Just the Facts, Ma'am:: Breanna Stewart outscored Cal by herself for long stretches, and UConn romped over the Golden Bears 80-47. Stewart finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Morgan Tuck had 12 off the bench; Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 10 points. Brittany Boyd and Hind Ben Abdelkader each had 9 to lead Cal, which shot 29.9% for the game.
For bricks, exploits, one-woman wrecking crews, high school alumnae, unwanted cheese, and a bit of pep in your step, join your intrepid and time-pressed blogger after the jump.
We're at halftime of Cal and UConn right now, and Breanna Stewart has a slender lead on the Golden Bears, 21-20. Unfortunately for Cal, there are 19 other Connecticut points to consider, and they're being doubled up 40-20.
I'n not a big UConn person, but their arrangement of "Light 'Em Up" is on point.
If Cal could shoot, this would be a serious game, but Cal couldn't shoot and I couldn't write too much at the half because the people next to me were kind of jerks and I ended up having to collect my pen and tickets from various parts of the Garden floor. You have no idea how much I dislike that Ohio State fan right now, you really don't. Even less than my usual disdain for Ohio State, I dislike that guy.
Lindsay Gottlieb went to the end of her bench earlier in the second half than UConn did, so we got a couple of minutes of Avigiel Cohen (nice little drive) and KC Waters (that's a big player there). Brittany Shine went in earlier and put together some decent minutes. Mikayla Lyles is a very substantial guard. Justine Hartman took up space in the middle and put in a pretty hook in the second half. She didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the very fast, very bouncy team. Kyra Dunn was pretty solid.
Reshanda Gray started the game off pretty hot, but like many of her teammates, she had severe issues with actually putting the ball in the basket. She gets good position, but she can't finish. This is not a recording yet. Courtney Range didn't seem to do anything, but there were rebounds. I've always had trouble with rebounds on teams that aren't mine. Hard to tell bodies apart when I'm not used to them. Brittany Boyd seemed to think that she could solve all her team's woes. Sometimes, you have to learn when not to shoot. She missed all kinds of shots: hard shots, easy shots, fast breaks, everything and anything. Her hands were exceptionally fast on defense, as she wrestled away plenty of loose balls from Connecticut players, but that didn't quite make up for the lousy, abhorrent shooting. Afure Jemerigbe always seemed to be in the middle of the play, but like her teammates, shooting was an issue. Hind Ben Abdelkader seemed to be the only Cal player with a fundamentally sound jump shot, even if it didn't go down very often. The folks around me were impressed with her, though that might just be because she didn't look as bad as the rest of the Bears did on offense. I still have to remember this is a very young team, but I can't help but feel that Gottlieb might need to bring in an assistant who specializes in fundamentals and mechanics. Cal's got the athleticism, the drive, and the instinct, but they don't have the skill- but skill can be learned.
We did not get to hear the alternative pronunciation of Briana that Briana Pulido uses (it does amuse me that Breanna, Briana, and Brianna are all pronounced ever so slightly differently). We did see Tierney Lawlor can a late three like it was nothing. She's got a real pretty shot. She could probably be in the rotation anywhere else in the state of Connecticut, but there are basketball players in the state of Connecticut who would rather be walk-ons at UConn. I sort of get it. I don't necessarily agree, and I think that mentality is bad for the game, but I understand it. Morgan Tuck seemed to be under orders to practice the midrange jumper- late in the game, she took three of them in a row, to go with the threes she hit earlier. She doesn't look like she should be taking threes, but they work. She's also physical underneath. I like her, and I know I'd like her more if she weren't a Husky, and I recognize that bias within myself. Kiah Stokes didn't get into the game until the second half, but she played well defensively once she was in the game. Saniya Chong looked a little tight- I think the Cal defense got into her head. Either that, or she felt the pressure of the contingent from Ossining staring down at her from the endcourt every time she came back to her side of the court. They cheered very loudly for her and even bought a Sweet Spot on Gardenvision to wish her luck. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis technically didn't start, but given that Geno brought her in before the first basket was even scored, and given that she started the second half, I think that was just a technicality. I think everyone held her breath when she went down on the elbow again, but the brace held. For a change, she wasn't just a three-point shooter- she brought other offense as well.
