Just the Facts, Ma'am: Maryland held off a feisty Iona squad, 74-58. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led five Terps in double figures with 19, while Brionna Jones added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Philecia Gilmore of Iona led all scorers with 21 points on seven triples.
For hustle, Latin, bouncing, maroon and gold, pride, defense from offensive-minded players, and fighting the good fight, join your intrepid and proud blogger after the jump.
Hello, fellow Dancers! Your intrepid blogger comes to you from the road, where the debutantes of Iona take on the veteran belles of Maryland.
Getting there has already been an adventure. Have you ever taken a bus with worn out shocks? Yes? Have you spent four hours on said bus? I refuse to admit or deny yelling, "Ride 'em, cowboy!" after one spectacular bump.
Everyone in Maryland is so very nice! We stayed at the Marriott on campus, and it's really nice. The cozy room is fairly efficient, and the people are really sweet. The folks at the Xfinity Center (I still have the urge to call it the Comcast Center) are super friendly, without the perverse in-your-face-ness that we were getting from Marylanders the last time we came to town. Thanks for letting the backpack in- we really had nowhere to put it.
Sometimes the school size difference is really obvious. Iona has five people in the band. Maryland has… a lot more than five.
Pretty good Iona turnout. I mean, it is our big debut, and it's not that far. I'm still proud, though.
At halftime, Maryland is up 42-27. Philecia Gilmore has four threes to lead Iona in scoring. Maryland has spread the wealth, with Shatori Walker-Kimbrough's nine as the team-high. Marina Lizarazu is making me want to tear my hair out.
Bonum certamen certa. Fight the good fight. That's Iona's motto. And I think it's safe to say that the 15th seeded Gaels fought the good fight against a bigger, stronger, better Maryland team. I hate the "chuck everything from beyond the arc" game plan, but with Maryland's size inside and ability to go deep themselves, it wasn't the worst idea in the world, though my opinion of that might be colored by the fact that it sort of worked.
Iida Ahvenainen came in at the end so Joy Adams could get her well deserved curtain call. Treyanna Clay had one of her better games, hustling on the boards and finishing at the rim. She really showed the potential she has. Alexis Lewis was solid on the boards, but Lex has always been a streaky shooter, and today she came up snake eyes. I still love what she brings on both ends of the floor, and she's going to be huge for us in the next three years.
Karynda DuPree really just makes me want to scream sometimes. I'm very glad she's no longer chucking the stupid threes she used to, but I'd like to see her be more assertive near the basket. She has moves. I've seen them. She just doesn't do enough to put herself in position to score. I like what she brings on defense, but she has to step up offensively next year. Joy Adams missed way too many bunnies at the rim- she had at least two clear looks that she left short. She can't do that. I realize, of course, that she's played her final collegiate game, so she can do whatever the hell she wants now, but if she wants to continue playing basketball as a career, she can't miss easy shots at the basket. She showed flashes of the athleticism and power that made her the terror of the MAAC, and of that I am very proud.
I love Marina Lizarazu's tenacity on defense, and her willingness to dive for loose balls. The problem was that today half those loose balls were her fault. You can't sneak dribbles behind your back if you're a MAAC point guard facing a Big Ten defense. You have to be careful with your passes, but half of Marina's passes went to Maryland players. She found her offensive groove in the second half, when the drives started falling and she got the jumper working a little bit. Aaliyah Robinson was quiet today- tenacious on defense and scored a little, but she wasn't the senior leader we needed her to be. Thank all the gods for Philecia Gilmore. Fee had herself a day from outside- scored the first six of the game for the Gaels from beyond the arc, and by the end of the day, I was trying to figure out how to squeeze a seventh trey into six spaces, something I've never had to do before. I love her so much. She's only a sophomore, and that's awesome and terrifying at the same time. If anything, she should have taken more threes- her twos mostly missed long or strong. (They were not, however, bound to get the friction on.)
