February 16th, 2019: LIU at St. Francis NY

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A competitive first half turned into a rout in the second half, as St. Francis of Brooklyn took down their local rivals from LIU 87-64. Jade Johnson exploded for 31 points, while Amy O'Neill added a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Brandy Thomas had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the Blackbirds in the loss.

For milestones, scoring oddities, the walking and limping wounded, taking the elevator, going the long way home, and just general head-shaking, join your intrepid and very tired blogger after the jump.


Even if the Game Notes of Doom stop sometimes, basketball doesn't, and your intrepid blogger is juggling three different windows of notes on a C train to Metrotech, on my way to the Battle of Brooklyn at St. Francis. I think the trophy game was technically the first game of the series, the one in January I couldn't get to, but they're all battles to me.

Our LIU crew came through with swag. The husband is currently wearing the troll hair.

Either Coach Cimino is jealous of Tia Montagne's eyelashes, or the coaches both have opinions on whether she should be wearing them. There's a lot of respect between Coach Cimino and Coach Del Preore, which makes this rivalry a lot easier to live with than Awkward Bowl.

We're down 44-36 at halftime, and honestly, this is better than I was expecting.

For some reason, I find it incredibly funny that St. Francis piled into an elevator to get to their locker room. Meanwhile, poor Destoni Willock has to wait for them to go and the elevator to come back, because she's on crutches and definitely can't take the stairs.

Jade Johnson is absolutely killing us. She's already got 20 points, including her 1000th. Brandy Thomas, once she stopped shooting three-pointers and started powering inside, got going and has 12 to lead the Blackbirds.

I guess the dance performance at halftime is pretty good, but I have to write all the doom and Community Day starts in 12 minutes, so I haven't been paying that much attention.

Well, this was honestly what I was expecting, in the end. We're not that good and we're extremely short-handed. We gave it as much as we could, but we didn't have that much to give.

Daisha Davis has one move in the paint, and if she's able to power the ball in, she's set. Otherwise, she's lost. I'd like to see her develop more than one move, and learn to stop bringing the ball down where all the short people can get to it. The power dribble only works if there aren't three defenders around you all hounding the ball. Autumn Ashe brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm on defense, and she had a nice hustle play on the baseline, but her offense needs a lot of work. Ryan Weise was called upon for a lot of minutes, both because her three-point shot was going down and because of the injury scare with Tiya Misir in the first half. I'd like to see her be a little less scared to take the midrange shot- she looked like she was passing off midrange and free-throw line shots that she could have gotten off without getting stuffed. She's young. Maybe she'll get over it.

Ella Vaatanen looked like she was devoutly wishing she weren't 6-1, because there were expectations being put on her that I don't think she can handle. She's the only height we have that Coach Del Preore feels like she can rely on, and she seems like she has no idea what to do with this responsibility and this size. I'd be sympathetic, but I also would like her to do the things Coach is asking her to do. I would greatly appreciate if Brandy Thomas never took a perimeter shot again, because her strength is so clearly at the basket that it's a waste of her time for her to be launching threes or long twos. Not only is it a shot she's more likely to miss, but then there's also no one to rebound the missed shot. So it's a two-for-one disaster scene. I love the work she does in the lane, and I'd love to see her do more of it.

Tiya Misir gave us all a scare when she went down hard with the ankle injury in the first half. It looked really bad, but then she got up and was able to put a little weight on it, and then she came back into the game. I'm glad she was okay, because I think her family was sitting next to us, and that's just not something you want people to have to see, you know? She seems like a really nice kid, if a bit tentative on the floor. But being tentative is pretty much the story of LIU's life. Tia Montagne seems to have found a little more confidence running the offense, but there are still times when she's backing off shots she needs to take and slowing down the offense too much. I think she's one of the few players who seems able to respond to Coach Del Preore's style. Jeydah Johnson started the game red hot, but slowed down as St. Francis adjusted their defense and she started taking worse shots.

It just seems like there's so much more we could be doing and should be doing, and we're too scared to- as if we freak out as soon as we see a defense of any sort. That's not a good sign, and I don't know if these are the right players to deal with that, or if this is the right coach to help these players deal with that fear.

Coach Cimino used her deep bench at the ends of quarters a lot, to pick up cheap fouls and give her main rotation players some extra rest. It got ridiculous at one point when she had four players enter in three successive waves. I mean, really, that was some delay of game worthy stuff there. Kate Bauhof committed a lot of stupid fouls, but I'm not sure how much of that was actually in her job description, in terms of using up team fouls at the end of the first quarter. She's enthusiastic, but I can see why her minutes have gone down as the season's gone on. I'm more surprised that some of the upperclassmen have been relegated to mop-up duty, which is pretty much my collective comment on Dana DiRenzo, Mia Ehling, and Lorraine Hickman. I know these aren't Coach Cim's players, but you work with what you have, right?

I'm glad she's using Samantha Keltos a little more- I think she's got good potential around the rim. She's decently tough. Abby Anderson doesn't show quite the same potential, to me, but she's also younger and maybe has to develop more. Ebony Horton was a hot mess on offense, but her defense was really solid- she made life miserable for our ballhandlers. But her night was done after she committed a boneheaded mistake that you usually only hear about in blooper reels, and I'm so sorry that this had to happen.

You see, a keen-eyed reader of the box score will notice that LIU has 64 points, yet LIU players only scored 62 points. And that would be because Tia Montagne missed a free throw, every Blackbird was on the other side of the court, and Ebony Horton proceeded to secure the rebound and put it back up, as you do. Except, I must remind you, Ebony Horton plays for St. Francis of Brooklyn, not LIU-Brooklyn. Thus, this is an own goal. And since there were no nearby LIU players to credit for it, it goes down as a "team" basket in the play-by-play. Horton was officially 0-3 from the field. No LIU player got an extra field goal. No one gets to add it to their tally. I don't think I've ever seen a player get subbed out so fast.

Dominique Ward killed us inside. She's got guard skills, but her length against our distinct lack of it made her a match-up nightmare. She had a few monster blocks, especially one on Brandy Thomas in the third quarter that I think killed our momentum. She plays with something less than a chip on her shoulder and something that isn't quite swagger, but lies somewhere on that spectrum- a confidence that in turn saps the confidence of her opponents. Ally Lassen really appears to be blossoming under Coach Cimino, or maybe it's just how she plays against us. She goes to the paint and she looks confident doing it. She killed us on the offensive glass, and that's where I'm going to get annoyed at our tall people for not stepping up and doing their jobs.

I don't usually have reason to pull out the "I'm starting to take a profound dislike to that woman" line in the first half, but Jade Johnson was pretty much single-handedly kicking our arses. Her pull-up game was a thing of beauty, her threes were falling, and we either couldn't or wouldn't stop her. If this was the game plan, it was a terrible game plan. The game plan where you allow one player to score and stop everyone else only works when you actually stop everyone else. Amy O'Neill has pretty much one move- drive the lane, penetrate so deep she's practically out of bounds, and throw up a wild one-handed shot. But she knows how to hit it with style, and she knows how to draw contact really well on those drives. Okay, she has two moves- option two is to pass once she drives deep. And she hounded our ballhandlers on the sideline and forced us into a lot of turnovers. Don't ask me how she got all those rebounds, though. The only thing I can think of is we were just letting a lot of balls go. Maria Palarino had a solid game, but for whatever reason, the way the PA guy does her name makes me think of '90s advertising. I don't get it, it doesn't make sense, but you didn't come to the Game Notes of Doom for dry analysis and posts that made sense, did you?

Pregame ceremony for Maria Palarino's 1000th point, and then Jade Johnson hit hers in the first half. I'd like to be happy for them, but this just feels like overkill somehow.

Not to say that the refs were bad or anything, but as we headed back towards the train station, I heard someone on the phone behind us talking about how the refs weren't making calls on penetration... and then I recognized the braids and the #5 backpack of Tia Montagne. Yes, as it turns out, the team does walk to and from St. Francis when the Battle is on.

I thought St. Francis had more than five people on their dance team, but it's been a long time.

We may not have won the game, but we took their money! One of the LIU fans won the 50/50 raffle and claimed the money off the dance group that had performed at halftime. I believe this might be a definite moral victory, or possibly an immoral victory, depending on what you believe about money being the root of all evil.

I don't know how much I can even say about LIU at this point. The team's short-handed and missing a lot of experience, and has a coach that doesn't do well with young players who need instruction in the fundamentals. I didn't exactly have high expectations for them in the first place, but this season has gone from bad to worse to lost in a hurry. With St. Francis, I can at least look forward to the old coach's players being gone so I can cheer for Coach Cimino with a clear conscience.

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December 15th, 2018: Albany at St. Francis

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Francis staged a spirited comeback in the fourth quarter, but fell short against Albany, 67-60. Amanda Kantzy had 20 points to lead the Great Danes, with Chyanna Canada adding 16 off the bench. Amy O'Neill flirted with a triple-double for the Terriers in the loss, finishing with 15 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds.

For terrible shots, a size disadvantage, small cheerleaders, amazing self-care, and attempting to limit the canine puns, join your intrepid and dogged blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, fellow travelers on the hardwood road! Your intrepid blogger comes to you life and in smell-o-vision from St. Francis College in Brooklyn. We're in for a dogfight today, as the Terriers play host to the Great Danes of Albany.

There's some sort of alumni or welcoming event going on in the main hall where the ticket tables usually are, so they decamped to the student cafeteria. Conveniently, that's where the secret entrance to the seats on the bench side is. Somewhat less conveniently, the tickets are technically for the section opposite the bench, which is counter to good policy and especially inconvenient today, since we would have to navigate back to the entrance to go to the opposite side. Maybe think through the logistics of your building before giving out tickets?

This network has been temporary for as long as I've been coming here. Guys, y'all just need to give up the pretense at some point.

Ah, so that's what it was! SFC is retiring a jersey, and the fol-de-rol up front was for registration for the luncheon related to it. Ceremony is at halftime, so you should see more about it then.

Since what passes for a student section here appears to be mostly student-athletes, I shouldn't be surprised that the trainer gets an enormous cheer.

