Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's surged out to a big lead and held off a fourth quarter run to beat Duquesne 65-52 in the third round of the WNIT. Akina Wellere had a team-high 17 points while Maya Singleton notched her 18th double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Chassidy Omogrosso had 14 points to lead Duquesne.
For not letting things go, fantastically obvious inconsistency, amazing eyelashes, defensive prowess, the encourager of hesitancy, and gawky forwards, join your intrepid and uncertain blogger after the jump.
Man, this WNIT thing is a killer on the budget. Stupid Triple Crown jacking up prices. $12 per game adds up, and if there are discounts for season ticket holders no one told me about them. It's third-round action coming to you from Carnesecca Arena, as the Red Storm faces the Dukes of Duquesne.
Now, if you know all my ties, you know that Duquesne made life miserable for St. John's twice last year, and made it miserable for Seton Hall one year, and generally irks Fordham every year, and knocked Miami of Ohio out of the WNIT this year. In other words, DUQUESNE MUST SUFFER.
So far we're one for three on visiting bands. Duquesne doesn't seem to have brought theirs. We do, however, seem to be three for three on opposing fans who have decided that sitting across from the home bench is appropriate. One dude has been riding the refs all day. I think my favorite part is where one possession he yelled, "LET 'EM PLAY!" after Duquesne got called for an illegal screen, and two possessions later he demands "WHERE'S THE CALL?!" on a play that Maya was literally backing away from. Consistency may be the hobgoblin of small minds, but it's also hilarious when not applied. Duquesne's fans did not let up on the refs all night, and it got tiresome to hear "YOU SUCK!" and "I hope you don't sleep tonight!"
Nykesha Thompson's epic side-eye to the upper deck was worth most of the ridiculousness, though. Visiting fans don't realize how small the arena is. Or how good the acoustics are. Yes, the refs can hear you accusing them of cheating.
(And yes, I admit to riding the refs sometimes. But not for 80% of the game like these guys did.)
It's 34-17 St. John's at the half. Alisha Kebbe has a team-high nine points for St. John's, but shoutout to Imani Littleton with the 6 and 7. I see you, 'Mani. Chassidy Omogrosso has eight to lead Duquesne. She'd have more if she hit the shots she was getting. Duquesne is running a lot of screening action, but they're having trouble consistently setting the screens. Omogrosso looks like she's getting frustrated at teammates who aren't getting the play right.
We gave up a little too much in the fourth quarter for my liking, but that's Joe's tendency to slow the game to a crawl combined with Tiana's timidity, accentuated by our apparent inability to leave well enough alone by committing stupid fouls. We don't have the end-game ball thought right now to play those kinds of games, and Joe needs to be aware of that. But we made enough good defensive plays that we were able to hold down the fort.
Kiersten Elliott got into the game in the final minute and promptly committed a foul on the backcourt trap. I'm not 100% certain it wasn't a called play, though, so I'll cut her a little slack. I've seen coaches use the deep bench for that before. Judith Sole started getting heavy minutes at the end of the third quarter. She's a big body who's not afraid to use that bulk down low. She had a miserable night at the free throw line, and by the third or fourth miss, she was really starting to beat herself up about it. I felt really bad for her- she's a senior, so that was her last game, and that's not how you want to go out. Helmi Tulonen was one of the many tall, gawky forwards that Duquesne brought off the bench. They do seem to like their gawky, blocky forwards.
I honestly can't believe Amanda Kalin played for half the game- she didn't leave much of an impression, though the one shot she did hit fairly late in the game was on a nice runout. (She may also have been borrowing a teammate's jersey, because I swear #12 was out on the floor, but Anie-Pier Samson isn't in the box score. I have enough trouble with nameless jerseys, changing them on me is just not fair.) Libby Bazelak did a good job of going to the rack and getting the call later in the game, taking advantage of our defensive lapses. For her own defense, though, she does need to understand where the circle is, and if she's in it when she's trying to establish position. Eniko Kuttor seemed to have her coach's confidence for her rebounding. She kept leaving her feet to pass, though, and after the second time in rapid succession, Coach Burt took her out for a Teaching Moment. One presumes the Hungarian for "Stop doing that!" was involved at some point.
