Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham held Manhattan to 27.4% shooting from the field in a hard-fought 51-45 win. Bre Cavanaugh had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Rams, with Kaitlyn Downey also notching a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Emily LaPointe had 13 points and Courtney Warley had 11 rebounds for the Jaspers in the loss.
For rivalry renewed, terrible shooting, precise announcements, strangers on a train, donuts, shiny things, and being en garde, join your intrepid and well-traveled blogger after the jump.
Basketball never stops, and neither do rivalries. Your intrepid blogger comes to you live, or at least on indeterminate tape delay, from the boogie down Bronx, where the Fordham Rams are paying a visit to the Manhattan Jaspers in the Battle of the Bronx.
Manhattan's band is getting into the spirit of both the holiday season and the basketball season, wearing festive hats (or antlers) and their “The 6th Borough” shirts.
Look, Mr. DJ, I get that no one cares about the lyrics, but maybe the refrain of “everything's better when I'm drinking” is not an appropriate choice on a college campus?
The Usual Suspects have arrived for Fordham. I'm flying solo today, though; the husband is off at Seton Hall for the UConn game. I expect this one to be more competitive.
15-4 Fordham end Q1. Manhattan is not shooting well and one of their players spiked the ball out of bounds off her teammate. The band is already razzing them. This is so far less competitive than the UConn game.
That is some glitter on the Manhattan cheerleaders' sweatshirts there. Wow.
24-18 Fordham at half. This has been all kinds of ugly. Bre Cavanaugh is already one rebound away from a double-double. No one with more than four points for Manhattan, but shoutout to Courtney Warley's eight rebounds. (Even if I would like her to maybe not roll-block people.)
On the other hand, Lynette Taitt probably wishes people would stop confusing this with dodgeball. She's already had two people spike the ball off her. And one was her own teammate. That is not how that play works, people.
I forgot how much I like Manhattan's band. The sound system s a little overcranked, because it has to be prepared for when Draddy is in use as a track facility, which is a much larger venue. But the band has a nice jazzy rhythm to them. I think one of those dudes is playing an electric clarinet, and I have no idea how that would even work, but it's fun.
The 6th Borough is arguably putting in a better night's work than the team they're rooting for.
There appear to be two different nets on the baskets. The one closer to Manhattan's bench has a traditional long one, while the one by the visiting bench appears shorter and thicker, making the rim look a little like one of those kiddy baskets.
Manhattan's intro video is interesting. I don't think I've ever seen one completely devoid of highlights.
38-36 Fordham end Q3. The refs are starting to call some of the physical play, but not all of it.
I don't know how accurate this claim is, but Manhattan claims to be the place where the seventh inning stretch was created, so we had a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” between the third and fourth quarters.
It's final at Draddy, 51-45 Fordham. Game MVP coming up, and if it's not Bre Cavanaugh I will find a hat and eat it. No, I will willingly be seen in the vicinity of the “Make Christmas Great Again” sweatshirt. Fortunately, Bre is our winner.
I like everything about the experience of a game at Manhattan except the home team's playing style. The people are all really nice, the PA guy is on point (every sub properly announced with name and number), the concessions are reasonably priced even if they're minimal, the student section shows up, the band is really good... but watching that team is painful. I thought Vulin was developing something, but her players have regressed since her first couple of years.
Nyala Pendergrass made a cameo in the second half to shoot a little bit, but the bulk of the bench play went to the trio of Lizahya Morgan, Gabby Cajou, and Pamela Miceus. They entered in the first and third quarters as a unit, but were situationally subbed as necessary throughout the game. Cajou is still lightning fast on the break- she had a beauty of a steal that led to a lay-up for the Jaspers. She also had an amazing o-board where she soared over a forward who had a good eight inches on her. But when she was out of the fast break, her decision-making deteriorated. Morgan provided some outside shooting, though she suffered from the same lack of accuracy most of her teammates did. Miceus brought a midrange game, with mixed results. Her form is terrible, and she's a senior, so it's not likely to get better.
If you leave Julie Høier open for five-six seconds, yes, she's going to hit the shot. That's if you give her enough time to get the ball, consider the shot, double pump herself out of it, and then set back up. I try not to make blonde jokes in the blog, but she was doing her best to live up to them. I mean, I guess she sets okay screens? But I'm about 50% certain she's the one who spiked her own teammate. It was either her or the freshman Emily LaPointe, who does have a respectable shot. She needs a lot of work, being a freshman and all, and in a lot of places I'd say she has time to develop. But I haven't seen a lot of development at Manhattan, so I don't know why she would buck the trend. Courtney Warley has a somewhat more respectable midrange game than her bench counterpart, though today it did not extend out to the three-point line as it has done in the past. She was ferocious on the glass and was able to outrun our guards to pinballing rebounds.
Lynette Taitt will drag this team to at least one victory that they in no other way deserve simply because she's that stubborn, that tough, and that physical. She did her damnedest on Bre Cavanaugh, and the fact that I'm complimenting a defensive performance that allowed 21 points should say something about the night Bre was having. They went at each other all night. Game recognize game. I have no idea why Sydney Watkins is starting. I don't know, maybe Manhattan just had a historically bad shooting night and this isn't really them, but about all she was doing out there was shooting threes on offense and attempting to jiggle distractingly on defense.
Manhattan is unafraid to play physical basketball. They drive headfirst, or at least shoulder-first. There were an awful lot of plays where they went low and suddenly there was a Fordham player lying on the floor wondering where the foul was and maybe what the number of that truck was. I applaud their fight, but at some point, they need to learn a little bit of control. And again, I don't see that happening under Vulin.
Zara Jillings's incredible disappearing act continues. I don't know what's going on with her, but I don't think I like it. Katie McLoughlin was first off the bench to shore up the defense slightly and promptly committed a reach-in foul. She did have a nifty putback lay-up off an offensive rebound. Megan Jonassen looks like she's lost a step- she was having trouble keeping up with Manhattan's movement.
One of these days. I know I've said this before, and since this is the first half of only her junior season I'm sure I'll say it again, but one of these days Kendell Heremaia is going to cause me to facepalm myself right into the concussion protocol. I love her hustle, and I love her rebounding, and I love the heart she has to play above her height. But if she takes one more stupid dipsy-do lay-up when going straight up would be enough, or if she keeps missing easy shots right at the basket, I will not be responsible for my actions. I don't like being this harsh or this frustrated with her, but she just goes from extreme to extreme. Kaitlyn Downey did a nice job on the boards, picking up plays that ricocheted out to the elbows. She looked like the physicality of the game was taking a toll on her by the end- that was one of the highest levels I've ever seen her register on the Kraayeveld-Adubato Scale. We really need another post to help take the load off and maybe allow Kene to actually be a guard one of these days. I thought that player was going to be Vilisi Tavui, but she's had a rough start to the season.
In some ways, it's a bad sign that the freshmen guards looked out of sorts against a team as bad as Manhattan. Anna DeWolfe looked hesitant, and that cost us with turnovers on sloppy or telegraphed passes. Her ability to snipe threes from the corner countered LaPointe's shooting and kept Manhattan's runs from being anything more than brief jogs. Sarah Karpell brought the defense, or at least tried to; there was a sequence where she was on Julie Høier, who was doing everything but waving signal flags to tell her teammates she had a height advantage on the play. She was in over her head, but she did her best. Bre Cavanaugh got off to a little bit of a slow start, but once she got the first make, it was like a match to a pile of dry leaves- she lit up Manhattan beyond the arc, in the paint, and on the offensive glass. She pretty much had her way with Manhattan. I'm a little worried about the amount of contact she was taking (Manhattan's approach to defense can sometimes be categorized as "body slam") but she has parents for that and I need to stop fussing.
Officials let most of the contact go in the first half and tightened up on the hand-checking in the second (but still let the heavy contact keep going) If this rivalry weren't on the right side of the line between heated and competitive, we might have had more issues. But the closest thing we had to a problem was very late in the game, when Kaitlyn Downey accidentally nailed Julie Høier in the face with an elbow on a loose ball scrum. That was reviewed for a hostile act, but the review was very short and nothing came of it.
Manhattan hosted an autograph session after the game, and disorganized doesn't even begin to describe it. The poster is fantastic- a great design printed on thick glossy stock- and the squad even had the metallic Sharpies to sign it. But they needed at least one more table to fit everyone, and there was no sense of order. Imagine me hovering nervously and shyly around the fringes, trying to figure out where to start and where the line is, only to realize there is no line. (And of course, with my Fordham scarf shoved in my coat and my coat zipped all the way up.) It was awkward.
Fordham brought a small student section! Or possibly some of the guys from the band, I don't know. But they were seated in the other endcourt section, across from the 6th Borough, and two of them would fence with drumsticks while Manhattan was shooting free throws. I cannot personally condone disconcerting the home team on the line, but I can appreciate their efforts. Apparently security almost freaked out when one of them successfully got through the other one's guard and poked him in the chest. Lot of mutual respect between them and the Manhattan band after the game.
The trip was chaos and the execution was terrible, but I'm still glad I went. It's good to see Bre looking like Bre again.
Friday, December 13, 2019
December 5th, 2019: Fordham at Manhattan
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
December 2nd, 2018: Manhattan at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham came out on top of a hotly contested Battle of the Bronx, 65-61. Bre Cavanaugh was game MVP with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Lynette Taitt came off the bench to lead Manhattan with 15 points.
