Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's started off strong in both halves to stave off runs from UMass and come away with the 82-71 win. Qadashah Hoppie led four Johnnies in double figures with 22 points. Bre Hampton-Bey had 16 points off the bench to lead the Minutewomen, who won the rebounding battle 33-30.
For crossing the streams, spinning right round like a record, rethinking things, exploring new depths, and traveling, join your intrepid blogger after the jump. There may be cake.
Just in case you weren't sick of me after the massive note dump this past weekend, we're back in the saddle again with a non-conference match-up against UMass. At least with UMass, I know to expect a presence behind the opposing bench, and all I can do is hope to avoid awkwardness. (UMass guard Destiney Philoxy is the younger sister of Seton Hall's Selena Philoxy, and I sorta feel like it might be a bad idea to run into SHU family while in STJ gear.)
More info on Alisha Kebbe: apparently it's her shoulder and she might be out for a while. Yeesh. Adventures in forward play ahead.
The ticket takers were late to the party, which meant a few minutes of drifting around and aimlessly reading plaques. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed “Your Are St. John's” on one of the trophies dedicated to Lou Carnesecca and that they're just politely ignoring it or the engraving company went out of business sometime in the last fifteen years. Or something.
Update:oh no, I think Papa Philoxy is the other person in our section. Fortunately, he and the family moved to the other side of the floor. This would have been awkward.
25-17 STJ end Q1. Qadashah Hoppie is doing Q things, with nine points and a pocket-picking of Destiney Philoxy so thorough I'm pretty sure she's now the owner of a UMass student ID. UMass has a big center who si extremely not ready for this jelly.
44-37 STJ at half. Q still has 9, but Tiana England has stepped her game up with 13. Paige McCormick has 11 to lead UMass, getting threes on good screens. Our defense loosened up in the second quarter, and I am not okay with this.
Star-watching in the crowd: hi, Jade! Hi, Aliyyah!
Shoutout to the person in the Logowoman hoodie. I love seeing more connections between the W and WCBB among fans. Love all the women's basketball.
There is an adorable tiny future-Johnny in a Red Storm bandanna, and I don't know what to do with this level of cute. (Other than keep it at a safe distance. Kids are cute as long as they're not mine.) (I think that was Sky's mom with the kidlet. Which means that might be Sky's kid. Out Of Cheese Error Please Redo From Start.)
The men's team showed up for a while, but they seem to have bailed.
Huh. I think the dasher boards on the other side of the court actually work. I can see the reflection of statistics in the boards opposite them.
I don't know if I personally would have gone with the sneakers, but Alisha Kebbe's outfit is otherwise pretty sharp.
Never change, Sky. I see you bobbing your head to the arena music during the commercial break.
65-51 STJ end Q3. Qadashah started off hot again and gave us some separation.
Dance team reversed the polarity of the rhythm flow, which is kind of refreshing, because I am not an ass woman.
The steals and turnovers are instructive- most of our turnovers are travels and offensive fouls, while most of their turnovers are on our steals.
UMass is an interesting team. They're technically sound in a lot of ways, although they need to do a better job not telegraphing their passes. They know their strengths, and they know how to play to their strengths. Their coach needs to maybe switch to decaf, and consider the teams I follow when I make this recommendation. I didn't catch his name during intros, so I spent most of the night referring to him as "Captain Stompy" from his sideline demeanor. It seems a little ridiculous to be berating the officials when the foul differential is 5-1 in your favor, for example.
Whether from lack of availability or lack of desire to do so, the Minutewomen did not go very deep. Bre Hampton-Bey provided the reserve guard minutes and got her points with speed and canny changes of direction- when that first step got her an inch of space, she turned it into points. She had a fantastic steal off an inbounds on a free throw- I blinked and suddenly she had the ball for a lay-up. She's got a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, but I'm kind of used to that with undersized guards. Angelique Ngalakulondi was very physical, sometimes to a fault (I realize "over the back" is not the actual name of a type of foul, but the way she had Alissa bent over on one rebound was as close a textbook "over the back" play as you'll ever see). She sets a good screen, and she knows how to use her height, which is definitely an advantage she has over her classmate Maeve Donnelly. She needs to learn to moderate her physicality a little bit, and I don't know if Captain Stompy is the right coach for that.