It's 30-19 Albany at halftime, and Albany is killing us with height. Chyanna Canada has 10 points off the bench for the Great Danes. Jade Johnson has seven points to lead St. Francis, but Dominique Ward has been making more of an impact IMO, playing tough defense and rebounding.

Holy carp, the honoree looks amazing. She looks young enough to be the daughter of someone who graduated in '79.

I think Coach Cim is starting to get frustrated with players not listening to her. There seems to be a distressing amount of it going around. Ebony Horton was giving off the same kind of body language I do when my mom's lecturing me and I'd rather be reading.

The cliché about the size of the fight in the dog versus the size of the dog in the fight is so applicable to this game I'm hesitant to use it. Terriers are definitely smaller than Great Danes, but are known for their tenacity, and St. Francis is definitely smaller than Albany, but mounted a terrific comeback in the fourth quarter. I mean, come on. The cliché is the script.

Lucia Decortes played briefly in the first half, and thanks to no name on the jersey and the PA guy taking a couple of possessions off, I almost didn't see her come in. De'jah Williams hit a bucket in the lane at some point, but I think I credited to the wrong player on my scorecard. My bad.

Kumsal Aslan reminds me of Layshia Clarendon, both in her facial structure and in her defensive intensity. She stuck close to the ballhandler. Patricia Conroy provided a different dynamic off the bench, more of a widebody guard than the lighter starting guards for the Danes. Chyanna Canada displayed game both in the paint and with the elbow jumper. She overpowered us in the first half, with ten points and a big block on Abby Anderson.

Is there some kind of Swedish law that if your name is Amanda, you have to be super emotional on the floor? Because the way Amanda Kantzy was celebrating after fairly mundane plays like drawing a charge or making a block on a smaller player, you'd think they'd just won the conference title or something. She did most of her damage on the inside, then stepped out for a couple of relatively deep threes to force our defense out even further. Heather Forster got into foul trouble, and Albany was getting a lot of offense from Canada, so she didn't play as much. But her size was a factor, as was Alexi Schecter's. Schecter killed us on the glass and defended the inside well. She cottoned on to Amy O'Neill's favorite offensive move and shut her down on it.

"Adorable" should not be a word applied to college players, but there's a certain element of dandelion fluff-ness to Kyara Frames, Albany's quick little point guard. Her threes weren't going down, but she loaded up on free throws at the end of the game. Khepera Stokes wasn't much of a factor; Albany's coach saw the size advantage her team had and rolled with it, whether it was going with three bigs or putting in a larger guard.

Coach Cimino went deep to her bench at the very end of the game, looking for fresh fouls and offense-defense substitutions. Samantha Keltos still had one of her earrings on when she was called upon in the waning seconds. Kate Bauhof probably should have been called for a push on the play where she helped force an Albany turnover, but I guess I'll take it. I appreciate the hustle.

Ally Lassen didn't look comfortable playing against players her own height. I'm surprised, because she was so confident against a better team at Seton Hall, but she really seemed out of her depth against Albany's front line. By the end of the game, she looked ready to cry, whether it was from frustration or something else. Mia Ehling was usually the first one up when Coach Cimino wanted to yell at- er, I mean, gently but firmly explain to one of her players why the last thing they did was a dreadful mistake. Abby Anderson started off strong in the first half, but seemed to lose some of her energy in the second half.

On the one hand, I love Ebony Horton's energy on the bench. On the other hand, her shot is super frustrating, I don't know if she knows the defenses, and she doesn’t seem to be good at taking direction. On the other other hand, she's only a freshman, and with a detail-oriented coach like Coach Cimino, I would expect her to improve, so long as she's willing to do so. Amy O'Neill drove the lane and threw up shots that shouldn't have gone in, and yet somehow managed to do so. She's a bit of a one-trick pony in that regard, but as long as it works for her, I'm not going to tell her to stop. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. She dishes well too, so I guess that makes her a two-trick pony. Okay, I'll stop. I'm underselling her.) Jade Johnson loves her three-point shot. She loves it so much that she'll stand there and watch it, neither getting back on defense nor crashing the glass. I have so many problems with this. I like when she drives, but she doesn't do nearly enough of that.

Dominique Ward had herself a day on the inside- the official scorekeeper only granted her two blocks, but I will swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout that she had at least four. She just went up over and over again against taller players. She was the closest thing we had to an interior presence on defense. If her shot would fall, she'd be amazing, but so many of her shots seemed to be just thrown up there willy-nilly and went hard or long. Maria Palarino seemed to be driving Coach nuts all day- I think she got pulled at least twice for Teaching Moments based on either bad shots, bad fouls, or not being in the right place at the right time.

This team has a lot of mettle, but not a lot of fundamentals. Their shot mechanics are collectively a trainwreck. But when all hope seemed lost, they dug down deep and made hustle plays and big buckets. It's just the inconsistent offense that is going to kill them.

(Coach Cimino, if you're reading this: if you were upset at the Albany player running the baseline to inbound, and that's what got you so mad at the ref that you got the tech, I think the ref was unfortunately right; the player is allowed to run the baseline after a made basket regardless of an intervening timeout.)

This crew did not make any friends with either of the coaches. One of the St. Francis assistants was tasked with writing down their more egregious mistakes, and near the end of the game they lost track of the foul counts on individual players (but so did the coaching staff, so maybe that's on the scorekeeper). It got physical near the end of the game, which seems to be a thing that's happening more and more often, or perhaps my perception is just going that way more and more.

The regular cheer squad was absent, but there was a youth cheer group in attendance, and they were both adorable and enthusiastic. We need more enthusiastic fans.

Given time, I might be able to adopt this team, but they're going to have to grow on me first, and I don't know how long that's going to take.

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November 25th, 2018: St Francis NY at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Shadeen Samuels had 29 points and 11 rebounds to power another triple-digit effort for Seton Hall in their 100-77 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. Ally Lassen and Maria Palarino each had 17 points to lead the Terriers.

For a crossover crossover, banging the bleachers, baying for the blood of one's enemies, spirit fingers on the bench, and Selena Philoxy's dance moves, join your intrepid and extremely distracted blogger after the jump. In my defense, my distractions include homemade apple pie and apple strudel.

Good morning! Well, let's be honest, "morning" will be a relative term by the time I get these finished, and "good" is rapidly becoming a relative term as well. Stupid MTA. Stupid reroutes I should have somehow known about even though the conductor couldn't be bothered to announce anything about them. Stupid Sunday schedules. Stupid early tip.

Yes, it's a Seton Hall day. Which means it's a navigate-three-transit-systems-that-don't-coordinate-with-each-other-day. And we just missed the PATH train, which means half an hour of waiting at World Trade Center, interspersed with several ardent prayers to an uncaring cosmos that the 31 will be a few minutes late so we can catch the 11:30 instead of the 12:00.

I'm already too tired for this.

Fortunately, the PATH schedule was inaccurate, so we did in fact catch the 11:30, so here we are at historic Walsh Gymnasium on the campus of Seton Hall University, where the Pirates will take on the Terriers of St. Francis College.

Inja Butina just crossed a guy over with her dribble. Soccer-style. We gave her defender a yellow card on the ensuing flop.

Half-court shot time! Squad's pretty loose. Probably a good sign. Either that or we're going to get a first-quarter team-wide Teaching Moment that I'll probably be able to transcribe because the entire arena will hear it.

Don't feel bad, Shadeen, I too let out primal screams when I realize I'm late for a meeting.

I love Selena Philoxy's dance moves. Maybe someone should introduce her to Sky Lindsay.

It's 50-36 Seton Hall at halftime, and it should be more, and I would very much like it to be more. I get bloodthirsty when one of my players gets hurt, and Inja Butina took hands to the face that left her lying on the floor holding her eye. Refs reviewed, but magically found no foul. Inja still hasn't come out of the locker room. So I'm on my "sweep the leg" ish right now, and Amy O'Neill's elbows can go to hell and take the rest of her with them. (I don't even know if it was her, but she's been swinging the elbows, and it was either her or Mia Ehling.)

(So, uh, the addition of St. Francis to my pile o' teams is going to have to wait a couple of years.)

Kimi Evans has been good but inconsistent inside, and the freshman posts are having their defensive vulnerabilities exposed. Also, the next time one of our itty-bitty guards is on the other team's tallest player, I may scream. A lot.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I recognized John Fanta not by appearance but by the fact that he had the Browns-Bengals game on his second screen.

Learn from my fail. Do not attempt to take NJ Transit back from Seton Hall on Sundays during the non-conference season. You will get caught up in football traffic. It is not of the good, especially since football in MetLife Stadium is currently a trainwreck that is also on fire, and yet people keep going. (Also, you do you, dude in Baker Mayfield jersey. You do you.)

That could actually have gone better, but I'll take a 23-point win and nobody else getting hurt. After that one day of treating St. Francis like a face, I'm reminded of why it was so easy to think of them as the heel for so many years. Coach Cimino has a lot of work ahead of her in that regard. I like her, and I like how she coaches, but there's a long way to go for her younger players, and too many things to unlearn for her older players.

I'm a little surprised Dana DiRenzo got so little run- she had a cameo in the first half and a little bit more time in the second half. She did some work on the defensive glass at the end of the game. Alex Tudor committed a foul as sooon as she came into the game, which I don't think was what Coach Cimino had in mind for an immediate impact. Samantha Keltos started the second half in place of Ebony Horton, and hit a three as soon as she came into the game. She's another holdover from last year I was surprised we didn't see more of.

Kate Bauhof has potential, but the freshman is still most definitely a freshman. Her shot needs tweaking, and she still looks a little lost on the floor. Mia Ehling played heavy minutes in the second half in place of Dominique Ward, and needs to watch her hands a bit.Abby Anderson set up from deep, and looks ot be coming along nicely. But the reserve who impressed me most, by a mile, was Ally Lassen. She's really developed into a face-up post player, one who can get inside and hit consistently. She looked far more experienced than our freshman posts, and seems to have gotten comfortable with her role.

