Just the Facts, Ma’am: St. John’s broke open a close game in the third quarter to beat James Madison, 81-64. Akina Wellere led four Johnnies in double figures with 18 points. Kamiah Smalls of James Madison led all scorers with 19 points.
For snow, delays, the real MVP, apple cake, getting the gang back together, partying like it’s your nerdy birthday, ball movement, and three pointers, join your intrepid and chilled blogger after the jump.
I know these people, right? St. John’s has been too long away from home, but the girls are back in town for a match-up against James Madison.
JMU has a very nifty bus. Of course, I can question why they bussed up from Virginia, but hey, y’all do y’all.
Pro tip to public safety: the first snow day of the season is not the day to start setting up security late, dither over the proper placement of bins, and open the doors almost fifteen minutes late. Y’all have done this before, can y’all act like you’ve done this before?
Getting the gang back together: Sky Lindsay (who works for ESPN3 and the BEDN) is chatting away with Da’Shena Stevens and Shenneika Smith over by the St. John’s bench. Pass the ball, Sky.
I’m not sure how I feel about Andrayah Adams in an undershirt. It’s not the most flattering look for her.
I’mma need my band family to get here in a hurry. People are starting to take their seats.
Somebody’s horn just made the most godawful squealing noise, and I’m really glad it’s only warm-ups.
Shenneika, if you’re going to wear suspenders, admit you’re wearing suspenders and don’t leave the loops hanging by your sides like you’re expecting someone to hook something to them. I see you. I SEE EVERYTHING.
I’ve never actually been at a game where someone forgot the words to the anthem before. And it wasn’t like he was doing a great job of it before flubbing the line, either.
I don’t want to say that the cheer clinic kids behind me didn’t care about the game, but they bailed as soon as their performance was done. They didn’t even wait until halftime. Heck, they didn’t even care about the t-shirt toss. I mean, jeez, y’all.
Chuck a duck is back! New charity is Go for the Goal, which probably explains why every spirit group has a junior version and why anyone who could swap out their laces has the gold laces. (I presume the inability to swap shoelaces is why most Johnnies have them tied around their ankles.)
38-30 St. John’s at halftime. Uncharacteristic number of three-pointers. We’ll see if we can sustain it in the second half. JMU relies on good ball movement, and our defense has been able to negate that.
I’m not happy with the minutes the starters put in in the fourth quarter- and for that matter, that goes for both teams. Sixteen points with two minutes to go seems pretty safe, since I don’t think anyone is going to pull one hot minute again, and if they do you have time to sub out the bench players.
(There is a man practicing bagpipes on the platform at 75th Avenue. Why is there a man practicing bagpipes on the platform?)
Either Aneah Young’s shot was really off today, or it's just that bad and she’s convinced herself that it’s good. It wasn’t. I think it was the first shot she took where we left her wide open, she hesitated, then decided to shoot a three and proceeded to slide it down the far side of the backboard. Going from Kamiah Smalls to her was definitely an offensive downgrade, to the point where Coach O’Regan skipped her in the rotation for much of the second half. Tori Harris got the call in that spot in the third quarter (though Young would enter later). My first impression of her boiled down to “long, lanky, and eager”- she seemed to be desperately trying to prove herself on defense. She got her buckets in the fourth quarter, one on a straightaway three and one on an easy lay-up. Logan Reynolds did a lot of running around out there, and made a nice defensive stop to curtail a Red Storm fast break.
Kayla Cooper-Williams is very tall and very slim, looking a little bit fragile and a little bit foldable. She’s very raw, and I seem to remember an ACL in her past; if that’s accurate, that could explain the hint of timidness to her game. She pulls down boards well, and knows how to use her height in that regard- there were two or three that she just pulled out of the hands of shorter Red Storm posts like she was the claw in the toy machine. But wow, was her shot a mess of hot garbage. Someone has to work on that with her quickly. Devon Merritt backed up Kelly Koshuta, and brought a little more low-post physicality than Koshuta did, including a neat seal of Imani Littleton to leave Lexie Barrier open for a midrange shot.
I’m not used to Hailee Barron doing something that isn’t shooting a three. She was such a specialist early on her career, but she’s developed other facets of her game over the last four years, and as a basketball fan, that makes me happy (and makes me take note of Kenny Brooks and Sean O’Regan as coaches). She was scrappy on defense and had a good defensive board. I keep thinking Lexie Barrier should be a defensive stopper because of her name, but she was more offensive-minded in this one, slashing to the basket. If she’s going to take as many threes as she did in this one, though, she’s going to need to practice them a lot more. Kamiah Smalls was the star of the show, stopping and popping and often driving. Ballhandling was a little suspect, but our defense does that to people, so I’d want to see her against a less defensive-minded team than mine before judging her on that. She’s not the scoring superstars of old that JMU once had, but she’s a damn good offensive option.
Kelly Koshuta has a surprisingly nice outside shot for a player of her height and build, but I don’t know that I’d use it as often as she did in this game. Yes, it stretches the defense, but she might have been as or more effective down low, especially with the foul trouble our posts were in. (We’ll get to the foul trouble later.) Tasia Butler barely played, and I don’t know what the story was with that. I’ll have to ask a JMU fan about that.