Bria Hartley missed a lot of easy shots, but demonstrated a fair amount of speed. This was the kind of game where people who think she should get drafted high will point at her physical gifts and people who don't think she should be drafted high will point at the mistakes she made, and everyone will walk away with the same opinions that they had before. Stefanie Dolson was limited because of early foul trouble, and by the time the number of fouls wasn't an issue, she was no longer necessary. Moriah Jefferson (whose first name was repeatedly butchered by the PA announcer, either as Moira or Moria (like the mines where lots of dwarves died), for the entire first half) was very quick and took a lot of hits to land hard on the ground. She had a gorgeous find of Dolson down low on a drop pass that a lot of players might have taken up themselves. Brianna Banks did work on the boards, and I like seeing her do well; it wipes out the memory of her writhing on the floor at St. John's. And then there was Breanna Stewart, who pretty much did all the things with the kind of cavalier... grace isn't the right word, neither is attitude, but in a manner that made it look entirely too easy. She had a baby hook that I rather liked. She took threes. She blocked shots with authority. She rebounded. I don't know how to put into perspective how good she was without just saying "she did everything", but that's the quickest way to sum it up.
After some dicey non-calls in the beginning of the game- one of the Cal players kept receiving hands to the face- things settled down, officiating-wise. Not that that would have been a concern in a thirty-point blowout. We were somewhat disappointed that Geno left Dolson in so late, but I've seen a lot of UConn games; I know that sometimes they have to leave a starter in just to make sure the deep reserves don't run the score up.
I don't think I'm ever going to develop a true tolerance for UConn fans, especially not in arenas I consider to be mine, but at least they spend money. It is what it is. :/ I'm tired of seeing UConn blowouts, though. Step your game up, y'all. If a team like St. John's can go toe-to-toe with UConn for a couple of years, teams with way more talent can do it. Okay, so UConn was down a player each time, but they were close games! There's only so much of the glorified practice I can take.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
December 22nd, 2013: California at Connecticut
Monday, April 8, 2013
April 7th, 2013: Louisville at California
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Louisville came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Cal 64-57. Antonita Slaughter had 18 points on 6-10 3-point shooting, while Bria Smith added 17 points and six rebounds. Layshia Clarendon led Cal with 17 points.
For bricks, pride, tiny banners, and total exhaustion, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Teams spotted today: Akron, Louisiana-Lafayette, Ohio State, West Virginia, Duquesne, Montana, Central Florida, Spelman, Pittsburgh, Iowa, Mississippi State, Prairie View, Oregon State, Vermont, TCU, Marshall, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Sacramento Monarchs, Atlanta Dream, Arkansas State, St. Francis (PA), Princeton, Clemson, Georgia, Carson-Newman, UTEP, UCLA, Purdue, Yale, Miami, Murray State, James Madison. Lots more Baylor fans today. Gotta shout them out.
The pitch of the arena makes our seats better than you would expect. The anthem was done by a local artist. She was okay, but not great.
At halftime, it's 37-27 Cal, and it could be more if Cal would stop throwing the ball out of bounds and if they could hit their free throws. They're 1-6 from the line. But they're owning the boards, and Louisville isn't hitting their threes. Monique Reid took a very hard tumble on a Cal drive, and she hasn't come back into the game yet. She did later in the second half, though, which is kind of reassuring.
What a heartbreaker- well, if you were rooting for Cal like I was. To see them come so far and then lose it all I think I'd be even more disappointed if Cal hadn't been so clearly outcoached in the second half of the second half.
It's a lot harder to see the fine detail from up here, so I apologize in advance if the notes are not as doomy as usual. Megan Deines played briefly in the first half and came in right at the end of the second to help give the stars their curtain call. Jude Schimmel complemented her sister well off the bench (though from up here, it's kind of hard to tell 21, 22, and 23 apart). Monique Reid got a lot of run in the first half, but much less in the second half. We'll see how available she is for the championship game.
