Just the Facts, Ma'am: Rutgers withstood a big second half surge from Michigan to put away a 81-68 win. Betnijah Laney had 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals to lead the Scarlet Knights; Tyler Scaife also scored 20. Cyesha Goree of Michigan led all scorers with 23 points, while Shannon Smith added 15 points and nine assists.
For bitter cold, detours, loving your team with a two by four, a lack of legroom, the building of a ref feud, and coaches confused by fun, join your intrepid and frozen blogger after the jump.
Good evening, fellow travelers! We're coming to you on tape-delay and via circuitous methods from the RAC in New Jersey, as the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers (the State University of New Jersey) host the Wolverines of Michigan.
Your intrepid blogger is here via North Brooklyn, industrial Maspeth, and Highland Park. There have been many detours. And yet I'm here.
I don't know if I entirely like the revamped RAC. I don't like the compression of the banners. (Instead of separate banners for each NCAA appearance/S16/E8/conference title, each type of appearance has a banner. At least the Final Four banners, AIAW title, and WNIT championship banner each have their own space. They also compressed the WBHOF banners into one, and Eddie Jordan has a banner with a list of accomplishments as long as, but not as storied as, C. Vivian Stringer's.) It looks too much like they're trying not to look like a historical powerhouse in WBB.
The new scoreboards and stat boards are nice, though. The sound system's improved, too. So strange to look up at those Big Ten teams in the rafters, though. SO WRONG.
I like Kevin's arrangement of the anthem at St. John's better than the RU arrangement. They rock "Zoot Suit Riot".
At halftime, Rutgers is all over Michigan, 42-25. Betnijah Laney has 13 points and what feels like more than 4 rebounds. Michigan is rattled, and badly. Rutgers is playing the passing lanes really well, and they're making all the plays on the glass.
I'm pretty sure the refs are actually watching Tulsa-UConn. Lots of missed calls on both ends of the floor, and the calls that have been made have been weaksauce.
Whatever else RU has, they have the most talented ball kids. One of the older girls has range clear out to the three-point line.
Might not agree with Rutgers on much anymore, but the band booed Penn State during the Big Ten ad, and I am all in favor booing Penn State in all the things, except maybe sometimes when they play Ohio State, because me and Ohio State, we got history even before I went blue.
Lots of Michigan people here, and not just families and friends. There's a smattering of maize and blue throughout the RAC. They were depressingly quiet through most of the game, though.
All the work they did on the RAC and they couldn't adjust the leg room?
Much like the flow of Rutgers-North Carolina, there were big runs- but Michigan does not have the talent of North Carolina, and Rutgers was able to push the lead out late with some key baskets and stifling defense.
There's a fair amount of potential in the freshmen on that Michigan bench. I like the hustle, and the size, on Jillian Dunston- needs to work on her positioning, but she's solid on the boards. Katelynn Flaherty has a lightning-quick release, but a quick release doesn't mean much if you can't hit the shot, and her shots did not look good tonight. She looked like a lost little freshman on defense, tentative on both ends of the floor. Terra Stapleton brought size and a reckless touch. She got burned badly on defense, though it wasn't completely her fault- the entire play seemed to freeze. Madison Ristovski provided a somewhat surer hand on offense off the bench.
I'm pretty sure Kim Barnes Arico spent most of the game alternately thinking good things and thinking terrible things of Shannon Smith. I know I alternated between cheering for her sharp drives and all-out hustle, and swearing inside my head at her questionable passes, stupid fouls, and bad shots. She and Cyesha Goree had a fantastic connection going on all night. She was careless with the ball, which is not of the good when you're playing lead guard. Danielle Williams made some nifty defensive plays. Siera Thompson got hot quick in the first half to get Michigan into thinking they could get back into the game, and I side-eyed her second foul in the first half (the always tricksy block/charge). Nicole Elmblad was very quiet. Go up strong with the ball, Nicole! I think she was a marked woman by the Rutgers defense, and she played like it. Cyesha Goree got burned a few times on defense- as fast as she was, Rutgers was faster, and a lot of posts are bigger than she is- but she put in work around the basket on the offense, going strong to the hoop and finishing, or picking off boards when she or her teammates couldn't finish.
Michigan was horribly, horribly sloppy. Too many lazy passes. Too many lazy turnovers. Granted, that tends to happen when you run into the teeth of a Stringer defense, but Rutgers didn't even have to break out the press for most of the game. The turnovers were coming in the halfcourt and coming at the basket.
Brief minutes in both halves for Christa Evans, spelling Rachel Hollivay when she was done spelling Ariel Butts. She didn't do much, but she made her big body useful. Cynthia Hernandez got a little run in the first half. I think she shot a three. Shrita Parker made some bad plays on defense, but beat the shot clock buzzer twice. I developed a bit of a distaste for her after the second one, but I tend not to like players who hit buzzer-beaters on me. Respect, yes. Like, not necessarily. Rachel Hollivay played less than I expected- I'm not sure if the whole bench thing is an ongoing thing, or a thing wherein Coach Stringer does not approve of a thing, or if she has a thing about posts. She's a bruiser down there, but deceptively fast on her feet for her size, and you do not want to be in her way.
Kahleah Copper spends a lot of time looking at her shot. Her shot is not that pretty that she should stand there admiring it. I thought she would have had more rebounds than she ended up with. Tyler Scaife is absolutely remarkable. She's got all the tools- the jumper, the drive, the wicked crossover, the vision, the maturity (she was quick to give Parker a pep talk after a defensive play that didn't go as the Scarlet Knights planned). She's got grit, and she's got flash. I don't love watching Betnijah Laney rebound the way I love watching Amber Thompson or Bra'Shey Ali rebound, but she's interesting to watch, especially when she's preparing to rebound a free throw- she gets down real low like a runner, and then bursts upward. She's got a bit of a mean streak- I don't think the elbow to Shannon Smith's face was intentional, but it was blatant- and nice touch around the basket and from the midrange. Her build reminds me a little of Monique Currie. Syessence Davis was a catalyst on both ends of the floor. Getting her in foul trouble helped for Michigan (and she dodged a major bullet after her fourth foul- Stringer didn't have the sub up in time, so she was still in with four; Michigan tried to draw the foul from her, but she read the play and made the defensive switch, which eventually gave Rutgers time to bring in Parker). Ariel Butts played briefly but hard in the post. That's a lot of woman down low, and she's not afraid to bump players out of her way.
