January 11th, 2019: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's was up as much as 11, but couldn't hold on, and Maddie Jolin's free throw with 0.7 seconds left in overtime made up the margin in Providence's 67-66 win at Carnesecca Arena. Jolin had 19 points to lead all scorers, with Mary Baskerville adding 14 points and 10 rebounds. Alisha Kebbe had a team-high 16 points. Curteeona Brelove had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

For too many kids, comfortable seats, rolling signs, lunch, cruelty to the common clipboard, and an inability to hit shots at the rim, join your intrepid and frustrated blogger after the jump.

Good morning! Again. I'm not built for morning games, even when they have my team. We're coming to you on the inevitable tape delay from Carnesecca Arena, where St. John's is osting Providence.

Okay, St. John's has handled ticketing well this year. Unaccompanied majors have their own section, in the chairback seats, center court. (Y'know, as opposed to unaccompanied minors.) So we have good seats and we're not directly surrounded by screaming children. I'm okay with this.

That is... okay, the blue suspenders and paint-splattered-looking white blouse is definitely something, but I have not had nearly enough caffeine to figure out what that something is. She's on the Providence bench, whoever she is.

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They're playing the "baby shark" song, and I feel like I have died and gone to a special hell.

Team just came out, and Machi Duncan's arm is in a sling. Machi, what did you do to yourself?! So we're down to eight players. This is why you bring in more than ten players. Or at least bring in walk-ons.

Oh, cool. There's a digital board on the other side of the court that lists the players on court at any given time. I never saw it before because I'm usually behind it.

And never mind the previous point. There's a group in front of us, but at least they seem to be older, so there will be less indiscriminate screaming. I don't mind screaming as long as it's vaguely focused.

The only thing more annoying than jerseys with no names on the back is jerseys with fake names on the back. Providence all have "Friars" in place of a name.

Well, really, would it have been an official Division I women's basketball game if it didn't turn into a refshow at some point? I think not. But we shouldn't have been in a position for the game to be in that spot in the first place. We had opportunities at the rim and we blew them, plain and simple.

Providence certainly doesn't mind slowing the game down and using every ounce of clock, which shouldn't be a surprise (and really, we should be prepared for). They showed a lot more heart on the glass, and I think their key players were fresher at the end than ours were.

Alyssa Geary certainly is tall, isn't she? She didn't seem to know how to be much else in this game, but her arms were up on defense and against a short team that can be enough. Andrea Cooper provided a contrast in styles, being stockier and shorter than Geary. She had a good interception in the third quarter.

I don't think Earlette Scott got into the game in the first half, though I could be wrong- I wasn't on my sub game because my view of the waiting area was obscured and the PA guy was off his game. But I like the energy she gave them in the second half. She read long Providence shots very well and cleaned up the offensive glass so that Providence could reset their offense. Chanell Williams does not seem to believe she has ever committed a foul in her life, nor that she has ever traveled. Sometimes it's like that, Miss Williams. Kyra Spiwak got her buckets close to the basket, sneaking behind the defense.

Is it just me, or does Yo-Yo Nogic always seem to have a bad game when she plays St. John's, even though Providence otherwise has our number? She gets all the preseason accolades and then shoots really badly and commits fouls. I don't get it. I don't know if it's that we did this one thing right and did terribly at everything else, or she just doesn't match up well with us, or what. She did have a big block on Akina Wellere at the end of the third quarter. Maddie Jolin killed us from outside. She started hot and hit a dagger in overtime. Providence's solid switching gave her a lot of mismatches to exploit with her size. Mary Baskerville is very raw and still needs a lot of development- her touch around the basket on offense could be a lot better- but something about her glass work and her build reminds me of Lubirdia Gordon from Seton Hall. She laid a monster block in the OT to help seal the game for Providence.

Their smaller guards were less impressive. There's something about Olivia Orlando's attitude I actually kind of like. Kaela Webb is small and fast, and I'm not sure how well she fits in this offense, but clearly something is working here. I get the sense this team can be really streaky, and if they get stopped, they get extremely stopped. But if they see an opportunity, they're going for your jugular.

Hey, at least writing about the bench will be easy, since Alissa is sitting out a transfer year, Machi's arm is in a sling, and Moochy was DNP-CD. And for whatever reason, Kayla Charles was on a really short leash. If she made a mistake, she came out quickly and didn't come back in for a very long time. No, she wasn't playing super great, but we needed her, and I don't think she got enough time to work through her mistakes. Kadaja Bailey had a pretty good game, all things considered. It's good to see her possibly turning the corner and finding her groove again. I'd like her to finish better at the rim- she had chances, and she didn't seem to be going up strong on the glass. Too many good looks, not enough makes.

I'm really disappointed in Akina Wellere this year. She's moved away from her strengths and not shored up her weaknesses. She doesn't have a power game, and her shot from the outside has gotten slower. It's very frustrating. Curteeona Brelove missed some easy ones at the rim, but her midrange game got stronger as the game went on. I can live with that. I don't think I can live with the dumb fouls that ultimately led to her being taken out of the game.

Qadashah Hoppie also made some dubious defensive decisions that got her into foul trouble (and honestly, there was at least one rake where she should have been called for a reach-in). Her driving game was strong, but her three-point shot was AWOL, and I wasn't impressed with her on defense- I know she can do better. Alisha Kebbe was cold-blooded from the corner. I don't know how I feel about her becoming our three-point specialist, but if it works for her, then I can't be too upset. I just feel like it takes away from one of her strengths on the glass- if she's not in there mixing it up and boxing out, we're not getting rebounds. Tiana England drove well when she drove, but she spent too much time hesitating, even when Joe was encouraging the team to run (and that seems like a pretty rare thing).

But sitting this close to the bench highlighted a point I've seen before- this is one of the quietest teams I've ever seen. No one seems to be cheering each other on. No one's calling out encouragement or screens or the shot clock from the bench. Is there a leader here? The most passion I see is Joe yelling at the refs or Shenneika being frustrated. (There was one sequence where she was ready to slam her clipboard against the railing behind the bench, then seemed to realize that that would be a bad idea and brought the clipboard down with a marked speed decrease.)

I can't speak to the call that gave Providence the winning free throw, because I missed the entire sequence because the group in front of us chose that moment to leave. But it seemed like a cheap way to end the game. This crew had trouble counting steps much of th etime, but we got the benefit of some no-calls on reach-in plays.

This is my team, and I love them, but it's getting harder and harder to do so when it's not entirely sure that they love themselves the way they should.

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January 2nd, 2018: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: IN a low-scoring game, it was Providence that came away victorious, 49-44. Maddie Jolin had 14 points to lead the Friars. Maya Singleton posted team-highs of 13 points and 18 rebounds for St. John's.

For frustration, injury, religious regalia, a continuing cold snap, the flaws in the plan, and not nearly enough rum in this Diet Coke, join your intrepid and actually teetotal blogger after the jump.

Happy New Year, fellow travelers! Are you ready for conference season? I'm not sure I'm ready for conference season, but here we are.

I am immensely jealous of that thing Imani Littleton is getting buffed with. My right shoulder is killing me so hard you have no idea.

Whoever managed to sneak "Lightning Crashes" into the pregame music mix, thank you. That was a pleasant surprise.

It's early enough that everyone's still setting up. One of the ticket takers wasn't even in position yet and the band is still gearing up.

It's so cold outside there's a cheerleader wearing sweatpants and another one wearing a jacket.

Providence has a nice bus. I don't know if it's a wrap or a paint job, but it looks good.

At halftime, it's 23-22 St. John's. It has not been a good game, and it has not been a well-called game. Qadashah Hoppie has 10 points to lead all scorers, while Maddie Jolin has three threes for Providence.

Now I know why they were playing "Lightning Crashes" during the pregame- it's the music for the dance team's routine. The new routine needs a lot of of work, especially on the synchronization. But the costumes are nice. Then again, I'm a sucker for purple.

Providence has an actual-facts, literal Friar on their bench, full robe and cloak and hood and all. He is quite majestic, even if he is simultaneously a weedy-looking dude with glasses and a feeble excuse of a beard.

We've had a couple of disconcerting injuries in this game, Akina Wellere's ankle and Ny'Dajah Jackson's elbow. Jackson seems to be fine, but Akina is nowhere in sight.

Ny-Asia Franklin is not Jamaica's favorite person right now. Too many trips, too many elbows, too many travels that went uncalled.