Maeve Donnelly is tall. Right now, that's about all she's got going for her as a Division I basketball player, at least based on that game. She couldn't hit shots close to the basket, and her attempts at a midrange game were laughable at best. She didn't rebound well. She did okay at getting position, but given that our tallest active player is three inches shorter than she is, that's not as difficult as one might imagine. 6-5 always has the potential to be a game-changer in WCBB, but right now, she's not ready for primetime. Hailey Leidel did a lot of hard, physical work on the boards and laid a smackdown of a block on Q. She's got a good long-range stroke, but I'm more impressed by her physicality.
Vashnie Perry ran point and got yelled at by Captain Stompy at least once. She did all right behind the line when she got an open look, and her teammates were good at creating open looks. Paige McCormick did a better job of taking advantage of them- her release seemed faster than her teammates'. Destiney Philoxy, on the other hand, was much more of a drive-and-sometimes-dish player, using bursts of incredible speed to get to the basket and convert, either by getting the basket or getting to the line. She showed quick hands and a lot of tenacity.
(I, uh. I think she might also have recognized some of the sounds from the audience. It maybe doesn't help our case that we borrowed the four-foul taunt from Seton Hall's band. But the husband swears we actually got a visible reaction from her when we made loud noises while she was at the line. Please don't kill me, Selena.)
I'm not used to this whole rotation concept Joe seems to have adopted. Don't get me wrong, I quite like it. I just find myself nervous that he's going to abandon it at the first sign of trouble and revert to running our starters into the ground. Going eight deep when you're already down a starter? Priceless.
I may have to start learning Swedish between seasons. Between Cecelia Holmberg and Amanda Zahui B, I'm going to have a lot of occasions to yell, "You didn't need to take that shot from Stockholm!" and maybe it'll get through that way. (Also, that way I can learn Swedish geography and make more informed international references.) (Look, at least I'm not making Swedish Chef jokes and I'm trying to discourage others that way as well.) She's going to take some time to develop, but once she figures out how to stay in front of her man, she'll be fine, and she'll bring a dimension we don't fully have yet. Unique Drake showed good driving ability, but needs to work on her decision-making a little bit (although to be fair to her, that was Cecelia's bad pass, not her turnover). Leilani Correa's defense wasn't as solid as it had been through the first few games, but she made up for it at the other end of the floor with backdoor cuts and corner threes.
I feel like Qadashah Hoppie may have been watching tape of Angel McCoughtry. I don't know if that's the comparison I'd personally have chosen for her, but the aggressive, high-risk/high-reward way she played the passing lanes brought McCoughtry to mind. This is the second game this season where she's come on strong early and dialed it back later, although in this game it was more that she started both halves strong and then didn't score in the second and almost didn't score in the fourth. It's sort of like a relay race- yeah, you want a strong runner on the anchor leg, but you also need someone to give you a head start on the first leg. Alissa Alston picked up a technical for taunting on her three-point shot late in the game- I didn't see the exact sequence, but my understanding is that she kept flashing the three signal all the way down the floor and did it in the opponent's face, which would count as taunting (but if Hampton-Bey clapping in the face of a downed opponent doesn't qualify, then I'm not sure we're even calling taunting techs anymore). She's quick and light on her feet, and she's stubborn as all get-out. She had a big offensive rebound that she turned into two free throws. Tiana England ran the show in her usual style- fast when we needed it, but way too slow way too often, and while one of these days I might figure out if the problem is her or Coach Tartamella, this is not that day. She's growing into her number, but those are mighty big shoes to fill, even if they're in different positions.
Kadaja Bailey is very quietly developing into a solid rebounder and starting to develop a little bit on defense, instead of being the offensive powerhouse I think we thought she was going to be. Her man-to-man defense is still a work in progress, but she anchors us very well. She was pretty solid on offense in this game, too. I've been hard on her to start the season; maybe it's time I reexamined her strengths and focused less on her weaknesses. Emma Nolan added another "the arrow is pointing in the wrong direction" jump ball to her growing tally. She put a block on Leidel that might just have hurt the poor Minutewoman's soul. I think she's getting used to the collegiate three-point line (it doesn't help that the men's line and the women's line are both on the floor at all times) and when that happens, her stroke will be even more deadly. Meanwhile, she's been stepping up big time for us to bring some of the interior play and interior defense that we've been missing with Alisha out. Kadaja too, but it's more noticeable with Emma. Maybe we just got a bad scouting report on her.
