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).
Saturday, February 6, 2016
February 5th, 2016: James Madison at Hofstra
Saturday, November 16, 2013
November 15th, 2013: Fordham at Hofstra
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Hofstra induced 21 turnovers and clamped down on exterior defense to come away with a 77-64 win at home over Fordham. Anma Onyeuku led the Pride with 23 points, while Andreana Thomas added 21, 19 of those in the second half. Erin Rooney led the Rams with 23 points.
For juggling, slaps on the wrist, mockery, and distraction, join your intrepid and sleepy blogger after the jump.
I needed a day off. Of course, I spend it heading out to a basketball game. At least I got the sleep I'm going to need for this weekend. I'm currently on a crowded N6 bus headed to Hempstead, there to make a transfer to the bus that will take me to Hofstra University for their game against Fordham, on what your intrepid blogger and your dashing reporter have dubbed "transfers will be persecuted" day, though that's overstating the case a little bit. We're only going to root hard against them...
What can I say? Loyalty matters to us, and when you turn your back on that, we remember. It's not the act of leaving that's disloyal, it's the baggage that comes attached to it.
Not sure if playing "Only the Good Die Young" tonight is a veiled shot at the Jesuit institution that is Fordham, or just a nod to Billy Joel's Long Island roots, but whatever the reason, I'm enjoying it. I love me some Billy Joel.
Not to say that I got here early or anything, but I think I just beat the cheerleaders in.
I forgot just how much I liked Hofstra's arena. I think I say that every time I come here, but it's a beautiful midsize arena, the seats are gently cushioned, it's bright, and it's well-kept.
There are a lot of Fordham people here tonight, to the point where I'm not 100% sure which bench is which. There are people in maroon behind both benches. I really hope Hofstra was ble to get some Girl Scout troops or something up in here, because otherwise it's going to be kind of depressingly pro-Fordham up in here, and I refuse to lead the cheers for a team I barely tolerate against a team I flat out am not talking to this year. Seriously, Hofstra is like seventh on my list.
Oh Hofstra those stripes on the sleeves no. You gave up the striped logo, like, ten years ago, why are you resurrecting it now? Though it works on the soccer shirts the student section is wearing.
I also forgot that Hofstra has an active and involved student section, even if it's small. Oh, Hofstra, why do you have to be three buses away from me? I would adopt you and hug you and squeeze you in a second if it didn't take two hours to get here.
Anthem singer, I can't even with you. That was all kinds of a hot mess.
34-26 Hofstra at half, but Fordham had a quick 5-0 spurt in the last minute that worries me. Hofstra has good hands on defense, not so much on offense. A lot of fumbles, a lot of hesitant gathers, rebounds that should be caught instead of being fumbled. But they're kicking the daylights out of Fordham's ball movement, and they've been face-guarding Corning and Missry, Fordham's two dead-eye shooters. Hofstra's gone very deep into their bench in the first half- I think only one player hasn't played. Anma Onyeuku leads the Pride with 13; Erin Rooney leads the way for the Rams with 9.
It was nice for Hofstra to get that win, but I wonder if it might help paper over some of the underlying issues with this team.
Of course the first thing Mary Nwachukwu did was hit a lay-up in the paint, which she was only avoiding for something like three years at St. John's, but then she proceeded to not rebound, not hang on to the ball, and generally be the player I remember swearing at at St. John's. In the second half, Danielle Burns got the bulk of the bench minutes in the post, and she was serviceable. She needs to show a little more judgment with her shot, but she plays well inside for a player who's listed as a guard/forward. Khadijah Gibson came in right at the end of the game, as if Gaitley were admitting that the game was over. Danielle Padovano gave decent minutes, though unmemorable ones.
Hannah Missry missed the memo about points of emphasis. Granted, she's a freshman, and they make stupid mistakes, that's part of being a freshman. But she genuinely did not seem to get what she was doing wrong, even when the contact was obvious. I think she was frustrated at her inability to get her shot off against Hofstra's vicious defense. Samantha Clark is a load in the middle, and I really think they should be running more through her, both because she can finish in the middle and because that will then open up space for Missry and Corning to get loose for threes. Abigail Corning rebounded well enough, but she couldn't get her shot off. Emily Tapio didn't play a lot- bad fouls, bad passing, generally nto having her head together. Erin Rooney drove through the Hofstra defense like they were stationary cones, and used her body well to get contact. I'd like to see a little less diving from her, though. It got annoying after a while.
Dianna Thomas-Palmer (who goes by Dee on the roster, but the announcer uses Dianna) seems to have been inspired by Shante Evans in all the wrong ways. She's a big girl, and not necessarily in the best ways. She rebounded better in the second half, though. Kelly Loftus seemed to be the only player on the floor at the end of the game who had any sense of what to do with the clock. Krystal Luciano might be the only person for Hofstra who is tinier than Andreana Thomas. She gave them decent minutes at point near the end of the game. Anma Onyeuku started the second half, but not the first, and I think she's expanded her game since the last time I saw her. She seemed equally comfortable inside or outside, playing in transition or playing in the halfcourt game. I was very impressed with her. Asia Jackson showed good touch in the second half, but questionable judgment. Elo Edefenoka showed a lot of potential down low- still needs to work on her hands and her shooting, but she's going to be good for them.