I could have sworn Kiah Gillespie played in the first half for more than the paltry seconds the box score gives her- ESPN claimed she didn't even play, but I remember hearing her name. (I also thought it was pronounced Key-ah, like pretty much every Kia/Kiah I've ever seen, not Kye-ah, but you learn something new every day.) Brianna Fraser was a load down low, but her hands were hard- she let passes slip by her down low. Brene Moseley took over in the fourth quarter, hitting on jumpers and wild drives. I was surprised that she didn't start, given how much I've heard about her. I like her poise late. Tierney Pfirman seemed to pick up her scoring later as well.
Brionna Jones had a huuuuuuge block on Joy that got the crowd going, and picked off Philecia to open up Shatori Walker-Kimbrough for a shot. That's a lot of woman to try to contend with. She dominated on the boards- there was a play where Treyanna had the rebound all but secured and Jones took it away. She also had trouble keeping her hands on the ball on offense, though. The post players for Maryland in general were having trouble receiving passes, whether it was being out of position for them or letting them bounce off their hands. Malina Howard came on strong in the fourth quarter, partially because I think Iona was just flat worn out. She got what she wanted at the basket when she wanted it.
I had no idea who Kristen Confroy was when I came into the game, and to be honest, I still have very little idea of who she is, other than the person who opened the scoring for the Terps. She read the long bounces really well on missed jumpers, because there were a lot of shots that took odd bounces. I genuinely have no recollection of Chloe Pavlech, though I suspect she was one of the people who didn't react well to Philecia and Marina on the trap. I think she was the one who got stripped a couple of times. I came into the game hearing a lot about Shatori Walker-Kimbrough as a shooter, but I was more impressed with her hustle and savvy on defense. She has a pretty shot, but I think Iona's game plan was to deny her the shot as much as possible- which is how she ended up at the line so many times. She's a great piece to build on, and criminally underappreciated.
Officiating got a little out of control in the third quarter- I always find it a bit sketchy when the foul differential is penalty-zero, and you should have heard the Bronx cheer that went up when Maryland finally got called for one. There were weak calls on both sides. Obviously nothing ultimately affected the game, but I hate to see officiating that seems slanted. Maryland didn't need the help.
Terrapin fans turned out. I love it. They were pretty quiet until Iona made the runs in the third and early fourth, and then the defense chants started up. The Iona contingent was pretty loud, but that might just have been us. I love when fans get loud. Be proud! Support your team! Especially when your team is as good as Maryland!
We lost, but I'm glad I came. We put up a fight. We never quit. When you're an overmatched 15 facing a 2 that plays to your weaknesses and can counter your strengths, there's only so much you can ask. The Gaels went above and beyond that. It was a fitting sendoff for Aaliyah and Joy, and I can't thank them enough for leading us to this pinnacle.
We'll be back. And next time maybe we won't be a 15.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
March 19th, 2016: Iona at Maryland (NCAA tournament)
Saturday, March 30, 2013
March 30th, 2013: Maryland at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Breanna Stewart each had 17 points to lead Connecticut over Maryland, 76-50. Alyssa Thomas had 13 for the Terrapins, while Tianna Hawkins and Chloe Pavlech added 11 each.
For chanting, tricks, blood relatives, the wrath of Geno, accidental deflections, and bodies all around, join your intrepid and sleep-deprived blogger after the jump.
Being at a game in Connecticut is sort of like being in the middle of Beatlemania. It's intimidating, and not entirely pleasant. They don't understand why you'd root for any team but UConn. (I'm from Queens, this is how I roll, deal with it.)
Maryland, I love you, but really, this obsession with the state coat of arms has to stop before it leads you into any more bad fashion choices. However, bringing a state flag is cool.
UConn up 35-26 at the half, and I think UConn smells blood in the water. The officials have been a bit strict about travels and VERY loose about everything else. Geno got his T for arguing for a call on what looked like a body slam by Hawkins. And the crowd had his back all the way. That was a truly deplorable and dangerous non-call. Maryland's chucking a lot of shots. UConn's had some bad luck with the rim, but that'll change in the second half; that rim's been messed up all game.
