Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Storm owned the boards in a resounding 82-44 win over Delaware State. Three players notched double-doubles for St. John's: Curteeona Brelove with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Kayla Charles with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Akina Wellere with 12 points and 11 rebounds. NaJai Pollard had 25 points for Delaware State, but none of her teammates scored more than five.
For the triumphant return, hitting the glass hard, apples, cookies, and hitting people in the face, join your intrepid and cautious blogger after the jump.
Home sweet arena. After starting the season on the road, and in all kinds of exotic locales, the Red Storm finally get to play a game on homecourt, as they take on the Lady Hornets of Delaware State. (Actually, hang on a sec, I'm looking up whether Delaware State uses the Lady modifier.) (Yep, they do. I thought so; it's still fairly prevalent at HBCUs.)
Delaware State's logo is pretty cool-looking, but I'm not sure about the placement on the warm-up shirts. It seems to be outlining certain areas rather more than it should be.
Band looks to have done some heavy recruiting, and am I seeing a new band director?
Why do opposing fans persist in sitting on the same side as the St. John's bench? These ladies are genuinely lost- I saw them coming into the arena and not knowing which door to use- but c'mon, figure out that the bench with two people in St. John's gear sitting on it is the St. John's bench.
So either ESPN3's definition of a balanced crew is having a St. John's commentator and a Delaware State commentator, or the Delaware State kid who went over to shake the dude's hand is the kid from Christ the King, and that's the connection. Or it could be some other connection. I mean, basketball is pretty much six degrees of separation.
Well, we've got at least two students here. That's something. I mean, it's half an hour before game time, so I'm not surprised.
That is one big STJ logo at center court. The new floor looks pretty crisp. It's straightforward- no fancy inlays, no complicated colors, just a plain and simple court. There's something to be said for that, and I think it fits with the St. John's mentality.
UA's cheer garb needs work. I think every cheerleader has had to pull her top down at some point. Cool, the guys are getting in on the tumbling runs this year.
The drill Delaware State was running before the game, where the coach jabbed at a player with the ball and the player promply fell down, takes on a lot more ominous air when you realize that we've been called for three charges in this game. Please don't teach your players to flop.
At halftime, it's 41-24 St. John's, with Delaware State making a push at the end of the first half. We've been abusing their zone from the corner, with five threes. Qadashah Hoppie has a team-high 11 points. NaJai Pollard has half of Delaware State's points.
Our halftime has featured a dance team performance and the swearing in of the ROTC cadets. I think there's a dribbling challenge next, or possibly the ROTC obstacle course. They better hurry, though. There's less than seven minutes left in halftime. They ended up having to end the challenge early because the players were coming back on the floor.
Yeah, so the refs even got bored with this game and wanted to go home. I've never seen a player so completely in the end zone not actually be called out of bounds.
I think the nicest thing I can say about Delaware State's coach is that he's doing his best to coach up a team that doesn't have a lot of talent to work with, and he'll teach them whatever it takes to win. But I'm not a fan of flopping drills and flailing forearms.
And that means I'm not a fan of the Hornets' reseve center, Elayna Birch-Smith. She's very physical, and there are times I can respect that. Those times do not include when she is sawhorsing opposing players (and getting a foul called on her teammate) or hitting one of her opponents in the mouth (and not getting called for a foul even on review). It doesn't help her, or her team, that she's the only real size they had available. I did like Genell Addison and her quick hands- she had a nifty steal right at the beginning of the second quarter. But on the other hand, I think she was the one with the open lane who completely bricked the open shot. Yazmin Batch fired up a couple of buckets in the second, and I think they were part of the quarter-ending run. The second seemed to be the best quarter overall for Delaware State.
The Hornets didn't get a lot from their starting backcourt in this game. There was a nice offensive rebound from Tylea Galloway, and a late three pointer from Britney James. But they were hassled and hounded all night, and if there's one thing we do really well it's defend guards.
I'm not sure if the game plan was to let NaJai Pollard get her buckets and lock down on everyone else, or if she's just that good. But in either case, she was just that good in this game. She was hitting inside and out, putting away straightaway threes and going to the lane. She hit from everywhere on the floor, even through contact. Great game for her. Lanayjha Ashe had her motor going all game- even when the lead ballooned in the fourth quarter, she never gave up on loose balls. She and Pollard both gave everything they had, and it wsn't enough.
