Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall withstood a midgame run from Fairfield and reestablished control in the second half to run away with a 74-44 win. Desiree Elmore led the Pirates with 18 points and 14 rebounds, one of five Seton Hall players to score in double figures. Katie Armstrong and Rachel Hakes each had nine points to lead the Stags.
For all the trains, taking small ball to extremes, saying hello to old friends, fighting for the blue and white, and the hope of the future, join your intrepid and restless blogger after the jump.
Good morning! Okay, I'm lying, it's never a good morning when I have to set the alarm on a weekend. Okay, I'm also lying; it's always a good morning when there's basketball, even when it takes three hours to get out to Seton Hall for a morning tip. I am not a morning person. I'm not sure how the Hall is managing, although we suspect highly caffeinated drinks are involved somehow.
We come to you starting at the end of the first quarter, where Seton Hall leads Fairfield 24-9. Desiree Elmore has gotten off to a hot stat for the Pirates, with buckets and good passing. Katie Armstrong for the Stags seems to like the glass.
Fairfield seems to have traveled a decent amount of family.
Beautiful anthem to start the game.
(Part of) why Selena Philoxy is my favorite Pirate: her energy and enthusiasm in the pregame. Which is to say, she has better dance moves than some of the Saphs.
The importance of passing on traditions to the next generation: watching one of the assistants teach Mya Jackson the choreography to “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
33-21 Seton Hall at halftime, so if you're doing the math at home, that means Fairfield won the second quarter. I can't imagine Coach Bozzella is happy with this. This game may well be decided by the reserves; Shadeen Samuels has three fouls for the Hall and both Lou Lopez-Senechal and Katie Armstrong have three fouls for the Stags. (The third came on an offensive foul where she acted very indignant about the audacity of the officials for calling her hitting Shadeen in the face. DO NOT HIT SHADEEN IN THE FACE.)
There was a teddy bear toss at halftime. It was exactly as cute as you imagined it. Kiabear has found a new home.
We're good at getting out of trouble- finding shots when the dribble has been picked up, scrambling for loose balls, recovering errant passes. The problem is that we're awfully good at getting into trouble in the first place. Fairfield is starting to exploit that, and using Molly Bauer's height to take advantage of our lack thereof. In that regard, the big guns' foul trouble might be a blessing in disguise for the Stags.
(Wait, shouldn't they be the Does? Because aren't Stags male? If you're going to use gendered names, go all the way.)
I forgot just how hard these bleachers are. Ow.
57-37 SHU at the end of the third quarter, which is somewhat of a relief. The quarter break shooting contest is actually pretty neat- instead of dress-and-dribble, this time it was “stand behind the prize and win it if you hit the shot”. So you still get the gear but you get to choose and have more chances.
I don't understand why we're throwing passes over Lauren Park-Lane's head. It's not like we're particularly used to having tall guards. For some reason- I can't quite put my finger on it- Tony has a thing for small guards.
Fairfield is not a particularly talented team, from what I saw of this game. But they're well coached and know how to exploit weaknesses. Team comes at them with small posts? Run screens with your big combo forwards to create brutal mismatches and use your taller reserves. Clog the paint to take away drives. That kind of thing.
Andrea Hernangomez has rather more confidence in her shot than I would in her shoes, based on today's game. I thought she might have done better getting closer to the basket than she did cranking threes. Mackenzie Martin saw time in the fourth quarter- her teammates were very excited when she got a layup near the end of the game. I wasn't sure why her face was so flushed, but it was startling, to say the least. Eden Nibbelink got the short end of the stick on at least one call, where it looked like she took a hit to the face and ended up having the foul called on her. She seemed inoffensive out there.
Molly Bauer was a game-changer, and I suspect that's why she started the second half in place of Callie Cavanaugh. She took a couple of possessions to find her footing, but once she did, she hit the glass and freed up Fairfield's offense. I know it doesn't show up in the stat sheet, but she had a major impact on the game when Fairfield made their run. Ciara Bracken's shot releases pretty quickly, but I'm not sure about her range. It seemed like she was taking shots she couldn't hit.
Callie Cavanaugh showed a propensity for taking perimeter shots and admiring them. They were not worth the admiration. She was more successful when she got closer to the basket, and when she was not committing push-off fouls against smaller defenders. (Seriously, guys. How did Lauren end up stuck on her?) She was the player who came off the bench in the second half when Bauer moved into the starting lineup. Katie Armstrong's fondness for the glass extended throughout the game and throughout her entire shooting range- she seemed to be trying to use it both on her drives and her jumpers. I did not like her tendency to extend the forearm, nor did I appreciate her protestations of innocence when the refs caught her. For a senior, she didn't demonstrate a good ability to play through foul trouble. Lou Lopez-Senechal got into foul trouble very early on, and I think it threw her off her rhythm. She never seemed to get going. She did face some defensive pressure, but I don't think that was as much of a factor.
Around the second elbow Rachel Hakes threw, I decided I didn't like her. Her driving ability is good, and she had good hands on defense, but either she's careless or she's dirty, and I don't have to like either of those things. Sam Kramer took threes and missed threes. She had some very nice steals, though. She played hard on the ball.
I don't think this is the best team Fairfield's ever had, but I'd say they'll beat at least two teams they have no right on paper to beat, just from execution and game-planning. The runs in the second and third quarter demonstrated that, when the Stags had the deficit down to single digits.
Everyone wearing blue in the building wanted Victoria Keenan to hit that three near the end of the game, and it was a good look. Alexia Allesch, to my surprise, came up with a resounding block in her brief time at the end of the game. If she's decided to use her height this year, I'm intrigued. (My impression of her from the scouting report was that she was one of those tall players who likes to park on the perimeter. They're more common these days, and I know it's an important change in the game, but like many things in this life, that doesn't mean I have to like it.) Kailah Harris's goggles are at least interesting, even if she doesn't seem to be ready for rotation minutes just yet.
