December 8th, 2019: Seton Hall at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall came out of the gate strong and never looked back in an 89-37 pounding of Iona. Desiree Elmore had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pirates. Shyan Mwai had 13 to lead the Gaels.

For redecorating, reorienting, reordering, revisiting, and wrecking, join your intrepid and alliterative blogger after the jump.

We're back in the saddle again, apparently determined to take every train in the Bronx at some point this year. Seton Hall visits Iona, and that's a game I wouldn't miss for the world. As the song lyric goes, "we have history, or don't you remember?" That's where we got entangled in this ever-more-complex network of friendships and loyalties, back when Tony Bozzella coached the Gaels and Lauren DeFalco and Marissa Flagg were among his point guards. And that's where we finally gave up one of our core teams, when Alexis Lewis and her classmate Treyanna Clay transferred out and loyalty no longer compelled us to follow a coach we didn't respect.

Rumor has it there will be a slew of alumnae in attendance. I'm looking forward to some high-quality people-watching.

"Oh, you've redecorated," the "I don't like it" edition: Iona has added fancy new modern academic buildings without considering the aesthetic of the existing campus, and it looks like someone with no imagination was playing with Legos in the middle of a Christmas village.

"Oh, you've redecorated," the "I love it!" edition: the Hynes Athletic Center has gotten quite the makeover, with a change in orientation, new bleachers, fancy new seats, shiny new scoreboards, and a maroon paint job so fresh I can still smell it. Having but a single entrance for public use, and having that entrance lead directly behind the field of play (to the point where I was stepping around the mop) seems like a bad idea. It's a good thing we get in early. I can't imagine what that's going to look like ten minutes before game time.

There is a woman in the Seton Hall section with a purse made from a Spaulding basketball, and I mentally went full Gollum. We wants it, we wants the preciousssssss.

Iona's band is prepared for war. They have a piper. Yes. Someone just rolled up with a set of bagpipes. And they didn't even play the pipes.

Another member of the Iona-Seton Hall blended family, Aleesha Powell, is currently socializing behind the Pirates' bench.

Today I learned that platinum blonde dye jobs run in families! That is... wow, that's bright. If we stick her behind the basket, we might be able to distract Iona at the line. (I fully expect to be closer to the "Damika's Aunt Helen" end of the scale than the "polite visiting fan" end of the scale today.)

It's 39-17 Seton Hall at halftime, and I still demand more. Officials are letting a lot of contact go, and from the chirping, this is not a good plan, especially when they're calling cheap hand-check fouls. (Lauren Park-Lane is probably especially salty about her third, given that Iona traveled three steps with the ball before she made contact.) Shyan Mwai is the Iona offense, with 13 of their 17 points. Desiree Elmore has 12 for Seton Hall.

I know there are other alumnae here, but I don't recognize them. It's been a long time. And yet being in this building is enough to stir memories of "Let's go Gaels" and "I-O-N-A!" and "go, fight, win".

Not gonna lie, watching Selena Philoxy get her groove thang on to every piece of music she hears, even during timeouts, is a joy and a delight. Even if she probably should be focusing more on the content of the timeout meeting. And I'm also not sure what the protocols are around dancing to the other school's fight song.

That went about how I was expecting, except for our inability to hit free throws and maybe Iona's inability to shoot anything except their own feet. If you can't hit shots, hit the other team.

(New York subway justice: the dude blasting music from his speaker yelling at the dude with the cigarette.)

I shouldn't really be surprised that Jodi-Marie Ramil has fallen as far down the bench as she has. Her hands aren't great, and she missed multiple point-blank shots right at the rim. She slapped the taste out of a couple of weak shots right at the basket. But those shots came from players at the end of the bench, and something tells me most players are going to come at her stronger. De'jah Williams is a bruiser, and admittedly a good first impression is not attempting to put one of my players in a reverse chokehold. She has potential, or at least she would have potential if I thought she had a coach who would help her shore up her weaknesses. She's short for a post, but she's tough. Gabrielle Joseph's communication skills, especially for a sophomore, impressed me; she was out there relaying signals and calling out screens (I think it was her calling out a screen that got the refs to notice Selena Philoxy's screen was not as good as it should have been, resulting in an offensive foul). I'd like for her to pick on someone her own size, though; she put a couple of hits on Lauren Park-Lane that did not please me.

Lucia Becerra Perez popped off the bench and gave the Gaels good minutes at guard- she actually started the second half over Paulla Weekes. If she had better footwork, she'd be a good point guard. But she traveled, and she was careless with the ball. These are habits that can be broken, one presumes. Monica Barefield had a couple of good open looks from the left wing for three very late in the game, when Seton Hall was mostly just trying to avoid fouling. Again, I'm surprised she's slid as far down the rotation as she has, but then again, Billi Chambers's coaching decisions are best epitomized by the shrug emoji.

Juana Camilión has got to stop traveling. She got called for the extra step again and again, and there were at least as many times when she didn't get called for it. If she had a better grasp of the fundamentals, she'd be a star. But she doesn't, so she produces more turnovers than an average bakery instead. Shyan Mwai was the only bright spot for the Gaels in the first half, hitting threes and getting inside for lay-ups. We did a better job on her in the second half, but she also went the bad kind of wild when she had open looks and sent them everywhere but the bottom of the basket.

Tori Lesko is not the player she once was, and it's kind of sad to see. As one of the only players to make it through all four years with Billi Chambers, it seems like she deserves better But the knee injury has robbed her of whatever speed she once possessed, and she either couldn't or wouldn't shoot against our defense. I mean, we did match up well at her position, but still. You genuinely do hate to see it. Morgan Rachu did a good job on the boards, though some of it was as much hockey-style boarding as it was basketball-style boarding. She's not afraid to throw her body around. Her three-point shot was not going down, although her form is decent. Her choice in number pretty much forced that, I'd say. (Yes, I am still annoyed that anyone is wearing #14 for Iona. It's not like Damika Martinez finished among the top scorers in D-I history, after all. It's not like she owns pretty much every record in Iona history and MAAC history OH WAIT.) Paulla Weekes exists. She went out of the game pretty quickly, and I'm not sure she even played in the second half. If you want more than that, play more.

Today I learned that Jocelyn Jones is in fact playing this year for Seton Hall, as she checked in late in garbage time. My understanding is that she was injured, and she looked like a player trying to get herself back into playing shape. That's a whole lot of woman. Whitney Howell came in at the same time, and couldn't quite catch the high pass from McKenna Hofschild. Kailah Harris got some good boards down low. I like her and her stylish goggles. I don't know if the goggles do anything or not, but they look cool. Selena Philoxy brought her usual physicality and multiple moments of "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS". Alexia Allesch got a couple of good looks right at the basket and took advantage of them. I know she likes to take threes, but she really seems to have found a niche in the post, and I hope she becomes more willing to use it next year.

McKenna Hofschild ran a fair amount of point guard in the second half, and made it clear that she was looking to pass first and foremost. She showed off some fancy no-look stuff. Undersized with a penchant for showmanship? I can't imagine how she ended up at Seton Hall. Jasmine Smith shot a lot of threes. She shot a lot of them in the fourth quarter, which I don't think was Coach Bozzella's game plan. He did not look happy about the number of shots she took early in the shot clock, in any case. My Jackson got some good run early, which gave us the luxury of testing out the guards further back in the rotation in the second half. Victoria Keenan was the one everyone on the bench was rooting for, and when the first corner three went in, the regulars went a little nuts.

Lauren Park-Lane got into foul trouble in the second quarter on cheap reach-in fouls, and then the fourth foul in the third quarter got her extremely upset because it was a very cheap call that could have been a no-call or even an out-of-bounds on Iona. She didn't get a chance to prove much, but she doesn't have a lot to prove. Barbara Johnson was just about the only Pirate who had trouble shooting from the field- for whatever reason, even her open looks weren't going down.

Desiree Elmore started the game like a house on fire- in fact, looking back now, thanks to my color-coded score card, her eight points were more than Iona managed as a team for the first quarter. She got putbacks, she hit from the midrange, she drove and scored. Des is the queen of stealing the spotlight, and I mean that as a compliment. Put Shadeen Samuels on the watch lists? Des will put up the big numbers. Homecoming for the Iona exes? Des will steal the show. I don't know if she has a pro game, or if she's going to be stuck in tweener limbo. But she's been so much fun to watch for Seton Hall. Alexis Lewis was definitely too amped for this game in the early going- when she missed, she missed hard and she missed long. She made up for it on the offensive glass and with blocked shots. I recall one sequence where she got the block, the board, and a fantastic save, or something to that effect, and yelling, "Don't you wish you had someone like that? OH WAIT" at the Iona bench. Me? Petty? Whatever gave you that idea? Shadeen Samuels looks like she's still getting back into game shape- once or twice it looked like she wasn't getting as far up as she usually does- but you know, I don't think the kid from Ossining was going to miss the game in Westchester County. Pretty sure there's a bus you can take for that kind of thing. (My great Westchester bus adventure, which had a crucial transfer in Ossining, connected through White Plains, but I think there's an alternate route through New Rochelle.) She did an especially good job reading offensive rebounds.