Kadri-Ann Lass finally got her shot working in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. She was a mismatch for us, but we were confounding her equally- she was able to shake shorter defenders outside, but couldn't always hit with our shotblockers in her face. She and Conor Richardson both got dinged for illegal screens in the first quarter, which is a bit of a problem for a team that seems to rely heavily on screens to get their shooters open. Richardson really got the short end of the stick from the refs- there was a foul credited to her that I thought should have been on Sole, and somewhere along the line a foul got credited to her that I didn't even spot. She's tough, and I respect that; I think she was hobbled by the foul trouble and didn't get the chance to show what she could do. Paige Cannon was physical inside, which led to foul trouble for her as well. I thought she played a lot more than she actually did. Big and blonde and physical- that's all the impression she left.
Julijana Vojinovic had nice touch from the outside, or at least that was the shot she was most comfortable with. We left her alone a little too much for my liking. Chassidy Omogrosso seems to be the leader for this team, or at least she thinks she is. She drove hard and passed fast, and she was emotional on the floor. You could see her getting visibly frustrated with everything: the officials, the shots she missed, the teammates who weren't catching her passes. She's got talent, and she's got the ability to get around the defense, but she spent way too much time in her feelings and in her own head in this game to be truly effective for Duquesne. There was a lot of negative energy there.
On one hand, I'm surprised that Duquesne seemed so disorganized- most of their core players are juniors, and they've had time to play together. But there's always room for communication issues when you have as international a squad as Duquesne has. And if communications break down on a team that's relying on screens to get shooters open, then you've got a problem.
Kayla Charles is still raw, but I still see the potential in her to be a force inside. She just needs to pick up on-ball instincts. I'm also sort of starting to see where Shamachya Duncan fits in the scheme, at least with the guards we have now. Joe was using Sox in a similar role earlier, at the ends of quarters to soak up a couple of minutes for our beleaguered starters. If she can keep improving her defense, she might slot into a threes-and-D role next year.
I'm not sure if shooting about five seconds after popping off the bench for the first time is the world's greatest idea, Andrayah Adams, but you do you. I've said it before and I'll say it again- she might be shot-happy, but sometimes this team needs a heartless gunner. I'd rather she take the extra step back and take threes instead of settling for the quick long two. I do like the midrange game, but there's a difference between midrange and just the wrong side of the three-point line. Qadashah Hoppie had some rough luck with the rim in this one. Not her best day. Not her worst, but not her best.
Poor Akina Wellere keeps getting knocked in the face. I'm glad she's starting to go back to her outside shot more. She's been played out of position at the four too much for my liking, because Imani and Maya do have to rest at some point. But she was feeling it from beyond the arc- you could see her confidence in the follow-through of her wrist. I love watching her shot when she's in rhythm. Tiana England had some amazing passes in the fourth quarter down low, one to Maya and one to Imani. I think she also had a really good one to Alisha, but I can't remember if Alisha hit the shot or not. I'm still not thrilled with her propensity to slow the game down, but that's on both her and Joe. Alisha Kebbe started off hot offensively, which was a pleasant surprise. She was still solid defensively, too. Great game from her- exactly what we needed.
Maya Singleton was surprisingly passive on defense for stretches of the game. I guess the postseason grind is starting to get to her a little bit. I'm not used to her backing off plays as blatantly as she did. She took care of the boards, and her midrange game was working, but she didn't have the edge I'm used to. (And she still got the double-double, which says a lot about what she can do.) Imani Littleton brought the defense, and the grace under pressure. The length of her arms and her reach were on display tonight, whether it was with emphatic shot blocking or flicking away passes to get the breakaway. Emphatic Imani is best Imani.
(As an aside, I'm bummed Joe didn't give Sox a teeny bit of run to end the game. She's a senior; she deserves a send-off.)
There were definitely calls that we got the benefit of the doubt on. On the other hand, the officials stopped calling those illegal screens on Duquesne in the second half, and they didn't magically improve their screen-setting ability, so there's that. And we made some terrible decisions in the fourth quarter defensively. There's no good reason to stop the clock when you're up double figures in the final two minutes.