Selena Philoxy brings a lot of energy to the floor. I know that's a cliché, but Selena has done the impossible and made Tony Bozzella no longer the most animated person on his own team. When that kind of energy is successful, she's grabbing or causing rebounds for her team and making defensive stops. When it isn't successful, she racks up fouls like they were on sale and ends up taking the ball out of bounds. She's frenetic, and sometimes she's frustrating, but she's still my current fave. Mya Jackson found her shooting touch in the second half, swishing threes with the greatest of ease. Freshman fouls were a theme in this game, and she was guilty of a couple of those. She'll learn, though. I think. Jasmine Smith, on the other hand, is a junior college transfer from a notable program. I expect her not to be committing blatant touch fouls. It seemed like she got going more in the second half too, but I'm not sure if that was a function of minute allocation, Fairfield's defense starting to suffer, or her making adjustments. More study will be required.
I have very much missed cheering Alexis Lewis's three-point shots and tough rebounding. I didn't miss watching her line up at the four against much more physical players. I certainly think having her line up at five on defense is an even terribler idea. It is, in fact, such a terrible idea that it breaks the laws of grammar. We'll get into the particulars of the undersized lineup later. Shadeen Samuels picked up three fouls in the first half, which was sort of a blessing because it reduced her minute load. (I'm still not sure about that charge.) Her shots were not going down in this game, and I don't know if it was a problem with her mechanics or Fairfield's defense or just dumb luck. Sometimes the ball be that way. Desiree Elmore started the game on fire and kept it up pretty much throughout. Her midrange game was a thing of beauty, and she brought a combination of force and finesse to the three that Fairfield really couldn't counter unless they were just throwing bodies at her.
I was not enthused with Barbara Johnson's shot selection, or the quantity thereof. It seemed like she was taking a lot of stupid threes, but the box score is telling me otherwise. I'm not sure what to make of that. Maybe she just had a bad game. I think I need to see more of her to get a better handle on who she is as a player. I love how Lauren Park-Lane handles herself on the floor. There are certain names you don't bandy about lightly as comparisons at Seton Hall, and she definitely has to be more of a scoring threat before we can really have this conversation, but yes, I'm going to say it: she does remind me of Didi Simmons. For a more down-to-earth but probably also more contentious comparison, she also reminds me of Aaliyah Lewis from St. John's. She doesn't quite have the full air of command yet, but she's also a freshman, and she's most of the way there. I need her to not commit stupid fouls on three-point shots that have already been released, and I'm going to need her shooting to be better. Those are things that can be fixed, and fortuitously, Didi herself is on our bench these days. If anyone can unlock that sort of potential in Lauren, it would be her.
So, the undersized lineup. We have height. It's just on the bench for various and sundry reasons. Femi Funeus is still recovering from her season-ending injury last year and was in sweats. Whitney Howell was inconsistent as all getout last year and was a DNP-CD in this game. Kailah Harris saw only garbage time and needs time to adjust to the college game. Selena Philoxy is way too foul-prone to be a starter. So we end up running a front line of 5-10/5-10/6-0, and anyone with size is going to take advantage of that. I don't have an issue with Shadeen taking the opening tip. I do have an issue with either her or Lexi guarding the other team's center. If we're gambling on Femi being ready to hit the ground running, that's a heck of a gamble. I'd rather see improvement come from our other posts. The bigs need to get their act together, or Coach Bozzella needs to trust them to play through their mistakes in non-conference games against lower-level opponents. If it means only beating Fairfield by 20 instead of 30, so be it.
Officiating was mostly inoffensive. They called most of the elbows and only really inserted themselves into the action in the third quarter with a flurry of touch fouls and the occasional strict travel. I thought we got away with some stuff; I thought Fairfield got away with slightly less stuff.
I don't know if Whitney Howell grabbed the "Morning Madness" shirt by accident or as commentary on the 11AM tip time, but I feel you, Whit. I feel you. So do the circles under my eyes.
It sounded like cheer was working in some new chants. I don't like them. If you want the crowd to get involved, you have to keep them simple and easy to follow. (On the other hand, don't be Fordham and just not bother.)
There are a couple of pieces missing to this Pirate puzzle. We'll have to see how it all comes together as the season progresses.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
November 9th, 2019: Fairfield at Seton Hall
Thursday, February 8, 2018
February 8th, 2018: Fairfield at Iona
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Despite a strong fourth-quarter push, the Iona Gaels fell 78-68 to the Fairfield Stags. Khadidiatou Diouf started off strong for Fairfield, with 12 of her 20 points in the first half, but it was Samantha Cooper who led the way and shut the door, leading the Stags with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Alexis Lewis led Iona with 21 points.
For three-point shooting, running low on gas, starting to dislike the county, late arrivals, early departures, the travails of youth, and running out of words, join your intrepid and shell-shocked blogger after the jump.
It's entirely too early for this, but I'm doing it anyway, because despite all their efforts, I still do love Iona. So I'm currently on an uptown 6 train in the Bronx. It's 8:42 AM. I've been up since 6:30 and traveling since 7. This probably means I shouldn't be dealing with small humans, but it's Kids' Day against Fairfield, so dealing with small humans is inevitable. I brought protein bars, though, so I probably won't eat them.
Taking the 6 to Pelham Bay Park to catch the 45 is a constant exercise in counting, balancing the number of stops left with when the bus leaves. Eleven stops in thirty-three minutes seems doable, but those are famous last words.
If they're holding a Kids' Day and only half a dozen schools are coming, I reserve the right to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. I mean, I don't mind having the elbow room, and I can't do weeknight games, but still. It's just silly.
Welp, not only do I not see Tori Lesko, I don't see Jayden Eggleston. Maybe it's not time to panic yet; Iona can be cagey about injured players sometimes. But it would fit the pattern of this season for Jayden to break out and then either get injured or disappear in a puff of smoke. Okay, there's Tori, but that makes the lack of Jayden even more disturbing.
Things I miss about being in with the in crowd (aka the ops people who get things done): not fighting with the wi-fi because I had the password. But that was a long time ago and probably two computers in the past.
There are not nearly enough Gaels here. At least Jayden is present and accounted for.