Adventures with intros! Credit where credit is due, Iona gave a warm welcome back to the two alumnae and former coach on the Seton Hall bench, and gave Lexi Lewis pride of place at the end of intros... which no one seemed to realize, because they announced Des and Lexi came out. Mildly awkward, but I don't think it was intentional.

Iona seems to get frustrated easily, and when they get frustrated, the shoulders go out and the feet slip out a little bit. The discipline is lacking, and that starts at the top. It really seemed like Seton Hall's bench was pushing harder than they had to in the fourth quarter, and I'm reminded of something Geno Auriemma once wrote about the end of the bench in blowouts. I'm doing a lot of paraphrasing here, but basically, he intimated that in a game where the margin needs to be managed, it might be better to have your starters in, because the reserves are out there trying to prove themselves and thus aren't going to let up on the gas, even when they're up obscene amounts.

Officiating was so-so. I thought they let a lot of things go that could have gotten ugly, with the elbows and the shoulders. I suspect Lauren Park-Lane agrees with this assessment.

I'm disappointed in what Iona's become. There's potential there- Chambers does seem to be able to recruit. But she can't retain and she can't coach.

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December 21st, 2018: Fordham at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A slow first quarter for both teams led into a second-quarter run for Fordham, and the Rams didn't look back in their 57-40 win over Iona. Bre Cavanaugh had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Fordham. Shyan Mwai and Morgan Rachu each had eight points to pace the Gaels.

For road tripping, avoided puns, procedural turnovers, discount Diet Coke, and being distracted by shiny objects, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

I'd say good morning to y'all, but it's extremely not a good morning out there. There are no frozen cats, and nothing's been snapped off, but there are flash flood warnings all through southern New York, so I'd say it's still a wonderful day to play inside. It's up to Iona in enemy colors again, as the Gaels host a ridiculously early tip against Fordham. As you might expect, there are about two dozen people in the stands, and that's if I count gameday staff.

Ashley Martin, I admire and respect you, but what in the world have you done to your hair, and why are you trying to look like a cross between Sailor Moon and Betty Boop? (On the other hand, Halei Gillis's partial braids look really good on her. The 'do softens her face a bit.)

Ralene's out of the boot, at least, though she does not appear to be dressing out today.

The one thing I miss most about being on good terms with Iona is the wi-fi password, not gonna lie. At least I can tap into the Spectrum network from here.

This is your perennial reminder that #14 should be retired on the women's side at Iona, and Billi Chambers can go straight to sod off until such time as it happens.

I don't applaud recorded anthems, please don't side-eye me.

I should probably learn the name of the DOBO/PR lady for Fordham. She's lovely and she brought chocolate and pom-poms. What's not to like?

This is your perennial reminder that Monica Barefield, Ashley Martin, and any other player who chooses to kneel for the anthem has my unconditional support of their right to freedom of speech and expression.

At halftime, it's 29-18 Fordham, after a rough start for the Rams and a strong start for Iona. Bre Cavanaugh has put on her metaphorical cape, with nine points and six boards in the first half, most of that coming in the second quarter. Juana Camilión is the real deal for Iona, with seven points to lead the Gaels. She had a scary moment early in the first, when she slid hard on a wet patch on the floor and limped off. She came back in, but Iona's offense lost a lot of explosiveness when she was out, and didn't get it back when she returned. They're falling back on their volume shooters, Rachu and Mwai, and it's not going well. On the other hand, they're getting good penetration against our defense.

Quite a few folks have made their way here to support the Rams, but it seems to be a social occasion more than a sporting occasion. There's a dude a couple of rows behind me who's giving good commentary on the game, though; I think he's a youth coach. Katie McLoughlin has an especially big contingent on hand, one that got very excited when she got some first half run.

And now the wi-fi is acting up. Stop that, Iona.

So that turned out rather more satisfying than I expected, which is good, since it is raining and I am not the world's biggest fan of slogging around in the rain. Live by the three, die by the three, and some of our dubious three-point shots could have killed us against better teams. But we survived to tell the tale.

With about two minutes left in the game, Coach Chambers blinked first and sent in her deep reserves, at which point Coach Gaitley arranged a line change. I am not happy with how long it took her to sub out Bre and Lauren Holden. She's going to run those two into the ground if she's not careful. Waiting for the other coach to capitulate may be emotionally satisfying, but if you're up 15 with three or four minutes to go, it's probably okay to take out your workhorses, especially against bad teams or teams that tend to lash out in losses. I realize this is never going to change, but I'm going to rail against it anyway on the off chance that it does.

Anyway. I can't remember the last time I saw a bench this hyped for free throws, but the squad was loving Vilisi Tavui getting to the line (shame the shot didn't go in- that was a really nice pass from Halei). Some good hustle plays from Halei and from Catherine Polisano, even if Catherine got called for a foul on it. Lauren Murphy's free throw motion is not good, and she probably needs to work on that if she's going to move up in the rotation at any point.

Katie McLoughlin needs to extend her range just a hair- that long two could have been a three with another step or two back. I like her hustle, and she's got potential, but there are a lot of things she needs to work on. I'm glad Coach Gaitley is showing a little confidence in her, though. We could use a little more depth on the bench. Zara Jillings continues to bring the hustle- there was one play where Iona was loosey-goosey with the ball, and she was on it like a hawk. I wish she could have hit the looks she got, because they were good looks, if a little too quick. Megan Jonassen continues to develop. I really like how she's coming along. She's physical inside, and she had one little baby hook in the second half that got a few whoops from the crowd.

I also like how Kaitlyn Downey is coming along. She's finishing better on the inside, while still retaining the ability to step outside and hit the three. I think she was missing that balance early in the season. She's boxing out well, too. Mary Goulding is unreal sometimes. How she went from hands and knees crying with pain to back in the game and hitting in the paint, I don't know. She's ridiculously tough. She wasn't afraid to get into the scrum for rebounds, and there were times, especially in the second half, that scrum was the only applicable word.

I love how Kendell Heremaia's passing game has developed. I'm sorry it's coming at the expense of her once-sharp defensive game, but all things in life require sacrifices. She spent a lot of the game in foul trouble (the possession after she picked up her fourth, I was on pins and needles because we hadn't gotten the sub up in time, but then we forced the turnover and Lesko fouled to stop play) that hampered her effectiveness. Lauren Holden spent a good chunk of the game looking frustrated at foul calls both made and not made, or possibly at threes that weren't going down. I can understand some of her frustration, though; there should never be a sequence where Lauren is attempting to box out a player close to a foot taller than she is, and she got stuck with Gabrielle Joseph on a couple of sequences. This is not a good plan. Bre Cavanaugh continues to do Bre things. Her timing on the glass was exceptional, though, really, those are boards her posts should be getting instead of getting out of the way for her. (I don't necessarily mind Bre the double-double machine, but I am equally okay with Bre getting seven or eight boards if the balance of them go to Mary or Kaitlyn.) She killed Iona with her hesitation moves and quick hands. I just wish she didn't have to carry so much of the load.

I'm bummed for Amelia Motz. I don't think she's been recruited over, though I admit my bias here, but she seems to have been relegated to the end of the bench, only coming in at the end of each half for mop-up duty. She seems like a nice kid. She deserves better. I don’t know if Ashley Martin deserves better in basketball terms, but IMO she does in personal terms. Run! You can almost certainly do better!

I don't know if Monica Barefield has more than one speed or not, but the one speed she does have is fast. Very fast. She's got good, if inconsistent, shooting range. But her size is a liability, and it gets her in trouble as much as it keeps her out of trouble. She's the closest thing to a point guard that Iona has right now, and that's part of their problem. Shayla Middlebrooks drove hard into the lane. She got a little too fancy with her finishes and probably could have added another bucket to her tally if not for the flourish. She's physical, and I don't know if she's always on the right side of that line, but she does better than some of her teammates at trying to be. Jodi-Marie Ramil, on the other hand, is not so good at staying on the right side of the line, and admittedly, some of my thoughts about her play are ill-suited to a G-rated (or possibly PG?) blog such as this. Granted, Bre's teammates should have called out the screen, but it was an awfully hard screen. I don't know if Iona just wasn't going to her, or if we were able to shut her down when we weren't shutting down their guard penetration, but she could have been much more of a factor for them than she was, and I'm happy about that, believe me.

There are two different ways that Morgan Rachu's last name is pronounced in an alternate universe, both leading to the Pokémon Go joke that electric types are boosted in rainy weather. Unfortunately, in this universe, it's pronounced like a threat you make to a pile of leaves (rake-you) and I look like even more of a giant dork than I already am. She's got size, but her shot is just a mess. She's way too streaky, and when she's not on from beyond the arc, she doesn't seem to be able to contribute in other ways. Shyan Mwai penetrated well but couldn't always finish at the rim. Juana Camilión shows a lot of potential that I don't think she'll be able to fulfill at Iona. She's got a really nice crossover that she used to make space for herself, but she didn't always take advantage of that space. She'll have to be more aggressive in that regard going forward.