So, um. Yes, this is not a good team, and will probably not be a good team in the MEAC. They have a lot of freshmen, and I recognize that freshmen and pressure are a terrible combination. Their coach is probably relieved they don't have to deal with Hampton's defense anymore.
Moochy, bend your knees! Jasmine Sina's shot is still falling consistently short. At that point, you have to either really get the PT going to get distance back on the shot, or give up on the three and try for the midrange jumper or to drive the lane. I think the misses are making her a little scared to shoot- she was passing off what looked like good looks. Or she would just rather have the assist, which is an acceptable mindset. Shamachya Duncan almost had one go down, and you could see the entire bench rooting for her.
Kayla Charles had a couple of consecutive boneheaded plays that put her on the bench for a Teaching Moment, but she roared back in the second half and took full command of the glass. I'd like her to be able to finish better at the rim, but given some of the contact she was taking, I can't say I'm surprised. I love when she just stays on the rebound and uses her height and length to lay claim to the ball. Solid game from Kadaja Bailey. The only worry I had coming out of there was that her tweener status showed a little bit, in terms of positioning and placement in the offense.
Akina Wellere seems to have decided to refine her inside game and abandon her outside game, at least in this game. I think she's bulked up a little bit to be our de facto four, and I don't know how I feel about this. She got off to a rough start, but shook it off to power through on the glass. Curteeona Brelove gave us an interior presence, in terms of size, that we haven't had in a very long time. I'm going to have to ask her to stop thinking she's Jade and launching the outside jumper, because it did not look good. At all. But when she went inside, she was unstoppable, tough, and physical. I love seeing that out of her.
Alisha Kebbe went hard on the glass like someone stole something from her. She was merciless. I love her intensity. I love her defense. I love that she's made this the heart and soul of her game. She defends well inside for her size. Tiana England continues to murder helpless, innocent seconds with her dribble, though in this game, slowing down the offense was definitely called for. As the game went on, she started showing off some of the fancy passes. She's got to be more careful, though. I don't like seeing players throw the ball directly into the teeth of a double-team. Qadashah Hoppie started the game off with a bang with her quick threes, and she was pretty solid on defense, too.
Things I love: watching Kadaja and the guards on the backcourt trap. SO GOOD.
Things I do not love: jerseys without names on the back. Ahem, Delaware State. It makes it harder to remember who you are if you don't have a name.
Also things I do not love: officials who can't be bothered to make calls. It grows tiresome, even when my team's the team that gets the calls, as happened early on.
Attendance continues to be a disappointment, but it's a disappointment I should be used to by now. This year's posters look amazing, but if they're going to charge for the scorecards, we'll have to miss out on them. Too bad, so sad.
On to the next one, on to the next one, on to the next one...
Friday, November 30, 2018
November 29th, 2018: Delaware State at St. John's
Saturday, November 12, 2016
November 11th, 2016: Savannah State at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: It was shaky at times, but Seton Hall opened the 2016-2017 season with a 74-60 win over Savannah State. JaQuan Jackson led all scorers with 21 points, while LaTecia Smith added 16 points and five steals. The Tigers, who were +16 on the boards, got 19 points from Lauren Moss and a big double-double from Tiyonda Davis of 16 points and 14 rebounds.
For poor life choices, cake, so many trains and buses, driving the lane without a license, "Good hustle!", Monty Python, and coloring everything blue, join your intrepid and cerulean blogger after the jump.
It's approaching the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Take a moment to remember. This date was chosen for a reason. Look it up.
But more relevant to this blog, this is the second Friday of November, and that means the season is underway. Seton Hall starts the whole thing off in the morning, hosting the Lady Tigers of Savannah State.
Looks like there are a lot of walking wounded for this one. Martha Kuderer is still out, though she at least doesn't seem to be wearing the boot she had last week. Lubirdia Gordon and Jordan Molyneaux also seem to have not dressed. This is a rather large percentage of our height, especially veteran height. We're going to need the freshmen to be big today. I know we're playing a team we should easily beat, but we still need to show what we have. It can't be another "JaQuan scores 30 and no one else has more than 11" game. That can't become our identity.