Rutgers jumped the passing lanes beautifully, and they were all over every loose ball. Michigan made plenty of mistakes by themselves, but Rutgers forced them to think, and to hesitate, and to then act without thinking.
The refereeing was... interesting. It was at least consistent, which is the bare minimum expectation I have trained myself for, but it was flat out bad. And it was bad on both sides. Shannon Smith should have fouled out even before the fourth that was called on her. Lots and lots of contact with no calls, but ticky-tack hand-checks were called. It took a full review and KBA about to flip her lid at the ref for the elbow by Betnijah Laney that laid out Shannon Smith to be called.
It was good to see the gang again, and good to see what KBA's doing at Michigan. They still need some polishing, but I'm pretty sure they'll take lessons from this game into the next one.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
January 7th, 2015: Michigan at Rutgers
Sunday, February 12, 2012
February 12, 2012: St. John's at Rutgers
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's led almost wire to wire, despite a big run by Rutgers, to sweep the Scarlet Knights with a win at the RAC, 61-52. Nadirah McKenith led all scorers with 18 points, while Da'Shena Stevens had 16 points and eight rebounds. For Rutgers, Khadijah Rushdan had 17 points, 15 in the second half, while Monique Oliver posted 11 points and 14 rebounds.
For guards with big hearts, towels, road trips, magic numbers, and questionable palettes, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.
On the road again... on the road again... what I love is watching my team in road uniforms again... can't wait to get on the road again.
Say what you will about New Jersey Transit, and there are a lot of things you can say about New Jersey Transit, we managed to get to the RAC before the St. John's bus. There resulted a bit of miscommunication due to that, since a lack of Red Storm meant that there was a lack of list of people who get tickets from the team. Credit to the Rutgers staff, though- they were nice and patient with both us and the people messing things up.
Rutgers is in pink, St. John's is in red, and someone's in a sling. I think, by process of elimination, it's Mallory Jones, but since she doesn't play anyway I'm not going to get too worried. I'm going to feel sympathetic, though. Keylantra Langley's back, which helps our guard rotation.
Seriously, it looks like someone barfed up a Valentine's display in here. If it weren't for the gray t-shirts, it might be worse; at least the warm-up tees aren't pink this year. And at least we don't have to explain to some unlucky marketing staffer why we don't want Rutgers-logoed breast cancer tees. If anyone gets after us for a lack of pink, first, they can stick it up their expletive deleted; second, I will shake my pink streamer at them angrily. (Thanks, Sky! Even years later!)
I don't know if I like being this close to the action, but I'm not going to look gift tickets in the mouth. I am nowhere NEAR that stupid, no matter what anyone might think. I think that was also a product of being among the first people here.
Looks like Mallory and Coach Duffy are having a bonding/teaching moment. That's always a good sign for the future.
Someone needs to bring the RAC into the twenty-first century. Y U NO let me find signal, Rutgers?
It's 32-19 St. John's at the half, and the Storm are looking good. I don't want to jinx anything. But the defense is on point and Rutgers can't hit the broad side of the barn. Come on, Storm, let's go. We've got your back. And towels. And signs. We brought signs.
I don't necessarily believe in numerology. But from reading Standing Tall, I know that Stringer believes in 55 like a totem. So I started biting my nails when the clock stopped at precisely 5:55. And I kept biting my nails when we got stuck on 55 and couldn't get a free throw to drop while Rutgers made a run and got it closer and closer and closer... believe me if you want, but I first became sure we would win when Da'Shena Stevens hit the free throw that got us to 56.
Excellent anthem. Color guard was presented oddly, though. Poor kids were all the way in the corner. (Girl Scout love. Troop 4839 up in here.)
Sometimes I think Stringer doesn't use practice to figure out what she's got in her freshmen, she throws them in during games to see what they have. That's an interesting approach, but I would think that Rutgers has enough players that they don't have to do that. Erica Wheeler played a lot down the stretch, but didn't come in until nearly the second quarter. Her shot took some time to adjust, but she looked better as the game went along. Not as smart defensively as I expect from Rutgers. Shakena Richardson committed three exceptionally stupid fouls- two dead ball fouls off the ball and one reach-in that could have been put in a textbook. And then she complained about the call- child, your arm is practically in Nadirah's waist, your argument is invalid. Syessence Davis didn't have much of an impact, but I think she's got potential. I don't know if 15 is a great omen for her. She shoots a bit like Kia Vaughn did from distance. Christa Evans is the kind of post who's out there to do one thing and one thing only- set picks and screens, and if she shoots, it's by accident. Briyona Canty did a great job rebounding- but that's because she couldn't hit a lay-up to save her life.
Khadijah Rushdan, you are amazing. I love her heart and her hustle- and when her team needs her the most, that's when she steps up her game and puts aside her fear. She's faster than I expect from her build, and tough as nails. If she had pulled this game out the way she pulled DePaul out, I would still be writing about her. Monique Oliver was a force on the boards, but between one thing and another, she didn't get the kind of shots she should have. We covered her well, but not that well. Nikki Speed was... the Nikki Speed I remember from when I was still following Rutgers. Lives up to her name and not much else. Betnijah Laney has an impressive ability to get to the line, and a very nice first step- she'll be something special for the Knights one of these days, but she's going to have to finish at the rack to get there. April Sykes came on late, but while she did a great job rebounding her own misses, she couldn't get her shot. We've always played her well, and today was no exception.
Briana Brown for three! Oh, she's definitely growing on me. Sticky on-ball defense, and if she adds even a little consistent offense I'll be really happy. Keylantra Langley didn't look completely recovered from her eye injury, or maybe just like she was out of condition slightly. Maybe she missed more practice than we realized. It wasn't Tesia Harris's day. I think this is the first time I've seen her not get a rebound in a game. Amber Thompson brought the grit we needed off the bench, and even if she wasn't making some of the shots, she was going at Oliver without fear, helping establish our attitude.