Well, I think it's safe to say that game was a flaming dumpster fire that was on fire. Our offense ground to an absolute halt, our defense couldn't keep up, and we once again demonstrated the clock management skills of a slightly concussed puppy. It's not like we were an offensive juggernaut with Akina and Andrayah, but without them there's almost no one on this roster who's actually willing to shoot on a regular basis. Our flaws were even more obvious without a shooter to paper over the lack of offense and with a lack of depth to show the flaws in our defense.

I feel like I shouldn't be taking anything away from Providence- after all, they had their own injuries to deal with, with Ny'Dajah Jackson unavailable for the second half and without Maddie Jolin's shooting in the fourth quarter (I don't know what happened, but we looked over and she was holding both hands over her face, and she spent the rest of the game with either a towel over her nose or with two rolls of tissue stuffed up her nostrils). But I don't think they did anything particularly well, and there were a lot of things they got away with that made me angry. I think Jim Crowley buttering up the officials before the game (while Joe was hanging out by the Providence bench to the point where one guy in our section thought we had a new coach because he wasn't in the usual spot) helped them get the benefit of the doubt on a lot of travels and elbows, and I have a problem with trying to influence the officials that way, along with officials who give the impression of being able to be influenced in that way.

I do hope Ny'Dajah Jackson's all right after that fall she took in the first half. She came down really hard on her elbow, and it looked like it wasn't just a funny bone stinger, because she was able to use the arm a little bit in the lay-up line, but not enough to be available for the second half. She relieved Chantell Williams when Williams got rest in the first half. Kyra Spiwak has to learn the college distance- there were to shots of hers that were such long twos I initially thought they were threes. Don't start getting influenced by the Sparks, not that way. She's a real spitfire- I admire her chutzpah trying to defend Maya Singleton, as a slightly built freshman guard going against a physical senior forward. Clara Che was part of the offense-defense switch in the final minutes, and couldn't buy a bucket close to the basket. Small mercies, right?

Brianna Frias played a lot in the first half, and almost no minutes at all in the second half (if any- our guy isn't so good at listing subs). She brought screesn outside. Ny-Asia Franklin gave them the bulk of the minutes off the bench in the post, and man do I not like her. It's not even that she's physical, it's that she slides her feet out to trip people and has her elbows up at every opportunity. Her foodwork is abominable, and she couldn't finish through contact. I respect her rebounding ability, but I don't like her style of play, not one iota.

Maddie Jolin has a very pretty stroke and we should have done a better job of guarding it. She was also not afraid to get inside and pull down boards, which I think might have been where she got her nose hit. But I didn't see the play, so I can't be certain. Olivia Orlando is a big beefy guard, to the point where I'm not sure listing her as a guard is fair or accurate. She wasn't afraid to use her build to her advantage (Crowley had her in late to take up space).

To be fair to our defense, Jovana Nogic has been having herself a year for Providence, and we keyed on her down low to shut her down. So there's that. I am also not terribly fond of her elbows and her traveling. Chanell Williams is very fast- she blew throught he lane and threw up high floaters that kissed the glass and fell in. I guess there are advantages to having a friar in full regalia on your bench. You get a direct channel to the Big Guy upstairs. There's a swagger about her that I respect even if I don't love. Allegra Botteghi is tall for her position, but she didn't play a lot in this one despite starting. I think Crowley wanted to try other match-ups.

And this is "I hate the way they eat crackers" petty at this point, but what the heck, I'm as salty as the aforementioned crackers, so let's go. If you're a coach who doesn't believe in last names on jerseys, first off screw you. Second of all, don't use a template that has a slot for a nameplate and then fill it with something twee. In this case, everyone's got "Friars" as their "last name" and it makes me just a little bit twitchy.

So due to various injuries Joe actually had to dig deep into the bench. This is why you recruit deep and play deep, Joe. Y'all know my feelings about running your starters into the ground, and I think I've also made my feelings about St. John's carrying the minimum clear. And with all due respect to Machi, I'm no longer actually sure we recruited Shamachya Duncan because of her basketball talent. We've tried using the "offer older sister to get more talented younger sister" gambit before. (It failed spectacularly with the Sidney sisters, but I'm not entirely sure they all had their act together anyway.) You can see the similarities in body type and playing style when Machi and Q are on the floor and playing defense at the same time. It's a striking resemblance. But six minutes of sweet Fanny Adams isn't going to cut it when we're short-handed. And while Qadashah Hoppie's shots were great when they went down, and it's nice to have someone on the floor who isn't petrified to shoot, she took a lot of bad shots as well- quick ones with no rebounders in place, contested ones, wrong shot at the wrong time. I realize she's a freshman and she'll learn these things with time, but I'm worried she's not going to get the coaching that will help her hone her judgment.

I love Tamesha Alexander to itty-bitty pieces as a person- she's one of my favorite people on the team and she's a good clubhouse guy from everything I can tell. But having to play her extended minutes highlights our lack of depth and how much she hasn't advanced since freshman year. She was slow and tentative on the floor. I love her moxie on defense, but I'd like to see more out of a senior. Kayla Charles rebounded well, and her rebounding seemed to get stronger as the game went on. She's got to move faster on defense, though. I don't know if she didn't know the scheme or didn't know the signals, but she looked out of place and disinterested even when she was in place. (If that's her problem, then maybe Joe's got reason not to play her.)

Akina Wellere hit a three from the corner, then came down sort of funny a couple of possessions later and couldn't put any weight on her left leg. She eventually came back out in a boot and still couldn't put any weight on it- Andrayah Adams and one of the other staffers had to help haul her around, and by the end of the game no one was helping her over to the huddle. She was sitting there on the bench all alone, and I wanted to hug her, or at least keep her company. Tiana England needs to stop passing to that patch of air on the far sideline where she seems to think someone is going to be and no one ever is. One of these days Joe is just going to terrify the ability to shoot right out of her. She's reticent enough as it is, but the one time she put up what you might consider a bad shot- a three early in the shot clock with no rebounders in position- Joe took the next opportunity to rip her a new one like she had personally scored in the Providence basket. She was a little more hesitant to shoot after that, and shooting is already not exactly Tiana's favorite thing to do on the floor. I'm watching a player who could be dynamic slowly being worn down into plodding mediocrity and I hate every second of it. Alisha Kebbe got into early foul trouble, and any trust Joe had in her evaporated. Being unable to hit shots on offensive rebounds certainly didn't help, but having her on the bench for most of the first half was problematic.

I've said it before and even though it's the final semester of her final season I'm probably still going to end up saying it again before March: I love Imani Littleton, and I think she's a very interesting person, but if she can't hit lay-ups in the paint we're going to have problems. She boxe dout well,a nd made smart plays on deflections and blocks, but her offensive ineptitude and/or fear is a liability that we can't afford in the starting lineup. Except that we have to afford it because we have almost no post players because Joe has this thing for fast guards who he proceedstot hammer into playing a slow game. *takes a deep breath* I may have some unexplored issues here. Maya Singleton took a lot of contact down low, and I think that affected her ability to make shots. I love her rebounding, and there were stretches when it seemed like she ws the only person on the floor who wanted to rebound. That is also a problem. She's been the star of the show so much that defenses are starting to key on her, and her offense is suffering somewhat as a result of it.

Also, free throws win ball games. It's an LIU thing, but it has universal applicability. Yes, Maya, I am looking at you and that abominable 3-9 line.

I don't necessarily think it changed the outcome of the game, but good Lord this was one of the worst crews I've seen in a long time. They couldn't call a travel if their lives depended on it, they were consistently missing elbows and pushes and trips by both teams. (I swear, we are so lucky that we weren't called for contact after the shot on multiple three-pointers.) They allowed the game to degenerate into a hotter mess than it already was, and it was already a pretty hot mess.

Even when we were ahead, I thought we looked like a team that was about to be 0-3 in conference, and sometimes I really hate being proven right. Our lack of depth was showcased, our lack of offensive firepower was laid bare, and all the flaws in our endgame management were made abundantly clear. You have to know time and score. And if the players on the floor aren't aware of it because they're mostly freshmen, then it's the responsibility of someone with more experience in game management- like, say, a head coach- to let them know that, no, going for a contested two when you're down five is a bad idea. Too many of our shooters are too passive in all the wrong moments. Having Akina and Andrayah would have helped with that, but next man up, and no one stepped up.