I liked JMU’s ball movement- yes, we were able to frequently disrupt it, but that’s our specialty. When we weren’t able to disrupt it, it was crisp and effective.
I’m starting to understand why Joe has no confidence in Kayla Charles. I’d really like to see her develop, but she’s got to understand that there are going to be other people her height, and maybe even taller, on the floor. She doesn’t seem comfortable with that, and she doesn’t seem to know how to play them. This is a problem. This is especially going to be a problem if Imani and Maya are going to get in foul trouble every game. Alisha Kebbe brought defense, and briefly joined the three-point party, but was otherwise quiet. (Too quiet.) Andrayah Adams alternated picture-perfect three-pointers with wild drives that ended in wilder shots, the very definition of “no, no, yes!” I’d still like to see more improvement from her on defense, especially if Joe’s going to have to go to crazy four- and five-guard sets, but she’s getting there.
(seriously, Joe, we were up no less than fourteen the entire fourth quarter, you couldn’t have let Sox or Machi give Tiana or Kina a break?)
The more of Maya Singleton I see, the sadder I get... because I would have liked to see a whole lot more, but she’s a junior college transfer so we only get two years, and that makes me sad. I love me some Maya. She rebounds ferociously, she’s not the worst dribbler in the world, and she can score at the basket. Once she got going, she wasn’t going to stop going. Imani Littleton got into early foul trouble, and between that and the one missed chippie, I don’t think she ever really found her rhythm. I get the sense- and it could be completely off base- that Imani spends a lot of time in her own head, and for the next four months or so that’s not a good thing. For the rest of her life, it absolutely is, and I appreciate that sense of deeper self about her.
Rough game for Qadashah Hoppie, the first I’ve seen her have. It wasn’t so much that she was out of sync than it was she didn’t seem to fit in this lineup. She needs to step her defense up, and not just her on-ball defense, if she’s going to fit into our defensive schemes. Tiana England scaled back her “where offense goes to die a strangled death” tendencies- and when she’s zipping the ball around, shock of shocks, the offense actually works. She had a couple of nifty passes to Akina Wellere (and to hear her tell it, there should have been more!) including an early backwards bounce pass that set Kina up for three. It’s really good to see Akina in her offensive flow. When her three is falling, she has much more confidence in the rest of her arsenal, and that’s when the drives start falling, and everything in her game just kicks up another notch. She made some bad decisions that had me going, “Kina, why did you do that?”
I don’t think the three-point shooting is sustainable, but it’s fun to watch.
Officiating. Hoo boy. I’m tired of the multi-body scrums not being called, and the ticky-tack hand check fouls being called. I let them have it a few times, to the point where I think the one guy I liked the least (Farlow, I think?) heard me. (After a whistle finally went our way, I maaaaaay have said something along the lines of “Blessed glory hallelujah, you finally got one right!” And he may have said to one of his colleagues, “That’s what I wanted to hear.”) I think the things they’re being asked to emphasize are not the things that are inherent to the integrity of the game and the safety of the players.
Getting the band back together, the junior edition: after the game, spotted Sandra Udobi and Mallory Jones chatting with Ashley Perez, who’s working at James Madison.
Autograph day! Decided to go for the flag because that was the shorter run and I thought I had a D&D game to go to (turns out our sorceress canceled and I hiked my butt to Sheepshead Bay for no good reason). Complimented Tiana’s passing, and she said thank you, and that’s when she asked Akina why she drove on a particular play. I don’t know the context, but while I was still back in the line, I heard one of them ask, “Did you lose your words?” I heart my team so much.
The Fordham game is going to be more awkward than I thought, but I’m looking forward to it anyway.
Saturday, December 9, 2017
December 9th, 2017: James Madison at St. John's
Thursday, December 22, 2016
December 21st, 2016: James Madison at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Down 10 at the half, St. John's stormed back in the fourth quarter to beat James Madison, 74-63. Jade Walker had a team-high 16 points, supported by the 14 points and 13 rebounds of Imani Littleton. Precious Hall had a game-high 22 points for JMU.
For ugly sweaters, foam fingers, point guard energy, defensive lapses, offensive sparks, battening down the hatches, and the hot hand with the Cali chill, join your intrepid and proud blogger after the jump.
Good morning, for lack of a better phrase. It's time for the annual exercise in masochism and team pride: Field Trip Day. Yes, surround the childfree people with thousands of screaming children. This is a good idea.
(Why don't I skip them? Because there is a game and my team is playing. Honestly, ask a stupid question.)
At halftime, James Madison is up 36-26. Precious Hall went off in the second quarter for all 14 of her points. We are not being coached well. The offensive game plan has been stagnant; the defensive game plan went from brilliant to WTF in the course of a single substitution. Joe does know that he can't jake it for the old alma mater, right?
Seriously, though. Precious Hall had 0 points in the first quarter, mostly being guarded by much larger players. She had 14 in the second, mostly being guarded by our more skillful defenders. Gee, what do you think was working?