For overwork, rivalries, an inability to can or even, and a slow pace, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
No thanks to the MTA, we have arrived at Fordham for the 50th Battle of the Bronx, as the Rams play host to the Jaspers of Manhattan College. (No, seriously, guys, sitting in Flushing for ten minutes is not my idea of a good time.)
Misspelling my last name on the pass list, I can understand. My handwriting is awful, and it can be misinterpreted. Misspelling Manhattan as "Manhatten" is either some kind of historical shoutout, a potshot at their in-borough rival, or a sign that someone in the ticket office really loves St. John's.
The band is elsewhere, whether previously engaged or on vacation, so there's a local high school (?) drum corps with associated steppers in their place. Curiously, they're performing on the other side of the basket from where the drum platform is set up, though I can easily imagine Coach Gaitley not wanting a wall of noise directly next to her bench during timeouts.
No band, so recorded anthem. I don't applaud recordings.
It's tied at halftime, 35-all. Fordham's interior defense has been a hot mess, with Manhattan taking full advantage of their forwards' height and Gabby Cajou's fearlessness. Bre Cavanaugh has briefly gone into "I have had it with this nonsense" mode, but it faded out.
That awkward moment when the dance group performing at halftime forget that they're doing two numbers.
I'd say we're a little shorthanded today, with Ralene Kwiatkowski in a walking boot, but she seems to have fallen down the rotation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad we won. Winning rivalry games is important. And we showed some grit at the end. But Bre Cavanaugh can't do it alone, and she shouldn't have to, and she shouldn't try to, and she shouldn't expect to.
Coach Vulin used Pamela Miceus very situationally, to use her height. Her teammates seemed really hyped when she drove the lane for her bucket. Kania Pollack provided a little relief at the point to end the first quarter and start the second, while Lizahya Morgan got that assignment in the second half.
There are people I do not want to mess with in the course of a basketball game, and one of them is Lynette Taitt. It's not that I'm intimidated by her, it's that she has an indomitable will to win and can put the team on her back as necessary. She had both the driving game and the midrange game working. Sini Mäkelä came in for her offense and hit her jumpers. Julie Høier threw some screens, some of them a little more physical than I would have liked, and slipped back door for easy lay-ups. She had a height advantage and pressed it relentlessly. I can't be mad. Well, I can be, but it would be counterproductive.
D'yona Davis was not ready for this game, and she got pulled in the first half so quickly that I thought the previously announced starting lineup was incorrect. This happens sometimes with freshmen. Gabby Cajou brought good speed to the floor- she played a big part in neutralizing Lauren Holden. She did play out of control sometimes, and her footwork cost Manhattan at least one turnover.
Courtney Warley is a physical presence underneath, and I think Manhattan needs her do stick to that role for them to be successful. I know she has an outside shot, because I've seen it in effect, but she's not consistent enough with it for that to be a big part of her game. She's still got time to develop consistency in her stroke. Candela Abejón was strong and determined defensively. She positioned herself well on the inside. Tuuli Menna finished well inside and took advantage of mismatches.
Can we not with the elbows, please?
I like Halei Gillis's defense off the bench, but she's still suspect on offense. Kaitlyn Downey hit a three and I thought she had finally found her stride, but then her next shot missed badly and I remembered why she drives me nuts. Megan Jonasson seemed to find her groove as the game went on, and her putback late in the game was the deciding bucket. She still needs to work on getting into defensive position and staying there, but I have faith in that happening.
I really need Mary Goulding to finish more consistently at the rim. That would be great. I like what she gives us on defense, but because of our lack of size, she can't afford to get into foul trouble. She's got to be aware of that. Also, I cannot even with the Zara Jillings-at-the-four lineup. I can't even. I don't have the capacity for even. She's got great hustle and great defensive tenacity, but she doesn't have the height, she doesn't have the size, she doesn't have the reach, and she doesn't have the ups to handle taller players. She's a three at best. And in turn, Kendell Heremaia is a two at best. Both of them are being forced to play out of position, and it's hurting their game, and it's hurting Fordham's game.
I like how Lauren Holden is running the offense, for the most part, though I could do with fewer of the long threes. Still, I keep feeling like I should be seeing more from her, somehow. I understand that Coach Gaitley's system encourages a very slow pace of play, but I'm also inclined to believe that she's bought a little too much into it. She and Bre can be a high-octane offense if they're allowed to be, but I don't think they're currently being allowed to be, and for the most part, I don't think they're allowing themselves to take advantage of speed opportunities. And we're asking way too much of Bre Cavanaugh. She seems to be the only person on the team who's' able, or willing, to at least try to create offense for herself. It's wearing her down; in the fourth quarter, she was visibly exhausted, and I think she might have pulled her jersey once. We shouldn't have had to ask this much of Bre, or of Lauren, against Manhattan, rivalries be damned. If this is what a mediocre MAAC team does to us, what are we going to look like in A-10 season? I don' tthink I like the answer, and the only reason I might is because the A-10 has been a mess in the non-conference season.
This team can be very fun, but very frustrating. If we don't get our defense together in a hurry, it's going to be a lot more frustrating than fun.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
November 10th, 2018: Manhattan at St. Francis
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Francis surged in the fourth quarter to win 73-65 over Manhattan. Jade Johnson had 20 points to lead four Terriers in double figures. D'Yona Davis had a team-high 13 points for the Jaspers in the loss.
For unexpected wrestling terminology, facility shortcomings, NOT GETTING DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS DAMNIT, coaching the kids up, unexpected hugs, undesired selfies, and easing into a new team, join your intrepid and adventurous blogger after the jump.
We go from Iona's heel turn yesterday to a face turn today. Since John Thurston- he with the astonishing talent for finding dishwater blondes across the world yet overlooking most of the talent in his own city- has departed St. Francis College, it's a lot easier to root for them. It's even easier when we know the new coach. So we're on our way to Remsen Street to cheer on, instead of cheer against, the Terriers for the first time in I don't know how many years, as they take on Manhattan.
The in-game notes may be a little spotty. It's Pokémon Go's monthly Community Day, which is why we're in Brooklyn Heights instead of South Orange, so I have shinies to chase and stardust to collect. But you'll get your postgame notes, hopefully with the coherency and snark you've come to expect.
Well, St. Francis has a nice new floor, and the mural is still pretty boss, but every time I come here, I am reminded just how subpar a facility the Terriers have. The more I think about it, the more I think it's not a good look to have the half-closed bleachers be the side behind the bench (where cameras, such as they are, usually face).
St. Francis has gone heavily to the Brooklyn branding, especially on the warm-up shirts.
There were small children dancing at halftime and having their pictures taken. One of them seemed really freaked out by the mascot, but ended up hugging him in the end, so that all worked out.
I remembered Manhattan as a second-half team, so I was pleasantly surprised that St. Francis was able to pull off the comeback in the fourth quarter. But our defensive rebounding was atrocious. Between the freshmen and the returners, there are a lot of bad habits to be unlearned, but I think Coach Cimino is on the case in that regard.
Manhattan went pretty deep into their bench, though some players only got a couple of minutes. Nyala Pendergrass came in very late, very briefly. Kania Pollard got off some corner threes, but couldn't get them to go down. Pamela Miceus showed some moves in the post and had a nice block, though they don't seem to have credited her for it.
Lizahya Morgan was unafraid to launch from deep, and some of them came at critical moments. She's a quick little guard. Sini Mäkelä did some work on the glass. Tuuli Menna picked up a lot of minutes in the second half and did a lot of good stuff inside. (Good stuff. This is the kind of incisive commentary all nine of you come to the Game Notes of Doom for.)
I still very much enjoy watching Gabby Cajou play, even if it's usually in frustration because her team is never my team, and even if she wasn’t quite as show-stopping as she was the last time I saw her. She was one of the few players for either team who was willing to shoot at the end of the shot clock. D'Yona Davis was also putting up some big shots. She looks good for a freshman. Candela Abejón didn't play that much, and I don't remember her very clearly.
Their inside players did a really good job of getting offensive rebounds. Julie Høier and Courtney Warley both used their height to full advantage, both in getting position and in getting reboudns even when they were out of position. There were multiple possessions with multiple Jasper offensive rebounds. Warley was throwing some elbows on her screens. She's a tough player. I think I could respect her more if she set better screens. Høier was very efficient. I was quietly impressed with her.
Manhattan fell apart in the fourth quarter, in ways I wasn't expecting. We were coming up with the 50/50 balls that they were getting in the first half. I'm glad we were able to buckle down at the end.
Coach Cimino was pretty quick with the hook whenever her players were making stupid mistakes, and there were plenty of stupid mistakes to go around. So she was doing a lot of subbing. Kate Bauhof is definitely still working out her way into college shape, both physically and in terms of fitting into the system. Alex Tudor got a couple of minutes in the first half, but I think they may have been to give someone else a Teaching Moment. Abby Anderson got her run in the second half and did a nice job of being a sparkplug on the boards (which we sorely needed).
Ebony Horton made a fantastic first impression. I can see where she needs work, how she can sharpen her passing and work on her shot selection. Coach was especially not pleased with her getting trapped on the sideline on one occasion, since is forced a timeout. But I love her driving ability, and when she can get the passes off, they're great. Ally Lassen hit free throws down the stretch and came away with offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, when we hadn't been getting them all game. Appreciate the hustle.