Statistically Mary Nwachukwu didn't have a great game, but she brought the defense. If she can keep doing that, and set screens, and maybe bring that little outside jumper every so often, I think I can find it in me to be satisfied. Da'Shena Stevens, whose solid performance I woefully forgot to write about last time out, came up big for us again with the right play at the right time. She's working on her speed, I think, which will be crucial if she wants to play after college. Eugeneia McPherson wasn't as aggressive as we (or KBA) would have liked. Sometimes you just have to shoot the open jumper that the Rutgers defense allows you. She's bringing the defense, which makes me happy. Shenneika Smith was all over the boards- I love watching those go-go gadget arms extend and snag balls or deflect them away from the opposition. She made a huge play near the end of the game to help force a fumble by Rutgers that got us the ball back for two more free throws. She hurried her offense a little bit, but came up with big shots. But I can't say enough about Nadirah McKenith's composure- as she went, so went the team, and that was the key to winning this game. She got to the line and hit her shots, she ran the offense solidly, she picked her moments, she filled the stat sheet. She doesn't actually wear the captain's C, but she totally should.
The Rutgers fans started leaving during that run. Shame on you. I know we were up big, and I know it's hell on earth getting out of the parking lots at the RAC, but that was a motivational tool. With an arena like the RAC, this kind of thing is noticeable.
Dear refs, please to be calling tackles. Overall it was all right. Both teams had reason to be enraged, both teams got away with calls.
We brought towels. Mike Thibault got soda all over one of them. :( (It's okay, Coach T. We still love you.) We also brought signs to commemorate Kim Barnes Arico going for 169, but we didn't take them out and pass them around until the last minute of the game, it got that close. Prepared fans are prepared!
Shoutout to St. John's ROTC, and thanks for the ride! Very much appreciated- I think we'd be on the Q46 right now otherwise. (Also, thank you for saving us $26- you thought we were exaggerating about train fare, right?)
This was an important game, not just for today, not just for this season, but for the area. St. John's needs to keep establishing itself as the top program in the area to make sure they're the priority for recruits. Beating Rutgers and Syracuse does that.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March 23rd, 2009: Rutgers at Auburn (NCAA tournament)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 80, Auburn Tigers 62
Rutgers plays a complete game, Epiphanny Prince puts on a show, and Brittany Ray and Heather Zurich put the screws to Auburn.
Holy shit, man. I mean. Holy shit. I didn't even think we were going to win this game, much less blow the hell out of Auburn. Maybe there was something in the air tonight. Maybe there was something in the water. Whatever it was, OMGYAY.
It's quite disconcerting to have Rutgers not be Rutgers and someone else be Rutgers. Hmm. Maybe that explains Auburn's offensive fail. They thought they were Rutgers. ;) (Because Auburn was the higher seed, they wore white and were treated as the home team, at least officially. But, well, as hard as Aubie, the cheereleaders, and the band tried, the Tiger faithful didn't have enough flags and signs to properly take over the RAC.)
I give Auburn's band the edge for coordination, synchronization, and repertoire. I give Rutgers the edge for extemporaneous enthusiasm. Auburn does have what's becoming one of my favorite cadences: a fast "D-up, D-up, D-up!" followed by three claps. It's an unusual rhythm. If I ever start my own franchise, that will be one of the scoreboard chants.
My word, that KeKe Carrier's a big woman, isn't she? Shame she doesn't have the endurance to play a full game. Fortner could have used her a lot more against Vaughn and Junaid. That forced Bonner into some really bad matchups, and though Bonner hit some amazing leaners in traffic (my viewing partner referred to those shots as "like shooting marbles" for someone of that height and lack of girth), that really took her out of her game, though the other big factor in her being out of her game is named Heather. Boddie looked out of sorts most of the night, though, again, the primary reason for that might have been wearing Scarlet. Smalley, though I absolutely love the quickness of her release, just couldn't hit water if she fell out of a boat today. Sherell Hobbs was really getting cranky. I was afraid she was gonna go after someone. Foul trouble kept Jackson and Hilliard from really getting into the flow of things, which was a major difference from the Lehigh game, since (at least in my mind) Hilliard was one of the best Tigers on the floor when they chewed up the Mountain Hawks. I think Fortner was just as disconcerted and confused as anyone that Rutgers was scoring so much, and didn't know how to adjust.
Epiphanny Prince stole the show with flashy offense, but Rutgers would not have won that game without the work of Brittany Ray and Heather Zurich. Ray was on Boddie, Zurich was on Bonner, and together they made life hell for the two Tigers. Bonner got very few uncontested shots, and she was almost scared to shoot at some points. And meanwhile, Zurich and Ray each put up 12 points. Solid game for Vaughn. Yes, a few of the usual "don't make me go down there and yank on your ponytail!" errors, but she did exactly what we needed her to do. Rushdan looked a little like she was forcing things, but she was nice to see on the break. Did have a freakout moment when she went down holding her knee, but she popped back up, so a sigh of relief was breathed. Stringer went all in for this game, with Junaid being the only reserve to see serious minutes to match up with Carrier- and for one stretch, go to a double-post lineup, with both Vaughn and Junaid in. It was interesting.
As Stringer pulled the seniors from the game with a minute left and RU firmly in control, the crowd started chanting Kia and Heather's names. It was a nice touch. It was also nice to see them goofing around on the bench. I like to see a team having fun, especially when they've just scored a big win. There's a time to be serious, and that wasn't really it.
Here's the move by Fortner that might well define how she coached this game: Rutgers is up 19-4, Carrier in the game. Stringer moves Junaid to the scorer's table to match Carrier almost immediately. Brittany Ray cans a three to extend the lead to 22-4. Fortner calls her second timeout of the half. Complete panic move, because if whatever you said when RU started 9-0 didn't work, it's not gonna work when you're down 22-4, and by calling time, that allows Junaid into the game to quickly counter Carrier's huge size advantage.
Officiating was... interesting. I think that might be the best word for it. There were a lot of odd calls, and a lot of make-up calls for the odd calls to try and even things out. I thought a tightly called game would be in Auburn's favor, since Rutgers is a more physical team, but it was fairly tightly called, and, well. If that was Auburn's favor, I shudder to think of what the margin would have been for a loosely called game.
My ears are still ringing. Have I mentioned that part yet? Because the RAC is an acoustic dream for noise from the stands.