Andreana Thomas is the engine that makes this team go. When she's not in, they look very lost. When she's in, she's like a lightning bolt, both in terms of energizing her team and in terms of her first step speed. Sydni Epps got the first half start, and I sort of understood why she didn't get the second half start after the two quick fouls she picked up in the second half- questionable judgment, not the most useful shot in the world. I can't even think of anything that Alexis Carter did. Annie Payton was called upon for outside shooting and senior leadership. I'm not sure she was the right person to go to on the senior leadership. Ruth Sherrill showed a little bit of potential, but overall looked like a freshman. She'll be serviceable for them, one of these days.
That is, if Hofstra can figure out how to get out of their own way. They have talent, but they have no sense and no discipline. Their passing is bad. And after that hot mess last weekend, I know from bad passing. They all seem afraid to shoot. They have no clock awareness, either of the shot clock or of the game situation. Kilburn-Stevesky was all but begging them to slow the game down in the last three minutes, and no one of them seemed to be listening. She had to put in the backup point guard just to get them to slow down. You do not need to chuck corner threes when you're up fifteen with three minutes to go, or throw up off-balance shots on offensive rebounds with twenty seconds on the shot clock.
I've also come to the conclusion that Kilburn-Stevesky coaches the way I would coach, and that's not necessarily a good thing. She's constantly yelling, and usually in frustration. I don't know if she knows her team. "Annie, get your team together!" she yelled at Annie Payton, but from what I saw, that didn't look like Annie Payton's team, it looked like Andreana Thomas's team. Leadership doesn't necessarily come from seniors, it comes from leaders.
I think the men's team was in the house. Tall guys sprawled over a section of seats in athletic gear tends to mean that. In which case, Pride dude playing imaginary drums to "Beat It", go on with your bad self.
Hofstra's cheerleaders are not the traditional pretty skinny girls, but their routines rely much more heavily on lifts, so I'm not surprised. Lots of good stuff in there.
I really hate the new points of emphasis. The games grind and there's no flow. And if you're going to call every little brush of contact, can you at least call it when a player takes four steps on her way to a lay-up, or call Erin Rooney for undercutting a player? I really need someone at some point to adjust to this, or I'm going to want to be blind.
The N6 is really an experiment in social engineering, isn't it? Don't lie to me, Veolia.
I ultimately think that Fordham will come out of this game with more useful information, unless Hofstra manages to learn from their mistakes in this one... but I don't know if this team and this coach can learn from a win.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
February 26th, 2012: UNC-Wilmington at Hofstra
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Hofstra Pride took control in the second half to claim a 66-55 victory over UNC-Wilmington on Senior Day in Hempstead. Shante Evans led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds. For the Seahawks, Abria Trice had 13 points, and Ayoola Weaver added ten points and ten rebounds.
For a lot of Bellocchios, wrestling moves, body paint, and a desperate agent hiring push, join your intrepid and smug blogger after the jump.
Another day, another game, another Senior Day to celebrate. The Game Notes of Doom wanted to cheer for Hofstra at some point this season, and a good Liberty fan looks for any excuse she can find to boo the living daylights out of Cynthia Cooper-(no, I will not refer to her by her married name).
Hofstra's seniors are one of the managers, transfer center Marie Malone, and guards Nicole Capurso and Candice Bellocchio. The manager and Capurso went up with their respective parents. Malone went up with her parents and a couple of miscellaneous relations. Bellocchio went up with her parents and what appeared to be half the population of Staten Island. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but she had a group of fifteen or twenty people with her. C'mon. Don't you think that's much of a muchness?
It's halftime, with Hofstra hanging on to a three-point lead. Marie Malone's leading the way with seven points and some great defensive plays. Three players have six each for the Seahawks of Wilmington. The crowd is not thrilled with the officiating. I am included in the crowd.
I did like Candace Brown's anthem, though. She can sing it every night, as far as I'm concerned.
Cynthia Cooper-Bleep has rubbed me the wrong way for a very long time. Having an excuse to boo her is always a bonus for a Liberty fan. Her team rubbed me the wrong way too, getting chippy and downright dirty at some points. They went low a lot, which is a good way to get away with stuff because the points of emphasis are elbows and the head because of concussion fears. I saw a lot of tripping and hip-checks. And then she started complaining to the officials because of foul differential. Tell your players to stop fouling and the refs will probably stop calling fouls on them.
Brittany Gamby played briefly near the end of the game, but didn't make an impact; I'm assuming she's a three-point specialist, since Wilmington was down ten at the time, but she didn't have an opportunity to get a shot off. Jessica Freeman came in off the bench early and often, making good plays driving the lane and making space for her teammates. Theresa Jackson-Henderson gave them decent minutes in the post off the bench- she was one of the most physical players, though I wonder if part of that had to do with this being a homecoming game against familiar faces from Staten Island.