At halftime, it's 35-27 Fairfield. It could have been worse, but Jayden had the presence of mind to throw up a three at the buzzer; even though she missed the shot, she drew the foul on Khadidiatou Diouf and got two of the three free throws. Diouf has 12 points for the Stags, 10 in the first quarter; she was pretty much going bucket for bucket with Iona by herself for stretches. Toyosi Abiola has 11 to lead the Gaels. Things might get better when we actually get more than three minutes out of Trey Clay.
We have a dance performance from one of the campus dance groups. It seems like fun. It finally occurred to me sometime in the third quarter that BSU probably stands for Black Student Union and the performance was vaguely related to Black History Month.
Trumpet solo anthem. Started strong, but lost breath in the middle. He got through it, but I think it would have been better with the whole band.
And now one of the school groups is doing a step performance. I don't know how I feel about middle school step teams; good stepping takes a lot of synchronization and a lot of time to learn, but these kids aren't bad.
Okay, putting up with several hundred kids screaming the lyrics to "Let It Go" was worth it for watching Olivia Owens (our freshman with dangerously good taste in numbers) join the singalong, complete with dramatic arm gestures.
Well, I can't say we didn’t have our chances. We had a chance to tie the game in the third quarter and we blew it. We had momentum behind Alexis Lewis and her ridiculous three-point shots, and we couldn't cash in. We ran out of gas. Happens when you don't have a lot of players and a lot of the players you do have are in foul trouble.
For some reason, our PA guy kept pronouncing Kendra Landy's last name like there was an R in it. I understand that Landry is a more common last name, but either that is one funky pronunciation, or our dude didn't get Fairfield's pronunciation guide. She made an impact pretty quickly, laying a block on Toyosi Abiola as one of her first moves. She always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Kristen McLaughlin lists as a guard, but more often than not she was subbing for one of the forwards. She brings a lot of length off the bench. I don't honestly remember much of what Sam Lewis did.
(I'm sorry. I'm not in a good mental place right now, especially in terms of women's basketball and Westchester County. I have a semi-professional obligation, but these are not going to be my finest game notes.)
Macey Hollenshead seemed to get the benefit of the doubt an awful lot of the time from the ref, especially when she hit the floor. That should not have been a charge on Toyosi. Casey Foley argued with a lot of the calls on her. Yes, Casey, sometimes you commit fouls. It happens. Sam Kramer was efficient from the elbow, though full disclosure forces me to admit that I kept getting their Sams and Samanthas mixed up, at least the short ones.
But this game was about the bigs for Fairfield. Khadidiatou Diouf took over in the first half with nice moves in the paint, including a beautiful baby hook that took my breath away. Long-time readers know of my infatuation with Elena Baranova and her hook shot, and that I am always a sucker for hook shots. But the one who stepped up every single time the Gaels got momentum going, the one who shut down every "DE-FENSE!" chant that the crowd tried to start, the one who killed us in the paint and even stepped outside for shots, was Samantha Cooper. She's got touch, she's got toughness, and she's got good size. We couldn't stay on her, even when we had a roving double keying on her. She's a gamer. Not much you can do about that.
You know what happens when you're in the intentional foul derby and four of your top six players have four fouls? Absurdity happens. The final couple of minutes of play-by-play are undoubtedly filled with subs. I think Coach may have waited too long to press the panic button and bring in Tilasha Okey-Williams; T's only job was to make sure that Jayden wasn't on the floor to pick up her fifth foul. We could have used some of her offense. Kristin Mahoney looked tentative on offense, almost like she wanted to call her own number but couldn't quite do it. And then at the end of the game, when it was intentional foul time, she thought it was a good plan to just give a good hard tug on the back of her opponent's jersey. That earned a video review and an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. Admittedly, it was weak, but you have to at least be pretending to go for the ball on that play. If you yank the jersey in front of two refs and a savvy veteran coach like Frager, you're not gonna get the benefit of the doubt.
Amelia Motz showed a whole lot of moxie on the offensive glass, charging in after missed shots like there was no tomorrow. Someone's got to do something with her shooting motion, though, especially on free throws; she puts way too much spin and not enough follow-through on the shot, and it goes wherever it wants, which may or may not be where Amelia wants it to go. She had better luck driving the lane and putting up lay-ups. Alexis Lewis started bombing threes in the second half, including one from the A in the giant Iona logo at center court, so a fair 27 or so feet out. I love to watch her shoot. I think she started running out of gas in the fourth quarter, though- she looked like she wanted a chance to get out of the game and Coach Chambers didn't think she could afford to give it to her.
Rebekah Justice couldn't get going, both in the sense of momentum and in the sense of actual literal motion. We needed her size to counter Diouf and Cooper, but she simply couldn't keep up with them, and they went around her like a stream going around a rock. I don't blame Coach Chambers for not starting her in the second half. She's got nice touch around the basket if she wants to use it, but she's too enamored with her outside shot for my liking. Treyanna Clay doesn't go up as high as her teammates think she does, but she's a fighter in the paint. She was swarmed by the Fairfield defense in the second half, getting doubled and tripled. I think it wore her down in the end. Jayden Eggleston brought rebounding, but a bit of timidity on the offensive end. I'm not thrilled with her taking shots just over the three-point line, either- either step back and take the three, or step forward and take a better-percentage shot. But she's a freshman. She'll learn.
Toyosi Abiola was on fire in the first half, but ran out of gas in the second. You could tell she was leaving shots short and not getting enough elevation. She had a crossover move that backed her opponent up so far that the kids were oohing and aahing. She hasn't put all the pieces together at once yet, but she's a freshman. That's been one of the only things getting me through this season, to be honest. They're so young, and yet next year they'll get Tori back (I'm almost certain she's going to redshirt this year, there's no reason to bring her back and I'm pretty sure she's missed enough games). I think they'll win more than one game next year. Well, if we bring in a point guard. We don't really have anyone on the roster who fits that role well. Adrienne DiGioia's still struggling to find where she fits, and I think Coach Chambers is losing patience with her.
We gave it everything we had to make it a game again. I know I've overplayed the "fight the good fight" line, but that's Iona's motto and it sure seems to be this team's philosophy. Even when they're down big they never give up.
I swear the oldest of the three refs thought the kids were there to see him, the way he was blowing his whistle on even the slightest contact. Dude. Staaaaaaaahp.
