Just the Facts, Ma'am: Marquette took advantage of a short-handed Seton Hall squad on Senior Day to get back on track with a resounding 109-63 win. Natisha Hiedeman exploded for 34 points to lead the Golden Eagles, while Danielle King added 20 points and 12 assists. Desiree Elmore had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hall.
For smol seniors, angry seniors, bringing a sophomore to a senior fight, celebrating seniors, and generally lots of things involving seniors, join your intrepid and unprepared blogger after the jump.
Someday I will get a game's worth of notes finished before having to move on to the next one, but today is not that day, beause today is Senior Day at Seton Hall and I have been ambushed by Feels Right To The Heart.
There are a lot of things I like about Tony Bozzella, but one of the best is the tradition he carried over from Iona (and possibly points prior, but my acquaintance with Tony started in New Rochelle) of honoring all the seniors on Senior Day. Not just players, not just managers. Everyone. So before the acknowledgement of the senior managers and the four senior Pirates, there were red roses for the six Marquette seniors, and during a timeout there were roses for the seniors in cheer, dance, and band. That is a classy touch that not enough places do, in my not so humble opinion.
At some point in the near future there will be an outpouring of feelings about Tori and Kaity and Inja and Coley, but they deserve more space than this. But I want to talk about Marquette's seniors, too, because in this amazing class I see parallels to the program-defining classes at St. John's and Seton Hall. What Allazia Blockton, Sandra Dahling, Erika Davenport, Natisha Hiedeman, Danielle King, and Amani Wilborn have done at Marquette to build that program is nothing short of astonishing, and it's been a pleasure and a privilege to watch them do so. The Big East is better when everyone is better, and while I of course want to see my Johnnies and my Pirates paste them whenever possible, I also want to see the rise of programs that care about women's basketball, that turn the corner from "well, we have to" to "yes, we want to". Build on this, Marquette. Take this opportunity with both hands and don't let it fall apart. Xavier did that. Xavier had an Elite Eight team once upon a time, and now they're the conference doormat. Don't do that.
So, yeah, it's 49-26 Marquette at halftime, and Natisha Hiedeman has expressed her opinion of both her performance against St. John's and her resultant benching with 14 points and some defensive picks that are pretty impressive for a non-football school. Seton Hall is attempting two offenses, the "force it to Shadeen" offense (which is not nearly as effective when the role of Shadeen Samuels is being played by Desiree Elmore for this performance) and the "AAAAHHH they're all taller than we are, better chuck threes!" offense, and y'all know my feelings on living by the three.
I've never had someone check my tickets at Seton Hall; as far as I know it's general admission? Worked out okay, since our season tickets do happen to be in our preferred section by the band. All the cool kids hang out with the band, don't you know?
Welp. That was a thing that happened. I can't say I'm terribly surprised, since Shadeen was out injured and Marquette had something to prove, but it felt like it was being rubbed in by the fourth quarter. I get it. Marquette is really good and we brought underclassmen to a senior fight. But at some point, you can stop letting the player with all the points jack threes. Your intrepid blogger is currently ensconced in the Chancellor's Suite in the basement of one of the on-campus buildings, which means I have no data connection, which means I am an intrepid and absolutely cut-off-from-the-universe blogger because Seton Hall is the one place I don't have the wi-fi password. I'm pretty sure Kena Richardson's family just joined our table, which, hi Kena! We were at the draft that year! Yep. And we now share the bond of being mildly embarrassed by Tony shouting us out unexpectedly in a speech.
Sandra Dahling got off the bench with about five minutes left in the game, and the best shot she had spun out of the basket; you could see how deflated Marquette's bench was when it fell out of the basket. I didn't realize she was a point guard, for some reason. Chloe Marotta got good looks in the basket in the fourth quarter, especially off of offensive rebounds. She's raw, and she has to work on her hands and feet, but she's promising as a freshman. Lauren Van Kleunen still looks like she's trying to figure out what she should be doing on the floor. She's tall, but she doesn't seem to have found a position, and that's in the tweener sense, not in the versatility sense.
I actually really liked what I saw out of Altia Anderson defensively. She needs a lot of work on her offense- she's all knees and elbows and angles- but she knows how to get her hands up and make trouble in the paint, and with all the offensive firepower Marquette has this year, maybe that's all they needed from her. She's going to need to develop more next year for them, though. Allazia Blockton still doesn't look right. She got off some shots in the fourth quarter, but overall she doesn't look right. Her confidence is missing. Her explosiveness is missing. This is a shadow of the Allazia Blockton who terrorized the Big East for three years.
Natisha Hiedeman did not start the game, presumably in response to getting schooled by the STJ defense, and proceeded to torch the everloving hell out of Seton Hall's tiny guards. She got her starting spot back for the second half and continued on her torrid pace. I swear, she was giving us trouble not just because of her height, but because of her hair. We're so short I think we were having trouble seeing over the 'fro. She seemed determined to prove her mastery over every sport in this game- she obviously proved how good she was at basketball, but she also had some mean interceptions (and Marquette doesn't even sponsor football!), set a ball out of bounds, and had two straight kicked balls. We get it, Natisha, you're good at sportsball.
So we've established that Erika Davenport is really good in the paint, right? She wasn't hitting as many of the putbacks as she did on Friday, but she was still killing us on the glass. She works around size really well, which neutralized Selena Philoxy's usual advantages, and our straight-up height was not up to the challenge of facing her. Isabelle Spingola got the start in Hiedeman's place. She shoots three-pointers really well and fairly quickly, but that seems to be her only high-level skill.
Amani Wilborn's defense and physicality are the cornerstones of her game, and her defense was especially on display in this one. She was everywhere where we were, and that was one of the many problems we had in this game. It felt like she was doing a better job of getting to the line than the box score indicates. Selena Lott had a really solid game on both ends of the floor- she had a ruthless block on Inja Butina and got buckets in transition. She's going to be really crucial for the rebuild next year for Marquette.
Marquette looked like they were out to prove they were still who they were, and I think they took it to extremes. I don't think I would have had Hiedeman jacking threes in the fourth. I would have gone to Dahling earlier. That kind of thing.
I have to be careful what I type here, because I'm still sitting in the banquet (oh my GOD TONY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU) and if the wrong person reads over my shoulder you're never going to get GNoD ever again, and there are, like, five drafts on my hard drive. But, uh. Kimi Evans sort of looked like she forgot how to shoot lay-ups out there, just flinging the ball at the basket. And she was tentative on the glass, which is unacceptable at her size. She did well boxing out, but we needed more from her and we got nothing. Whitney Howell got some minutes in the second half (apropos of nothing, I'm not feeling the new haircut) and hit a nice bucket in the lane. I'd like to see her be more aggressive, but she's a freshman. She'll learn. I think. I hope. Selena Philoxy didn't start, since we had all the smol seniors starting, but she played heavy minutes in the paint. She missed what seemed to be a lot of easy looks in the lane, but Marquette was swarming and she was under pressure.
(The tribute video is currently experiencing technical difficulties. So I'm going to leave you with this one-liner from Tony: "We don't measure success by height. Thankfully.")
Kaela Hilaire, I can't even and I am this close to ceding you back to Nassau County. KK has not played well falling behind all the seniors in the rotation, and we need her to step up her game, especially for next year when all those seniors have graduated (super graduated in some cases, I mean, jeez, Kaity, I needed five years just to get most of the way through a BA and you got the advanced degree?). I would dearly like for her to stop committing stupid fouls and start making some of those incredible drives I know she's capable of. Danielle Robinson had a pretty solid game, all things considered. She missed her shots on the inside, but she was one of the few Seton Hall players actually willing to drive the lane, which was refreshing. I like her potential. She needs a lot of work, but I think having to play more with the injuries at the end of the season has helped her develop faster than she would have otherwise this year. She's seeing minutes that aren't necessarily meaningful, but are still live-action and are against serious opponents.
Victoria Cardaci looks scared out there. I don't know if she wasn't ready to start, or if she couldn't deal with Marquette's size (such as it is) or what, but I'm trying to remember if she even got as far as the lane on most of the Pirates' offensive possessions. She made a couple of good defensive plays on the baseline, I'll give her that, but she did not look like she was able to rise to the occasion in this game. Nicole Jimenez was jacking threes, which is her strength, but it seemed like a lot of them were quick, ill-thought-out shots. I'd have to look at the quarter splits, but it feels like she threw up a lot of shots late in the game when we were just desperate for something that looked sort of like offense, and hurried threes were the best thing we could think of. And no, that is not a good thing. Kaity Healy had a nice defensive play in the first quarter and hit a couple of threes, but overall she looked really hesitant.
Desiree Elmore really looked like she was forcing it in the first half, and I'm still not a fan of the offensive style where you just force it in to one player and hope she gets hot at some point. The shots started falling in the second half,but by then we were too far down. I get that we didn't exactly have a lot of options with Shadeen Samuels out with her shoulder injury, but the plan was not working and it's not a good plan. I'm not going after her effort, don't get me wrong- she had the game we needed her to have to even stay competitive. I'm going after the game plan. Inja Butina had a better game than I thought, now looking at the box score. I guess I was just so down on our effort the rest of the night that I overlooked what she did. It did seem like she was forcing shots that she doesn't normally take or were into the teeth of Marquette's defense.
Do I think going with the four seniors as the starting lineup put us in a hole to start the game? Yes. Our seniors are all guards and most of them are very small, which left us with an imbalanced lineup. Would I have been just as upset if we had gone with our more traditional starting lineup and run Lena out there at the start of the game? No, I would have been more upset, because there are things you do on Senior Day, and one of those is give your seniors the start. Now, do I think he ran with Tori a little too long at the outset? Yeah, probably. But you do the right thing by those who have given so much to the game.
Honestly, we probably got away with more fouls than Marquette did. I'm not about to go off on the refs in a game where the margin was so ridiculous I have to do math to figure it out.
This was a perfect storm of disaster in the making. Seton Hall was short-handed, and short. Marquette had an axe to grind and a thirst to prove themselves on national television. We fell into our worst habits and Marquette took advantage. There's no shame in losing to one of the best teams in the conference and the country. But the way we did it was not the Pirate way.