I can't believe the grit of this team in the fourth quarter. It's night and day from how we started the year against Duquesne, and I'm up for a rematch.
Shout out to the JMU fans, even when their nearest local connection is a Connecticut yankee. (And also to the JMU bus. That is a nice bus.)
Coach O'Regan was working with a fairly short bench, and it got steadily shorter as the game wound down. Lexie Barrier has the perfect name for a defensive player, so I wasn't necessarily surprised when she missed her first two shots badly. She was pretty solid on the glass. Devon Merritt was the first sub for the Dukes in the first half and the last sub in the second half. She was unremarkable.
I will say, Hailee Barron looks to have diversified her skill set. The last time I watched JMU play, she was a straight-up three-point specialist with no thought to any other part of her game. Now she's a three-point specialist who gets up close and personal on defense and can force the occasional turnover. Aneah Young brought physical defense and an absolutely monstrous fourth-quarter block on Alisha Kebbe.
I really like the knack Kamiah Smalls has for being in the right place at the right time. I'll probably like it better if/when I go see them at Hofstra, when I get to cheer for them (and not just for our RPI/SOS, or because of Ashley Perez- I like the program and want to see them do well). She was the most effective offensive player at the beginning of the game, not Hall. I was expecting rather more out of the Syracuse transfer, Tasia Butler. It's not like she hit foul trouble until the fourth quarter. She's strong- physically so, I mean. Amber Porter grabbed some strong boards in the middle- she, like many JMU players, spent much of the second half in foul trouble.
I know who you're probably here to read about, if you're not here for St. John's, but you know me, I like to build to a point. So let's talk about the point guard Logan Reynolds a little bit (whose last name is not Richards, no matter what the PA guy thought that one time). Offensively, she looks like the new version of Barron, but with better passing skills. Her first reaction when she takes a shot is a three, though, and I don't know how confident she is- which means we really don't know how confident she'll be without the magnificent security blanket known as Precious Hall. And Hall is one heck of a first option to have. She's not afraid to shoot, nor should she be. She's got a nice-looking shot, too, though she was more successful on the drive than from the perimeter in this one. She's fast, and she's aggressive, and you basically have to beat her on sheer physical tools to beat her. You match her with skill, she beats you. You match her with speed, she beats you. In this case, size matters.
JMU swarms when they spot weakness. They're not afraid to get down low and grab loose balls, or the occasional ankle.
Oh, Maya. Bless her heart, but in the first quarter Maya Singleton came in and immediately turned the game into a dumpster fire. Her head was not in the game, which made me sad. She recovered somewhat in the second half, showing her fire and her strength, but this missing bunnies at the rim thing needs to stop. She and Crystal Simmons were the defensive half of the platoon subbing Joe spent much of the fourth quarter playing around with. But she was so bad early that Joe went to Sandra Udobi almost immediately in the first. Sandie was unremarkable. Foul trouble and decreased effectiveness forced Joe to give Jordan Agustus early run, and it was clear that she wasn't ready.
Crystal Simmons brought close on-ball defense, and I love to watch her with the quick hands, but she has got to do something about the long wind-up on her shot to be anything more than a defensive specialist. I don't know- maybe that's what she's focusing on, and her offense can go to hell for all she cares. Andrayah Adams came in to shoot, but was unsuccessful at that. She really looked lost.
What a day for Imani Littleton! This was the kind of game we were waiting for from her, and I'm so happy we got it. She was efficient inside, taking advantage of defensive lapses by JMU, and she was absolutely vicious on the boards. All the rebounds were hers, especially in the first half. I love to see her playing with urgency, especially when she combines it with that Cali chill expression. Jade Walker hit the lane like a freight train and scored well, but she always seemed upset at the calls she wasn't getting and the plays she wasn't making. I do love to see Jade work inside, though. Smite them!
Akina Wellere's developing a disturbing habit of getting into foul trouble late in games. I don't know if it's a conditioning thing and she can't keep up, or if she's never going to be as good defensively as she is offensively, or if she hasn't picked up the finer points of defense yet. She had a huge trey in the fourth quarter to really key the St. John's run. Alisha Kebbe had really rough puck luck with the rim- I'm thinking she might need to soften up her shot a little bit to stop getting some of the weird bounces. Her defense on Precious Hall was great, both straight up and help. Aaliyah Lewis won the hearts of some of the kids behind us (by the end of the game, there was a scattering of "Let's go, number 4!" cheers, and I don't think they were for Tasia Butler) with her speed, her daredevil drives into the lane in the fourth quarter, and her dribbling skills. Ankle-breaking has universal appeal. I don't know if she feeds off the team, or the team feeds off her, but she has that synergy with her team's energy that good point guards always have. I don’t know if she has the control of it that elite guards have, or if she's as susceptible to it dragging her down as she is to riding the wave up.
Usual complaints about the officiating: they call the ticky-tack stuff and ignore the three-player pile-up. There was one sequence near the end of the game where my heart was in my throat because Jade was down and still very vulnerable to being stepped on. No breaking our seniors, people!