Alisha Andrews has a pretty quick release- have to if you're that small. She's a pretty good playmaker, too. I expected her to be more of a defensive player, due to her size. Unfortunately for her and her team, Candace Bellocchio eats tiny guards for breakfast. Chelsea McGowen showed some moves early in the game, but had to leave in the second half with an ankle injury. (At least, when she went down in a writhing mass of agony, she was holding her ankle. I'm not sure if it was that or an Achilles- I didn't see the whole play.) Tawanna Lee tried to put the team on her shoulders in the second half, being more assertive, or at least more successful, on offense, but even that had mixed results. Abria Trice impressed me- she lists as a guard/forward, but she was doing a lot of interior play for a guard. Ayoola Weaver got things done for her team on the inside, on both sides of the floor. My favorite play of the game for the Seahawks was the pick that Freeman set for her for a jumper in the first half.
I'm not sure tyranny and fear are good bases for a team, but as long as Cynthia Cooper-Bleep doesn't get fired for it, I guess it'll work for her.
Anma Oneyuku had a run where everything on both sides of the floor was going through her. Unfortunately for her and the Pride, she wasn't able to capitalize as well as her team would have liked. I think she had three shot opportunities in that run and missed two of them. Andreana Thomas came off the bench as a counter to Andrews, and though her effectiveness was mixed for most of the game, the bucket she came up with late was an important part of the momentum turning towards Hofstra. Deven Green played early in the second half, and she wasn't as bad as I had expected from the last couple of time I've seen her play- she mixed it up a little inside and forced a held ball. Katelyn Loper came off the bench for this game in order to allow Marie Malone to start, and while I love how quick her release is and how easy it is for her to get her shot in line, I'm not as thrilled with her insistence on trying to bank every shot she takes. There are no degree of difficulty points in basketball.
Marie Malone took the opportunity given to her and took full advantage of it. She played like a post who had spent time under the tutelage of Mike Carey. She had a couple of beautiful blocks and was fighting for every rebound she was in position to try for. Her teammates seemed to enjoy testing her ability to go for passes, too; Bellocchio threw one best described as, well, a “Hail Marie” that Malone corralled and eventually turned into points after a couple of misses. Candace Bond didn't have her head as in the game as I've become accustomed to- not always in the right place at the right time, not taking the best shots, not making all of the defensive plays. Candice Bellocchio matches up well with Wilmington's style, so though she wasn't shooting all that well, she was able to make plays on both ends of the floor for her team. Nicole Capurso mostly stayed outside the arc- a little too far outside the arc, if you ask me. It's really not necessary to take those shots from Staten Island. When they go in, it's amazing, but when they don't go in, that sets up the opponent with a long rebound. I can't believe I'm about to complain about a 24/15 game, but I'm about to complain about a 24/15 game, because Shante Evans needs to figure out what kind of player she's going to be. If she's going to use her body the way she seems to prefer most of the time- if she's going to be a short but strong bruiser like DeTrina White and the young Le'Coe Willingham- then she needs to be more assertive in the post, hang on to rebounds better, and stop taking that dribble before she puts up the putback. If she wants to take off-balance outside jumpers, and if she wants to try and make herself into more of a three, then she's going to have to slim down. But she's a tank, and when she puts her mind to it, she's an unstoppable force- 9/20 from the field is unacceptable for a player of her talent.
Credit to the Hofstra student section for getting into the game. I'm not sure whether it's appropriate to distract free throw shooters with a large ¡DERP!, though. (During the rest of the game, they were PRIDE!, with the I being lower case so he could use it as an exclamation point for free throws.) They were respectful of their seniors, and showed class when McGowen went out with the injury. I like the enthusiasm- they just need a little more creativity.
I think the referees got a little starstruck by Cooper. There were a lot of reaches that weren't called.
We got to the game later than is our wont, so we didn't get to comment on all the Family Fun stuff, but your intrepid blogger always appreciates cheap tickets. Thanks for the discount!
Traveling to Hofstra after the change to NICE is a little more complicated than Long Island Bus. That might put a wrench in any future trips, which is a shame- we all know how much I love the Mack.
It was a good game, and a necessary game for the Pride. I like to see seniors sent off well, especially ones who've played well for a long time.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
February 19th, 2012: Towson at Hofstra
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A three-pointer off the glass and high off the back rim by Hofstra's Nicole Capurso gave the Pride a 69-66 win over the Towson Tigers. Shante Evans led all players with 29 points, 21 of those in the second half, and 20 rebounds. For Towson, Deree Fooks's 20 points led four Tigers in double figures.
For exhaustion, Hail Mary shots, nip-and-tuck, boors, history, and why basketball is amazing, join your intrepid and still dazed blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon, everyone! We're coming to you once more, because you just haven't had enough of us this week, on tape delay from the Mack Sports Complex on the grounds of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York!
We had Hofstra and Towson circled in red on our schedule even before it became a game for CAA seeding- Towson forward Sheree Ledbetter is a transfer from St. John's, and we wanted to see her off right. It helps that we like Hofstra and what Krista Kilburn-Stevesky is doing there, though it does present the awkward situation of not knowing who to root for beyond the obvious.