But I'll say this for Walsh: the crowd never gave up, and I'm not just talking about myself and the husband. We weren't always the ones starting the chants. We weren't always the loudest people. That's what I love about Seton Hall fans. That crowd is never quiet.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
February 17th, 2019: Marquette at Seton Hall
February 15th, 2019: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's used a strong second half to overcome a 14-point Marquette lead in an 81-74 win at Carnesecca Arena. Tiana England led four Johnnies in double figures with 20, adding six assists. Erika Davenport had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead Marquette in the loss.
For defensive stalwarts, unsung heroes, pink jerseys, and slowly but steadily catching up to real time, join your intrepid and squeeful blogger after the jump.
We'll see how this whole GNoD thing goes tonight. I'm two games behind and I feel like pounded crap.
The jerseys are very pink. I think we may have reused last year's and just gotten new ones for the newcomers; the three new jerseys have a glow around the numbers that the returners' don't. I think they managed to correct the spelling of Brelove, though.
We seem to have an official anthem singer now. I'm okay with this, because he's good.
It's 40-32 Marquette at half, and it could honestly be a lot worse. They're killing us on the boards, but they've had at least two possessions with multiple o-boards that have come up empty. We're stopping the big threats, the preseason POY and the likely POY, but Erika Davenport has 12 points and Amani Wilborn has 11 points.
Okay, not for nothing, but if we keep playing like this in the pink jerseys, I will turn my hatred of them into a campaign to become the Pink Storm. Remember, it's only crazy if it doesn't work, and right now it's appearing to work. Seriously. I can't remember the last time the question "Should we act like we've been there before or should we consider attempting to storm the court?" popped into my brain.
Marquette is good, don't get me wrong. But they didn't look the same without Allazia Blockton being her old self Without her explosiveness and offensive versatility, they lose a big weapon, and they lose a lot of their depth. And her shot looked rusty. She got into good position for offensive rebounds, but even then she couldn't put them back. She was terrifyingly hesitant, and that led to strips and steals from the Red Storm defense. Lauren Van Kleunen barely played and her main contribution was a very long jumper that seemed ill-advised. Isabelle Spingola provided stability and a three-point shot, but she wasn't as much of a weapon as I was expecting against our defense (we're usually pretty vulnerable to the three).
Sometimes Danielle King gets the rolls, and sometimes she doesn't. In the first half, she did; in the second half she didn't. On such things can upsets be built. She's quick, and she's fast, and she's hellaciously determined (there was a sequence where she smacked the ball right out of a substantially taller player's hands like a flying comet). But I think we took her out of her game, and that does a lot to undermine Marquette. Natisha Hiedeman was a non-factor, which might have been the biggest factor for us. We shut her down. The fact that she got off only four shots says a lot to me about our defense. I admire her awareness of time and foul count, and the sacrifice she knew she had to make when she committed her fifth foul. Amani Wilborn put the offense on her shoulders in the backcourt, drawing a ton of free throws on penetration. She got herself into a little foul trouble in the second half, and that always seems to get into her head a little bit. Once there's a call on her that she thinks is a bad call, she starts acting out.
Erika Davenport is so good at getting around bigger players. She just stretches and stretches like she's made of taffy until she's at the basket. She did a number on Curteeona Brelove offensively, and switching defenders on her was part of how we won this game. She's so good close to the basket. If more of her putbacks had gone in instead of spinning out, Marquette might have been able to parlay that rebounding advantage into a win. Selena Lott has a lot of potential, no pun intended. She uses her length well on defense- she opened the fourth quarter with a bucket, a steal, and another bucket, and she rocked Alisha Kebbe on a block. It's definitely going to be a rebuilding year next year for Marquette, but she's a good piece to have during the process. I like her versatility a great deal.
When Marquette could get out and run their offense, they were in control. But when we were able to slow them down, or take them by surprise in transition, they were out of the game. I don't think they were expecting this kind of a fight from us (which is kind of silly, because we've always had trouble with each other) and when Moochy hit the go-ahead shot they didn't know how to counterpunch.
Speaking of which, if you're only going to hit one shot in a game, the go-ahead shot that gives your team a lead it doesn't relinquish is just about the perfect shot. The husband argues that Jasmine Sina being the player to hit that shot gave it even more of a psychological impact for the team. I don't know if I agree, but it definitely showed that she was equal to the moment (which is good, because her first attempt in the first half was…not good). Kadaja Bailey continues to regress. I don't think she realizes that her handle is not yet good enough on the collegiate level. She has to work on it if she's going to use it on this level, because otherwise she's going to get stripped and she's going to commit a lot of unforced turnovers. Kayla Charles had herself a day defensively. She's always had the potential, but so much of the time she takes herself out of the game mentally. Not tonight. She took Davenport out of the game when she was on her, using her height and her length to her advantage- at least two of her three blocks were on Davenport. But more importantly, she was hustling after loose balls, racking up floor burns like crazy. One sequence where she rolled out a steal and got it to Tiana for the fast break lay-up comes to mind (if only because Tiana tried to give her one right back and she blew the bunny in the lane). She pulled down big boards and gave us incredible defense, and I can't credit her enough for the work she did.
(And for that matter, I have to give credit to Joe for sticking with her. I don't give him a lot of compliments, but he saw how the match-ups worked out and didn't just ride his starters. This is unusual for him and I want to encourage it.)
Curteeona Brelove had a nifty defensive play in the third quarter that got her a bucket, but it was a rough night for her overall. She got her buckets, but she had a lot of trouble defensively with Erika Davenport, and racked up a lot of fouls. Also, I realize she does have some perimeter game, but I really would like for her to stop jacking threes. She's at her best for us when she's throwing her weight around inside. Alisha Kebbe was a monster on defense- her work on Natisha Hiedeman was probably the biggest reason we won this game. She contributed on the other end of the floor, too, but her defense was the reason she was the woman of the match.
Tiana England had a heck of a game. She's come on strong here at the end of the season, finding the gaps to make the good pass and hitting her shots inside and out (mostly inside- if that floater's going, she's absolutely unstoppable). She's just looked so good. She's occasionally done it in an understated fashion, and then you look up and she's got monster numbers. She doesn't control the game as overtly as many of our point guards in the past have, but I'm starting to believe she might get to that point now, when I wasn't sure before. I think Akina Wellere is also starting to get more comfortable with her role, which might not be the best timing given that the season is almost over, but at least she's starting to figure out how she fits into this mess of a lineup we have. (Okay, mess is too strong of a word, but there are a lot of players being forced to play to their weaknesses instead of their strengths, and their flaws become more evident in this way.) I'm still not comfortable with Qadashah Hoppie's shot selection.
We won this game on our defense. We hit big shots, but our defense put us in a position to hit those shots. This is the team that went toe-to-toe with UConn, not the team that got spanked by Butler. This was this team at its best. I am insanely, stupidly proud of them. This win could put the team on the right track and somehow sneak us into the WNIT.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
February 25th, 2018: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Marquette made a run in the second quarter and never looked back in a 76-57 win at St. John's to finish the regular season and claim a share of the Big East regular season title. Allazia Blockton's 19 points led four Golden Eagles in double figures. Andrayah Adams and Maya Singleton each had 11 points for the Red Storm.
For fond farewells, movie night, shooting your shot, secrets, terrible singing, joy for others, the long road trip, and looking forward, join your intrepid and serene blogger after the jump.
Are you ready to get punched right in the feels? I'm not, but Senior Day waits for no woman. (Much to my annoyance. Everyone needs to stop scheduling things on everyone's Senior Days.) St. John's is pretty much locked into the fifth seed, but Marquette has everything to play for, with the regular season conference title still in play.
As always, it's Girls and Women in Sports Day for Senior Day, so the place is filling up from the clinic kids. They have the little roller signs, and I'm a tiny bit jealous, but we have a flag, so their argument is invalid, or something like that.
Given who Sox reminds me of and what number she wears, it's appropriate that Sky Lindsay is working this game. She's not as sparkly as she was on Friday, but she still knows how to draw the eye.
I get the sense that our strength and conditioning coach was either a Tolkien dwarf in a previous life or secretly plays one in a D&D campaign.
Well, we know Maya's got family here, and suddenly the kid running around in Maryland gear makes a lot more sense.
Senior Day was as it ever was. Each of the three seniors, plus the senior manager, got a brief speech talking around and about their accomplishments for the program. Boy, did they drag out the clichés for Sox. At least this year they didn't use the BHA jerseys for the framed jersey. Small mercies. The two things I wish St. John's would do that I've seen other schools do is acknowledge the opponent's seniors (so in this case, Shantelle Valentine) and cut a short highlight reel for the seniors. I think you could pull together enough footage of even Sox for that short a ceremony.
At halftime it's 36-25 Marquette. They're killing us on the break. Steals lead to fast break points lead to your intrepid blogger tearing her hair out (and I'm starting to get to that age where it doesn't grow back as easily). Amani Wilborn has 10 to lead Marquette. Maya Singleton seems to be our offensive target today, with eight points.
Imani Littleton's family is sitting over by us. They seem cool. Louder than Imani is.
Wow, there are a lot of buckets being scored in this scrimmage.
The kid who did the obstacle course should be lucky Maya's uncle the Marine didn't look up at the weaksauce push-ups he was doing, or he might have had to do them again and again.
Alumnae reunion today. So far I've spotted Kendyl Nunn, Aaliyah Lewis, Jade Walker, and Danaejah Grant for sure, and possibly Kimberly Spruill and Sandra Udobi. (And obviously Shenneika Smith, Da'Shena Stevens, and Sky Lindsay are here but working in various capacities.) I don't know who all was there, because heaven forfend that they actually acknowledge alumnae by name instead of in one big "thanks for coming!" message.
I think Joe was looking ahead to Chicago; our seed was locked and Marquette was the team with everything to play for. We ran out of give-a-damn in the third quarter, and Marquette only got stronger. I suspect someone was scoreboard-watching for Marquette, either one of the support staff or one of the traveling fans, and they knew exactly what the stakes were, knew that DePaul had won and knew that Villanova was beating Creighton, knew that the regular season title and the top seed were theirs for the taking if they kept the pressure on. So congrats to the Golden Eagles- they deserve this, and I know what this means to that program and the legacy of the class of 2019.
Altia Anderson and Sandra Dahling only came in at the very end of the game, when everything had been decided. Isabelle Spingola came in very briefly, mostly as a shooter, though the one she hit was, I think, a lay-up. Shantelle Valentine was so unprepared to come in that when she checked in, she forgot to take off her warm-up shirt. Given her class, I couldn't help but yell, "Having a senior moment?" Look, sometimes life hands you straight lines.