Ugly sweaters plus cheerleaders equals awkward, terrible idea. Pretty much everyone affiliated with the team in any significant capacity had an ugly sweater, except for Tasha Pointer (because say what you will about Stringer, but when her players leave her system, they will have dignity whether they want it or not). Why are ugly holiday sweaters a thing? This is a cultural question, I genuinely don't get it.
Shoutout to the school group across the aisle from us, who had awesome signs and an adult willing to get them cheering in big moments.
Ms. Kelly, while I'm flattered you recognized us, trust me, we never saw you play unless it was in an alumnae game.
We needed a comeback win like that. It gives the youngsters some confidence.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
February 5th, 2016: James Madison at Hofstra
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Jazmon Gwathmey had 34 points and 13 rebounds to power James Madison over Hofstra, 71-54. Angela Mickens added 20 for the Dukes. Ashunae Durant led Hofstra with 20 points.
For buses, trains, automobiles, rebounds, transfers, losing track of time, precise dance moves, a lack of pins, and finishing through contact, join your intrepid and sleepy blogger after the jump.
The sun is out. The snow has stopped falling from the sky and is now falling from the trees and pretty much everything else it managed to stick to. This is fantastic building snow, so get out there and make snowmen or have snowball fights before it's all gone. Then again, by the time these notes go up, it'll probably all be gone anyway. Never mind. Carry on. As you were.
Taking the long way around, since the 45 bus I caught laid up short at the Metro-North station. Currently winding my way through the Pelhams, and they're beautiful.
45 to the 42 to the 2 to the Q44 to the N6 to the N72. To the izzo, I suppose. But I'm here. That's what's important. So are several members of JMU's Crown Club, though it looks like their tickets haven't been fully sorted out.
It's a PinkZone game for Hofstra, though because Kilburn-Stevesky is an NC State alumna, they tend to do a lot of PinkZone games. JMU brought their pink tees, which I thought was a nice touch.
The erstwhile Johnnie, Ashley Perez, traveled, but did not dress. She's wearing a very cute dress and tragically mismatched boots. Awww, Ash. :(
Hofstra gave me a scare by closing the campus early- nothing quite like passing a sign flashing "University Closed" at you on the last leg of a four-hour journey.
There's something slightly galling about Hofstra doing a PinkZone game on National Wear Red Day, but that might just be my inherent seething hatred of PinkZone talking.
I WANT JMU'S PURPLE NIKES SO MUCH I AM CAPS LOCKING OF GLEE.
The difference between the music Hofstra plays when the players are on the floor and what they play when they're not is... marked. A little disturbing, the more I think of it.
I assume they're staging the Girl Scouts, since it's half an hour before tip and there are still a fair number of empty sections.
At halftime, JMU is up one, basically because Angela Mickens and Jazmon Gwathmey are awesome and you are not. Ashunae Durant is leading the way for Hofstra, with a phenomenal ability to finish through contact.
I like the Hofstra experience. The band is good, and they get into the game. There isn't a large student section, but they make noise. The dance team is competent, if boring. It's not the worst arena food I've ever had, but also not the cheapest. The souvenir stand is well stocked. Everyone's really nice.
(I'm also a little in love with hanging banners for presidential debates, and the way they do retired numbers, and the fact that the basketball banners are strictly chronological, not separated by women and men.)
Talent will tell in the end, and JMU did more good things better, especially down the stretch. Also, Jazmon Gwathmey is really good at basketball, but you should know that already.
I'd heard a lot about Savannah Felgemacher from an acquaintance down in the Shenandoah Valley, so I was looking forward to seeing her, but she only played very briefly in the first half, and I never got an impression of her. Destiny Jones threw her weight around down low and on the ball, and got called for a fair number of fouls doing it. Hailee Barron loves her three-pointers, sometimes a little too much- she took that caused me to yell, "You don't have to take it from Charlottesville!" She's more of a scrapper on defense than I expected from everything I read about her. Logan Reynolds gave Angela Mickens some brief relief in both halves, but wasn't much of a factor.
Y'know, I could have sworn I just spent the morning watching a forward who couldn't hit a shot because she kept shooting them off the inside of the rim, but boy howdy can she rebound and hustle after loose balls. In the morning it was Joy Adams; in the evening it was Da'Lishia Griffin. Kayla Cooper-Williams found herself limited early and often by foul trouble, and she seemed to get in her teammates' way a lot when she was trying to rebound. Jazmon Gwathmey was awesome. When did she make three-point shooting such a crucial part of her game? Because she's strong slashing to the basket and making moves in the lane, but in the second half the threes started going down. She's so tough. She's so good. I'd love to see her in the summertime.
Angela Mickens owns the floor when the ball's in her hand. I love her footwork and her swiftness. She was hot early, and she called her own number often, but for good reason- she was getting the pull-up with impunity. Hofstra put stronger defenders on her in the second half, forcing her into more of a distributive role. Tasia Butler got the start, but was pulled early in both halves for Barron.