We're going to need that Rutgers team in Oklahoma City, and we're going to need the bench to step up as the rounds wear on.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
March 21st, 2009: VCU at Rutgers (NCAA tournament)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 57, VCU Rams 51
The Rams throw down, Epiphanny Prince takes over, and there's a whole lot of ugly going on.
*ding ding ding* Let the fight begin!
Rutgers is a hard-fighting, tough defensive team that isn't afraid to get physical. So is VCU. Anyone who didn't think this was going to be a rough game for either team clearly hadn't done their homework.
So what was it with the crazy #23s today? While I do like Jessica Taylor's ram's-horns hairdo, I thought she was going to attempt to kill someone by the end of the game. Maybe we can have her and Crites duke it out at halftime of the Rutgers-Auburn game for everyone's entertainment. Hollingsworth stepped it up in the second half for VCU, taking advantage of some of Vaughn's mental lapses. If Radislava Bacharova had been able to hit the broad side of a barn, I think VCU would have pulled the upset, but with Ray and Zurich taking turns in her face, she wasn't getting a lot of good shots, and most of the ones she did get didn't fall. Such is life. Waller couldn't hit a free throw to save her life, and she was really starting to get chippy by the end of the game. Lane did a good job controlling the Rams' offense. Rorie spent a lot of time in foul trouble, forcing VCU to go to their bench. (For that matter, Hollingsworth and her replacement Courtney Hurt [a very well-named young lady if ever I saw one] also spent a lot of time in foul trouble. It's a tribute to Cunningham's juggling ability that neither of them fouled out, though Rorie, whose trouble started this parenthetical aside, did.) A very physical team, a very physical game. Not much came easy for either team. Lot of elbows thrown, lot of hard screens, lot of bumps, lot of falls.
No, here's a slightly better illustration of how physical and hard it was: by the end of the game, Myia McCurdy was wearing #30 and Brittany Ray was wearing #40 because their real jerseys were bloodstained. (I thought Ray coming out in Linda Miles's #40 was a declaration of war, to be honest- "Okay, fine, you wanna hit? Well, guess what? We have people who can do that professionally. Bring it on.") But blood, sweat, and fistfights aside, this was Epiphanny Prince's game. When it got close, she pretty well decided that she wasn't letting this upset happen on her floor, and she turned on the jets. I keep forgetting, or maybe today was just exceptional, just how quick her hands are- she got a lot of her rebounds by stealing them away from bigger players, and then there were the straight-up steals on defense. Vaughn played all right, although I'm not enthusiastic about her constant forays out of the post on defense- she doesn't quite have the foot speed to make the cut back inside to get back on her assignment when the ball goes back inside. And if I start on the free throw shooting, I'm gonna barf all over the computer, and this computer's been through more than enough crap. Ray and Zurich had the busy tasks of stopping Hollingsworth's sidekicks, so any offense from them was a nice little bonus. Rushdan looks recovered (though there was one heart-stopping moment when she landed awkwardly and her braced knee bent oddly- she was fine, though), even if she couldn't quite keep control of the ball. McCurdy's giant, strappy knee brace makes her look like she's being assimilated by the Borg, starting at the bottom and moving up. It's actually kinda scary. Speed got some good minutes, and though she did make a questionable decision or two, she didn't play too badly, and with the RU freshmen, I'll take what I can get. (Baby steps. Baby steps. Not everybody can be Da'Shena Stevens. ;)) I'm terribly afraid I'm going to spend the next four years mixing up Lee and Pope unless one of them gets into high rotation. Junaid just didn't have her head in the game.
The refereeing in this game was loose and very inconsistent. I think the elbow-throwing/trash-talking incident that led to the two techs at the end could have been avoided if some of the other extracurriculars had been called beforehand. It seems like the refs are letting them play- at least that's the impression I got from the two games I saw- but there's letting them play and then there's letting them brawl. If that's the officiating style for the tournament, then I like Rutgers's chances against Auburn on Monday, because I don't think Auburn can bang that long unless Carrier stays miraculously out of foul trouble.
Shame on the fans behind the home bench for not showing up until the second game. That swath of seats that stayed empty throughout the first game, visible with every sweep of the camera, could not in any way have looked good.
Auburn versus Rutgers is going to be a very interesting game, and I look forward to seeing it. The strategy should be very, *very* exciting, but I'm a dork like that.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
March 21st, 2009: Lehigh at Auburn (NCAA tournament)
Auburn Tigers 85, Lehigh Mountain Hawks 49
DeWanna Bonner impresses, the Auburn band rocks out, and at least Lehigh travels well.
What, you were expecting competitive balance in a 2-15 game? In the women's tournament? What do you think this is, 1998?
Auburn traveled surprisingly well for a team from Alabama- they had a lot of distance to cover. Lehigh traveled very well. They brought signs, and guys with body paint. It's tourney time, bay-bee!
Two very good bands with very different styles. Lehigh brought a traditional pep band and a lot of enthusiasm. Auburn went all brass, except for a drum kit. I liked them both, but I give Auburn the edge. They performed an excellent anthem.
Lehigh looked out of sync, out of sorts, and out of luck. Alex Ross couldn't get a lot of good shots, and the ones she did get mostly didn't go down. If they didn't have that, they didn't have much at all. Erica Prosser only really found her cojones in the second half, driving and either scoring or drawing fouls like Suzie McConnell-Serio had shoved game tape of Merlakia Jones down her throat. Haly Crites is nuts. I really thought she was gonna start a fight by the end of that game, as physically as she was playing. They really didn't get a lot from their starters, especially in the first half, when one of their reserves was tied for the team lead in scoring. I think they were genuinely stymied by Auburn's size and speed. Trying to think back on that game, I just get the mental image of a lot of brown blobs with ponytails. There were no spectacular plays by them. No phenomenal moves noted down. Just a lot of missed shots and turnovers.
DeWanna Bonner scares me a little. There's skinny, and then there's "did someone stretch her out on a rack before the game?", and Bonner is the latter. In terms of build and the way she moves, I found myself thinking of one of my Red Stormies, only Bonner is way taller. She's got some nice moves, a long lanky grace, and the ability to really screw with a team's game plan. Boddie's shooting is... yeah, I'm going to be diplomatic and go with "interesting" here. Good hands, though, especially on the defensive end today. Unfortunately, Lehigh's boxscore is fucked up, so I'm trying to match a bunch of random names to a bunch of random numbers and another bunch of names I don't know all that well. There's something I like about Chantel Hilliard, but I just can't put my finger on it. As you can tell, I say that a lot about players.