I was not a fan of hiring Joe in the first place- I thought it smacked of laziness on the part of whatever search committee we were using- and though he's had moments where I thought he could grow into a good head coach, I don't think he's ever going to get out of hts habits. And if he wants to run a halfcourt offense, that's one thing- but then why are you recruiting players who would work better in a fast-paced offense? And it's not like he's working with other people's recruits at this point. He's been here long enough that these are his recruits and his choice of players. He doesn't have improvisational players who can get him out of trouble anymore. And this is what we get.

We had a few alumnae in the house, and honestly, I was having more fun watching Aaliyah Lewis and Jade Walker watch the game and cheer for their former teammates than I was watching the game itself. At least Jade and Aaliyah were excited (when Sox hit the shot a the endo fthe third quarter, they went nuts, and I can't blame them).

This is going to be a long conference season if we don't have Akina for any length of time.

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January 22nd, 2017: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Akina Wellere poured in 20 points, and Aaliyah Lewis scored eight of her ten in the fourth quarter, to power St. John's to a 60-50 win over Providence. Sarah Beal of Providence led all scorers with 21 points, adding a team-high seven rebounds.

For headaches, Girl Scouts, key shots, the end of the sophomore slump, rolled shorts, and sweeeeet passes, join your intrepid and achey blogger after the jump.

There's no rest for the weary and none for the wicked either, which explains why I'm on my third game in three days. Creighton on Friday means Providence on Sunday for St. John's, so here we are in or usual perch at Carnesecca Arena.

Maya Singleton appears to have found her hair. (The... commercial nature... of it becomes rather obvious when one goes from about seven inches of straight-up fluff to a straight, mid-back ponytail in two days.)

Looks like our bench is going to be a bit short today- both Sandra Udobi and Tamesha Alexander are sitting out of warmups. I'm a little worried about Aaliyah Lewis, since she had to get checked out by the trainer during stretching.

Attention to the Providence guard with her shorts rolled up: you look like you're wearing a diaper. It's not a good look for you. I like how the Providence assistants are going from player to player during stretching, encouraging them and giving them what appears to be advice before the game. It's a nice human touch. They were also doing an interesting drive and dish drill that might come back to haunt us.

Violin anthems are pretty much always the best anthems.

At halftime, St. John's is up 29-23 on the strength of a late push capped by Aaliyah Lewis going coast to coast. Sarah Beal has been getting buckets for Providence- she's at 12 points. Good balance for St. John's, but we're getting a little lackadaisical.

I'm not a fan of dunk contests, but ending it with one that knocks the rim down on the baby basket is pretty fun. Send it in, Sebastian!

You'll have to pardon me if these notes get short and snippy at any point. I'm dealing with a raging headache that sends pulses of pain through my temples whenever I speak at anything above a normal volume. Cheering has been less than fun.

Shoutout to whoever that is on Providence's bench with the snazzy bowtie.

There's someone hauntingly familiar sitting across the court, near the midline, but I can't put my finger on who. She looks a bit like Essence Carson, and we already know that E's been to at least one game, but the body language is all wrong.

That was way closer than it had any right to be, but am I ever glad that we came out with the win. We needed a good win, and this was good without giving us a chance to get complacent. Providence isn't where they want to be yet, but I think they're a couple of years and the right recruits away from making a comeback- I don't think Crowley has a feel for Fruchtl's players.

For playing as little as she did, Alise Parker had a solid impact on the defensive end, changing a couple of shots, but also picking up a couple of quick fouls. She wasn't afraid to mix it up. Brianna Frias got her run in the second half, but didn't make much of an impact. Erica Meyer brought physicality, sometimes to extremes- I don't know how she didn't get called for a foul on pushing Akina out of bounds. She works hard defensively, and she set good screens, but she still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Ny'Dajah Jackson was the guard substitute, with good speed on defense and a lot to learn as a freshman. I think she's going to be pretty good for them.

Aliyah Miller tried to make some noise in the fourth quarter, but I think she might have been compensating for being benched to start the second half, as Crowley opted to go with Meyer. She tried to create mismatches in the midrange and beyond the arc, but she lost her nerve to shoot those shots and passed out of them. That might be why she played less. Allegra Botteghi had a really nifty deflection of a sure St. John's rebound that resulted in a trey for Sarah Beal. She did a lot of her work in the lane, some of it more successful than other attempts.

Clara Che started off slow, airballing a free throw and coming up way short on a three. In the second half, she was able to more accurately calibrate that high-arcing three. It's impossible to figure out the angle on that shot; you don't know where it's going to land from its trajectory until it's either in the basket or it comes right off the rim. I maintain that Yoyo Nogic's banked three shouldn't count unless she called glass on the floor. Everyone knows it doesn't count unless you call bank, amirite? We left her open, and she made us pay. Sarah Beal was the star of the show for Providence, going to the lane with floaters and hitting jumpers. I wanted to smack the smirk off her face, but that was because she was kicking ass.

Short bench today, with Andrayah Adams as the wing sub and Maya Singleton as the post sub. Andrayah showed a lot of hustle going after loose balls and rebounds. I'm still a bit worried about her shot, but that can be fixed. She's only a freshman. Maya was more efficient at the rim than she was on Friday, and added stronger interior defense and rebounding. Using her head to attempt to rebound was not the smartest of moves, however. (Fortunately, the ball went off Meyer's hands and to St. John's.) Jordan Agustus got a few minutes in the first half, but unmemorable would be a charitable description of them.

Crystal Simmons got the start today for Alisha Kebbe (who is in a boot after last game's injury, and doesn't seem optimistic about returning any time soon). She brought the defense, swinging onto whichever perimeter player was more dangerous at the moment for Providence. She was still scared to shoot at times, though I recognize now that part of it is how slow her wind-up is, and passed out of a lot of situations where she should have been shooting. I think something might be up with Aaliyah Lewis. She was holding her right side like either her ribs or her back bothered her, and until the fourth quarter she didn't seem as explosive as usual. She did a lot more dribbling, like she thought she needed extra evasive maneuvers to get free. Her passing was crisp, with an assist to Akina Wellere early on being especially slick and sick. She took over in the fourth with the key shots to put Providence away. I'm still worried about her, though. If Sox isn't available, she really doesn't have a sub who matches her stylistically.

So you now how I said Akina Wellere was in a sophomore slump? She went out there and proved me wrong, which is the kind of thing I like being proven wrong about. Her aggressiveness on offense is back, and her shot is back, and she's moving better on defense. I'm really happy she's found her groove again. Imani Littleton seems to have also found her groove. She scored beautifully on backdoor cuts, and had a monster block on Sarah Beal that got the house rocking. Imani is an enigma sometimes, and while she can be frustrating, she's so good when she's on. I love her work anchoring the interior of the defense. This was actually a fairly quiet game for Jade Walker, and mostly a perimeter game- after one long, contested jumper, Joe wore the expression many coaches wear over the years: "That was nice, don't ever do it again." She didn't seem mobile on defense, but I think that might have been part of the defensive scheme, having her anchor the middle, even when the forwards wandered around outside.

Other than dubious decisions along the baseline, I can't really fault the officials; if anything, Fatou Cissoko-Stephens has gone from "Oh, God, it's her, this game is going to be a bloodbath" to a ref who keeps tight control of the game.

Today was an autograph session, and though we didn't get anything autographed, we said hi to the team. Jordan needled the significant other about his choice in apparel at Walsh, which gave us a chance to explain the Chicago Incident to the disbelieving kids. (I know, I know, they're in college, and calling them kids certainly won't dispel the whole "she must be somebody's mom!" air I apparently give strangers, but I can't help it. Runs in the family.)

Next weekend is full of traps- and the Garden! Sort of looking forward to seeing the guys, but only a little. It's a morbid curiosity thing.

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March 5th, 2016: Providence at Creighton (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Creighton started strong and finished strong, staving off a Providence run in the middle, to win their first-round Big East tournament game 70-53. Audrey Faber had 16 points, 12 in the second half, and eight rebounds to lead the Jays. Clara Che's 14 points off the bench led Providence.

For bending the rules, traveling, band battles, signs on heads, hats on heads, moves in the lane, and a lot of potential, join your intrepid and dilatory blogger after the jump.


Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Game Notes of Doom are on the road for the next few days, dancing in Chicago with the Big East. We're coming to you from section B of McGrath-Phillips Arena, watching as Providence and Creighton prepare for their first-round game.