That being said, Joe, please let Tiana confirm the continued presence of all her teeth before you start lambasting her for that admittedly stupid foul.
Funny moment of the night: Imani committing a travel so blatant that even Qadashah was making the travel signal. Two points for honesty, I suppose.
So close on the raffle... just one digit away.
It's been confirmed that we don't get host-rights next round, no matter who wins, and looking ahead in the bracket, the schools around us are from bigger conferences and likely have bigger budgets, so this was probably our last home game. I loathe the uncertainty, but at the same time, I wish the kids well on their travels. (Just, y'know. With less traveling. Footwork is important!) Part of me wants to be there to see the seniors out, but on the other hand, I can't bear the heartbreak.
Let's go get 'em, Johnnies.
Friday, March 23, 2018
March 22nd, 2018: Duquesne at St. John's
Saturday, November 19, 2016
November 19th, 2016: Duquesne at Iona
Just the Facts, Ma'am: For the second game in a row, Duquesne came on strong in the third quarter to overcome a first-half deficit and win 61-58, this time over Iona- but the Gaels didn't go down without a fight. Kadri-Ann Lass led the Dukes with 17 points, 8 in the last five minutes of play, while Amadea Szamosi notched six points and 15 rebounds. Alexis Lewis and Marina Lizarazu each had 16 points to pace Iona, with Lizarazu adding nine rebounds and six assists.
For musical interludes, wardrobe malfunctions, overseas leadership, bringing all of the noise, free throw issues, flaring tempers, and common ground, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good morning! We're on the 6 train on our way to Iona, because somehow I just can't get enough of losing to Duquesne. We've already had a bit of drama, as one gentleman at our end of the car has chosen to assume that another gentleman at the other end of the car is indulging in some... self-satisfaction... and is voicing his protests of this behavior quite loudly and profanely, while the second gentleman is disagreeing with the first gentleman's assessment. Fortunately, the second gentleman has departed, so there will be no fisticuffs.
Missed the bus by two minutes, so we had to offset the cost of the cab with eating at the food court. I've had worse food court food, but the college I went to actually got shamed on the local news for food poisoning, so that's not setting the bar very high.
Coming through a tunnel of dancers shaking pom-poms is actually creepier than I thought it would be. (We're not special. They're set up by the door and doing that to everyone.)
To the dude in the Duquesne hoodie: dude. Your bench is clear on the other side of the arena, why are you over here? What is with opposing fans ignoring the seats behind their own bench- the seats that I was always taught you take when you're on the road- and parking on the home side of center court? He did move eventually.
Game is tied at halftime, 24-all. Coach Godsey has been going awfully freshman-heavy in this one, and I don't know if it's working. We've been sloppy, and we can't keep being sloppy in the second half if we're going to survive.
Nasal, dirge-like anthem. Breath control, sister.
Not that Philecia Atkins-Gilmore is rusty or anything, but the first time she came into the game, she almost started play with her jacket on before the official realized he couldn't see her number. (Going with the theory that there's only one hyphen permitted per team, because Tilasha is Okey-Williams on the roster, but only Okey on her jersey.)
The officiating appears to be inspired by the rugby tournament going on outside the arena. Lots of scrums with either no calls or very late held ball calls. Poor Alexis must have dove into the nearest ice bath as soon as the game was over, because she hit the deck a lot, and so did a lot of Duquesne players.
Duquesne really tightened up their rotation in this game. Brianna Thomas had a very brief stint of no remarkability. Paige Cannon actually started off like gangbusters, hitting a couple of shots and boxing out really, really well. Her minutes faded in the second half as Burt ran heavily with his starters. Halle Bovell got a bit more run in this one than she did on Thursday, and she showed some freshman jitters when she did, missing two shots that looked like gift-wrapped opportunities. Juliana Vojinovic, creator of awkward announcement pauses, had some solid minutes on the defensive end and got into scrums.
Chassidy Omogrosso didn't have quite the shooting night she did against St. John's, and when she got called for a touch foul late (in a situation where everyone was expecting the Dukes to use the fouls they had to give), she was all up in her feelings. Two of her teammates had to cool her down as she barked at the ref, and then she committed a frustration shove on Karynda DuPree and got up in her feelings again. She's got to control her emotions a little bit better. She's fun to watch, otherwise- great speed, highlight reel shots, good passing, quick hands. Nina Aho slipped away from the defense quite often for jumpers, and fought hard for loose balls. Conor Richardson was quiet- spent a lot of time in foul trouble. She uses the sideline as a secondary defender very nicely.