We got bogged down late in the game too often for my liking. I don't like when we commit shot clock violations. I like when we cause them (and yes, Captain Stompy, we did, that shot only touched glass). We need to stay on the glass harder- we got outrebounded again, despite winning the game. But the depth is real, and it's something we haven't had for a long time. We don't necessarily have height, but we have power. We need to consistently take advantage of that depth to hammer at our foes.
Not the worst crowd we've ever had, but it was hard to get any noise going.
If the dizzy shootout contest doesn't end with someone throwing up on the hype man, I will be very disappointed, because a) it is a stupid contest, b) the hype man is annoying, and c) the rules aren't clearly defined (one contestant only spun around five times before her first attempt from each location, the other spun around before every attempt, and she was still the better shooter).
I like how this team is coming together. Next stop, Vegas! (For them, not me. I have the sinking suspicion my next stop is Hackensack.)
(There is no cake. The cake is a lie.)
Thursday, November 28, 2019
November 25, 2019: UMass at St. John's
Friday, March 1, 2019
February 24th, 2019: UMass at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham started off strong and held on tight in a 76-64 win over UMass. Bre Cavanaugh led all scorers with 27 points, with Kaitlyn Downey and Mary Goulding each adding 15. UMass got 44 of their 64 points off the bench, with Destiney Philoxy exploding for 26 and Hailey Leidel lighting it up beyond the arc with 18 (including five threes).
For little sisters, smol seniors, a punch right in the feels, jukebox heroines with stars in their eyes, Murphys' Law, and unexpected connections, join your intrepid and ever-so-briefly caught-up blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon! Your intrepid blogger is steadily working through her backlog (backblog?) of games, and taking the opportunity to catch up a little bit here at Fordham, as the Rams take on the Minutewomen of UMass on Senior Day.
I have to say, I like this new thing of Senior Day being the last weekend home game of the season, not the last game period. It allows more people to see and honor these young ladies for everything they've given to their programs. I do wonder if it feels a little weird when you know for certain that it's not your last home game, but on the other hand, if you're used to making the WNIT, you're already pretty sure you have more home games to come.
I'm looking for familiar faces in the stands, because one of my favorite Pirates, Selena Philoxy, has a little sister, and said sister plays for UMass.
Not gonna lie, as a Red Storm fan first and foremost, I'm always a little confused when other teams are playing "Thunderstruck". I understand that it's a very traditional sports jam, but at the same time, are any of y'all a Storm? I did not think so.
There were many Rebeccas on the pass list today, but either someone mistook me for an Australian or autocarrot struck again. No harm, no foul, and the folks working the table today did everything right.
Bre is no longer blonde, and this is just a tiny bit confusing. Her floof is just a little bit harder to see now.
I'm trying to get a closer look at the Senior Day t-shirts (a Fordham tradition unlike many others) and will report back on the design once I can see it.
Oh my God I love Coach Gaitley's suit.
Oh noes it is time for the Feels. I love that they're starting out with the scout squad. That is so cool. And the team is really, really enthusiastic about the MPPs and the managers. Say, why did it get so dusty in here all of a sudden? Why are these ninja cutting so many onions?! Who keeps punching me in the heart?
Fordham's band is playing "Car Wash" and I am extremely pleasantly confused. Maybe Bec did wander into the building today and this is their way of greeting her.
Really cool timeout ceremony honoring the '78-'79 squad, who basically wrote the Fordham record books (and a good number of these ladies are still quite spry). I love when schools connect with their history.
At halftime, it is 46-28 Fordham on all the three-pointers. No, seriously, I think we have eight. Ralene Kwiatkowski is getting her runs in and we might run out of t-shirts. UMass gets physical when they get frustrated, and they are extremely frustrated right now. Bre Cavanaugh has 14 points and four boards to lead Fordham, while Destiney Philoxy has 11 points off the bench to lead UMass.
I'm starting to wonder if UMass's coach just doesn't believe in starting freshmen, or if Philoxy and Nelson are just having uncharacteristically good games. They've been the only consistent positives for the Minutewomen today.
Postgaming now, with what appears to be an ungodly number of Murphys. There's a pub hidden in the basement of Fordham, and we are taking it over. There appears to be finger food, including the smallest sliders I've ever seen in my life. The projector is set up for the Senior Day presentation- the real one, not the time-shortened one. The team is arriving. Hi, Coach!