Gabrielle Joseph is another player with potential, but she's too tentative at times. Granted, she was being sealed off pretty well for stretches, but on the other hand, any post player worth her salt should be able to take advantage of a mismatch against Lauren Holden. She's also got to do a better job of getting out of the paint- she was getting for three-second calls, though she certainly wasn't the only Gael who lost track of time in the lane. There's potential there, but I don't know if she's ready for the starting position she so far has. Tori Lesko spent a lot of time playing out of position as the closest thing to a point guard in the Gaels' starting lineup. No one really seemed comfortable with the responsibility of bringing the ball up the floor, so it fell to her, and she took the bullet, for lack of a better word. She took charges, or at least attempted to, although sometimes I thought she crossed the line into flopping. She does that; she's done that for as long as I can remember. She took a couple of hard tumbles, including one near the end of the game that Coach Gaitley had to help her up from.

(As an aside: dear fellow Fordham backers, if you're talking about stepping on someone's fingers, you better either be talking about something I didn't see. That's not something you joke about a coach doing to a player. Seriously. Dudes. No. Miss me with that nonsense.)

Iona needs to shore up a lot of their fundamentals. They committed a lot of unforced turnovers like travels and three-second violations. Either they've got to react faster or they need drills on clock and spatial awareness.

Refs were letting a lot of physical contact go, but I can't fault their attention to detail on procedural calls. (Losing track of the foul count, on the other hand...)

Everyone's flaws were on display in this game, and something's going to have to give for Fordham, or it's going to be a very long A-10 season, at the end of which Bre will fall over.

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November 9th, 2018: St. John's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kadaja Bailey's double-double in her first game powered the Red Storm to a 61-35 win over Iona. Bailey had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench for St. John's. Morgan Rachu had 16 points in her debut to lead the Gaels.

For admittedly biased remarks, a new eatery, pressing defense, road trips, and thinking ahead, join your intrepid and pensive blogger after the jump.

Good evening, fellow basketball fans! We're coming to you live and in every possible cliché from Hynes Gymnasium on the campus of Iona College, as the Gaels host the Red Storm of St. John's.

So, yeah. This is our first Iona game since dropping Iona from our stable of teams. (We decided we were going to stick around through Alexis Lewis and Treyanna Clay's senior year. Then both of them transferred. So yeah. That happened.) It's an unpleasant experience, coming into an arena that used to be home, that part of me feels should still be home, and coming in road colors. But my first team will be St. John's until I move or until they do something truly unforgiveable. And as far as I'm concerned, Billi Chambers can take a very long walk off a very short pier.

Ran into some of Kadaja Bailey's family at the ticket line. Technical difficulties.

Sure, Iona, start off the season with a poster of #14. Damika or GTFO in that regard. The fact that that number still hasn't been retired for the incredible career Damika had galls me. Okay, I'm going to get off this train of thought or else I'm going to start swearing, and we're still forty minutes out from gametime.

Kathy, don't get me wrong, that's a very nice outfit. I'm just saying that one of the highest ranking athletic administrators at St. John's shouldn't be wearing something very close to Iona maroon to a game against Iona. Clearly the squad agrees, because she had to grab a spare warm-up jacket.

At halftime, St. John's is up 30-17, but I can understand if Coach is doing a whole lot of yelling in the locker room. Both teams came out very amped up, shooting and missing long. St. John's has brought an intense press in the backcourt for stretches, but I don't know if it's one we can keep up when we're only carrying nine eligible players. We've forced three shot clock violations from the Gaels, but they've drawn four charges on us.

Am I the only one uncomfortable with the "Iona dance team" versus the "Iona black student union dance team" branding?

Pretty good turnout for the Johnnies. Q and Machi's family showed up, as did Kadaja's. From the cheering behind me, we may also have folks here for Tiana England. Imani Littleton is in the row in front of us, sitting with someone I feel like I should recognize and will probably punch myself in the face for not knowing.

Iona is performing a lot of embarrassing flops, and that makes me sad. It's not that I'm still rooting for them, but I want things to be better. I don't know these kids, but it doesn't mean that they don't deserve better.

I'll give Chambers credit for one thing: she doesn't bar her players from kneeling for the anthem. Ashley Martin still does, and she's been joined by a teammate. Watching their teammates navigate the logistics of keeping the line linked was somehow very amusing. I think the teammate is Monica Barefield, but I don't know the Gaels well enough to recognize anyone other than the few returners from last season.

I realize that it's early and I shouldn't be judging a team that's almost completely turned over on one game against a higher-caliber opponent, but good grief, Iona looks like a hot mess. No discipline. No ball thought. Minimal court awareness. Terrible clock awareness. They look like a team of leftovers and afterthoughts coached by someone who doesn't actually know how to coach people. Okay, the zone defense is actually pretty good, so props to whoever's in charge of that.

Gabrielle Joseph played just about long enough for me to wonder about the pronunciation of her name, though that was an ongoing issue with the PA guy. The only sub that got extended minutes was Shyan Mwai, and if I had faith in this coaching staff, I'd be interested to see how she develops. She reminds me a little bit of a very young Damika, but much less disciplined and much less sure of her handle. I'd also appreciate it if she would not throw forearms into her defender. That would be great.

If Monica Barefield can get her handle under control, she'd be fantastic as a point guard. She's got speed, and she's got some moves, but she's all speed and no sense so far. Shayla Middlebrooks can miss me with all the unnecessary shoulder blocks and forearm shivers. She's got a decent shot, and she can muscle her way around in the paint as a guard with her big body. But there's a difference between being physical and being dirty, and if she didn't cross the line, she sidled right up to it. Morgan Rachu is never going to be my favorite, for reasons that are completely not her fault. She's got a nice shot and she hustles well. If I had any faith in the coaching staff, I could see her developing into a nice little shooting guard by her senior year. But I have no faith in this staff.

Tori Lesko looks like she's lost a fair bit of confidence after her injury. From everything I've heard about Iona, I can't say I'm surprised. Maybe it's seeing her as an opposing player for the first time, but she hits people a lot more than I remember her doing last year. It's almost like she's trying to substitute physicality for skill, and I know Tori's better than that. She's still hustling after every loose ball, going to the floor and sacrificing her body, but there's a dramatic element to her charge-taking now that wasn't there before. Jodi-Marie Ramil gave the Gaels some okay physical play inside, though I'm not thrilled about her taunting on an and-1. She'll be useful for them.

Iona Faels Moment of the night: Kadaja Bailey is called for a dubious foul on a Middlebrooks three-point attempt. Middlebrooks goes to the line for three. She bricks all three. Lesko pulls down the offensive board and is fouled on the putback. She misses both. St. John's pulls down the defensive rebound. Second place is probably the play where Jasmine Sina- all 5-5 of her- leaped clear over Lesko to tap the ball to Kadaja.

No one on this team seems willing to shoot with the clock running down. No one seems aware of the concept that the clock can run down. There's no sense of urgency. Well done, Billi.

We got our first look at Jasmine Sina in Storm red. She had an unremarkable game- her three-point shot was off, but at least she held down the fort. While she got a good bit of run in the first half, she didn't come back until very late in the fourth quarter. Same for Shamachya Duncan. I'm a little bit worried about this, but I have faith in Machi and Mooch to step up when needed, and for the rest of the guards to do so if not.

Kadaja Bailey certainly made a splash in her first game, didn't she? She was ferocious on the glass and deadly on the drive. I'm not necessarily thrilled about the three-point attempts, but I recognize that it's an important part of a small forward's game and she needs to be able to stretch the defense. She reminds me so much of Shenneika Smith that it's crazy, and I'm so glad that the actual Shenneika is on the staff right now to mentor her. She has the potential to be something truly special. Kayla Charles didn't play in the first half, but then soaked up most of the third quarter minutes until she hurt her foot at the end of the quarter. She came back, but she was hurting for a while. (FYI, assistant coach, when a player is grimacing in pain as the trainer tapes her foot back into some semblance of shape, she is probably not terribly receptive to your advice on how to box out.) She had a very solid outing. She looked like the player I thought she could be for stretches last year, and I hope she's building on this.

Tiana England threw up some dubious shots in the paint (it is probably not a good sign when a guard is tossing up a sky hook). Even her own family was questioning her shot selection. She did have a gorgeous pass to Kadaja for a big finish that got our part of the crowd going. Alisha Kebbe was going hard after every loose ball- she hit the deck quite a few times, and I'm pretty sure she and Lesko were about ready to spontaneously sponsor NCAA women's wrestling. (The grappling kind. Not the WWE kind.) Like most of the squad, her jumper was AWOL, which is going to be a problem going forward, but her defense was on point. Sometimes I get the feeling she would be extremely happy pressing all the time. Qadashah Hoppie bombed threes at the right time, but seemed rather eager to go for them, even at moments we didn't need them, such as when Middlebrooks cut the lead under single digits. She knows how to light up the scoreboard, I'll say that.

Akina Wellere had good open looks from deep, and they just wouldn't go down. Live by the three, survive a lousy team by the three, I guess. We're not going to be able to get away with some of this stuff against Big East competition; I'm not even sure we can get away with it against Yale or Delaware State. I am definitely not a fan of her at the four. Or the five. This is a bad plan, Joe. Curteeona Brelove still has some work to do before I stop grumbling about her choice of number. She gives us a big body in the middle, but I need her to be more assertive. And I'm not thrilled with her rebounding, either. Maybe she just had an off game, but I was not impressed, and I was expecting to be impressed.