The celebration of Seton Hall's history would be easier for people to browse through if it were available before the gates open, y'all.
Some things are just wrong. Team Valor took the pirate statue in front of Walsh. You can be assured I rectified that with the quickness. Pirate Blue, y'all.
Update: apparently Bird and Jordan are suspended multiple games, and the reason indicates that they're both idiots. I am extremely disappointed in their judgment. (And also that I may never have Seton Hall gear to match my St. John's gear.)
There appears to be cake.
Solid anthem by a ROTC cadet, but points off to the Hall for no flag corps on this Veterans Day.
At halftime, it's 42-29 Seton Hall. Savannah State is scrappy, but they have no offensive execution beyond the three-point sniping of Lauren Moss (4 treys among her 15 points). JaQuan Jackson has 10 to lead Seton Hall, but the story for the Pirates is the defensive intensity and the rebounding- clearly they got lectured after the Philadelphia game.
I think Shadeen Samuels is getting a fairly regular rooting section; there seem to be several people in Ossining gear around, and several people who get excited when she makes a big play.
The cake is not a lie! It is a fairly firm yellow sponge cake, three layers, with a white buttercream frosting and heavily dyed blue filling between the layers. Some of it got on my plate, and now my fingers are blue.
I think our lack of experience showed in this one, and I'm worried about how we're going to handle the press (which is a bit ironic, given how hard we press and trap and pressure teams). The offensive balance, or lack thereof, is also not promising. But I absolutely love this team's hustle. This is probably not going to be the year, but they're going to surprise somebody and they're going to be pretty awesome for the next couple of years (assuming, of course, no transfers or injuries).
Savannah State's colors kept throwing me off, because their bright blue and bright orange are really similar to Florida's. (And also the Mets'. Let's go Mets!) They're not a very good team fundamentally, for the most part- they threw up a lot of bad wild shots and showed very few offensive sets that indicated any deliberation.
Jacqueline Anderson and Praise Russell both entered very late in the game, after Savannah State had more or less conceded (though they were pressing to the very end, and with the margin in the low teens, I can't blame them). Caprisha Treadwell showed some nice moves, including a nice putback on an offensive rebound. I am not okay with her shoulder-blocking our point guard, though. I think Lauryn Fields was the one who committed the inbounds violation in the fourth quarter that seemed like a bit of a turning point, or whatever one calls a moment that could have been a turning point and is instead the point where something ends. She certainly seemed confused by the play. Taylor-Ashley Shaw (who has a name I would love to hear the backstory of) was especially tenacious on the ballhandler, and probably should have been called for at least more than one foul than she was. Deyja Brown was fairly late in the rotation in both halves, and I think she might have been the "teaching moment" sub, that player who comes in when someone has made a terrible mistake and needs to be told in detail what that mistake is. Kierstan Green was in and out of the game a lot, and looking at the numbers, she may have been a situational sub, brought in for a reasonable facsimile of offense. It's possible today was just a bad day for her.
Rhianna Warren got the start, but she was pulled fairly early in both halves- for Green in the first, for Shaw in the second. I wonder if she's the normal starter and if this is a coach that believes in senior privilege, or if she started because someone was in trouble. Lauren Moss has a really nice shot- she was one of the few players who had a fundamentally sound shot for Savannah State, and she was launching from deep. We lost track of her way more than we should have.
I question the fashion choices of Jeremica Edwards, specifically her choice to tuck in part of her shorts legs to create the saddlebag/sagging diaper effect. This is not a good plan for anyone. She tore away a lot of rebounds with sheer intensity, and near the end of the game she had a nifty steal. I don't have any arrows on my score card linking it to a specific scoring play, but I want to say that that's how she got the one basket near the end. Kenyata Hendrix used her slim build to slip into spaces and score. She was able to run the backdoor play better than most of her teammates. Tiyonda Davis is a whole lot of woman, and she pushed the Seton Hall defense around down low. She lacks a certain amount of finesse offensively, and she's not real quick. But she makes her own space and she can score. What stuck out most about her, though, was her really weird free throw wind-up. She dribbles like anyone else, but then she holds the ball out like she's about to address a serve in volleyball before bringing it back in to shoot. It was very easy to disconcert her during her motion, and we got a lot of practice at it.