I think Elena Delle Donne accidentally set a screen for Stefanie Dolson; while Dolson was down and hurt, Delle Donne got up and drew the attention and cheers of the crowd in the endcourt section, so they weren't staring at Dolson until she was up.
Malina Howard, if you're going to call and flail for the ball as if your very life depended on receiving the pass right that second, you don't immediately pass off the ball as if it grew spikes and stabbed you in the palms. It is very hard to take you seriously when you tend to disappear. Sequoia Austin got in at the very end of the game. Sparkly Brenda Frese mostly went with Howard and the starters.
Does Alicia DeVaughn always try to make with the three-pointers? I don't expect a tall, long-armed rebounder to decide that she's going to put up long shots when she doesn't to my knowledge do it all that frequently. She had her hands in on a lot of plays, but I think she went over the line on her physical play. Katie Rutan is automatic from those corners, and while she's not a great defender, she does work hard on defense. Tianna Hawkins consistently got on the boards, but also got beat to them by good Connecticut boxouts. She made her presence felt on defense, but not on offense. Chloe Pavlech looked like a freshman out there, though she got her long-range shot going in the second half. At times, it almost looked like Maryland was taking their cues from Delaware and making everything about Alyssa Thomas the way Delaware made everything about Delle Donne. Thomas has a decent handle for a woman of her build, and I understand the exigencies that led her to playing the point for the Terrapins, but I think Maryland would be better off with her not bringing the ball up as much and being able to get herself into position instead of having to bring the ball up, dish off, and then get in position. She played well, but she couldn't do it all herself no matter how hard she tried.
Maryland just didn't seem to know how to get out of the trouble they were in, but that might be because they were short-handed and because when UConn smells blood that's the end of the game.
Hello, Moriah Jefferson! You are tiny, but you are fast and sneaky and slice through the lane like a hot dagger through butter! She had one beautiful steal and fast-break lay-up (I think Thomas was the victim) in the second half that set off the crowd. She actually got the start in the second half, because she was playing that well. Morgan Tuck looked a little slowed up by her knee brace, but she bulled her way into the lane and along the backdoor cuts with great efficiency. Geno probably wants to see her get more comfortable with her off hand, though. Kiah Stokes got time near the end of the game and got in on the boards. Bria Hartley was... well, I think I understand why Geno exiled her to the bench.
Which I'm pretty sure is also the only reason why Caroline Doty was getting the start. I really don't remember her doing anything. Kelly Faris didn't necessarily make much of an impression, but at the same time, always just seemed to be there. Her two-pointer in the second half came off a gorgeous look-away pass from Jefferson. Breanna Stewart actually looked comfortable for the first time that I can remember when seeing her. If she's starting to settle into her height, it's going to be a long three years in the Big Metro American However Many. She was blocking shots not just on the perimeter but on the inside. Stefanie Dolson had a quiet night offensively, but she was a monster on the boards and in the paint. The final rebounding numbers don't reflect how hard Connecticut was working to seal off the glass. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was using that strong build of hers to create space in the first half, going closer to the basket before unleashing the jumpers in the second half. She was good.
There were flashes of that terrifying UConn tendency to immediately create offense from their defense- Stewart blocked a first-half shot, and two passes later she drained a three from the right side. Jefferson had a sweet steal and a lay-up. UConn basketball, in its purest form.
These officials were not particularly interested in calling fouls until the second half, and it did not make them popular with either team and either coach. A lot of bodies were hitting the floor with very few calls being made.
I'm impressed with the Maryland cheer squad's strength. It takes a lot for an all-girl team to pull off some of those stunts. And you've gotta love a band that uses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme as an alternate fight song. Their version of "All of the Lights" pales in comparison to DePaul's, though.
Sitting low in the endcourt is a very bad combination, especially when coupled with barriers for the band sections. You see virtually nothing, between distance and the stanchion and the barriers. I have to remember that for next time.