I would dearly love to know what happened with both Ebony Horton and Dominique Ward. They both started the game, but Horton came out almost immediately, never came back into the game, and went to the locker room in the second half ahead of her teammates. I hope she's okay. I didn't see anything during the game that would have caused her to have to leave. Dominique Ward couldn't get her shot to go down, and that led to her being benched almost immediately (like, first possession of the half immediately) in the second half.

Amy O'Neill has got to get her elbows under control. It's possible to run without having them pointing out like the spikes on the chariot wheels from Ben-Hur. They were always out, and they were always at the most acute angle possible. She's a little too reliant on the dipsy-do shot where she drives almost too far and throws it up with more spin than a political campaign. But, hey, it works. She's tiny but fierce, and I think I could respect that more if she would just put the damn elbows away. Maria Palarino kicked into gear in the second half on the inside. She's pretty tough. I think she had a tendency to be around when the bodies hit the deck in the paint (with nary a foul to be found, most of the time, but I'll get to that in good time). Jade Johnson was launching from deep.

I really want to like St. Francis, but every time I think it might happen, elbows happen.

Whitney Howell played just long enough to get burned on defense and pull down a couple of boards, and we didn't see her in the second half. She started off the season looking good, but she hit the freshman wall early. Hey, maybe that means she'll get over it earlier too! We got better results from Femi Funeus in the paint, though her defense was lacking a certain something as well. Her timing was off on the glass- she was consistently going too early on the jump. Selena Philoxy gave us more of a physical presence, and at least one death glare to St. Francis while sh ewas waiting to come into the game. Lena has no truck with fake New Yorkers.

Danielle Robinson came off the bench about a minute before we were about to start calling for her to come in. She didn't have much of an impact, but she didn't need to. A lot of the other guards had to step up off the bench in Inja's absence. We got extended run from Kaity Healy, in which she demonstrated her top-notch on-floor communication skills by calling out screens and signals more consistently than anyone else. Kaela Hilaire picked up the bulk of the minutes in Inja's spot, and she was pretty solid, except for that terrible moment when O'Neill inbounded the ball off her butt and St. Francis scored on the ensuign possession. That was a little bit awkward. But her drives did an excellent job of setting up our inside game. We spent a lot of time going with a smaller lineup, because Shadeen Samuels is just that awesome, which meant that we saw a lot of Desiree Elmore, who did some kind of work on the offensive glass- I think all her o-boards were also putbacks off Deen or Kimi's misses. I love the element she brings to the game when she's on the floor- there always seems to be a little extra oomph out there, for lack of a better word, a little more energy or something.

As far as we know, Inja only has a concussion and there was no eye damage. That is honestly a lot better than I was expecting when she spent so long on the floor holding the side of her face. Get well soon, Inja!

Victoria Cardaci did not have one of her better shooting days. For whatever reason, she was hesitating way too much even when St. Francis was giving her what seemed to be enough space to shoot, so when she did finally hoist it, it often wasn't as good a look as it was initially. I'm also going to need her to stop with the stupid reach-in fouls. If she's not contributing with offense, she needs to contribute with smarter defense. Nicole Jimenez continues to astonish me with her frankly ridiculously vertical. When she goes up to contest a three, you would not guess she's only 5-2. She and KK were exceptionally effective on the double-team. I can imagine that being just a tiny little bit of a nightmare for an offensive player, the two of them pestering the daylights out of the ballhandler.

Kimi Evans still isn't all the way back from her injury, and the mask is not helping her in that regard. Her field of vision seems to be restricted, which is doing whatever the opposite of wonders would be for her shot. She was consistently leaving shots short right at the rim. She started the game off strong and just sort of gradually fell into more and more of a funk. I'm not too worried yet. I'll worry more if the problems persist after the mask comes off. Shadeen Samuels stole the show, as she so often does, with moves in the paint. She decided this was going to be the day where she showed off her corner three. While it's not my favorite part of her game, and I don't want her to fall into the trap of falling in love with it, it's a useful weapon to have when it's falling. She's so smooth,a nd so determined on the inside, and she had such beautiful hot passes on the inside. I just love watching her play. I'm sorry I can't be more coherent about it.

I think the team got fired up after Inja went down, but getting fired up can cut both ways. There were stretches when they were definitely trying too hard, trying to bury the enemy instead of just defeat them. Sometimes you have to tone down the fire a little bit instead of letting it go nuts.

Refs let the contact get way out of hand, and I'm very, very glad that no one else got hurt too badly (unless Horton got hurt, in which case, I retract my relief and send further imprecations in the direction of the officials). Both coaches were working the officials hard, and at one point both Coach Bozzella and Coach DeFalco were out on the floor in disbelief (it was going into a timeout, which is why no one got a technical).

I don't think this game proved anything, except that we have players who can step up if need be. I need to see Kimi fully healthy, and I need a better sense of who we are. Time to turn on live stats!

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November 17th, 2018: LIU at Saint Peter's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Saint Peter's started off strong and stayed well out in front of LIU in their 86-59 win. Zoe Pero had 19 points and 10 rebounds, leading five Peacocks in double digits. Kiara Bell had a team-high 16 points off the bench for LIU, with Brandy Thomas adding 13 points and 14 rebounds.

For freshmen, getting turned around, insistent terminology, epic fails, dodgeball, and a lack of experience, join your intrepid and perturbed blogger after the jump.

Road trip! It's not a very exotic road trip, but it's a road trip nevertheless, to the wilds, or at least the unfamiliars, of Jersey City, to cheer on LIU at Saint Peter's.

It's astonishing what better lighting and better bleacher placement can do to make a multi-use gym actually look like a place where basketball should be happening. Saint Peter's doesn't look like they have a terrible facility anymore. It looks bare-bones and minimalist, to be sure, but it doesn't look like unmitigated crap like St. Francis's gym does.

Just for the record, I still maintain that Saint Peter's should have kept Peahens for their women's teams, and I will continue to maintain this throughout any game notes that feature Saint Peter's. Also just for the record, the school seems to eschew the St. abbreviation for Saint, so I'll be doing my best to use their preferred style.

If this dude uses "ladies and gentlemen" to preface one more segment of the pregame announcements, I may blow a gasket.

There are a lot of people here in LIU gear. I know we have a few kids from Jersey, but on the other hand, almost everyone for Saint Peter's is from Jersey, so...?

I do like the pattern adidas is using for the background of the shooting shirts. Can't tell from here if it's tribal or feathers or camo or random, but it's cool. The shirts and the shorts don't quite match, though.

Tia Montagne is in a walking boot. I'm sad.

It should be taken for granted that I love the royal purple of Coach Del Preore's dress. Or maybe it shouldn't. I was about to say, "have you people met me?" but then I remembered most of you probably haven't, and given that my teams wear various shades of red, blue, maroon, black, and maize, you would have no idea that I gravitate towards purple like fouls gravitate towards post players.

Well. This is going about as well as I could have expected. It's 42-17 Saint Peter's at halftime, and frankly, it could even be worse. We are not good at basketball. Maybe this is a thing that will change at some point? It doesn't help that we have very, very little experience coming back, and a good part of it is already injured. I'm convinced Autumn Ashe is a figment of our collective imagination. Coach has already undone and redone her ponytail multiple times. For Saint Peter's, Briyanah Richardson has been a revelation, and she and D'Aviyon Magazine will be a heck of a one-two punch for the Peacocks for quite some time.

There are hairdos I have come to expect from cheerleaders, and lavender buzzcut is not one of them. I don't object, mind you. I'm a little amused that they just completely gave up on the giant white bow for her, though.

Free throws win ballgames. In the absence of an ability to win the ballgame, they do at least make you look like a D-I team, not a train wreck masquerading as one.

Well, that could have gone worse, I guess. I mean, I'm sure it could have gone better, but I can see ways where it could have gone worse. Saint Peter's has brought in a lot of talent, and while it might take some time for them all to mesh, they're not going to get beat up in the MAAC like last year. They have a lot of firepower. LIU's got a lot of freshmen, and they all look like they're scared of their own shadows, and anyone with experience is either injured, AWOL, or has regressed. It's going to be a long season in Fort Greene. Still my team, but doesn't mean I don't find them frustrating.

Kiara Bell was the one bright spot off the bench. She brings size that we sorely needed. She needs to work on her conditioning and extending her game ever so slightly, but she did an admirable job of finishing at the rim, especially with putbacks. I wish we'd been able to get more from Seneca Richards. And just to make it clear, by "more", I mean "anything other than an inexplicable refusal to either play her height or play the skill set she showed last year".

Ryan Weise got run later in each half and spent it either taking long threes or committing fouls. I don't think she's ready for prime time, but I think she was forced up in the rotation due to a lack of personnel. Shyla Sanford did a good job of getting in position to make defensive plays on the break, but I'm not sure about her on offense.

Ella Vaatanen shouldn't have to be taking the opening tip-off. She has a little bit of the height, but that's it. She's in over her head here, and I think it shows. Defensively, she had a world of trouble getting into position. Offensively, I don't know that she knew what she was supposed to be doing, posting up or launching jumpers. She got tasked with trying to guard Zoe Pero, who's a pure post, and it did not go well. At all. Brandy Thomas doesn't have the stamina she needs for the college game yet, but she's hard-nosed and gets the job done inside. I love her toughness. But she needs someone to complement her, and Ella is not that player.

Jeydah Johnson's shot was off. Way off. Side of the backboard off. Short of the rim off. She left the bench sometime in the second half with the trainer, holding her back, so maybe she's hurt- if I recall correctly, she's had back trouble before. But it's a problem when the person who's most willing to shoot- for much of the game, apparently the only person willing to shoot- is unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Camille Gray has quick hands on defense, when she's in position. But I'm honestly not sure who's more terrified on the floor, her or Tiya Misir. Tiya seemed paralyzed whenever she was running the offense, constantly looking back for the call. She's got to show some initiative at some point. I realize it's early. I'm sure she'll get better at this sort of thing, especially if Tia comes back to relieve some of the pressure. (Also, Tia and Tiya are homophones, so this could be a confusing few years.)