Good Lord, Amy O'Neill. She wasn't the star of the game, but she certainly had some of the flashiest plays, with dipsy-do lay-ups and long passes to get the fast break going. She goes hard for the ball, even if she doesn't get it. Mia Ehling hit the free throws when it counted to seal the game. Jade Johnson was hitting threes early, but she spent an awful lot of time flat-footed on the glass. I don't want to blame her for all of our rebounding woes, but it sure seemed like she could have been doing a lot more than she did in that regard.
Dominique Ward brings good size, but I was expecting somewhat better ball thought from her on the floor, given that she's a grad transfer. Maybe today was just an off game for her. Maria Palarino did well getting fouled on the glass. I'd have to do a closer reading of the play-by-play to determine this, and I'm too tired and I have two more games to write up today, but I think she did the best job of taking advantage of those times when Manhattan was in the penalty.
I know we were outsized, but we still gave up way too many rebounds. Too many times, we had a player in position and Manhattan just reached over her. Too many times, we stood and watched the ball as Manhattan charged for it. This is not okay. This is never okay. We have to be more assertive.
There was an enthusiastic rookie ref making a lot of calls on the floor. At one point Coach was pointing that out and telling her team that the official was calling every handcheck, that if someone fell down there'd be a foul called. It wasn't completely accurate, but it was a good benchmark. Not nearly as bad as the crew at the Iona game, but there were definitely some dubious calls. At least these ladies could count.
I'm interested in the development of St. Francis. I think, though I am biased, that they got in a great coach for a rebuild. Pointing out strengths and weaknesses seems to be a strength of hers, and I have faith in her ability to teach the game.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
January 18th, 2018: Iona at Manhattan
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Iona staged a 17-point comeback in the second half, but it wasn't enough, as Manhattan came away with the home win 67-63. Taylor Williams had a game-high 18 points for the Jaspers, while Kayla Grimme notched a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Alexis Lewis tallied 19 points for Iona.
For country music, the courage of one's convictions, team colors, finding friends, WTF face, ballistic freshmen, dissonance, and fast breaks, join your intrepid and stardust-laden blogger after the jump.
Whether they want me around or not, I'm determined to love the hell out of Iona, at least through the end of Treyanna Clay and Alexis Lewis's careers. I still believe in Phee and Phee still believes in them. This is why I'm sitting in a Five Guys somewhere between the Upper West Side and Harlem, typing up pregame notes before I hie me to Manhattan for some MAAC magic. (Can't call it MAACtion. The Mid-American Conference might get upset. And I like them.)
Granted, I am also hieing me the long way around because I want to put some distance on my 10K eggs in anticipation of the Pokémon Go double XP event on Saturday and because I need to grind stardust, but there's no reason I can't multi-task, right? I get to have the spiritual superiority of having caught a Kyogre before the difficulty nerf, and yet have the chance to get more before month's end. Today is so far a good day.
Getting to Manhattan was a little more complicated than usual, and I did have to abandon the bus plan midway through. One of the elevators at Manhattan is broken, which led to a couple of flights of stairs, but let's be honest, I could probably use the extra cardio.
Unfortunately, I didn't get in in time to determine which bench is which, and I don't remember from the Fordham game. Well, if I'm on the wrong side, I'll move over, but the team just came out and the staff seem to be on this side.
Shoutout to whoever's picking the music for the game, because they are rocking out. "Superstition" and "Centuries" in the same mix will make me a very happy blogger. And we've just segued into "You're Unbelievable".
Tori Lesko is still in a boot. Poor Tori. I do believe that's part of how we've lost our way; she's the closest thing we have to a leader on this roster, but she's the kind of leader who has to be on the floor to be at her most effective.
I don't know if Manhattan ran out of ticket paper or if that's just how they roll, but my ticket was printed out on paper with a bar code. Whatever floats your boat.
There are a surprising number of people here, or maybe it just seems that way because the kids around me haven't run out of energy yet. There's an awful lot of running to do, indeed.
Anthem singer didn't quite have the voice for what she wanted to do. (Also, I'm proud to report that Ashley Martin kneels on the road as well. I love seeing young people with the courage of their convictions.)
This could be worse than it is. It's 33-28 Manhattan at halftime. Alexis Lewis has 13 for the Gaels, with Jayden Eggleston adding eight. Gabby Cajou has seven to lead the balanced Jaspers attack. Their drive and dish to the corner has been exceptional tonight, and we'll see if Iona can adjust at the half.
Even the Boys and Girls Club biddy game is themed to this game, with "Iona" and "Manhattan" teams.
Manhattan's band has a very jazzy sound to it. Pleasant but not exactly inspiring. And St. John's does "Chelsea Dagger" better by light-years.
The student section is very full but has mostly been very quiet.
Ran into DSPN. I guess my secret's out, inasmuch as it was going to be a secret.
If I'm reading the end of the sequence correctly, drummer got so enthusiastic that one of the Iona family folks had to go get his drumstick.
All I want out of life is a good wi-fi connection. Is that so hard to ask of schools? Just set up a good guest network and let me pull up Twitter and the scoreboard.
I think I have sacrificed one of my Iona pom-poms forever, but it's for a good cause. One of the Manhattan band kids thought she was being slick offering Ashley's baby brother a Manhattan-colored pom-pom. Well, we couldn't be having with that, and Ashley's mom agreed. Don't worry; I have another one and a rally towel. (As it turned out, Jackie returned it after the game; she has plenty more at home, but she just needed to make sure her son didn't get attached to the wrong color. Truly, she's raising them up right.)
We fought the good fight. That's our motto. That's who we are. That's what we do. We made Manhattan flinch. Moral victories don't go in the record book, but they go a long way towards getting the ones that do. I keep getting "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" stuck in my head, but it's more about finding out who you are when the deficit keeps growing and the shots don't fall.
I'm very glad that Ashley Martin's family finally got to see her take the floor for the first time in what seems like forever, but perhaps throwing her directly at Amani Tatum went past "baptism by fire" straight into "baptism in Mount Doom". She wasn't ready for that. Better players have been not ready for that. I don't know what Amelia Motz did, or didn't do, to get thrown in the doghouse as thoroughly as she was in this game, though she was eminently forgettable in the minutes she did play. Tilasha Okey-Williams, to me, indicates that Coach Chambers is starting to panic and needs someone who's willing to shoot without hesitation alongside Lexi. She's the desperation move, the panic button made flesh. That sounds like a terrible thing to say about a person, now that I put it in written form, but it's more a statement about her role than about her personally.
I'm starting to think I understand why Alexis Lewis has been consigned to the bench. Yes, she's electric offensively, but she's inconsistent and she's streaky. I'm also starting to think that Lex has decided that the playbook is not relevant to her interests- it looked a couple of times like she was ignoring the play call and taking it herself. I sort of understand the urge, but I also understand why the coach might object and act accordingly. Kristin Mahoney, for a senior and a point guard, has a lot of trouble finding open players, especially when inbounding the ball. She really looks like she's going to freak out if she doesn't have someone by the two-second mark. (At the same time, if you have a choice between two equally mediocre point guards, all things being equal you should probably start the senior. Your only senior. Since you chased off the other one.)
(Yes, I'm going to harp on the Phee thing until someone gives me a good reason not to.)
Adrienne DiGioia is not yet ready to ride this ride. Her vision isn't there, her handle isn't there, and she doesn't have the gravitas to drag the team with her. Manhattan pressed her, and she either coughed up the ball or attempted to pass to people who were guarded by Kayla Grimme. Do not attempt to pass the ball to people who are being fronted by Kayla Grimme. Toyosi Abiola really, really needs to work on her handle Being one of the fastest people on the floor does you little good if you don't bring the ball with you. She also seemed lost on the floor- there were a couple of sequences where pretty much everyone in maroon was yelling at her where to go. I know, I know, she's a freshman, and freshmen are sort of clueless, but she either isn't picking up new schemes quickly or still hasn't quite picked up the old ones.
I love everything about Treyanna Clay's WTF face except the things that cause her to make it. She got tagged with some touch fouls that limited her minutes in the second and third quarters. I though Coach Chambers handled her foul trouble well in the fourth with good subs. She's moving better than she was the last time I saw Iona, which I consider to be a good sign. I'm not the world's biggest fan of her taking deep perimeter shots except when they go in. I was much more hyped about the slick backdoor cut as part of the fourth quarter run. Rebekah Justice is a big girl, and if she can adjust to the pace of the college game and maybe convert more of that mass into muscle, she can be a major presence for us on the inside. There were moments when she was going head to head with Grimme and holding her own on the glass, but they were only moments. This was probably the strongest game I've seen out of Jayden Eggleston- not just the best, though it certainly was that, but the one where she went most confidently to the basket and got buckets. She was fantastic tonight, and for the first time I was genuinely impressed with her. If we can get more of that out of her this season, we're not going to drop the table. Keep going to the hoop, Jayden! Take that away from this game!
I think Coach Chambers's interpersonal skills leave a lot to be desired, but I was impressed with some of her tactics in this game. She managed minutes well and rode the hot hand (which is why Alexis Lewis started the second half over Rebekah Justice).