It looks like Providence brought their band, or someone's band. That's good. Drum kits were setting up so far ahead we thought that was all they had, but there's the rest of the instruments. I don't see Creighton, though.

McGrath-Phillips is a nice enough arena. I like the way the banners are mixed on the walls. I do feel kind of awkward with the Latasha Byears banner staring at me. Worse, there are two softball banners over to the right of it...

Technically, backpacks and totes are not allowed in the arena. No one said anything today, though. We'll see how long that lasts. It might just be because of attendance or lack thereof for neutral games.

Great. They're packing the place with kids' groups. Fantastic. And of course the ones in front of us are among the first ones to show up.

We have Bluejays! Not sure if they're band or cheering students, but they have the blue tees and the blue-and-white striped pants. One guy has his face painted. I approve. Creighton cheer has arrived as well.

On band uniforms, I give Providence's gray bowling-style shirts the edge over Creighton's shirts.

The group in front of us is doing an appearance thing with some of the DePaul players. Lots of picutres are being taken. If I cared about seeing the Creighton dance team in action, I might be more annoyed than I am.

Harry Perretta and Doug Bruno are sitting together in the next section over, and my God do I want to be a fly on the wall over there. Such knowledge. Very basketball.

At halftime, Creighton is up 33-28. That's after opening the game on a 15-0 run. Providence actually had a chance to cut it even closer, but Aliyah Miller missed two free throws after a post-trey foul by Audrey Faber. Creighton is doing a nice job of getting inside. Providence is living and dying by the outside jumper- not necessarily the three, but long jumpers.

Oh dear gods that woman is wearing an emoji purse. I can't.

I tell you, Creighton is going to be scary next year, with all these players back plus Marissa Janning. Jade Owens is just fun to watch.

Providence made it very interesting in the third quarter, getting it down to 40-38 at one point, but they couldn't sustain it. The defense started to fall apart and lose steps, and once that happens, Audrey Faber starts doing things.

I like the Providence band better than the Creighton band as a band, but I like Creighton's band better as a supporters' section. Edge in cheer goes to Creighton- they had fewer people, but their routine was better and I like their dresses better. Billy the Bluejay wins the mascot contest by default, as Providence didn't bring their mascot. Creighton obviously brought more fans, since a) Omaha is closer than Providence, and b) Creighton has more of a chance to advance than Providence did.

Very nice touch by the announcer when Evi Iiskola was subbed out near the end of the blowout- he indicated her class, giving us a hint that it might be time to applaud her as she left her final collegiate game.

T-shirt toss fail: one of the t-shirts landed on top of the cage that protects the emergency lighting/camera. One woman tried to boost her kid up so he could grab it. Security told her that was a bad idea. They ended up fetching a broom to bring it down. People. Seriously. It's only a t-shirt.

I'm working on the theory that as Sarah Beal goes, so go the Friars. It's not necessarily a statistical thing, but she got hit with a cramp in her right leg that brought her to the ground and forced her out of the game. Second time I've seen that happen to her in the third quarter- happened against St. John's too. They wrapped her up and hydrated her, and she was eventually good to go back in.

Physically, Clara Che reminds me of Ticha Penicheiro. There's very little similarity in terms of style of play, since Che actually shoots, but I can't get past the resemblance. I think she's still trying to grow into her body, but I like her potential. Jovana Nogic spearheaded the big run in the second quarter to get the game to within five. I thought the matchup of Aliyah Miller and Brianna Rollerson was going to be interesting, but it turned out to be Miller versus Audrey Faber that was a more even match. Miller's a bruiser, but she was wild shooting, pressured by the Creighton defense. Erica Meyer isn't ready for the big stage yet. She had a couple of moments, including a big block on Jade Owens to set up a break opportunity, but she showed some freshman jitters. Another year and some time in the weight room will help her.

Brianna Frias took the tip for both halves, but Coach Fruchtl was quick to take her out when she could see who the hot hand was. She really didn't make much of an impact. Evi Iiskola had some moves in the lane. Allegra Botteghi lists as a guard, but she plays more like a forward, so she's going to go in the frontline paragraph. She's very tough on the glass and has a good nose for getting to the basket.

Sarah Beal never seemed to find a good shot to get off. She scored a little on jumpers, and had a nice steal, but I felt like she was trying to do more than the defense was allowing her to do, and at the same time was trying to do too much for her team. Sometimes it's better to lead by an example of omission, not commission, if that makes sense. Maddie Jolin has decent defensive instincts, and you always want to see a player try on defense, but she needs to do more to get into position so that she reaches left. But stop me if you've heard this one before: she's a freshman, she'll learn.

Providence showed a lot of heart and a lot of hustle, but they don't have the talent to compete. Fruchtl's done a lot to get talented internationals to Providence, and we'll see how well they blossom in the next couple of years.

Jim Flanery emptied his bench in the last couple of minutes, so we got to see a lot of the deep reserves. Honestly, I didn't even realize that Aimee Rischard was eligible this year, but there she was with the rest of the bench. Everyone was trying to get a shot for Tessa Leytem, and they were super disappointed when she wasn't able to score. Myah Mellman showed some hustle, and her reward for it was to get scratched in the eye by Sarah Beal for no good reason. Ali Greene looked a little scared to be out there. Kylie Brown showed a little bit on defense. Brianna Rollerson was a presence down low, but seemed a little slow to react on both sides of the floor. She looked like a woman coming back from injury and trying to get back in the saddle. Lauren Works brought the defensive hustle (and a student with a "WORK IT!" sign, which seems appropriate).

(There were a few other signs, including a shaped "FEAR THE FRO" for Rollerson that one girl wore on her head.)

Bailey Norby really didn't see a lot of time- Flanery had her on a short leash, and went small for much of the game as well. But I like the work she does on the floor, rebounding and setting screens- she had one fantastic play on the boards that set up MC McGrory for the rebound. She's so good at the little things. Audrey Faber got loose in the second half to get buckets inside. She set a really nice pick to get Lauren Works open for a three to help Creighton pull away.

I just really like watching Jade Owens play basketball. She brings energy at both ends of the floor. She has a beautiful finger roll and a shot that's sort of just a "throw it up, oh hey, nothing but net, that's cool" thing. She had a steal to get a fast-break bucket. And she passes well, too. Sydney Lamberty had a block so monster I didn't even see who it was on. She's tall for a guard, but she plays like a guard, and it gives Creighton much more flexibility with their lineups. MC McGrory came on strong in the second half when Providence was threatening. She made a key defensive play on a Providence break in the fourth quarter and shut them down. She brings a lot of toughness to the floor (and cleans up surprisingly well- I almost didn't recognize her when Creighton came to sit by us).

I don't always like Flanery's attitude on the sideline, but he coaches his team well. There's a nifty little change of direction move that a lot of their players use that demonstrates good body control and court awareness- I saw it first from Owens, but Faber and McGrory showed it as well. I'm also not used to a Creighton team shooting so few threes with Rollerson off the floor, but they adapted well to Providence hustling on the perimeter.

I thought the hit by Beal on Mellman should have been reviewed for a flagrant, but it may have been inadvertent. Officiating was otherwise unremarkable, which is always a relief.

I really liked the bluejay hats two Creighton fans were wearing. I'm going to try and get a picture during the quarterfinals. Creighton-Villanova will be very interesting.

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February 26th, 2016: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Danaejah Grant and Aliyyah Handford each had 27 points and seven rebounds to power the Red Storm to a 69-54 win over Providence. With a putback in the first quarter, Handford set a new career scoring record for St. John's. Sarah Beal had 19 points to lead Providence.

For screaming children, history, tiny posters, those Jersey girls doin' work, the t-shirt feeding frenzy, gimme questions, and squee, join your intrepid and unfinished blogger after the jump.
Good morning! It's Field Trip Day at St. John's, so there are several thousand children making a large amount of noise around me. Fortunately for my sanity, our usual seats were reserved (sadly, I have extra leg room because my husband has to hold down the fort at the office). Thanks, Veronica!

They're working off the kids' extra energy with dance music, which isn't the worst idea in the world. Ow. Right in my ear, kid. Right in my ear.

Nice reminder by the host that we're here for the basketball and the noisemaking should be related to said event.

