Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Lady Flames of Liberty rode 19 points from Devon Brown and a double-double for Avery Warley to a 73-53 win over the LaSalle Explorers in the consolation game of the Terrapin Classic. Ebonee Jones of LaSalle led all scorers with 20 points, and got 19 from Ashley Gale, but no other Explorer cracked double digits.
For disappearing fans, lots of threes, and disappointingly light observations, join your intrepid and grungy blogger after the jump.
This might be the most pointless game of the day. Most of the Maryland fans left for various reasons, the championship trophy was awarded with about as much fanfare as one lonely kazoo in a forest, and as of 19 minutes before tip-off, LaSalle has not been seen. But we're still here. Somehow. For some reason. I think I might love this game a little too much.
Already Terrapins have slipped out of the tunnel. Natasha Cloud and Alyssa Thomas have been circulating, along with the alumnae. Our fellow Johnnies have pretty much all packed up and headed home. I guess not everyone's into getting their money's worth.
At half, Liberty is up 10 after fending off a small LaSalle run. I'm starting to think that there's some weird cultural quirk in Maryland, some perverse combination of DC gossip-mongering and Southern aggressive friendliness, that causes everyone around you to take the slightest sign of friendliness as an excuse to talk at you incessantly about things that are not necessarily related to the game, even during game play, even when your goddamn point guard is lying on the floor clutching her leg, no, I really don't care about your experiences as a St. John's men's fan in the Lapchick days, my starting point guard is in the ACL position, SHUT UP OKAY?
Emily Frazier got things started for the Lady Flames, hitting their first five points. Devon Brown had the game I was finally expecting her to have, but most of her drives and shots were in the second half, when Liberty had a big lead. I still love her mohawk. Why does such awesome hair have to represent such a reprehensible school? WHY? Jalena Antic was active on the boards, though she didn't bring a lot of offense. Off the bench, Dymond Morgan worked her way down the lane for some nice baskets. Avery Warley had some nice moves in the paint, and a couple of emphatic blocks.
Play of the game had to be Nikki Ortiz's block on Avery Warley. I don't care that she had brought it down low, when a 5-5 player gets a block on a 6-3 player, it's the play of the game. I don't care that that's the only really good thing she did that game, it's the play of the game. She and Michele McCaughern were the only two players to come off the bench for the short-handed Explorers.
Ebonee Jones still needed a lot of shots and free throws to get her points, so her numbers don't impress me as much as they should. Ashley Gale found her shot in this game. She was just putting in three after three after three. It was crazy. That was really the only offense they could get going for much of the game. Jess Koci let her drive get the better of her, and she fouled out of the game without being able to get going. Chelsea Conner got a lot of encouragement from her teammates and coach, but her shot was really heinously off line.
The guy in front of us was hilariously not impressed with some of the referees' calls, usually on travels and out-of-bounds calls.
Since these notes are a bit light, I'll take the opportunity to thank the Maryland fans and staff for being gracious hosts. People were a little too friendly to the point of cloying sometimes, but we appreciated the well wishes for next year, and extended them back to the Terps.
Friday, December 31, 2010
December 29th, 2010: Liberty at LaSalle (Terrapin Classic)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
December 29th, 2010: St. John's at Maryland (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 20-8 second half run and 25 points off the bench from Eugeneia McPherson weren't enough for St. John's to overcome a sluggish start, and Maryland used a strong first half from Diandra Tchatchouang and a solid second half from Lynetta Kizer to pull out the 66-60 win.
For crowd noise, older Terrapins, cool uniforms, and the calling out of starters, join your intrepid and extremely annoyed at the neighbors blogger after the jump.
Day 2 dawned bright and early- brighter and earlier than before, thanks to Maryland football being in a bowl game later that day. We made it to Comcast with less trouble than before (but I don't think you want to hear about the crazy rude singing bus driver from yesterday who tried to whiz past the stop and then not let me get on when my fiance was already on). It's always good to know where you're going.
We got some reinforcements- Buzz's family made it down from Brooklyn. So we're expecting a little more noise. We'll see how that shakes out as the game goes on.
I don't envy the Maryland band and dance team. They've got a triple-header today. Well, so do we, but theirs is a bit more physically intense- the St. John's-Maryland women's basketball game, then the ECU-Maryland bowl game, then the North Florida-Maryland men's game. That's intense. That's dedication. That also means we get to see their cool uniforms with the yellow and red capes and sashes. I'm not sure if the baseball caps go quite as much.