I honestly thought Jordyn Hawthorne got more time than she did. Maybe it was just time elapsed; she tended to finish quarters, and her minutes bridged the quarter break. Big body, but she didn't see a lot of use. Phylina Holmes got into the game late and made her biggest impression crashing out of bounds going for a loose ball. She's another big body Coach Mitchell needs to get refined, but she'll be good for them by the time Pero graduates.

Anna Maguire has a ridiculously quick shot. The word "snap" comes to mind. Instant offense, though I can see her going cold for stretches and shooting her team out of games just as easily as she shoots them in. Sammy Lochner also provided solid offense off the bench. Tyara McQueen had quick hands, which served her well when she got the steals, but not so well when she got called for the hand-check. She'll have to learn to restrain herself in that regard. But she's good.

I love Cinnamon Dockery's hustle. She made a lot of plays happen on the offensive glass and on defense. Her ball-hawking is on point. Briyanah Richardson puton a show, and I'm really excited about what she'll be able to do for the Peacocks in the next few years. She's already very well-rounded and poised for a freshman. She brings the driving game, and D'Aviyon Magazine brings the outside shooting. It's a deadly combination.

Zoe Pero killed us inside, and would have done a lot more if she'd been able to hold on to the ball consistently. She did a fantastic job of getting to the line and converting. Wil'lisha Jackson set screens and did the little things for the Peacocks.

I don't think we saw either coach at their best in this game- lots of sloppy mistakes from the plethora of freshmen for both teams. Officiating left something to be desired as well- at one point it looked like they were really going to go "no blood, no foul" rules- which is not going to work with two very passionate coaches.

(Speaking of which, Stephanie, you do know other people can hear you swearing, right?)

Long season up ahead. They're my team and I love them. It's just going to be a long year.

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November 10th, 2018: Manhattan at St. Francis

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Francis surged in the fourth quarter to win 73-65 over Manhattan. Jade Johnson had 20 points to lead four Terriers in double figures. D'Yona Davis had a team-high 13 points for the Jaspers in the loss.

For unexpected wrestling terminology, facility shortcomings, NOT GETTING DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS DAMNIT, coaching the kids up, unexpected hugs, undesired selfies, and easing into a new team, join your intrepid and adventurous blogger after the jump.

We go from Iona's heel turn yesterday to a face turn today. Since John Thurston- he with the astonishing talent for finding dishwater blondes across the world yet overlooking most of the talent in his own city- has departed St. Francis College, it's a lot easier to root for them. It's even easier when we know the new coach. So we're on our way to Remsen Street to cheer on, instead of cheer against, the Terriers for the first time in I don't know how many years, as they take on Manhattan.

The in-game notes may be a little spotty. It's Pokémon Go's monthly Community Day, which is why we're in Brooklyn Heights instead of South Orange, so I have shinies to chase and stardust to collect. But you'll get your postgame notes, hopefully with the coherency and snark you've come to expect.

Well, St. Francis has a nice new floor, and the mural is still pretty boss, but every time I come here, I am reminded just how subpar a facility the Terriers have. The more I think about it, the more I think it's not a good look to have the half-closed bleachers be the side behind the bench (where cameras, such as they are, usually face).

St. Francis has gone heavily to the Brooklyn branding, especially on the warm-up shirts.

There were small children dancing at halftime and having their pictures taken. One of them seemed really freaked out by the mascot, but ended up hugging him in the end, so that all worked out.

I remembered Manhattan as a second-half team, so I was pleasantly surprised that St. Francis was able to pull off the comeback in the fourth quarter. But our defensive rebounding was atrocious. Between the freshmen and the returners, there are a lot of bad habits to be unlearned, but I think Coach Cimino is on the case in that regard.

Manhattan went pretty deep into their bench, though some players only got a couple of minutes. Nyala Pendergrass came in very late, very briefly. Kania Pollard got off some corner threes, but couldn't get them to go down. Pamela Miceus showed some moves in the post and had a nice block, though they don't seem to have credited her for it.

Lizahya Morgan was unafraid to launch from deep, and some of them came at critical moments. She's a quick little guard. Sini Mäkelä did some work on the glass. Tuuli Menna picked up a lot of minutes in the second half and did a lot of good stuff inside. (Good stuff. This is the kind of incisive commentary all nine of you come to the Game Notes of Doom for.)

I still very much enjoy watching Gabby Cajou play, even if it's usually in frustration because her team is never my team, and even if she wasn’t quite as show-stopping as she was the last time I saw her. She was one of the few players for either team who was willing to shoot at the end of the shot clock. D'Yona Davis was also putting up some big shots. She looks good for a freshman. Candela Abejón didn't play that much, and I don't remember her very clearly.

Their inside players did a really good job of getting offensive rebounds. Julie Høier and Courtney Warley both used their height to full advantage, both in getting position and in getting reboudns even when they were out of position. There were multiple possessions with multiple Jasper offensive rebounds. Warley was throwing some elbows on her screens. She's a tough player. I think I could respect her more if she set better screens. Høier was very efficient. I was quietly impressed with her.

Manhattan fell apart in the fourth quarter, in ways I wasn't expecting. We were coming up with the 50/50 balls that they were getting in the first half. I'm glad we were able to buckle down at the end.

Coach Cimino was pretty quick with the hook whenever her players were making stupid mistakes, and there were plenty of stupid mistakes to go around. So she was doing a lot of subbing. Kate Bauhof is definitely still working out her way into college shape, both physically and in terms of fitting into the system. Alex Tudor got a couple of minutes in the first half, but I think they may have been to give someone else a Teaching Moment. Abby Anderson got her run in the second half and did a nice job of being a sparkplug on the boards (which we sorely needed).

Ebony Horton made a fantastic first impression. I can see where she needs work, how she can sharpen her passing and work on her shot selection. Coach was especially not pleased with her getting trapped on the sideline on one occasion, since is forced a timeout. But I love her driving ability, and when she can get the passes off, they're great. Ally Lassen hit free throws down the stretch and came away with offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, when we hadn't been getting them all game. Appreciate the hustle.

Good Lord, Amy O'Neill. She wasn't the star of the game, but she certainly had some of the flashiest plays, with dipsy-do lay-ups and long passes to get the fast break going. She goes hard for the ball, even if she doesn't get it. Mia Ehling hit the free throws when it counted to seal the game. Jade Johnson was hitting threes early, but she spent an awful lot of time flat-footed on the glass. I don't want to blame her for all of our rebounding woes, but it sure seemed like she could have been doing a lot more than she did in that regard.

Dominique Ward brings good size, but I was expecting somewhat better ball thought from her on the floor, given that she's a grad transfer. Maybe today was just an off game for her. Maria Palarino did well getting fouled on the glass. I'd have to do a closer reading of the play-by-play to determine this, and I'm too tired and I have two more games to write up today, but I think she did the best job of taking advantage of those times when Manhattan was in the penalty.

I know we were outsized, but we still gave up way too many rebounds. Too many times, we had a player in position and Manhattan just reached over her. Too many times, we stood and watched the ball as Manhattan charged for it. This is not okay. This is never okay. We have to be more assertive.

There was an enthusiastic rookie ref making a lot of calls on the floor. At one point Coach was pointing that out and telling her team that the official was calling every handcheck, that if someone fell down there'd be a foul called. It wasn't completely accurate, but it was a good benchmark. Not nearly as bad as the crew at the Iona game, but there were definitely some dubious calls. At least these ladies could count.

I'm interested in the development of St. Francis. I think, though I am biased, that they got in a great coach for a rebuild. Pointing out strengths and weaknesses seems to be a strength of hers, and I have faith in her ability to teach the game.

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November 6th, 2018: Wagner at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Victoria Cardaci stroked seven threes in the first half for a game-high 21 points, and Seton Hall was never threatened in a 95-40 pounding of Wagner. Shadeen Samuels added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates. Emilija Krista Grava had 15 points and nine rebounds (seven offensive) to pace Wagner.

For exercising one's civic duty, terrible weather, terrible t-shirt aim, shooting touch, suaveness, and time concerns, join your intrepid and hyped blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, fellow travelers! It's the most wonderful day of the year! Election Day! (If you didn't vote, we aren't friends.)

Okay, it's also the most wonderful day of the year because the season is upon us! Your intrepid blogger is currently wringing herself out at Seton Hall, as the Pirates open the season against the Seahawks of Wagner.

After further review, I've decided that I don't, in fact, want to know why Harrison station stinks horribly of dead fish.

It's raining very heavily today, and South Orange has dubious drainage. I've never seen my sneakers this shade of black before.

There is a dude who was very enthusiastic about the gates opening. Dude. You are here for the doubleheader. If you're going to be here for five and a half hours, you can wait two minutes. (I am not going to be here for five and a half hours. It's Election Day. There are returns to watch.)

Welcomed Seton Hall's new DOBO, Danaejah Grant, to the Awkward Bowl. As long as she doesn't end up with anyone trying to sic security on her at the Big East tournament, she'll be ahead of the game.

It looks like we're not playing Kimi Evans, which is a shame because I was looking forward to seeing her- I hear she's made huge strides in the offseason. But I doubt we're going to need her against Wagner, and if she has any nagging issues it's better to rest her.

This zone defense drill is really intense. I love it.

Unsurprisingly, forty minutes before tip of an early afternoon game on a rainy day where people might have other obligations, there aren't a lot of people here. If the bathroom has a hand dryer, I might actually be able to get away with trying to blow dry my sneakers. The population of the arena has not appreciably increased since that point.

We appear to be getting a Michael Jackson medley for our halftime entertainment, and I am perfectly okay with this.

At halftime, SHU is up 52-27 on Wagner, which I wasn't necessarily expecting after we gave up a 6-point hole shot. Victoria Cardaci has decided to make a sterling first impression with seven three-pointers to lead the way with 21 points. I don't know if Coach is happy with the rotation on defense, though.

There are players I expect to commit stupid fouls that put the other team over the limit with twenty-three seconds left in the half. Kaity Healy is literally the last person on Seton Hall's roster I expect this of, and I am disappointed in this.