Impressed with Selena Lott. She's still wearing off some of the freshman roughness, and still not always sure where she's supposed to be, but she's learning quickly and well. She had a nifty steal for a fast break lay-up, and a big block on Qadashah Hoppie to end a St. John's possession. She's sort in that tweener hole that Allazia Blockton is, without as much skill as Blockton- but she's also two years younger. Lauren Van Kleunen set good screens and was solid inside, with just enough perimeter offense to make her a threat.
Okay, I'm looking at the official box score now, and I don't understand how Natisha Hiedeman only has one steal. She was all over the passing lanes. It's really obvious where she's going. You can't pull off stealth mode with a giant blonde Afro that's a few shades too light to be proper Marquette gold. She missed some easy bunnies, but I'd be willing to bet that she still had a positive +/- just based on her defense. Amani Wilborn penetrated and drew fouls, and of course this was the day she was going to hit the threes that she doesn't usually knock down. She had a scary moment in the first half where she went down hard and play didn't stop for several possessions. That's on the refs for not stopping play. I'm glad she was able to get back into the game; there are times when I'm bloodthirsty, but I usually don't like seeing injuries. Danielle King is really the engine that makes the Golden Eagles fly. I'd love to see a breakdown of her +/-, because it seemed like what little second half momentum we had was when she was out of the game, and Marquette got back on track when she re-entered. She's so tiny, but she's quick and she's heady. I still don't know how she beat the shot clock on that one play. She's got game inside and out.
I swear Allazia Blockton's getting taller. This is not fair and it's ridiculous. She's already ridiculous. Not only does she have an outside shot and not only can she penetrate to score, now she's also blocking shots, boxing out, and rebounding like a true small forward. She is so good. She's ridiculous. If she doesn't have a pro career it's a shame. Erika Davenport rebounded hard and took advantage of our terrible passing. There were interior passes that we were not paying attention to that we should have been paying attention to. She's such a good option for them underneath. I have no idea why we were trying to throw guards on her. That is a terrible plan and we should feel terrible for attempting it.
I have no idea why Joe decided to throw Shamachya Duncan into the game in the third quarter. She gave up a basket and scored one just as quickly. She's got spunk, I'll give her that, but she's still not ready for prime time, and her usual schtick of getting the team and the crowd excited with threes doesn’t work if she doesn't take threes. Kayla Charles really needs to stop fighting her teammates for rebounds. Y'all are wearing the same uniform, it's kind of obvious y'all should be working together.
Andrayah Adams got going in the fourth quarter for some rapid-fire buckets, and had a really nifty rebound in the third quarter- I think that was one she pretty much stole from Marquette on a scrap. I guess she likes playing against Marquette or something. Qadashah Hoppie seemed to have decided that this was her weekend to take all the shots. There were possessions where she was the only St. John's player to touch the ball. I have a problem with this. I very much have a problem with this. Yes, Joe pulls her when she takes exceptionally bad shots, but there don't seem to be any lasting reprecussions from ballhogging. She's got to work on her defense- hand down, man down, everyone knows that. Even the family in the stands knows that. I know she's only a freshman, and there are tendencies that need to be coached out of her. I just don't know if Joe's that kind of coach, and if he has that kind of leverage. But it's too early to think about next year. Tiana England played well, although she was tentative initiating the offense. But that's the same as it ever was. She can't be that tentative when dealing with teams that like to jump the passing lanes- her passing was way too soft today and that led to Marquette steals and fast breaks.
Maya Singleton was the main offensive target today- we were feeding her early. Seniority hath its privileges, I suppose. I thought she relied too much on her jumper today, but if that's what she was getting, I understand it. She was getting boxed out more easily than I'm used to. Imani Littleton laid a monster block on Danielle King (though you get no degree of difficulty points on that) and did her best to rebound, but she was getting boxed out and getting very little help from her teammates. There were too many sequences where three or four blue jerseys surrounded one white jersey. And I'm still salty about that fantastic fast break she blew- if you get that steal, take it up, don't just throw it willy-nilly at the rim.
For once, Joe actually acknowledged senior privilege and gave Tamesha Alexander the ceremonial start in place of Tiana. We were all encouraging her to go get herself a bucket, since that's a thing that doesn't happen very often, but she got a rebound and an assist, and that seems to be the kind of thing she's happy with. Akina Wellere's three-point shot just wasn't going down. She had better luck going to the basket and getting free throws, and I really would like to see her do more of that. She's got the build for it, and sometimes the jumper just isn't working. Alisha Kebbe was inconsistent, though she picked up her offense briefly in the third quarter. On one possession she might lay a block on Wilborn; on another, she might literally have her back turned to her assignment. I love Alisha's hustle, but I wish she could bring it consistently.
Rebounding killed us- rather, the lack thereof. Or maybe it was the insistence on shooting threes. Or maybe it was the dicey passing. I don't know. It might simply have been that Marquette had everything to gain and we had nothing left to play for but pride. And I don't know if we're a team that thrives on pride and holding our ground.
I think the officials occasionally labored under the misapprehension that we all came to see them. We didn't.
Dance team finished strong. Man, they're good.
Let the record show that Akina can't sing. Let the record also show that Maya needs to expand her ice cream palate.
We didn't stay for the movie, but we did come through the autograph line to thank our seniors and wish the kids luck in Chicago. Sox now knows she's my favorite among this iteration of Johnnies. I told her not to tell the rest of the squad. Hopefully they won't read this. (Favorite person, I should clarify. Her energy is irresistible. Favorite player? Ah, that changes month by month sometimes.)
There were Girl Scouts. There were Girl Scout patches. Now I have to remember where I put my sash and get a sewing kit. I was never the best Scout, but I was a Scout with pride.
I very much want to love this team with a smack upside the head sometimes, because they frustrate me, but I do still love them and I think they have potential to grow. There will come a time when they're tested, and either they'll come out of it stronger or they'll break and we'll be in for another rough stretch. I'll be there either way.
Monday, January 9, 2017
January 8th, 2017: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's started on an 8-0 run and paced Marquette from start to finish in a 70-64 win. Jade Walker continued her streak of setting new career-highs, this time with 32 points; Aaliyah Lewis notched a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. Allazia Blockton led Marquette with 20 points and eight rebounds.
For realizations, Girl Scouts, multifunction cheerleaders, pushouts, offensive freelancing, unsung defense, and new hairdos, join your intrepid and moosed blogger after the jump.
Happy New Year, everyone! New calendar year, but basketball never stops. The Game Notes of Doom are coming to you from the familiar confines of Carnesecca Arena, where the Red Storm return home to face the enigmatic Golden Eagles of Marquette.
I'm not a fan of Marquette's powder blue uniforms. The sweatsuits for inactive players are even uglier; they look like they're in jammies. The taller inactive player looks really cranky about it, too. (I don't know who she is. Honestly, without names and numbers, the only Marquette players I can immediately identify are Danielle King and Natisha Hiedeman; King because she's tiny, Hiedeman because she's got that Layshia Clarendon look going on.)
Girl Scout Day and cheer camp today, so there will be lots of little girls, and lots of high-pitched screaming. Unfortunately, it looks like we're not going to have the services of the dance team- they were loading into a van when we arrived.
Maya Singleton appears to have left her hair at baggage claim. I could have sworn she still had a ponytail on the road trip.
At halftime, it's 40-31 St. John's, and it's that close because Jade Walker did the second-dumbest thing I've ever seen a St. John's player do on a basketball court- bailed on a rebound and then blatantly fouled Danielle King to allow a four-point play. If you're going to not guard the tiny player, at least make sure she doesn't hit the shot.
As it turns out, the mini-cheerleaders aren't here as part of cheer camp, they're here with the biddy team that's playing at halftime. Should I be worried that fourth graders have cheerleaders? Oh, jeez, one of the kids just went down like a ton of bricks. She was crying, but she got up pretty quickly.
Marquette's coach seems to be taking the scooter thing in stride (as it were) and with good humor.
I won't say it was our best game, and I won't say I'm not disturbed by the lack of scoring balance, but it was a good win, and I love the development of our freshmen.
Shantelle Valentine was called upon for the bulk of the minutes in the post, especially after Erika Davenport left the game for unspecified reasons. She's got nice touch at the basket, but she has to be less aggressive defensively and know her foul situation. You can't be running the trap if you're in foul trouble. You and your coach both have to be aware of your foul count. Altia Anderson was called upon for a few minutes late in the game, with Davenport and Valentine both unavailable. I see the potential in her, and she certainly has the right name for her height.
Amani Wilborn was very aggressive offensively, looking to take a lot of shots. The defense was there to stop her at the rim, and she didn't let that stop her. She probably should have. She wasn't always the best option. Isabelle Spingola has some potential, but she's not ready for the big time yet. If she's more willing to get physical, I can see her stepping into the McKayla Yentz role for the Golden Eagles in time- she has the build, and I think she can learn the positioning.
I don't know what happened to Erika Davenport- she left the game, and then Valentine started the second half and we never saw her again. She may have been sick- someone was bent over behind the bench around halftime. She does need to learn to pick on someone her own size, though- she got in a nasty hit on Aaliyah Lewis. McKayla Yentz did a lot of work setting screens for the guards, then curling into the corner for three-point attempts. I think she was more effective as a screener, though.
I've come to the conclusion that, as a Johnnie, I can best describe Allazia Blockton as the biologically impossible but athletically miraculous lovechild of Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant, and this is probably why she regularly opens up a can of whoop-ass wherever she goes. She's not slashing as much as she was last year, but the jumper is pretty solid, and she gets to the line. And you can't get casual with the basketball around her, because she'll take it away in a second. I'd like to see her slash to the basket more, but not against either of my teams. Natisha Hiedeman scored a lot of her points late, and her motor just doesn't stop. She's fun to watch- sometimes she's even more fun than Blockton. Danielle King is fast and loves the three, and she runs her team well. I don't know if she's the right point guard for this roster, though; Marquette might be better off with Wilborn starting and Hiedeman switching to point.
Maya Singleton had a putback for the only bench points. She didn't play a lot, but she did what we needed her to do. Ditto for Sandra Udobi, whose brace has either grown or acquired a larger sleeve. Her entire leg was covered by the end of the game. Should we start worrying about the Borg?
Andrayah Adams needs to work on her handle, or at least her ball security. I like her assertiveness on offense, though. Crystal Simmons brought the defense- I love watching her intensity as she defends. Whatever deal with the devil she signed for her shot to land has expired, though, and I don't know how effective she can be if she's one-dimensional.