As you can also tell, it's been a very long night, and I'm tired, and I really don't remember much about this game, and honestly, I'm not sure I want to. I mean, there's only so much you can write about a 36-point ass-whipping, right?
Friday, December 19, 2008
December 19th, 2008: Lafayette at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 61, Lafayette Leopards 29
The Game Notes are wroth with the Rutgers athletic department, yet still feel love for the freshmen.
I really want to compliment my team. I really do. And I shouldn't be upset at a 61-29 victory, because it really does say a lot about the team, and a lot of it is good. But at the same time I get the weird and conflicting feelings that we should have won by more because Lafayette couldn't get out of their own way, and that we should have won by less because the bench should have had more time to work out the kinks. I don't know. I'm just confused.
I'm really not thrilled with Rutgers University right now. Ticket hikes are one thing, but I shouldn't have to bootleg a scoresheet at a BEast school. LIU, Columbia, St. Francis- there I can get scoresheets, but not at the premier WCBB school in the New York metro area? Are you kiddin' me? Also, please feel free to get your PA system fixed so that we can actually make out the names of the opposing players. The RAC is a wonderful arena, but it deserves more than cut corners inside.
But I did miss the band. They rock.
So, Lafayette. I don't know if it was the stifling defense- they certainly had trouble getting the ball over to each other- or their own ineptitude (since they graduated their biggest offensive threat from last season), but they were really lost out there on offense. I thought their opening drill for warm-ups, a hand-off drill, was a really good idea, but it didn't seem to do them a lot of good in actual game action. RU must have been marking the hell out of Wright, because she was a big scorer for the Leopards last year, but only got four points, all in the first half. She also set up the unfortunately named Elizabeth Virgin for a first-half bucket. Garner and Spicer had nice steals- I remembered Spicer from my trip to Kirby Gym as a ball-hawk, and there she was. Virgin and Wright also had nice plays on the defensive end. Plus, hey, any time you can see Lauren Jackson play… all right, all right, this Lauren Jackson was a brunette guard from Texas who showed a lot of hustle and not much else, but you take your amusement where you can.
Stat that stands out in the game: RU missed 32 shots, 38 if you count missed free throws. They picked up 23 offensive rebounds. So yeah, pretty impressive percentage there. Nice shooting by Piph, but I can't help but wonder if it was really necessary to not only keep her in the game for 37 total minutes (when no other starter topped 30, and the only one who came close was Kia Vaughn, who had to come back into the game late because Junaid was a wreck), but keep her shooting down to the last minute of a game that had long since become a blowout. At least feed one of the freshmen or something. She was also really aggressive on defense, more than she usually is, and I think she should have been called for a couple of more holds than she was. I did like her plays on the sideline, though I suspect Melissa Downey will disagree with me on that. Vaughn was solid inside, with pleasingly few of the glaring mental errors I've come to expect of her. (She does, however, have to learn to go before she leaves- there's nothing quite as disconcerting as seeing your starting center run pell-mell for the locker room.) Heather Zurich started getting into a groove, then started getting into foul trouble, and that was, as they say, that. She and Ray both took their turns on LaKeisha Wright, and both had success on her. Ray didn't really need to get into the offense. McCurdy, I honestly don’t remember, and that's frightening, given that she's one of my favorite Scarlet Knights. I'm really liking Rushdan's hustle and work on the boards. Like, a lot. Sykes has good instincts, but she needs to learn when not to pull the trigger. C'mon, April. You're a big, badass young woman. Take it inside. You don't need to be popping MCBB threes from the top of the arc. I'm liking Nikki Speed. It was nice to see Lee and Pope, and I liked Lee's screen to set up the two by Rushdan.
Best play of the game: Rushdan's interception at midfield returned for a touchdown steal at halfcourt that resulted in a Prince three.
Most awesome play in the history of ever: the absolutely bone-crushing screen thrown by the girl in the #10 jersey during the halftime ballkid two-on-two game. I swear to God, if I were Kim Barnes Arico, I might have tried to offer her a scholarship right then and there. The Red Storm don't set screens that solid. Hell, some Liberty players don't set screens that solid. We're talking damn near Screen of Death here.
You know how I mentioned that I hadn't seen Bonita Spence in a while, before the game at St. John's on Tuesday? Yeah, guess who showed up again. Does she hibernate until December or something? Because if she does, she's doing it wrong. So wrong. This was great hibernation weather. Some truly horrible calls- travels that were caused by fouls, fouls that were called as travels, some textbook holding not whistled… Bonita, really, I expect better of your crews.
The weather was absolutely disgusting, but a surprising number of people made it out. Probably not that many fewer than would actually consider Rutgers-Lafayette to be a match worth checking out. I do wish the guy in the scarlet sweater who was obnoxiously rooting for the Leopards the whole game and then "Rah rah Rutgers rah!"ing after the game hadn't been able to make it. Does that make me a bad person?
So yeah, we won, and we won big, but really, relying on one player to score the bulk of your points is so mid-major. She's got to learn to trust her young players, and at least in this game, she did give Sykes and Speed chances. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
March 1st, 2008: Syracuse at Rutgers
The Game Notes bid a fond, if temporary, farewell to Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon, and look forward to the Big East's future in Vionca Murray and Erica Morrow.
You know what the really nice thing is about having the WNBA around? Senior Day/Night isn't nearly as much of a goodbye as it could be. At least when it comes to Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, I know they'll be back in town at the Garden at least once this summer. It was emotional to know that this would be their last game at the RAC- the last game at the RAC for the season- but it wasn't "adios" so much as it was "hasta luego". Probably also helps that Rutgers has another road game and a couple of dances to attend.
The pregame ceremony was beautiful- did Stringer write that opening speech and just have the PA guy read it? It sounded a lot like her phrasing. It's nice to see folks with their families, and just to hear the incredible stats that Matee and Essence have put together in their four years as Scarlet Knights… it made me realize how lucky we've been. Yeah, I got misty-eyed, and I won't deny it.