I do like how Iona organizes the group exodus, by bringing up one bus at a time.
Admittedly, I'm a little disappointed that this wasn't an autograph day, the way so many Kids' Days are at Iona, but it is what it is. I guess I'll have to wait until next year to ask Rebekah Justice where she stands on the Becky nickname. (It's a Rebecca thing, no matter how we spell it. We all seem to either embrace it or hate it.)
Monday, December 11, 2017
December 10th, 2017: Fairfield at LIU
Just the Facts, Ma’am: Free throws were the difference in Fairfield’s closely contested win over LIU, 76-72. Tyler Nelson scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half to lead the Stags. Joel Hernandez’s 23 points led the Blackbirds, who shot 25-37 from the line.
For missed shots, hammering home the point, a blown dunk, so very many fouls, and forcing the offense, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
On to the second half of the show, which pits the LIU men against the Stags of Fairfield. A surprising number of people are leaving, though I think that might have to do with group sales.
The LIU men like to practice in their undershirts, and I am perfectly okay with this. I’m not quite old enough for it to be creepy yet, so I’m going to continue ogling biceps, if that’s okay with you.
Poor Fairfield equipment manager. Half a dozen basketballs have escaped, and he seems to be the only person in charge of wrangling them back into the rack. Don’t be messy, y’all.
The LIU men have the hooded warm-up shirts, and the way the colors are done on them, with a white top and black base, is very interesting.
It is 36-35 Fairfield at halftime, in a game that has been close but not necessarily good. Joel Hernandez has the points for LIU with 11. Ferron Flavors Jr. has been a scoring spark off the bench for the Stags with 10.
I don’t like kids and don’t plan to have them, so my advice may not be the best, but two adults to eight children, including two babies under a year old, does not seem like a good ratio. The people in front of them, who were getting hit with glowsticks, would certainly agree with that assessment.
I feel like Fairfield is showing us up somehow by wearing all black. Even their coaches are in black. Excuse me, but which of our teams goes by Blackbirds?
Dear Blackbirds: I don’t know you particularly well, but I know the band director and the band like to yell “Free throws win ball games!” before every free throw, and this is advice you should have taken even more than usual today. I don’t know that y’all deserved to win the game, but going 25-37 from the line is a pretty good sign that you deserved to lose.
I don’t know if Thomas Nolan is a human victory cigar or if Fairfield’s coach wanted to have a fresh set of fouls on the floor in the final few seconds, but I think he got maybe ten seconds of playing time. Omar El-Sheikh was inserted briefly in the first half, but I don’t think Fairfield’s coach was happy with the foul he committed (I think it was either a shooting foul on a shot that he had no chance of contesting, or a three-shot foul, the latter of which is the quickest way I can think of to infuriate a coach). I don’t think he went back into the game in the second half.
Kevin Senghore-Peterson was tough on the glass, but on two different occasions was very much the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time- once on a rebound, once on a blown dunk. (He was not afraid to voice his frustration with the latter, using language I try to avoid in this blog.) He had good looks and missed them, but I like his rebounding and his shoulders. Ferron Flavors Jr. was an offensive catalyst in the first half, but saw less time in the second and thus did less damage. I like his jumper. Wassef Methnani slid inside for rebounds, but mostly fouls. There were a lot of fouls. He finished well at the rim.
I also liked the shot of Matija Milin, who got off to a good early start, but ran into a spate of foul trouble in the second half and was rendered less effective thereby. Jonathan Kasibabu was physical on the inside, though we didn’t see him for long stretches because, you guessed it, foul trouble. I feel like a broken record, but three Stags fouled out of this game and another guy got four. I’m not sure it’s being a broken record at that point.
Jesus Cruz got a couple of shots to drop that I would probably call prayers if I didn’t think that was a cheesy pun even by my low standards. Big dude for a guard- he seemed about as tall and more strongly built than Milin, who lists as a forward. Tyler Nelson got ball-hungry in the second half, which had its advantages for Fairfield (he hit a couple of shots that put them up for good) and for ill (he had the ball near the end of the game and ended up committing a shot clock violation that could have put LIU back in the game). I got a bad first impression of him because pretty much the first thing he did was miss a shot and act like he’d been pushed down by a gale force wind at the first sign of contact. Y’all know how much I love simulation. But I’ll grant that he’s a gamer. Jerome Segura quietly went about his business, hitting lay-ups in the lane and making good passes. He was understated, but in the right spot at the right time most of the time. I like guys like that.
Fairfield played physical, though not as one-sidedly so as the foul calls would make you believe. They seemed to be making more mistakes than LIU, but they were able to hit their shots and their free throws, and that made the difference.
For LIU, Eral Penn was mostly in at the end of halves, and it looked like his job was to make sure the star players didn’t get hurt in the waning minutes. Jamall Robinson got run in the first half, and a little bit in the second, very late. I think he took one of the late fouls. Raul Frias shot threes, and there was one play after which he was so disappointed that he let loose a short, angry four-letter word that I could hear in the fourteenth or so row. Julius van Sauers played a lot less than I thought- he was sort of the Swiss army knife of substitutions, going in for everyone (but mostly the frontcourt, such as it was). He should have gotten credit for a putback, but the scorer determined that it went in the first time from
Zach Coleman cleared the glass well, but I don’t think we saw a lot of him in the second half. Either that, or that’s when he went invisible. Many things are possible, especially when your intrepid blogger hasn’t had a lot of time to work on game notes and there were no seats on the train. Raiquan Clark was rock solid on the inside, hitting shots in the lane and getting a nice steal that led to a basket. Big dude with a nice versatile skill set, who didn’t seem to be trying to force as much as some of his teammates were.
Joel Hernandez seems pretty tall and pretty solidly built for a guard. There were times when I thought he was forcing too much on offense, taking shots that weren’t necessarily the best ones and didn’t play to his strengths. I will say, though, when the threes went down, they were pretty- I just think he was pressing a bit, trying to make things happen that just weren’t happening. Julian Batts was okay for much of the game, then decided to do something stupid and continue shoving Tyler Nelson after the whistle, whereupon he picked up both the common and the technical foul, going from two fouls to four in the blink of an eye, and that was the last we saw of him until near the end of the game, when his offense was needed. Jashaun Agosto did a nice job of getting to the line, and for the most part did a nice job of converting there. There were times when I felt that he too was trying to create something that just wasn’t going to happen in the face of Fairfield’s defense.