Cheer squad might want to work on their t-shirt tosses. One of them attempted to reach the upper deck and failed so miserably she managed to drop it on someone's head. Which is bad enough when the aforementioned head is not that of a Pirate alumna. (Hi, Chiz!)

We've managed to slow count Wagner into a shot clock violation and fast count them into a rushed shot. This pleases me.

It took six seconds to have our first clock malfunction of the season. I'd say "never change", but please, please change.

There was also some foofarol a the beginning of the game having to do with Alayshia Dailey's hair. I think she had some metal decorations in it or something. Coach DiPillo seemed to be bringing it to the refs' attention during the clock reset, thus giving us delayception.

Well, that certainly didn't prove anything, but it was fun to watch. Wagner was not ready for this level of defense, or for the length we were able to bring in the post, or for Nicole Jimenez in general. Coach Jacobs has a long way to go with this team, in terms of clock awareness/management, and in terms of chemistry. (Since two of my teams are in the NEC, I'm rubbing my hands together in glee.)

Enas Ngatu gave the Seahawks some height, but she also got them in trouble with two offensive fouls (though I'll be honest and say I'm not sure about that second one). I see now that she's a freshman, and that she is one of many freshmen on Wagner's roster, so I can see why the going might be rough. Jordan Hobson didn't play in the second half until the fourth quarter, which didn't stop the PA announcer from announcing Amanda Pollard's second and third fouls as being hers. By the second one, she had a spectacularly WTF face going. I wasn't expecting her to be a three-point shooter.

Amanda Pollard has very big hair (which is another reason I was surprised the PA guy mixed up her and Hobson- other than a similarity of numbers, they look nothing alike). Neither she nor Addie Masonius, the other guard off the bench, left enough of an impression to write anything about.

There's a lot more promise with the starters (which is probably why they're starters). Nakylia Carter made a couple of great defensive plays in the first quarter, including a disruption that broke up a fast break for the Pirates. Khaleah Edwards made herself a target inside- I recall more than one possession where she was defended by Nicole Jimenez, which is just not fair in terms of height. Emilija Krista Grava made a very good first impression with eight points in the first quarter. She was another big target inside for the Seahawks, and one who could finish both inside and out. I think she's going to be big for them.

Overall, Wagner has a long way to go. But I was impressed with their offensive rebounding. They anticipated well, at least early on.

Danielle Robinson is going to spend quite a long time confusing me, isn't she? Especially if she turns into a three-point shooter. She's still a work in progress- a couple of steps slow, not sure where she's supposed to be either offensively or defensively. But she's a freshman. I've been told this is a thing with freshmen. Kaity Healy was off her game- yes, she was hitting threes and getting a big pop from the miniscule crowd for them, but she made a couple of boneheaded plays that were really out of character for her. When you're team captain, you're going to get judged more harshly for things like that. Diandra DaRosa got nto the game much later than I was expecting in both halves. I don't know if she fits in this system yet, but it's early to tell. Kaela Hilaire had only one speed, and that was full throttle. She got a lot of assists on fullcourt passes and fast breaks. I don't think Coach was happy with her going for a quick basket up 40 with less than a minute to go, though.

Selena Philoxy didn't play in the first half, but in the second half, she did work. What I like about Selena is this sense of inevitability she carries with her when she's driving into the lane. It's like she's decided that what she's going to do is what's going to happen and reality is just going to have to accept it. She finished with style and power. Desiree Elmore is well-rounded, and I think she's going to be an important piece for us- I can see why Coach was so determined to get her immediately eligible. She's still a touch slow on the defensive help, but that's a chemistry thing. Femi Funeus made a really good first impression, Tina Thompson-esque lipstick and all. While I recognize that SHU wasn't playing against Big East-caliber competition, she seemed to settle right in on the floor. She had a lot of dropped passes, but those may have been as much on the guards as they were the posts, because the problem wasn't limited to her.

Speaking of freshman posts making a really good first impression, wow, did Whitney Howell look ready for primetime. Again, I realize that Wagner was not much of a challenge, and she'll probably have more problems against higher-level opponents, but she was strong on the inside. I wouldn't have guessed that she was a freshman if I didn't know Seton Hall's roster. Oh, man, a Big East team with a real frontcourt... that would be unstoppable in conference. And Shadeen Samuels is just so fun to watch. She has this ineffable air of smooth and cool around her, whether it's during shootaround or when she flicks away the ball and bounds down the court for the layup. Foul trouble might be her biggest Achilles heel, so if she can stay on the floor she's going to be terrifying in a wonderful way.

For the record, I'm not a big fan of this three-guard set, especially with our small guards. It worked in this game, and for all I know, it's only going to last until Kimi Evans is once more available. But I don't think that's the most effective way to use Victoria Cardaci, and I don't think it's the most effective way to use Inja Butina. Not that Victoria's shooting didn't create an instant positive first impression- she got the ball and the ball went up, just as simple as that. Wagner was able to get hands up in her face in the second half, which led to her not adding more threes to that mind-boggling seven from the first half. But that seems like the kind of weapon that would be more effective situationally, off the bench, instead of in the starting lineup. Inja Butina got going in the third quarter after a slow start where she looked a little hesitant. I'd like her to speed up her decision-making on the floor, but I don't know if that's going to happen at this point in her career. Nicole Jimenez continues to do things that it doesn't look like a person her height should be able to do. She gets up so high it's crazy. Maybe a little less mustard on the passes, because it looked like the posts weren't able to handle them.

I think we need to realize that there's more than one speed possible in a game. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy watching the Pirates zip up and down the floor on the break, but there are times when slowing down is the better approach, and it seems like we have a surfeit of guards who just aren't into that kind of thing. I can see this being a problem with a smaller lead- the last thing we need is to run ourselves into letting teams back into the game because we give them time to come back.

Band sounds sharp. Cheer's a little shaky.

Officiating was nothing to write home about. That's usually a good sign.

I'd say I'm looking forward to the Tip-Off Classic, but I'm not looking forward to getting out of the house that early.

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March 2nd, 2018: Bryant at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma'am: LIU raced out to a 21-4 first quarter lead, then held on tight in the fourth quarter to preserve a 69-61 win over Bryant. Denisha Petty-Evans had 22 points and five steals to power the Blackbirds, with DeAngelique Waithe adding 20 points and four blocks. Sydney Holloway had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Bryant.

For reluctant farewells, seniors with traveling families, defensive stops, unexpected offense, people who are in the wrong section, gyrations, and no small amount of pride, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and of course our well-mannered folks who defy and deny the gender binary! We're not quite the post office, but we're not going to let anything like a nor'easter keep us from a game. Your intrepid blogger comes to you as one of the eight people currently in the stands at LIU as they take on Bryant.

Believe me, I'd rather have skipped this game and gone Sunday for Senior Day, but of course that's the day the Liberty are doing their select-a-seat event up in White Plains, and there's no way we can do both.

For God's sake, Stylz, put a shirt on, you're making me cold just looking at you. Granted, the new t-shirts are reasonably pointless and I can understand not wanting to wear them, but still.

Denisha Petty-Evans just blocked a pass with her face, I'm starting to think this is going to be a long night.

Literally the entire sections behind and in front of the visiting bench are empty, why have the Bryant fans decided to park in the section across from the home bench? I hope Nish's family shows up and gives them whatfor. Come on, man. You literally have to walk past the visiting bench and the sections near it to sit over here.

Seneca Richards always looks like she's running on two hours less sleep than she actually needs, but now there's an enormous shiner under her left eye, and her right's not looking all that great either.

Drew Winter's still hurt, Paris Jones is hurt again, and Destoni Willock's been getting taped up for half of warm-ups. Injuries are really starting to take their toll. I mean, it's the end of the season, we have, at best, two more games left, so there are worse times, but it's rough, man. It's rough. (Actually, looking closer at Destoni, she also looks a little dinged up around the eyes. Who's been throwing 'bows in practice?)

I have no idea what this song is, but they just namedropped Pinky and the Brain, so hello new favorite artist. Now, if the DJ could turn the volume down so that it's not vibrating through my feet, preferably before my ears start bleeding, that would be great.

I've never had occasion to use this in the positive sense, but what even is happening?! It's 42-19 at the half. 42-19 LIU. Hands up, everyone who expected that. Bryant is shooting like they've never seen a basketball hoop before. Denisha Petty-Evans has 13 points and a ridiculous number of steals to lead both the Blackbird offense and defense. Haley Connors has 5 off the bench to lead the scattershot Bryant offense.

I don't know if we can keep this up in the second half. We're short-handed, after all; eventually the energy spent on defense is going to come back to haunt us. We just need to hold on to enough of it.

We held on to enough of it. Bryant made a big run in the fourth quarter, but they made their move too soon, and we were able to recover defensively to hold the line. I love what this team brings on defense so much. We are so terrible on offense and so determined on defense that it makes my teeth hurt sometimes.

Brooke Bjelko did some work on putbacks right at the basket, but also missed a bunny down there. She's got good height, but she still needs a little work. She's only a freshman. She'll learn, I'm sure. Kathleen Everson was the belle of the ball for the people behind us, who were her family and extremely proud of her. I would be more appreciative of their appreciating her if her dad didn't do that ear-piercing whistle thing. She set a beautiful screen to set up one of the threes for Stephanie Lesko. I'm pretty sure she got multiple offensive rebounds on the same possession- there was one sequence where Bryant had three or four cracks at the basket before getting it to go down.

When I put together the roster card/score card for this game, I spent entirely too much time trying to figure out whether Stephanie Lesko was related to Tori Lesko at Iona. I probably should have waited until gametime, because while I love Tori, she does not have a jump shot, and this Lesko definitely has a jump shot. She came up big for Bryant in the fourth quarter. Haley Connors had a spurt of offense from the right wing in the first half, enough that we knew we couldn't leave her open. Kandis Taylor tended to be on the defensive end of the offense-defense substitutions. She's pretty stocky, and wasn't afraid to body up on anyone (I'm pretty sure she ended up entangled with at least one of our posts at least once).