Would someone please guard Antonita Slaughter at some point in the near future? You would think a coach from Brown and a team of players smart enough to go to Cal would have figured out that guarding the woman who hit three threes in the first half would be a plan for success. Instead, they let her get three more open threes. You do not sag off someone who has hit five threes. Honestly. Shoni Schimmel was distributing well in the first half, then got her shot going a little in the second half. That pass to her sister was a thing of beauty. Sara Hammond continued to be tough in the post. I don't necessarily like her, but she got the job done down low, especially in the second half. Sheronne Vails got the start, but with Louisville sometimes I get the sense that Jeff Walz picks a name out of a hat for that fifth starter spot. Bria Smith was very efficient and absolutely ruthless. She broke a pretty little fast break that got the crowd going.
Lots and lots and lots of red in the stands, in groups and singles.
Eliza Pierre's defense is scary. She was all up in her player's business (usually Shoni Schimmel) and gave them no room to operate. I love to watch that kind of thing. Mikayla Lyles played very late, when Cal was sort of throwing spaghetti at the wall. Reshanda Gray had an up-and-down game, and tended to make stupid mistakes right after making good plays. She needs to be more consistent.
Layshia Clarendon is amazing, and East Coast bias can do anatomically impossible things to its metaphorical self that I haven't seen her before this year. Stupid Pac-12 Network and its stupid disagreement with stupid DirecTV. She had ice water in her veins during the attempt to come back. And she has awesome hair. Talia Caldwell muscled up well in the post. Brittany Boyd made a couple of great plays- when she hit the three, I thought they had a shot. Afure Jemerigbe gave the announcer a lot of chances to get her name right with points and fouls. Gennifer Brandon rebounds like she has springs in her legs (and from overhead looks a little like a gazelle when running), but that shot... almost too strong for an offensive rebounder.
Cal seemed to get flustered in the second half. The perils of not having been there before, perhaps- they started throwing up bad shots and bad passes. The exceedingly nosy guy next to me (no, sir, you cannot borrow my computer, please stop staring at my screen) kept complaining that Cal wasn't dribbling the ball up. He had a little bit of a point, since Cal's passing was not sharp, but I don't think dribbling into the traps would have helped much.
The woman all the way at the end of our row hooked us up with nifty Cal cheering stuff. It was really nice of her. Signs! Tiny banners! A streamer for Moooose!
I'm very surprised that Cal doesn't seem to have done anything to address their abysmal free throw shooting. That was painful to watch.
I was rooting for Cal, but I wanted whoever won this game to take the title, so on Tuesday I'll be in red and white and cheering for Louisville. Anything to avoid another UConn coronation.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
April 6th, 2013: Final Four Super Saturday
Your intrepid and verbose blogger hits New Orleans, and New Orleans hits back.
I'm not used to things opening an hour and a half before things are supposed to start. The gates opened at 9:30, and it's quarter past ten, and I'm expecting things to be happening already.
The UConn autograph line is already packed, and UConn doesn't sign until after 12. Good Lord, people. Cal's line is pretty much empty.
Teams spotted so far: Monmouth, Texas, Southern Miss, Wyoming, Southern, Louisiana Tech, Drew, New Hampshire, Texas Southern, Marquette, San Diego State, UConn (of course), Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, North Carolina State, North Carolina (and I think she might have been Charlotte Smith, but we're currently having a philosophical debate as to whether known affiliation allows for a double count for Elon), Oakland, Cal State Dominiguez Hills, Sam Houston State, East Carolina (though they were here for the combine, so maybe that doesn't count?), Boston College, LSU, Ole Miss, Allegany, Moravian, West Chester, Vermont, Washington, VCU, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Memphis, Cal (of course), Tulane, Louisville (of course), Notre Dame (eventually, of course), Michigan, Colorado State, Maryland (who are really showing out- fear the Turtle!), Wichita State, Baruch (CUNY up in here!), Arizona State, Oregon, NYU, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Richmond, Rutgers, Stanford, Detroit Mercy, Regis, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Texas A&M, Cal State Northridge, Baylor, St. John's (not us), Buffalo, Minnesota, Michigan State, Duke, Missouri State, Syracuse, DePaul, Delaware, Navy, Tulsa, Alabama, Nebraska, Illinois State, Marist, Temple, Middle Tennessee, Texas Tech, Florida State, Rock Valley, Harvard, Wisconsin, Emory, Maryville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, one very nifty Canberra Caps Ardossi jersey, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun.