Unlike yesterday, Team Tyler had a representative in the house, and we happily passed along twenty bucks to Laura Harper. Hey, just because we're St. John's fans, and just because we're obnoxious and lacking in class, that doesn't mean we don't feel bad for kids with cancer. Apparently, she was shocked. I don't think schools realize the network among fans. We hear about local causes, and we get involved.
At halftime, it's a five-point Terrapin lead, but I'm feeling a little more comfortable than you might think. Our defense has been pretty solid, and though our offense has mostly been predicated on Eugeneia McPherson drawing fouls, we're scoring enough to stay in the game- plus Shenneika Smith and Da'Shena Stevens haven't really gotten started. If we can get one of them going, I think we've got a shot. We might also gain back some of the atmosphere, because although the Terp fans are getting more into the game today with the chants of “DEE-FENSE”, the band may be leaving for the bowl game. That's the problem with overbooking, I suppose.
In addition to Laura Harper, who I think is doing radio for the Terrapins today, Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman are in the house. Harper's knee still hasn't recovered- she's still on crutches. Something tells me she's not suiting up in the W this season unless it's late in the year and someone is really desperate for a spare post.
Just for the record, we're not the loudest St. John's fans in the arena. We're not the ones who are disconcerting the Maryland shooters- we recognize that this is not our house and it is extremely rude to disconcert the home shooter. That's mostly Buzz's family who's really letting them have it. You gotta love that Brooklyn sass. Now, if someone would please find the Sky Lindsay who actually knows how to play basketball, I think that would be very awesome and much appreciated.
That was the game I was expecting. That's what happens when you get two teams that are closely ranked, who are playing for poll position and to stake a claim against one of the few quality opponents that they'd be facing out of conference. That's what happens when you get two teams who have different style and a need to establish their style before they can get started. Now, if Shenneika would have shown up for the entire game instead of the fourth quarter, we might have had a chance.
This was not the game to give Keylantra Langley long minutes. The freshman was not ready, and more than once we heard Coach yelling at her about being out of position. She and Buzz teamed up on a great trap, and the two of them work well together defensively, but I don't think Key's ready yet. Amanda Burakoski was not the right player to bring in for this game either. Coach has this weird fixation with using Buzz as a power forward, and against a team that puts 6'3” people in the backcourt, this is not the world's most brilliant plan. She gave it her all, but she's six-foot and slim. Going against Alicia DeVaughn or Lynetta Kizer is not going to end well for her. Eugeneia McPherson kept us in the game in the first half, with her ability to get to the line and hit her free throws. Her defense was not up to par- that's something I've noticed a lot about St. John's, that they don't tend to play both ends of the floor well. If they're focusing on one thing, they're not doing the other. Jennifer Blanding came in for size and committed her usual stupid fouls. I think she could have done a better job of establishing position, but that's me judging from the outside. I don't know what it was like for her down there.
I really do think it would have been nice for Shenneika Smith to show up sometime before the fourth quarter. Well, technically, her first field goal was at 10:02, but that's close enough. Sure, she came on big in the last four minutes with her shots and her rebounding and her defense, but that was after we had gotten ourselves down fourteen, and I would have much rather not been in the position to claw back to 6, you know? Sky Lindsay continued to be awful, and I think she took offense to Coach noticing she had been awful. Gee, Sky, if you could hit your shots, your free throws, or even play decent defense, Coach wouldn't be stashing you on the bench for Gina or Key. So prove to me that you aren't just playing out the string, or that the incompetent in your jersey is an imposter, because I like you as a person but right now I can't stand you as a basketball player. Nadirah McKenith looked lost when she was in, and that's never a good thing to see out of a point guard, especially when you're counting on that point guard to spearhead your defense, but we looked even more lost when she went out with her ankle injury. We really need her, even more than some of our better players. Coco Hart couldn't get started early, which is understandable against the size of Maryland, but she started to kick it up late, in between the spate of bad decisions. Da'Shena Stevens came on in the second half, though I question some of her shot selection. I think I may have mentioned this a few times, but we really missed having Day on the floor. I'm glad she's back.