Hofstra's arena is one of my favorite medium-size arenas, though the passageways can get a little twisty. It's worth the three buses and the occasional dashes across traffic to get to. (The Hempstead Turnpike/Uniondale Avenue intersection is not very well handled by the lights. It also doesn't help when someone signals right and goes straight.)
Hofstra is wearing home pink, Towson road black. The pink socks do not go well with the taxicab yellow of some of the Tigers' sneakers. Trust me, guys, you can never go wrong with black.
We're wearing our St. John's gear, partially because we told Sheree we would, and partially because St. John's did notch a rather big win last night. Don't know if you heard about it.
Fairly good crowd this early, though I think a fair number of them are Bellocchios, judging from the #10s abounding among them.
We're right where I wanted to be, dead-red center, a few rows up, just to the Towson side of halfcourt. A good place to cheer both teams, assuming I don't choke to death on this damn cough I've had since St. Francis.
My thanks to Hofstra- and Columbia, belatedly, for open wireless- useful when the arena's too far underground or otherwise won't let me get a connection with my wireless.
Halftime, and we got us a game. It's 34-30 Towson, with big shots going back and forth, Candace Bond being answered by Tanisha McTiller. There's a lot of contact. It's a game that's being played like it means everything, and for two teams jostling for position in the CAA and the pipe dream of an at-large bid, maybe it does.
Hofstra's pink uniforms look good. They've got the color scheme for it, and they left out the yellow (which would clash horribly).
Balanced scoring for both teams- Fooks has 12 to lead Towson, Bond and Evans each with eight for Hofstra.
What a game. Holy Toledo Rockets, Batman, what a game and what a finish! Punch and counterpunch- almost literally, at one point, when Krystal Parnell and Candice Bellocchio almost got into it.
Excellent anthem by the Girl Scout chorus with the ceremonial unit. There was a lot of impressive fruit salad on display on those vests and sashes. I was a Girl Scout- I know what it takes to get a lot of those stars and badges.
Sheree Ledbetter was the reason we came in the first place, and she brought the infectious grin and energy that made us love her at St. John's. She played well defensively, though she's not going to have a lot of success defending the tank that is Shante Evans, and her passing has improved since her Red Storm days. I'm not sure what she was thinking with the foul with a minute left in a one-possession game, though. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting Baltimore's Ciara Webb to a) be pronounced Sierra, b) be copper-haired and porcelain-pale. Ah, to expectations. She did not make a lot of smart plays. Don't get fancy with the ball when you've got a ball hawk defending you. Nyree Williams played a lot off the bench, and I assume the only reason she's not starting right now has to do with that giant pink cast on her hand. I would not have had her in with four fouls late in the game- she could not play defense. Most sophomores don't know how to play tough D with four fouls. Destiny Shearin found herself playing more post than I think she was comfortable with.
Deree Fooks did work on the boards, and slithered herself into the paint for her shots. She was carrying Towson for fair parts of the game. Michelle Peebles started presumably because Nyree Williams wasn't for some reason- whether it was disciplinary or injury related or because Mathews likes having a threat off the bench, I can't judge properly. Krystal Parnell definitely runs her team- she has that kind of leadership and personality, but her court vision is shaky and so is her ballhandling. Not traits you want in a point guard. Krystin Fields did a nice job sneaking in for offensive rebounds and making plays in the paint. Tanisha McTiller got a beautiful and-1 in the first half, and I like her knack for making the right play at the right time.
Towson really needs an outside sniper, someone who can open things up from beyond the arc so teams can't pack it in against them.
Krista Kilburn Steveskey got a little too sub happy for my liking in the second half, blowing two timeouts to make subs. Deven Green played very briefly and proved why she shouldn't have been. Anma Onyeuku brought good defensive positioning. Andreana Thomas tried to be a spark off the bench, but I'm not sure that worked. She was trying a little too hard. Marie Malone came off the bench briefly to try and get some height in there.
But this was the starters' game, and maybe that's the Pride's Achilles heel. If they can't go deep into their bench without a significant dropoff, they're doomed. Candice Bellocchio's on-ball defense was tighter than spandex, but I might have liked it, and her, better if she hadn't been doing a lot of diving and running her mouth- and if her family hadn't been behaving boorishly in the stands. She made a lot of good plays. Katelyn Loper couldn't get her shot to fall most of the day, so she spent a lot of time as the offense/defense switch. Candace Bond made the right plays at the right time- she started the play of the first half with a baseline heaving save to Bellocchio, who set up Nicole Capurso for a three. Shante Evans ran amok in the second half, with 21 points and 15 rebounds- and as dominating as she was in that second half, she could probably have worked her way to 35 or 40 points if she didn't put the ball back down. Go up strong, Shante- you're a tank, own it. She worked Nyree Williams in the second half, especially late in the game.
And then there was Nicole Capurso, whose shot was off for most of the day, but who came up with the big shot at the end of the game. I don't know if she called glass and back rim, but it doesn't matter. That was one of the most amazing shots I've ever seen actually go down, and if I had any faith in ESPN to not be a bunch of misogynist brats, I'd suggest it as a Top Ten play, but if you can't get a game with two buzzer-beaters in over horse racing...
Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox.
Refereeing was... interesting. It looked like they were trying to get things back under control in the second half, but they took the calls to extremes- and then tried to balance them back out again. Fans, especially the Bellocchio contingent (identifiable by their #10 shirts, in case you thought I was stereotyping or assuming) were not pleased.
Hofstra honored their 1981-82 AIAW divisional championship team during the game, which was awesome. I love an appreciation of history.
Girl Scouts everywhere, and no cookies? Granted, the banner contest had as its prize the right to sell cookies at a future game, but unless they were down on the concession level, I am disappointed. MOAR THIN MINTS.
The crowd really got into the game late when it got close. And someone appears to have suggested that wiping one's crotch with one's t-shirt is not acceptable behavior when the arena is full of Girl Scouts. I also do hope that one of the Bellocchio contingent did not, in fact, call Janice Aliberti a dumb b*tch, because that is wrong and inappropriate on so many levels.
What a game. What a clutch win for Hofstra (which helps my Johnnies). What a heartbreaker for Towson.
This is why we watch. This is why we play. This is why we love the game.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
November 18th, 2011: St. John's at Hofstra
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A late second-half run by the Hofstra Pride staved off the visiting St. John's Red Storm, 93-82. Katelyn Loper led all scorers with 29 points, while Shante Evans notched 27 points and 14 rebounds. Eugeneia McPherson led St. John's with 22 points.
For wrestling moves, shouting matches, geometry, and Jamaica Avenue at 11:30 on a Friday night, join your intrepid and still queasy blogger after the jump.
Halftime in Hempstead, and St. John's is on an upswing, down one to Hofstra. The lead was as much as eleven, and we were mighty cranky. The defense really picked up in the second quarter, and the St. John's cavalry appears to have arrived.
Yes, I decided to go to this game after all. It took an hour and a half out of work early, a bus, two subway trains, an LIRR ride, and another bus, but here I am. I couldn't resist. Besides, I have Shante Evans on my fantasy team, and she's putting in work. If we pull this out in the second half, it'll be the best of both worlds.
I'm starting to think duct tape might be a necessary part of the kit. Eugeneia McPherson is not doing herself any favors running her mouth after she hurled Nicole Capurso to the ground after the whistle had blown during a loose ball tussle. The Hofstra fans were understandably irked that Capurso got the foul and nothing was called on Gina. Gina continued to periodically kvetch to the refs and the bench for a long time afterward. Gina, it doesn't help.
All due credit to the loud and boisterous student section at Hofstra. Although when they started booing Gina every time she touched the ball after the throw... it was on like Donkey Kong, and the late-arriving RedZone got in on the action. Who needs eardrums, anyway?
I really like Hofstra's arena. I've said this before, but it's one of the nicer facilities in the New York metro area The layout's a little quirky, but you get used to it. They get good community support and local sponsorship, too. The Pride have a strong base to build on, and I think they've started to realize just how good it is.
I haven't seen Mallory Jones on the court yet, but anyone who sings along with “I Love Rock & Roll” is all right in my book.
So it's not the best of both worlds, just a world. I guess I can live in it. Be warned: the one thing I don't like about Hofstra is that they don't give out proper scorecards, so I have to bootleg it with a legal pad and scribbling. I wasn't thrilled with Andreana Thomas's grabby hands. I was amused by Deven Green's... huge tracts of land, and her brief scoring run. Marie Malone looks to have been bumped to the bench, but she's still a Mike Carey post at heart- you're going to ache afterwards. The Pride also got some good minutes from Anma Onyeuku, but I don't remember Krista Kilburn Steveskey going much deeper into her bench.
Katelyn Loper must have aced geometry in high school, because she showed an amazing knack for getting the right angle on her shots. I have no idea why we didn't get on her after the third, or fourth, or fifth three-pointer she hit on us. She's going to be something special for Hofstra, and the Colonial should be afraid of two years of her and Shante Evans together. Bond, Candace Bond (which was how she was announced during starting lineups and when she hit shots), had a good defensive game, with a nice block in the first half and strong rebounding play. Candice Bellocchio went well into the paint and set up Loper on one of her threes with a nifty shovel pass. Nicole Capurso mixed it up for loose balls and got loose for outside shots. But that game belonged to Shante Evans. There was a sign in the stands reading “#30 Is A Beast”, and that was dead-on accurate. I know that mold of player is going out of style in the WNBA, and she has no outside shot to speak of, but if she wants it, I think she'll have a very good career in Europe.
I have to give a lot of credit to Hofstra's coach for playing the mis-matches very well. When Kim Barnes Arico tried to use Jennifer Blanding as muscle, she came with Marie Malone, who's physical, but more outside-aligned; when KBA tried to bring in Amber Thompson for a better match-up, Hofstra brought Shante Evans right back in. And Kilburn-Steveskey also took advantage of the five-guard set that St. John's was inexplicably running at the end of the game.