I love marching bands! I love traveling fans! I love the tournament atmosphere! Boom de yada! Boom de yada!
I think ESPN is doing a piece on Shoni and Angel, because, well, Angel just wandered through, hair all slicked back and pretty.
The trophy is in the building. I got a picture. I have taken many pictures. I will take many more pictures.
The Golden Bears have rolled out, and so far the practice seems fairly serious, at least until the band starts up and the tuba stands alone. They're pretty loose, though. I'm not sure what my favorite part about Cal being in the Final Four is, the pleasant surprise or the Straw Hat Band. But this is so much fun, and they have more beads! Shiny things! The Cal players were really hyped about seeing their fans- I think some of the people behind us may be serious boosters.
Louisville's band is AWOL, presumably in Atlanta with the boys, so they're borrowing part of the Tulane band. They're doing basic stretching first, and Monique Reid is biking to nowhere. Seriously, someday someone's going to hook a generator to those bikes and reduce energy bills in arenas by something like 5%. The Dark Angel herself appears to be the Cards' special guest for this. I guess she's supposed to inspire them or something. Louisville is taking this practice dead serious- one of the grad assistants is handing out a practice schedule. Good Lord, that's neurotic. And the band came out late, so they are here. A bit disorganized, but here. And rocking the heck out of "Stayin' Alive" and the Ghostbusters theme. Louisville players are helping throw the beads now. Shelby Harper has no arm. Cortnee Walton does.
WBCA All-American team about to be announced. Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins, Stefanie Dolson, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kayla McBride, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Chiney Ogwumike, Odyssey Sims, Alyssa Thomas. Delle Donne gave a little speech. Pictures were taken. Plugs were made. Alyssa Thomas immediately went to find the Maryland staff and Laura Harper (who just ran off to glomp someone)
Notre Dame's turn to practice. They have names even on their practice jerseys. They are really committed to that gods awful lime green. :( Niele Ivey is gorgeous, though. Absolutely breathtaking. Jewell Loyd had a fantastic tip-in from a very defensive drill. The band started taunting declaring their intent to beat UConn. And then Diggins and McBride danced with pom-poms.
Capital One is sponsoring a contest in which all the shots have to be banked in, which is a little ridiculous, but both of the contestants managed it, which is awesome.
UConn's open practice was mostly three-shooting. I took pictures, but that's about it.
Battle of the Bands needs to stop being decided on crowd noise, because UConn fans would cheer for their band if they just farted in a vague sense of rhythm. Notre Dame's male cheerleaders did a remarkable worm stunt six deep. Cal was musically the best. Louisville was outmanned and stood no chance, though the flip on top of the pyramid was awesome. UConn's band took direct aim at Notre Dame- both of them played "When the Saints Go Marching in". UConn's was technically better, but they lost me when they decided to throw in "Who dat say dey gon' beat dem Huskies?" You do not steal the "who dat". And then they decided to take an encore they weren't entitled to. That stuff gets you thrown out of band competitions in some places. Musically, I think it was close between UConn and Cal, but Notre Dame was good and had great stunts. But UConn fans... sorry, guys, but stop with the blind loyalty and get some musical taste.
High-schoolers have taken the floor. Tamika Catchings and Swin Cash are the honorary(?) coaches. What is with the neon green on ALL the things this year? Seriously. I recognize a few more of the high schoolers this year.
Tulane band was very disappointing. I assume that's not the whole band, but they hit several sour notes.
Purple starters: Jessica Washington, Saniya Chong, Jessica Jackson, Diamond DeShields, Stephanie Mauvinga. Black starters: Kaela Davis, Alexis Brown, Kendall Cooper, Mercedes Russell, a young lady named Harper whose first name I didn't catch. (Linnae?)
I didn't really follow the game, because I wasn't interested, but it looks like Arkansas got a nice little shooter in Jackson, and maybe Rutgers fans have reason to be excited about Scaife.