If Kentucky is as lax as they were today, UConn will run all over them. If UConn takes their foot off the pedal as early as they did today, Kentucky will rip them to shreds.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
December 29th, 2010: St. John's at Maryland (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 20-8 second half run and 25 points off the bench from Eugeneia McPherson weren't enough for St. John's to overcome a sluggish start, and Maryland used a strong first half from Diandra Tchatchouang and a solid second half from Lynetta Kizer to pull out the 66-60 win.
For crowd noise, older Terrapins, cool uniforms, and the calling out of starters, join your intrepid and extremely annoyed at the neighbors blogger after the jump.
Day 2 dawned bright and early- brighter and earlier than before, thanks to Maryland football being in a bowl game later that day. We made it to Comcast with less trouble than before (but I don't think you want to hear about the crazy rude singing bus driver from yesterday who tried to whiz past the stop and then not let me get on when my fiance was already on). It's always good to know where you're going.
We got some reinforcements- Buzz's family made it down from Brooklyn. So we're expecting a little more noise. We'll see how that shakes out as the game goes on.
I don't envy the Maryland band and dance team. They've got a triple-header today. Well, so do we, but theirs is a bit more physically intense- the St. John's-Maryland women's basketball game, then the ECU-Maryland bowl game, then the North Florida-Maryland men's game. That's intense. That's dedication. That also means we get to see their cool uniforms with the yellow and red capes and sashes. I'm not sure if the baseball caps go quite as much.
Unlike yesterday, Team Tyler had a representative in the house, and we happily passed along twenty bucks to Laura Harper. Hey, just because we're St. John's fans, and just because we're obnoxious and lacking in class, that doesn't mean we don't feel bad for kids with cancer. Apparently, she was shocked. I don't think schools realize the network among fans. We hear about local causes, and we get involved.
At halftime, it's a five-point Terrapin lead, but I'm feeling a little more comfortable than you might think. Our defense has been pretty solid, and though our offense has mostly been predicated on Eugeneia McPherson drawing fouls, we're scoring enough to stay in the game- plus Shenneika Smith and Da'Shena Stevens haven't really gotten started. If we can get one of them going, I think we've got a shot. We might also gain back some of the atmosphere, because although the Terp fans are getting more into the game today with the chants of “DEE-FENSE”, the band may be leaving for the bowl game. That's the problem with overbooking, I suppose.
In addition to Laura Harper, who I think is doing radio for the Terrapins today, Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman are in the house. Harper's knee still hasn't recovered- she's still on crutches. Something tells me she's not suiting up in the W this season unless it's late in the year and someone is really desperate for a spare post.
Just for the record, we're not the loudest St. John's fans in the arena. We're not the ones who are disconcerting the Maryland shooters- we recognize that this is not our house and it is extremely rude to disconcert the home shooter. That's mostly Buzz's family who's really letting them have it. You gotta love that Brooklyn sass. Now, if someone would please find the Sky Lindsay who actually knows how to play basketball, I think that would be very awesome and much appreciated.
That was the game I was expecting. That's what happens when you get two teams that are closely ranked, who are playing for poll position and to stake a claim against one of the few quality opponents that they'd be facing out of conference. That's what happens when you get two teams who have different style and a need to establish their style before they can get started. Now, if Shenneika would have shown up for the entire game instead of the fourth quarter, we might have had a chance.
This was not the game to give Keylantra Langley long minutes. The freshman was not ready, and more than once we heard Coach yelling at her about being out of position. She and Buzz teamed up on a great trap, and the two of them work well together defensively, but I don't think Key's ready yet. Amanda Burakoski was not the right player to bring in for this game either. Coach has this weird fixation with using Buzz as a power forward, and against a team that puts 6'3” people in the backcourt, this is not the world's most brilliant plan. She gave it her all, but she's six-foot and slim. Going against Alicia DeVaughn or Lynetta Kizer is not going to end well for her. Eugeneia McPherson kept us in the game in the first half, with her ability to get to the line and hit her free throws. Her defense was not up to par- that's something I've noticed a lot about St. John's, that they don't tend to play both ends of the floor well. If they're focusing on one thing, they're not doing the other. Jennifer Blanding came in for size and committed her usual stupid fouls. I think she could have done a better job of establishing position, but that's me judging from the outside. I don't know what it was like for her down there.