Aliyyah Handford is four points away from tying the St. John's career scoring record, five away from breaking it. I AM SO HYPED. I missed Tab, and I missed Damika, but I finally get to see one, I finally get to see one! And I finally got to see one and it was awesome! (It was awesome as these dancers on the E train think they are. To be fair, the ceiling tricks are kind of cool. And the fist bump of a random passenger while hanging upside down from the ceiling rails. And the dude leaping over the dude. Okay, they were pretty awesome.)

You didn't get halftime notes because the place was so packed that I barely had space to pull out a tablet, much less a full-fledged laptop. Suffice to say St. John's woke up after the first quarter. I keep telling people we're not morning people, why does no one ever listen to me?

If you're going to be a small to medium-sized child behind me, you can either knee me in the kidneys, hit me in the head with a poster, or scream in my ear. You can't do all of the above.

Providence came out scrappy and aggressive on defense, and they ran some good plays to get whichever big blonde forward was on the floor open right at the basket, whether it was Evi Iiskola or Erica Meyer. But they didn't have the firepower or the ability to stay in front of our big scorers. There are a couple of good parts there, but Provvy might be a few years away.

There's something I like about Erica Meyer. She's making freshman mistakes, but they're such blatant freshman mistakes that you know she's going to stop making them or her coach is going to strangle her. I like her strength, and I like her tenacity on defense. Aliyah Miller would probably have been more effective if she could stay in the game- she's a strong player with nice touch around the basket, but she couldn't stay off her opponent on the defensive end. I suspect her physicality may be why she comes off the bench- she needs to be protected from fouls. Clara Che is a long guard, who in this freshman season comes off as gawky instead of lanky. I think she saw herself as being ready to run the offense more than her team did. Jovana Nogic saw time filling in for just about everyone and was solid, if unremarkable.

Brianna Frias had a strong start to the second half, scoring in the paint and getting to the line. She faded out pretty quickly after that, though. Evi Iiskola got position down low, but she also had an unfortunate tendency to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when St. John's was inbounding. I was surprised they didn't look for her more. I'm really not sure about those rebounding numbers for Allegra Botteghi, but there was one pretty good play where she got a board despite being boxed out perfectly by Danaejah Grant, so there's that.

Maddie Jolin is still working off the rough edges as a freshman, especially on the defensive end. She committed a couple of dumb reach-in fouls that were unnecessary. Sarah Beal is damn good. I don't necessarily like the way she carries herself- wait, that's not quite the right turn of phrase. She carries herself much like Lisa Leslie once did, or Tammy Sutton-Brown, or Kyra Dunn- something about the way she holds her body emanates prissiness and fussiness. And she rolls her shorts up. On the other hand, we're definitely kindred spirits when it comes to encouraging small children to scream; that is to say, neither of us approves of the situation (she had her hands over her ears coming out of timeout a couple of times). She's got game, a sweet pull-up jumper, and the urge to jump the passing lanes on dumb passes.

Tamesha Alexander came in at the very end and sunk a couple of free throws- she nearly had her pocket picked near the end, though. She's got to be more careful with her handle. Crystal Simmons brought some defense in the first half, and was rewarded for that with the second half start, whereupon she proceeded to commit three straight fouls, and that was the end of the day for her until the game was back in hand. She had a pretty solid fourth quarter, though. Akina Wellere had to deal with people outside her weight class- there's no good reason for her to be the one guarding a big post like Aliyah Miller. I wish she'd be less hesitant with her shot, but I wish that about a lot of people and it never happens. Jordan Agustus overshot everything. I think she was trying to compensate for the defense and overcompensated like a man with a souped-up Lambo.

Sandra Udobi got her first name mispronounced all game- either that, or she's had it mispronounced all season. She was limited, which was a bit of a problem, since we were also short Jade Walker (as discovered via Twitter, Jade has a knee injury and I haz a sad). She's tough. Imani Littleton kept committing stupid fouls. She's working on her fronting, though.

Aaliyah Lewis was quiet, but came up with the boards when they went long. Tiny, but fierce! I thought she did an okay job setting the pace of the game. Danaejah Grant is just rock solid. The only flaw in her game today was really her tendency to drive the baseline and then throw it to a Friar, and that's an ongoing Red Storm thing. Her give and go with Aliyyah Handford at the basket was fantastic- the two of them had two or three exchanges for sweeeeet lay-ups. Nae has grown up this year.

And of course, the woman of the hour, the all-time leading scorer in St. John's history, she of the 1,971 points and counting, the one, the only, Aliyyah Handford. Rocking the new headband, she made it abundantly clear that she wasn't waiting any longer to take that record and make it her own. She drove hard. She broke loose on fast breaks from steals. She took a couple of long jumpers, one of them even a three. She drew contact and got to the line. She was the Aliyyah who should be drafted. All shall love her and despair.

It's hard to get a good sense of the officiating when everyone around you hates the refs and your view is occasionally obscured by a Danaejah Grant wingspan poster. I thought there were a couple of blown out of bounds calls, and Crystal was absolutely robbed on her fourth foul (it was a push-off by the offensive player). Nothing changed the game, though, so there's that. (Joe, you're not going to get a call if it's you Aliyyah trips over.)

Some of Liyyah's family got to see the record and were so excited! I just wish they'd announced it at the time instead of waiting until the second quarter.

History! Liyyah2K is next, I know it. I AM EXCITE.

Next up, THE TIME OF FEELS SO MANY FEELS ALL THE FEELS.

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February 8th, 2015: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Aliyyah Handford notched a double-double with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, as St. John's bounced back to beat Providence 70-49. Danaejah Grant added 18 points off the bench, while Amber Thompson added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Alison Lewis led Providence with 11 points.

For friendly rolls, unfriendly rolls, royalty, shooting contests, overpriced sodas, a difference in pace, relief, and Aliyyah Handford being awesome, join your intrepid and displaced blogger after the jump.


So, on top of everything else that could possibly go wrong after that benighted Creighton game, my beloved Jocelyn got tinfoil stuck in her power jack, and now she won't charge. (Jocelyn is my much abused but loved nevertheless HP laptop.) So I have to borrow my husband's laptop for Game Notes of Doom. Just the cherry on top.

We're playing Providence today, and I hope they're inspired to do better than they did on Friday.

Most of our post depth is still out of uniform. Sandra Udobi and Selina Archer are in sweats, while Kyra Dunn is in street clothes. She looks really nice today. Still not sure I agree with her shoe selections, but today that's a minor quibble instead of a general questioning of sanity.

There are free hats today so we no longer have to fight about who gets to wear the St. John's hat! Suspect there will be plenty of hats to go around. The hat does not fit well on top of another hat.

Overdramatic anthem but that's the way they like 'em at St. John's.

Aliyah Miller, don't hate because Aliyyah Handford is a better A*liy*ah than you are. No reason to hit her in the face.

It's 37-23 St John's at halftime. Aliyyah Handford is best A*liy*ah, with 17 points. Danaejah Grant did not take kindly to her benching, and she has 12, all pretty much rapid-fire. We keep throwing the ball to Providence, which is a bit annoying

I think Kia Wright might be a couple of rows down from me, but I'm not sure, and she's shown no signs of recognition, so it might just be someone who looks like her around the eyes Then again, they're doing that St. John's HOF thing with her, so might be her, though she probably wouldn't be wearing denim if that were the case. And it was Kia! Hi, Kia! (Now I definitely have to check out an Adelphi game.)

Kym Hampton was also at the game, but in the capacity of A'riel's mom, not in the capacity of an employee of the New York Liberty. Still, maybe she was able to recommend Amber Thompson as a third-round draft pick. Hope springs eternal, what can I say?

That was satisfying, and exactly what we needed. Everyone played, everyone did something good. That clears the palate after that debacle on Friday.

Providence seems to have a curious taste for long, lanky forwards and stocky guards. It's an unusual mix.

Miranda Simpson played the passing lanes like a corner, picking off lazy passes, and there were a lot of bad passes for her to pick off. Brianna Frias intrigued me, making defensive plays with her height on the inside. Aliyah Miller brought some physicality, occasionally too much. She had a strong stretch in the late first half where she looked like an A*liy*ah, but that was her best stretch. Alison Lewis was quietly efficient, never really noticeable, and occasionally mistaken for Simpson (very similar hairstyles), but she found the points for Providence. Looking at the minute counts and guessing the usage, I wonder if she's usually a starter.