I love Seton Hall's defense, and I love Seton Hall's hustle. There are definitely days when I want to love them with that proverbial two-by-four upside the head, and the offense is going to be a running issue. But it's hard to address the rebounding issue when three posts were unavailable. You can't really tell whether there's a problem there or not.
Chanel Jemmott came into the game very briefly in the fourth quarter, and still doesn't have a name on her jersey. I feel bad for her at this point. She should at least have a name. Skyler Snider played brief stretches in both halves- fought hard for rebounds, and got rewarded with free throws near the end of the game. I don't know if she's fast enough to keep up with the SHU defense, though. I feel like Shadeen Samuels's shot will come back in time, that she's off her timing for whatever reason. I love the way she fights for rebounds.
Deja Winters stretched the offense and seemed to get stronger as the game went on, but she's going to make me tear my hair out if she doesn't quit it with that slide-step. I think she had three travels called on that move. She's strong, and she's tough, and I really enjoy watching her play. Kaela Hilaire worked her butt off on defense- it seemed like every Savannah State possession had us shouting, "Good defense, Kaela!" or "Good deflection, Kaela!" I like her ferocity down the lane, too; it's more effective than her jumper.
Jayla Jones-Pack, at the moment, reminds me a fair bit of Tammy Sutton-Brown, and not just because of the hyphenation. Unfortunately, she reminds me of TSB at Rutgers, not TSB after Anne Donovan worked on her. Jayla's got to tuck her elbows in or she's going to spend way too much time on the bench in foul trouble. I'd also like to see her be more aggressive at the basket. Don't bring the ball down to where the guards can get at it. That goes for Claire Lundberg, too, who had a gift-wrapped lay-up handed to her by one of the guards and proceeded to utterly screw it up by taking the extra power dribble. She was called upon for a lot of interior defense today, which isn't her strength, and it showed. I'll be glad when our posts are finished being stupid and/or injured and we can put them back in the rotation so Claire can focus more on the perimeter.
I'm starting to think LaTecia Smith has played with a lot of shot-happy guards before. She has a phenomenal knack for reading long bounces off missed shots- I'd have to look at the numbers, but it wouldn't surprise me if she rebounds more of JaQuan Jackson's shots than would be proportional to the number of SHU shots that Quan misses. Does that sentence make sense? She's really shown fire in this early part of the season. JaQuan Jackson has moments of incredible glory, and moments of "QUANNY WTF WERE YOU THINKING?!", but I should be used to that from a SHU scorer by now. She wasn't as aggressive on the passing lanes as she was against Philadelphia, or maybe she just wasn't as successful. I feel like sometimes she's trying too hard to make offense for herself, and not doing as much to move the ball around. I'm still not seeing it with Kaity Healy.
Lots of physical play that wasn't called, and some serious questions about which circle the officials were using for block/charge calls. I'm starting to feel like either the officiating is improving or I'm getting more jaded, though. People next to me are all "OMG THAT WAS A TERRIBLE CALL!!!111" and I'm thinking, "Uh, yes, that was a reach."
Did we scare off the few members of Bluebeard Army who showed up, or are they trying to distribute the noise across a wider area?
To the flutist getting the pep band to sing various and sundry random songs to disconcert the free throw shooter: hi, I like your taste in music, let's be friends. I want to be a lumberjack too.
...I was going to do a summation here, but I think I like that ending better.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
November 30th, 2011: Howard at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: 16 points from Eugeneia McPherson and a 42-point second half gave the St. John's Red Storm a 63-48 victory over the visiting Howard Bison. Tamoria Holmes led Howard with 16 points.
For tenacity, exhaustion, threats of violence, and middle-school children, join your intrepid and sleep deprived blogger after the jump.
I swear, one of these days this team is going to kill me. I can't count how many times I've used those words to open a set of Game Notes of Doom, but it's true again. I don't care who we're missing, there's no excuse for a team like St. John's to go down nine to a team like Howard at any point in the game. We remembered who we were in the second half, and that's a plus, but I don't like how this team fell apart when presented with a challenge.
My sympathies to Mary Nwachukwu- hoping all is as well as can be. She left the team while they were in the Bahamas, and she wasn't with them tonight. There was a little bit of gossip as to the reason, but nothing has been confirmed to my satisfaction, and since she clearly doesn't want her business bruited about, I won't do it for her.