I realize you're looking at a 26-point margin and wondering why I sound so down on so much of the team. But let's be honest, we played a team that could best be described as a traveling trainwreck, one that only managed to win two games last year and promptly either graduated or caused to flee screaming pretty much the entire rotation. There were things we did really well- our press was great and our fast break offense looks really good. We held Iona to one field goal each in the first and fourth quarters. The chemistry is good. And it helps to see our flaws laid bare this early in the year, when they can't hurt us and can be corrected before the big guns come calling. But if we can't put a body on Ramil in the post, what's going to happen against Kiah Gillespie or Kimi Evans? And any long-term injury or illness is a disaster- we have to have a starter in the game at all times, literally, because otherwise we don't put enough players on the floor.

Officiating was a disaster. I honestly think the refs weren't sure which circle they should be using, and thus called everything a charge in the first half and a block in the second half. It also helps when you can count to ten- Iona got away with a blatant ten-second violation, on a possession that ended with a St. John's foul followed by Joe Tartamella letting the officials know exactly how he felt about the whole situation. He wasn't wrong, either. This is going to be a long year, isn't it? (Also, either Neika played against Stephanie Barksdale, Barksdale reffed a lot of her games, or Neika needs to not flirt with the ref before the game.)

I don't know how I feel about being able to order concessions from your seat at Hynes, but I also don't know if the feature was active for this game.

Nice of you to show up after the game was done, Killian. It was a men's-women's doubleheader, but still. That means there are two games. Two games, Killian.

The pocket schedules are weaksauce. I get the feeling they were run off on an office printer.

We did find a really good barbeque joint a ways down North Avenue that had amazingly cooked ribs

It was good to see the squad, since we don't get them at home for another three weeks or so. It's going to be an interesting year, it's going to be a tough year, but I don't know if it's going to be a long year. (Except I think Seton Hall will sweep the Awkward Bowl, which is going to suck for me personally.)

On to the next one. See you next time, patient and loyal readers!

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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.

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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.)

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January 28th, 2018: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Iona got off the schneid, breaking their 20-game losing streak with a 52-42 win over St. Peter's. Treyanna Clay and Alexis Lewis each had 12 points to lead a balanced Gael attack, with Lewis adding 10 rebounds. Zoe Pero led the Peacocks with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

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How best to wash the taste of failure out of one's mouth than to head to a game where the two teams have four wins between them? And one team has all the wins? But always and forever, to heck with Patty Coyle. Iona should probably be able to beat St. Peter's. I certainly hope we are.

It's raining.

I swear St. Peter's actually changed the shade of their blue warm-ups between November and now.

I think that might be Talah Hughes in a boot for St. Peter's. Hey, we might actually have a chance.

I realize that we're the home team, but it still seems kind of rude to hop on the visiting team's bike to nowhere.

Tori Lesko is still in a boot for the Gaels. I'm sad.

It's halftime and we're leading and the world hasn't ended. It's only 25-23, so I should probably still be expecting us to screw it up somehow. Alexis Lewis has seven points and six boards to pace iona, while a whole flock of Peacocks have notched five points each. I'm worried about passing- theirs is better than ours. But I think we're shooting better. And if you put a gun to my head and told me I had to have either Billi Chambers or Patty Coyle as my team's coach, I'd take Chambers.

Pretty solid anthem. She hit her stride right at the end.

St. Peter's did not appear to realize there were two doors to enter the court from the locker room. The dance team did not appreciate having their tunnel crashed. It appears words may have been exchanged, and cheer seems unusually vindictive today. (I'm okay with that, especially the one cheerleader whose ululations drew a missed free throw from St. Peter's.) We're not sure if it was deliberate gamesmanship or if Coyle was in fact too stupid to realize there was another door. I'm a Liberty fan. I remember.

It's happening! It happened! We are no longer winless! Alert the media! Fire the party cannon! Release the hounds! Wait, don't release the hounds, that's a different meme.

I should not have been surprised that we beat a team coached by Coyle. Let's be honest, the nicest thing I can say about her is that she's had some phenomenal coaching support around her. She didn't quite ice her own shooter this time, but she was about two possessions late on doing the endgame things a coach should do, like timeout to advance the ball or foul to extend the game. (C'mon. It's 1.9 seconds left and you're down 10, make like Elsa and LET IT GO.)

You could tell it was "I'm frustrated, time to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks" time near the end of the third quarter when Coyle abruptly went to Anna Maguire and Precious Featherston. Featherston got tagged with a foul on a rebound. Maguire needs to either bulk up or tone up. One of those. She's very skinny. Samantha Meier brought physicality in her brief minutes, and I might have used her more if I were St. Peter's. She's reasonably good at setting screens, so maybe she could have done something to set up one of their shooters.

Much as I don't always understand the logic of bringing Alexis Lewis off the bench, I really do not understand the logic of bringing Sajanna Bethea off the bench. Does this mean St. Peter's has written off this season and is just trying to see what the freshmen have? Or is this some strategy I am just not elite enough to see? Her passing eye has gotten sharper- she seems to be looking for angles for her teammates more than for herself. Her shot seems to have somehow gotten slower, or the MAAC's gotten faster around her. A lot of things are possible. I think she was not well used in this game, though I don't think that's the only reason we won. Sammy Lochner does not believe the opponent should be accorded personal space, especially around the midline, although KK does it better. Haley Dalonzo was aggressive driving the lane, sometimes to her detriment- there was a very late charge call against her that helped seal the deal for the Gaels. She did not take well to being called for fouls, even less than most players do. She's got potential, though.

Zoe Pero has some nice moves inside, but someone has to teach her how to use the backboard more consistently. She had more weird bounces off the inside of the rim, both in her favor and not, than anyone I've ever seen. She did a great jbo cleaning up both her misses and her teammates' misses close to the rim. With some coaching, she could be very good. But, well. She picked St. Peter's, didn't she? Maybe Phyllis can step in. I think Daijah Martin might be being groomed to replace Bethea, at least positionally, but she's not nearly as good, or as assertive. She's got the body type to do some damage inside, but couldn't get going.

Brianna Tarabocchia got a lot of cheers when she was introduced and there was a lot of heat from the corner behind the St. Peter's bench when she fouled out during the foul derby, so I think her family came over from Jersey. She's not afraid to take them from deep- maybe a little too deep sometimes. Aggressive on defense, too. She's a nice piece for the Peacocks. Alyssa Velles started the game on fire, and I thought that was going to be how we got blackjacked, since we weren't able to find her out on the wing. But she cooled off and the defense tightened up, and once you take away her shot, she's not all that useful. D'Aviyon Magazine looked to penetrate and found few openings. Most of her shots were contested and off.

Someone really needs to get St. Peter's a shooting coach. With just a little fine-tuning, they'd probably average another eight to ten points a game. Then again, I'm okay with them being a mess of a team as long as I have a team in their conference.

Amelia Motz drove the lane for two quick points, then picked up two quick fouls and that was the last we saw of her for this game. Gotta be smarter than that, Amelia. Kristin Mahoney had one of the most confident games I've ever seen out of her and I'm just so proud of her right now! It turns out all along her bread and butter shot wasn't the three-pointer, like we were trying to make happen- it's the finger roll down the lane from the left side. If after three and a half years, either Kristin or Coach Chambers has figured out that she's not a pure distributor- well, I'm just glad she's finally finding her footing. Alexis Lewis, sporting brighter, bigger hair, was all over the glass. She plays bigger than she is sometimes, using every inch of her build (possibly including the hair) to get boards. This time, she was able to rein in some of her ballhog tendencies and not just chuck the first shot that came to mind.

Adrienne DiGioia wasn't quite ready for this. I feel like this is not the first time I've said this this season. She has her days when she looks like a good distributor, but she's not reacting fast enough to even mediocre college defenses. Fortunately for us, today Kristin was up to the challenge. Toyosi Abiola still has to work on her ball control, and on her accuracy. These are not new complaints. But she dove all out into the passing lanes (I think she was the one who ended up draped over the scorer's table at one point- she and Alexis both wear a lot of leggings and were diving into the passing lanes) and was disruptive on defense.

Rebekah Justice was not nearly as effective as she could have been on the inside. She's got to use her body more. I swear to the sweet hypothetical baby Jesus, if she launches one more three with that awful release, I may have to make her change her name. We have standards here in the sisterhood. She had chances to back down Pero- who's tall and not a twig but a lot smaller than Rebekah- and couldn't get through her. I have a problem with this from a 6-5 player. I understand why she didn't get a lot of minutes. Treyanna Clay took a lot of contested shots in the lane, and for some reason thought a straightaway three from the top of the key was a brilliant plan. No one asked you to unleash the dragon, Trey. Jayden Eggleston seemed to get stronger on the glass as the game went on, pulling down huge offensive rebounds to extend our possessions. I think I could live with this being the role she plays for us. She's got to be a little more accurate on her shot, especially since most of her shots are coming fairly close to the basket, but that should come with time.