Allegra Botteghi has a stocky build, and may need to hit the weight room to get into condition with it. She seemed a little tentative, though she got her feet under her a little more in the second half. Chanise Baldwin positioned herself well on the glass, boxing out Amber Thompson pretty well (some days you can't stop Amber on the boards, you can only contain her, and Baldwin contained her at times). Karin Robinson drove the lane without fear. Her shot selection left something to be desired, but I admire her nerve. Alexis Harris barely played- I recall an impression of height and shot-missing, but there was a lot of that from the Providence forwards in general, so that might not have been her I got the impression from. Evi Iiskola had a nice defensive play in the first half, but that's about all I remember from her.

Providence is not a good team. Not yet. But I love the defensive instincts on Simpson, and she's only a sophomore. I also really like the potential for Frias, and she's only a freshman. That's one of the things I love about the Big East this year- there's room for teams to grow and stretch, and I've seen a lot of great, great freshmen making plays.

Kimberly Spruill got to play, yay! You should have heard the roar when our walk-on came into the game, and the “awwwwww” when she missed a three-point shot. Everyone wanted her to hit it except for the people who were rooting for the Friars. Imani Littleton made some good plays in the paint, hitting a couple of baskets and crashing the boards, and I like that Amber Thompson appears to have taken her under her wing That's a good person to learn post play from. And like a true Johnnie post, she can't hit a free throw to save her life. Tamesha Alexander came in to give Aaliyah Lewis a break before the Great Bench Emptying Of The Blowout, and was unremarkable. The offense slowed down somewhat when she was in, but the offense tended to get bogged down anyway, so that doesn't really prove anything. Tonoia Wade was off her timing for most of the game- good hustle, but at the wrong moment.

Danaejah Grant did not start the game, presumably because she was awful last game and gave the coach attitude after being awful. She seemed inspired, or just angry. Whatever works to get points out of her. After we let Providence get back in it, at 22-17, she pretty much said, “aw hell naw to this” and started bombing threes, putting up 10 of our 12 points in one stretch. Her hands were active on defense, which is a blessed change- defense is usually her Achilles heel. She brought the distance shot and even some of her rebounding. Crystal Simmons got the start, and I'd still like to see her be a little less tentative on offense. She moves very stiffly, and that's a shame. She'll be a great player if she stops being terrified of the prospect. Jade Walker was her usual up and down self- hit some beautiful shots, committed some dumb fouls (though the call that took her out of the game was a bad, bad call), and alternated between being immensely frustrating and wonderful. Amber Thompson looked to have recovered some of her swagger, pulling down boards and blocking with authority- she had a great one in the second half that she snatched up and recovered (of course, we then turned it over, because that's how we roll). Aaliyah Lewis found her teammates on the break and looked good- her shooting is still a little off, but that's not necessarily what we need her for. She's also become my mom's favorite player (yes, the Queen Mother has been taking in games, it's quite refreshing)- she loves her speed and ferocity. Aliyyah Handford found her mojo again, and Aliyyah Handford with mojo is a beautiful thing to see. What intrigues me is that she's getting a lot of her points off jumpers- not that she's not riving and getting points in the paint, but she's getting a lot of midrange points, and I love that she's developing her midrange game.

Officials mostly let a lot of stuff go, which is all right, but Tiara Cruse seemed addicted to calling travels in the first. In the second half, calls tightened up on both ends, but there were far fewer procedural calls. The fifth foul on Jade Walker was a bad call- you're going to call a player for a foul for receiving an elbow to the throat, and not penalize the player who owns the elbow? There were a few 'bows thrown by Providence. Aliyyah was not amused after getting up holding her throat.

I don't follow men's basketball very closely, and I don't get particularly emotional about it, but I love that D'Angelo Harrison has been showing up and getting involved at women's games. There was a moment where the camera was on him and he ducked and tried to roll under the bleacher to hide.

Shoutout to DESPN, hitting three out of the four shots in the shootout and getting love from the students (and D'Angelo). He pretty much is the student section most games, and he's awesome.

It's off to the Midwest now, and visiting DePaul isn't going to be easy. And after that Creighton game, taking Marquette for granted at Milwaukee would be a bad idea too.

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February 8th, 2014: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's pulled down their tenth straight win of the season in an 85-65 victory over Providence. Jade Walker led the Red Storm with 14 points off the bench, one of five Johnnies in double figures. Danaejah Grant added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Eugeneia McPherson had 11 assists. Providence's Karin Robinson had a game-high 21 points off the bench, while Aliyah Miller had 19.

For team efforts, bad decisions, mild worry, sheer pride, determination, and the whole darn thing, join your intrepid and clicky blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, fellow basketball-type people! Your intrepid blogger and about a hundred of her closest friends (at this point) are gathered in Carnesecca Arena for the Red Storm's game against Providence. I'm going to allow myself a few minutes of bitterness at this point- there are four games on my schedule that I would have loved to be at, and if this weren't St. John's it would probably be third on the list. (Iona was at Manhattan, George Washington at Fordham. Though I think I had my Ivies mixed up.)

Providence is wearing pink sneakers with their black jerseys, but if you have a Yow in your school's athletic heritage, you can wear whatever pink suits you at whatever time.

There's a guy in a St. John's jersey who either did something accidentally brilliant or did something intentionally brilliant- his little daughter is wearing an NC State jersey. It's probably an accident, but it looks soul-satisfyingly right.

Someone in the band really likes Qdoba.

The stands are filling up a little more now that the kids from the clinic are showing up. As long as they stay on the other side of the arena and go look good on camera, I'm okay with that. Go be annoying somewhere else, small children who don't really care about basketball.

Small pregame ceremony for Eugeneia McPherson's 1000th point, garnered at Seton Hall last weekend. (Poor Briana Brown had to run back to the locker room and missed the whole thing, such as it was. I'm assuming she did the stalwart stoic captain thing during the entire locker room talk, then realized she had to ue the ladies' room.)

We're also trying to figure out if there's some kind of flu bug going around the team- a lot of people running off to the side or looking under the weather, and Gina's shot has been weirdly off.

It's 43-30 St. John's at halftime, and Joe Tartamella is confident enough in his lead that the next to last offensive play of the half was an attempted alley-oop from Aaliyah Lewis to Mallory Jones. Unfortunately, Mallory has about as much vertical as I do. It was 15-11 Providence at one point, and then St. John's got angry. There was a 21-4 stretch at one point. Providence has the leading scorers, but it's been an all-around offense for St. Johns, with good defensive plays as well.

It stayed a solid team effort all the way through. The defense came up with big plays when they needed them, and everyone was looking to pass- almost too much. This might have been the best game, 1 to 11, that I've seen out of St. John's this year.

I suspect that Providence was short-handed, since I can't think of any reason to play only eight players in a game that was pretty well out of hand for about twenty-five minutes. Karin Robinson came off the bench in the first half, but started the second half. She was fearless in driving the lane and going to the basket. She seemed to be all over the place. Miranda Simpson gave some good minutes off the bench with the foul trouble for Aliyah Miller and Alexis Harris, but got into a little bit of foul trouble herself. For a guard, she's very physical. Annie Russian came in to set screens and generally be in everyone's way.

Alexis Harris was very tall, and she grabbed rebounds. I get the feeling that if she hadn't been in foul trouble, she could have caused us a lot of match-up problems. But she got three fairly quick ones in the first half, and that took her out of the game. I barely even remember her, except that she was tall. Sarah Beal seemed to be running the offense pretty well, and drove without fear to get to the line. Aliyah Miller started the game on fire- got a couple of early fouls that caused her some trouble, and seemed to retreat somewhat in the second half, though that might have had to do with the margin. She was very impressive down low. Very impressive for a freshman, too. And we kind of know from impressive freshman forwards at this point. Evi Iiskola seemed to have been inspired by watching the hockey game last night- she was very physical, a bit grabby, and seemed inclined to rush headlong into a play without properly getting ready to shoot. There were also some extra dramatics. She seemed to specialize in the Plenette Pierson arm-lock and drew a foul off Amber Thompson from it. Tori Rule looked good early, but faded out a little bit as the game went on.

Providence has a fair amount of talent, and a fair amount of young talent (Beal and Miller are both freshmen). But they don't seem to have confidence yet, and they need to work on the fundamentals- there were at least three fast breaks where they didn't finish the shot. Some of those were well-defended by St. John's, but some of them were well-defended because the Friars didn't know how to best utilize the breaks.