So really, I'm not surprised that Syracuse eventually succumbed. They just had too much to go up against. That being said, I really like the job Hillsman is doing with his team. He's done a great job mining the New York City talent, a skill that I ardently wish the Big East school in New York City would actually look for. He needs an assistant who can work with that team on fundamentals such as ballhandling, but I like how he handles his players and how he reads the flow of the game, not to mention that he's absconded with the zone that the Syracuse men use, a defense that I've always found incredibly sexy. It definitely threw Rutgers off (of course, then the Rutgers offense adjusted in strange and unexpected ways). I was really impressed with Erica Morrow (yeah, yeah, I know, late to the party on that one, but I haven't watched high school basketball since I graduated high school)- she's got the cojones necessary to survive in the BEast, and to make Syracuse a serious contender in said BEast. She and Murray make a good combo, and I don't think the Orange lose anything with Murray stepping into the lineup next year. Michael seems to have regressed a bit; she looks like she needs to be picked up by the collar of her jersey and shaken a little bit, because I think she thinks she's still the first option on this team, and she's not anymore because she doesn't need to be. I like the way Tasha Harris runs her team- as a freshman, no less. Wow, she and Morrow are gonna be an awesome tandem in a couple of years. I felt that Syracuse played as well as could be expected, going into the teeth of the Rutgers defense, and the balance that they showed bodes well for them in the future.
Appropriate that Essence and Matee both played well on Senior Day, although Matee needs to stop doing stupid show-the-ball tricks. Essence did it somewhat quietly; I looked up after one of her field goals and asked, "Hey, when did Carson get into double figures?" Katie Adams seemed scared to shoot; didn't she know the fans were waiting to blow the roof off when she got the ball while open? Ah, well. Can't change the past and all of that, and it's not like she needs any pointers on basketball anymore. I've rarely had the chance to see her play- she's a lot faster than I thought she was. Epiphanny was quiet- I think she knew this needed to be the seniors' show. Otherwise, that probably would have been how Rutgers attacked the Orange zone- have Prince penetrate and kick out. Instead, they force-fed the post a lot- no, passing in to a quadruple-covered Kia Vaughn is not necessarily going to end well. Then they went to shooting threes, and lo! the threes were good. The threes were *very* good, actually. We got some great, great bench play- Heather led all rebounders with seven and provided a boatload of hustle, while Brittany was bombing threes like there was no tomorrow. I didn't think Rashidat played that well, though; both she and Kia spent too much time staring at loose balls instead of rebounding them. And we will not speak of the free throw shooting again. Epiphanny hit the first of the game, and then the rest of the first half until Essence went to the line was a disaster upon a nightmare. For all I know, they're shooting free throws right now. This game was much more on fluky outside shooting and the seniors' determination not to fuck this up beyond all redemption for the last time at the RAC. If this is what they bring to Connecticut tomorrow, it's gonna be brutal.
I'm never reassured by seeing June Courteau as one of the refs, but I thought the two gentlemen with her did a solid job. Yes, Kia, it is a foul if your elbow lands in someone else's face. No, Matee, you cannot fling yourself into an offensive player and get the foul called on her. Yes, Piph, you were out of control. I love my fellow Rutgers fans, but sometimes the ragging on the ref gets to be a little too much.
Hi, Megan! Yes, the Liberty had a table set up before the game. They left before halftime, though. :( Still nice to see them there. Only two months until the preseason- OMG, I think I can make it through.
It's sad to realize the ride's almost over- oh, there's the Little Dance at Hartford and the Big Dance, to be sure, but for those of us who have no intentions of visiting the Nutmeg State any time soon, the ride's pretty much over. It's been fun. Frustrating- hey, you can't spell frustrating without RU- but fun.
Monday, April 14, 2008
February 5th, 2008: UConn at Rutgers
Renee Montgomery doesn't want the Huskies to lose- but damned if Epiphanny Prince is losing to Christ the King. Also, the Game Notes suck at figuring out people's classes.
Nothing is perfect, baby. Doesn't matter what sport you're playing. Nothing is perfect.
When it comes to college sports, I firmly believe there is nothing like a crowd at the RAC. You combine loud, passionate fans with an arena that's designed to collect noise from all sides and drop it down onto the court, then stir in an exciting game in one of the sport's biggest rivalries, and it's enough to make you want to sit back and soak it in… except, of course, if you're a real fan, you're probably up on your feet shouting and hollering with the rest of them, so you're not exactly concerned with the way the arena sounds inasmuch as you're concerned about helping the arena sound that way. My throat's still slightly sore.
For a while, though, I was sure this was going to be another heartbreak, thanks in no small part to the unreal shooting of Renee Montgomery. Y'know, between the state's products and its university, I could get a serious dislike on for West Virginia. Then again, Montgomery's panic fouls and fumble on the pass pretty much sealed the win for Rutgers. Somehow, I get the feeling she just took a bit of a slide down the draft board. And then there was Tina Charles, who had Kia Vaughn for dinner. Damn, but she can move for a big girl. I'm not fond of the elbows out on her screens, though. She and Hunter both had a knack for being in places that they needed to be and/or ensuring that even if Vaughn happened to be in a place where a rebound might go, that they got it from her. Moore got hot late, and I'm not sure how much of that to credit to any clutchness she might have and how much to credit to the defense forgetting that she existed, because she either didn't or couldn't get her shots in the first three quarters. Dixon annoys me, and I don't know why. You'd think a Debbie Black fan would like the undersized players, but Dixon doesn't seem to have yet realized that she *is* smaller than most of her colleagues in the conference, or that she's not going to get any advantages from that lack of size. She's a little overdramatic, to say the least. Off the bench… now I can see why UConn fans are ticked at Geno for not playing Houston, because she's got good size and good aggressiveness, and early in the game, when they were getting nothing out of Moore, she stepped up and picked up the slack. I don't know if going away from her was one of the keys to Rutgers coming back in the second half, but it's not a move I would have made. I like Swanier running the team better than whoever they're using as point guard (Dixon?); I think she's got a better handle on her teammates' strengths and weaknesses. Was not impressed with McLaren; I realize she's a freshman, but she brought nothing to the court except size. Has UConn always been playing this aggressive, in your face defense? Seemed surprising that Geno was going to go after Rutgers with, essentially, Rutgers basketball.