Sydney Holloway plays like she wanted to play for Mike Carey and his physical West Virginia teams. (Yes, if you're from Morgantown and every foul you commit involves checking someone into the boards, you will get Mountaineer references, put your sunglasses on and deal with it.) She was able to draw a lot of fouls on paint penetration, and credit where credit is due, she converted on them. That's an incredibly important and underappreciated skill. I was impressed with her hustle, even when it cost her team (she was so enthusiastic about following up on a free throw that she committed a lane violation and negated a made shot). The people who shouted "HOLLA!" when she hit shots were simultaneously annoying but appreciated. Despite my "get off my lawn" tendencies, I like passionate opposing fans. They just need to not be on my lawn. Hannah Scanlan showed touch at the basket in the third quarter, but I think Bryant was happier with what they were getting from Everson than from Scanlan.

Naomi Ashley was really tough. She made a lot of plays happen low to the ground, whether it was wrestling the ball out of our guards' hands or getting an offensive board on the baseline. She went hard in the paint and on the glass, and she got rewarded for it. She made a lot of good things happen for Bryant on both ends of the floor. I kept thinking Kierra Palmer didn't play much, and then I looked at the box score and saw that she played over half the game. That probably doesn't say a lot of good things about her. The box score tells me that she threw up a lot of threes, but I don't remember seeing Bryant put up a lot of threes. Most of the bad shots I remember them putting up were random heaves in the paint at the basket. Masey Zegarowski had a pretty, pretty pass to set up Bjelko for an outside jumper, and a steal in the fourth quarter- I'm trying to remember if she or Ashley was the one who brute forced the ball out of Denisha's hands.

I have to give Bryant credit- they figured out who they were in the second half. They got outside shots to fall from their shooters, and converted better on the inside against our tired defense. They adjusted. I'm glad they didn't adjust enough to win, though.

Destoni Willock is going to be the death of me, if she's not the death of Coach Del Preore. You can't fault her hustle. You can fault her occasional urges to play for the Maple Leafs, or her occasional inability to recognize her teammates, or her lack of a shot. She'd be less dangerous to us and more dangerous to the opponent if she could consistently control her physicality. I was surprised not to see more of Ella Vaatanen in the second half- I thought she brought good energy on defense and decent size to cover on the perimeter. Jeydah Johnson hit big shots in the second half, but I'm not sure whether she was paying attention to what the play call was supposed to be. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes it didn't. She had to play out of position a lot thanks to our short bench, and I don't think it affected her game positively.

Tia Montagne had probably the most freshman game that it is possible for a freshman to freshman. She made a whole lot of horrific passes that had no business attempting to go where she was attempting them. (Although, to be fair to Tia, the worst passing situation of the night came from our grad student.) She looked like a freshman trying to spearhead an offense that isn't exactly much of a spear to start with. She also had a monster block on Zegarowski, played frenetic defense on the ball, and sank two clutch free throws late in the game. Up and down, with moments of facepalm and moments of glory- if that's not the definition of a freshman, I don't know what is. Denisha Petty-Evans slowed down, or was slowed down, in the second half, but came up with two huge threes to help ice it in the fourth. Sometimes I question her shot selection, but someone on this team has to shoot and I'm pretty sure it's not going to be Tia. That being said, when they say to hit your teammate with the pass, they don't mean it literally. This isn't dodgeball. (Also, I love Angel to pieces, but she should have had enough court awareness to, y'know, not literally get hit with the basketball.) Seneca Richards continues to impress me with her clock awareness, though that might be because no one else on this team seems to really have it. I look forward to seeing how she develops next year.

Solid, solid game from Stylz Sanders. That's the best word that comes to mind for her. She hit the shots she needed to hit on the inside, especially in the first quarter. She made the defensive stops she needed to make, save those that would have involved her needing to be several inches taller. She boxed out well and rebounded well. She spoke up for her teammates when the refs were being, well, NEC refs who probably weren't looking forward to going home in the teeth of a nor'easter. I've grown to admire her leadership this season, taking the kids in hand. DeAngelique Waithe had herself a day on the inside, though there was a stretch in the third quarter where it looked like the coffee wore off and she was completely tuned out of the game. A particularly emphatic teaching moment ensued, and Angel got her head on straight once more, making a big defensive stop down the stretch and finishing with a bang on the fast break lay-up. I love to watch her defend. I enjoy watching her take good shots in the paint, too, but I really love to watch those long arms in action.

I knew we couldn't sustain the offensive pace we were putting out in the first half. I was worried about the collapse in the fourth quarter, because Bryant is good enough, and we're mostly young enough, that it might have gone all the way down. But I should have remembered that our seniors and our grad student weren't going to let that happen. Nish made buckets, and Angel made stops, and we held the line.

Granted, this may also have been because the players were getting tired, but we went from a total of six fouls in the first half to something like fifteen fouls in the third quarter. It wasn't like it was dangerously physical in the first half and needed to be reined in, either. The refs just seemed to remember that there were whistles around their necks and wanted to take full advantage of them. And then Bryant didn't get called for a foul until midway through the fourth quarter. It looked a little fishy, but we got through it.

The halftime scrimmage involved unusually small Brooklyn Bulldogs. They didn't look old enough to be in college, but you know how kids are starting their education younger and younger these days. (The joke here is that Brooklyn College's teams are called the Bulldogs.)

Dance team has been working on their moves. Spines don't work that way!

We got to say goodbye to Denisha's mom and grandma after the game, and then to DeAngelique herself when she came out to say hi to her family. Man, I am so bummed I'm going to miss this Senior Day. This senior class has been so clutch for us.

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February 17th, 2018: LIU at St. Francis NY

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong third quarter from St. Francis cemented their 64-54 win in the Battle of Brooklyn. Jade Johnson took game MVP honors with 23 points for the Terriers. Jeydah Johnson had 15 points to lead LIU.

For bad calls, possibly having the entire arena staring at you, literal-mindedness, dance teams, winning raffle tickets, dubious shot selection, and the fierce joy of rivalry, join your intrepid and emotionally exhausted blogger after the jump.

Basketball never stops. Neither do rivalries. We go from the Awkward Bowl to the Battle of Brooklyn, as LIU travels to St. Francis.

There's no nice way to say this: St. Francis plays in a dump. Except for permanent seating, the gym where my high school played its games was better (or at least better lit). Hell, the gym where we actually had gym class wasn't that much worse, and there were support columns in the middle. Pope is small, and not well laid out- you literally have to go through the cafeteria to get behind the benches. The lighting is bad. The red padding on the walls combines with the blue of the sidelines to turn them a purple closer to Albany or Hunter than any color SFC has ever warn. The bleachers are probably older than I am, and not well kept. It looks like the low-budget mid-major facility it is, with an added gloss of no damns given.

That being said, the graffiti-style mural on the wall is pretty cool.

I love everything about the design on the back of LIU's warmup shirts, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the milk crate.

Jeydah Johnson just ran up four rows bleachers to greet the folks behind us, so I'm going to guess that her family came out for this game. Didn't turn around to look (it's not polite to stare).

SFC is wearing Play4Kay warm-up shirts and LIU is wearing pink socks; if they've turned a rivalry game into a pink game I will be very annoyed.

Dance team just showed up, and I don't mean the Terriers'. I told y'all this was a rivalry. One of them has a kidlet in tow.

Aaaaaand Drew Winter's not warming up with the rest of the team. At least Autumn Ashe is off the crutches. Small mercies.

I don't applaud recorded anthems. Especially bad recordings.

At halftime it's 33-21 St. Francis, with a hearty amount of help from some of the worst officiating I've seen in years. Y'all thought Paris Jones fell down by herself? Nah. Meanwhile, we're getting hit at the other end with no call.

I don't know what god Coach put the fear of into the refs, but they weren't as awful in the second half. We had opportunities that we didn't capitalize on, and those are going to be the things that Coach Del Preore is going to hammer home in the next film review.

Destoni Willock got some run, mostly in the second half, and did very little with it. A reasonable chunk of it was spent subbing for players with four fouls. I'd really like to see something more out of her. I had lower expectations when I forgot that she was a junior college transfer. Stylz Sanders was actually switched to the bench for this game, but played a lot of minutes anyway. Her lack of size is becoming a more and more apparent problem, and I hate to say it, but it's a more or less self-correcting problem. She's a senior, after all.

Seneca Richards continues to improve, and that's been the bright spot in these losses. She's got a good head for what she needs to do on the floor at what time and score. Paris Jones, bless her heart, is so tiny and tries so hard, and she did hit a very nice three near the end of the game, but she's more than a step slow on defense. Going to her is desperation time, but these are the things you have to do when your starting point is injured.

DeAngelique Waithe picked up two quick fouls in the first two minutes, and that was it for her for the first half. When she came back in the second half, she looked a step slow and a whole lot confused. She shook it off in the fourth quarter, picking up boards and putbacks. I don't think she likes losing to St. Francis. I don’t think she likes losing, period, but she seemed to be taking this game even more seriously than most. Ella Vaatanen wasn't able to build on her success in the last game I saw the squad in, and she got benched pretty quickly, not to be seen again until it was time to give out fouls.

If Jeydah Johnson could consistently finish on those penetrations in the lane, we'd be in far better shape. She's also got to do a better job of being aware of time and score. If you're down three possessions with less than a minute to go and you have a shooter open in the corner, you don't go for the contested shot in the lane. I don't know if I should be riding her so hard, since her offense was part of how we were in this game, but her freshman tendencies came back to bite us late. I'm also not sure just how much she's listening when it comes to game strategy and how much she'd rather do what she thinks is the right thing to do, whether it actually is or not. Denisha Petty-Evans brought offense and quick steals, but came up hopping on a steal attempt. She shook it off. I'd love to know what the design on her sneakers was. It looked fun. We need someone like her, but a four-year player, someone we can build an offense around while everyone else defends. Tia Montagne shares the freshman affliction of timidity that plagues so many young point guards. She keeps looking for the perfect pass, the perfect shot, and she hasn't yet understood that she's not going to find it. When she drives, I'd like for her to be able to aim for the backboard and get it towards the basket instead of a wild heave.