Imani Littleton's inconsistency frustrates me. There are times when she's ferocious on the glass and strong in the paint. There are times when she deflects rebounds instead of pulling them down and lets passes go off her hands. And there are days like today that are somewhere in the middle where she is adrift offensively but erases drives on the inside. I find her strangely fascinating amidst the frustration. Jade Walker had herself a day on offense. Sometimes it was not as planned- there were a couple of plays near the end of the second quarter where it was abundantly clear that the long jumper Jade was taking was not the play that Joe had called. She was at her best when she was forcing her way inside with power, then stretching the offense with her jumper. And we won't talk about the two fouls against three-point shooters. I love when Jade does amazing things, and she was certainly the star of the show, but that doesn't get her off the hook for mind-numbingly stupid decisions.
Aaliyah Lewis has to acknowledge sometimes that she does commit fouls. It does happen. She was on point today, on so many levels. Her passing was good, her footwork was slick, and she made the shot clock beg for mercy. She's got to improve her free throw shooting, and get out of her head when she goes on a cold streak. I think she dwells on missed free throws too much when she gets back to the line. Alisha Kebbe did yeoman's work on defense today. She had the difficult task of trying to contain Allazia Blockton, and she did a very good job of it. In that context, I can understand why she was having trouble with some of the chippies, and why she might prefer the three-pointer on offense. Her going beyond the arc certainly made up for the lack of production from Akina Wellere. Part of Akina's problem was stupid foul trouble, but she's regressed a lot from the scorer who helped us win the Big East title last year. She's inconsistent and playing scared. Can't have that from her.
Officiating was the usual mess of inconsistencies, loose in the first half and tighter in the second. Joe objected to some of the travels by Marquette he thought weren't being called.
Nice anthem, but it had "trying too hard" written all over it. You have to know the limitations of your voice and not wander all over the musical map.
I have a band moose now!
Trying to generate crowd noise with just the cheerleaders and DSPN doesn't work. We really need to develop signals.
I'm happy we won, and very happy for the big games by Jade and Aaliyah. But I'm worried about the lack of balance. DePaul is no easy task, even without January.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
March 6th, 2016: Marquette at Seton Hall (Big East tournament)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Marquette started strong and always threatened, but Seton Hall had the final push to win 93-86. Tiffany Jones put up 29 points and 18 rebounds to power the Pirates, with Aleesha Powell adding 25 and Shakena Richardson 20. Allazia Blockton of Marquette led all scorers, putting up 31 before fouling out.
For freshmen, seniors, cheering one's self hoarse, missed lay-ups, big buckets, huge fan support, trophies, and pictures, join your intrepid and out of order blogger after the jump.
On to the second game, and much closer seats. Since our all-session passes are behind the opposing bench, we reached out to Tony Bozzella for Seton Hall and Veronica Mullen for St. John's to get behind the appropriate bench for our games today. Honestly, I'd prefer to be a little higher up, but beggars can't be choosers.
The Seton Hall band didn't make the trip, so we're borrowing someone else's band. I don't know whose.
There's a family of Marquette fans standing in front of our section, and it's kind of annoying.
There's also an Oregon fan here. I'm not quite sure where he came from. (Ah. He's an Owens.)
Marquette appears to have brought full band. It's pretty impressive. They win the shirt match-up pretty much by default, since the loaner band for SHU is wearing fairly generic shirts.
Shoutout to the Xavier people who stayed.
Scoreboard reads "SHU" and "MU". So much for that theory.
Marquette's band does know they're playing "Tequila", right? You're not technically supposed to know about that, college kiddies.
Is Creighton just following us? They're over in our section now.
The Golden Eagle has an interesting feather-do. Looks like he's doing the blonde faux-hawk thing Clarendon did and Natisha Hiedeman does.
The offset on the shot clock by the road bench is really weird. It's way off to the side. I think it's throwing off Tabatha Richardson-Smith's shot.
At halftime, we've definitely got more offense than we did last game. Seton Hall is up 43-41 on Marquette.
It's annoying, but Marquette's band has prepared an entire list of pirate-themed horrible puns to distract the free throw shooter, and some of them are so bad they're hilarious. ("And what is a pirate's favorite robot? Arrrrrrrrr2-D2!")
Marquette fans showed up! I mean, Milwaukee's close, but that doesn't mean fans will travel. I love the support the Golden Eagles are getting.
Our loaner band went to the trouble of getting pirate hats. I approve.
We can't afford to come out flat in the second half. Marquette's too good for that.
What a game! What a finish! What a performance by Tiffany Jones! What a performance by Allazia Blockton too! Players stepping up for both sides- that's what a tournament is all about!
Amani Wilborn had a good, solid, all-around game. I think she can be taken out of her game a little, get a little distracted, but she's a solid sixth woman who can fill in at multiple positions. Shantelle Valentine's impact was very limited- she's a big girl, but she seems a little tentative inside. She did have one big screen that picked off Martha Kuderer and gave Natisha Hiedeman space for a three. It wasn't quite a Screen of Death, but it will do.
McKayla Yentz spent a lot of time lying on her back on the ground, either getting a call or complaining about not getting a call. I like the hustle, but defense is played with the feet, not the butt. Erika Davenport kept getting lay-ups right at the basket with the extra pass from her guards. She didn't always hit them, but she had plenty of good looks. She did a nice job of following her own shot on a couple of occasions, including on a Gordon block.
Natisha Hiedeman's shot is so quick- as soon as she has space, that shot is going up. Her hands are really quick too- she was disruptive on defense. She's going to be fun to watch as she develops. Danielle King has a soft touch from beyond the arc- she needs to watch her footwork, but once she's in position to shoot, that is one pretty shot. And what can I say about Allazia Blockton that hasn't already been said? She's brilliant. Her offensive game is already so complete, inside and out, and she's only a freshman. She has the potential to develop amazingly. I want her to be awesome. Marquette deserves it. She almost single-handedly willed Marquette back into the game.
Claire Lundberg gave good minutes in relief of the forwards. Martha Kuderer isn't ready for the big time. Jordan Mosley had a huge block on Blockton early on. Say that three times fast. Jordan Molyneaux was Cottonelle soft on the inside, all but running way from rebounds and ducking the ball. And she almost managed to get a foul called on her on the bench, because the announcer couldn't count fingers. LaTecia Smith had a couple of really nice defensive plays, but she wasn't ready for the pressure on offense- Marquette pressed hard and she stumbled.
If we'd lost this one, it would have been dumped on Lubirdia Gordon's head. She missed way too many easy shots at the rim. She had a couple of big blocks protecting the rim on the other side, though. Tiffany Jones had herself the game of her life. She was hitting lay-ups, working the boards like a boss, hitting threes- she took command of the game. She wanted it and she took it, like a true Pirate does. Tabatha Richardson-Smith didn't have as luminescent an offensive game as she's capable of, but she contributed in other ways- on the boards, on defense, distributing the ball for the extra hot pass down low.
Shakena Richardson was out of rhythm early, trying too hard to be an outside threat, but as the game went on, she found seams in the lane and drove, either getting the lay-up, taking the midrange shot, or distributing to the open shooter. Aleesha Powell used her speed to her advantage, cutting to the basket and elevating for the lay-up, or hitting that soft three she loves. She had a great block on a low Davenport shot.
The only thing that really disturbed me for Seton Hall was the loss of simpatico between Bozzella and his point guards. Usually they're on the same page, but today, not so much. Hoping that gets fixed before tomorrow.
Officiating was wildly inconsistent, going from loose in the first quarter to tighter than a girdle in the second quarter to seeming one-sided in the second half. It seemed like calls weren't going both ways. I know I'm biased, but it was pretty awkward. There were a couple of bad calls against Marquette in that quarter too, as if to keep Coach Bozzella from going off on the refs.
That game was a shining example of what the Big East can be, and what it is. Seton Hall, with their seniors and graduate students, is the present. Marquette, laden with freshmen, is the future. We're in good hands.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
January 24th, 2016: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's came back against Marquette in the second half behind a spirited press and hot three-point shooting, but it wasn't enough, as the Johnnies fell 78-73. Durand Johnson of St. John's led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, with Federico Mussini adding 19. Duane Wilson led Marquette with 17 points, while Henry Ellenson added 16 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks.
For delays, resounding blocks, rim protection, strategic choices, fans sitting on their goddamn hands, bright colors, rude comments, and general strange thoughts, join your intrepid and slow blogger after the jump.
Since they're letting us stay, we figured we'd take in the men's game while we were at it. I always forget how much bigger men's basketball players are than women. Of course, Marquette might just look bigger because they're wearing such bright yellow shirts.
We'll see how loud it is appropriate for us to be; we're across from the opposing bench, after all, and there's a sextet of Marquette students in front of us, two of them wearing various flavors of retro Dwayne Wade jerseys.
Marquette, please don't break the clock. We don't have that many of them. (No, seriously, the Marquette men were doing their slam dunk line, and then suddenly the clock started spewing gibberish.)
Why is there a dude in a Syracuse shirt here? This isn't an ACC game!
At half, Marquette is up 31-23. St. John's has a lot of fight and a lot of heart, but we're hooked on three-pointers like a junkie on smack and we can't finish at the rim.
I want one of those basketball beanbag chairs. Finishing the game of musical chairs with a slam dunk? Boss.
I think we might have traumatized Akina a little bit. Most of the team is sitting by us, though Sandie has decided that her seat in section 10 is her seat, benches be damned, and Aaliyah seems to have found someone in section 11 (she's also wearing bright yellow, so maybe she's just practicing her camouflage). The upperclassmen have mostly left, leaving us with the freshmen and the sophomores. I think Jordan might have napped during halftime.
The dude in the Syracuse shirt doubled down- he had a Syracuse shirt under his shirt. How even are you still alive, dude?
The guys have a lot of potential, but they have got to work on their fundamentals. The ballhandling was awful, and too many shots right at the rim were missed. That can be coached. At least, I think that can be coached.
I find Marquette's blend of athletic guards and slabs of Midwestern beef interesting. They couldn't handle pressure well at all, and I'm sorry we didn't exploit that earlier.