Kadri-Ann Lass came up with the big shots when the Dukes needed them in the fourth quarter. She gave Duquesne the lead and hit dagger threes. Points for leadership, too- she was the one who corralled Omogrosso and dragged her away from the ref. Amadea Szamosi owned the boards; she had a putback late to beat the shot clock that I thought was the backbreaker, and the fact that it wasn't is a testament to Iona's toughness. She was everywhere on the glass. Really great nose for the ball and knack for positioning. (Ridiculously ripped shoulders, too, which you can tell because Duquesne has the racerback jerseys with the ridiculously small backs.
In the two games I saw this year, Duquesne came on strong in the second half, which tells me that they're getting really good halftime coaching and learning from it. They're still young enough to struggle with a little adversity, but I think they'll grow out of that.
So should I be calling Tilasha Okey, or Okey-Williams? (See above re: hyphen allocation.) Whatever I should be calling her, it is not "person who should be bringing the ball up the floor". Ever. She's enthusiastic, but she's definitely still working her way into the college game. Iida Ahvenainen brought some tough defense on the ball, and of all the things, she missed the one shot she took long (after all the comments I've made about her lack of strength, I find that amusing). Amelia Motz brought the hustle, but not much else. Philecia Atkins-Gilmore needs to not telegraph her passes. I know she's rusty because of whatever injury kept her out of the last couple of games, and I'm sure she'll get that half-second back in time.
Tori Lesko plays with all the grace of a bull in a china shop, and that's not meant as an insult. She goes hard to the basket when she goes in, like a pinball. I love how hard she works. Someone needs to work with her on her free throw form; there seems to be too much motion in it, and that came back to bite us. Karynda DuPree is a continual frustration with how disconnected she seems from the game at times. I like what she can do anchoring the defense in the middle, but it seems like every big block has to be countered by a fumbled rebound or a missed lay-up, and it's sort of hair-tearing-out-ing. (I don't begrudge her the three-point try, though- it was near the end of the shot clock. I do begrudge her not going hard after the rebound.)
Poor Marina Lizarazu is going to be run ragged by the end of the season, unless Philecia recovers in a hurry. She was gassed by the end of the game, which I think allowed Duquesne to get the last couple of buckets- there's a specific fast break lay-up by Omogrosso that comes specifically to mind, where it looked like Marina didn't have enough in the tank to run her down. Her sense of timing is excellent, especially at the end of the clock. Alexis Lewis forgot to tell her three-point shot what time the game started, and it only arrived in the fourth quarter. But when it did, it arrived in style, and the crowd erupted. She was taking a lot of hits and not getting a lot of calls, and I am not okay with this. I really enjoy watching her play. I enjoy watching Treyanna Clay, too, because Trey gets involved with a lot of plays and I like to watch her kick various and sundry kinds of ass. I kind of wish I could get a +/- from these stats, because I get the feeling her impact isn't always statistical.
(But for the record, Philecia is my favorite right now. Her enthusiasm on the bench and on the Bike To Nowhere is unparalleled and gives us a good starting point to make some noise. She's up on every chant and cheer, and she's always encouraging her teammates. You sing along with "Eye of the Tiger" and do the stomp for "We Will Rock You", you're all right by me.)
(And no, Phee, I'm not just saying this because I know you're reading it.)
I usually come down pretty hard on Coach Godsey, but I thought she made some really good adjustments after Duquesne made their big run. Live by the three, die by the three, but I thought the game plan was solid in the fourth quarter.
Officiating, as always, was hilariously inconsistent.
Duquesne's coach seems like a nice guy.
Place got real loud near the end, and it wasn't just us stomping the bleachers. Give Iona fans an excuse to make noise, and noise will happen, even without Damika's family around.
Between the inconvenient bus schedule and the bus being ten minutes late, we were waiting at the bus stop for more than half an hour, and ran into Philecia (and a couple of teammates who I couldn't immediately place because sometimes I have issues putting names and faces together without a guide). We exchanged pleasantries- and now I know she read, or has read, the GNoD.
