- I work with a Karima who has a less than charming personality.) Again, I'm sure there were plays by Duke that intrigued me and made me go wow at the time, and were not Chante Black blocks, but time has eroded them from my memory. :(
Intermission consisted of some speechifying and some charitable donations, the second of which I approved of more than the first. All four teams were out there, some a bit more enthusiastically and respectfully than others. No brownie points to the two Blue Devils who chatted through the whole thing, and none to the RU players who were fidgeting. Not surprised that the Army players stood stoically through it, and would you really be surprised that Essence Carson was the picture of patience?
As an aside to whoever put together the remembrance videos: why did you think it was a good idea to show the one with Geno? Come on. The rivalry has gotten nasty enough that fans will do embarrassing things because of it. Yes, they booed the video. No, I'm not proud of them.
Beautiful anthem- they did it between games, perhaps so they could have the color guard?
Army was screwed when, three minutes in, Cara Enright went down hard enough that we heard her hit the deck, stayed down for a very long time, needed help to get up, put no weight on her leg, and went straight to the locker room. This is not a good combination of events, and bodes no good for a team when said events happen to their star senior guard. Alex McGuire had to take on the entire offensive load herself, and while she was willing and able, no one else could step up to help her. Hawkins and Anthony both did the bulk of their scoring late in the game, and Stone mostly disappeared after the first few minutes. Unsurprisingly, Army plays very tough, very physically, and very tenaciously. They welcome contact on both ends of the floor. They drive. They have surprising post presence for a team that can't really recruit above a certain height. They're fun to watch- I just don't know if they have the talent to compete, especially if Enright's out for any extended length of time.
I think Coach Stringer was pissed. Perhaps out of concern for nagging injuries, perhaps out of not wanting to run up the score, but IMO mostly because of the Duke game, she benched the entire regular starting lineup. There are small children who might not even have been aware that Katie Adams ever played who saw her start today. And Rashidat Junaid took full advantage to display her post moves and soft touch on the Garden floor. Granted, Rashidat started out with an advantage, in that a) she's already been playing better than Kia Vaughn, and b) er, we'll get to b later, suffice it to say that there may have been a reason Kia was playing like crap. Brittany Ray also decided to shoot the lights out, given the opportunity to start in place of Heather Zurich (who didn't play at all, perhaps because her face still isn't quite right after that hit early in the season, and if you don't have to…). I was glad to see Myia start, too, because I like watching her play- I don't think she's the kind of player who needs to start, but she's a most excellent sixth woman. Honestly, things unraveled temporarily in the first half when Stringer reluctantly began bringing the starters in. In the second, it was clear that the starters, or at least Prince and Ajavon, had gotten things together enough to look good. Essence was very quiet in her limited minutes. The defense was fantastic and the rebounding was splendid.
Terrapins, we need to have a talk about the use of germ warfare in out-of-conference play. I'm *sure* it's just a coincidence that after we play the Maryland Ptomaines, Kia comes up with two awful games and spends part of the second half barfing into an empty Gatorade cooler. Yes, the joys of sitting in the endcourt and having no one shielding the bench. Come on, guys, we share your team colors, can't you cut us a little slack? At least if you're going to use germ warfare, take advantage of it yourselves, don't hand it off to another team to take advantage of!
In the crowd: a batch of high schoolers and middle schoolers, Blaze and her posse, Dan Hughes, Marynell Meadors. The last two are as per Megan, the Liberty's devoted ticket rep, who joined us for a bit of the second game. During the first game, the Army squad obligingly posed for pictures in their general area. During the second, Pitt brought their own cookies and nifty warm-ups, while Duke socialized quite a bit in our section and the section behind what had been their bench.
I was at five games in eight days. Bonita Spence was at three of them. Bonita, we must stop meeting like this.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
November 19th, 2006: Army at St. John's
Army 57, St. John's 45
The fashion's really the prettiest thing about this game. That, and Cara Enright.
As my seatmate Lib Fan can attest, I spend a lot more time screaming inarticulately at college games than at Liberty games. There's a lot more stupidity going around.
It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did amuse me that Army uses a US government bus. It also shouldn't amuse me that it was neat as a pin except for one lonely water bottle in a window, and that there was a camo folder in the driver's seat.
Cara Enright's good. No, really. I was also impressed by Megan Evans. Anna Wilson's itty-bitty (if she's really 5'5", I'll eat my Liberty rain hat), but she's got some ups on her! Magarity really needs to relax sometimes. Granted, we were sitting in the fourth row, but we heard plenty from him. It was quite amusing, especially after a boneheaded foul by… oh, was it King? "WHY? WHY? WHY TRY TO BLOCK THAT SHOT?!"
The good news for the Red Storm was that due to roster mix-ups earlier in the season, I miscalculated how many players we have- we had a whole *seven* players today, and the young lady I had thought was our IU transfer was in fact freshman Charisse Curtis, who came off the bench for two three-pointers and some other miscellaneous stats. In appearance and build, she reminds me somewhat of a slightly taller Kristi Toliver. (The offense she brought today also made me wonder exactly why she didn't play against Iona, when we were desperate for anyone to sub in.)
It was dumb blonde day on the court for St. John's. Tiina Sten looked flat-out awful- I don't know how many times I muttered "fucking Euro" under my breath, or not so much under my breath. She wasn't defending well inside, she wasn't driving inside (hello, 6-3, plz to be using it), and she utterly spazzed out half the game. Your point guards should not BOTH finish with more rebounds than a starting forward, not if the name Loree Moore is not mentioned. Allie Patterson was so useless that although she started, she played the fewest minutes of any Red Storm player. Missed all her shots and should have been credited with more than one turnover. "ALLIE! ALLIE! SKIP PASS!" Poor Coach is going to go gray at this rate.
The rest of the frosh, on the other hand, acquitted themselves quite well. Nikki Jo has seven turnovers listed, but several of those are failed lobs to the Tall Blonde and Clueless contingent. Love her shooting. Love her hustle. Joy had a rough shooting day, but she tied Angel for the team lead in rebounds. She was aggressive on defense, and I'm surprised she was allowed to get away with the level of contact she was on Enright. She'll learn. She's a freshman. This is my soothing mantra. Charisse, as mentioned, shot well, although I was surprised her teammates didn't get her the ball more often- maybe they weren't sure she was there either? :) As for Kia, she didn't start, but she played the bulk of the minutes at one guard spot, and did her fill-the-stat-sheet thing.
Two plays back to back for the Storm: Nikki Jo with the ball, drives to the free throw line, shot fakes, dishes to Joy under the basket, Joy hits the open lay-up. Defensive stop, Kia drives up the right side of the court, stops over halfcourt, looks out at the crowd on the same side as the bench, and passes off to Tiina coming down on the right, Tiina hits the lay-up off the no-look. Occasionally I thought we had hope. Jen Hansen hit a heartbreaking three-point shot at the end of the first to put Army up ten, and Evans and the rest of their posts were abusing our inside defense and the backboard.
Fashion report: Monique won the day in a pink skirt, gold blouse, and silver slippers (but the Gatorade-branded towel *so* did not go with the outfit); Victoria wore a white sweater and black slacks; Recee was in black slacks, a bright blue blouse, and short heels; Kelly wore a sleeveless blue top and a nice pair of slacks.
Danielle Chambers, the tenacious rebounder who graduated last year, was at the game; she's playing professionally in Puerto Rico these days.
I keep two soothing mantras in mind when watching the Red Storm: "She's only a freshman, she'll learn better" and "If we get Monique or Recee back, things will get better".