Dear Manhattan: if you're going to play people with diacritical marks in their names, could you make sure you play them enough minutes to be worth writing about? My keyboard isn't equipped to write about Julie Høier. She gave them a couple of brief minutes, as did KellyAnne O'Reilly, whose primary function seems to be annoying the hell out of the ballhandler for one play per game on the baseline. Alex Smith is an absolute load in the middle, and not a particularly mobile one. We were able to get around her enough that Coach Vulin decided she wasn't worth the risk and sat her down. If she had anything that remotely resembled stamina... well, let's be honest, she'd probably still be at Middle Tennessee.
(My dude. You are not supposed to smoke on the train. This... is not complicated. There's a pictogram and everything. Yes, it bothers me. At least he put it out when he noticed me holding my nose, because smoke and I are not friends, but dude. You are not supposed to smoke anything on the train.)
Sini Mäkelä got looks for three from the corner and hit them. She's a spot shooter. It's who she is. It's what she does. Her teammates get her open and she hits shots. Mikki Guiton had an absolutely perfect screen wasted by a missed open Cajou jumper. I mean, c'mon, Fun Size Moriah Jefferson, you get that much open space from a screen, it's your responsibility to hit that shot and make your post player feel good about it. I'd say Guiton gives them more of a perimeter game, but Grimme's no slouch there herself. Gabby Cajou is very, very fast. She probably stripped the ball while you were reading this sentence. You didn't think I was comparing her to Jefferson just because she looks like a smaller version of her, did you? She's a different kind of offensive player, but she has a nice balance of drives and jumpers, and she's a nightmare in transition.
Amani Tatum is very intense and a little bit terrifying. She goes after everything with everything that has to offer, and that makes her one of the most dangerous players on the floor. Her shots weren't falling, but she more than made up for it on the defensive end, igniting the fast break with steals and either taking it to the basket herself or dishing it ahead. After those two missed free throws left the door open for Iona, I'm pretty sure she's either already back in the gym at the line, or she's going to be at the earliest possible moment; she strikes me as that kind of "no imperfections allowed" player. (Like I said, very intense and a little bit terrifying.) Lizahya Morgan is tiny and a little bit cute, and when Coach Vulin runs her in the backcourt with Cajou, there is too much tiny for me to handle. I think I see what her coach might see in her potential-wise, but I think I'd still take Cajou over her. Taylor Williams was hitting three-pointers all over the place (but not from "way" downtown like the PA guy was enthusing; bro, she was barely behind the line on that one). She's tough, I have to grant her that.
Kayla Grimme was impressive today. She got into position in the paint for rebounds, and no one was getting them away from her. We don't really have anyone who can compete with her in terms of size, but that's not to diminish the numbers she put up. Having a big body doesn't mean you know how to use it. See above regarding Alex Smith, or two and a half years of me yelling at Karynda DuPree. We attempted to drive on her. This did not end well. We sent her to the line. This did not end well- she has a surprisingly nice stroke from the line for a post player. She's big for them in every way she can be. Courtney Warley brought a lot of energy on the glass, deflecting sure offensive rebounds for the Gaels and keeping Jasper possessions alive. She's toned down some of her wildness from the early part of the season.
Manhattan did two things really well on offense tonight: drive and dish for the three, or get the steal and run the fast break. Setting things up other than that didn't go well for them, but they really didn't need too much other than that.
Jayden should really go apologize to the Manhattan dance team for crashing into them like that. It looked like one of the dancers took a really hard fall (and Jayden may have given her an additional shove, whether intentionally or not- that looked rough). Play nice with the people on the sidelines, Jayden.
Officiating was more or less okay. They were lax on travels and a little too harsh on touch fouls, in my opinion.
If you're going to fill the student section, fill it with people who'll actually start making noise before the 19-point lead kicks into place. That was pathetic for stretches. It's not like there were even that many Iona people to out-yell. I mean, at least put some effort into it. (As an aside, the listed attendance actually looks low; I wonder if Manhattan didn't count comp tickets or something. I was impressed with the size of the crowd.)
I don't know if this Iona team has the moxie to match them, but this year reminds me so much of the step back St. John's took after the 2006 tournament bid- a lot of freshmen, a couple of upperclassmen, the inexplicable loss of a team leader, key injuries at all the wrong times. 2006-07 wasn't easy in Jamaica. But you find out who you are in times like these. You find out who has the mettle and who has the ability to lead even as an underclassman. You find out who can't deal with the losing. You find out who's going to bend and who's going to snap.
This too shall pass, Gaels. In the meantime, we fight the good fight, because that's what we do.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
December 16th, 2017: Manhattan at LIU
Just the Facts, Ma'am: LIU scored the first basket, but it was all downhill from there for the Blackbirds as Manhattan built up as much as a 40-point lead on their way to a 72-38 win. Kayla Grimme led the Jaspers with 15 points, while Courtney Warley added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Denisha Petty-Evans led LIU with 11 points.
For putrid offense, soft defense, bad shots, a lot of guessing, a lot of green people, throwing freshman spaghetti at the wall, and the nagging feeling I should have done my laundry instead, join your intrepid and refrigerated blogger after the jump.
And now, the storm before the calm. Your intrepid blogger will be at five games in the next six days, including the big UCLA East Coast trip that I've been looking forward to for quite some time. And then there will be massive amounts of holiday baking, followed by a stretch of falling over.
We're starting this run off at LIU, where the Blackbirds will be taking on Manhattan of the MAAC.
The original plan for the day was to experiment with bus routes, but I spent too much time looking for cheap vanilla extract at Marshall's, so it's train time again. Should still make it in plenty of time for the game, but I'm a little bummed I couldn't go the long way around. Then again, no rules about doing it on the way home... after all, I'm flying solo today.
(On second thought, I'm down to 34% battery and my power bank is dead. Guess it's the train to the 56 after all.)
Manhattan has a custom bus. I mean, it's not the fanciest bus, but it's got their name and hashtag on it.
Looks like Lynette Taitt isn't dressed for the Jaspers, which means they might have to go a little deeper into their guard rotation. Or, I guess, ask Gabby "mini-Moriah" Cajou to play more minutes.
Alex Smith, whoever told you that you looked good with sideburns lied to you and is not your friend.
It's 43-19 Manhattan at the half, with the Jaspers ending each quarter with a trey. We ended the half by fumbling the ball on the inbounds- not fumbling the inbounds, but fumbling it before it ever came inbounds. Kayla Grimme and Amani Tatum each have 11 for Manhattan. Jeydah Johnson has seven for LIU, while Denisha Petty-Evans and Stylz Sanders each have six. If you do the math, you will realize the even bigger problem with that scoring distribution for the Blackbirds. Quirky stat here: Stylz's baskets all came on and-1s... and she's missed all three free throws.
At the end of the first quarter, I tweeted, "Have Coke. Send rum." I stand by that statement.
Hostos's team is across the aisle in the next section over. Boss letter jackets.
There is a tiny child behind the Manhattan bench area in an equally tiny Manhattan jersey. Okay, I guess that's cute. If you're into that kind of thing.
Those who have been following the GNoD since my cross-posting days understand that I have developed a policy of not swearing in the GNoD. I would like to be all-ages-friendly. So my exact opinion of this game will have to remain at my Twitter (@NYCScribbler, shameless plug) and the words you will read below are but a lengthy paraphrase of the pithy summation posted there.
The Manhattan bench was rooting really hard for Pamela Miceus when she came in at the end of the game, and they seemed bummed when she missed the look right at the basket. Nyala Pendergrass is long and lanky (her build reminds me of a volleyball player) and did good work on the offensive glass. Julie Høier brought height off the bench- I'm not entirely sure where she fits in Manhattan's scheme yet, though. They seem to like small guards and really big forwards, and she seems to be more the traditional European forward who shoots threes despite her height. Alex Smith is a very large woman. This is a problem for a team that regularly expects a 5-9 player to guard post players. We put DeAngelique Waithe on her, and she bumped her right out of the way to score at the basket. She's not mobile, and I'm still not sold on her stamina, but she certainly makes herself a target down low. Especially if the officials aren't calling three-seconds, she provides Manhattan with a size advantage on offense.
I don't know why Gabby Cajou doesn't start. I'm sure Manhattan has their reasons, and I certainly don't begrudge them their seniors. But she's damn good. She gives them killer speed- the ball is not safe coming up the floor if she's behind the ballhandler. I think during the Battle of the Bronx I compared her to Moriah Jefferson if you accidentally left her in the dryer, and I'll stick to that comparison (and not just because I like that turn of phrase). I don't know if she has a jumper or if her only source of offense is the rocket-fueled drive to the basket. Lizahya Morgan is of similar size, but seems to have more of a jumper when she does shoot. She seemed quieter, somehow. Kelly Anne O'Reilly came into the game late and hustled on defense. Her three-point shot was not pretty, though. Nyasha Irizarry missed her one shot badly (probably one of the high points for the LIU supporters in the stands was being able to give her the "airball" chant). I think she was part of an offense-defense switch, but honestly, there were so many Jaspers the numbers are starting to blur together in my head.
