Just the Facts, Ma'am: Florida made up all of a 14-point halftime deficit, but the one-two punch of Danaejah Grant and Aliyyah Handford was enough for St. John's to prevail 72-66. Handford finished with 27 points and Grant with 26. Carlie Needles led Florida with 16 points, adding eight rebounds.
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I hate my job. I do not necessarily hate my job because of what it is and what I do, but because I work in the industrial armpit of Queens, which means that if a truck stalls out on either the Grand Avenue Bridge or the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, I end up waiting 40 minutes in the cold for a bus and thus missing most of the first half of the St. John's game.
At halftime, it's 40-26 St. John's over Florida. That's the good news for the Johnnies. The bad news is that it's the Danaejah Grant/Aliyyah Handford show, which is not sustainable in the long run. Aliyyah has 17 and Danaejah has 16. That leaves seven points scored by other players. That's not sustainable in the long run. From what I've seen, we've been moving very quickly on both ends of the floor.
It's Military Appreciation Night at St. John's, so we got swearing-in ceremonies at halftime and the team has "We Support Our Troops" shirts.
I did not enjoy the sloppiness and lackadaisical play in the second half that allowed Florida to come back and take brief leads, and I'm still not comfortable with everything being about two players, but the season is still young, younger than most of our roster.
I'm really not feeling the black road jerseys for Florida, though I'm not sure what they should be wearing instead. Maybe blue?
There was a fairly large contingent of Florida fans- maybe two rows' worth- behind the bench. Why in the name of all that is sweet and holy would you come to New York from Florida in mid-November? It's cold up here! I know it's been cold in Florida, but it is way colder up here, are you people crazy? In any case, they were loud, and one of our fraternities did work trying to drown them out.
January Miller moves pretty well for a guard of her build. She was all up in everyone's business on defense. I keep meaning to check whether Haley Lorenzen is any relation to Jared Lorenzen. One of those random connections my brain throws up sometimes. I feel like I should be remembering more of the bench, but I think they played the bulk of their minutes in the first half, when I wasn't there to see them; it felt like the starters were the key players in the second half.
Carlie Needles has a really obnoxious habit of yelling out assignments while on the lane for free throws. It's to the point where it's legitimately disconcerting to the shooter, and I'm surprised that none of the refs got on her case for it. She seems to run that team. Cassie Peoples launched threes from all over the floor and showed a fair amount of hustle. Ronni Williams took a nasty spill in the second half and twisted her ankle- she came off limping, but was well enough to come back and come up with some big plays late in the game. Antoinette Bannister pressured the ballhandler, and when someone less sure than Aaliyah Lewis had the ball, it did not end well for St. John's. Kayla Lewis mixed it up down low, aggressive for a player with a relatively slimb uild for her height. She was impressive. I could have done without some of the forearm shivers, though.
Oh, Kyra Dunn. I can already tell that you're going to be that player who makes me want to tear my hair out. I love her shot blocking, and we do need height, but height is not particularly effective if it runs away from anything and everything in sight. It also distresses me that she's not terribly fast for her size. Usually it's the big posts who lumber, but despite looking kind of like a stick insect, Kyra does not move very quickly. She was in and out as necessary. Imani Littleton played in spurts, but when she made freshman mistakes, she was sent back to the bench, same with Tonoia Wade. Tonoia's gotta hit shots on the break like that. More oomph is required. Minutes were brief for most of the bench players, which worries me for the rest of the season. We need a blowout so they can get extensive minutes so we can determine who they are and what they can do.
Amber Thompson remains a strong defensive force and a tough rebounder. I don't know if she's looking ofr her offense and not finding it, or if she's been told not to shoot, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with her only getting two shots. If she's not a credible threat, then there's more defense on Aliyyah and Danaejah. Jade Walker came up with big baskets down the stretch, and it's absolutely amazing that she didn't foul out of the game, since there were three calls after her fourth foul that I thought were going to be on her and were instead passed. At least she's trying. I'm not sure I like the outside jumpers, but as long as they're falling, I shouldn't complain. Aaliyah Lewis is growing into her own as a point guard- still a little unsure of herself, but growing in confidence both with her teammates and within herself. I just wish she weren't so tiny! Aliyyah Handford was hot in the first half, but cooled somewhat in the second, though I think Florida intensified the defense on her. She went down late in the game and scared the living daylights out of most of the people in the arena. She got back up, though. I think she came up with a steal right after that. Danaejah Grant was fantastic in the first half and again at the end of the second half. I think she was letting some of the foul calls get into her head- I'm not sure she was completely engaged. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm a little wiped out.
We got frustrated with the officiating, as always. But if they'd called everything we had seen, I'm pretty sure Amber would have fouled out, so there's something to be said for non-calls. I guess.
We got our first look at the new student section for St. John's, the 6th Man. I certainly hope they're involved for longer stretches of the game than this during men's games. Three rows of standees at center court are not going to be very popular if all they're doing is standing, not cheering. The guys from the baseball team, on the other hand, were pretty cool. (Yes, I'm demanding when it comes to fan participation.)