I really do think it would have been nice for Shenneika Smith to show up sometime before the fourth quarter. Well, technically, her first field goal was at 10:02, but that's close enough. Sure, she came on big in the last four minutes with her shots and her rebounding and her defense, but that was after we had gotten ourselves down fourteen, and I would have much rather not been in the position to claw back to 6, you know? Sky Lindsay continued to be awful, and I think she took offense to Coach noticing she had been awful. Gee, Sky, if you could hit your shots, your free throws, or even play decent defense, Coach wouldn't be stashing you on the bench for Gina or Key. So prove to me that you aren't just playing out the string, or that the incompetent in your jersey is an imposter, because I like you as a person but right now I can't stand you as a basketball player. Nadirah McKenith looked lost when she was in, and that's never a good thing to see out of a point guard, especially when you're counting on that point guard to spearhead your defense, but we looked even more lost when she went out with her ankle injury. We really need her, even more than some of our better players. Coco Hart couldn't get started early, which is understandable against the size of Maryland, but she started to kick it up late, in between the spate of bad decisions. Da'Shena Stevens came on in the second half, though I question some of her shot selection. I think I may have mentioned this a few times, but we really missed having Day on the floor. I'm glad she's back.
I don't know if anyone on St. John's noticed this against LaSalle, but Kim Rodgers can shoot it. You can't leave her open. You have to at least get a hand in her face. Once the hand is in her face, she's much less effective, but you have to get it there first. I still like Natasha Cloud, and I think once some of the logjam around her clears, she'll be a very valuable piece for the Terrapins. She did a magnificent job of splitting a steel trap on one play that had me going WOW. Laurin Mincy made a brief cameo and hit a shot. Alicia DeVaughn really put in work on the boards and on defense. She had a couple of emphatic blocks to go with her fierce rebounds and putbacks. I shouldn't be judging her by her mother, and I'd like to think I'd be saying this even if I didn't know her lineage, but I can see her developing into, well, Baby Yo- or the way Natalie Williams played later in her career, someone who feasts on other people's garbage. Which is a horribly gross way to put it, and I'm sorry for that.
Diandra Tchatchouang started the game red hot for Maryland. She canned a three to open it, and I started to suspect that this wasn't going to be our day when she did that. She was matching our point totals by herself for a good chunk of the first half. Anjalé Barrett ran a decent offense, and late in the game she started showing her offense; part of me thinks that has to do with her lineage through Seton Hall, but of course I'm biased. I remain quite impressed with Lynetta Kizer. Do I think Coco's inability to play defense on her was a factor? Yes. Do I think she's got the skill set to be a WNBA prospect and a pretty nice player if she wants to be? Absolutely. At this point, I absolutely cannot recall anything that Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins did, except that their presence might have affected Shenneika's shot selection. We're just not used to seeing people that tall in the back court.
The officiating was inconsistent, but in ways that made fans of both teams angry, so that works out in the end. The Maryland fans spent a lot of time furious at the and-1s; to be fair, free throws are how we stayed in the game in the first half. And we just never gave up. I have to give that to my team. We don't give up. Ever. We're stubborn, and tenacious, and really annoying if you're the opposing team.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
December 28th, 2010: LaSalle at Maryland (Terrapin Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong, balanced post attack led the Maryland Terrapins over the LaSalle Explorers, 83-45. Lynetta Kizer led Maryland with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Ebonee Jones of LaSalle led all scorers with 18 points, but on 21 shots.
For team colors, nifty cups, Starbursts, big bands, and bigger hair, join your intrepid and well-traveled blogger after the jump.
For pictures, watch this space in the next week or so.