I also can't say enough about the positive energy the crew on the bench has been bringing. Olivia Owens may already be on the all-time list of great dancers my teams have ever had, to the point where if you told me she won the rights to #14 off Damika Martinez in a dance-off, I might actually believe you. (And then demand video footage, for great justice, or at least lulz.) She and Shayla Middlebrooks have kept the mood light through stoppages and way up during big runs. And Tori Lesko's been continuing to be a leader in the huddle. I love Tori and I'm really bummed she's been hurt for so long.

Officiating wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. I thought we got the benefit of a couple of dodgy calls, but on the other hand, I don't think Coyle even got warned for being out of the box when she was up to the midcourt line, so there's that. They were unusually attentive to three-second calls.

Our PA guy got a little enthusiastic about a couple of long jumpers and thought they were threes when they were actually twos. I mean, really, Rich. Kristin was practically in the key.

Dance team did some pretty ambitious routines, and I couldn't help but wonder how St. John's would have pulled them off.

Shoutout to cheer and band for bringing the noise. We did what we could. I should probably pop a cough drop at some point.

Oh, and the rain had stopped by the time we got out of the arena.

We did it! We did it! We did it! Now let's do it again!

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January 20th, 2018: Siena at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Siena took off in the third quarter to win going away, 70-48, at Iona. Kollyns Scarbrough had 23 points to lead the Saints. Alexis Lewis's 21 points and 13 rebounds weren't enough to keep the Gaels in the game.

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I'm a glutton for punishment and an optimist sometimes when it comes to my team, so we've taken the multi-step trip up to Iona to see if they can get off the schneid this time, as they take on the Eight Nation Army of Siena. (No. No, it doesn't have the same ring as "Seven Nation Army", does it?)

If you went to the march instead, fabulous and tell me all about it. One of these days I'll get my act together and get my politics on.

Look, I get the point, but "Sexual assault is never your fault" does miss the fairly obvious conditional clause of "unless you're committing it, you unspeakable jerk".

I think I have some deep-seated issues with the choice of this particular song in the pregame mix.

Band is not yet ready for the anthem, though it's growing, and is at least good at the things they're good at.

Between her enthusiasm on the bench and her generosity off the court (she donated her hair before the season, which explains her crop of curls) I could really get to like Olivia Owens. I just can't get past her taste in numbers. And I know that's not her fault, because someone would have had to tell her about Damika, and clearly no one has. (I am now, however, open to the theory that she won the rights off Damika in a dance-off.)

At halftime, it's Siena by nine, 33-24. Our defense keeps breaking down and it's very frustrating. Kollyns Scarbrough has 12 to lead the Saints, with Sabrina Piper adding 10 off the bench. Balanced scoring for the Gaels.

Well, we can put that in the column of "welp, that was a thing that happened". We've put too many marks in that column this year. You'd think we'd have fewer communication problems than the team with five different languages in the rotation, but what do I know?

I do not like Anna Lundquist. She was a little too willing to give out the elbows and the trips, and not willing to take responsibility for the contact she did commit. I'm also not the world's biggest fan of people chucking threes when they're up 20 in the final minutes. She's physical, but she seems to be kind of a tweener, and I'm not sure where she fits in their scheme. Marilena Gerostergiou got hot in the fourth quarter, going with power in the paint and forcing our PA guy to get his tongue around her last name. I'm Greek and that one was giving me trouble. She's a big forward, broad-shouldered and not afraid to use it. Candela Hermida got into the game late and did a lot of moving around the three point arc. I don't know if that's her strength or not. Her teammates seemed to be giving her a lot more instruction than other players on the floor, but that might be a freshman thing. There were very many freshmen today. (I almost typed "there were very freshmen" and that wouldn't exactly be wrong either, but we'll get to that later.)

Sabrina Piper was a burst of offense off the bench, a long slim player with a nice jumper and some slashing skills. Looking at the numbers and the minutes, she was a straight-up direct replacement for Aaliyah Jones, which makes a lot of sense, considering their respective years. I was wondering why Piper wasn't starting, but it makes sense if Jones has senior privilege and Piper gets more of the minutes, or if the hot hand gets more of the minutes and we just didn't see Jones be the hot hand. DeAnna Winston came in late in the first half and early in the second half. I don't remember much about her on the floor except for her gold-tinted pouf of hair chasing the ballhandler. Hayley Winter tended to be late in the rotation. The one shot she took was a corner three.

Maddie Sims did very well when she didn't have Rebekah Justice going pound for pound and leap for leap with her. She had her share of blonde moments (though, to her credit, I don't think she was one of the players fighting for the ball with her own teammate) wherein the ball would go off some part of her body that she wasn't prepared for. She fought well for rebounds near the basket, and I'm pretty sure her hands were responsible for a couple of the Siena team rebounds. Aaliyah Jones played sparingly, and I don't think coming down funny on a rebound and tweaking her ankle helped very much on that front. She has very short shorts- I didn't even think it was possible to wear them that short without the ref looking at you funny.

Have yourself a day, Kollyns Scarbrough. She went shot for shot with Alexis Lewis in the second half, and she had gotten off to a better start. We couldn't keep up with her defensively, and she made us pay on the drive, in the midrange, and from deep. She got open, or her teammates got her open, and scoring resulted. Joella Gibson was aggressive on defense- a tough little guard, but not one of the slight itty bitties you sometimes see. Deja Rawls kept the pressure up defensively as well, and did a nice job running the point to direct Siena's offense.

I find myself wishing I wasn't giving Siena's other guards such short shift, but Scarbrough was just so damn good, especially when she broke the game open in the third quarter, that she tended to draw all of my attention. Just not the defense's...

Ashley Martin needs to work on tucking in her elbows on screens- she got called for one offensive foul and probably could have been dinged for two. I like the kid, and I admire her commitment to social justice, but I have yet to see Division I play out of her. Kristin Mahoney got into the game, threw a pass to an unprepared Treyanna Clay, and got pulled out of the game on the ensuing stoppage. I thought she'd been in for longer when she did that, but I guess not according to the box score. That benched her for the rest of the game. Our senior point guard, ladies and gentlemen. So what do you do when your point guard doesn't know what's going on and your other point guard is even more of a hot mess?

Well, you improvise, which was why Amelia Motz was running point for stretches. I love her instincts on the glass, and I love her hustle, but her offense is a problem. She scraps, but so far she just doesn't have the oomph to get to that next level. Tilasha Okey-Williams was surprisingly hesitant to shoot, but got low for loose balls. It's an interesting reversal of roles, but I like it. I'd love to see her develop into a two-way player. Alexis Lewis got hot in the second half, hitting midrange jumpers with fancy footwork. She rebounds with panache. Sometimes I get the feeling she's doing her own thing out there, and that's not always a good thing. But she's not the only person who has to understand that her teammates are out there to help her.

Toyosi Abiola has got to follow her shot. I understand that this might be difficult, because she has a high-arcing shot that's hard to get a read on once it leaves her hand. But you can't just stand there and watch it. She's got to either follow it or get back on defense, one or the other. I love her slashing to the lane, but she's got to convert. She was scrappy on defense, which I like, but someone needs to get her to a shot doctor, whether it happens here or in the offseason. Adrienne DiGioia is still too hesitant at pretty much everything. I know time cures that in freshmen, but I don't know if we have time for her to figure it out like that.

Treyanna Clay did work underneath, scoring on offensive rebounds and pulling down boards. She and Alexis Lewis have good chemistry on the floor, which shouldn't surprise me with the whole classmate thing. I'd like to see more plays run for her, and I'd like to see her get in better offensive position to have those plays run for her. I think we tried to get it in to her in less than optimal spots. Jayden Eggleston seems to have found all the confidence her teammates have lost. I'm not necessarily sold on her perimeter game, but she's bringing a lot of energy on the glass and she's finishing down low. She's finding her teammates, which is a very nice element to her game. She's growing on me. We'll see if she can sustain this, but I hope she can. Rebekah Justice has to not commit stupid reach-in fouls. I grant that an understanding of what risks to take comes with time, and she's only a freshman. I'd really like to see her do a lot more work inside and not take perimeter jumpers until she's solidified her interior play, or until she has another consistent rebounder in the game beside her- if she's out at the elbow taking jumpers, it's a lot easier for the other team to get the rebound underneath.

There were entirely too many sequences of dubious Iona shots where all that was underneath were people in green jerseys. Look, guys, Trey and Lex can't really do it by themselves. Someone's gotta track those shots.

Our crew chief had a flair for the dramatic. I'm pretty sure they could hear him announcing calls from the other side of campus. Not the worst thing in the world, all things considered. I thought they got a little tight on the touch fouls in the second half, and I'm not sure how much attention they were paying to Iona's dubious ability to get the ball over the midline neatly. Other than that, I was okay with the calls.

Nice to hear the band getting into the game. Stomp those bleachers, guys! The wood resonates fabulously.

I think it was admissions week, and I kept hoping one of the tour guides would take their group to the game.

Alexis Lewis seems to have a fan club. I can't say I'm surprised. She's sort of good at this basketball thing. She was honored before the game for hitting 1000 points (which we got to see a couple of weeks ago- I guess whoever they get the commemorative balls from has a long production time) and seemed pretty verklempt about it.