Sacar Anim had a nice break in the first half, but didn't play much later in the game. Traci Carter attempted to play defense and was not strong at it. Matt Heldt made space in the middle- that was a theme with the bigs for Marquette, setting picks and boxing out. Wally Ellenson's primary job seemed to be confusing the daylights out of me (I didn't run up a custom score sheet for this, so I got lucky in both teams having names on their jerseys, but I was still 'what the hell, didn't Ellenson just come out of the game, wait, there are TWO of them, oh come on). Sandy Cohen III drove the lane hard and got rewarded for it often.
Duane Wilson reminded me a lot of Danaejah Grant- a solid shooter with driving ability who could rebound a little. He had a pretty good running mate in Haanif Cheatham, whose body control going to the basket reminded me very much of Aliyyah Handford. Luke Fischer was popular with the Marquette contingent in front of us- every time he made a good play, they would let out a "LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Henry Ellenson was throwing up some really weird shots at the rim- I think he was trying to get around the shot-blockers- but he protected his own rim like a boss. No one was getting around him, no one was getting rebounds from him. Jajuan Johnson got most of his points off jumpers in the paint, though he was at the receiving end of a lot of shot-blocking pain.
Christian Jones had one monster putback that got the crowd going, but otherwise couldn't hit. Granted, he was shooting over taller defenders pretty much all of the time- dude's built, but for a post, I get the feeling he's not that tall. Durand Johnson heated up late in the second half from beyond the arc and really got the fans involved. I'm given to understand that this was an unusually good game for Malik Ellison, but I like his aggression on defense.
Felix Balamou got the start, but he didn't play much. I don't know if it's because his starting is a formality, or if he didn't fit Mullin's plan of "shoot threes and pray", or if something else is at play. I like his hair, though. Very noticeable. Federico Mussini is so tiny! The Marquette contingent in front of us was teasing him all night for his lack of height and width of frame. (I... may have shouted back that only insecure guys make fun of a guy's size, but I will neither confirm nor deny those assertions... but they stopped talking about his height after that.) He needs to work on his ballhandling- crossing one's self over is not a recommended course of action- but I like his speed and his shot. I seem to remember Ron Mvouika taking shots that did not seem to be in the game plan, but at this point it's Thursday and I might just be imagining things.
Amar Alibegovic was another popular target for the Marquette crew. Look, dude is never going to make a GQ cover, but calling him ugly just seems uncalled for. I like his toughness and his willingness to fight for his shot, but he's got to hit them. Kassoum Yakwe has great timing on blocks, but I don't know if he's worked on timing anything else. He seems more inclined towards the flashy Mutombo-style blocks than the smooshes that end up in the defense's hands. I think if he put a little more effort into his defense at the rim, and a little less into making his blocks as forceful as possible, he could be really tough down low. Plus he's got to finish. I know this is a thing with St. John's posts, but come on.
I think I understand why Mullin didn't go to the press immediately- they're short on players, and it is an energy-draining system. But it worked, and it works really well. What I liked was that everyone seemed to contribute to it, even the big men, which I'm not used to seeing from a pressing, trapping defense. (Well, except for Sue Wicks, but that was a long time ago in another land, or at least another island.)
Live by the three, die by the three. It's exciting and heady when they go in, but frustrating when they don't go down and the other team's off to the races on the break from the long rebound. I feel like we might better served teaching the big men some moves in the lane, but that's a long-term solution.
Refs are refs, refs gonna ref. The one really bad call I can remember was in the Red Storm's favor, a foul on Marquette that should have been a travel on St. John's.
We all know Lavin left the cupboard bare. We know there were an astounding number of academic issues to clean up in his wake. We know there are injuries and sundry other absences. It's still kinda rough watching them be so raw.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
January 5th, 2016: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: in a game close throughout, St. John's prevailed in overtime over Marquette, 81-77. Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm with 27 points, 16 in the first half; Aliyyah Handford had 15 points, and Aaliyah Lewis had 11, nine in overtime. Allazia Blockton led Marquette with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists; the Golden Eagles also got double-digit points from Amani Wilborn (17) and Natisha Hiedeman (14).
For a team of ducks, cross-court passes, flags, and sleep deprivation, join your intrepid and time-strapped blogger after the jump.
Another day, another eighty-seven cents, another game on the slate. Tonight, the second partner in the Great Lakes duo, Marquette, comes to visit the Johnnies.
I really thought trying to warm up dinner had blown my chance at making the bus, but there was another one right behind it. Hopefully, I didn't blow any of my team's luck on it- we might need it for one of Nae's shots off the glass, or to get Liyyah a call (sometimes that takes a lot of luck).
At halftime, St. John's is up 39-27, after a slow start that saw Marquette leading by as much as six. Danaejah Grant has continued her hot play from the fourth quarter against DePaul, leading the way with 14 points. Allazia Blockton leads Marquette with eight.
This iteration of the dance team costumes looks kinda Christmas-y.
They gave out flags. They made us take one. I like our flag better. It's signed.
Guys from the men's team are in front of us. It kind of ruins some of my better lines.
We really should not be going to overtime with a Marquette team that's so terrifyingly, ridiculously, young. But the pieces around our superstars are too used to the superstar security blanket and don't have confidence in themselves to shoot. The Big East is not such a mid-major that you can win with just two players.
Marquette essentially went six deep for most of the game. Olivia Moskari went in in the first half, and Sandra Dahling briefly in the second; neither had any major impact on the game. Erika Davenport fought hard on the glass, taking advantage of her teammates boxing out to come up with offensive boards. She positions herself well on the floor.
McKayla Yentz took a lot of threes. They weren't always good threes, and she had a habit of taking them deeper than might have been necessary from the position of the defense. She set screens for her teammates well. Shantelle Valentine moved around and made space on the inside, but I don't know if she was looking to score and rebound so much as she was facilitating things for her teammates. I feel like they could be doing more with her.
I really like Allazia Blockton. She drives hard to the basket, and she's not afraid to get on the glass. Her passes were being picked, but that's a thing we do and should do more often, so that's not really a knock on her. She's really athletic. I was also impressed by Amani Wilborn- she wasn't necessarily glamorous, but she shoots well behind the line and she makes good defensive plays. Natisha Hiedeman played well down the stretch- it's sort of a backhanded compliment if I start grumbling about a player, so if she heard me muttering, "goddamn Swedish Clarendon-wannabe", I hope she wasn't offended. (But really, if you have short, curly, dark hair that you bleach the top of, and you wear #5, and your team wears gold with navy accents, I'm going to make Clarendon references at you until the cows come home.) She's streaky, but promising.
Marquette played like a young team, but they also played like a talented team. They need to lay off the cross-court passes. But on another night, if the rims were kinder and the refs were better, this might have been their night.
Tamesha Alexander came in in the first half when Aaliyah Lewis picked up her second foul. This is not a recording. She made some dumb passes, but picked up a nice jumper. Crystal Simmons needs to stop hesitating so much on offense, but I absolutely love what she brings on defense. So much energy, so much movement, so much work! Akina Wellere came up with some baskets late, but she's another one who needs to shoot more. Maybe not much more, but she's our three-point specialist by default, she needs to take them.
Jordan Agustus saw brief minutes in both halves. She never really got her feet under her, so it's hard to say what effect she had on the game. Jade Walker had the jumper working a little, and one good putback at the rim, but she missed too many shots down low, and at least two of them were on offensive rebounds. She also has to understand that one of the constants of the universe is that if there's a situation where she can be called for a foul, she'll be called for a foul. Get used to it, play smarter, and hit harder; if you're going to get fouled, make it worth your time.
I'm really not sure what to say about our forwards at this point. I love Sandra Udobi as a person, but she was never the same after the knee injury. Tonight, she was taking too many long jumpers with no one there to rebound. Just how much are you trying to pile on Danaejah's shoulders? If I were more statistically inclined, I'd chart Sandie's stats against the weather and see just how much the cold is getting to her knee. Imani Littleton came up with some strong baskets underneath. Maybe she's starting to get into her groove. That would be cool.
Aaliyah Lewis was the heroine of overtime, after a rough start to the game. Her shots never seemed to get much air, but they got up just enough to go over the rim and through the net. That might be a metaphor, or possibly some other form of poetic description for the player your intrepid blogger calls Tiny Aaliyah. She's so adorably feisty. Aliyyah Handford was the target of everyone's defense tonight, and the rim was not kind to her. She still found ways to get her points, especially as Danaejah heated up and some of the heat came off her. But she's getting a little wild on defense, a little over-aggressive. She knows she has to do too much, and she's been fouling more. We don't need more of that from her. She's got to play smarter, not harder, cliché as it is. Danaejah Grant started the game like a house on fire.. She was rebounding well, too. I love to watch her and Liyyah rebound.
Way too many risky cross-court passes. Way too much losing track of where the ball was. (Looking at you, Imani. Y tú también, Crystal.) Too many stupid fouls. (Jade. Aliyyah.)
The stupid foul problem was exacerbated by stupid foul-calling, and stupid non-foul-calling. Officiating was inconsistent all night. Dropping the shoulder only seemed to be an offensive foul at one end of the floor. I'm not sure how Marquette got a timeout granted after six seconds of attempting to inbound. I'm not sure how we didn't get an advance on a timeout under two minutes left in the fourth. To be fair, I'm also not sure how Crystal didn't get called for fouling Hiedeman on the three, or how that ball went to St. John's, on Marquette's next-to-last possession. All I ask for is consistency, and to not miss really blatant calls that could change the game.
It is customary to have a ball when participating in a dress and dribble contest. I don't mean in the "weeeeee, fun!" sense, but in the basketball sense.
This was the kind of night where we actually bought ducks, because it seemed necessary to throw things.
The Awkward Bowl against Seton Hall is up next on Saturday. It's going to be interesting.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
January 18th, 2015: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Aliyyah Handford dropped 14 of her game-high 25 points in the second half to fuel a late run by the Red Storm and a 67-52 win for St. John's over Marquette. Danaejah Grant added 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Arlesia Morse's 17 led the Golden Eagles.
For lovely weather, the only time you will ever see Aliyyah Handford hesitate, moves like Jagger, kicks like fire, and supporters' scarves, join your intrepid and rejuvenated blogger after the jump.
Hello, boys and girls! Lovely weather for a basketball game today, isn't it? Or, at least, lovely weather to be inside where the rain isn't. St. John's is looking to rebound from that collapse in OT against DePaul, as the other half of the Great Lakes travel pod comes to town in the form of the Golden Eagles of Marquette.