The passing got a little sloppy in the second half, but JMU generally did more things smarter and better than Hofstra did, and that was enough for them to pull away.
Sandra Dongmo gave some good minutes in the post off the bench. Jakelle King-Gilchrist saw a little bit of time in the first half and contributed a bucket, but not much else. Asia Jackson was tenacious on defense- she was making Angela Mickens's life miserable in the fourth quarter, sometimes to the point of excess (I'm pretty sure that the best way to stop a player from hitting a layup is not to wrap an arm around her waist).
It really feels like Darius Faulk played less time than she did, although that perception might have been skewed by her missing much of the first half with foul trouble. Kelly Loftus was quick to shoot, and not always accurate about it. Krystal Luciano is really fast and makes her decisions very quickly. She seemed fond of the overly deep three.
Anjie White would probably drive me insane if I were a Hofstra fan. There's so much there to like- positioning on rebounds, setting screens, boxing out, all the little things that make a player endearing- but those hands would probably cause me to bruise my forehead with the repeated slaps that would surely occur. She just could not seem to catch a pass cleanly. Ashunae Durant has a phenomenal ability to finish through contact- pretty much all the shots she hit were contested. I don't think it was until the fourth quarter that she hit a shot that didn't come with an accompanying free throw. I really like her- and she's only a sophomore, so there's every chance that she could get even better and well-rounded.
The officiating was mostly even-handed, though I think the game might have ended just in the nick of time- Hofstra was starting to object to this whole losing the game thing, and Jackson and Mickens were starting to get into it a little bit. I don't know if there's history between them or if someone was running her mouth or something, but it was definitely an interesting dynamic. People need to be more careful with their footwork, though. There were a lot of travels uncalled.
I think Hofstra's a year away. I think JMU's going to be okay (though in my biased opinion, they do miss Ashley Perez).
Sunday, December 15, 2013
December 15th, 2013: James Madison at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: James Madison withstood a strong second half showing by St. John's and came away with the 64-51 win. Kirby Burkholder led the Dukes with 18 points, while Toia Giggetts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Jazmon Gwathmey had 10 points and six blocks. Eugeneia McPherson led the Red Storm with 15 points off the bench.
For frustration, buses, slush, soreness, nonsensical awards, swats, and potential friction, join your intrepid and jumpy blogger after the jump.
We're at intermission now, with the second game, between James Madison and St. John's, ready to start in half an hour or so. James Madison is in their home whites, St. John's in road colors, which doesn't make any sense, since this is our arena. Someone needs to cue the James Madison fans which bench is which, though the migration does appear to have begun. I think the roads have cleared; the Conn-tingent is starting to drift in, and our New Jerseyans are arriving. (I'm not sure whether to call them the Brick City Brigade or to factor in Jade and Sandie and call them the Jersey Boys and Girls. By the time I figure it out, Jade will have graduated...)
I think we have alumnae, but I can't swear to it, and looking up the 2005-06 team in the middle of GNoD would just be weird.
The colors thing makes more sense now- they're debuting a blue and red third jersey, and Chartwells is usually when they make their fashion statements. I like that we have a third jersey, if only because the guys do too, but I don't like the jersey itself. We're the Red Storm, we should wear red. (James Madison also seems to be wearing an alternate white jersey. What is this, the NCAA catwalk?)
The band members that are holding down the fort here at Carnesecca are clustered around various video devices to catch the men's game at the Garden versus Syracuse. Actually, pretty much everyone related to St. John's is checking the score. Your intrepid blogger has the play-by-play open in another tab, along with her various idle games and game info.
At halftime... today is not a good day to be a Johnnie. The men screwed the pooch against Syracuse and the women don't seem to care about the game on the floor, down 29-13 to James Madison. I seriously do not know what is wrong with my team, but I do not approve. If they're broken, they need to be fixed; if they're distracted, they need to be refocused; if they're injured, then they need time to heal. There's no effort, especially on the offensive end, and it's disgusting. Aaliyah and Aliyyah are both out of sync. Gina McPherson is backing away from contact as if she's caught leprosy.
That awkward moment when you realize the person who you thought was the dude who looks like Shenneika Smith is, in fact, Shenneika Smith. I think I also spotted someone in a W team sweatshirt, or at least one that uses the W font, but I can't read it.
I don't think the SEC road trip was good for this team. I don't know what happened since the Harvard game, but it's like someone let all the air out of the balloon and they're all fighting over who was holding the pin. Okay, the metaphor is a bit strained, but the point remains that whatever comeback magic they were rocking against Harvard, and whatever can of butt-whoopin' they had against Iona, they lacked it this weekend against the representatives from the CAA.
Angela Mickens has impressive speed and a knack for misdirection. She left Aaliyah Lewis flat-footed once or twice, and Aaliyah's pretty quick. She made things run very smoothly for the Dukes. Lauren Okafor, presumably off her success yesterday, got a lot of minutes in this one- she got knocked around a little bit more by Jade and (a little bit Sandie), but still made things happen for James Madison underneath. Destiny Jones and Crystal Ross both played briefly, mostly to deal with foul issues. Neither made much of an impact, though Ross had more of one than Jones.