Coda: after we adventured on Bourbon Street and found it not to our liking, we wound our way back to Canal and public transit through a side street. Suddenly I hear "Rebecca!" We turn around, and there's Shenneika Smith. Of all the places, and all the people, and all the times... it put a wonderful capper on the day. We chatted about Jeopardy! and the WBCA team, and it was good.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
March 29th, 2009: California at UConn (NCAA tournament)
UConn Huskies 77, California Golden Bears 53
Tiffany Hayes goes off, Geno Auriemma outcoaches Joanne Boyle, and drama is brief.
Well, that was a very good half by Cal. Shame they couldn't keep it up, but most teams can't quite keep up with the Huskies, so it's not exactly a surprise. But it was a glorious, exciting half.
We were in the endcourts, seven rows up, which souds great until you learn that Sovereign Bank Arena was built primarily as a hockey arena and the boards are permanently fixed. There was a lot of space between the front row and the court. Room enough for a large track and two band pits. Nice, but a bit frustrating. We were in the middle of a mixed bag of fans- UConn fans in front of us, Cal fans a couple of rows behind, people in maroon to our right, a ow of Rutgers shirts in the front of the section, and I don't want to know where or why or how the woman in the "Feed the Turtle" Maryland shirt ended up in there. But there were a lot of misplaced fans- but we'll get to that at intermission.
UConn band did the anthem. They did a credible job with it, though I'm not that fond of the steady drum backbeat arrangement (it's one of the things I hate about the Red Storm's rendition). Major points to the UConn band for not needing sheet music, just the prompt sheet from their director. And Cal always brings good band. I think what I like about them is that when they play a tune, it's actually recognizable as the song it's supposed to be. It's not distorted the way most marching bands are.
I really like Ashley Walker, but I think her size is going to be a disadvantage. She did a great job working against Tina Charles, but I don't know if she can do it night in and night out. Great game today for her. I hope Devanei Hampton is getting her degree in something applicable to the real world, because she was really moving awkwardly out there. I know she was never that fast, but she just couldn't keep up, and her shots were crap. Vital was trying too hard, especially in the second half. She was really forcing the offense. Ditto for Gray-Lawson, who hit some shots early like she was trying to restore the Lawson family honor, but who faded down the stretch. Greif didn't get involved much at all. Neither did the Cal bench- Boyle substituted very sparingly, and I think that was a major problem for them in the second half- their key cogs just didn't have the juice left to run with the Huskies.
And Geno did a great job adjusting, too. There's a reason the man's WCBA COY and his team's undefeated. He started the second half big with McLaren for Greene, and that just completely choked off Cal's inside play. No inside play, no points, no rebounds, and it becomes a helluva lot easier to collapse on the outside shooters. Bam. Of course, the fact that Tiffany Hayes had a career game could not possibly have hurt either. She was hitting shots all over the place, setting up her teammates, and I didn't realize how fast she was until she hit the jets like she was at Daytona on a fast break. And then people kept losing Maya Moore in the second half, and I'm screaming words to the effect of "HOW THE FUCK DO YOU NOT GUARD MAYA FUCKING MOORE?! Cal should b smarter than this!" Montgomery is smaller than I thought. Wasn't impressed with her decision-making, but I guess I didn't have to be. Offensively, Charles wasn't much of a factor, though she and McLaren set good screens to get the guards free, but defensively and on the boards, the big Huskies were bigger than the big Golden Bears.
There were a lot of UConn fans in the house. In other news, the sun rose in the east. They really do a great job of taking over arenas and bringing their customs along (which didn't exactly thrill the boy- see remark above about UConn fans in front of us, and consider that Husky fans stand until the first basket). Good pockets of support for Cal, too. For some reason, the RU fans got behind them. Yes, a lot of people in Scarlet- they'd bought those tickets and they were going to use them, gosh darn it. And since the last major sticking point in shared neutral space for UConn and RU is conference loyalty (see: Storrs pod), the Scarlet stuck with the Blue and Gold.
Inconsistent refereeing, but I'm too tired to bitch. Besides, the difference in the game was UConn adjusting and Cal... not... not the officiating. I hate praising UConn, both because it goes against my grain as a hater of hype and because I'm a Rutgers fan, but there's a reason they're undefeated. Several reasons. And they showed 'em all off against Cal in the second half.