I think this might be my first time in an arena with a big-time men's team that actually treats their home arena as, well, their home arena. For most of the places I've been, either they're so low on the totem pole that they don't have to worry about the amenities of a big arena, or they're so high on the totem pole that the men play at public arenas and we're back to square one. But the Comcast Center is absolutely gorgeous. Everything is in team colors, and everything is Terrapin. The cups are really cool. We're taking two of them home as tumblers to add to our collection of stadium cups. There's an entire section in the endcourts for the press. The other endcourt is completely devoted to the band. Completely, except for a couple of sections off to the side. But the band takes up three sections. I'm fairly certain I saw Megan Duffy looking at them and making a note to ask for more band funding from St. John's.
The fans, at least so far in this undramatic game, have all the trappings of passion and all the off-court involvement in the world. Pretty much everyone who isn't here for one of the opposing teams is wearing Maryland colors. And there are a few people behind us who yell the way we do. (I was actually a bit worried about that, because we're front row center, to the point where we may move up during intermission because we can't see any of the lines.) But there really hasn't been any chanting yet. Of course, Maryland is up 22 at the half and LaSalle looks like they'd rather be shoveling the Snowpocalypse than being here, so there's that to consider. We don't exactly get involved when we're up that much either.
The anthem was very good. It would have been excellent if the singer wasn't trying to sing through her nose. Execution will be the death of me yet.
So far no one has looked too oddly at us in our St. John's jerseys, though it's pretty obvious we're not on the team. (For one thing, one of us is, um, not eligible to play women's basketball without some major changes I'd rather he not go through.)
I'm working on a new computer, and because I'm writing five sets of game notes in two days (possibly seven in three, if true insanity overtakes me and I head to Fordham on Thursday), much of this will be coming from on-site, so these notes might read slightly differently from their usual. I ask your patience.
LaSalle appeared to be playing short-handed. They only listed ten on their roster, and their starters played heavy minutes even when they were down thirty and close to forty. I think they only played one sub in the first half. That sub was Michele McCaughern, who registered a foul and some defense. The second half brought Nikki Ortiz as the first sub, who contributed a whole bunch of fouls. (Hmm. I'm wondering if that might be why LaSalle didn't substitute often.)
Ebonee Jones looks to be a pure gunner with a propensity for foul trouble. Sure, she scored a lot of points, but from here, it looked like she needed a lot of shots to do it. Ashley Gale came on in the second half. I like the freshman Jess Koci, or at least I would if she could figure out how not to flop on half her defensive plays. She seemed to be the only on that team with some spark, with a nice block and some hard work on the boards near the endline. Chelsea Conner's shot was very schitzophrenic. When it was on, it was a sweet swish. When it wasn't... I think LaSalle had something like four or five airballs, and at least three of them were hers. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.
The beautiful thing about a blowout is that you get to see the deep bench of the leading team. You get to see players you might not ordinarily see. Sequoia Austin reminds me of a few undersized guards I've seen in the past, who make up for their lack of height with an endless drive and the inability to stop. The crowd was rooting for her to score, but though her shots looked good, she wasn't able to get them to go down. Essence Townsend has the height to be successful, but absolutely none of the other aspects. She doesn't look comfortable on the floor, she doesn't take contact well, and she can't hang on to the ball. Honestly, I think she missed her calling- she looks and plays much more like a volleyball player. Yemi Oyefuwa got huge cheers from the crowd when she did just about anything, and when she went on her scoring run, the people around us went nuts. She looks like a player who was very good at one point, but the Creature from the Black Lagoon attached to her knee appears to have done her in. Kim Rodgers also looked like a player recovering from a knee injury, who used to be a very good shooter and still has a little bit of that stroke. Natasha Cloud got good rotation minutes and showed a knack for getting to the line. Dara Taylor's got some speed on her, and she set up a couple of nice plays- my favorite was the steal that led to her missed lay-up, which Laurin Mincy rebounded and put back. Mincy had herself a nice game. Hey, why do they have so many kids from our neck of the woods? Shouldn't we have been doing a little more about that? Alicia DeVaughn scared the hell out of me- not just because she's a pure defensive stopper who I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, but because it's very disconcerting to see someone with identical body language to anyone else. Yes, I know she's Yo Griffith's daughter, but she moves in exactly the same way. It's very, very strange, especially when you see around the face that they look nothing alike. Her hands were up everywhere.