I think Iona has really started to internalize the school motto: fight the good fight. That's a mindset I can get behind.
Friday, November 18, 2016
November 17th, 2016: Duquesne at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: After a strong first half showing, St. John's faltered in the second half, and Duquesne came away with the 71-65 win. Chassidy Omogrosso led all scorers with 25 for the Dukes, while Amadea Szamosi added 18 points and seven rebounds. Aaliyah Lewis led the Red Storm with 17 points and six assists.
For unfortunate hats, traveling Pennsylvanians, freshman leadership, senior instability, discovering roles, height differential, and a bear, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Today is the day. Tonight is the night. This is the night we celebrate one of the few good things that has come out of this miserable disaster of a year that "annus horribilis" doesn't even begin to describe. The Johnnies open at home tonight, and the banners get updated: Big East Champions, NCAA Tournament. And we get to revenge ourselves on Duquesne. As you may remember from last season, DUQUESNE MUST SUFFER. (Don't worry, Dukes fans. This is me getting the last of last season's bitterness out.)
At St. John's, we wear red on Fridays, but today is Thursday and I'm wearing my red. Playlist is prepped with all the standbys. I'm already hyped to see what we're going to do this year, even as I keep my expectations low.
At halftime, St. John's is up 39-27. Alisha Kebbe has been very fun to watch.
No pregame notes, because buses suck.
There's a person behind me who looks an awful lot like Essence Carson. If she is: hi, Essence! (I admit, it took three tries to figure out the six degrees of separation that would get a Rutgers alumna here, and once I got past an affinity for red and white, then a fondness for Jersey girls {like Jade}, I remembered, oh, yeah, we hired Tasha Pointer. Look, I think in odd directions sometimes.)
We are now the proud owners of season ticket holder hats. White stitching on red fabric gives me the heebie-jeebies now, but it's a nice hat otherwise. (If you have not met me: love me, love me, love me, I'm a true-blue liberal.)
Army swearing-in at half, in honor of Military Night. It got a tiny bit quieter at the part about obeying the orders of the president...
Keylantra Langley, she of the shot-clock beating shots, is at courtside, rocking a niiiiiice retro-style letter jacket. I think I also spotted Kimberly Spruill in the crowd (unfortunately, her claim to fame was in getting the ball rolling on, "sure, let's give out 5 as soon as the class of 2013 is out the door, it's not like anyone important wore it")
We'll live and die by our defense, and on where Jade and Akina's shots are. But it might be a little less painful to watch than I thought.
The band shirts are super snazzy. I'm still not sure about this navy blue thing, but it's all right. I guess.
...no, sorry, still looks wrong to see someone other than Nadirah in 5 and someone other than Danaejah in 15. It's going to take a while.
Well, that escalated quickly. I think we saw two teams determining their identities in the third quarter, and it looked a lot like St. John's was expecting Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant to step in and save the day. This is not going to work now that Liyyah and Nae have graduated. Duquesne found their offense, and found the flaws in our defense.
Halle Bovell played a short stint in the first half and showed a whole lot of speed on a nice cut to the basket. Angela Staffileno played like a woman who watches a lot of hockey- unfortunately, while I admire a good solid body-check, not only is that skill not applicable to the game of basketball, but it is also not permissible in women's hockey, so she's outta luck no matter which way you slice it. Paige Cannon played a few minutes in the second half, and mixed it up in the paint.
Brianna Thomas reminds me somewhat of Brianna Turner, and not just because of the name. Something about her build and her style just brings Turner to mind. Julijana Vojinovic did not have the greatest footing- she fell down quite a bit. But she used her height well to pick up rebounds.
If Duquesne were one of my teams, and one of my family's teams, we would have adopted Chassidy Omogrosso as our favorite, because she's exactly the kind of player my mom is a sucker for: undersized, quick as lightning, efficient, feisty, and brilliant. Unfortunately, since Duquesne is not one of my teams and must suffer, I spent most of the game muttering "goddamn blonde waterbug" under my breath. But it's still a compliment. There's something I like about Conor Richardson, but I can't put my finger on it. She has that look on the floor like she's going to be a big time player one of these days. Nina Aho seemed to find her stride as the game went on, and her size was giving us fits all game- there's something about running ridiculously tall guards out there that utterly flummoxes us, though that might have to do with Tiny Aaliyah being, well, tiny.