On the ride home, we concluded that sometime in the second half, Epiphanny Prince decided, "You know what? Hell if I'm losing to those CTK girls." She took over so dominantly- if I read the box right, 27 of her 33 points were in the second half; to put that in perspective, 27 of RU's 49 points in the second half were hers. It was crazy. She was everywhere. It was beautiful. I wasn't thrilled with Ajavon's performance on offense, but she was after every loose ball, and watching her make those plays was beautiful. Carson didn't look right at all. Vaughn may have been quite impressive on offense, but on defense and on the boards, she was utter shit. I'm sure some of that can be credited to the UConn posts, but she looked like she was doing her best Tammy Sutton-Brown impression for most of the night. There were points I turned to the boy and said, "I never thought I'd be grateful for Tiina Sten; at least she has an excuse." Junaid seemed to be on a strict minute count, because I would have liked to see more of her, especially when they were doing the press; the way Vaughn was playing defense, she wasn't ready for when UConn did manage to break the press, and the Huskies got buckets that were all too easy. Stringer seemed to be going with her starters even more than one would expect for a team with only three bench players; why Zurich was exiled for so much of the game I will never understand, and why the sub so often seemed to be a switch between the two bench players was a source of agita, angst, frustration, and the occasional primal scream from section 203. Have I mentioned lately that I love both McCurdy and Zurich on the inbounds defense? Because I do. Myia more than Heather, but both of them know how to make an inbounder's life hell.
I had the horrible feeling I recognized at least one of those ponytailed refs, but they stayed out of the game, more or less. For the first time in I can't remember when, RU had more free throws than an opponent… but this is the kind of thing that happens when you drive the lane and go for the shot. Wild concept, I know. Ajavon got whammed a couple of times, no call- I mind me of one play where she was pretty much checked into the boards with no call either way. Think my favorite comment on the refs was after a bad out of bounds call, when one of the guys above me said, "I thought I knew all the blonde jokes, but I found a new one: this ref." This was in the first half, so Prince had yet to force an absolutely ridiculous number of fouls against UConn.
It was nice to see representatives from almost all of the women's teams at halftime, though I wonder why the tennis team couldn't send a representative, even if they weren't there. Ah, well. Personally, I'm inclined to believe that, given the number of black warmup jackets and accents on uniforms, RU needs to give up this red and white thing and stick to the red and black; it'll make wardrobe choices so much easier for me.
Nice suit, Coach Stringer. Nice suit, Coach Auriemma. Black never goes out of style.
I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I really wouldn't. I've never been prouder of my team than I was last night. But don't think this means they can let down their guard. It doesn't get any easier after this. Does it ever? ;)
January 12th, 2008: Seton Hall at Rutgers
The Pirates can't shoot, Heather Zurich saves the day, and Coach Stringer color-coordinates.
Looks like it's Rivalry Weekend in the Garden State, at least when it comes to the ladies of the hardwood, so where better to be on a Saturday afternoon than the RAC for The Battle of New Jersey as Seton Hall and Rutgers grappled, and what better way to spend a cold Saturday night than at Jadwin Gym as the Princeton Tigers opened their Ivy schedule with rival Penn?
First the familiar: RAC sweet RAC. I've come to love that strange little trapezoidal building and appreciate the way its build allows noise to collect at the bottom, attempt to rise to the girdered ceiling, and sink back down into the mass of people, there to wash, rinse, and repeat. A most excellent turnout, and mostly not even due to Seton Hall fans: that bright blue does tend to stand out, especially in a building as washed in Scarlet as the RAC- I've been to many a basketball game, and I don't think I've ever seen as large a percentage of a crowd in team gear as I ever have at any Rutgers game.
Fortunately, unlike the game versus St. John's, they had the full band on hand this time, and they did a credible job with the anthem. Hey, when it's a song you know and know well, you tend to fuss about how it's performed.
I've never seen a team take as many bad shots as Seton Hall did. Lord have mercy, but they were chucking. It was as if they expected someone (or Someone) to give them a hand each and every time, and really, Someone has better things to do than help each and every single shot. I was worried that they would come back big in the second half, because they went very deep into their rotation, and certainly they scored well in the second half, but they couldn't get to the line, which impaired their ability to score- although taking mind-numbingly stupid jumpers is totally not going to help any team get to the line for free throws. They brought an interesting combination in the post- the shorter but wider and very physical Amber Harris (no not that one) and the taller, slimmer, Noteisha Womack. I absolutely loved watching Womack work in the post- it's nice to see a player with a consistent hook in the women's game. Harris set some wicked screens. In the first half, I turned to the boy and said, "Why aren't they going to 21 (Ela Mukosiej) more? She's been faking out Essence freakin' Carson- okay, she's got bad hands, but she's faking out one of a defensive team's defensive aces on a consistent basis." In the second half she scored all six of her points, including four in short order. That was also when Jadis Rhodin came to life, hitting the threes she'd been missing and scoring pretty much all of her seventeen points. But Seton Hall made way too many mental mistakes to have a chance of keeping the game close so that they could make a run- they'd put themselves in too much of a hole before they started coming back.
Heather Zurich, ilu. With Essence Carson clearly not herself- slow on defense, making uncharacteristically stupid plays, not hitting her shots- Heather stepped up and hit the midrange jumpers- when Seton Hall made a hint of a run in the second half, she stopped it, plus she played excellent defense as necessary. Of course, the bulk of the lead-building came from Epiphanny Prince's daredevil drives and nifty shots, and the cherry was put on by Matee Ajavon and some of her "naw, you're just practicing that to win a game of HORSE" shots in the second half. (I'm thinking the twisting, somewhat spastic, layup myself.) With Brittany Ray injured or sitting for some other reason, having suffered a torn meniscus against Princeton five frickin' games ago, how do you not notice these things, Katie Adams got extended time in the first half, and you could feel the arena's anticipation, hoping and praying that she'd put the ball in the basket. Didn't happen. Kia Vaughn started the game badly, completely out of it on both ends of the floor. We're talking about standing there and watching the rebound go by. Somewhere along the line, perhaps through the well-timed insertions of Rashidat Junaid, someone pulled her by the ponytail until her head was fully out of her ass, and she started playing more aggressively, like she's a big strong young woman with a good touch. I hope she's aware that she's replaceable in this starting lineup, either by Junaid or by Stringer going quite crazy and going small.