Mallory Jones might not have ups, and watching her try to cut to the basket is rather like watching someone try to cut steak with a butter knife, but she does have a mighty pretty shot, and you can tell that she's trying. Aaliyah Lewis needs to be a bit more assertive in her decision-making- I think there was a possession where everyone in section 2 was screaming for her to get the ball to Danaejah Grant- but that's a freshman thing, and something I expect her to get over sometime in the next four years or so. Selina Archer contributed good rebounding late in the game and got inside for a couple of shots. Danaejah Grant brought the offense and stepped up when Aliyyah Handford was hurt briefly. We got a lot of offense from her, but not as much defense as I or a coach might have liked. Keylantra Langley started the second half after Sandra Udobi was less than stellar. She came up with big stops and big shots. Jade Walker had another spectacular game on the inside, using her size to get to the basket and then showing off the long jumper from the perimeter. I don't think she should have been called for a foul on that block, but I could be wrong.

Sandra Udobi looked out of sorts all day. I don't know if her knee was bothering her, or if she was feeling under the weather, but other than the big block at the end of the game, she really didn't have much of an impact. Amber Thompson went strong to the basket and was big offensively early, but she missed a lot of shots in close near the end of the game. The rim was not kind to either her or Danaejah. She came up with plenty of boards. Eugeneia McPherson couldn't get her shot to fall- I do wonder if she was having issues seeing the basket for whatever reason. She more than made up for it with her passing. Briana Brown was consistently playing over her size, snagging rebounds and playing tough defense. She started scoring more in the second half, when Providence made a little bit of a run. Aliyyah Handford was solid, though not the spectacular superstar she was in the first half of the season. Still, I'm glad she seems to have gotten her second wind.

Facepalm inducing moment of the day: Jade Walker on a fast break, deciding to get cute and try to pass behind the back to the trailer (Aaliyah Lewis?) when she had had an outlet on the wing (either Aliyyah or Danaejah). Joe was not amused, but no one really was.

We all held our breath when Aliyyah went down, and there was a moment of facepalm when Joe tried to put her back into the game after the trainer had come out onto the floor. Joe, you can't do that.

Officiating was the usual blend of unbelievable and ordinary.

I love my team. I do occasionally want to smack them upside the head, but I love them, especially when they pretty much all do all the things.

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January 4th, 2012: Providence at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A late run salted away the Red Storm's first conference win, as St. John's defeated the visiting Providence Friars 57-41. Shenneika Smith had 14 of her 18 points in the second half, including the 1000th of her career, to lead all scorers, while Eugeneia McPherson added 12. Rachel Barnes put up 15 for Providence, which shot 28.6% from the field but out-rebounded the Red Storm.

For kvetching, Division II double-dipping, milestones, millstones, and small t-shirts, join your intrepid and perfectionistic blogger after the jump.

There are some days when you'll just take the win and run before you realize just how badly you played. This was definitely one of those days.

Moment of silence before the game in honor of the Big East's founder. Seems kind of late for a guy who died in September, but it was our first Big East home game, so I guess that's why.

Anthem was a bit off tonight. Trumpets, you have enjoyed winter break too much. Flautist, that better have been your sheet music you were checking on your touch-screen phone during the anthem.

Phil Seymore likes to take an odd position on the sideline, near the baseline. It makes sense if he's a coach who thinks his team is getting screwed by the refs underneath, but I imagine he doesn't see as much at the top of the zone, though I suppose that's what you have assistants for. Because they have a few kids from the area, they had a lot of loud people behind their bench, and I do think it's a bit classless to disconcert a free throw shooter on the road. I know that's how the “BRICK!” tradition started with Seattle, but it's a weapon that in college is better used at home. This was okay, though. It just gets us going, and I did two and a half years of improv. I can project like nobody's business.

Lauren Okafor, first, I refuse to refer to you as Lady. Second, wash your jersey. The pink marker in your numbers looks childish at best and is a uniform violation at worst. Her play bordered on dirty, and I'm fairly certain Da'Shena Stevens was going to kill her by the end of the night. Didn't Lola Wells use to be somebody of significance? She kind of turned into a non-factor, except for a second-half three that trimmed the lead. I was more impressed with Rachel Barnes's shooting- when she got going in the second half, I thought she was going to save the day for the Friars (the Nuns?) It's kind of silly to leave someone open from a spot when they've already hit a couple from that spot. Just saying. I have no idea why Alicia Cropper is starting for a Big East team. Maybe she just had an exceptionally awful game for some reason, but she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and she was taking both good and really bad shots. Teya Wright continues to throw me off, because Teya is pronounced like Tia, and we did a good job of shutting her down, though the foul trouble didn't help her either.

They got a few good minutes from Symone Roberts, but I was more impressed with the rebounding position of Brianna Edwards. I would write more about the Providence bench, but in general, it was an ugly game, and it's hard to write in more detail about an ugly game than “wow, you guys played stupid tonight”.

St. John's decided to open things up by giving everyone a heart attack before the game had even started. They ran out in their two lines for the lay-up drill- and then Nadirah's ducking out of the way of a pass and then I blink and someone goes sliding and Zakiyyah and Amber are in a heap in the lane and HOLY TOLEDO ROCKETS WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? I don't actually know what was going on, but there was water all over the floor during warmups. There were more mops going at once than I've ever seen in my life. At least no one was seriously hurt, though I did worry about Mary accidentally ROFLing herself into an injury of some kind.

Nice to see Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin out of the doghouse- she was a DND last game, though I don't know why (I can guess, but they're unsubstantiated guesses). She played briefly in the first half when Da'Shena went out after having her head sat on, and had one good defensive series and one bad one. Brief cameos by Briana Brown, Jennifer Blanding, and Mallory Jones; it was nice to see the whole gang get on the floor at some point or another, though Briana's appearance was more of an “I'm throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks” shot in the first half. Tesia Harris also played briefly, but one dumb play pretty much got her benched for the rest of the game. Mary Nwachukwu didn't quite build on the momentum from her big game against Boston University, but she boxed out well. Keylantra Langley looked good on the boards, but her passing, both giving and receiving, was so far off that it was painful to watch. Don't fumble the ball out of bounds, okay, Key?

Eugeneia McPherson brought the drama with two three-pointers as the shot clock expired. She looked pretty good, and was about the only Red Storm player I didn't really start swearing at at any point, so there's a plus, I suppose. Da'Shena Stevens put up some pretty shots, but was slipping badly on defense. I think her teammates wanted to know what was going on more than once. Amber Thompson played like a freshman, with blatant frustration fouls and missed assignments- all the hustle, none of the discipline. Nadirah McKenith still looked a step off, but I wonder if that was partially because she was still coming back from the knee injury and was a bit more ginger after the issues with the floor. But we're better with her at point than any of our other options.

If you had told me at halftime that the second half, and especially the fourth quarter, would belong to Shenneika Smith, I would have kindly reminded you that Carnesecca Arena is a non-smoking facility, so put the pipe down. She had looked pretty awful for most of the first half, taking iffy shots and missing them badly, as well as being out of position on both ends of the floor and being careless with the ball. Her rebounding was solid, but that was it. And then something happened and she started hitting shots and going to the line. She needed 15 to get to 1000 for her career, and she got 18. (1003. Should I hope for 1500 by the end?)

Epic facepalm moment of the day in a day full of epic facepalm moments. Shenneika Smith on the fast break, hellbent on the basket, blissfully unaware of two Providence defenders all up in her business. So unaware, in fact, that Teya Wright picks her pocket like an extra from a Dickens novel. So unaware, in fact, that she attempts to complete the fast break and only then notices that the ball is no longer in her possession. It is customary to possess the ball before attempting to shoot it...

I expect a bit better officiating from Denise Brooks and Dennis DeMayo. (Other guy, I do not know you quite as well.) A lot of stuff went uncalled that could have easily festered into a fight. On both sides, to be sure.

Announcer guy, please keep the foul count straight on the floor, identify players correctly, get the lineup in the right order (by class unless otherwise informed), and do learn the difference between Da'Shena Stevens and Amber Thompson. And if you do make mistakes, correct them.