I'm not worried about Binghamton or Wagner. But I'm starting to worry about Auburn and Seton Hall.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
November 20th: Florida at St. John's
Saturday, November 26, 2011
November 25th, 2011: La Salle at Florida
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Florida withstood several La Salle runs to win 85-74 at Long Island's holiday tournament. The Gators' Jordan Jones had 28 points to lead all scorers, while Jennifer George had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Jada Payne had 17 for the Explorers, while Jordan Mosley and Alexis Scott each had 16 off the bench.
For ugly clothes, hard hands, a strange feeling of deja vu, and bored Blackbirds, join your intrepid and woefully belated blogger after the jump.
On to the second game. Florida is intimidatingly large. They may not necessarily be good, but they're big. La Salle is La Salle. I've probably written more words about La Salle women's basketball than anyone not affiliated with the university.
Charlotte has drifted back a bit. Cara Consuegra came past us looking like a thundercloud a little while ago, and LIU appears to have acquired pizza. Florida's shoes are very, very blue. So are their socks.
La Salle seems to have decided to play for a change. It's only 41-38 in Florida's favor at the half. Jordan Jones has been otherworldly for the Gators, but the Explorers are getting great shooting from Jada Payne and Alexis Scott. I rather enjoy this game experience without the band and dance team, with the iPod going.
La Salle doesn't have the talent, and they don't have the court awareness. They're low level players for a middling program in a mid-major conference. But they played today with more heart than I've ever seen from them, and I've seen far more of them than I'd have preferred. Maybe there's hope yet.
The Explorers got amazing offense from Alexis Scott off the bench. She came up big for them when they rallied to tie it and again when they rallied to try and get it under double digits. Jordan Moseley also had a nice game for La Salle. I was surprised not to see Jess Koci in the game; I'm going to assume that she was hurt, because a rebounder might have been useful against the gigantic post players for Florida.
Ruvanna Campbell is definitely a freshman. She had some nice defensive plays, but she made some dumb mistakes that didn't help La Salle's case. Brittany Wilson came up with big shots when her team needed them, and did so with acrobatic athleticism. Jada Payne had a big first half, though she was quieter in the second. Nadia Duncan got into the middle of a lot of plays. The guards set each other up well in general.
The clock management in the last four minutes could have used a little work. Okay, a lot of work. They spent way too much time trying to get their shots.
I think Amanda Butler thinks Lily Svete can be the next Steffi Sorenson. Blonde who thinks she can shoot a little? But I wasn't impressed. Florida in general didn't get a lot off their bench, which could be trouble for them against a frenetic and relentless Charlotte team. Deana Allen shot a lot, but she didn't necessarily take good shots. I think Butler saw an opportunity to use her bench in the first half, when it was a big lead, and put in some players who I would guess don't play a lot.
If there is one thing I cannot stand in basketball, it's post players who play tentatively, softly, and stupidly. I devoutly hope, for Florida's sake, for Great Britain's sake, and for her sake, that Azania Stewart isn't always this soft, doesn't always drop these passes, doesn't always have rebounds bounce off her hands, and isn't generally one of the least effective 6'4” players I've ever seen. Jennifer George needs to not bring the ball back down to where small people can reach it. She's a big strong player; she should be able to put that back up without hesitation. When she realized that in the second half, Florida took off and put the game out of reach. If she can be more assertive for a whole game, she's going to be amazing. Jordan Jones's outside shooting was unworldly in the first half. She cooled down in the second, but I like the classic look of her shot and her release. You'd think the 33 she wears would be a pretty good hint of what she does well, but hey, I'm not the one who let her hit six three-pointers. Jaterra Bonds looked good, except for the turnovers. Lanita Bartley read long rebounds well.
I've been rough on Florida the last couple of years. I'm not impressed with Amanda Butler's coaching since the Achilles (nor am I impressed with her fashion sense; that yellow blouse should be taken out and burned), but it looks like she's putting it together to make a run in the SEC this year. It might not be much of a run, but I think they'll be a little better than they were the last couple of years. On the other hand, the lack of killer instinct that kept La Salle in the game until the equivalent of the fourth quarter might come back and bite them, given the viciousness of the SEC.
Officiating was inconsistent. Again. And for a long time I wondered if the officials were trying to protect the BCS when La Salle was keeping it close and being called for fouls almost every time that they breathed on a Florida player. La Salle does tend to commit a lot of stupid fouls, but this was a little hard to believe. I think La Salle's coach agreed with my assessment (but he's obviously going to be a wee bit biased); he pointed at the foul count on the scoreboard to back up his complaints a couple of times.
It was a much better game than I had expected it to be, and a much closer game than the final score indicates. Maybe there's hope for La Salle yet. But please, please, dear sweet deities of sport, don't let me have to write about them again.