I still don't think this is a team with the ability to drop the table. I keep thinking they'll find a win somewhere. Somewhere along the line the pieces will fall together, or they'll run headlong into someone worse than they are.

Keep fighting the good fight, Gaels.

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January 6th, 2018: Quinnipiac at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Quinnipiac started strong and was never challenged in their 74-38 win at Iona. Taylor Herd had a team-high 16 points, 12 in the first quarter, to lead four Bobcats in double figures. Alexis Lewis had 13 points off the bench to lead Iona.

For injuries, a leadership void, dubious handling of players, a persistent source of positive energy, and train wreck jokes, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

The recurring theme of the GNoD, until such time as polar vortexes and bomb cyclones release their cruel hold upon us, is that it is too damn cold for any of this. And yet, here we are at the Hynes Athletic Center, about to discover for ourselves just how bad Iona has gotten this season, as they take on Quinnipiac.

I do not understand why Quinnipiac has blue plaid on the shoulders of their warm-up shirts. It is not a good look for them. The academic font and colors clash too badly with their athletic colors and font.

I don’t see Treyanna Clay out there for warmups with the rest of the team. I'm not panicking, you're panicking.

I will try to keep the "soulless ginger" remarks to a minimum, but Quinnipiac has two redheads now, so this is going to be difficult.

Well, I'm starting to understand some of Iona's problems right now. Tori Lesko's on crutches, Treyanna Clay looks like she's fighting through a bad hamstring, and arguably the team's most vocal leader isn't actually on the roster.

(Side note: in about twenty seasons of college basketball, there have been three, maybe four players for whom as people I would ride or die, whose enemies are my enemies and whose team is my team: Joy McCorvey at St. John's, Janee Johnson at Seton Hall, and Philecia Atkins-Gilmore at Iona, and if you talk trash about DeAngelique Waithe at LIU Imma fight you, but Angel is not quite on the same level as Joy, JJ, or Phee. So, no, Billi Chambers is not my favorite person this year.)

It's 33-22 Quinnipiac at halftime, which is actually about as good as I could have expected, all things considered. Taylor Herd hit four threes in the first quarter to get the Bobcats off to a hot start. Toyosi Abiola has nine, mostly in a late second-quarter flurry, and Alexis Lewis is doing Lex things with nine.

Y'all probably think I'm exaggerating aobut the leadership in the stands versus the leadership on the bench, but if I had to go to war with a couple of Iona guards at my side, I could do a lot worse than Philecia Atkins-Gilmore and Shonice Hawkins. (Shonice is helpfully wearing her road jersey for identification.)

Cheerleader didn't have quite the voice to do the anthem she was trying to do, but it could be worse. Yesterday's anthem singer managed to gum the word "spangled" near the end of the song. Yes, the word that is a quarter of the title.

Poor Adrienne DiGioia. I swear Coach practically dislocated her wrist yanking her back after she came back to the bench.

We're having a bit of trouble finding the Quinnipiac shooters. This is, granted, exacerbated by pretty much everyone on Quinnipiac's roster being a shooter, but perhaps the people who have multiple threes should be watched somewhat more closely than the others.

I reiterate and elaborate on my previous point: the most vocal player on this team isn't on the team, the second most vocal is injured, and the third most is a freshman who hasn't played. There sure as hell seems to be a giant leadership void in the heart of this team that no one seems inclined to step up into, and someone's going to need to do that if this team has any intentions of doing anything other than going down in the failboat.

Apologies for any typoes I miss- my fingers are still numb. Iona game times and the Bee-Line bus schedule don't play nice together and the first few stops of the downtown 6 are outdoor stops; I can still see my breath on the train.

Quinnipiac works together really well, which is perhaps more evident when playing a team that seems to have communication issues. Their doubles on the ballhandler were quick and crisp, they set screens well for each other, and they ran good fast breaks (and all gods knew we gave them plenty of opportunities to run fast breaks.

By the end of the game, it looked like Quinnipiac was just trying to light the tree, which is the only good reason for Danielle Bradley to be chucking threes up 30 in the final two minutes. She's got some touch for a big girl. Chiara Bacchini is quick- got to the basket for a lay-up off a steal. (Also, I am strangely fascinated by a redheaded Italian. I know it happens, but it's still unexpected.) Katie Grant is a big body in the middle, and I think she might be the heir apparent to othe role of "screen setter and maker of misery for opposing defenders" that Paula Strautmane fills so well right now.

I honestly didn't realize Jaden Ward played in the first half until I was told she was coming back into the game. She provided some interior defense that was more apparent in the second half than in the first. Paige Warfel had some strong rebounds in the middle, but there were a couple of plays where her mistakes almost cost Quinnipiac. (One of the many differences btween these two teams: Quinnipac mostly recovered from their mistakes, while Iona either compounded their mistakes or squandered their opportunities.) Edel Thornton has a very pretty shot. We let her get entirely too many open looks. I should not be this aware of how pretty a single reserve's shot is. Brittany Martin was able to take advantage of the foul count and get to the line. She's long, and uses her length well defensively.

There is no excuse for anyone to be able to hit four threes in a quarter, I don't care how good you are, I don't care how good your team is, I don't care how bad the defense is. Don't give me any of those excuses or reasons or whatever you want to call them. What Taylor Herd did in the first quarter to the Iona defense is inexcusable. At least her threes went cold in the second half, though that just meant she moved closer to the basket to score. Carly Fabbri did most of her damage in the fourth quarter- for long stretches Coach Fabbri used her bench instead of her starters, because that's how Quinnipiac rolls. It felt a little like she was kicking us while we were down, but, well, what are you going to do, stop playing?

As long as Jen Fay hits big threes in the most obnoxious way possible, and deflects anything she can get her hands on, and is generally both annoyingly good and good at being annoying, I'm going to continue referring to her as the soulless ginger. Consider it a mark of respect, in a twisted way. She's relentless on the ball, and spearheads so much of what Quinnipiac does on both sides of the court. I'll be immensely glad when we don't have to play against her anymore. Aryn McClure is disruptive, especially on the glass, but also on defense. She cuts well, even if she doesn't always finish well. She's ridiculously tough. Paula Strautmane has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. She passes well for a big. She needs to leave Toyosi alone, though.

I've already touched on Quinnipiac's teamwork, and on the double-teams they were able to bring. There are a lot of interchangeable parts, and there are a lot of direct substitutions (Thornton and Herd come immediately to mind).

Oh, my Gaels. Oh, my dear sweet summer children. I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but I'm pretty sure it's not going well for you.

Tilasha Okey-Williams was given the green light in the fourth quarter to start shooting, and she was streaky, but not too terrible when she got going. I don't know what else we were expecting from her, which is good, because other than a boatload of turnovers, we didn't get much else. Ball security was bad for most of the squad, but it was especially bad for her. Adrienne DiGioia is not ready for prime time, though I felt really bad for her when Coach yanked on her wrist like that to get her attention. That was uncalled for. She's got to be a better passer, both in terms of throwing the pass and knowing what pass to throw to whom when.

I love the hustle Amelia Motz brings to the floor. She's undersized for the work she does, but somehow she makes it happen. I'd like to see her work with a shooting coach, but I'd like to see a lot of Gaels work with a shooting coach. We'll get more into that later on. She's scrappy on the offensive glass, and I love that about her. Alexis Lewis runs hot and cold, but when she's on, no one's going to stop her. Even when she's not on, she gets into the middle of the paint and either pulls down rebounds or deflects them to her teammates, or she's able to scoop up her teammates' deflections. She scored her 1000th point in this game, and I couldn't be prouder of her- at least we got something good out of this flaming dumpster fire of a game, and at least there's something to celebrate in this dumpster fire of a season.

Something's not right with Treyanna Clay. She didn't come out for warm-ups with the rest of the team. When she did come out for the lay-up line, she was on the bike to nowhere. She's moving stiffly, and slowly, and with all the mobility of my mother during her rehab from various joint replacement surgeries. (Hi, mom!) This is not the Trey I remember from her first two seasons in New Rochelle. To turn a phrase from the Lobo era, she was never that fast but she was never this slow. If she's trying to power through an injury, I admire her heart but not her good sense; if Coach is trying to make her play through an injury, me and her are going to fight; if it's a conditioning issue or an undiagnosed injury that the training staff has somehow missed even though it's obvious to people in the stands, then someone on the training staff is stealing money from the institution. There is a lot I am not okay with here. If someone can work with Rebekah Justice on her shot, and on her conditioning, and on her positioning, she could be a very good MAAC center. But right now she's throwing the ball too hard off the glass and the rim, and she's about as fast as a glacier with all the turning grace of a Sherman tank, and she has no idea where she's supposed to be when she's rebounding. She's a freshman, and I acknowledge her youth and inexperience. But I have no faith that she's going to get better with this staff, and I have no faith she's going to seek out enough help outside this group to get better by herself. (Also, gesundheit. She went into a bit of a sneezing fit on the bench at one point.)