At least Marquette has gotten ride of the fruit salad on their uniforms. That white/yellow/light blue/dark blue checkerboard effect wasn't working for them.
We'll see if the Queen Mother puts in an appearance. We gave her my husband's ticket, but she tends to bail on me when there's bad weather.
Tonoia Wade's sneakers today are shiny, iridescent like the surface of a soap bubble. Very cool.
I know we're all supposed to make like we didn't see it, but Aliyyah Handford tripped over her own feet on the way back to the locker room. Oh, dear. This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?
O HAI DERE BRI. Briana Brown is on the court, dressed all fancy-like and talking to a couple of the ancillary staff. If we're bringing her in as a graduate assistant, this is a good plan and the team should feel good for doing it. If they're just letting her shoot around on the court, then that's fun too, but she usually comes to games in sweats, so if she's dressed all fancy, there's a reason. Still got that three-point shot, too.
You know, I don't think this "official beer" thing is going to work out well. Could be wrong. Often am.
Anthem singer was technically competent, but sounded unfortunately like Fran Drescher doing a Michael Jackson impersonation.
Apparently Amber Thompson moved to Philadelphia over the weekend. She was announced as being from Philly today. Don't think that went over well with her family.
30-28 St. John's at half, and a little tighter than it needed to be. Joe's gone too far the other way on trusting the freshmen, running out three of them and Kyra Dunn to go with Aliyyah Handford late in the game.
Danaejah, arguing with refs doesn't work. Stoppit.
The Queen Mother has arrived. Our long national nightmare is over.
I think Briana is actually apprenticing as timekeeper or radio person or something. She's got a headset. Whatever. Briana Brown being involved with St. John's basketball again can only be good.
Some second half we had! It was nice to see the reserves getting some time there.
Marquette actually ran pretty deep into their bench most of the game, but that might have had more to do with the foul trouble that pretty much all the posts were in. Lauren Tibbs wasn't afrai to throw her weight around- she made a couple of tough plays near the basket in a row in the second half, but also kind of casually shoved players around. McKayla Yentz had a fantastic read on an offensive rebound... which, unfortunately for Marquette, led to the charge. (And that, at least, was a good call. There were a few dicey ones throughout.) Hannah Grim saw time near the end of the halves, but was unmemorable. Cristina Bigica came in later than I was expecting and was mostly taking threes. The band enjoyed getting on her case. I don't know why. Shantelle Valentine played a very physical game down low. You can check people up in Canada, eh, but not in basketball.
Arlesia Morse was hitting threes and had an offensive surge in the second half- I think she was trying to do the senior leadership thing. Chelsie Butler was very physical- it's hard to believe she didn't realize she elbowed Jade Walker right in the... er, upper chest. She threw the elbows around freely. Tia Elbert might be small, but she's fast. She was very disruptive on defense. Kenisha Bell, physically, reminds me of Aliyyah Handford- not as athletic, but since 99.9% of the human race isn't as athletic as Aliyyah Handford, that's the opposite of a backhanded compliment. She's got a nice jumper and good size- she'll be a nice piece for them. Apiew Ojulu was limited by fouls, but showed her rebounding ability along the baseline, using long arms to disrupt the ball.
Marquette isn't necessarily a bad team per se, but they don't seem to do anything particularly well. That may well come with time. At some point, they'll probably learn not to drive directly into a shot blocker.
Imani Littleton needs to pay more attention on the court. If she keeps her head in the game, maybe she'll be in the game a little more. Tamesha Alexander looked good running the offense in the second half. She looks much more confident than she did in the beginning of the year. Tonoia Wade was really active on the glass and more assertive on offense. Speaking of players who have blossomed as the year has gone on... Tonoia looks like she's found herself. Early for it, and I love it. Kyra Dunn played briefly, which excited a couple of people in front of us, and attempted to rebound. Sox Alexander needs to realize that Kyra doesn't have the hands for the alley-oop pass, though. Crystal Simmons subbed for Danaejah Grant and looked okay, though she needs a little more court awareness, and possibly a translator (no, I don't know how good her day-to-day conversational English is, but she didn't seem to be hearing the bench instructions correctly).
Aaliyah Lewis has such phenomenal body control. I swear she has those Neo-in-the-Matrix moves sometimes. Jade Walker had the jumper going early, plus a nifty lay-in down low, but got caught looking at her shot a bit in the second half. And, of course, if there's an opportunity to call Jade for a foul, a foul will be called on Jade. Amber Thompson held her ground down low. She attracted Marquette shooters like moths to an open flame, and when they came she swatted them. They got some good boxouts on her, but not all the time, because one does not stop Amber Thompson, one merely slows her down. Danaejah Grant was relatively quiet,for her- heated up in the second half, enough to get some of the defensive pressure off Aliyyah. And of course, Aliyyah Handford just continues to be awesome. Her jumper was working (and I swear, by senior year she's going to have a three-pointer), she cut through the lane like a hot knife through butter, she flashed out on defense for steals, she threw quick passes... right now, my biggest problem with Aliyyah is that I'm running out of words.
The best part, of course, is that barring wildly unforeseen circumstances, we get another year of Aliyyah and Danaejah.
I did not know until I looked at the box score that we had Linda Miles as a ref! I don't remember her Rutgers days, but I remember that she was a Scarlet Knight, and then she was a wrestler, and now she's a ref, and she's not a bad ref. She seems to be taking in a lot from the senior refs she works with. I like that kind of attention from a ref. As a whole, the crew did a pretty good job today- honestly, I think we got the better of the calls on infractions.
Dads and Daughters day at Carnesecca, so all the timeout activities were father-daughter duos. I was disappointed in the shooting form on the shooting challenge.
I thought Joe went to the bench too early, but I was proven wrong. It's nice to see the freshmen getting some run and proving that they can play a little on the D-I level. Heaven knows we're going to need them.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
February 26th, 2014: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts Ma'am: St. John's raced out to a big early lead, but Marquette dominated the game, coming back from 23 down to win 74-61. Katie Young led the Golden Eagles with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Aliyyah Handford had 21 points for St. John's.
For incoherent rage, surprising restraint, ballistics, bright yellow uniforms, a lack of pride, and absolute shame, join your intrepid blogger after the jump, but please bring a bottle of Bailey's if you do.
Good evening, blog readers! We're coming to you live and in three-d from Carnesecca Arena on the campus of St. John's University. Your intrepid blogger gets her second look in a week at the Golden Eagles of Marquette as they face the Red Storm of St. John's.
At halftime, St. John's is up 42-35, but they were up by as much as 22 in the second half, so I'm not exactly enthused about this. The team started coasting at about the eight-minute mark, and Marquette took full advantage for the rest of the game.
You have no idea how much of a herculean effort it is for me not to let lose with the f-word equivalent of the bombardment of Dresden. You really don't. Because that game was the equivalent of this team burning everything to ashes that they've been trying to build this year. They salted the earth and screwed the pooch with such efficiency that PETA cried foul. This was an embarrassment to St. John's and everything that started this season.
Which is not to take anything away from Marquette, and if anything in my post implies that, I apologize. There's no giving without taking, and the Golden Eagles fought. They went hard to the boards, they went to the floor for every loose ball- they learned from choking at Seton Hall and made sure that they took advantage of every opportunity that was given to them. Ashley Santos really needs to learn to watch her footwork, because she'll get called for travels if a crew is paying more attention to her hopsteps. She's very, very fast, though. Chelsie Butler was effective on the inside- physical, but not as infuriating as she was at Seton Hall. Lauren Tibbs gave a couple of good minutes when Butler needed a break and Plouffe was still in foul trouble. Arlesia Morse took the ball hard to the basket and got rewarded with free throws. She was also pretty solid defensively.
Cristina Bigica did not have a happy fun road trip through the New York/New Jersey area- hit her wrist at Seton Hall, got smacked or kicked in the head in this game. She didn't play a lot- they were getting good minutes from Santos and Morse, and she wasn't providing anything they weren't getting from other sources. Brooklyn Pumroy has a pretty shot, and ran her team with a lot of authority. She makes good things happen on the floor. Katie Young came up with all the big shots. I have absolutely no idea how we've overlooked her for the last three years, but she's come on like gangbusters. I think we have a contender for BEast MIP here. Apiew Ojulu showed off a little range and used her long arms well on defense- there was one point where she was simultaneously defending Keylantra Langley and Briana Brown, and doing it well. (Of course, that was as much a spacing issue as it was a defensive stand.) Katherine Plouffe filled up a lot of space in the lane and pulled down plenty of boards. She didn't play a lot because of foul trouble- Terri Mitchell was very conservative with her, and this time it seemed to work for her, when it didn't on Saturday.
Those yellow jerseys were all over the boards, especially in the second half. Two or three bodies were boxing out, and they took all the rebounds. There were several boards that hit the court, but Marquette was all over them.
For reasons more or less beyond my understanding, Mallory Jones got some time in the second half. No, I know what Joe was thinking- when she's left open beyond the arc, she can hit an open three every so often, and we needed points in a hurry. However, that plan works a lot better when the player in question actually sets up behind the three-point line at any point during her time on the floor. Jade Walker got into foul trouble, as is her wont. She had one good defensive stance with two deflections, but beyond that just couldn't get anything to work. Selina Archer was brought in for rebounding, and for reasons completely beyond my comprehension, kept getting force-fed the ball when she was in. She had one decent putback, but other than that, specialized in standing around and letting Marquette rebound around her big frame. Aliyah Lewis built on her solid performance against Creighton, if standing around pounding the ball and making abysmal decisions can be considered to be building on a game. She had to step up after the injury to Eugeneia McPherson, and she did nothing of the sort. Keylantra Langley hit one big shot and hit the deck a couple of times, but brought no energy, mediocre defense, and little other offense. Danaejah Grant at least scored some, but went a little too much for the flourish on the shot, looking too much for the foul instead of the successful finish.
Briana Brown played with no energy, which is not a good sign for the team's leader and captain. She hit a three early on, and tore down some nice rebounds, but couldn't sustain. I have to wonder if trying to be the sole leader on the court after the injury to Gina took its toll on her. Aliyyah Handford drove the lane, and offensively looked like her old self. Defensively, the energy was intermittent. Amber Thompson was decent on the inside, but got into foul trouble and had her minutes severely curtailed for reasons beyond my comprehension. Yes, some of her fouls were stupid, but how is that different from the last two or three years? Sandra Udobi got off to a slow start, then suffered a mild setback with her heavily braced knee. This was, of course, right when everyone decided that getting her the ball in shooting position was a wonderful idea. She decided that this was not a good decision. And there was much passing around. Eugeneia McPherson drove the lane, got hit low, and went down holding her knee. She was held out for the rest of the game, spending the first half riding the bike to nowhere and the second half on the bench with a large ice bag on her knee.