LIU’s coach seems kind of loud, and a little bit angry. I don’t know if I can blame him, especially if this game was indicative of how they play in general. There seemed to be too many guys looking for their own shot and their own way to score, and not enough guys looking to pass to teammates. It’s a team game, and while explosive scorers who create offense only for themselves are fun to watch when they’re winning, they’re not nearly as fun to watch when they’re losing (and I suspect coaches don’t think they’re fun at all).
During the first half, I swear to you there was one official who seemed determined to single-handedly prove that travels are in fact called in men’s basketball. He calmed down a little bit on that front. While I wouldn’t exactly hold this game up as a shining exemplar of officiating, it wasn’t as bad as I was used to, and I still don’t know why the LIU fans were giving the refs hell on one call at the end of the game, when it looked like they got exactly what they wanted.
Maybe it’s just a small crowd in a large arena, but it really didn’t get loud until the very end, and even then that mostly seemed to be directed at the officials.
I should get used to these guys. LIU plays a lot of doubleheaders, so I’m going to be seeing a lot of them.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
February 19th, 2017: Fairfield at Iona
Just the Facts, Ma’am: Iona finished strong behind solid performances from their seniors and a sophomore’s star turn, claiming the Senior Day win over Fairfield, 65-55. Alexis Lewis led all scorers with 21 in the win, with Karynda DuPree (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Marina Lizarazu (12 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds) shining on their day. Casey Smith led Fairfield with 18 points in the loss.
For tears, translations, framed jerseys, slick passing, putting the dance back in dance team, wardrobe commentary, and the long way around, join your intrepid and achey blogger after the jump.
These were supposed to be the GNoD for Fordham’s Senior Day against Dayton. But it turns out Iona’s Senior Day celebrations are being done at their next to last home game, because it was easier to get Marina Lizarazu’s family in from Spain for today instead of for Wednesday. And to be frank, I’d rather watch Iona than Fordham. (And to be even more frank, Coach Godsey reached out to us first to let us know.) So we’ll be passing through the Bronx instead of stopping there.
Sure, now that we’re going to our more far-flung outposts, the MTA decides to do work on the J train and throw our travel plans into shambles. Sure. I mean, the J train does need work, and it’s nice to see them finally taking care of the brown lines, but the timing probably could have been better.
Welp. We were running short on time anyway, and the 6 train stopping and starting like a bad webcast has ensured that we’re not going to make the bus to Iona. It’ll be cab time, which I didn’t want to do, but these are the things we do for our teams, and I probably should have left the house earlier anyway. Moral of the story: trains are stupid. I’m amused that we keep ending up with the same cab driver. (Roosevelt is an uncommon enough first name that it sticks in the mind.)
Iona has the pale pink BHA shirts, but the Iona College motto of “Fight The Good Fight” actually works in this context.
This is going to be a double-header with the men, so it’s being taken fairly seriously. The student section has been taped off, and I suspect they’re enforcing ticket locations in the chairback seating.
I don’t recognize any of the people around us. I hope they understand that we’re behind the Iona bench. This seems to be a recurring theme with fans from Connecticut schools- they insist on sitting in the section where their team is warming up, even though people who know the game should know that you warm up at the basket you’re going to use in that half, and that’s almost always the basket in front of the opposing bench.
We have spotted flowers and framed jerseys.
The awkward part of sharing facilities is when you come up the stairs and smack into the middle of a baseball team meeting.
O HAI DERE. Look, I can totally window-shop, okay? And a very cute young man just sat in the row in front of me. There’s a non-zero possibility he’s Marina Lizarazu’s brother, though, and I don’t want to get that involved with my teams.
Heh. Cheerleader dancing just a little bit to the background music. She’s the only one.
Senior Day punched me in the heart with feelings, as one would expect. Iona followed the tradition set by Coach Godsey’s predecessor and presented flowers to the three Fairfield seniors. The two senior players got their NCAA tournament jerseys as their framed jerseys, which I thought was a really nice touch. (The really cute guy is definitely Marina’s brother. Her younger brother. Which means he is entirely too young for me. But he is cute.)
At halftime, it’s 27-24 Iona, behind a 10/10 double-double from Karynda DuPree and 11 points (including three threes) from Alexis Lewis. Fairfield’s offense seems really disorganized- when they get ball movement, they get buckets, but too often they seem to be trying to go one-on-one, which is not smart against Iona’s defense. Our defense as a team isn’t great, but we have good individual defenders, and the upperclassmen know how to provide help at the right times.
There are two guys behind us who seem to be behind the wrong bench. My dude, you are not supposed to cheer for the opposing team behind the home bench. It is rude.
What a finishing kick by the Gaels! I thought Fairfield had us dead to rights after that third-quarter run, but I think the buzzer-beating bucket by Amelia Motz was a momentum swinger and a game changer. The Gaels finished strong and made the right plays at the right time (though is there a wrong time to make the right play?)
(Just to show how tired and fried I am, I almost typed Sacred Heart in the last paragraph, before remembering that, no, that was yesterday’s Senior Day.)
Coach Frager seemed to be experimenting more with his bench in the first half, as if he were trying to see who could contribute and who couldn’t on this given day. So we saw Macey Hollenshead at guard and Nicole Bus at forward very briefly. Neither made a huge impact; the only reason I even noticed Hollenshead was the foul she committed during her second-quarter run.
Sam Kramer had a cheering section in the section across from the visiting bench; they had “GO SAM” placards that they raised whenever she came into the game. Since she was being used as the offensive half of what seemed to be an offense-defense switch with Casey Foley, the placards went up fairly often. She hit a three off a tough screen from Kristine Miller (I thought the screen was borderline- she didn’t move, but her form was all knees and elbows and very loose). Miller either had more trust from her coach, or he didn’t care if she got in foul trouble as much as he did about Kelsey Carey- when Carey picked up two fouls in the first quarter, it was off to the bench with her, but when Miller picked up two first quarter fouls, she stayed in and ended up picking up her third in the second. She’s tough.