That got rather closer than I wanted it to be, to be honest. I would have liked for Alexa Giuliano to have more of an opportunity to play and make a positive impact on the box score, but it is what it is. UMass is a wild team, and when they're on, they're extremely pesky. But their offense was streaky, and when it wasn't working, they were frustrated, leading to physical play and fouls. They've got potential with their freshmen, but I don't know if these hot-headed players and this hot-headed coach are a good combination for each other. They seem like the kind of volatile mix that will either lead to all the conference titles or someone getting punched in the locker room and half the team transferring.
Kendell, why are you wearing a USAB t-shirt? You're a Kiwi! You're from New Zealand! You literally don't even go there!
I do like that Coach Gaitley's letting the seniors each have their say in this and they're all getting to say a few words themselves. Trying to hide behind Lauren Holden is not an effective plan if you're Mary Goulding, though. There's about seven inches of why that doesn't work.
OH MY GOD BABY MARY I AM DED FROM SQUEE no seriously the video tributes from the players' families are fantastic and also I get to hear lots and lots of Kiwi accents, so that's awesome. There are lots of high-pitched squeeing noises coming from the direction of the team at the baby pictures.
*snorfle* Kaitlyn comparing the three seniors to being like her moms, and I'm pretty sure her mother just did a spectacular double-take at that. I don't think everyone's realized that Coach Gaitley is going to make everyone talk.
So that Philoxy kid is pretty good. I'm not just saying that because I like her sister, either. Destiney Philoxy did her best to make sure she didn't lose this game, and she didn't care if her teammates came with her or not. She drives the lane like the A train- fast, no stops. And if she could bring that quick release free throw home for the summer and share it with Selena, that would be great. She's loud and she's communicative on the floor and she has no patience for anyone's nonsense. I can see that chafing with the upperclassmen. Jessica Nelson is extremely physical, and if she becomes more assertive offensively she could be very good for them. Until then she's mostly a goon who needs a better sports bra.
I started to take a profound dislike to Hailey Leidel in the second half when she kept hitting threes on us. It's a polite sort of dislike, leavened with respect and more than a little frustration. She picked up loose change off the glass in some of the scrums. She stepped up in the second half. Paige McCormick saw some time in the first half and put up a jumper. She was not particularly successful, so I'm not surprised she didn't play in the second half.
Anil Soysal is tall, but she's not ready. She's extremely not ready. She was on a short leash whenever she got a foul, and with the physicality that Nelson brought to the floor, her services were far less required. She started the game, but she didn't start the second half, and I'm not sure she even played in the second half. She also doesn't look 6-5 to me, but I recognize that my perceptions of height might be skewed from watching so much basketball. Yes, I'm saying objects in mirror may be taller than they appear. Genesis Rivera got off to a good early start, but picked up three fouls in the first half and was thence consigned to the bench to start the second half. She did not have much of a game.
Near the end of the first half, there was a scrum for a loose ball, one that turned rather into a football play. I'm pretty sure that you're not supposed to tackle people in basketball, though I could be wrong. It's been known to happen on occasion. In any case, Bre Hampton-Bey got herself an unsportsmanlike conduct foul, Lauren Holden got herself two free throws, and UMass put themselves in more of a hole than they needed to be in right near the end of the half. Between that and her not-good shooting, I'm not surprised her minutes got cut in the second half. If she played, she didn't play much (our PA guy sort of took the second half off in terms of announcing substitutions, and only the helpful fact that UMass has names on their jerseys reminded me that people were coming in and out of the game). Vashnie Perry started to find her distance stroke in the second half, but it was too late by then. Jessica George had a pretty decent defensive game, all things considered; she was part of the hard-charging double that the Minutewomen so often threw at Bre Cavanaugh. She spent a lot of energy on that end of the floor, and it showed- not necessarily in a good way. UMass threw up more than their fair share of airballs, and I think she had at least one of them, if not more.
UMass has potential. If they don't strangle each other first, and if Soysal can learn how to use her height instead of just trying to reach over people's heads and thus fouling them, they could be something in a couple of years. They could be a homewrecker in the A-10 tourney if their shooters get hot at the same time that their defense turns up. I know you can say that about a lot of teams, and that that is in fact the recipe to be a homewrecker, but they seem to have the pieces to have that potential.