The student section also brought it. RedZone could learn a lot from them, though the removal of shirts to disconcert the shooter can stay in Hempstead, thanks. We gave them their props after the game. We weren't thrilled with them booing Eugeneia McPherson every time she touched the ball, so it got loud.
Jennifer Blanding put in some decent minutes against the Hofstra posts, but she's got to be more aggressive under the basket. When you've got people singing “watch out for the big girl” every time you come in, maybe you should do something to make that worth it. I liked Keylantra Langley's hustle tonight, though she needs to work on her shot a little bit. She had way too many shots do funny things on the rim, and maybe that's a matter of luck, but maybe that's a matter of too much English. Tesia Harris is starting to look a little more comfortable in her role off the bench. I'd like to see her have more confidence in her shot, but that might come with time. Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin is going to get squeezed out when Da'Shena Stevens comes back- she fights, but she makes dumb mistakes.
Speaking of fighting and dumb mistakes, Eugeneia McPherson, you shouldn't take inspiration from Hofstra's fine wrestling tradition. Slams and leg whips have no place in basketball. And if you do anything that stupid, pleading your case to the refs at random moments well after the original play will not only not help you all that much, but will prejudice an official like Dennis DeMayo against the team in red for future calls. I think she fed off the vitriol being thrown at her by the Hofstra fans, or maybe she liked that RedZone had her back, but she went without fear. I like the offense, but not the mouth. Mary Nwachukwu played with a little more intensity tonight, but still needed the coaches screaming at her. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE, MARY. Amber Thompson's youth got the better of her; she committed a lot of stupid fouls that came back to bite her in the end. But I don't want that to stop her from going hard to the basket and scooping up the offensive rebounds. I am not necessarily thrilled with Nadirah McKenith shooting this much. I know, I know, the LaSalle game, but that was a situation where she needed to be shooting because no one else was hitting. She wasn't quite as successful this time, partly due to better defense and partly due to different calls. Then again, if our posts are going to take four shots total, someone's gotta pick up the slack. Shenneika Smith was working hard at both ends, almost to a fault- in the last six or seven minutes, she was suffering from cramps that made her contort her face and body in the most interesting ways. Since Shenneika's tall and skinny enough that I keep thinking someone can fold her into a suitcase, this was a lot more interesting in person than words can achieve. She's like a giant, expressive rubber band sometimes.
Just for the record, it is an absolute bear to get back from Hofstra on a weekday if you're not taking LIRR. Or even if you are. To be fair, we probably shouldn't have taken the extra fifteen minutes to cross Hempstead Turnpike, go to a lousy McDonalds (flat, warm Diet Coke, ugh), and cross Hempstead Turnpike again. But between the infrequency of Long Island Bus service, the social experiments of the N6, and some unfortunate biological reactions from the mayo in the sandwich I had for dinner, it took three hours to get back. So if you're wondering why these notes are late, it's because I didn't have time to work on them properly that night. Sleep deprivation makes me funnier, but not necessarily in good ways.
On to the next one. I'm looking forward to getting Da'Shena back, simply because having a proven post presence will solve a lot of our problems, especially with the rotation. Now, if we just had a consistent outside shooter...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
January 23rd, 2010: Delaware at Hofstra
Comments are closed on this post- please direct all comments to the mirror post on Swish Appeal.
Delaware, and Delle Donne, were definitely worth the price of admission. But more importantly, so was Hofstra. They've got some promising youngsters.
Getting lost on the Hofstra campus is not recommended. It stretches across both sides of Hempstead Turnpike, which is a difficult road to cross, to put it mildly. Nothing says adrenaline rush like some guy turning across two lanes and honking at you as you run across the street while you have the light. That wasn't even the worst traffic disaster at that corner, but we'll get to that in its proper place.
Hofstra has the only mid-major arena I've ever seen with luxury boxes. They haven't used them in either of the games I've been at, but that doesn't mean that at some point they won't come into use. I also like how Hofstra uses the complementary colors for their banners- they're not separated by gender, but by NCAA tournament versus conference tournament. But then, the Pride are very big on, well, pride, across both men's and women's sports. The structure of the arena is a bit confusing, though; it's not easy to get to a seat on the far side of the arena, the souvenir stands are on one level while the concession stands are on another, and all gods help you if you want to buy a program.
I assume that Lauren Curra normally starts, because she was subbed into the game fairly quickly- within the first minute or two, I'd say- of both halves. She's got a bit of an attitude that I'm not terribly impressed with. Good knack of getting to the line, though, which is something I have to reluctantly admire. Jasmine Gibson is a big woman. No, really big. She's a tank. Jaquetta May got the balance of the reserve guard minutes for the Fightin' Blue Hens.
I admit to a fondness for Kayla Miller, but that's mostly because of her screaming out the title line of Bon Jovi's "Have a Nice Day" while practicing her threes. I know she and Delle Donne were teammates in high school, so it makes sense that they know each other better than they know their teammates, and that they communicate really well, but I still think it's good that they DO, if that makes any sense. She got to the line a lot, which makes sense, since there were some intentional fouls near the end of the game and her season percentage was pretty bad. Jocelyn Bailey was the player who Curra replaced in the lineup, and I recall her getting into a couple of tangles with Hofstra players. Danielle Parker had a pretty quiet game. So did Eva Riddick. Delaware's starters have pretty good hands- they tip a lot of balls to each other, especially when they have a nice big target to find.