After four years, Kristin Mahoney looks no readier for Division I play than she did when she arrived in New Rochelle as a freshman. We called her "deer in the headlights" for a reason, and she hasn't stopped looking scared yet. She freezes when the double comes at her. She doesn't, or can't, or won't, shoot. She doesn't, or can't, or won't, pass out of the double-team or the trap or the press. She went from back of the rotation to starting lineup in the space of two months and I have no idea why, other than her senior status. And I guess if everything's on fire, it doesn't matter who's starting, so you might as well give it to the senior. Toyosi Abiola had the green light for much of the game, which is a problem for a freshman who is all speed and gangly limbs and not nearly enough fundamentals on her jump shot. I think she has the potential to be a game-changing type of player, but someone needs to work with her on her fundamentals, and I don't know if this staff is willing to put in that kind of work on players. I haven't seen any evidence of it yet. Don't get me wrong, I love when she cuts to the basket and scoops it in, or when that hiiiigh-arcing jumper goes down, but the awkward way she lands gives me nightmares. Jayden Eggleston rebounds well, but she's a liability on offense.

I don't understand these lineups. I don't understand the lack of fundamentals from players who did actually have fundamentals once upon a time. I don't understand how a coach can be so calm under these circumstances. I don’t understand a lot of things about Iona, and frankly, one of the things I don't understand is why I still want this to be one of my teams. But damn it, Phee still believes in them, and I believe in Phee, so I spent most of the game banging my clipboard and screaming at the top of my lungs to support this team, whether they want me around or not.

Officiating was tolerably mediocre, and if there was any favoritism it mostly went towards Iona. (Though that does not mean arguing with the ref when you're up 30 is reasonable, Coach Fabbri.) We did almost get jobbed out of free throws because the ref couldn't count to five. That was a fun stretch.

Shoutout to the kid who won the shootout, and did it in style.

This game was such a train wreck it had memetic effects on the MTA. We've been in transit since 3:30 and I'm still not home yet. The dude next to my husband has been snoring since Long Island City. This is ridiculous and I'm tired.

We got a t-shirt! There weren't a lot of options to throw it to, so I'm not surprised, but it fits!

(Also, that official attendance is laughable.)

So that was a thing that happened. I understand now why Iona's such a disaster this season. There are enough bad teams in the MAAC that we might yet steal a win, but hell, if you're going to be this bad, you might as well drop the table and have done with it. Go big or go home.

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November 27th, 2017: Toledo at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Rockets took off in the fourth quarter to beat Iona, 74-57. Mikaela Boyd had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Toledo. Treyanna Clay had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Iona in the loss.

For transportation issues, a little help from my friends, the final countdown, point guard comparisons, being distracted by shiny objects, and the perils of being a fan, join your intrepid and detoured blogger after the jump.

It’s almost over now, almost over now...

Iona doesn’t seem to like me, but tough. I like them well enough, so it’s off to New Rochelle for their early game against the Toledo Rockets. It helps that I like Toledo, too.

“This is 14th Street-Union Square.” No. No, it is not. It’s 3rd Avenue-138th Street. I think our conductor has had a long morning. Or possibly a very interesting weekend. (Also, it is 10:10 and I am at Brook Avenue. I don’t think I’m going to make the 10:20 bus at Pelham Bay Park, which is... um, a lot of stops away.)

Spoiler alert: I did not make the 10:20. And then the 11:20 broke down about four stops into New Rochelle. The two-kilometer walk was good for my cardiovascular health, and I was able to find a cab to shoot me up North Avenue, but I still missed all the pregame and the first four minutes of game time. Fortunately, the stat board and some statistical anomalies helped me catch up to the stats. But I didn’t get to see the anthem.

I walked in when it was 14-4 Toledo. It’s halftime and the score is 33-30. You’re welcome, Gaels. If we could rebound, we’d really be in this game. Mikaela Boyd is out there for Toledo like she’s Brittany Boyd, with seven points and six rebounds- for a while she was outrebounding our whole team. Alexis Lewis has 12 points for Iona, but it’s on volume.

I do not envy the person whose job it is to take care of the jerseys, especially when bodily fluids are involved. Treyanna Clay got blood on her jersey and spent the rest of the second quarter wearing #11. Poor staffer was scrubbing that jersey like she was Lady Macbeth.

Guys. It’s halftime and this is the third time you’ve played “Jumpman” already. For the love of God, play literally anything else.

Have I mentioned that I love Toledo’s “Embrace Diversity” shirts? Because those shirts are amazing and we have a request out to Toledo to see if we can acquire one. This is another time I want to yell at a school “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY” like I did with the St. John’s skyline socks.

(These kids on the bus have been seriously debating what happens to characters’ hair in Dragonball Z when they go Super Saiyan, and they are so deadly serious about it. What decade am I in?)

I’m starting to think Iona might not be a good team. I love them, but they are so very much a work in progress at best.

Toledo’s fun. They rolled fairly deep in the first half, though I didn’t even realize Michaela Rasmussen played until I looked at the box score. Sara Rokkanen hit a three in the first half just when Iona looked like they might really get back into it. I remember hearing Tatyana Davis’s name when she subbed in, but not anything she did on the floor.

Tanaya Beachem brought size on defense, bouncing Iona players off her and bringing the pain. Jada Woody was an immediate offensive spark when she came in- I think I had just collapsed on my spot in the bleachers when she hit a three, and her buckets in the second half were also right after she came in. Olivia Cunningham had a hot fourth quarter, hitting on a couple of shots, including a nice lay-up on a sweet feed from Mariella Santucci. She started the second half, which does not seem to have been the case for the first half, if Iona’s box score is to be believed.

Once again according to that box score, Santucci got the start. There were some rough patches where it looked like she and her teammates were having some communication issues. (With all the international guards I’ve been seeing recently, I’m starting to recognize the gesture of arms outspread wide and a facial expression of utter WTF.) She had some slick passes out there. Late in the second quarter, it looked like Sarah St-Fort had momentarily forgotten what sport she was playing and was trying to live out some lifelong dream of playing for les Canadiens by body-checking people. Spoiler alert: this does not usually fly in basketball. Mikaela Boyd was fantastic for the Rockets- I made the Brittany Boyd reference in the first half and I’m going to do it again here. She scrapped for offensive rebounds, she hustled into tables (and was polite enough to at least try to put the rolling board back into place on her way back), she drove the lane (though her drives are somewhat less pell-mell than the Liberty’s Boyd), and she was even inconsistent at the line like my favorite Boyd. (Heck, her coach even just calls her by her last name, same as Bill did with the Liberty’s Boyd.)

Kaayla McIntyre hit back to back buckets as I was buying my ticket and racing up the stairs, and set herself up for another bucket on a solid rebound. She’s very strong. That sometimes worked against her, as she picked up a couple of fouls in the second quarter. Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott is an interesting sort of hybrid player, with the build of a post player but the instincts, or at least desires, of a small forward. In this one, her success at that was mixed at best. But I can imagine her leveraging that size on a good shooting day into becoming a match-up nightmare.

I was impressed with Toledo’s ball movement, especially against the press. Iona tried to rattle them, and it didn’t work all that well. The turnovers were mostly procedural and on fouls- Iona had a few steals, but they were mostly when Toledo was setting up the offense.

Rebekah Justice was on the floor when I arrived. I figured that was probably a sign of desperation, or of size. I may have to move my seat as long as she’s at Iona; otherwise these are going to be four confusing years wherein I keep thinking Coach is calling my name (even though I know the odds of that are slim).. I figured Kristin Mahoney was the white flag when she came in. She hasn’t played much. Coach seems to have lost some of the faith she had in Adrienne DiGioia earlier in the season, since Adrienne got benched. I think I understand why, though; while she did have the one jumper, she looked out of place on both ends of the floor. I think she’ll settle into a steady point guard, but she’s not there yet.

But I’m impressed with how Amelia Motz has stepped up as a playmaker, or at least a play initiator. She brought the ball up a lot, and while she sometimes ran into trouble, she was able to get the offense started. She did her scoring at the rim, and she played hard on both ends of the floor. I was not expecting such extensive run for Tilasha Okey-Williams. I think this is the longest look I’ve ever gotten at her. I didn’t realize just how much spin there was on her shot- it looks almost like she’s firing a knuckleball when that three goes up from the corner. She brings a different look at forward- one more offensive-minded- and I think we can develop her into a good change of pace player. (Video from this game might help with that. Woody’s offensive surge is a good example to follow.)

I do not know why Jayden Eggleston started, though I can make a couple of guesses: she might have been trying to get more size into the starting lineup, because Treyanna Clay at center is not going to work, or she might have thought she matched up better with Toledo’s front line. I don’t know. Whatever she was trying to do, I don’t think it worked. Jayden didn’t even start the second half. Treyanna Clay is already starting to look worn out, and it’s November. That’s not a good sign. Trey plays a lot of minutes, and we need her to play a lot of minutes, but at the same time, Coach needs to rest her at some point, even if it’s just for a minute here or there. Take her out to end the first or third quarter, the way Laimbeer used to do with Tina Charles. She’s starting to look slow on defense, and it’s not of the good. I do like her leadership on the floor, too. She’s very vocal. Alexis Lewis scored a lot, but her three-ball was all over the place. I like that she’s taking it to the rack when her jumper isn’t going down, but I’d like to see better form on those floaters. If her inside game can be more consistent, and if she can bring the rebounding like I saw earlier in the year, she can be something special.