There are likely people who are throwing this loss on not having her down the stretch. Of course, we didn't have her during the part of the game where we were up 23, either, so that argument holds less water than your average sieve. We went up big and then we decided that we didn't need to play basketball anymore. Marquette disagreed with this assessment.
I genuinely do not understand the decisions that were made tonight. Either Joe took his stupid pills, the players all took their stupid pills, or the water supply was spiked with stupid pills. They started playing stallball with eight minutes left in the first half. There's no reason for that. We're not UConn. We can't assume that we're going to keep stomping a team just because we're currently stomping them. There's a difference between moderating the pace of the game and stalling for a shot clock violation. And I don't know why Joe was handling his personnel the way he was, but he was way too conservative with Amber and way too confident in Aaliyah's ability to run the point for long periods of time. I don't know what he was doing with Mallory and Selina. I don't know why he called signals so insistently that it could have distracted the team. I'm not sure what was up with Gina, but putting her in if she were able to go couldn't have hurt us.
The officiating was no help, but I can't blame them for a 36-point swing. That's all on the players on the floor. That's all to do with them and what they did and didn't do. Mostly didn't do. (That being said, we're lucky no one got too seriously hurt. I hope. Depends on Gina's knee, I guess. That wasn't full contact, but still.)
Worse, they did this with Nadirah in the bleachers, watching as they threw away a game they should have won. How do you do this in front of one of your greats? How do you do this in front of a teammate? How do you lay an egg like this and essentially tell one of your builders that you're going to kick over the sand castle because you just can't bring yourself to body up for a rebound?
I can't even bring myself to go after the agonizingly drawn out anthem, or whatever Briana did to her hair. I just don't have it. I just don't. I can't even fathom it.
Doug Bruno better bring a gift basket on Saturday, because we pretty much just handed DePaul the Big East crown. We had a chance to do something we haven't done since 1985, and we blew it in a matter better suited to the ladies who walk Eighth Avenue.
This is still my team, don't get it twisted. But I call them as I see them, and what I saw was enough to make me throw my clipboard in disgust. (It went further than I expected, though. I wasn't expecting it to go all the way out to the aisle.)
Do you have any pride left, St. John's? Will you put up a fight for Keylantra and Briana and Eugeneia on Saturday? Are you going to take it to DePaul the way you did at DePaul? Or will you fold? Have you decided to coast into the postseason? This isn't the old Big East. Second or third or fourth isn't enough anymore. Bring it. We'll be there.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
February 22nd, 2014: Marquette at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Down 17 early in the second half, Seton Hall forced overtime on a Tabatha Richardson-Smith triple and came away with the 90-86 win. Richardson-Smith finished with a Seton Hall record 38 points, while Alexis Brown added 24; Bra'Shey Ali finished scoreless, but with a game-high 15 rebounds. Marquette was led by huge games from Katherine Plouffe (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Katie Young (21 points, 12 rebounds).
For the roar of the crowd, geology lessons, rebounding, bad soda puns, passion, and sore gluteal muscles, join your intrepid and hungry blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon! We're coming to you in Smell-o-vision from beautiful Walsh Gymnasium on the snowy campus of Seton Hall University, where the Pirates look for a second straight conference win against the Golden Eagles of Marquette.
It's been so snowy that looking at the parking lots and the plowed heaps of snow made me imagine tactical uses for the walls. You could have some seriously strategic snowball fights up in there.
Lots of shooting practice for Seton Hall today. I don't think they've been off the floor since we got here, or if they have, not for very long.
Alexis Brown is utterly adorable when she puts her mind towards being chivalrous. (And was apparently very happy to be here. Good Lord.)
At halftime, Marquette is up 39-32. Seton Hall has played well for stretches, but Marquette's been able to answer every run. Katherine Plouffe has been a star for Marquette; Alexis Brown is running the show for Seton Hall.
Several hours and a fair amount of ice cream later, it's still hard to believe that Seton Hall pulled that out, seventeen down in the second half after taking some body blows both literal and figurative. But Alexis Brown and Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Ka-Deidre Simmons and Bra'Shey Ali decided that they were not losing that game, and they roared back, and the crowd roared with them, and that was one of the most thrilling games I've been at all season.
Chelsie Butler is not among my favorite people today- she was the one who slammed Ka-Deidre to the ground, and I think she was the one who knocked Tab into the band. She's reasonably skilled on the inside, but I don't like her physicality and I'm kind of looking forward to her match-up with Amber Thompson on Wednesday. Ashley Santos is very fast and drives very aggressively. She's got to work on her footwork if she gets a crew that's a bit more determined to call travels, but for her height she's got excellent speed. Lauren Tibbs provided some decent minutes when Plouffe was in foul trouble.
Cristina Bigica seemed to be a little off her game, though part of that might have been because she suffered a wrist injury in the second half. She just didn't seem to be the factor I was expecting her to be. Katie Young picked up a lot of that slack, getting to the line with efficiency and strength- she was always driving and always getting to the basket, along with dropping a couple of threes. Brooklyn Pumroy looks have matured a lot in the last year, even more than one would expect, and she has phenomenal range- she was taking set shot threes from the half-court line and getting good iron on them (after Tab tied the game, her halfcourt heave drew back iron). It wouldn't surprise me one iota if she could hit that shot, not just get a good shot off. Apiew Ojalu was intriguing on defense- she has very long, skinny arms, and she blocked a lot of shots. The way she uses her arms and the way she rebounds reminds me a little of Plenette Pierson, though not quite as strong in the body. She tangles well, and that's not meant as an insult. Katherine Plouffe showed off all the moves, hitting from both outside and inside and pulling down big boards. I was saying uncharitable things about Canada every time she scored, but that's also because I love me some hockey and I have a bit of a cranky about the results of USA-Canada. She's a tough guard, and it didn't help Seton Hall that they mostly sent guards at her. I mean, obviously something helped Seton Hall, because they won, but in terms of stopping Plouffe.
Breanna Jones provided some good defensive stops. Teresa Kucera came up with threes but also committed stupid fouls when she was out of position on defense. Right now she's primarily a shooter, and I hope that she develops more as a defender to use her height. Sidney Cook really disappointed me today, the only disappointment of the day. She's got no confidence and no enthusiasm left, and it's sad. I know she can hit the pretty jumper and pull down the boards with the best of them, but today sh was utterly lackluster. Tara Inman played just long enough to establish that this was not the day that was meant for her and sat back down. Makes sense- kid looks like she should be carded for R-rated movies and offered the kids' fare on trains. Chizoba Ekedigwe got a couple of minutes on defense with the foul trouble that mounted up for Seton Hall's posts, and did a credible job on Plouffe.
Bra'Shey Ali was all over the boards. Even when she didn't pull it down, she was in position to down the board and ended up being muscled out. She's got some pretty impressive vertical. She had some huge blocks, including one late in the game that helped set up the big run; almost as importantly, her big blocks got the crowd into the game, and the team fed off the crowd to intensify the defensive pressure. Janee Johnson had bad luck around the rim, but she stepped into the passing lanes well and contributed on defense. (She also has a very loud DE-FENSE chant. Helps when you're trying to get the cadence going and the cheerleaders are a bit off their game.) Ka-Deidre Simmons took a really big hit and came down hard on her back. We were breathless and silent as she squirmed, but after a few minutes on the bench, she was back to normal and helped spearhead the run to force overtime. She took control fo the team and the game like the upperclassman she is. Alexis Brown led the charge in the first half, cutting to the lane and getting to the line. She was fierce going after any ball that looked like it could be jarred loose. And then Tabatha Richardson-Smith went off. The best part was that, for the most part, she wasn't doing it with ridiculously long threes that would make you doubt her judgment, but with closer threes, midrange jumpers, and layups along the baseline. She was on fire, and we loved every second of it.
I think she was the only person in the arena that thought the three was going in until it actually went in and there was pandemonium in the gym.
The officiating left a bit to be desired in the second half, given the physicality that both teams got away with. The slam on Ka-Deidre was the worst, but Cristina Bigica got the worst of a collision and came away with the foul called on her, so Marquette had some arguments to make as well. There were more procedural calls missed than I would have expected from this crew- Brooks, Lynch, and Orminski are a good crew. That being said, they made a couple of out of bounds calls that were excellent, and I know that's one of Brooks's bugaboos.
One of the dance team girls was in the shooting contest during one of the timeouts. She hit the lay-up and the free throw, but had no luck on the three-pointer. Par for the course, actually.
When they have a reason to get into the game, Seton Hall fans are loud and passionate. We fit in with them. I'd say we fit in with them more than we do with St. John's fans, but St. John's is my team and I don't want to give any indication that they're not.
What a finish. What guts by Seton Hall. I think Terri Mitchell thought too early that everything was over, that she could go deeper into her rotation, that she could rest and save Plouffe. Surprise!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
January 15th, 2012: Marquette at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Strong second half play from the Marquette Golden Eagles put away the St. John's Red Storm 63-55 at Madison Square Garden. Katherine Plouffe's 18 points and 11 rebounds led all players, while St. John's was led by the 13 points of Shenneika Smith.
For frustration, calling out, blue hair, comfy chairs, and a random Tamika Whitmore reference, join your intrepid and nail-biting blogger after the jump.
Ah, space, better seats, less beer, a chance to tease Mike Thibault about Tamika Bleeping Whitmore, and my team finally out on the floor. It's 32-28 St. John's at the half, and it could be a lot worse for the Red Storm, and it could be a lot better for them.
Security graciously let people move down after the swathes of Georgetown fans left from the first game. We're in some very plum seats near center court- 19, I believe, but don't hold me to it. I don't know how to read the new Garden numbers.
Nadirah McKenith seems to have decided that if her teammates aren't going to get the job done, she'll do it herself. Marquette took a lead shortly before the half, and then she scored three straight buckets to give St. John's back the lead. It's a shame that her teammates didn't follow her lead, and I want to take my clipboard and hit most of them upside the head with it.