I don't know if anyone on St. John's noticed this against LaSalle, but Kim Rodgers can shoot it. You can't leave her open. You have to at least get a hand in her face. Once the hand is in her face, she's much less effective, but you have to get it there first. I still like Natasha Cloud, and I think once some of the logjam around her clears, she'll be a very valuable piece for the Terrapins. She did a magnificent job of splitting a steel trap on one play that had me going WOW. Laurin Mincy made a brief cameo and hit a shot. Alicia DeVaughn really put in work on the boards and on defense. She had a couple of emphatic blocks to go with her fierce rebounds and putbacks. I shouldn't be judging her by her mother, and I'd like to think I'd be saying this even if I didn't know her lineage, but I can see her developing into, well, Baby Yo- or the way Natalie Williams played later in her career, someone who feasts on other people's garbage. Which is a horribly gross way to put it, and I'm sorry for that.
Diandra Tchatchouang started the game red hot for Maryland. She canned a three to open it, and I started to suspect that this wasn't going to be our day when she did that. She was matching our point totals by herself for a good chunk of the first half. Anjalé Barrett ran a decent offense, and late in the game she started showing her offense; part of me thinks that has to do with her lineage through Seton Hall, but of course I'm biased. I remain quite impressed with Lynetta Kizer. Do I think Coco's inability to play defense on her was a factor? Yes. Do I think she's got the skill set to be a WNBA prospect and a pretty nice player if she wants to be? Absolutely. At this point, I absolutely cannot recall anything that Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins did, except that their presence might have affected Shenneika's shot selection. We're just not used to seeing people that tall in the back court.
The officiating was inconsistent, but in ways that made fans of both teams angry, so that works out in the end. The Maryland fans spent a lot of time furious at the and-1s; to be fair, free throws are how we stayed in the game in the first half. And we just never gave up. I have to give that to my team. We don't give up. Ever. We're stubborn, and tenacious, and really annoying if you're the opposing team.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
December 28th, 2010: Liberty at St. John's (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The triumphant return of Da'Shena Stevens and a career effort from Shenneika Smith spearheaded a second-half comeback that allowed the Red Storm to beat Liberty University 81-66. Smith's 28 points tied a career high, while Stevens added 20 points and six rebounds. For the Lady Flames, Danika Dale and LaKendra Washington each had 13 off the bench.
For trials and travails, deep personal offenses, a lot of screaming, relief, over-exuberance, Pod People, and the frustration of Kim Barnes Arico, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.
For pictures from the trip, watch this space.
Seeing Maryland is all well and good, but we didn't brave the Snowpocalypse, bus cancellations, or frozen doors on Amtrak to see Maryland whoop LaSalle. We're Johnnies, and that's who we came to see. A fair number of Maryland fans stayed for the second game, and we made friends with a few of them, in addition to our Board Junkie colleagues from the Rebounders. It's a wonderful feeling to be known by people you barely know. Thrilling, but weird.
We didn't travel as well as I think we could have if it hadn't been for the Snowpocalypse. Half our team is from Brooklyn, and they usually bring a lot of family; factor them out, plus Nadirah's family from Newark (which was affected by the power outage that delayed our train), and there aren't that many people in Storm gear. Some folks came out from the Island, if the #22 jersey in the next section is any indication.
We looked very rusty in the first quarter or so of the game, and Da'Shena Stevens looked far too exuberant about being on the floor for the first time since Southern Miss whammed her with an elbow and gave her a concussion. Things started to get back on the right track later in the first half and through the second, when Shenneika Smith made a valiant effort to match her jersey number. Honestly, in the second half, the only reason Liberty had a chance to stay close was because of some dicey officiating from Spence, Gulbeyan, and crew. It's a sad, sad sign when I recognize a ref in street clothes and know she's going to be calling the game, which in turn means that I know there's going to be extra emphasis on violations.
A warm, friendly, New York-style shoutout to the Liberty University fans who thought they could outdo New Yorkers, and especially to the one gentleman who called us obnoxious and lacking in class loud enough for us to hear, yet without saying it to our faces. Let me assure you, sirrah, that this proud New York agnostic-leaning-towards-atheist considers that a compliment from such as you.
LaKendra Washington's got some stroke, let me tell you. You can't leave her open, especially not from the near corner. She will kill you dead. We got so frustrated with our team's inability to defend her, you have no idea. Brittany Campbell hit a three off such a sweet pass from Tolu Omotola that we were all “okay, if she flips you the ball like that, you have to hit the shot, even if you're on a team we don't like”. I was also very impressed with Danika Dale, who showed a knack for being in the right place at the right time to get her points. While other Liberty players saw time, I don't quite recall anything they might have done.