To whoever that was singing the anthem: first of all, take off your hat and sunglasses when singing the national anthem. Second, whoever gave you a recording contract should be taken out back and shot.
I find something very discomfiting about a female coach with two male assistants. The power dynamics just strike me the wrong way. Geckeler was definitely the one in charge, but... gah, I hate that I have to consider gender politics in my sports, I just want to cheer for my team.
Many of our usual suspects weren't in place today, which meant that we were invaded by middle school students who found us amusing and occasionally worth mocking. If I'd been sure, I would have gone to their chaperone. Then I would have thrown one into the upper deck. No one messes with my husband.
I was very impressed with Howard's rebounding, especially on the offensive boards. They gauged their leaps very well. They contested most shots and just about every rebound. They don't have the height, but they have the ability to sneak into spaces and wrap things up.
Zykia Brown's three-pointers had me worried for a while, but she missed when they needed her to come up big. Cheyenne Brown was the only other Bison player to log heavy minutes off the bench. She had one pretty shot in the lane, but that's all I remember about her.
Cheyenne Curley-Payne (yes, this team has two Cheyennes, welcome to the twenty-first century) demonstrated a neat facility for fitting into small spaces, and damn, is she ever fast. Tamoria Holmes brought the offense in the first half with jumpers from the perimeter- she's another fast, short, guard. Saadia Doyle reminds me a lot of Crystal Robinson in her build and her free throw wind-up. She's more of an inside player, though. Kara Smith always seemed to come up with the right shot at the right time. Likewise, Nicole Deterville seemed to come up with the right rebound at the right time. (Or maybe it was her sister. I don't know if they're identical or not, but Portia Deterville is also a 6-1 forward/center; maybe they pulled a Parent Trap.)
At least Briana Brown had the offensive rebound. Tesia Harris's shot was... I don't even know how to describe it. When two consecutive shots on the same possession are a three that goes long and a mid-range jumper that falls short, I throw my hands up in despair and scream to the heavens. Keylantra Langley had a solid game off the bench on both ends of the floor. I'd like to see her shoot less, but I can't fault the defense and the rebounding. Mallory Jones got more time than we were used to, but I'm not sure this freshman is ready yet. Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin was called upon more than usual since we were short-handed in the post, and she did admirably in the time she played- nothing big, nothing statistical, but enough to keep us from falling apart.
Shenneika Smith came up big in the second half, making the little plays, especially on the offensive boards, that got the team back in the game and extended the lead. Nadirah McKenith was off her game today, whether it was due to illness (we thought we saw her throwing up in a bucket during a timeout) or injury (she came out for shootaround holding the left side of her neck, and early in the game, she wasn't able to look in that direction). She cleaned up at the line, though. Eugeneia McPherson, I swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout, I am going to end up breaking a clipboard over your head if you keep going towards the lane, throwing something in the general direction of the glass, collapsing to the floor, and then kvetching to the ref when you don't get the call. It's nice when she slashes through the lane, taking contact like a pinball as she drives to the basket. But she always seems to prioritize getting to the line over putting up a viable shot. Amber Thompson was victimized by foul trouble, but I continue to love her hustle after rebounds. I still want her to be more aggressive under the basket on offense, but that will come with time. Jennifer Blanding wasn't completely awful- she filled space, made some defensive plays, hit her only shot. She did what we needed her to do in Mary's absence.
These refs. I don't even know what. Late whistles, pushes called in the wrong direction, jump ball situations not called, fouls on all-ball wrap-ups... I don't know what game these refs were watching, but I'm not certain it was ours.
Impressive halftime play from Our Lady of Victory. #50 in orange looked like a half-pint Katie Douglas.
I keep telling myself that we'll be fine when Da'Shena comes back, but I'm honestly not sure. I do hope that things are well enough with Mary that she can rejoin the team for the Hartford game, because Hartford is probably better than Howard, and we had enough trouble with Howard.
Friday, December 31, 2010
December 29th, 2010: Delaware State at Towson
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A huge second half from Dovile Miliauskaite, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, propelled the Towson Tigers to a win over the Delaware State Lady Hornets. Sheree Ledbetter also had 18 for the Tigers. Kianna Conner was the only player to break double digits for the Lady Hornets, with 13 points.