Jazmon Gwathmey has really long arms and bit hands. She swats shots well, especially on breaks where the player with the ball is utterly certain that she's got the lay-up. It gets her in foul trouble, but it also stops the opponent's offense cold. Nikki Newman spent much of the second half in foul trouble, but still rebounded well. Precious Hall had a nice and-1 in the first half, but was quiet for most of the game, with Mickens getting the bulk of the minutes. Kirby Buckholder came up with big shots in the second half and helped clinch the game with free throws. Toia Giggetts had less dancing, but more defense and midrange jumpers- she was very efficient and well placed.
The Dukes did a nice job converting on the break and finding the open player under the basket on cuts. They didn't necessarily react well to surprises, but they reacted better to broken plays than they did yesterday.
Jade Walker used her size well on the inside, but she has to play defense without holding. She's a freshman, so I'll let that slide a little bit- but she needs to be learning how to move without holding, and the coaching staff needs to make that a point of emphasis with her. She's not that quick, but she needs to be faster. Sandra Udobi was in very briefl in the first half, but the knee must have started acting up again, because she didn't go back in the game after that, even when both Amber and Jade were in foul trouble. Eugeneia McPherson gave us all a scare when she crumpled to the floor with her left knee bent, but it looked like it was just tightness or a cramp or something, because she came back intot he game. She backed away from contact long before that, though. That irked me- there's no point in having her in as a defensive player if she's going to run-run-run and then run away like a coward. All of that being said, her sharpshooting in the second half, especially beyond the arc, fueled the comeback.
Aaliyah Lewis really needs to stop shooting. I don't know whether she's desperately trying to play for her job with Gina back in the rotation and our transfer from Clemson becoming eligible at the semester break, but she's pressing badly, and it's backfiring in spectacular fashion. She's a good passer and a speedy player. I don't know why she's trying and trying to score, and doing so with bad shots against far bigger opponents. Sometimes the most important part of being a point guard is knowing when not to score. Aliyyah Handford seems to have lost her confidence driving to the lane. She got a lot of it back in the second half, but there was too much of her running along the same path on the free throw line with her hands up, not caring about the presence of the defense. I don't think she was expecting all the attention, which is very strange, given how well she was playing; you'd think she'd think other teams would figure it out eventually. Amber Thompson was awful in the first half, but I think someone got up in her face in the locker room at half time, because she came out blazing, gong strong to the basket and getting rebounds. Keylantra Langley had a decent third quarter, but her common sense utterly deserted her in the endgame, with dumb fouls that utterly ruined any momentum that the team had. Briana Brown seemed to be the only player with any urgency in the latter stages of the game- I think she was the only one who attempted a three when we were down nine with something like three minutes to go. She was in way over her head with the height of James Madison- her defensive match-up was usually Jazmon Gwathmey, who is a long-limbed true 4, whereas Briana is a very determined two.
No urgency. No clock management. Very limited awareness of proper shot selection. Really, really bad player management by Joe (why would you go four guard set against a team that big?) It was like they came back part of the way, lost a little bit of momentum, then decided to pack it in and go home. Counter-intuitive when you're home. Shame, because the band and fans really got into it with the comeback.
No one was happy with the refs. Blocks and charges were especially contentious today, and I'm not sure how getting a forearm to the chest earned Keylantra a foul. But whatever.
Apparently people in Virginia don't have a sense of humor. Fine. Just for that, I hope Drexel wins the CAA after all.
I'm tired, and I'm disappointed, and I don't know what to do, and I don't know what to expect. Are we ready? Was the beginning of the season the illusion? Or is this the illusion, and this too shall pass?
Saturday, December 14, 2013
December 14th, 2013: Prairie View at James Madison (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: James Madison surged out to a big lead early and never let Prairie View back in in their 79-50 win. Lauren Okafor and Kirby Buckholder each had 16 to lead the Dukes, with Okafor adding 10 rebounds. Jeanette Jackson of Prairie View led all scorers with 20 points, but no other Panther had more than nine points.
For brevity, dancing, abandonment, mommy issues, the awkward cell phone wave, and lots of purple sneakers, join your intrepid and water-logged blogger after the jump.
On to game two, the battle of teams what wear purple- the Dukes of James Madison and the Panthers of Prairie View. James Madison has led the entire way, and comfortably so for most of the game. Lauren Okafor leads the Dukes with nine off the bench, but it's been a very balanced scoring effort. Unsurprisingly, most folks have left, though a few have stayed. The Johnnies were around for a while, but most of them have left as well. Scouting, you're doing it wrong. James Madison has had good ball movement, though they don't react well to broken plays, and the folks behind us are bemoaning the slowness of Kenny Brooks's offense.
