Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Lady Flames of Liberty rode 19 points from Devon Brown and a double-double for Avery Warley to a 73-53 win over the LaSalle Explorers in the consolation game of the Terrapin Classic. Ebonee Jones of LaSalle led all scorers with 20 points, and got 19 from Ashley Gale, but no other Explorer cracked double digits.
For disappearing fans, lots of threes, and disappointingly light observations, join your intrepid and grungy blogger after the jump.
This might be the most pointless game of the day. Most of the Maryland fans left for various reasons, the championship trophy was awarded with about as much fanfare as one lonely kazoo in a forest, and as of 19 minutes before tip-off, LaSalle has not been seen. But we're still here. Somehow. For some reason. I think I might love this game a little too much.
Already Terrapins have slipped out of the tunnel. Natasha Cloud and Alyssa Thomas have been circulating, along with the alumnae. Our fellow Johnnies have pretty much all packed up and headed home. I guess not everyone's into getting their money's worth.
At half, Liberty is up 10 after fending off a small LaSalle run. I'm starting to think that there's some weird cultural quirk in Maryland, some perverse combination of DC gossip-mongering and Southern aggressive friendliness, that causes everyone around you to take the slightest sign of friendliness as an excuse to talk at you incessantly about things that are not necessarily related to the game, even during game play, even when your goddamn point guard is lying on the floor clutching her leg, no, I really don't care about your experiences as a St. John's men's fan in the Lapchick days, my starting point guard is in the ACL position, SHUT UP OKAY?
Emily Frazier got things started for the Lady Flames, hitting their first five points. Devon Brown had the game I was finally expecting her to have, but most of her drives and shots were in the second half, when Liberty had a big lead. I still love her mohawk. Why does such awesome hair have to represent such a reprehensible school? WHY? Jalena Antic was active on the boards, though she didn't bring a lot of offense. Off the bench, Dymond Morgan worked her way down the lane for some nice baskets. Avery Warley had some nice moves in the paint, and a couple of emphatic blocks.
Play of the game had to be Nikki Ortiz's block on Avery Warley. I don't care that she had brought it down low, when a 5-5 player gets a block on a 6-3 player, it's the play of the game. I don't care that that's the only really good thing she did that game, it's the play of the game. She and Michele McCaughern were the only two players to come off the bench for the short-handed Explorers.
Ebonee Jones still needed a lot of shots and free throws to get her points, so her numbers don't impress me as much as they should. Ashley Gale found her shot in this game. She was just putting in three after three after three. It was crazy. That was really the only offense they could get going for much of the game. Jess Koci let her drive get the better of her, and she fouled out of the game without being able to get going. Chelsea Conner got a lot of encouragement from her teammates and coach, but her shot was really heinously off line.
The guy in front of us was hilariously not impressed with some of the referees' calls, usually on travels and out-of-bounds calls.
Since these notes are a bit light, I'll take the opportunity to thank the Maryland fans and staff for being gracious hosts. People were a little too friendly to the point of cloying sometimes, but we appreciated the well wishes for next year, and extended them back to the Terps.
Friday, December 31, 2010
December 29th, 2010: Liberty at LaSalle (Terrapin Classic)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
December 28th, 2010: Liberty at St. John's (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The triumphant return of Da'Shena Stevens and a career effort from Shenneika Smith spearheaded a second-half comeback that allowed the Red Storm to beat Liberty University 81-66. Smith's 28 points tied a career high, while Stevens added 20 points and six rebounds. For the Lady Flames, Danika Dale and LaKendra Washington each had 13 off the bench.
For trials and travails, deep personal offenses, a lot of screaming, relief, over-exuberance, Pod People, and the frustration of Kim Barnes Arico, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.
For pictures from the trip, watch this space.
Seeing Maryland is all well and good, but we didn't brave the Snowpocalypse, bus cancellations, or frozen doors on Amtrak to see Maryland whoop LaSalle. We're Johnnies, and that's who we came to see. A fair number of Maryland fans stayed for the second game, and we made friends with a few of them, in addition to our Board Junkie colleagues from the Rebounders. It's a wonderful feeling to be known by people you barely know. Thrilling, but weird.
We didn't travel as well as I think we could have if it hadn't been for the Snowpocalypse. Half our team is from Brooklyn, and they usually bring a lot of family; factor them out, plus Nadirah's family from Newark (which was affected by the power outage that delayed our train), and there aren't that many people in Storm gear. Some folks came out from the Island, if the #22 jersey in the next section is any indication.