Courtney Warley mostly kept her elbows to herself this time around. She's smooth around the basket, and she got good position on our shorter players to snag offensive rebounds. She and Kayla Grimme work well together- if one missed a shot, the other was there for the putback, and if it was someone else missing the shot, they were both in position. Grimme had a simple go-to move with a single strong dribble and a single step to the basket. It was impossibly simple and equally impossible to defend. She can step outside a little bit, too- she ended the half with a straight-away three.
Amani Tatum is one of the most frustrating players I've ever seen as an opposing fan. I don't know whether it's one of those "love to hate her" or "hate to love her" situations. She plays with a chip on her shoulder, and I can always do without the diving theatrics from players. At the same time, I can't question the ice in her veins, or the leadership she shows on the floor- every stoppage, she was gathering her teammates around her to keep them fired up. She set the tone for Manhattan, scoring early and often, before leaning back to let her teammates carry the load the rest of the way. Taylor Williams was strong defensively, giving LIU no quarter. She made some solid plays on the offensive glass. Sini Mäkelä bombed from long-range, with mixed results. She needs to work on her defense a little bit.
Manhattan has a lot of size and rebounds well. This is not a good match-up for a team that starts a 5-9 power forward. They beat us on the boards and sealed us off defensively.
As an aside, I don't know what's making me angrier about this bus, the 40-minute wait for it to arrive, the fact that the driver then took his layover because schedules don't mean anything anyway, or the fact that I'm balancing my laptop on my backpack because I've been chasing a cockroach around my seating area. (Can't change seats. There's only one set of seats with enough leg room for the computer.) Honorable mention goes to the bus in front of us, which didn't flip its sign to reveal the route closer to my house until after we were both out of the last transfer point. There are times when I really don't like the MTA very much.
Daisha Davis was, IMO, one of the few bright spots in the game for LIU. She has a great nose for the ball. She crashed the glass hard and pursued loose balls. I think she's got a lot of potential, assuming her spirit isn't crushed. It looked like Tia Montagne was dealing with some lingering stiffness- she opened the second half riding the exercise machine to nowhere. I like her speed and the high arc of her shot, but she's got to be a touch more offensive-minded, unless she's supposed to be a strict distributor, which means she needs to work on her ballhandling instead. Ella Vaatanen gave me the urge to learn Finnish just so I could yell "What exactly were you thinking?!" in it at least twice today. If she's going to be a three-point shooter, she needs to actually be able to shoot from the NCAA line. Her shots were almost consistently short, and not even all that deep. If she had confidence at any point in her Blackbird career, she doesn't seem to have it now.
Destoni Willock got the benefit of the doubt on her drives (most of them should have been travels), but even with that advantage couldn't convert them. Her rebounding improved as the game went on, but I don't know if she looked better because she was learning from her mistakes, or because she was going up against inferior opposition. Seneca Richards chucked threes most of the afternoon, some of them rather deeper than necessary. She did make some good hustle plays on loose balls, though.
DeAngelique Waithe. You know you're my favorite. You know I usually only castigate you for offensive ineptitude and usually I am singing your praises about defense and rebounding. But in order for me to do that, you actually have to rebound and defend. These are not things that happened with great frequency in this game. She found some energy in the third quarter, but it was gone pretty quickly. I'd have to check the play-by-play, but I think it was the sequence where we had four shots and ended the possession with a bad pass by Drew that took the wind out of her sails. 404 error, damns not found. Stylz Sanders did yeoman's work in the paint, but there was only so much she could deal with, being consistently outsized and outmuscled. I'm not necessarily giving her a pass, but I think she did everything she could out there and then some.
Drew Winter has to stop with the bunny hop. There are a lot of things that are technically travels that are never called. That's the kind of thing that's too blatant not to call. She keeps doing it, and she keeps turning the ball over. Denisha Petty-Evans needs to finish at the basket if she's going to get the fast break opportunities. She was throwing it up there without seeming to make any real attempt to hit the shot. Jeydah Johnson showed more range than I was used to out of her, but couldn't hit when she got closer to the basket, and seemed to be backing out of plays a lot.
Where do I begin to dissect this collective trainwreck? Our passing was bad. Our ballhandling was bad. Our shot selection was bad. Our defense was soft. We played like we were mired in concrete. Do I think we were at least partially cowed by their size? Yes. Does Manhattan have team leaders and players who can take over a game? Yes. But we should have at least looked competitive out there. We had to come back just to cut it under 40.
I would love to blame the officiating, but except for a couple of stumbles (#15 is not #30 and Stylz is not Denisha, and I'm pretty sure Manhattan's coach lobbied for a call that was made about five seconds of real time after the initial infraction) I can't put it all on them, as much as I might like to.
I can't think of anything else to say about this game that isn't profane, so I'm wrapping up and going to bed. Tomorrow's a big game with a lot of travel involved.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
November 29th, 2017: Fordham at Manhattan
Just the Facts, Ma’am: Both Fordham and Manhattan had second half surges, but the Rams’ third quarter run was enough of a cushion to withstand the Jaspers’ fourth quarter run as Fordham came away with the 54-48 win. G’mrice Davis had 19 points- 11 in the fourth quarter- and 15 rebounds to pace the Rams. Amani Tatum’s 13 points, all in the fourth, led the Jaspers.
For senior power, the 1 train, gold and green, strange layouts, long-distance family, and secret steps, join your intrepid and unrivaled blogger after the jump.
I am a glutton for punishment and a sucker for rivalries, and tonight is the Battle of the Bronx at Manhattan College, where the Jaspers will take on the Fordham Rams for borough supremacy.
I keep forgetting that the best way to get to Draddy is to go through the parking garage. Eh, some stairs are good for me. I did find the second elevator, though.
Came in right behind Kendell Heremaia’s family, in town for the holidays. Her little sister is so cute!
There are free shirts! I love free shirts! They’ve got “Battle of the Bronx” on the front in a graffiti-esque font.
I was expecting the court to be greener, for some reason.
DJ needs to be quicker on the bleeps, or use radio edits.
There is a tiny Manhattan guard who is practically swimming in the Battle of the Bronx shirt. I think they only made it in XL, and she is emphatically not. You can see about an inch of the bottom of her shorts, and everything else is t-shirt. Tiny guard is Gabby Cajou, who looks like Moriah Jefferson shrunk in the wash.
It has not exactly been the most inspiring basketball, but Fordham is up 18-15 at the half. Balanced scoring for both teams. Each team has had a sequence with at least four shots where they came up empty.
Tonight features charities against pediatric cancer, including gold laces on all the players. I should go give people money.
We had a wedgie in this game and none of the players even tried to take it down. I am ashamed of you all.
Huge fourth quarter. Stars step up when their team needs them, and as long as the refs weren’t calling the extra step, G’mrice Davis was going to take the ball. I love it.
Someone remind me next time: parking garage to the quadrangle and across the bridge. Too many stairs, cannot cope.
Short rotation for the Rams in this one- only the Kiwis got off the bench. Zara Jillings brought defense, including a resounding block to end the third quarter- you could hear that ball get the taste smacked out of its metaphorical mouth from four rows away. Kendell Heremaia just couldn’t get the ball into the basket for the longest time, but when that first three fell, we all cheered. (Her family must have been so cold. They had flip-flops. It’s supposed to get into the 30s tonight.) She was active on the glass, deflecting rebounds, even if Manhattan sometimes came up with those tips. Love her heart and hustle.
Bless your heart, Mary Goulding. And I mean it in both the genuine and Southern senses. She’s loveable because she makes all the hustle plays. She goes to the floor for loose balls and scraps for offensive rebounds. She’s excruciatingly frustrating because she can’t hold on to the ball for love nor money, her shot is a mess, and she has hands like stone. I’m not quite sure how to run plus/minus, but I’m pretty sure that she would have the most deceptive zero plus/minus in sports. This wasn’t Johanna Klug’s night. For whatever reason, she was losing passes out of bounds on the baseline and missing badly at the basket. Maybe she’s hit the freshman wall, but I have faith she’ll get over it, or through it, or whatever one does to metaphorical walls. G’mrice Davis couldn’t get off a good shot for most of the game- Manhattan has a lot of height. But in the fourth quarter, she started driving more, and she got the non-calls on the extra step, so she was able to either blast to the basket or stop and pop the free throw line jumper. And, as always, she was dogged on the glass. And her hair looked fabulous.
Lauren Holden was matched up defensively on Kayla Grimme. Kayla Grimme is about a foot taller than Lauren. Lauren arguably had more success against her than she did against players closer to her own size- she was at the perfect height to attack Grimme when Grimme went into the triple threat position. She was a little more hesitant than usual to chuck her long threes, but when they went down, they did so with a splash. Bre Cavanaugh had a fantastic game- she was on fire in the first half, and knocked down her free throws in the second half. She skied for rebounds like I haven’t seen from a guard in I can’t remember when. I’m still not entirely sure if she meshes properly with Fordham’s propensity for slowing the game down whenever possible, but other coaches have made that change-of-pace player work.
Y’all have got to hold on to the ball, Fordham. Ball security matters; if you think the A-10 is going to let you get away with this, y’all have another think coming.
Manhattan’s coach tried a lot of players in the first half, then drastically shortened the rotation in the second half after seeing what worked. I think she thought Alex Smith was going to work, but two quick travels put the kibosh on that, and she was laboring after a very short time. Nyasha Irizarry came in in the second half as either a three-point specialist or as a fresh set of fouls- I’m not entirely sure which. Sini Mäkelä seems to be so new to Manhattan that their PA guy is still getting his mouth around her name. Either that or no one is giving out pronunciation guides. She needs to develop a little more strength to get her shot off.