This was not so much a game as it was a blowout. Prairie View was never in it, and the biggest takeaway I got fro it for the Panthers is that they really miss Toyelle Wilson. I was not impressed with Dawn Brown's player management. It's one thing to have no faith in your bench, it's another to end up with a player with three fouls barely into the second quarter because you decide you're going to leave her in after she picks up her second foul four minutes into the game. I consider it a minor miracle that Asha Hampton-Finch didn't foul out, and am unsurprised that two other Panthers did. I also have to question the wisdom of rolling the ball with six minutes left in a thirty-point game. Some of us wanted to go home at that point, you know. No matter how much fun it was to watch Briana Brown in the end court bleachers doing her "I R SRS KEPTIN, THIS R SRS SKOWT" face.
Precious Roberts got a little bit of time in the second half and committed quick fouls. Taylor Overshown was the random bench guard of choice in the first half. Shamiya Brooks threw her weight around underneath with mixed results- couldn't get her shots to fall and fouled out fairly quickly, but seemed okay on the boards. Tonisha Lacey didn't seem to have her coach's confidence. I don't know why. Shaneece Stephens rocked the pompadour a la Janelle Monaé, and seemed to be good at making bad decisions.
Part of Prairie View's problem may be that they're not sure who's running the offense. Is it LaReahn Washington, or is it Jeanette Jackson? The offense seemed to move better when the ball was in Jackson's hands, but I'm not sure whether that was as the playmaker or as the scorer. Her fluffy ponytail made her stand out, as did her ability to get her to the line. Larissa Scott mixed it up on the boards, and set surprisingly strong screens for a woman of her slim build. Asha Hampton-Finch looked like she was trying to rock the Brittney Griner look with the leggings and 'do, but she didn't seem confident in her ability to play defense once she had fouls- and to be honest, she should have fouled out at hands to the face- there were a couple of plays where fouls were passed from her, one of which ended up helping foul out Washington. I feel lke I should remember more of what Washington did, but I can't, other than a general sense of not-good things for Prairie View. Yes, this is the kind of insightful analysis you slog through long paragraphs of Game Notes of Doom for. "Not-good things".
James Madison really got to empty their bench in the latter portion of the game. Amani Tatum was fast, but seemed a little lost. Da'Lishia Griffin went hard after rebounds. Crystal Ross got into the middle of a lot of plays- she's not afraid to get up in anyone's business. Destiny Jones is another big girl. You might detect a trend here. I disapprove very strongly of her shorts, though. In home whites, rolling shorts up like that makes them look like Depends, which is such a not-good look. Lauren Okafor went to work down low, using her build to muscle up on the slimmer posts of Prairie View and making solid defensive plays. Angela Mickens provided god offense off the bench, especially in the second half- she had a really pretty and-1 in the lane late in the game.
Nikki Newman's got a pretty stroke- it didn't go down a lot today, but I get the feeling it usually does. Precious Hall got herself into foul trouble and eventually out of the game, and seemed very frustrated about it. Jazmon Gwathmey has distractingly intense eyebrows. She spent a lot of time directing traffic late in the game- I think she was the last of the starters to come out. Kirby Buckholder was a big favorite among the James Madison fans behind us, for her shooting and her defense. Toia Giggetts was aggressive on the inside, sometimes to her detriment- she took an arm to the facemask, which is never fun.
Crowning moment of funny, first half: Lauren Okafor not quite being read for the pass and having it bounce spectacularly off her... chest… as if airbags had been successfully deployed.
Crowning moment of funny, second half: Toia Giggetts may have been the only person in the room who liked the DJ, because she was getting her groove on during one of the timeouts. There was serious hip-swaying going on. One of the assistants put a hand on her back as if to restrain her, and for a moment she stopped... but then the swaying began again, and by the time she went back to her chair on the bench, there was full-on shimmying occurring. Don't ever let them stop your groove.
It's a bad sign when there are game management calls being made in the first half.
James Madison looks ready to take the Colonial back. Then again, they weren't exactly playing tough competition out there.
Monday, December 29, 2008
December 28th, 2008: James Madison at St. Francis (NY)
James Madison Dukes 72, St.Francis College Terriers 53
The Game Notes are really and truly unimpressed with St. Francis in all aspects.
I've seen bad basketball games, and I've seen bad basketball players, and I've seen bad basketball teams, but I swear on my life and honor, the Terriers of St. Francis College manage to combine aspects of all of those into a cacophonous whole. Division I basketball: UR DOIN IT WRONG.
I'm pretty sure I've actually heard this guy do the anthem before, at one of the LIU doubleheaders. It's still "the" bombs, not "those" bombs.