Toyosi Abiola has to speed up her decision-making. She was scared to shoot today, and that’s a problem when you have open looks. Those moments of hesitation allowed the defense to collapse on her, and caused turnovers, whether they were lost balls,travels, or steals. I get that she’s a freshman and rapid decision-making is not yet a thing, and I think she has the potential to grow, but the early going has been a little bit rough. I like Tori Lesko’s hustle, and I love that she’s vocal on the bench, trying to keep her team’s spirits up. She brought a lot of grit to the floor, but she couldn’t keep up with Toledo’s talent.

While I’m not normally a fan of coaches changing things up without an apparent rhyme or reason, I like that Coach Chambers is willing to experiment with her lineups and try new things. I’ve been hard on her in the past for not adapting, so I should give her credit for trying to.

Officiating was unremarkable, except the fourth quarter was dragged out longer than it had to be because there were issues with both the shot and game clocks- they just wouldn’t stop running.

I’m amused that the blood jersey is #11, but you’ll have to go back into the Iona archives to understand why.

There are pieces, but I’m not sure we know how to make them fit. And meanwhile I think the losing is starting to get to the kids. The energy level on the bench was much lower than it was against Temple. I like them. I don’t want to see any of them leave.

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November 19th, 2017: Temple at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma’am: In a defensive struggle, it was the Temple Owls who came out on top, 59-54, to spoil Iona’s home opener. Tanaya Atkinson had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Temple. Treyanna Clay’s 16 points led Iona.

For fundamentals, mechanical issues, short benches, long minutes, discount tickets, and defensive struggles, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Tomorrow I get to pass out. I tell myself this so I can survive the rest of the day. Being sick during basketball season is the opposite of fun. Today is opening day at Iona, as the Gaels host the Temple Owls.

Facilities folks are off to a slow start; concession stand is late opening, they’re short on scanners, and tickets didn’t start printing until after the doors opened. On the other hand, marketing is being proactive in making sure everyone has their posters and schedule magnets, and there’s even a souvenir stand set up in the lobby. Buy the shirt! Buy the shirt! (I might actually buy a scarf, if thie prices are reasonable.)

Someone is on crutches for Temple. I can’t see who, though. I’m guessing Alliyah Butts?

One of the Gaels knelt for the anthem. I think it was Ashley Martin, but I’m not sure. New favorite person on the team.

Well, the game hasn’t been a thing of beauty and a joy forever, but we’re up at the half on Temple, 22-19. The first quarter was 8-2, I think I reserve the right to make as many snarky remarks about the scoring as I want. Alexis Lewis has all the rebounds.

I forgot how rowdy the Iona crowd could get, even when there aren’t a lot of people and even without Damika’s family around.

Dance team has new uniforms. I approve.

Well, that game was a thing that happened. I don’t think either team should be particularly satisfied with it. Iona choked, but Temple had to come back from down 11 to a MAAC team that isn’t exactly great shakes. There was a lot of good defense played. There were a lot of good shots missed. It was not pretty, but there were a couple of moments when you could see how pretty it could be.

I thought Lena Niang brought an interesting dimension to Temple on both sides of the floor, but she made a critical mistake on defense that I think led to a three-point play, or some other golden opportunity for Iona. Coach Cardoza pulled her out, gave her a Teaching Moment, and that was the last we saw of her. Shannen Atkinson gave them good height and length, and teamed well with Tanaya Atkinson on defense. (I don’t know if they’re related. I should look that up.) Deja Reynolds had good reason to play angry after the elbow to her throat wasn’t called, and after that play she made her feelings about the officiating clear at every reasonable opportunity.

And then we come to the two shooters, the ones whose scoring and stroke in the second half was a good portion of how Temple made it all the way back. Emani Mayo’s three-point shot was smooth as silk, and she did a good job of getting open. Desiree Oliver was more about the midrange game, but I was more surprised (pleasantly in the basketball fan sense, unpleasantly in that she is doing it to my team) by her shot- for a player as stocky as she is, she moves very well and surprisingly quickly- she had a really nice steal and lay-up. That’s a nice pair of freshmen to build on.

I don’t know what the deal was with Mykia Jones starting and then promptly going to the bench. She wasn’t particularly anything, but it’s usually pretty hard to be particularly anything in two minutes. Tanaya Atkinson had herself a day- she came up with a lot of big baskets and big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. She was quick and opportunistic on defense. I was very impressed with her. Khadijah Berger’s one basket came in the fourth quarter, as part of the run that put Iona away. She brought defense. (Candor compels me to admit I’m intensely curious about the combination of a traditionally Muslim first and middle name with a last name that’s more often found in German Jews. Names are fascinating.)

Getting Mia Davis in foul trouble early was a big advantage for Iona. When she was in the game, she was able to score at the basket and protect the rim. Having her off the floor forced Temple to go smaller, which sort of worked out for them in the long run, but in the short run it allowed Iona’s forwards to make plays at the rim. (It would have helped if we could hit them. But we’ll get to that.) Breanna Perry had some looks, but kept throwing them up wildly. She had a couple of exchanges with teammates wherein one of them would miss the shot and another would miss the putback from the other side of the basket. Occasionally they would repeat this process.

I think this is going to be a rebuilding year for Temple, but I can see the foundation that Cardoza is building. If she can keep them all- and these days, that’s a tall task for any coach- this is going to be a very solid AAC team in the next couple of years.

Ashley Martin’s brief cameo was for the sole and express purpose of making sure neither Alexis Lewis nor Treyanna Clay picked up an extra foul. It was bad enough when Trey was going after the intentional foul when she had three, we didn’t need her doing something stupid like fouling out. Jayden Eggleston was mostly in as a stopgap- she stepped in when Trey was injured, and when we needed a spare set of fouls at the end of the game. Tilasha Okey-Williams had a stretch in the second half when we tried to go a little bit bigger and counter Temple that way in the paint. I think she needed to be a little more assertive on the floor. Rebekah Justice is a big girl. The pass to get her the assist was a nice enough pass, but it was a good look for her as well, so I’m not sure how I feel about the play. Amelia Motz was our primary option off the bench, and while I like her hustle and her scrappiness, she can be a liability on offense. I like her, but she’s got to work on her shot, either the mechanics of it or her willingness to put it up.

So, the freshmen. We have two of them starting, at least for the moment. Adrienne DiGioia has her jitters (the husband called them “the freshman OMGs” and I think I like that turn of phrase) but she shows promise as a steadying guard. I don’t think she’s ready to start, but our options are limited. (Gosh. It’s like you had a competent guard with a nice three-point shot who would have been a senior leader on the floor, Billie. Oh, yes, we’re going to fight about Phee all season.) Toyosi Abiola has a lot of raw talent and seems to be ahead of the curve in terms of conditioning for a freshman. She’s got to work on her ballhandling and the mechanics of her shot, but I love what she might turn out to be. (When she’s a senior, do we have to spell out the defense chant with a C?)

Alexis Lewis, I am shaking my head at you right now. You can’t see it, because you’re in New Rochelle and I’m not, but I’m shaking my head so hard. She had so many missed shots right at the rim in the first half that were wild off the rim, or the glass, or all-in-all not completely thought all the way through. I love the high arc of her three-pointer, and her never-say-die attitude towards rebounding, but she has to be more offensively consistent if she wants to succeed beyond this level. (I mean, okay, if she had better mechanics, she probably wouldn’t be in the MAAC.) Tori Lesko took more charges than I could count- three or four at least, not including the ones that were called blocks, or not called at all. I’d like her to be more willing and more able to shoot, but I think that can be learned; everything she’s shown indicates that she works hard, and if she puts her mind to it she should be able to do something about her offense. Her rebounding and defense are already there, and so is her vocal leadership on the floor. Ditto on that last for Treyanna Clay, who made sure that Adrienne was in position on defense more than once. She was the focal point of Temple’s defensive plan, and she too often chose to try to pass out of the trap, with dubious results. When she went up, she got buckets. I’d like to see her do that more.

Coach Chambers (it’s going to take a while to get used to calling her that) took every opportunity to pull her team aside to talk to them, whether it was during the first of two free throws, a stoppage to get some kind of biohazard off the floor, or a clock review. I love that communication.

(I also love the two bench players getting the defense chant started with the quickness. Still haven’t proven themselves worthy of 14 and 24, but they seem to have their heads on right, anyway.)

We got the benefit of the doubt on pretty much all the calls in the first half, even if the people around us immediately assumed any call on the Gaels was a terrible call and a sin. Things evened out a bit more in the second half. I still can’t believe Amelia didn’t get hit with a foul for that elbow, though.

Props to the video guy for putting together an intro video with footage from the two away games that opened the season. (Though one wonders if they had to pull one together in a hurry... yes, I’m petty, yes, I’m salty.)

It’s early in the season for both teams. I’m not sure what they’ve learned. I’m pretty sure Iona needs to bring in an assistant who specializes in fundamentals, though. I’m looking forward to the next game.

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