Alyssa Thomas had herself one heck of a game, getting nice passes from her teammates and converting them. I think she missed a couple of chippies that she could have had, but with the game she had, I'm not arguing. Diandra Tchatchouang, in addition to being extremely hard to spell, showed some nice moves both inside and out. Anjale Barrett did a nice job running the team, but methinks they might have some trouble moving the ball if she can be stopped. It would take a team with very good defensive guards... Tianna Hawkins has insanely tall hair. I'm not sure if that 6'3” listed height includes the hair or not. I know she had a pretty solid game, but I keep being distracted by the hair. It's not quite Troy Polamalu, but you get the idea. Lynetta Kizer did a number on the Explorers inside, and early in the game she reared back and swished a three, and I think I spent the next minute of game time with my jaw hanging slack in shock.
Some odd calls in this game, but more judgment calls than questions about what exactly the referee was looking at and what universe it was in.
I was surprised the Maryland fans weren't more into the game. Maybe they'll be louder in more traditional ways tomorrow. They have a little competition to deal with, after all.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
December 3rd, 2007: Maryland at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 68, Maryland Terrapins 60
Kia Vaughn is a Pod Person, Marissa Coleman is smooth, and for fuck's sake, you do not foul a three-point shooter.
Please note that I'm a bit punchy, and thus these game notes might be less coherent and a bit more ridiculous than usual. Considering my penchant for off-kilter remarks, that's a disturbing thought. But onward, ever onward.
Going to this game might have been one of the least sensible things I've ever done, but if I had chosen the Cal game over this one, I'd probably be kicking myself right about now. What a trip. What an absolute trip. I love my team- but oh, how I love my arena so much more. Hauling ass from Queens takes a lot of hauling- train to train to shuttle bus and almost get run over- but I still made it to my seat before opening tip- to the rest of row H, I apologize for not being able to get to my seat any other way but across all of you.
Maryland is good. No, seriously. Sweet Sixteen, I said in my thread? This was more of an Elite Eight game, much more on the line than anyone would ever guess, pride and passion and a clash of opposites that, in many ways, turn out to be similar, much like mirror images of one another. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Maryland and Rutgers have similar color schemes, or at this point, maybe I'm pulling stuff out of my ass. Whatever the case may be, Maryland brought it to the RAC and brought it well. Except for the free throws at the end, Marissa Coleman impressed me like you wouldn't believe. I wouldn't go so far as to say she can play any position, but she's got a nice combination of power and finesse that ought to make a lot of teams take a look at her come April. Kristi Toliver also played well- but if she's going to make it in the WNBA, either she's going to have to admit that she's actually a shooting guard or she's going to have to lay off the shooting a bit and learn to stop carrying the ball. That being said, girl is money, no lie. I wasn't as impressed with the starting posts for Maryland- neither Langhorne nor Harper did anything that especially piqued my interest. Truth be told, I thought the most effective post player for Maryland was Jade Perry, and I was very surprised to see Maryland not bring her in once in the second half- I think she could have been very effective against Junaid in the second half, with the amount of time Junaid had to log. Strickland… she hit one shot early in the first half and that's the last I remember of her doing anything notable until she fouled late in the second. I'm sure she did other things in the middle, but they weren't very memorable. What really impressed me about Maryland as a whole was their athleticism and their hustle. Loose balls that Rutgers seemed accustomed to not fighting for became all-out scrums and/or Maryland rebounds. They're fast and they're quick, and they fear pretty much nothing. With Duke on a downswing and Carolina inconsistent as all hell, Maryland may well run away with the ACC. Of course, in conference play, one never knows what will happen.