Katie Young is either a Vinnie Johnson, doesn't usually come off the bench, or is streakier than a badly washed window, because otherwise there is no excuse for a shooter as good as she proved herself to be to come off the bench. She came in when Simmons went out with some eye irritation, or blood or something, and she erased our lead in two shots. She was clutch. Chelsie Butler brought the pain off the bench when Marquette needed a rest for their posts. The Golden Eagles played mostly a seven-woman rotation, with a smattering of players playing spot minutes.
Katherine Plouffe abused us inside. She did a great job on the boards and establishing position inside. Arlesia Morse got Marquette going early with her shot, which kept them in the game early, and I think that was important for them, to keep their heads in the game. Sarina Simmons wasn't the factor I was expecting her to be, but she was enough of a threat that St. John's had to keep an eye on her. Gabi Minix ran the offense well, and I have to be impressed with her stamina- she turns interesting colors, but she didn't sit down at all. Apiew Ojulu didn't make much of an impression on me.
Marquette brought few fans, but those fans were loud and vocal. Sir, I appreciate your team-colored glittering hair, but please don't disconcert our free throw shooters. Really. You're on the road. You should know better. We wouldn't do the same in Milwaukee.
I have no idea why Briana Brown was in this game. Don't get me wrong, she didn't play badly, but the way she went into the game was Kim Barnes Arico in full “throw spaghetti at the wall” mode. She was all right defensively. Tesia Harris made a cameo appearance and didn't impress. Keylantra Langley was streakier than usual, making big offensive plays but slacking a little defensively. Mary Nwachukwu, on the other hand, needs to be sat down for a very long lecture from her coaches regarding the responsibilities of a 6-2 post player, which start with REBOUNDING THE DAMN BALL. I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for a 6-2 forward who played stretches of the game as the only post on the floor, who was in for 21 minutes, to not pull down a single rebound. Mary, you don't have Stefanie Murphy and Carolyn Swords to hide behind anymore. You are the big girl. Get it.
If there was a game in which Da'Shena Stevens wanted to prove that she could be a leader as a senior, this was it. She stepped up late in the game to try and get it back, sacrificing her body to take charge after charge. The numbers don't necessarily show it, but she came to play today. Amber Thompson had some rough luck with the rolls, and the two quick fouls at the start of the second half pretty much wiped her out for the rest of the game, paving the way for Mary's sketchy play and Coach Barnes Arico's dodgy coaching. Eugeneia McPherson... one moment she'd make a great defensive play, and the next she'd throw up a wild shot in the lane and complain about the lack of a call. Stay with the play, Gina. Hit the shot and don't worry about the officials. (Worrying about the officials and giving them an idea of what they should be calling is our job. We got your back.) Shenneika Smith had some strong plays, but got burned on defense more than I'd like to see out of her. She's our tallest guard, so when Coach decides to go to some of her more esoteric lineups, she's often the three or the four. We need her to be tougher if she's going to be put in that position. Nadirah McKenith was very frustrated with her team at some points- I've never seen her get that “WTF?” with her teammates before. She wanted this game- she knew that her team needed this game, and she did everything she could to get them it.
Kim Barnes Arico, I would like to know where you got your stash, because those have to be some pretty potent substances you were ingesting to think that a four-guard set with Mary Nwachukwu as the only post would be a good counter to Marquette's big lineups. Shenneika at the four against Plouffe or Butler is a bad plan and you should feel bad for coming up with it. One thing I've noticed with her is that when she panics, her control freak comes out and she starts tinkering. Bad things happen when she starts tinkering, almost to the point of a DirecTV ad. (“When you start tinkering, you lose your team a halftime lead. Don't lose your team a halftime lead.”)
These officials... it's a bad sign when both teams' fans are screaming at you to call a foul, whether it's a block or a charge, on a brutal collision near the end of the game, and all you can do is call the out of bounds. I don't care if you had called the block on Nadirah. I'd rather see the foul called on someone than run the risk of frustration fouls getting rougher and rougher and having someone get hurt. All game, they were letting scrums go on and calling held balls, or making procedural calls instead of foul calls. We were upset. The Marquette fans were upset. Kim Barnes Arico was upset. Terri Mitchell was upset. Everyone was upset, and everyone had reason to be.
Marquette answered the bell. I'll give them all the credit in the world for that. Now St. John's has to answer the bell against Rutgers on Tuesday if they want any shot of anything worth mentioning. This is the Big East. There's no margin for error. Compete and beat the teams you're supposed to beat, or go home.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
January 5th, 2010: Marquette at St. John's
Comments on this post are closed- please direct all comments to the mirror post on Swish Appeal.
WE NEEDED THAT. Okay, maybe I'm overstating things a little, but you can't talk enough about the importance of early-season momentum, especially in a dog-eat-dog conference like the BEast.
Gotta give props to the Marquette fans. While we may not have agreed with their opinions on several of the calls, they were loud and proud, and very supportive of their team. Hey, as long as all y'all who have the questionable taste not to root for St. John's sit in the section by your team and you don't make a fuss right next to me, do your thing and do it right.
The band is slipping in quality, especially in the horn section. Percussion is still good, though. But maybe the rest of the band is just still on break.
I like that Marquette goes deep and gets everyone into the game- keeps people fresh and keeps the reserves on their toes just in case someone fouls out- which, if this game was any indication, is a frequent concern. I was very surprised that Jocelyn Mellen didn't play more, but I assume she's still working her way back from last season's injury. I'm getting lax on noting down good plays, but I was impressed with Janelle Harris's defense. (Does every Janel(l)(e) get called Nellie, though? Is this some secret tradition I don't know about?) Marquette brings a lot of broad-framed players to the table, and they took advantage of that a lot- but it also got them in trouble with the fouls.
Angel Robinson is for real, and then some. She's got some moves- she had one beautiful shot where she faked Nadirah left and went right for the easy two. She really imposes her will on her team. Sarina Simmons is a very physical forward- she had four fouls and was lucky not to foul out. Nice block, though. Jessica Pachko impressed me early on, but she started to get a little chippy later in the game, and then the refs started catching her at it, and she ended up fouling out. She's only a sophomore, though. She'll learn how to use her body without committing fouls. That's a matter of time and experience. Tatyiana McMorris seems to be a slashing sort of guard, with some fancy moves that didn't always go down. Lauren Thomas-Johnson stepped up in the second half to try and bring Marquette back, but with the foul trouble for so many starters, she couldn't get much help.
Buzz, we still love you, but please don't have blonde moments at the end of the half. She committed a foul against Robinson right at the first half buzzer that got the Golden Eagles within six (because, well, Angel Robinson missing free throws doesn't happen too often). Coco got a lot of minutes because we needed someone more physical than either Joy or Day in the post, but her mental lapses were more evident than usual. There were a lot of plays were she was slow to react and therefore couldn't make the play, whether it was a rebound, the recovery of a loose ball, or a bad pass by Marquette. Eugeneia... I can't say enough about her toughness. She took a couple of hard hits in this game and got right back up again, and there were a couple of possessions where either the assignments were blown or they were trying to create mismatches, but she was trying to defend big Jessica Pachko, and the fact that she denied Pachko position is a demonstration of how awesome she is. Shenneika started this game on the bench, but played more than half the game.. Once again, her offense was solid, and if we ever get to the point where the offense is running through her as the first option, she's going to be very dangerous. She needs to work on some of the basics before she starts getting really fancy; faking out opponents on a jump pass is good, faking out the recipient is not. Perhaps cueing up game tape of a young Taurasi would be a good idea. Defensively, she also wasn't as strong as I would have liked- when she was in position, she was very good at keeping the offensive player from getting things done, but she blew a few assignments and gave up position too easily.
Kelly, take the contact already, would you? I know you're nearing the end of your NCAA career, which will probably be the end of your career, which probably means that you want to avoid causing yourself any permanent damage, but you can't be shying away like that. Shoot the ball. Take the hit. She hit a couple of big threes tonight, but she can't pass up open shots, not if she's going to start. Nadirah has to be more willing to shoot when she has an open shot as well. She's a great distributor, and I guess word about the shortlisting for the Lieberman got to her, because she was fighting for rebounds like nobody's business, but even Ticha Penicheiro found a jump shot eventually, even if it took her ten years. Becoming an offensive threat, even if it's just long enough to put a couple of points on the board, frees up teammates who sorely need freeing up, which in turn allows the offense to flow more freely. Sky didn't hit a lot of shots, but both her field goals came at critical points in the game. Sometimes you just have to know when to pick your spots. I have no excuses for my favorite player, other than the real Joy McCorvey must have been abducted by aliens and replaced by someone who isn't quite sure about these crazy concepts of defense and holding on to the ball. If I weren't trying to keep my language clean, well, there's a Lin Dunn impersonation I could insert right about here.
I would also happily insert it about the officials. I am, unfortunately accustomed to inconsistent calling and the apparent inability of referees to count up to two, though their laxity on the traveling rule gave Eugeneia a few extra shots and a few less turnovers. The Marquette fans across the way were irked at quite a few calls as well, though I would advance the argument that if you want your team to stop being called for fouls, perhaps they should stop committing them. What set Angela Lewis apart from the bad referees I've seen was her attitude. I've never seen a referee so disrespectful of the players on the floor. There was a play where, while the ball was dead, Lauren Thomas-Johnson was trying to get her uniform back in order- you know, tuck her jersey in, adjust her shorts, that kind of thing. Before she could finish, Lewis shoved the ball at her midsection. Later in the game, she was on the sideline by the St. John's bench, close enough to the bench that Joy had to dart in front of her to get to the scorer's table. Lewis gave her a rather hearty push along. Now, I don't know whether Ms. Lewis just has an unusually high sense of self-importance for an official or if she's new to high-level D-I (this being judged by the way she cringed away from potential contact after a huddle broke), but that's unacceptable behavior from a referee. You don't intrude on the game like that, and you don't disrespect the players- you certainly don't disrespect the seniors, including one of the team captains.
Let me take a moment to express my appreciation of the Storm red boots that Sky Lindsay's mother was rocking. It takes a lot of personality to carry those off, but no one has ever questioned whether the Lindsay women have personality.
We needed this. We needed for Da'Shena to have a breakout game. We needed a BEast win against another team in the middle of the pack to assert our place in the pecking order.
Marquette, despite the margin, should hold their heads high. They fought hard, and that's the best you can ask for. A little more work on body control, and Simmons and Pachko will both be major threats in the future, and I can't say enough about Angel Robinson.