Free throws win ball games, and we left too many points at the line. Given how few opportunities we had, not taking advantage of those stings quite a lot.

Y'all are undoubtedly tired of hearing me complain about not being able to tell St. Francis players apart (I mean, come on, can one of you at least wear a French braid or something?) so I'm going to keep it to a minimum. At least I'll try. That being said, shoutout to Dana DiRenzo for her headband and bun to differentiate her from the rest of her teammates. She didn't do a lot on the floor, but at least I can refer to her as something other than "the one with the ponytail". St. Francis didn't really go on the perimeter for their subs, for the most part; Mia Ehling was the only other guard to get off the bench, and she didn't play a lot. I think she hit her free throws at the end of the game during the foul derby.

Abby Anderson's not ready for prime time. Gotta hit the free throws, or else the opponent is going to just keep targeting you. Samantha Keltos was able to take advantage of defensive lapses to get close to the basket for easy buckets. She's a big girl and makes herself an easy target. Casey Carangelo played very briefly. She's tall, and she might be useful for them at some point.

The way the PA guy says Maria Palarino's name is so annoying that I was screaming for us to stop her just so I wouldn't have to hear it anymore. She brought a good amount of hustle to the floor. Lorraine Hickman did a good job of cutting to the basket and making herself available for passes and putbacks. Alex Delaney still thinks she has a three-point shot, and admittedly the one shot she did hit was a trey, but she's still at her best throwing her weight around in the lane. I admire her toughness and I'm glad she's managed to get some of the chippiness out of her game in the last couple of years.

Amy O'Neill has an odd hitch in her shot, but it works for her. She sliced through the lane like a hot knife through butter. Very quick. Very annoying. Jade Johnson decided this would be a lovely day to demonstrate that she can in fact hit shots while standing in one of the cabs on the Wonder Wheel. She was unstoppable, not that we seemed to be doing much to try to stop her. Beautiful jumper. It's no wonder she was the game MVP, and no one else really had any business being considered.

Too many three-pointers. Cannot cope. Too much second half rebounding. Cannot cope.

These notes aren't as detailed as I would like them to be because I was being very fannish for much of the game, screaming at the top of my lungs, cheering every possession, riding and dying with my team. Rivalries can do that. It's glorious and cathartic and enraging all at the same time. And I certainly have my reasons for disliking Thurston. (The rest of St. Francis I don't really have an issue with.)

St. Francis has a step team. They're not that good, but they bring good spirit on the sidelines. I miss our spirit squad.

Our dance team kicked their team's butts. Then again, either SFC has a really small team or they were short-handed, so that's not much to crow about.

There was an actual-facts Franciscan brother in the stands, in the brown robe and everything.

I'm sorry we lost, but I think we gave as good an accounting of ourselves as we could. I look forward to next year's Battle.

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February 12th, 2018: St. Francis PA at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Flash of St. Francis University got off to a hot start and never looked back in their 85-54 win over LIU. Maya Wynn had 18 points to lead the Red Flash, who shot just over 55% from the field. Denisha Petty-Evans led LIU with 18 points, including five triples.

For moments of playing the wrong sport, loads of expired soda, Mario Karting, timidity, temerity, and crankiness, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.


It's the Red Flash. It's the Blackbirds. It's basketball in Brooklyn. What's not to like?

I'm currently killing a little time before the game in a nearby Starbucks, it being the nearest place with both a place where I can charge my tablet and things I can drink but not eat (husband is buying dinner, it would be tacky to eat right before). Their taste in music is great, but these ladies need another person or two behind the counter. Possibly an octopus.

I guess tonight is BHA? LIU is wearing eye-searingly pink warm-up shirts, and Autumn Ashe has bright pink wraps on her crutches. Ugh, please don't tell me we're going to be watching the Pinkbirds or the Pink Flash.

I should pick up more LIU gear. Don't have nearly enough LIU shirts, so I've had to settle for dressing like a beatnik and wearing a silly hat.

There are way too many people in St. Francis gear here. I mean, I know one of their kids is from Brooklyn, and I know they travel, but c'mon, man. We're going to need Denisha's family in force.

St. Francis has their numbers on their shorts. I'm not sure what to think about this, other than that it's unusual. At least these are their actual uniforms. No one seems to be wearing excessive amounts of pink. Small mercies. Maybe BHA was Saturday?

At halftime, it's 42-23 St. Francis, and quite frankly, things could be worse. Our offense is offensive and we can't hold on to the ball for love nor money. The graduate students are dueling; Denisha Petty-Evans has 14 for LIU, while Ace Harrison has 11 for the Red Flash. Only difference is that Jessica Kovatch and Maya Wynn each have seven in support of Harrison, while only two other Blackbirds have scored, period.

Most teams have players come out one by one for intros and do whatever rituals they've chosen with the team's hype person, for lack of a better word. (It's Shavonte Zellous for the Liberty, for example, and Tamesha Alexander for the Red Storm.) St. Francis walked out with the five starters arm in arm.

One of the refs (Aldrich, I think?) got distracted by a small child before the game. It was cute.

Our halftime entertainment is Girl Scouts playing Knockout. *throws up Scout salute*

Well, I guess it could have been worse. At least we didn't have to play UConn, I guess. And if the defensive game plan was to shut down Jessica Kovatch, then that's the part of the plan that worked. It's just that we didn't manage to shut down anyone else.

Look, PA guy, the answer to my complaints about inconsistent announcing of the opposing subs is not to stop announcing them at all. When the other team doesn't wear names on their jerseys, I need a trained professional to indicate when new people without names on their jerseys have entered the game.

Jenna Mastellone is not ready for prime time. That's about the nicest way I can put it. I realize she's a freshman, and buried so deep on SFU's bench that she might even be a walk-on. But her ballhandling is bad and her defensive positioning is bad, and we're just going to pretend that the free throw that whispered against the very bottom of the net didn't happen. Caitlin Carroll sneaked in a three-pointer near the end of the game, and I can't begrudge her that, though I can certainly question the excessive celebration from her teammates for going up 30+. Karson Swogger has an interesting curve/spin to her three-point shot that got it to curl back towards the basket. (I am also probably a terrible person for thinking her name sounds like a position one plays in Calvinball.) Leah Morrow comes at you like a cannonball, which occasionally meant turnovers and at least one charge. But it also results in steals and fast breaks for the Red Flash, and given how much they like to run, that does a lot for them.

So many tall, skinny people. Cannot cope. Can't shake feelings of mild jealousy. I'm trying to remember who had the nifty turn over her shoulder for a basket. I think that was Courtney Zezza, who did a nice job of finishing near the rim and taking advantage of being overlooked. Jill Falvey made some stops on the defensive end. Haley Thomas was the last post off the bench, and she seems to have embraced the Red Flash's offensive strategy of "shoot ALL the threes", though she hasn't quite mastered the art of where or when.

I am starting to take a bit of a dislike to Jessica Kovatch. It's not the one born of reluctant respect, either. It's the one born of a player complaining to the ref at every single call she doesn't like, except for the times when her teammates get to her first and wrap her up before she can say or do anything. The most generous reading would suggest that she was frustrated at the defensive pressure she faced and the shots she couldn't hit. But we lost by 30, so I'm not exactly inclined to be generous. She's got game, but I don't believe the hype. The Red Flash got really good minutes out of Caitlin Kroll, who did a lot of everything. She was at her best taking advantage of LIU's mistakes, hitting the deck for loose balls and disrupting the ballhandler- SFU threw a press at us that we were not equipped to handle with a freshman point guard. But she did everything for the Red Flash. I think we overlooked her a bit.

It's somewhat less explicable how we managed to overlook Ace Harrison, because she's very tall, very strong, and at least in this game was wearing bright green sneakers. She hit back to back threes to open the game, and was a nightmare match-up for us all night because of her perimeter game. We tried to match her with DeAngelique Waithe, but Angel is not at her best as a perimeter defender, to put it lightly. So that didn't go well. Harrison defends like a guard and is built like a forward, and these are not good things for us. Maya Wynn still has one of the best names in women's basketball. Her game is a strange hybrid at times. She took over in the second quarter with seven points, going deep and driving the lane with equal skill. Kyasia Duling got into foul trouble in the first quarter, and I think it says a lot about her and the trust her coach has in her that she played most of the first half, even when she picked up the third foul late in the second quarter. I do think that the foul trouble took away from her ability to defend inside- there were possessions later in the game where LIU was able to get a little leverage close to the basket, and I think she was one of the defenders in those scenarios.

Life comes at you fast, and so does St. Francis. They like to run on offense and press on defense, and it's not easy to prepare for that onslaught, especially since they send in so many players that their squad is usually fresh.

I get the feeling it's going to be an interesting year next year with Destoni Willock as our primary low post player. She's fantastically disruptive to the other team's offense... it's just that she's almost as disruptive to her own team's offense as well. She deflected a lot of passes and chased down a lot of loose balls, but she had trouble holding on to the ball and minding her footwork. Ella Vaatanen's shot is improving, though I don't know if that step forward is legal or not. I'm glad she's worked on her strength in that regard. She showed some good hustle today.

The player who surprised me in a good way in this game was Seneca Richards. I figured she'd be a good match-up against St. Francis, since she's a tall player with perimeter skills, and thus some comfort on the perimeter defensively. She was very aggressive and very disruptive, going after the ballhandler with wild abandon. I think it affected her offense, but I'll take the defense in that situation. Paris Jones needs to not foul the damn shooter- she did that twice, including on a three at the end of the first quarter that really did a number on the game's momentum. She knows how to use her lack of size to her advantage, getting low to steal rebounds and get loose balls, but there are times when I just want to dope slap her.