I don't know if Sky Lindsay's mom was joking about being pressed into service as a concessionaire at Queens College. And I'm not sure if she told me to get a better job or said she was going to tell Sky to get a better job when we explained the whole '5PM games are hard to get to with a 9-5:30 job' thing. But ladies and gentlemen, this is the Mama Lindsay experience and one of the biggest reasons why I miss Sky Lindsay. (I swear! We're going to Queens this season! Honor as a former Girl Scout!)

Neither of these teams looked like a Big East team tonight. Too many mind-numbing defensive lapses, too many people out of position on the boards, too many balls bouncing off hands and legs and arms, too many off-target shots... these were both two good defensive teams, but not as good as the score and the stats indicate.

I am hard on this team because I love them and I see the potential that's there. I hope someone, somewhere, gets that.

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January 30th, 2010: Providence at St. John's

Comments on this post are closed- please direct all comments to the mirror post on Swish Appeal.


How much do I love my team? How much? Entirely too much more than is healthy. Are all college teams so adorable that you want to pinch their cheeks and give them all brownies? Or is this just a symptom of advancing age?

Some fairly impressive hairdos today, both for good and for ill. Sky had an enormous bun that made me think of Erika Arririan from Texas (no fauxhawk attached, though; trying to imagine Sky doing that to her hair might make my head explode). Jennifer's 'do really took the cake, though- heavily frosted gold on top, regular below. It was interesting, to say the least.

We sat over by the band today in order to help with the noisemaking, and my ear's still a little numb, though that might also have something to do with the extreme cold that's fallen over New York. My throat hurts a little, but I think I'm developing calluses for yelling.

There was a youth clinic before the game, sponsored by the Liberty; Lisa White and Catherine Proto represented for the pros, though they disappeared sometime in the second half (presumably with the signed Leilani Mitchell ball, since it didn't look like anyone came to claim it). I didn't get to show off my Liberty dog tag to them. There were a few people in Liberty t-shirts from various years, though they were all Fan Appreciation Day giveaways from the last three seasons. Yes, I know entirely too much about Liberty gear.

I wasn't impressed with the anthem. It wasn't awful, but the harmonies could have used a little more rehearsal. The chorus got stronger as the song went on, so I have to give them credit for that.

I was surprised that Lola Wells came off the bench; I remembered hearing her name before. I like her hustle. She went hard after loose balls and forced one especially tough tie-up through excellent positioning and sheer tenacity. Jessica Clark scares me a little. She's got crazy eyes. The first time she was in the game on offense, she was very insistent about getting the ball, and I was afraid of what might happen if she got it. Her intensity discomfited me. I'm not sure if she was posturing because she was in front of friends and family in her hometown, though. Chandler McCabe has got to learn to play her position. It might amuse her to think that she has an outside jump shot, but if she does, she didn't bring it with her from Providence. Brittany Dorsey had one fierce rebound in a sea of white jerseys that I recall. Hurd mostly got garbage minutes.

I've actually heard of Chelsea Marandola, so I was keeping an eye on her. She got to the line pretty well, but otherwise she didn't do much. I think we were marking her and trying to keep her from getting the ball; I know there were a couple of possessions where Joy, who's one of our best defensive players, was on her. The player who really impressed me for the Friars was Mi-Khida Hankins, who showed a lot of grit and ability to get inside. Symone Roberts shows promise, but she's only a freshman; I don't think she's as good yet as she thinks she is, if that makes any sense. Trinity Hull's jump shot is pretty funky-looking. I'm really not sure who was running Providence's offense, though given that they shot 26% from the field and only scored 46 points, the argument could be made that no one was running their offense. Emily Cournoyer played sort of decent post defense- at least she was in the post, unlike some of her teammates- but was under the impression that she was supposed to be on the perimeter on offense.

Jennifer Blanding sighting! She's definitely a little rusty. Maybe more than a little. I wish she'd stop being so tentative. Buzz has more nerve than she does, which is perhaps not as useful in a wiry guard like Buzz. It was really nice to see Buzz get extended time, if only because she turns the most interesting colors (not quite the range of Cathrine Kraayeveld or Richie Adubato, but interesting shades) when she's been out too long. She hit the first shot she took and got a couple of rebounds- she's a pretty good rebounder for a guard. Eugeneia started out hot, but her free throw shooting degenerated as the game went on, and she seemed to lose a little steam. Kelly, while she made a couple of dumb plays, especially on defense, was at least less chary about shooting than she has been. Put 'em up, Kelly! Go for 200! It's within your reach! Coco was unmemorable, other than the immortal instruction, "COCO, TURN AROUND!" The stuff she gets done, she gets done quietly.

Nadirah was off her game on offense- she wasn't seeing the open woman as often as she usually does and she was making some questionable decisions with the ball. But when you can say your PG is having a so-so game and she still puts up six assists, you might have a good one. Sky had a pretty solid game, though I swear one of these days one of her dance routines is going to kill me. I'll spit-take and choke on a soda, or a piece of granola bar will stick in my throat, or I'll fall off the bleachers laughing and crack my head open, and then who'll write Game Notes of Doom? Shenneika is back in the starting lineup, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't pour it on like she did at Syracuse, but she didn't really need to. Her defense still needs a little work, since she sometimes doesn't seem sure of where she's supposed to be in anything other than a straight man-to-man, but she's only a freshman, and defense always comes more slowly than offense. Poor Da'Shena's sick again- she seems to have spent a large chunk of this season under the weather- and despite hacking up phlegm at one point (at least I hope that was phlegm that was going into that garbage can...) she still managed nine points and eight boards. Take care of yourself, Da'Shena. Lots of rest and lots of fluids. We need you for the Georgetown game. Fortunately, Joy seems to have escaped captivity from the Pod People and is back to herself. She's fighting for rebounds again, and those soft shots in the lane are falling once more.

Dennis DeMayo, I'm disappointed. You're usually a much better referee than this. You're usually more familiar with the rules of the women's game and you don't mix them up with the fine nuances of the rules of the men's game. But the way block/charge was called in this game was very reminiscent of a crew that thought there was a charge circle in the women's game. None of them seemed able to count, either, as a couple of very blatant travels went unremarked. But credit where credit is due: there was a very difficult to see over-and-back call, and one of the referees (Brunette, I think) was right on top of it. I just wish they'd been on some of the very obvious holding.

Today was the long-awaited autograph session day. I like sessions like this because you get to see a little more of who these young women are in your team's uniform. Okay, I also like them because it helps us in our quest to decorate EVERYTHING we own in women's basketball posters. Because my uncle neglected to check the schedule before buying Broadway tickets for my mother, I had a shirt to get signed for her as well. The freshmen came out first, though I don't know if that's from inexperience or hazing ("here, you get first crack at facing screaming small children!"). Shenneika had a lot of pent-up energy, and spent some of her time roaming up and down the line to sign for people. I guess she wanted to keep things moving quickly, because half the team was standing because either they didn't have room for more chairs or they didn't think they needed more chairs, or maybe that's a class thing too. I don't know. I also don't know if it was too weird that I mentioned to Elón that I actually got see her play this season (she's had a grand total of three mintues due to injury). Jennifer's the most extroverted of the young'uns, or at least the loudest, but we already knew she was the loudest. Kelly remembered me from the Stony Brook game, and I finally got a chance to dare her to go for 200 career threes. Da'Shena was bundled up in a jacket and scarf, and sounded half-dead when she did manage to get out a few words. Tamiflu, orange juice, chicken soup, and lots of bed rest, seriously. No breaking the sophomore. And I got to babble at Joy a little, which was all right. I'm going to miss her SO MUCH.

Play of the game for the Red Storm: Eugeneia missed a contested lay-up. Nadirah came flying in and up for the putback. Given that Nadirah lists at 5-7, that's pretty impressive.

What I liked about this game was that we kept the pressure on. We led by 12 at the half; we won by 24. We didn't really slack off until the last couple of minutes, when Jennifer came into the game. What I'm hoping that the last few minutes of the game proved was that Buzz is worth working into the rotation as more than the next-to-last player off the bench, as someone who only sees garbage time. So far, she's shown me that she can contribute in a real way in the Big East.

If anyone happens to be going down to Washington DC on Tuesday, would you mind making room for a passenger? I'd be willing to pay at least part of the gas cost. This game against Georgetown is going to be so important- it might be for the last double-bye in the Big East tournament, or for a berth in the NCAA tournament. Come on, Johnnies! The easy part's almost over. Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, Notre Dame, Rutgers- they all lie ahead, and it's time to prove that our time is indeed now.

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