Gabby Cajou is very tiny (really, if she’s 5-4, I’m Sue Bird), very slight, and very fast. She blazed through the lane for her first two baskets so fast that I don’t think Fordham realized she had checked into the game. She eventually cooled off, and the defense eventually adjusted to her. I don’t like Courtney Warley. It seemed like she took every opportunity she could get to shove someone or raise an elbow, or do something else uncouth. I was surprised she was called for as few fouls as she was.
My hat is very much off to Amani Tatum. She has an enormous attitude, but as the song goes, it ain’t bragging if you back it up, and in the fourth quarter she backed it up to the hilt. She took the “three-and-D” role up to 11, hitting corner threes and making huge defensive plays (she had one steal that was such a pickpocketing that Lauren Holden should be double-checking every set of pants she owns). She stepped up when her team needed her. Lynette Taitt hit a couple of back-to-back jumpers from the free throw line extended, helping Manhattan get off to... okay, it was an 8-5 quarter, so a good start might be an overstatement? I might have kept her in longer if I were Manhattan’s coach, but at the same time, you couldn’t really have both her and Cajou on the floor, and Cajou’s speed was a problem for Fordham. Taylor Williams turned it up in the fourth quarter, though I admit there were occasionally moments when I got her and Warley mixed up because of the hair.
Mikki Guiton lists as a center, but I’m going to call shenanigans on that; most of her shots came from the perimeter. I mean, maybe there are occasions when she plays inside, and yes, positions are becoming more and more fluid these days, and maybe she just gets listed as a center because of her height. But I’m still calling shenanigans on that position listing. Kayla Grimme hit a three, but overall was a more traditional post player, getting inside to pull down boards and make defensive plays. Very solid game for her.
Credit where credit is due: Manhattan got down big in the late third and early fourth, but their seniors never acted like they were out of it. They held their ground, forced turnovers, and hit big shots. If they’re going to have a year, this is going to be that year.
I would like for people to please stop hitting Bre in the face, thank you very much. (On the flip side, Lauren, please stop with the leg whips. Someday someone way bigger than you is going to take major offense.) I mean, it wasn’t the worst-officiated game I’ve seen all season, but that just means there were fewer moments where it could be mistaken for a rugby game. I’m starting to wonder if the referee pool has been depleted, for whatever reason, and if there’s any noticeable difference between mid-major refs and BCS refs.
Have I ever talked about the strange way Draddy Gymnasium is configured for basketball? Because even for a multi-use facility it’s weird. The court is laid out in the middle of the track, with the bleachers on all four sides. It looks rather like a race of basketball-loving aliens dropped it right in the middle. Princeton has a similar facility, but I think they put the court at one end instead of right in the middle.
Seniors, man. Never underestimate them.
Friday, March 1, 2013
February 28th, 2013: Iona at Manhattan
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A balanced Iona attack overcame Manhattan's two stars to give the Gaels a 71-64 win in Riverdale. Manhattan's Toni-Ann Lawrence led all scorers with 23 points, while Monica Roeder finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Joy Adams led Iona with 16 points and 19 rebounds; all five starters finished in double figures.
For all of the lights, star power, leg whips, Burger King, belated pink, and second languages, join your intrepid and enfeebled blogger after the jump.
Good evening, everyone! We're coming to you from the lofty heights of Draddy Gymnasium on the campus of Manhattan College. Your intrepid blogger realized that she would have a few hours to spare after an off-site training session, so it was off to a trio of buses and a series of elevators to the very green home of the Jaspers.
Strangely enough, it's a Pink Zone game- late for that, which is why I'm surprised.
Aaaaand just as we were about to tip off, Draddy went all Superdome on us. The power was out for a second, and the lights are still out. One of the Iona parents knows his electricity, and he's thinking about twenty minutes. Not like I wanted to get home at a decent hour tonight or anything; fortunately, I think his estimate was a bit conservative. Or not. Of course, the last lights to come on are over the court, and therefore we no can haz basketball.
We do seem to have fallen in with the right crowd, though, sitting with the families of three of the starters. Cheering for Iona, especially on the road, is different from cheering for St. John's. There's a higher expectation for boisterousness.
At halftime, it's 45-37 Iona, with Manhattan cutting the lead back to single digits on a three right before the buzzer. A CYO scrimmage is currently going, with the cheerleaders improvising chants for the kids, which is adorable. Toni-Ann Lawrence leads Manhattan with 16 points, while Joy Adams leads Iona with 13. It's been a game of spurts- Manhattan went up by 8, at which point Iona released the kraken three-point barrage and ran it up to an 11-point lead.
The defensive pressure tightened up a fair bit in the second half, so it wasn't nearly as much of an offensive explosion as the first half was. Both teams had bouts of what I can only call pure stupid, with Iona showing a remarkable tendency to throw the ball to people wearing the opposing jersey. It came down to clock management at the end- bad clock management gave Manhattan a chance to get back into the game, good clock management kept Iona's lead safe, bad clock management wrecked Manhattan's last possession.
Interesting drum work by the Manhattan band. Not sure if I liked it, but the wandering sax work during "Careless Whisper" was brilliant. Overall, a very jazzy/funky feel. As I joked at the game, "The Manhattan College Transfer?"
Karita Brown impressed me with her intensity on the glass and her defensive prowess. There's something to be said for a player who knows her role and embraces her skill set. Katie Reese's brief stints seemed to be for when an extra three-point shooter was needed as a threat on the floor. Ondya Morgan also seemed to be on more as a defensive player than anything else. Maggie Blair came off the bench in the first half, but started the second half and played the bulk of the minutes for the reserves. She had a nice three-point shot and good hands.
Monica Roeder is going to be All-MAAC in her senior year- if she isn't this year. She's a match-up nightmare for any team in the MAAC with her physical build and outside shot. She's not afraid to bang, either. If I were a Manhattan fan, I'd love her; since I was rooting for Iona, I wasn't thrilled with her existence. Toni-Ann Lawrence demolished the Gaels on the inside- they just kept inexplicably leaving her open on rotations, and whether it was with backdoor cuts or little jumpers, she made them pay. They tightened up on her in the second half, but that let Roeder loose, and they had no one who could stay with her. Fortunately for Iona, the Jaspers weren't really getting much from the rest of their starters. Neither Ashley Stec nor Allison Skrec could really get their shot going (and I spent most of the night confusing them because of their similar names), and Stec got nailed with a flagrant for pushing Damika Martinez to the floor on a fast break. Shayna Ericksen has a little bit of size, but I don't know if she knows how to use it yet. She's just a freshman, though. She'll learn.
Aaliyah Robinson got the unenviable task of having to guard Roeder (and I think she also drew Lawrence a few times), and the results were a mixed bag- she's the biggest of the Iona guards, and plays excellent defense, but she didn't have the height to match up well with her assignments. Cassidee Ranger got off one of her threes, but her defense was off, and Coach chose to go with Diana Hubbard for all his long-range shooting needs. Hubbard had a solid game- nothing spectacular, but nothing spectacular was asked of her. Shonice Hawkins had a few minutes' run as a defensive sub.
Joy Adams was all over the boards, and she was about the only Gael who was. She cooled off from the field in the second half, but she got the points when it mattered, and she was red hot in the first half. For a while, the game was a duel between her and Toni-Ann Lawrence. Damika Martinez was unusually passive shooting the ball- actually, that was a general problem for the Gaels, but it stood out especially for Martinez. She also got called for a couple of stupid fouls in the second half. Aleesha Powell got going near the end of the first half with a couple of fast breaks and a few lucky bounces. Her speed helped her, though her size was a bit of a liability on D; the more I see her, the more she reminds me physically of a slightly larger Leilani Mitchell, both in her build and in the way she carries herself. Sabrina Jeridore's head was not in the game, IMO; I suspect I'm going to spend the next two years bemoaning both her and Amber Thompson for the same issues. She got her blocks, and as the game progressed she got easier shots on the inside (with a little help from the rim). But she was not reacting on defense, which was part of how Lawrence was able to slice through the paint so easily. Haley D'Angelo helped get the team back together when it looked like they were starting to lose focus a little bit, and stepped up her scoring in the second half when she was open more. She's a very heady player, a good floor general for a young team.
The Iona family around us were irate at the officiating, and the hip check on Stec that wasn't called was rather blatant (hitting from behind is rather uncouth). D'Angelo got away with a lot of holding, and Jeridore could probably have gotten called for a shooting foul or two. Overall, it was mediocre but more or less consistent. I've dealt with worse.
The stakes are these for the Gaels: if they beat Rider, they'll likely finish second in the MAAC, unless Fairfield pulls off a miracle and beats Marist in their last game of the season. Therefore, if the seeds hold, Iona gets to go to the WNIT, and I don't think I have to tell you what that means for a team that's primarily composed of underclassmen.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January 22nd, 2011: Marist at Manhattan
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Marist Red Foxes allowed the Manhattan Jaspers first blood, then turned on the afterburners to win 75-52. Brandy Gang led Marist with 19 points in her 23 minutes, while Corielle Yarde added 17 and Erica Allenspach added 14. Abby Wentworth of Manhattan led all scorers with 20 points.