Casey Foley was aggressive on defense. Iona telegraphed their passes too much around her, and her quick hands made us pay. Do not pass the ball to players who don’t play for your team. I should really remember more about Kendra Landy, since she played almost the entire game. I think she was another defensively aggressive guard who got all up on Iona’s ill-advised passes.
Casey Smith had herself quite the fourth quarter. She has a really nice array of turnaround moves and hook shots, and if she could hit any of them consistently she would proably be at a higher level than the MAAC. The moves are beautiful, but the execution was inconsistent. I was impressed with her, and the way she imposed her will on the Iona defense. Samantha Cooper cleaned up on the glass and hit from outside. We didn’t match up with her well. The puck luck was not with Kelsey Carey today; she had several shots spin in and out, including some that took strange bounces.
Fairfield came out in the second half much more focused on defense- their hands were more active early in the third quarter. But I don’t think they were able to sustain that energy, and Iona was able to withstand the surge.
Tori Lesko isn’t going to have as much of an impact on the box score as she did on the game. I’m starting to dig that that she’s hard to measure. But she scrapped for loose balls, and she has a passing flair that even our guards can’t match. Tori loves the lookaways and the spin-o-ramas, and there are going to be a lot of days when that makes me want to throw things, and there are going to be a lot of days where that gets the crowd on its feet. Kristin Mahoney was the sub for Marina Lizarazu’s exiting ovation, and she got free throws out of it. Ashley Martin got some brief run in the first half, and almost managed to screw up a fast break, except that she had a teammate back to help.
As Tori’s hit the rookie wall, Amelia Motz has risen. She had two big shots to beat the buzzer, one at the end of the third and one in the fourth at the end of the shot clock. She brought a lot of energy and hustle to the floor. She had a great defensive stand in the first half where she single-handedly turned away a Fairfield 3-on-1 fastbreak. Alexis Lewis brought the fire from outside. Strangely enough, she seems to shoot better from the basket opposite the visiting bench than she does the one in front of the home bench. So she’ll have a great first half but maybe cool down in the second half. She’s just so fun to watch. Everyone should get to see one of her good games. Marina Lizarazu wasn’t hitting early, but she hit big shots late, and she brought the flash with her passing. I think she was tight early because her family was there.
Karynda DuPree owned the boards early on. She got softer on defense as the game wore on- there was a sequence where she backed off on defense and ended up forcing Treyanna Clay into a situation where she had to foul. I’d like to see her finish more consistently, but at this point there’s only so much I can ask for. Karynda’s a senior in her last year of eligibility; there’s only so much more I can ask of her. I can ask for more out of Treyanna, though, since she’s a sophomore and she seems to have regressed from last year. She has to finish at the rim, and someone needs to work with her on defensive positioning. She was frustrating this game, and it’s not the first time I’ve thought that of her this season.
I really love these kids. I think they have the potential to do great things, though maybe not this year, and even when they’re not doing great things they’re a blast to watch.
It was good to hear the band getting into the game. This team deserves that kind of support.
Officiating was nothing to write home about, which I guess is a plus.
Shoutout to one of my favorite DOBOs and the blue dress she was rocking.
I know I’ll see this team again, but that doesn’t make the emotional impact of the day hurt any less. They just matter so much, you know?
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
December 22nd, 2015: Fairfield at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Storm's star guards came up big in their win over Fairfield. Aliyyah Handford had a game-high 22 points and six assists to go with seven rebounds, while Danaejah Grant had 16 points and eight rebounds. Casey Smith had 15 to lead the Stags.
For exhaustion, bad fiscal decisions, where did I put that Diet Coke, embarrassing shooting, speedy guards, Aliyyah's smile, and color matches, join your intrepid and baked-out blogger after the jump. Want a cookie?
It's too early for this. Whoever had the idea to have a basketball game at 2PM on a Tuesday the week of Christmas, thus ensuring that no one would be available to show up, should be keel-hauled. I'm here because I had vacation days left, but I was literally the first person in the stands and there are currently a grand total of four ticketholders in the building.
Liyyah decided to give us a scare by coming out late for warm-ups, but it was just a small medical issue. Kind of curious why she had to put the gloves on, but that's none of my business.
On top of everything else, today is Ugly Sweater Day, so everyone on staff is wearing Christmas sweaters ranging to the cutesy to OH GOD IS THAT ONE FLASHING. Ugly Sweater Day is a proud St. John's tradition, but if you're going to do it, do it on a day when people will show up. Which is not three days before Christmas in the afternoon.
Our gray is really too dark to be a home uniform. Technically, Fairfield's red is brighter.
All right, jerk with the dual Fairfield and Ohio State stickers in the rear window who was standing in the bus when the Q30 came in, you better be coming to the game. I mean, the Fairfield sticker gave away your loyalties and the Ohio State sticker was your jerk stamp, did you have to put the cherry on top by standing in the bus stop with a bus coming up your tailpipe?
Hello, dude in Michigan sweatshirt. Did Kim send you as a spy? Wait, that sounds too antagonistic.
Mom, it takes more than an hour to Jamaica from Park Slope, trust me on this one.
I don't think Sandra Udobi's playing today. She looks so forlorn. :( Sandie.
There's a woman here in a volleyball hoodie who appears to be a VIP. She approves of the flag. The flag is worth approving of.
After a bit of a rough start, St. John's is up 36-23, and it's clear, at least to me, that Joe Tartamella is using this game to see what his bench has to offer. The guards are looking good. Aliyyah Handford is doing Aliyyah things in the lane. Seriously, her Senior Day write-up is going to be epic.
Danaejah Grant was honored pregame for hitting 1K. Do ya thing, Nae.
That felt like it was closer than it needed to be, but at the same time, the bench got more extensive minutes than usual, and not just because Sandie DND. I think Joe felt it was more important to see what the reserves had to offer than it was to dominate the Stags, and I think he's right.