So we got to see all the guards at the end of the game. All of them, pretty much, except for Chloe Chaffin and Edona Thaqi, who I'm pretty sure aren't even supposed to be playing this season (though they have). It was nice. Cat Polisano got some free throw opportunities, which is nice for her. I think that was Lauren Murphy's family starting the chant for her to come into the game, which might have been nice if they hadn't been starting it up before our last senior came into the game. Guys. On Senior Day, maybe wait for all the seniors to come in or go out as appropriate to their role before you start hooting and hollering for your sophomore to come into the game. I don't think a foul was the only way Alexa Giuliano wanted to be in the box score on her Senior Day, but at least she didn't end up a billionaire. Look, collectively, we had five players total five minutes, two free throws, one shot (missed), and one rebound. Even I can't come up with enough words to make that sound good.
Megan Jonassen looked a little more passive than usual in this one, which probably explains why she didn't play that much. It also didn't help her case that UMass didn't have a lot of size and didn't look to go inside that much- most of their run in the second half was fueled by threes. Even Zara Jillings didn't get a lot of time on the floor. This game was, more than even Fordham's ridiculous usual and maybe even more than necessary, decided by the starters. In some ways, that's appropriate, but in other ways, it would have been nice to let Lauren and Mary enjoy their victory from the bench for a little more than eighty seconds, and nice to see Alexa get some real run.
Bre Cavanaugh played like her hair was on fire. I mean, it obviously wasn't, because Bre's hair is very tall and everyone would have immediately noticed if it were on fire. But there was a sense of urgency, a popping energy, an extra spring in her step, that made her even more of a force of nature than usual. Whenever UMass started making it close, she was like "nope" and hit another three or hit another shot in the lane. You really do expect to see the cape streaming behind her when she comes off the court. I kind of got the sense we were getting a little bit of a preview of next year, with Kendell Heremaia running point duties for a good chunk of the game. I'm not sure how I feel about this, although I recognize it's inevitable because Lauren Holden does have to graduate at some point. Kenny runs a little bit of a slower, more methodical game, with less of a tendency to go it alone, but also with less assurance, than Lauren does. I think her offseason development will be very interesting. It took a while for Lauren to get on the board, but we all went nuts when she did. I think she hit the shot in the lane first before hitting the three, but I don't have my notes with me to double-check the order of events. She was mostly in control of herself during the game, though the Senior Day stuff before and after the game really got her.
Mary Goulding was in her glory in this game. There were a lot of loose balls and a lot of scrums, and she was in the thick of most of them. She had a huge second quarter where she was hitting big shots, pulling down boards, and making defensive stops- she had a really nifty steal. She stepped up for us. Kaitlyn Downey got off to a hot start with a soft touch (look, you have gotten through this entire season without that pun, were you expecting that to last?) and never really stopped. We have long since established that I am not a fan of her being so enamored of the three-point shot, but I guess I can be okay with it when it's going down and she's getting good looks when the guards penetrate. That drive and dish game with ball movement was really working for Fordham. I think we might be in good hands next year, as long as we have someone coming in to develop on the bench while Megan and Kaitlyn step up in the rotation.
When we were moving the ball and getting open looks, we did well. We had a little more trouble when the double came flying at Bre like a bat out of hell. If you have Meat Loaf stuck in your head, you're welcome.
I think the refs let the physicality get a little out of control, even after Hampton-Bey got called for the unsportsmanlike conduct foul. But, hey, it worked out okay for us. I could have done without UMass's coach whinging for a travel call down 15 or thereabouts in the final minute. You gotta know when to fold 'em, man.
Whoever released the onion-chopping ninja this month needs to cut it out. I can't deal with this.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
December 4th, 2007: Massachusetts at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 84, Massachusetts Minutewomen 68
Sky Lindsay brings it, UMass doesn't, and Tiina Sten needs to tone down the bleach.
I have a habit of looking for parallels and similarities in everything, so it's no surprise that I thought there were some distinct echoes of Maryland-Rutgers in the UMass-St. John's game. One team got up big early, but couldn't hold the lead and watched the score do a complete turnaround, and while they put up some points to narrow the margin, they just couldn't get over the hump. Granted, there was a major talent differential between the two teams on the floor at St. John's; the run by St. John's came in the second quarter (actually, right around the time my mom got in the building, hmmm), the lead was taken and then some by halftime, and the lead was a lot larger throughout the entire game. The ladies showed a bit of grit and a whole lot of Skyyyyyyyyyyyyy Lindsay.