For bitter cold, anthems with vibrato, yummy hot cocoa, fancy footwork, sassy pigeons, and drunken alumnae, join your intrepid and freezing blogger after the jump.
We haven't done it as much this season as we normally do, but we do like to travel around the city and see what games there are to see. We had a choice between Wagner hosting Sacred Heart and Manhattan hosting Marist. Well, we've never been to Wagner, and it's been a long time since I've climbed the hills of the Bronx to go visit Draddy Gymnasium, so either way it was going to be an adventure. But the lure of seeing Marist in action again won out, so off we went on the A to the 1 to the end of the line.
Either the last time I went I got bad directions, or they added an elevator since I was there last, but the trip was much less arduous than when I went with my mother a couple of years ago. Up a few flights of stairs and around an elevator, and you're at a building that looks like something out of a suburban high school. It doesn't even look like the high school gym, but the front entrance to the school.
Special thanks must go to the lovely young lady who sold us our tickets and hooked us up with a scorecard and the media game notes. She was charming and helpful and friendly. Plus, the scorecard is really nifty- it's also a mini-team poster with the roster and the season preview printed on the back with the scorecard bit. We may put it on the wall somewhere.
Marist traveled very well. Of course, it helped that Casey Dulin's family made the trip from Connecticut, and the O'Connor shirt on one fan hinted at someone else's family as well. For the most part, they were pretty awesome, except for the one guy over by Manhattan's bench who thought it would be cute to get DE-FENSE chants going when Marist was up 25. I quietly listened to the two guys behind us who talked about the freshmen so I would actually know something about this team beyond Allenspach and Yarde.
There's a lot about the Manhattan experience I like. The announcer sounds like the prototypical small-college announcer, the tickets are affordable, the people are nice, the jerseys have names on them... but they should really turn the heat on. We were freezing, even in multiple layers. Fortunately, one of Manhattan's concessions is really good hot cocoa. Mmmm, hot cocoa. That sounds like a really good idea right now, actually.
We got to see a lot of the back end of Marist's bench in this one; Giorgis made an effort to work his reserves into the game early in the second half instead of just waiting for garbage time and unloading all of them at once. Casey Dulin got a lot of support from her family; a few of them were wearing shirts with her name on the back, which was a good hint as to their loyalties. Emily Stallings had all the chances in the world to get on the scoreboard, but she missed a lot of easy shots. It was kind of depressing. Maria Laterza had the same problem, though she made more of an impact on the defensive end. Kristine Best saw a lot of time as the reserve point guard, and I'm not sure if she's going to fit into the system as nicely as their current guards do- she has some of Caron's mindset, but too much offensive instinct to be the kind of distributor that Marist's system really needs. They got some very good minutes out of Kelsey Beynnon as offense off the bench. Emma O'Connor put in some work on the boards. She was popular with the people behind us.
Brandy Gang came out like... okay, I'm sorry, I'm tired and it's been a long day, my ability to resist bad puns is nonexistent... she came out like gangbusters. She was on fire. She had the inside game going, and then when she got bored with that, she started hitting threes. There was a point where she was almost outscoring Manhattan singlehandedly. She cooled off in the second half, but she also sat for most of it, because the Red Foxes really didn't need her. Élise Caron reminds me a lot of Debbie Black in her defensive tenacity. She gets up in your business like very few players I've ever seen. Her ball-handling and passing are a little sloppy, though, which makes the Black comparison a little less apt. Corielle Yarde took some time to get warmed up, but she turned it up in the second half, including with a nice shot off a deflection by Laterza. Kate Oliver appears to be a nice kid, and a tall kid, but she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. There were one or two shots that I was fairly certain that I could have hit. She needs to get more assertive; at least she's only a sophomore and has time to do that. Erica Allenspach's rebounding, for a guard, is phenomenal. She was all over the place. I think half her points were on putbacks or on second chances that her offensive rebounding created. I love players like that. Fierce.
Marist's offense is fun to watch. There's a lot of misdirection and a lot of ball movement. Giorgis is also an interesting coach to watch. One of the best moments of the game was his frustrated command, “Stop going baseline!” delivered in the voice of someone who had been chaperoning the fourth-grade field trip just a little bit too long and had shepherded one too many youngsters away from the edge.
Monica Roeder impressed me off the bench. For a big girl- not in height, but in girth- she's got some nice touch. She's only a freshman, so she'll have time to work on being more assertive inside and showing better shot selection. Toni-Ann Lawrence really needs to work on her pass-catching. Her hands were like stone. It was sort of sad. Schyanne Halfkenny has an awesome name, but she really didn't contribute much. Manhattan didn't go very deep into their bench, to put it mildly.
Alyssa Herrington didn't play a lot for a starter- I think she was almost a straight swap with Toni-Ann Lawrence. It didn't really matter, as neither of them was very effective. It was hard to say anything like that during the game, because I think we were sitting near her family, if the reaction of the people behind us to the left when she hit her only shot was any indication. I really like Nadia Peters's tenacity and toughness on the boards, but either they need to get her the ball more, or they need to show why they don't give her the ball more, because it didnt' make sense that they weren't going to her when she showed that she could get position and defend her space. But then, I'm not a coach, so perhaps there's some reason she doesn't get the ball. I don't know. Maggie Blair started the game, but didn't play a lot; maybe Roeder was in trouble, or maybe Olenowski just doesn't believe in starting freshmen, but it seemed like Roeder was playing the minutes that Blair would get if Blair were an ordinary starter. Lindsey Loutsenhizer had a solid game. Nothing terribly remarkable for good or for ill. Abby Wentworth stole the show in the second half, going inside and out with a combination of a pretty jump shot and some slick moves in the lane. She also got herself to the line a fair amount of times. I'm still not thrilled with some of her tendencies on the defense (no, Abigail, it's not likely that Élise Caron will give you a piggyback ride, she's much smaller than you are and she's on the opposing team, so please stop attempting to keep her warm by doing your best imitation of Superman's cape), but at least she didn't act like she thought anyone on Marist had set her puppy on fire.
The referees were very inclined to let a lot of things go. There werne't a lot of calls on just about anything, and the play didn't edge over into overly physical, though there were a couple of fouls that could have been called (Emily Stallings, I am looking at you).l I can't say I'm happy with officials letting players get away with shoddy footwork, (Élise Caron, I am looking at you; when all is said and done, you could have walked halfway to the Canadian border with all those extra steps) but as long as it's called evenly on both sides, that counts as a fairly called game, and that's part of the point of officiating, right?
Really, though, the most amusing bits of the Game Notes- you know, the random things I toss in to keep you all smiling- happened on our way back. Ah, adventures on MTA, New York City Transit, Going Your Way (only during rush hours, service changes may apply at all times, with red lights and random delays thrown in without warning). The station nearest Manhattan College is an elevated station, and inevitably, outdoor stations have some encounters with wildlife. We got on the train, and there was a pigeon standing near the middle door of the car. We shooed it out the door. It promptly looped back through the next door and got back on the train. We shooed it out again, and this time it took the hint. There was just something indescribably New York about its demeanor. Then, of course, on the train in Queens, we encountered a random Manhattan alumna who was in the condition of most recent college graduates on a Saturday night in New York City. Lucky for her that she found us- she was on the wrong train! So that worked out.
See, this is why I love traveling to games. The adventure doesn't stop until you're safely ensconced at home, fingers flying over the keyboard, two different kinds of music conflicting in your ears as you worry about your seating arrangements and the fact that the computer is making you uncomfortably warm.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
November 16th, 2010: Manhattan at St. John's
Hi, everyone! Did you miss me? I tend to go into hibernation when the WNBA season is over, catching up on real world concerns like housekeeping, fiction writing, reading, and wedding planning. But the Game Notes of Doom are back like they never left. Which is good, because it's so good to be home. You have no idea.
For free stuff, tiny Aricos, sore throats, hypothetically kicked puppies, and other scattered thoughts, join your intrepid and pensive blogger after the jump.
It didn't start raining until after the game, so my mood was better, but my lovely posters were more endangered. (The poster this year is a great group shot. I like that. We need to be a team-oriented team.)
As a proud St. John's season ticket holder, I got my choice of gifts. I could take either a lovely white St John's mug, or a mini-basketball signed by Coach Barnes Arico. What do you think I chose? The ball will come in very handy during the annual autograph session, and there's always a chance they'll have mugs left at the end of the season.
Not to say that we dress out for games, but my fiancé and I both wore our St. John's t-shirts under our work clothes today. He brought his hat and a towel. I brought a soccer scarf. My clipboard is already broken. I love my team.
They did a banner unveiling to show off the 2010 addition to the tournament banner. It would have been a lot more impressive if they hadn't already added it before the game, and it hadn't been visible during the big Tip-Off Event that any fan who could call themselves a fan would be at. Still. We went to the tournament, and it was awesome. (Now we need to get to the Sweet Sixteen so they can add a banner. TAKE THE SHOT NEXT TIME, NADIRAH.)
There was a moment of silence for a couple of program supporters, including the lady for whom Taffner Field House is named. The team also had black memorial ET patches on, which gave me a bit of a start, given that Eric Thibault was supposed to start with the team and wasn't listed on the coaching staff.