If Dawn Evans is 5'7", I'm a power forward. She's 5'5" at most and slightly built. A nice little guard with nice little moves, but unless she bulks up somewhat in the next couple of years, she'll just be another collegiate scorer who can't take her game to the next level. Of course, it may have been that the Dukes didn't need her to step up, and maybe there's another gear to her game that I haven't gotten the opportunity to see, but she seems to be a volume scorer, not an efficient one. James Madison has a lot of good size, and unlike a lot of the teams I've seen this year, they actually know how to use it; most of their bigs were heavily involved in both offense and defense. They got great play off their bench, especially from Lauren Jimenez and Brittany Crowell. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that Jimenez was usually the starter and got benched for this game for some infraction of team rules or something- she's got good size, and I like posts who aren't afraid to get physical. The unfortunate thing that caught my eye about Kisha Stokes was her gods-awful jump shot, but looking at the box score suggests other reasons why she might be in the starting lineup, and given that Evans does average something like 24 ppg, I can see Brooks having the flexibility to put someone in the starting lineup who does the less tangible things. I really liked how JMU's coach used his bench- everyone got into the game, and almost everyone actually got into the game before it was actually garbage time. That might have been what allowed them to rebound as well as they did, too, because they completely owned the boards; forget second chances, they were getting fourth and fifth chances, and if they'd converted a couple of more of those, they would have won by 40.
I don't even know where to begin with St. Francis, I honestly don't. For a school that employs two All-Star posts, they have truly craptastic rebounding and boxing out. You can almost tell looking at Kendra Williams that she understands the moves with her head, but that she's thinking too much. She moves ponderously and telegraphs every move on offense to the point, not to mention that she does't shoot when she has a good opening. I do like her defensive instincts, though. Kara Ayers seems to be a good slashing guard, though she has too much of a tendency to throw up a shot and trust that the referee will actually call the foul- that might be a tenable strategy in men's basketball, but in women's, I'm not so sure. And then there are the shots that neither have a chance of going in nor had any illegal contact- she just got a little wild and a little crazy. Not my type of player, but I really don't want to think about what St. Francis would look like without her. They didn't get much from the rest of their starters, either. Or from much of anybody. There's something I like about Vianca Tejada, but I can't put my finger on it, and it certainly doesn't show up in the boxscore. She just always seemed to be involved in the play. Coach Milano did discover that lightning doesn't strike twice; Shannon Gantt was big against Albany, but she was a hot mess against James Madison- undisciplined and much lacking in clues.
Play of the game: early in the second half, James Madison misses a shot. Sarah Williams neatly tips the rebound to Jalissa Taylor, who puts it in for two. In the official play by play, Williams never touched the ball, but rest assured, she tapped it over like she was born to the touch pass.
Unremarkable referees. Some bad calls, some missed calls, one clock malfunction, but both teams did keep them busy. And if they'd called more than they had, I might actually have left early, and I don't do that. At all.
I do like watching Sue coach, though. (Kym's still on the roster in the program, but I saw neither hide nor hair of her at the actual game, unless she's shrunk about a foot and a half and really butched out.) She does her fair share of the yelling, and she seems to be the good cop to Milano's bad cop, the one who's friendlier with the players, even if she does impart the same lessons. Of course, Sue being Sue meant that while everyone else engaged in the traditional method of clapping to keep rhythm during intros (clap-clap clap, clap-clap clap), her "clap" might be putting her hand out like she was going to either high five someone or start a round of "Miss Mary Mack". Or it might be a foot clap. All of this with a very serious look on her face. Fortunately, unlike the ass-kicking we attended last year, no chairs were harmed in the making of this defeat.
The official attendance was 104. Of that, I think about 70 to 80 were friends and family of Stokes and Jimenez for the Dukes, or JMU fans in general- I was sitting behind someone I can only assume was part of Jimenez's posse, given his encouragement of her. Terrier guard Kristen Miah brought family (her mom had a homemade "Kristen's Mom" jersey with Miah's number on the back). A couple of people were there because they knew someone on the coaching staff. There were a few actual St. Francis fans. And then there was me, just a basketball junkie with a clipboard, delivering acid comments about both teams to anyone who would listen.
How do I know there were people who were just there because they knew someone on the coaching staff? No, I wasn't playing the social butterfly, but for the life of me, I can't think of any other reason Becky Hammon and a couple of friends would show up at St. Francis, can you? Yeah, I wasn't exactly expecting her either, but there I was, watching the warm-ups and despairing at the form of the Terriers' jumpshots, and this blonde with a bottle of water and a hint of brown roots came by, and I whipped my head around so hard I think I still have whiplash. "Wait a minute, that looks like… but what the hell… yeah, I guess it makes sense, but seriously, why would she… no, that's definitely her, I'd recognize those eyebrows anywhere." She was surprisingly undisturbed throughout the game, so either she's done this before or no one knew who the heck she was.
This one I'm not so certain about, but there was someone over on that side of the court who looked a lot like Epiphanny Prince, and RU didn't have a game today, and Stokes for James Madison is a Bergtraum alumna. Definitely makes it possible, but I didn't get a good look and I wasn't about to shove my way through to see.
The fact that I just spent two paragraphs describing stargazing in the crowd might suggest to you that the quality of the game was nothing to write home about.
I don't want to say that space and facilities are limited at St. Francis, but the Dukes spent the first half of halftime stretching out and drinking their water/Gatorade/whatthefrigever in the endcourt, just out of bounds, before wandering off to I know not where for their talk. Honestly, I go to a St. Francis game, and it's like stepping into a time machine, and not in a good way; I half expect that the next time I go, it'll be six-on-six and no one's allowed to cross halfcourt.