I love Devon Brown's mohawk. I'm a sucker for mohawks, okay? I mean, I'm also a sucker for slick moves to the hoop like Brown has, but especially for mohawks. Avery Warley spent a lot of the game in foul trouble, but I really like the way she moves on the floor and the way she uses her body. Emily Frazier found her way to the line in the second half on some dicey calls. Jalena Antic gave us a little bit of a scare from outside, but mostly annoyed me for reasons I can't properly recall at the moment.
Nadirah McKenith played this game like she was personally offended about something. Maybe it was coming off the bench, maybe she isn't fond of religious fundamentalists, maybe she was just feeling it, but she drove the lane like she was trying to do her best Mark Jackson impression. She was showing off a little with her ballhandling too. Amanda Burakoski was out of it, having more than one blonde moment, but she redeemed herself a little with a three-pointer (of course, it was on a play where she should have taken the two, but we won't go there). Keylantra Langley looked very much like a lost freshman, though she made some good defensive stances. Jennifer Blanding was her usual slightly clueless self.
Have I mentioned lately that we really missed Da'Shena? Because we really missed Da'Shena. Clearly, she missed the floor about as much as we missed having her on the floor. She was a bit over-exuberant in the beginning, but when she settled down, she found her groove and looked like the rust was shaken off. More, she was hitting her free throws. You don't understand how rare that is. And when she hit that field goal to hit her thousandth point, we went nuts. Couldn't happen to a nicer kid. I just wish Sky Lindsay had remembered to get on the bus. This Pod Person who was wearing her jersey was really awful. She almost matched her jersey number, which is not good when you wear #1. Coco Hart started slow, and really needed a good thwack upside the head, but she stepped up in the second half, and she was willing to go at Warley when Warley got in foul trouble. Eugeneia McPherson stepped up her defense, but we're going to need her to be more of an offensive threat if we're going to take Maryland. Granted, we're also going to need Shenneika Smith to be the unconscious beast she was in the middle of this game. Near the end of the first half, she started a streak where she was hitting everything she looked at- she started with little shots inside, then moved back and canned four threes, then moved back in. When she's on, she looks like she could be in the WNBA today. She still needs to refine her game, but she was stupendous, and we need her to be that player again.
I don't know exactly when Kim Barnes Arico started going around and kicking referees' puppies, but she needs to stop. There were some sketchy calls against us that even the Maryland fans around us thought were questionable. To be fair, we made up for those with a plethora of and-1 calls. We must have had five or six hoop-and-harm plays. There was one play where Kim yelled to the ref, “Kathy, if you see it, you can change it!” because the call was that egregious.
I'm really glad we dug down, grabbed Shenneika, and hung on for dear life. I wasn't all that impressed with Liberty, but that might change if Brown is allowed to roam free in Big South play, or if someone else for that team steps up.
December 28th, 2010: LaSalle at Maryland (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong, balanced post attack led the Maryland Terrapins over the LaSalle Explorers, 83-45. Lynetta Kizer led Maryland with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Ebonee Jones of LaSalle led all scorers with 18 points, but on 21 shots.
For team colors, nifty cups, Starbursts, big bands, and bigger hair, join your intrepid and well-traveled blogger after the jump.
For pictures, watch this space in the next week or so.
I think this might be my first time in an arena with a big-time men's team that actually treats their home arena as, well, their home arena. For most of the places I've been, either they're so low on the totem pole that they don't have to worry about the amenities of a big arena, or they're so high on the totem pole that the men play at public arenas and we're back to square one. But the Comcast Center is absolutely gorgeous. Everything is in team colors, and everything is Terrapin. The cups are really cool. We're taking two of them home as tumblers to add to our collection of stadium cups. There's an entire section in the endcourts for the press. The other endcourt is completely devoted to the band. Completely, except for a couple of sections off to the side. But the band takes up three sections. I'm fairly certain I saw Megan Duffy looking at them and making a note to ask for more band funding from St. John's.
The fans, at least so far in this undramatic game, have all the trappings of passion and all the off-court involvement in the world. Pretty much everyone who isn't here for one of the opposing teams is wearing Maryland colors. And there are a few people behind us who yell the way we do. (I was actually a bit worried about that, because we're front row center, to the point where we may move up during intermission because we can't see any of the lines.) But there really hasn't been any chanting yet. Of course, Maryland is up 22 at the half and LaSalle looks like they'd rather be shoveling the Snowpocalypse than being here, so there's that to consider. We don't exactly get involved when we're up that much either.