Excellent anthem, although hearing the name Michelle Cleary in a women's basketball context sort of makes me wonder why this redhead is on the floor, and where the blonde Australian wandered off to.
I think Manhattan's coach was using this game as a learning opportunity as much as Coach Barnes Arico was. He used a lot of different players and a lot of different lineups, and tried a few different things. That intrigues me, and makes me think that Manhattan might be a team to watch this year or next in the MAAC. He does need to let Brandone Roberts know that Manhattan doesn't have a football team, though. Her first action in the game was to slide tackle Eugeneia McPherson. Rule of thumb: this is generally a bad idea. Did I mention that this was while an eventually-successful free throw as in the air? Maggie Blair came off the bench in the first half, but started the second half for Lindsey Loutsenhizer, who had three fouls in the first half. Alyssa Herrington annoyed me, but that was as much because we kept leaving her open for threes. Hey, guys, she canned two and here comes the third one, maybe you should put one of the freshmen on her or something? She wasn't afraid to mix it up, which was a surprise, given her build. I was surprised that Alicia Marculitis didn't play; I recalled her being memorable the last time we saw them play.
I don't know exactly what Abby Wentworth's problem is, but she came into this game with a chip on her shoulder the size of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The first few plays of the game, she was playing rough against Nadirah McKenith like Nadirah had personally set her puppy on fire and drop-kicked it into a pit of broken glass. The second half, she and Herrington went after Eugeneia like they thought it was Eugeneia who had kidnapped the puppy in the first place. She's got a nice stroke and good hustle, though. Nadia Peters was a tough presence inside, when they remembered to get the ball to her. Schyanne Halfkenny impressed me with her versatility. Monica Roeder's screens were the strongest part of her game- that's not a slight on any other part of her game, that's a comment on how good her screens were and how well-timed they were. She also had a wicked block on Da'Shena Stevens. The player who impressed me most for the Jaspers was Lindsey Loutsenhizer, who, despite her big build, has a beautiful stroke from outside. She's not afraid to throw her weight around, either, and I like her instinct for the ball.
Jennifer Blanding, whatever in the world possessed you to do that to your hair, get thee to a priest and have him exorcise it out of you, because holy God, that frosted gold on top of the dark brown is some kind of indescribable ugly. It didn't help her cause that she had an awful game in her limited minutes off the bench. As much as we've been screaming for some post players to come in and relieve Da'Shena and Coco Hart, Jennifer is not the answer. She let rebounds and passes go off her hands, missed her assignments, and looked like a waste of a 6-3 body. It's a bad sign when your center isn't lined up for the rebound when the opposing team is shooting. Especially when she's one of the four posts you have. Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin looked like she was trying to go for an NCAA record for quickest foulout, but Jennifer came in for her after her fourth foul. I'm not enamored with the idea of Amanda Burakoski as a four though clearly Coach is. On the other hand, that gives her time she might not otherwise see with the number of guards on our bench, and with her instincts, I'd like to have her on the floor. For all that I remember her having an intensely blonde moment when she was a high school senior and got hit in the head with a t-shirt while sitting in the stands, she's really developed into a smart, observant player. She notices a lot of little things, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. I'll admit that Keylantra Langley rubbed me the wrong way even before games started, for non-basketball reasons, but her play tonight bore out my dislike of her. She didn't seem to be aware of the plays, and looked too much for her own shot when teammates were open. Briana Brown, who's wearing a hard number to follow (#12, which was Kia Wright's number), still has some of the wide-eyed freshman about her, but I love her willingness to dive for loose balls. In that, and in her ability to be in the right place to make the right play, she reminds me of Sheree Ledbetter.
It's official. We need to introduce Nadirah McKenith and Ticha Penicheiro. They would get along like a house on fire. Pass-first point guards with flashy plays and quick hands- yes, they have quite a lot in common. When she went behind the back to Eugeneia for the lay-up, I thought the arena would explode. Da'Shena Stevens had a quiet game for her, which meant just seven boards. I was worried about her ankle, though; she came out walking gingerly and had it iced on the bench. This is actually part of a larger worry about Day's fragility in general- either she has a low pain tolerance or she breaks very easily, and that's not good for a great player like her. She has some of the most interesting facial expressions when she's frustrated, though. After a gods-awful shooting game against Kansas State, Shenneika Smith showed a bit more judgment in the shots she took, and took advantage of her height, build, vertical, and quickness to go towards the basket, almost playing as a tweener at some points. This intrigues me, because she'll probably be a three if she's looking towards the next level (though in two years, who's to say the guards won't be bigger?) and I like that she's working on all elements of her game. Coco Hart makes me crazy sometimes, no denying that, but she's really stepped up to the plate as a leader in her senior year. And she's killing those offensive rebounds. Every time I looked, she was on the glass. Sky Lindsay is never going to fix her shot. She's a senior and she still has no spin. I officially give up. I think she realizes that Eugeneia's gunning for her spot in the starting lineup, and I don't think Eugeneia particularly cares whether Sky graduates before she takes it or not.
Play of the game for St. John's: either the behind the back pass to Eugeneia for the lay-up, or Shenneika's emphatic block. The general play of the game would be the Red Storm's incredible ability to come up with a steal or a loose ball as soon as we started chanting some variation of "DEFENSE!"
Moment that almost killed me in the bleachers: near the end of the game, the bench players were in. Buzz was open on the wing for a three. Briana and Keylantra, to put it politely, didn't notice. Coach Barnes Arico very much wanted Buzz to get the ball. You haven't lived until you've seen a coach repeatedly screaming "OVER HERE!" about an open player, complete with energetic finger-pointing at said player. The freshmen never managed to find her, and the possession ended with Keylantra fumbling.
We were sitting behind Nadirah's family, or so I ascertained from the loud cheering whenever her name was mentioned. I think one of the kids running around was kin to Shenneika, though. Oh, and the Aricos sit over there too. I think Trevor and the younger girl inherited their mom's... ah, sometimes fiery... temperament. It's adorable, but please watch your water bottles, people.
Fairly solidly reffed game- nothing I can really argue with other than the slide-tackle by Roberts and Wentworth's inexplicable distaste for Nadirah. One thing stuck out to me, though. Aliberti has always been a great ref, someone whose professionalism and eye for the game tell me that this is going to be a well-called game. For the last couple of years, Aliberti was a Janice; tonight, Aliberti was announced and listed in the box as John. Don't know if that's an error at our end or if there's been a change. (Or hey, maybe there are twin NCAAW refs who are both great officials and run good games. You never know.) Which, hey, more power to you, ref. You're damn good no matter what your name is or how you identify yourself.
So tired. So happy to be home. Now I'm going to sleep. Hopefully I'll dream of beating Columbia on Friday.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
November 22nd, 2008: St. John's at Manhattan
St. John's Red Storm 63, Manhattan Jaspers 54
The Game Notes go on a road trip with their team, and Da'Shena Stevens puts on a show.
We should not be allowing MAAC teams to stay this close to us. It's not a good sign, especially if said MAAC team is not Iona or Marist, or even Fairfield.
In retrospect, I should have scouted the topography of the area before taking my mom and her titanium joints along for the ride; Manhattan's arena is located at the top of a hill, and the only ways up are a long series of stairs or a long spiral around the hill. It's a bit of a hike. The campus reminds me a lot of Princeton, in terms of the building style and layout, but it's a bit more forbidding- more fences. The gym itself is an unimpressive building, originally intended for indoor track but able to be partitioned so that it can host basketball or volleyball. Unlike most schools I've been to, they also have a banner celebrating their Olympians. That's cool.
I'm starting to notice a pattern with MAAC schools- they get bruising posts and small guards. It seems like a bit of a mismatch, but it makes sense. For the Jaspers, the bruising came from Kelly Regan and Lindsey Loutsenhizer. I like the freshman Loutsenhizer- good nose for the ball. Alicia Marculitis was listed as a center, but a lot of her points came from midrange jumpers- her stroke is quite sweet. So is Annie McIntyre's- she was bombing threes, and a couple of them were very deep. Alyssa Herrington had a great pass to Marculitis, or so say my notes. Michelle Pacheco was a fierce, penetrating guard who did a great job getting inside on us. Manhattan played us really tenaciously, with brutal defense. Hill's doing quite a job in Riverdale- but should I really be surprised?
We see you, Da'Shena Stevens! The freshman would not be denied- she finished with twenty points and someteen rebounds, along with a stupendous block. She was also involved in my favorite play of the game, one which was so awesome I remember it over a week later. Britney had forced Nicole Harrison to back it out with about seven seconds left on the shot clock and pass it out. Da'Shena hassled the recipient on the perimeter for another few seconds to bring it down to three or so and force her to pass it on. The pass wasn't great, and Coco leapt on it like her life depended on it. In the ensuing scrap, the shot clock expired. I'm such a sucker for defense, and for team play, so something that combines both? Damn. Monique was red hot in the first half, but disappeared for most of the second half. Coco had foul trouble, really couldn't get going. We got nothing out of the bench, really. Only six players even scored.
I think we were sitting near Da'Shena's family. If they were, then I salute them for their enthusiasm.
There's something about Manhattan's cheerleaders that reminded me of Fordham, but I can't put my finger on it. It may have been the signs.
And that's really about it. No one played really well, except for Da'Shena, and she was enough to put us over the top.