Sarah Stock was an emergency call-up when Casey Foley fouled out late in the game. Foley herself was defensively pesky. Kendra Landy saw brief minutes in the third quarter- I think she might have been the one who came in when Lizzy Ball started picking up fouls. Helena Orts came in briefly in relief of (I think) Smith near the end of the game. She and Khadidiatou Diouf both brought length, and when they were both in the game, there were a lot of long arms in the air blocking the passing lanes. Kristine Miller seemed to have a knack for being in good places defensively, though the box score doesn't help her. You'll just have to take my word for it that the Fairfield defense seemed better with her on the floor.
I love what Lizzy Ball brings to the table. She's super speedy- I've never seen anyone keep pace with Aaliyah Lewis the way she did. She's not the world's greatest shooter, although she did some work on that front in the second quarter, but she can change the game with her speed and her work on defense. I honestly don't remember much about Kristen McLaughlin- it seemed like they were going with Ball and Foley in the backcourt for much of the second half.
Kristin Schatzlein had a lot of open looks and took advantage of them- they didn't necessarily go in a lot, but she had them and they were good. Same for Kelsey Carey, sho also contributed on the boards with a nice move in the third quarter, moving around three Johnnies to get to it. Casey Smith did the down low and the dirty work, which makes her sound worse than she was- I like players who aren't afraid to do the things that don't get in box scores, and she was setting picks and making space for her teammates all day. She has a super fast shot at the line. I think she might have been studying tapes of Rick Barry or something. She wasn't quite under-handed, but she dipped a little low on them.
Fairfield was really good at getting into the passing lane and scoring clean interceptions. They recognized how much we like to drive the baseline and put a lot of bodies in the paint to block those passes.
O HAI SOX. Tamesha Alexander got to run the offense near the end of both halves. I thought she did all right for herself- would love to see a +/- for this game to confirm that. She's gotta work on her free throws, though. (So do all of our players, though.) Crystal Simmons brought some athletic moves and some defense, and then hit two funky-looking threes, the second one about when I had just commented about her offensive limitations. I like when players prove me wrong in a positive manner.
Some nice rebounding from Jordan Agustus off the bench today. She seems to be settling in a little bit. I'd really like for Akina Wellere to stop being terrified to shoot- I counted three occasions where she backed out of a shot that was in her normal sweet spot. She's got such a pretty shot, and I'd love to see more of it.
Imani Littleton still needs a lot of work knowing where she's supposed to be in offensive and defensive schemes, but she's improving, and so is her rebounding- there was one she fought for in the third quarter in between spurts of Danaejah getting things done, and she got to the line for it. Keep pushing! Keep fighting! She's got the moves in practice- time to see them on the floor, methinks. Jade Walker showed off her shot, as well as a distressing tendency to throw passes to the other team. That is not how anyone should be emulating Eli Manning. I also hate the step-forward two, the bastard sister of the step-back three.
Tiny Aaliyah Lewis is tiny, but she's feisty and fast and defensive-minded, and these are a few of my favorite things. It disturbs me that her shots came up short, but then she hit the three in the fourth quarter, and it might have been near the end of the shot clock, and I'll take it no matter how or when it comes. Danaejah Grant was covered tightly in the first half, then erupted in the third quarter to stretch the lead before Fairfield came back again. Her defense was a bit lackadaisical today. Aliyyah Handford moves like something out of the Matrix, or maybe whichever Terminator it is that turns into liquid. She has frighteningly phenomenal body control. I don't always like the dramatics when she takes contact, but part of me is okay with it, because she does take a lot of contact, and sometimes drama is necessary to make the officials aware that things happen.
(but seriously, Liyyah needs to have a WNBA roster spot this summer, I need to be seeing her play basketball as much as possible, I may be slightly addicted, but she's just so damn fun)
Officiating was all right until around the end of the third quarter, when it looked to be getting a little sloppy. But St. John's got the advantage on most of it, so I'm not going to complain. That would be just silly.
Running a play called "UConn" against a team from Connecticut does not end well- Fairfield got the steal on the play.
I admire Joe for finding an STJ holiday sweater sweatshirt, but it's still an eye-searing thing.
We have to work on clock awareness at the end of quarters. Doesn't help that we had a basket taken off the board, either. I thought Aliyyah was on time, but I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.
Santa Claus went around the arena giving out candy canes. They're in my backpack. He lost the halftime tag team contest, and Johnny Thunderbird was trying to give him a fighting chance by taking a three instead of going for the lay-up... and hit the three on the second or third shot.
I apologize if these notes are terser and less useful than usual. It's been a long day, full of cookies. So many cookies. My blood may have partially transmuted into cookie dough.
Monday, April 14, 2008
December 29th, 2007: Fordham Holiday Invitational
Rose Hill Gym is beautiful, the Fordham Rams need a lot of help, and Fairfield is all over the offensive boards.
Rose Hill Gym is one of the most beautiful places to go see basketball that I've ever been. The whole campus gives the impression of being archetypal: time is immaterial, and the hubbub of the Bronx is left behind, replaced by a hush as the stone buildings and wide spaces absorb the sound. The gym is small, but surprisingly comfortable. One side of the seating offers actual seats, while the endcourts and the side behind the benches offer bleachers. Unsurprisingly, the seats are the most popular.
I don't know if Fordham normally has a band, or if they were at some other event, or they refrained from using theirs to not show up the other teams in this holiday tournament they hosted. Whatever the situation, the music was canned, and not very well piped. They had a half dozen cheerleaders who were as perky as they could be while maintaining the world-weary sense that they weren't leading much at all. The crowd was surprisingly male-dominated, what there was of it- not very loud, except when Fordham (or, for the visiting fans, Fairfield) made a run. I hope they're more enthusiastic when Fordham doesn't suck, because Rose Hill Gym deserves to have passionate fans rocking it.