Oh, yeah, her. That tall girl with the really obvious brown roots. I guess she's all right. Okay, I'm going to be serious now. Delle Donne obviously has long range, looking comfortable beyond even the men's three-point line. She's got some beautiful moves, including a stepthrough that made my heart skip a beat from its grace. What's less obvious from the stats is that she's in the middle of a lot of defensive plays, and always has her hands up to make a play or receive a tipped ball on a steal. (She's credited with five in the boxscore, but I think she forced two or three herself and was just the recipient of a couple of tips on the others.) What I really like about her is that, for a freshman (even one with a year of volleyball under her belt), is that she's very communicative and very involved in huddles. She'll be the one to call the team over during a prolonged stoppage of play. Very few underclassmen do that, and I wasn't expecting it from her. She's a great player, but I'd love to see her work more on her post moves to become a more complete player- sort of a Lauren Jackson type. She needs a little meat on her legs if she's going to stand up to the kind of minutes she has to play. And she looks so very lost in a zone defense. With a little development, I think she'll be awesome; right now, she's great but flawed.
First off the bench for the Pride was Marie Malone, a lithe post who transferred from West Virginia. I like her- she's very smooth. I'd like to see her work the boards more; I suspect that's why she's a lioness and not a Mountaineer, because if you're not interested in hitting someone, Mike Carey has no use for you. Nicole Capurso found her offense in the second half and seemed to be single-handedly trying to keep Hofstra in the game, because the shots she hit were all big ones that could have turned the momentum in Hofstra's favor. (Of course, then there were the shots she missed...) Seemed like Candace Bond and Asia Jenkins were mostly in to chew up minutes and pick up fouls, especially late in the game. Bond was also an offense/defense sub with Candice Bellocchio. (As an aside, what is it with a) people in Piscataway naming their daughters some variant of Asia, and b) said daughters choosing to go to Big East schools other than Rutgers? Jenkins transferred from Cincinnati.) Isoken Uzamere came in as the fourth post because of foul trouble, but I wasn't impressed.
I still love Jess Fuller. I'm inordinately fond of posts who get inside and block shots, and she did that to perfection. I especially liked the block that she tipped up and caught to get the change of possession. She really got her offense going in the second half. Shante Evans reminds me of what Le'Coe Willingham was with the Sun, or DeTrina White with the Liberty, or maybe a not criminally inclined Latasha Byears: she's broad, but short, but gets things done on the inside with ups, smarts, and toughness. Candice Bellocchio has a lot of guts. If she's 5'6", then I'm jumping center for the Liberty next summer. That didn't keep her from being everywhere at once, up to and including in Delle Donne's face. Her tendency to attempt passes over the top against taller defenders was a bit mind-boggling, but it's hard to argue with ten assists. Sam Brigham had a couple of great moments, but they were usually followed up by moments of head-scratching stupidity. The most notable pair of these came at the end of the first half. She hit a three to bring Hofstra within seven... then fouled Bailey on a lay-up to allow a three-point play and complete giving back the points she had just scored. I'm also not enthusiastic about a player who's smart enough to track the progress of a shot, see that it's going to go off the rim, and not crash the boards. Aamira Terry seems to have lost some of the role I remember having last season- I dimly recall her having a lot of play-calling duties, and in this game she wasn't much of a factor.
Hofstra looked very lost whenever they faced a zone. Since they play it themselves, that surprised me.
The refereeing was quite inconsistent, but I'd like to call out Mark Behrens in particular for two egregiously messed up plays. In the first, Elena Delle Donne was shooting the second of two free throws. Before she released the second, Jocelyn Bailey committed a fairly blatant lane violation, while a Hofstra player committed a somewhat less obvious one. The whistle was duly blown, and the referees had a long talk. They granted Delle Donne a free throw that she never shot and gave Hofstra the ball as if she had hit it. Then there was a play later in the game where Delaware hit a shot and the ball somehow ended up on the floor. The referee started counting the five seconds to inbound before a Hofstra player ever touched the ball. Here I may be wrong, and I'll cop to it if I am, but I was under the impression that the five seconds only started when a player touched the ball to start the inbounding process. In any case, I wasn't thrilled with his professionalism during the game.
Lots of Girl Scouts at Mack. A special shoutout must go to the troop whose leader had the girls learning how to keep score, to the young ladies in the front row of our section who brought the "GO HOFSTRA" letter signs, and the young lady with the Jets-themed eyeblack in the next section over. Eyeblack is fierce.
As luck would have it, this was an autograph session game for the Pride, so we attached ourselves to the tail of the line and got our poster signed by most of the team. (Two players, Lindsay Watson and Joelle Connolly, weren't with the team.) I'm hoping to run into Nicole Capurso at a Liberty game this summer, since she mentioned being a fan of Janel's. I love those sorts of connections between levels of the game. It emphasizes the importance of building from the grass roots.