The anthem was very good. It would have been excellent if the singer wasn't trying to sing through her nose. Execution will be the death of me yet.
So far no one has looked too oddly at us in our St. John's jerseys, though it's pretty obvious we're not on the team. (For one thing, one of us is, um, not eligible to play women's basketball without some major changes I'd rather he not go through.)
I'm working on a new computer, and because I'm writing five sets of game notes in two days (possibly seven in three, if true insanity overtakes me and I head to Fordham on Thursday), much of this will be coming from on-site, so these notes might read slightly differently from their usual. I ask your patience.
LaSalle appeared to be playing short-handed. They only listed ten on their roster, and their starters played heavy minutes even when they were down thirty and close to forty. I think they only played one sub in the first half. That sub was Michele McCaughern, who registered a foul and some defense. The second half brought Nikki Ortiz as the first sub, who contributed a whole bunch of fouls. (Hmm. I'm wondering if that might be why LaSalle didn't substitute often.)
Ebonee Jones looks to be a pure gunner with a propensity for foul trouble. Sure, she scored a lot of points, but from here, it looked like she needed a lot of shots to do it. Ashley Gale came on in the second half. I like the freshman Jess Koci, or at least I would if she could figure out how not to flop on half her defensive plays. She seemed to be the only on that team with some spark, with a nice block and some hard work on the boards near the endline. Chelsea Conner's shot was very schitzophrenic. When it was on, it was a sweet swish. When it wasn't... I think LaSalle had something like four or five airballs, and at least three of them were hers. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.
The beautiful thing about a blowout is that you get to see the deep bench of the leading team. You get to see players you might not ordinarily see. Sequoia Austin reminds me of a few undersized guards I've seen in the past, who make up for their lack of height with an endless drive and the inability to stop. The crowd was rooting for her to score, but though her shots looked good, she wasn't able to get them to go down. Essence Townsend has the height to be successful, but absolutely none of the other aspects. She doesn't look comfortable on the floor, she doesn't take contact well, and she can't hang on to the ball. Honestly, I think she missed her calling- she looks and plays much more like a volleyball player. Yemi Oyefuwa got huge cheers from the crowd when she did just about anything, and when she went on her scoring run, the people around us went nuts. She looks like a player who was very good at one point, but the Creature from the Black Lagoon attached to her knee appears to have done her in. Kim Rodgers also looked like a player recovering from a knee injury, who used to be a very good shooter and still has a little bit of that stroke. Natasha Cloud got good rotation minutes and showed a knack for getting to the line. Dara Taylor's got some speed on her, and she set up a couple of nice plays- my favorite was the steal that led to her missed lay-up, which Laurin Mincy rebounded and put back. Mincy had herself a nice game. Hey, why do they have so many kids from our neck of the woods? Shouldn't we have been doing a little more about that? Alicia DeVaughn scared the hell out of me- not just because she's a pure defensive stopper who I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, but because it's very disconcerting to see someone with identical body language to anyone else. Yes, I know she's Yo Griffith's daughter, but she moves in exactly the same way. It's very, very strange, especially when you see around the face that they look nothing alike. Her hands were up everywhere.
Alyssa Thomas had herself one heck of a game, getting nice passes from her teammates and converting them. I think she missed a couple of chippies that she could have had, but with the game she had, I'm not arguing. Diandra Tchatchouang, in addition to being extremely hard to spell, showed some nice moves both inside and out. Anjale Barrett did a nice job running the team, but methinks they might have some trouble moving the ball if she can be stopped. It would take a team with very good defensive guards... Tianna Hawkins has insanely tall hair. I'm not sure if that 6'3” listed height includes the hair or not. I know she had a pretty solid game, but I keep being distracted by the hair. It's not quite Troy Polamalu, but you get the idea. Lynetta Kizer did a number on the Explorers inside, and early in the game she reared back and swished a three, and I think I spent the next minute of game time with my jaw hanging slack in shock.
Some odd calls in this game, but more judgment calls than questions about what exactly the referee was looking at and what universe it was in.
I was surprised the Maryland fans weren't more into the game. Maybe they'll be louder in more traditional ways tomorrow. They have a little competition to deal with, after all.