We looked very rusty in the first quarter or so of the game, and Da'Shena Stevens looked far too exuberant about being on the floor for the first time since Southern Miss whammed her with an elbow and gave her a concussion. Things started to get back on the right track later in the first half and through the second, when Shenneika Smith made a valiant effort to match her jersey number. Honestly, in the second half, the only reason Liberty had a chance to stay close was because of some dicey officiating from Spence, Gulbeyan, and crew. It's a sad, sad sign when I recognize a ref in street clothes and know she's going to be calling the game, which in turn means that I know there's going to be extra emphasis on violations.
A warm, friendly, New York-style shoutout to the Liberty University fans who thought they could outdo New Yorkers, and especially to the one gentleman who called us obnoxious and lacking in class loud enough for us to hear, yet without saying it to our faces. Let me assure you, sirrah, that this proud New York agnostic-leaning-towards-atheist considers that a compliment from such as you.
LaKendra Washington's got some stroke, let me tell you. You can't leave her open, especially not from the near corner. She will kill you dead. We got so frustrated with our team's inability to defend her, you have no idea. Brittany Campbell hit a three off such a sweet pass from Tolu Omotola that we were all “okay, if she flips you the ball like that, you have to hit the shot, even if you're on a team we don't like”. I was also very impressed with Danika Dale, who showed a knack for being in the right place at the right time to get her points. While other Liberty players saw time, I don't quite recall anything they might have done.
I love Devon Brown's mohawk. I'm a sucker for mohawks, okay? I mean, I'm also a sucker for slick moves to the hoop like Brown has, but especially for mohawks. Avery Warley spent a lot of the game in foul trouble, but I really like the way she moves on the floor and the way she uses her body. Emily Frazier found her way to the line in the second half on some dicey calls. Jalena Antic gave us a little bit of a scare from outside, but mostly annoyed me for reasons I can't properly recall at the moment.
Nadirah McKenith played this game like she was personally offended about something. Maybe it was coming off the bench, maybe she isn't fond of religious fundamentalists, maybe she was just feeling it, but she drove the lane like she was trying to do her best Mark Jackson impression. She was showing off a little with her ballhandling too. Amanda Burakoski was out of it, having more than one blonde moment, but she redeemed herself a little with a three-pointer (of course, it was on a play where she should have taken the two, but we won't go there). Keylantra Langley looked very much like a lost freshman, though she made some good defensive stances. Jennifer Blanding was her usual slightly clueless self.
Have I mentioned lately that we really missed Da'Shena? Because we really missed Da'Shena. Clearly, she missed the floor about as much as we missed having her on the floor. She was a bit over-exuberant in the beginning, but when she settled down, she found her groove and looked like the rust was shaken off. More, she was hitting her free throws. You don't understand how rare that is. And when she hit that field goal to hit her thousandth point, we went nuts. Couldn't happen to a nicer kid. I just wish Sky Lindsay had remembered to get on the bus. This Pod Person who was wearing her jersey was really awful. She almost matched her jersey number, which is not good when you wear #1. Coco Hart started slow, and really needed a good thwack upside the head, but she stepped up in the second half, and she was willing to go at Warley when Warley got in foul trouble. Eugeneia McPherson stepped up her defense, but we're going to need her to be more of an offensive threat if we're going to take Maryland. Granted, we're also going to need Shenneika Smith to be the unconscious beast she was in the middle of this game. Near the end of the first half, she started a streak where she was hitting everything she looked at- she started with little shots inside, then moved back and canned four threes, then moved back in. When she's on, she looks like she could be in the WNBA today. She still needs to refine her game, but she was stupendous, and we need her to be that player again.
I don't know exactly when Kim Barnes Arico started going around and kicking referees' puppies, but she needs to stop. There were some sketchy calls against us that even the Maryland fans around us thought were questionable. To be fair, we made up for those with a plethora of and-1 calls. We must have had five or six hoop-and-harm plays. There was one play where Kim yelled to the ref, “Kathy, if you see it, you can change it!” because the call was that egregious.
I'm really glad we dug down, grabbed Shenneika, and hung on for dear life. I wasn't all that impressed with Liberty, but that might change if Brown is allowed to roam free in Big South play, or if someone else for that team steps up.