Kadri-Ann Lass used her height and frame to get space on the block for rebounds, and to set good picks and screens for her teammates. I didn't necessarily notice her as a rebounding force during the game, though this might be because Duquesne doesn't wear names on the back of their jerseys, and I'm not always good at identifying players when they're not wearing names. Amadea Szamosi seemed to hit her stride in the second half, taking advantage of her height on her defender to roll to the basket and score, or just shoot high post shots over said defenders.
Duquesne's defense was solid, if unremarkable. It seemed like they took advantage of height mismatches a lot.
Andrayah Adams is not Danaejah Grant, although she's wearing Danaejah's number and shares Danaejah's propensity for compression sleeves and leggings. I know it's unfair to compare them, especially in Andrayah's second game, but it was clear that she wasn't quite ready for the big time and she definitely wasn't ready to play any kind of big minutes on the college level. Tamesha Alexander played a couple of unremarkable minutes at the end of the second quarter. Sandra Udobi played a couple of stretches in the first half, and you could tell her speed wasn't there. The heart and hustle were, but that knee hasn't been right since I can't remember when. The new haircut's cute, though.
Crystal Simmons brought the defense, relentless and tough. I would like to see her look for some sort of offense, only because we can't play 4-on-5 if she's in the game, even if she essentially turns it into 4-on-4 at the other end. Jordan Agustus missed a lot of makeable shots and made shots harder than they had to be. Maya Singleton impressed me with her rebounding and her toughness, although she's, sadly, ahead of the curve in terms of shooting free throws like a St. John's post.
It's going to sound strange to say that a freshman in her second-ever college game was the linchpin to the game, but I felt like we lost a lot of our offensive attacking mindset when Alisha Kebbe left with a left leg injury. She was going strong to the rim. I really like what she brings to the table, and I hope she's okay. Akina Wellere's shot was off all night- granted, on two or three shots the rim was cruel and the shots bounced in and out, but I recall a easy lay-up late that she left way short, and I feel like that might encapsulate her night. Aaliyah Lewis went into attack mode late, when it was clear that no one else was really going to step up on offense, but she can't be both Aaliyah and Aliyyah. She's a great distributor on the fast break, and she's fearless on the drive, and she's a pretty good jump shooter- but she's never all of those things at once. She can't play both roles at once.
Imani Littleton needs to speed those feet up somehow if she's going to stay our defensive specialist down low. She got burned a couple of times by the taller members of Duquesne's squad. I like when she goes to the basket, like she did for a stretch in the second quarter. I'm most disappointed in Jade Walker. Yes, the jumper was pretty, but it wasn't consistent, and she doesn't go to the basket nearly as often as she should. What bothered me more was that she wasn't showing the leadership and poise we need out of our seniors. She loves to shoot- fine. She wants to be the primary option- fine. But she has to have the court awareness to know that she's going to be the focus of the defense. She panicked. There's a play that sticks in my mind: the offense, as always, was being rather more methodical than I like, and Jade had the ball with the clock ticking into single digits. At 9 seconds left on the clock, she threw it back out to Aaliyah to reset the offense. You can't do that if you're a senior and the primary scoring option- you have to create, not panic. Another play: late in the game, down four, with the ball, Aaliyah passes to Jade- except Jade ducks out of the way, and Akina's not ready for the pass. Out of bounds, Dukes' ball, essentially game over. If Jade wants that Big East trophy to stay in a monogamous relationship with her, she better step her game up.
Officiating, as always, was inconsistent, but we've come to expect that. I think it flipped in the third and fourth quarters, but that could just be one team adjusting and one team not.
We've got to work on coordinating crowd noise between cheer and dance. The two sides of the gym aren't in sync, and we've got to work out some way of fixing that.
It was good to see all the usual suspects, and RedZone made a good showing of themselves in the endcourt. They better be back on Sunday night- Miami is no joke.