For harrowing adventures, really vague impressions with no backing statistics, half a game's worth of notes, the kindness of strangers, souvenirs, and the power of technology, join your intrepid and weary blogger after the jump. (Don't worry, if you're sick of me, I'm done until January 8th.)
Internet, let me tell you, the next time we get a hare-brained idea about trying to go from College Park to Towson via Maryland public transportation, you will hear us concussing ourselves to keep from doing it. I think I'm still getting the blood back into my face. What scared me was less the rows and rows of boarded up buildings we passed on the rail through downtown Baltimore- but the parts of town that they were trying to gentrify with antiques stores and art galleries that still had to roll up their sidewalks before 7PM. I always thought The Wire was an exaggeration, but I'm really thinking it isn't now. When the nice man who's helping you find your way around says that the neighborhood is safe because there's a heavy police presence, your eyebrows go up a little.
It also does not help that no one in Maryland seems to know how to give directions. “Oh, take the 3 to the 8, it puts you right by the gym.” Right. If by “right by” you mean the other side of the campus, as a 3 goes by us as we hike all around Job's barn. The game started at 7PM; we made it into the gym with five seconds left in the first half. But damn it, we were there, just like we said we'd be.
I really like Towson's arena. It's pretty much all chair-back seating, except for bleachers in the upper endcourts. I had no idea Towson had such a strong women's gymnastics tradition, either; one entire side of their banners was made up of their gymnastics wins. Their band was incredibly into the game. I want a towel now. And they had a pretty good crowd for playing a pretty bad opponent. I know Delaware State traveled well, and maybe that had something to do with it, but there were a lot of people in the black and gold.
Apparently it was not a very good first half, so I think we were all right in missing it, but I'm not sure if y'all find the trials, travails, and travels of the Game Notes of Doom to be gripping reading. We also didn't find the rosters until after the game, so the notes in my head were along the lines of “that Dominique-Canty-looking player on the bench is really vocal” or “my God, 11 has hands of stone”. I mean, I knew the name and number of one player, since the whole reason we crossed Baltimore was to go see the former St. John's player on Towson, but that was it.
But now I know that the reason why it seemed like “that Kianna what's-her-name” for Delaware State was doing so well was that they have two different starters named Kianna. Kianna Conner was the one whose shots looked awfully good and who gave me the heebie-jeebies when she got open. Deanna Harmon showed a knack for getting to the line in the second half. Delaware State's uniforms are exceptionally ugly. At least they're not wearing prison stripes anymore, but no one should be attempting to look like the Montreal Expos.
#11 for Towson turned out to be Dovile Miliauskaite, who has one of the prettiest shots I've ever seen. Once she hangs on to the ball, the ball is going into the basket- but I can't count how many times the ball bounced off her hands on passes, rebounds, or dribbles. If she could handle the ball and hang on to it, she would probably be in a BCS conference. Krystal Parnell really needs to get herself under control. She has the speed and she has the instincts, but she has no control and little common sense. And of course we were keeping an eye on Sheree Ledbetter, the transfer from St. John's who decided to head closer to home. I forgot how animated she was on the floor, and what a great personality she has. Of course, we missed pretty much all of her offensive plays, since they were in the first half and most of her second half offense came on free throws, but it was nice to see her again.
Towson does ad hoc post-game autographs- you have to be quick, and you have to know what basketball players look like when they're leaving the locker room, and you should probably bring your own Sharpie, since they can't always find theirs. But we figured we'd stick around to either say hi to Sheree or give her the distinct sense that she's befriended crazy people, and an autographed poster is a nice souvenir to add to our wall. (For those of you who have come late to the Game Notes of Doom, we decorated our apartment in Late Modern Women's Basketball- posters, bobble-heads, yearbooks, ticket stubs, basketball cards, thundersticks, signed balls... our Christmas tree is decorated with basketball cards, and named after Katie Mattera, for the awkward way it looms.)
Thanks to the kind, kind lady who gave us a lift off campus and dropped us off at the Chipotle, where we grabbed soda and burritos that traveled in stealth on Metrobus through two routes, a harrowing walk between bus stops in East Baltimore, and a hike across the entire length of White Marsh Mall. And thanks to everyone who tried to direct us, even when it was clear that people who go to basketball games are not the same people who take public transit in the area.