UMass confuses me, if only because we had played BU the game before and UMass wears the same color scheme as BC. I don't know how many times I started to call them Boston before I reconsidered it. They have a big team that likes to take outside shots. I didn't understand why they were taking quite so many, myself, given that St. John's doesn't really have a lot of size, but maybe that's how they roll in the A-10. I don't know. Not my conference. There were some real shooters on that squad- Stefanie Gerardot had a lovely shot to watch from a pure aesthetic standpoint. Pam Rosenio- who looked a lot taller and bigger than 5-10 on the court- would probably have been even more of a difference-maker if she'd been driving all game, and it wasn't like she wasn't going inside, even. Lot of strength on her frame, and no fear- she was one of two Massachusetts players who had to wear a facemask (the other was Teya Wright, who pronounces it Tia and thus had to have caused anyone who was calling the game all kinds of headaches). The player who impressed me most, though, was Sakera Young, who didn't start, but I get the sense that it was a disciplinary non-start, because she started the second half. Such quick hands, great court sense, no fear, a snappy passer, and very mixed on the offensive end, that being the only big problem with her game. Mom and I both thought she reminded us of Spoon, though she's much more wiry than Spoon. The A-10 isn't a gimme conference, not by a long shot, and I think Massachusetts, if they can avoid the fumble-fingers and play more to their strengths, can do well for themselves this year.
Whatever Sky did to put more spin on her shot worked last night like a charm. I love shooters with a high arc, like K.B. Sharp, and Sky's got quite the rainbow on her jumper. Makes it more unpredictable for rebounding purposes, I would imagine- good thing she's reasonably accurate! She and Monique form a very formidable tandem of scorers, and they see each other well on the floor. I hope this state of affairs continues- I know Sky's got a reputation for not playing well with others, and I can't see her being the lead dog this year and next, not with Kia and Monique. As it is, though, both Sky and Monique found ways to make their own shots and find space to put up shots that went in. They were 16-25 combined and hit their free throws- that's an offensive line that would make anyone drool, methinks. Kelly needs to be ready for Sky's passes and/or Sky needs to take some of the mustard off- two or three passes went off Kelly's hands for turnovers. Not cool. She's still a good shooter, but I've mentioned before that I like her hustle at the boundaries of the court- she wants the ball, she wants to maintain possession, and she'll fight to do so. Tiina needs to lay off the bleach- she's a natural blonde, but she's been enhancing it, and unfortunately, at the same time she's been having some ultimate blonde moments. It's almost like she stole Allie's brain fog. Joy started off slow and seeming half-asleep, which surprised and did not please me, but she did eventually wake up- I'll have to look at the stat sheet to see if there's any marker that coincides her waking up with the team's big first half run, or if she followed the team's example for a change instead of trying to make them follow her example. Alas, she has finally fallen behind in my favorite bizarre stat of the season- through the first six games, she had forced more turnovers (9) than she had committed (7). But 1/4 last night puts her at 10 steals and 11 TOs. I thought our bench played exceptionally well last night. Kia made so many plays happen- 6/0 A/TO makes me a happy Stormie. If Kelly doesn't get her shit together, we'll be starting a small lineup with Monique at the three, Sky at the two, and Kia at the one, and the Big East should quake at the thought. Recee and Coco were both key to neutralizing, or at least countering, the pressure that UMass brought inside- Recee is our only legit big at this point, with Victoria still hobbling around on crutches, and Coco is a fighter in the same mold as Joy. Recee made a lot of good things happen in the second half when UMass was thinking about coming back, hitting her shots inside and getting big rebounds- there was a steal that Monique was credited with but that Recee essentially forced. We got to see more of Kristin, which makes me happy- she's a steady ballhandler, and she'll look for her shot. She brings a different look. Near the end of the game, Coach finally cleared her bench- I think Nikki Jo had an assist and Sheree got to score!
I love the way this team plays together. Coach seems to emphasize togetherness- there's a lot of huddling/everybody touch hands in the air now kind of stuff. Maybe that's why we've had so many players- or it seems to be so many players- leave in the last few years, but the ones who decided to remain have bought into it. They seem to care about each other. They take care of each other. They support each other. That's the kind of team that it's a pleasure and a privilege to be a fan of. I just hope it doesn't fade if we start getting more star-type recruits, the kind that wouldn't have even considered St. John's once, but see our success and want to be in on it.