As for the second Hempstead Turnpike event that left my heart in my throat: we were waiting in the shelter for the bus to take us to the next bus to take us to the last bus, and we saw the Delaware charter bus heading the other way on the turnpike. It was easy to tell that it was Delaware's bus, given that it was from Delaware Express and had many people in blue and yellow in it. As it came up to the light, it swung around in a huge, sweeping U-turn to get onto the westbound side. While the bus made it just fine, the mental image of it flipping over or being T-boned by the careless, onrushing traffic flashed before my eyes. If this had been a movie, that would be how the saga of Delle Donne would end, wouldn't it?
Sometimes I forget how much I like the CAA, and that it's sort of in my backyard. It's such a tight conference that it seems like very few people know about. More people should.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
February 22nd, 2009: VCU at Hofstra
Virginia Commonwealth Rams 55, Hofstra Pride 43
The Pride and promise of Hofstra. They're just not quite there yet.
Signs you have moved up the food chain in the conference hierarchy: the arena you're visiting has luxury boxes. I'm not actually making this up. I almost want to be, but I'm not. I feel like a broken record, but Hofstra has one of the nicest arenas I've been in all season- it's like we saved the best for last or something, which is really promising for the NCAA tournament. It's a bit tricky to get to if you don't know exactly what turns to make, but once you figure them out, you'll be fine.
The Pride motif is widespread among the athletic facilities- and there are a lot of them, all top-notch for a CAA team, probably higher in quality than the conference average. The arena's tricky to navigate in, but when you realize that the turnstiles you go through are taken away so that you can go out to the vestibule and pick up your Pride souvenirs or your Pride programs. Said program is a bit pricey, but it's well worth it- very informative and refreshingly free of typos.
Continuing on the squee angle, the anthem was performed very beautifully by a Hofstra junior. Rachel, try out for American Idol- if they won't have you, it's because you're too damn good for them.
As it happened, we hit a Pink Zone game- if I'd known, I'd have worn a more appropriate Liberty tee, either the Arthur Ashe pink one or the one with the permanently affixed pink ribbon. I felt so out of place. Both teams had very awesome t-shirts, VCU rocked the pink socks, both teams rocked the pink laces, Hofstra had a raffle: it was a very well-done Pink Zone. Thumbs up!
VCU plays a very tough, very scrappy defense that drove Hofstra absolutely nuts. The press singlehandedly put VCU in the driver's seat. I'd love to see VCU side-by-side with Notre Dame and see how much of that defense is derived from Cunningham's days at Notre Dame and how much is her own devising. After reading up on Quanitra Hollingsworth and her entrance to the 1000/1000 club recently, I wanted to see how she would perform. She's an interesting player- really bad shooting game today, but that's as much due to Fuller as it is anything else. Very aggressive, though, and good height, though a bit wiry. Someone ought to take a flyer on her in training camp. Radoslava Bachvarova picked up the scoring slack for the Rams, and helped them take control in the early part of the second half. Jennifer Lane also stepped it up in the second half. There's something I like about her manner, though that may just be because she reminds me of a slightly stockier Leilani Mitchell. Even though she's a freshman, she didn't seem rattled when her team was down double digits on the first shot of the second half. Kita Waller had a nice steal and did a lot of work on the boards. Cunningham plays a tight rotation, and I'm of the opinion that Courtney Hurt is very well surnamed.
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy play from Hofstra. A lot of passes went awry, a lot of their errors were unforced or were player-control fouls. Niki Williams- who reminded me of Sue Bird at the outset because of the look of her- let the game slip out of her control. Very bad ballhandling, and questionable decision-making. Joelle Connelly started off hot, and maybe she was trying to help defend Hollingsworth and Bachvarova, but she just disappeared after the first quarter of the game. Fortunately for Hofstra, Jess Fuller started happening and just kept happening until she started getting hit with fouls in the second half (which, more on that later). Natty Fripp was playing some kind of bipolar- one minute she was cringing in the middle of a scrum for a rebound, the next she'd dive into the tall trees and go for the driving lay-up. One minute she'd hustle, the next she was almost running away from the ball. I don't get it. Aamira Terry didn't really show up until the second half, when she started putting up some highlight reel shots- but that's all she was trying for, not the simple shots. Sam Brigham gave them some good minutes, and really gave them a shot in the arm when they were trying to extend their lead in the first half and the early part of the second, but she had absolutely no idea how to go to the ball. Seriously, at least two passes zipped past her and out of bounds.
And yet the Pride kept themselves in the game, or at least they tried to. The refereeing was extremely uneven, in terms of what they called, who they called it on, and when they called what. It's true that Hofstra had to play much less disciplined defense than VCU did, since VCU was the stronger team, but some of the calls against them, and some of the calls not made against the Rams, were borderline, to say the least.
Once Hofstra gets a better team- and I know that's a lot to ask for, with the Virginia schools dominating the conference- I'd be more than happy to hike back out to the Island and enjoy their lovely facilities again- but until then, I think I'll give Hofstra a pass.