After our trials, travels, and tribulations, I think the thing I am most grateful to is my Virgin mobile device. I was able to whip out my computer and get directions a few times in the middle of nowhere. I like not being lost in a strange place.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
December 16th, 2008: Howard at St. John's
St. John's Red Storm 66, Howard Bison 36
Zykia Brown is Howard's offense, Sky Lindsay kicks ass, and Victoria Hodges gets on the board.
While this certainly isn't going to prove anything to anyone, this is the kind of game a team needs in order to start revving up for the big games. The starters, for the most part, were sharp, and the reserves got some much-needed time to shake the rust off. But I can't help but wonder when Howard's going to win a game.
Attendance tonight was dreadful, but I expected no less with a bad team in town, few local connections, and the first day of prolonged snow this season. Not that a lot of people show for St. John's games anyway...
Worst.Anthem.Ever. I'm going to pretend that the real anthem singer didn't show up and they had to use one of the team managers because they didn't have anyone else and half the band was missing, because there's no way on God's green earth you can hear that guy and honestly decide that he should be given a microphone.
I have the dim recollection that Howard is a very good academic school. I certainly hope it is; that way the Bison have something to comfort themselves with. Zykia Brown played really well for the Bison, and I'm pretty sure Coach Barnes Arico isn't happy about her scoring 20 on us… but since Howard only put up 36 total, that might be forgiven. There's one thing Howard did much better than we did- they set some very nice screens, especially Amanda Edwards and Tamaya Daniels, to get their shooters open- they can't be faulted if their shooters miss in every way known to man. Okay, so sometimes those screens moved a little, and sometimes there were elbows. Still, at least they were setting them. And I liked that their coaching staff and bench stayed involved to the end of the game. It sets a good example. Nice ball-hawking when the clock ran down, too. That looked like a drill that they run often.
I feel like I've said this a few times this season, but hey, here we go again. This might have been Sky's best game of the season. Her shots were falling, and she looked much more confident on the court. Even the plays that didn't go well for her (one bad pass off a nice rebound comes to mind) were done with the right idea in mind. Da'Shena was fierce, although I'd like to see a few more conversions on those shots in the paint, and especially from the line. (Also, everyone, please stop hitting the freshman, please, I mean it.) It's occurred to us that with her hair in the color and style it is, and the shape of her face, she looks like Recee's Mini-Me. Monique, despite being de-ribboned so that her hair kind of exploded, was neat and efficient, with her shots falling softly and sweetly. Kelly looked awfully tentative on her shot, almost as if she was scared to shoot unless she had the perfect angle, the perfect opportunity, and all the time in the world. She got a little better in the second half. Joy, of course, is the queen of the little things, and took home rebounding honors tonight. The midget impressed off the bench. Some stupid freshman plays, but one sweet little shot and a lot, a lot of hustle on the defensive end. That's one thing I can stand about her- she's a ball-hawk, and she'll make your life hell if you're the opposing ballhandler. I love Sheree's hustle, but she's got to learn some discipline, and I have the sinking feeling that she tries to do too much because she thinks that's the only way she's going to get playing time with Da'Shena's ascension. Coco needs to remove her head from her ass. Too many dumb plays, too many balls through her hands, too many spaceouts. Kristin came in once, spaced out during a rebound, and was yanked for a long time. When she came back in, she ended up getting clocked in the head, and the trainer was still checking her out at final buzzer. She did rather look like she was seeing two of everything. Good vibes and best wishes to you, Kristin. Be safe and healthy.
Favorite play of the game: Kelly and Britney doubling down on the ballhandler- I think that play led to a turnover. Second-favorite play of the game: Joy, sitting on nine points, only needing one more shot to be the fifth Stormie in double figures, instead passes off to Kelly for an easy three; we figured that Joy was being all captainy and trying to bolster Kelly's confidence.
Best image of the game: Joy sprawled out on the baseline after an attempted save.
Most heart-warming play of the game: Victoria Hodges, at the shot clock buzzer, sinking a jumper to notch her first two NCAA points. The bench went wild for her. Congrats, V!