I don't know why Jeydah Johnson couldn't hold on to the ball, but it was bad. She played like she had turned her hands to stone and then smeared butter all over them. It looked like she was overshooting the ball, too; her shots were way too strong, going over the basket instead of at it or in it. Not her night, to put it mildly. DeAngelique Waithe did what she could on the boards and in the paint, but the St. Francis defense collapsed on her when she started to drive, and there's only so much you can do when two or three tall people are coming at you at once. And while she's a solid defender in the post, she's at a loss on the perimeter, which led to Harrison opening the scoring with two triples. Stylz Sanders chased down rebounds, but as undersized as she is, she was outmatched and outgunned.

Denisha Petty-Evans lit it up from beyond the arc, but sometimes it seemed like she was the only Blackbird on the floor who was actually willing to shoot the ball. If this is going to be as defensive-minded a squad as I think Coach Del Preore wants it to be, it still needs someone who's going to be a shooter. Nish fills that, er, niche, for this year, but what about next year? Near the end of the game, there were moments where she looked like she was super frustrated, and I can't say I blame her. Tia Montagne played like a scared freshman, especially when the Red Flash's defense pressured her. There was a play where she had to inbound the ball, couldn't find anyone, couldn't get a look, and clearly panicked by throwing it at DeAngelique Waithe right before the five-second violation would have kicked in. Attempting to lob a weak pass over Ace Harrison is a terrible plan. Tia spent most of the night looking like she was in over her head. This was not a game we could have afforded to be without Drew Winter for (and I have no idea what's up with her, though to be fair we weren't winning that game even with a full roster).

Someone other than Nish needs to be willing to shoot. And everyone needs to get them to a shooting coach. This, perhaps, cuts to the quick of what LIU's problems are. I love this team, but sometimes they play way too scared.

She was wearing black, not blue, but does it count as a real live Mario Kart moment if a Maryland alumna shoots an offensive player out of the air?

Refs missed at least one out of bounds call and a few fouls, but all things considered, it's hard to get too upset at them. They're not why we lost the game.

If nothing else, this game showed us the difference between the top of the conference and everyone else. In a one-bid conference, sometimes being the most balanced team on the floor is enough to seize the day.

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January 29th, 2018: Fairleigh Dickinson at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma'am: FDU used a strong third quarter to take control of a close game and win 61-49. Madelynn Comly led three Knights in double figures with 13, while Lauren Francillon had 11 rebounds. DeAngelique Waithe had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the losing cause for LIU.

For travel difficulties, awaiting the snow, overpassing, the discourager of hesitancy, cough drops, death glares, and not finding the open shooter, join your intrepid and blurry blogger after the jump.


Good evening, fellow travelers! It's game night in Brooklyn, as the Blackbirds take on the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson.

I would have sworn FDU was wearing blue earlier in the season. Maybe that was the men. It would be interesting if they actually wore different colors, though perhaps not the greatest sign for intra-departmental solidarity. (See: UConn.)

Stephanie, you really need to work on your communication skills. There's a difference between all set for two games for two people and all set for one game for one person. I think by the end of the season I'm going to have to become an LIU booster to make up for this. And I don't wanna be a booster. NCAA regulations are a headache.

(We got the ticket thing worked out. Also, if Stephanie wants any of my cough drops she's welcome to them.)

At halftime, FDU is up 25-24, in a game that's been closely contested and defensive-minded. DeAngelique Waithe has 10 to lead the Blackbirds. Peniel M'Bikata and her flaming orange hair have seven points for the Knights.

Rousing anthem by the band, and I'm always here for their rendition of "Poison".

As you can imagine, attendance is sparse. Even Denisha's contingent is down to about half strength. But they bring enough noise, and we work together well, or at least I like to think so.

I think of everyone currently active on the roster, Destoni Willock would be my last choice to take the last shot of the half. Our Canadian needs to work on her ballhandling skills.

FDU came out of the locker room super late- they had one player run out of the corridor about thirty seconds before the buzzer, waving her teammates along after her; the Knights' coaching staff didn't actually emerge until after the buzzer, and I'm surprised they didn't get dinged for a delay of game. Whatever they said in there, whatever adjustments they made, whatever change of plans they had- boy howdy, did they ever work.

Once again, our PA guy was slacking on announcing opposing subs coming out of stoppages of play, so I'm not as clear as I'd like to be on rotations. I didn't even know Madison Stanley came into the game until I checked the box score. I'm going to guess that was at the very end of the game, for the final possession or two. Elise Graham gave the Knights an alternate ballhandling option in the open floor- she had a nice transition lay-up amd set up Kamrin Weimer for a three with a nice pass. Weimer didn't leave much of an impression, and most of what I dimly remember from her was more rebounding-related than offense-related.

Natalie Zamora tried to defend people who were bigger than she was. It usually didn't end well for her- she really racked up the fouls in the third quarter. Courtney Blankenship set screens (she had one particularly solid one that impressed me with both its solidity and its legality- you know how hard it is to find a legal screen in the lower echelons of D-I?!), got boards, hit free throws, and had trouble holding on to the ball.

Lauren Francillon gave up her body on the glass, and picked up steam as the game went on- balls she was losing in the first quarter, she was winning the fights for in the fourth quarter. Good interior toughness. Amina Markovic went on a scoring run in the third quarter, hitting from the outside and at the rim. I don't think she was on our original scouting report, because we sagged off her a lot. Then again, we had a lot of trouble hanging with shooters on the wing, so maybe that was the bigger issue. (Also, I think I may have annoyed her when I was questioning a foul call, but it was a bad call and the ref should have felt bad for making it, so there.)

How exactly were we losing track of Peniel M'Bikata? I mean, I don't know if they noticed, but her hair is flaming orange. It's not literally on fire, but it is pretty close to the color of an open flame, and does stand out rather spectacularly. She shook loose for three-point shots and drives in the lane. I like her style. Lucia Serrano-Ranz was a three-point specialist with moments of defensive prowess. Madelynn Comly got to take most of the free throws at the end of the game. Her passing game needs work.

FDU fought for possessions, and collectively boxed out really well- it seemed like there were always three burgundy jerseys going to the ball once it came off the rim, especially if it was LIU putting up the shot. Following your shot is a thing, people. I'm pulling my hair out over here.

I'm not sure who's a stronger indication of "welp, here goes nothing", Paris Jones or Destoni Willock. Paris tries, and she had a nice defensive stand that her teammates helped her finish, but I don't think she's gotten all the rust off yet. She doesn't seem to fit into the current schemes. Destoni tries hard, but if the ball is being passed to her on the inside, disaster is inevitable- either she's going to fumble or the ball's never going to get to her in the first place (probably because she's out of position or hasn't done enough to get into position). I'm really starting to wonder what Daisha Davis has done, or hasn't done, to be so far out of the rotation.

Ella Vaatanen gave not-terrible minutes off the bench in the post. She's still a little more tentative than I'd like, but she's learning, and she seems willing to learn. Tia Montagne carried the bulk of the load for the reserves. While I'm not sure how she's picking up the various code-named defensive schemes, she's got great instincts on the ball defensively, taking advantage of opponents' miscues. Her shot needs work, both when she takes it and when she doesn’t take it, but I like watching her play.

Follow your shot, Denisha. Follow your shot, Drew. This isn't a recording, but I'm starting to think it needs to be one, and broadcast everywhere they go like a somewhat more specific version of the Shame Nun. Denisha Petty-Evans shot three-for-eleventy billion and somehow still looked like she was avoiding shooting the ball. It looked like she was passing up too many good shots to end up taking desperation shots near the end of the shot clock. She had a nice steal, though, and another good attempt at one. Drew Winter does fancy ballhandling tricks, and then she slows down the offense. She looked scared to shoot today, and when she did finally put the ball in the general vicinity of the basket, "general vicinity" was a generous definition of where the ball ended up. It seems fitting that the one shot that went in was the twisting lay-up she practically shot over her own head. She racked up the assists, but I don't know how many of them were actually the best looks for the squad.

At least Seneca Richards had some awareness of time and score in the fourth quarter, putting up quick threes and draining a surprising number of them. I didn't realize she had that much legitimate range. She was looking a little like she had Katie Douglas eyes out there, so I hope she's okay and she hasn't been staying up too late. (Says the woman who's typing Game Notes of Doom at quarter past one in the morning. For reasons.) She's a shooter and not much else, but she tries and she's got height and our options are somewhat limited as long as Jeydah's out, so it is what it is. Stylz Sanders was consistently getting out-sized out there, but she made a lot of smart plays on the baseline and kept loose balls alive. She's making a strong run at trying to be my favorite, but it's too late for that. DeAngelique Waithe played like she was the only one on the floor trying to win the game for LIU. (I looked at my clipboard at one point and realized she was the only Blackbird to score in the third quarter. This is a problem.) She had her moments where she looked like she wasn't sure where to be on defense, and she's got to watch that first step when she gathers for the jumper at the top of the key. But she went hard at the basket, and she hunted down loose balls like there was a bounty of their heads. She was looking for opportunities and she took them. I unabashedly love to watch her work- she has such a nice combination of strength and flexibility that results in her showing up very quickly in very small spaces.

Way too much hesitation on offense. I get trying to find a teammate with a better shot, but sometimes the best shot is the one you have, instead of the one your teammate is forced to take because the shot clock's running down and she's got two defenders in her face. There was one sequence at least, possibly more, where pretty much the only people in the building who didn't realize Denisha Petty-Evans was open were the people who were supposed to be defending her... and Drew Winter with the ball. By the end of the game, we were joking that Drew was clearly a Jets fan, because she seemed to believe in the Herman Edwards school of clock management.

Officiating was the usual NEC trainwreck. No one wanted to call travels or major contact, but minor hand-checks were another story entirely. I think I did most of the gasket-blowing that Stephanie secretly wanted to do. (I consider that part of my responsibilities as a fan. There are things fans can get away with that coaches can't.)

We got pretty dinged up in this one. Stylz took a couple of hits, Tia was slow getting up after a collision, and I thought Angel was going to throw up during some FDU free throws. This might be part of why I'm a little annoyed at the officials.

There's something missing for this team, and I can't put my finger on it. It might be as simple as getting Jeydah and her offense back. It might go deeper. I don't know. But we've got good senior leaders, so there's that in our favor.

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