Mount St. Mary's started off very balanced, providing an interesting counterpoint to Fordham's one-option system, but when they needed someone to step up on offense, it was Lauren Howell, a sniper from New Jersey who looks disconcertingly like Nicole Wolff (and just to confuse matters even further, one of her teammates looks disconcertingly like a shorter, wider Ann Strother). Tiffany Green was their firestarter, a small, quick guard with very good hands on defense- there was one play where Fordham had a sure fast break that she disrupted with a well-timed deflection. She had a tendency to overdramatize contact, which irked me slightly, because Mount St. Mary's really needed no help from the referees that they weren't already getting- for the record, this isn't a slight on the crew, since I thought it was actually a pretty decently called game, but more a reflection of what Fordham seemed to believe was defense. They got some solid post play out of what bigs they had- Mary Dunn (the super-sized Strother) was especially effective, I thought, in getting position and denying the inside to the Rams.
Fordham, on the other hand, relied on freshman phenom Megan Mahoney. She doesn’t look a thing like her namesake in Connecticut, but there are definite similarities in their playing styles. Young Miss Mahoney plays all out all the time- much like the line about Jessica Bibby, she only knows one speed, and that's 90 mph. Sometimes it's to her advantage, such as when she's diving for loose balls or on the fast break. Sometimes it's a disadvantage, such as when she gets ahead of her passing or loses control of the ball. If she can learn to play within herself, to rein in some of that speed and enthusiasm, she can be a prospect, because the girl definitely has game. Of course, judging her solely on a game against Mount St. Mary's isn't fair. She and Raina Spencer did yeoman's work on Brianna Gauthier, who came in as the top scorer for Mount St. Mary's, but only managed five points. The player I really liked was Takita Earl, who had ten rebounds and a gutsy attitude. She needs to be a little more willing to shoot, though- the people next to me were screaming for her to take some of the open outside shots she had. Also, she may be the first player I've ever seen who's developed her upper body but not her lower body- she's very solid up top, but she's got the thinnest little shins I've ever seen on a post player. The not shooting thing, though, that may be a coaching decision, because the other two people in the general vicinity of six feet tall who played also didn't shoot much. (Actually, I liked the third string center, Alex Zamora, more than I liked the second-stringer, Kassie Humphries- I liked her hustle better and she seemed to have a better idea of what she should be doing on the floor.) On the other hand, one of the starting guards… lord, but I have never seen a player as clueless on the floor as Annie Zopf. She had no idea how to get out of a double team, no idea what she was supposed to be doing during some of the plays… when she was in the game, things ground to a halt and everything seemed to go wrong, not just with her, but with everyone else on the floor. I'd love to see her plus/minus…
Fordham seemed to have issues with not committing fouls. They committed a lot of stupid ones, that's for sure. I don't think they were ready for post players who would provide resistance. At 0-11, I'm not sure why…
I found out after getting to the arena that this was a tournament, and thus a doubleheader, which soothed my soul after seeing the ticket prices (yes, I know, historic gym and all, but the price differential between the A-10 and the BEast should be more than $1, yanno?). Good thing I decided to stay for the second game, because Troy and Fairfield provided a much more interesting game to watch.
Bonita, we must stop meeting like this. I'm serious. I'm starting to think either she's stalking me, she thinks I'm stalking her, or we've both decided to tour D-I basketball in the New York metro area. This is, what, the fourth venue I've seen her at this year alone? Sheesh. I didn't recognize any of the other officials.
Rebounding. Holy hell in a handbasket, can Fairfield rebound and create on second chances. According to their recap, they had 27 second chance points. They had 23 offensive rebounds… out of 45 total, and out of 43 missed shots. They just did not give up. I'm pretty sure Baendu Lowenthal got all her points on putbacks, and Stephanie Geehan had to have gotten at least half her points the same way. Sabra Wrice seemed to be their firestarter- she can actually create for herself, which in turn sets up either a scoring opportunity for her or a second chance for her teammates. The only thing that would worry me, were I a fan of Fairfield, was that once you get past that top three or four (if you toss in Tara Flaherty) there wasn't much on the floor for the Stags. Yeah, three solid players will get you past most of Fairfield's schedule, and probably even past most of the MAAC, but I think they'll have trouble with Marist and Iona. That being said, I think Frager can take them pretty far- it'll be interesting if he starts competing with Hartford for UConn's sloppy seconds.
I was primed to absolutely adore Troy. I mean, come on. Five Aussies in one place that isn't Australia. How cool is that? The funny thing is, though, that the player I walked out with an immediate fondness for and interest in was not one of the half dozen "not from these here parts" players, but forward Audrey Muse: if she could hit half the open looks she creates for herself on the inside, she'd probably be playing at Florida or Florida State instead of Troy. Both visually and athletically, she reminds me very much of Tina Thompson- she doesn't have the outside game, but she's a warrior through and through. Oh, I liked the Aussies, or at least hearing the Aussies- there's something very reassuring about that Aussie twang on the floor, like the universe has been rearranged properly- because Amy Lewis has a nice little shot and Kylie Morrissy has a knack for getting to the line. But Troy seems to be a live by the three, die by the three type of team, and when you play a team that rebounds as fiercely as Fairfield did today, you're going to be shit out of luck if the threes don't fall. They played a stubborn, sticky, man-to-man defense- but only on the first opportunities. They didn't go after the boards, and Fairfield took full advantage of that. Their coach also seemed to be trying to channel Geno. This isn't going to be a successful tactic when you play a team from Connecticut. Frager's Thibault-esque cool served much better.
I saw four different possession reversals in this game, and a completely inexplicable shot clock reset that led to a Fairfield shot hitting iron, a Stag getting the offensive rebound, and Sabra Wrice hitting a three-ball. I've never seen so many possessions reversed. Tres strange.
I thought to myself that the female commentator for Fairfield looked awfully familiar. At first I thought Doris Burke was slumming, but then I got a look at her profile and said to myself, "Hey, that looks an awful lot like Maria Conlon. Huh. I thought she was busy in the world of high finance and higher heels." But such is not the case- she might also be in the financial advising business, but she's doing the Fairfield color gig. Can't help but wonder if anyone else there recognized her.
All in all, though, I'd have to say that my favorite player on the day was actually the little girl from the first biddy game who spent much of the first half of Mount St. Mary's-Fordham wandering around the arena with a WNBA tucked under her arm. Woo for the second generation!