Would whoever stole the real Kia Vaughn give her back? This pod person sucks. Yes, she got her rebounds, and she got a couple of the key ones late. Yes, she got called for a couple of bullshit fouls. But you cannot be a starting center for a top-notch team in a major conference and miss as many easy shots as Kia did. Ironically, the only shot she hit was a jumper outside the paint. I'm optimistically inclined to believe that she and Rashidat teamed up to neutralize Harper and contain Langhorne, but this is based on me hoping and praying that Kia did something positive in the game. Midway through the first half I was about ready to go down there and smack both Ajavon and Prince upside the head for the stupid shots they were taking, but in the second half, Epiphanny found her shot and fueled the key run that Matee capped with her three. That does not excuse the boneheaded foul in the last thirty seconds- no, do NOT foul a three-point shooter, I don't care if God Almighty Himself comes down from Heaven and proclaims that the Eleventh Commandment is Thou Shalt Befoul The Shot Attempt Of The Offensive Player; Yea, And Thou Shalt Send Them To The Line For The Throws That Are Free; And Lo, Thou Shalt Hear The Lamentations From Thy People, you do not foul a jump shooter and this goes double for a three-point shooter. Essence was… Essence, though she had a couple of defensive lapses that surprised me mightily. Love to watch her work, although she and Matee also both need to watch it with the hand under the ball. I love Heather Zurich's hustle- poor girl's face still looks like nightmare fuel under the mask, but she's still fighting and scrapping inside. One of the guys in my section was hollering at her to look for her shot, but honestly, the woman is playing with a serious handicap in the vision department here, and the last I heard, shooting really requires good eyesight, so leave her be. Honestly, I think the difference-maker in the game was Rashidat. She stepped up where Kia failed, hitting her shots in the lane with a beautiful soft touch and bodying up almost as hard on defense. If Kia's not careful over the next couple of games, she may well be benched, and I can't argue she wouldn't deserve it. I still wish Coach Stringer had a little more faith in the bench, because our three starting guards are going to wear down from overuse, and Myia and Brittany can both bring good things to the table. No, Brittany, those things do not include three-point shots. No.
I had the pleasure of sitting with a batch of season ticketholders, and they were my kind of fans- people who know the game and love the game, are passionate about the game but can analyze it at the same time, who give the refs shit for bad calls but can admit when the bad call is in our favor and/or the no-call is in our favor. The extra four bucks was definitely worth it for their company. Great crowd. Not as many people as there should be for a 5 versus 3 game, but on a Monday night with a start time that does not jive with the NJ Transit/Rutgers shuttle schedule, I can sort of understand it. Not that it really matters in the RAC, though, because even a small crowd combined with the band echoes and reverberates. When you've got a very decent crowd, on the other hand… by the second half, the place was rocking. My heels still hurt. How I'm going to get to work tomorrow, I have no idea. It's been a long time since I've been in the middle of anything that compares to a RAC crowd in a close game. And I loved every second of it. Okay, maybe not the seconds when we were down ten, but other htan those I was pleased.
Referees. Oyyyyyyyy. What else is new, right? I'm writing this without having looked at the game thread, so I don't know who's bitched about what, but I can think of four crap calls in Maryland's favor off the top of my head: Kia's third, Matee's fourth (which would set her up to foul out on the dumbass foul against Coleman), and the last two out of bounds calls. Also, counting above two seemed to be a bit of a challenge for them, as I recall one play where a Terrapin was parked in the paint for six seconds with no call. Come on, Bonita. You and me, we go way back. We've been at so many of the same games. Is a good call too much to ask? Look, I know the Scarlet Knights are no angels, and we like it that way. But how is it that the foul differential gets racked up so quickly? Are we playing our out of conference schedule against the Celestial League or something? Look past the name on the front of the jersey, guys, please?
In the crowd: Mike Thibault and at least one of his sidekicks. Patty Coyle, both her sidekicks, and Loree Moore. Former Rutgers player Mariota Theodoris, or at least someone who stole her warm-ups. At least three Board Junkies.
Next up, Army. I'm pretty sure that Coach Stringer will keep the score down in this one. I mean, more than usual. It'll be nice to be back at the Garden, though.