Guess who's back, back again? After an entire half-season of not having seen hide nor hair of Bonita Spence, she was one of the refs for this game. And she brought an evil twin, to boot. All apologies to Norma Jones, but she does look like Spence's evil twin. As to be expected from a Spence crew, there were a lot of travels called, and only a few inexplicable calls. The only moment that comes to mind is the call that Da'Shena didn't get. We could hear her going "What?" from our seats.
Despite the questionable play of our bench, I'd still rather have seen them get more run. That's the only way they're going to get used to the floor and each other, and it's not really necessary to keep pouring it on, considering we had enough offense in the first half to win the game without scoring a point in the second. But it's from Bison to Buffalo on Saturday. Let's see if we can keep building.
Monday, April 14, 2008
December 30th, 2007: Morgan State at St. John's
After profanity, a respite, as Kia Wright brings the three-ball and Sheree Ledbetter brings the spark.
Now that's more like it. Astute readers of the game notes of doom- such as you are- might have observed that there were no game notes for Baylor's visit to St. John's, despite this being one of the most anticipated out-of-conference games of the year for the Red Storm. I was too furious at the team to write game notes, because they flat-out gave up, and that was unacceptable. But I'm back in the saddle, and today they looked like Coach read them the riot act… and then Kia and Joy read it to them again with a few curse words thrown in for good measure.
Some kind of kids day today. There were hyperactive crotchdroppings running around everywhere, and inattentive parents to go with them. We had trouble getting our regular seats, or the seats we were planning to make our regular seats (we met Kia's grandma at the Baylor game, and had planned to sit with her, but there were strangers in said seats). I don't want to say there was a bunch of cluelessness in the arena, but one of the people in my row asked me if sophomore forward Victoria Hodges, who's been in street clothes and on crutches pretty much since she set foot on campus, was the coach.
Girl Scout choral anthem. It didn't suck. For St. John's, this is noteworthy.
Morgan State has hooded warm-ups. That's kind of awesome. They play with a lot of intensity, something that I'm sure comes from their coach, who reminds me a lot of the guy from Heart of the Game. A lot of ballhawking guards, a lot of physical posts. If they had only been half as sloppy, they might have made this a game instead of a blowout. Corin Adams impressed both me and my mom- she's got a lot of nice moves and knows how to move on the floor, and as a sophomore, there's plenty of room for her to improve as well. The other big scorer for them this game was Aaries Reed. We found ourselves very fond of Tamara Rogers- mom called her a firecracker, and she played with equal passion at both ends of the floor. Britney Griffin reminded us both of Natalie Williams, at least in her build, but her touch was a little softer and her skillset much less impressive.
Lord, but Kia wanted this game. At one point, I was actually yelling that she couldn't hit any more threes, damnit, because I didn't have any more room to put them on my scoresheet- she finished with six, and the scoresheet only has seven. Her hands were pretty quick, too, and she fought for rebounds like you wouldn't believe from her size. I think she was pissed from the Baylor game. Joy was also back to her old self, though with a couple of lapses in concentration. It was nice to hear her voice on the floor again, I'll say that. Monique brought her game, though there were a couple of moments when she probably should have passed but didn't. Kelly started in her place- methinks Coach is NOT happy with Little Sista. Then again, there were way too many possessions, especially in the second half, where St. John's spent too much time passing around, either because they were trying to force-feed scoreless players, because they were working the clock, or because no one wanted to help run up the score. Tiina was completely out of it in the first half, but turned it up in the second- she was the catalyst that reminded the team that the game wasn't officially over yet. Kelly hit the shots she was given- I don't think she was asked to do more than that. I felt we got some great play off the bench, especially from Coco, and from Sheree, who had to come in when Recee got into quick foul trouble. The more I see of Sheree, the more I like her as Recee's backup when Tiina graduates- yeah, she's small, but she plays tough. I think she just needs more time to get accustomed to being on the floor. The only one we weren't really happy with was Kristin, who seemed to think that being part of the mop-up crew meant she didn't have to take the game seriously. Uh-uh.
Hopefully, we didn't use up all our shooting mojo in this game. We're going to need a lot more like this if we're going to look respectable against Rutgers. Ah well. Can't wait. May the best team that night win, that's all I have to say on that.