Now, I'm not sure if Stringer decided to use her wardrobe to make a point about the importance of this game, or she got her outfits for this week and last week mixed up while trying to color-coordinate with the opposing team a la Jenny Boucek. Whatever the case, she was properly attired in team colors. I just wish she'd been a little more Rutgers-esque in some of her defensive moves, because there were some ugly mismatches at times, and they looked like badly chosen assignments, not blown assignments.
Almost forgot to mention (hey, look at the timestamp, I'm allowed)! They rolled out the red carpet at the RAC today to give out the BEast rings from the tournament last year. I like seeing Michelle Edwards get bling, even if it's bling that doesn't mean very much in the greater scheme of things. Essence Carson was also honored for hitting the thousand-point mark against Pepperdine. I'm surprised it took her so long. I know RU's offense is… not their speciality, and I know she's not a major scorer, and I know she's been sharing shots with Ajavon her entire career, but it still surprises me that a player who can be as effective as Essence can be took three and a half years to hit four digits on the scoreometer. Whatever. She did it, so major congrats to a most awesome young lady.
I'm not pleased that they've gotten chinchy with the scoresheets. Nothing like five minutes before tip trying to scribble in the entire rosters of both teams, plus years, positions, and numbers. Doesn't help that we bought a program in hopes of getting a scoresheet, only to discover that hi, free ones over yonder.
I think there may have been an alumna or two at the game, judging from the number of tall young women in official-looking gear who seemed to be a touch too old to be recruits.
A most satisfying win, in conclusion, except for having more turnovers than the opponent. So, despite the margin of victory, I kinda feel bad for Georgetown.
January 5th, 2008: St. John's at Rutgers
When Red meets Scarlet, it's easy to pick the winning color scheme Alternatively, just say you're rooting for Kia.
It's the most wonderful time of the season: my annual "well, at least the wardrobe choices are easy/oh, dear, what will I do/what was I thinking when I picked two teams from the same bleeping conference/er, go Kia!" game, Rutgers versus St. John's. It was my mom's first trip to the RAC, and I think she was impressed- as well she should be, because it's pretty impressive for a college arena- though she was more amused than intimidated by the Rutgers fight song.
The only reason there was a decent crowd, methinks, was that there was a doubleheader with the men playing Georgetown. Most Rutgers diehards would have been up in Toronto for the International Bowl or too wiped out to consider a second event in the day, while the St. John's men were hosting Cincinnati at Carnesecca. Because of the bowl game, Rutgers had the alumni band and a bare handful of unimpressive cheerleaders. Usually the Rutgers cheerleaders and dancers do some impressive gymnastic stunts, but this bunch I don't think even bothered going out to center court. At least the band didn't completely suck, although I may be inured to band suckage from St. John's.
For St. John's, it's official. I have had it the hell up to here with Monique McLean. I keep comparing her to Shameka Christon, but at least Shameka has a learning curve. Monique seems to have just barely enough of an attention span to keep focused for one game after, presumably, a very loud talking-to, and then goes and does the same damn stupid thing she wasn't supposed to do again. The problem is that because she's the first option on offense, Coach won't bench her in the middle of a game. She might lose a start, but I don't think Coach is holding her accountable for her fuck-ups, and with Kia leaving after this season, St. John's needs her to step up next year if they don't want to backslide. After the kvetching I've done early in the season, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sky needs to shoot more. I think she's trying too hard to be a team player, and it's eating her up. If Monique's got her head up her ass and Kia's not herself, we need Sky to step up- and she can, I know she can. Kia played this game more with her heart than with her head, especially after Recee went down- that's the only explanation I can think of for her trying to go after Kia Vaughn. She was trying to force things too much, and I don't know if that was in response to the Rutgers defense, her own panic, or in response to Monique forcing the issue. Prince wasn't exactly helping, either. Tiina. Oh, Tiina. In a game against big posts like Kia Vaughn and Rashidat Junaid, St. John's needed her to be tough, because both Joy and Coco are too skinny to be really effective against big bodies, and Recee's too short. But once again, she came up too blonde and too Euro. Joy and Coco both fought, and I actually felt that Coco was more effective than Joy, although they both had their "one red jersey in three/four white ones" moment. Kelly, off the bench, didn't bring all that much. Recee played Junaid well, but then she turned one way and her knee went the other, and there's nothing quite as disconcerting as seeing a big, mean, Texas girl crying on the court. That, I think, really took the wind out of the Red Storm's sails, in that immediately after Recee was carried off the floor, they started playing as if they were going to lose the game; to me, that was one of the two momentum-switching moments that gave the game to Rutgers.
The first, of course, was Essence Carson hitting the three right before halftime to give Rutgers their first lead of the game. Though she didn't start, she played often and well. (The rumor I heard about Ajavon was that she'd missed shootaround to watch the International Bowl, which may have been stupid, but is also very sweet and romantic.) Essence stabilized the team, and that led to the second half. Brittany Ray couldn't buy a good shot in the first half, but in the second half, she found her spot and wham! Threes everywhere. Epiphanny Prince made her presence felt more on defense than on offense- so did Heather Zurich. Kia Vaughn was less effective than she could have been against a St. John's frontcourt that wasn't big enough to stop her; I felt that Rashidat took more advantage of her opportunities to go on the offensive. I really like Myia McCurdy, so you can imagine that one of my highlights was her and Joy chasing a ball out of bounds, because both of them would rather have bamboo slivers shoved under their fingernails than give up on a play.
Worst nightmare known to man: ENTERLINE. And if DeMayo and the other referee hadn't gotten control back with their whistles, there might well have been a Kia versus Kia throwdown by the end of the game. My mom was unabashedly rooting for St. John's, and the people behind us were unabashedly rooting for Rutgers, and yet on half the calls, one would turn to the other and say, "That should have been your call. My team, but bad call."
All in all, though this was a no-lose situation for a basketball fan who bleeds red, it was an extremely frustrating game. I just hope Recee's okay…
Saturday, April 12, 2008
December 3rd, 2007: Maryland at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 68, Maryland Terrapins 60
Kia Vaughn is a Pod Person, Marissa Coleman is smooth, and for fuck's sake, you do not foul a three-point shooter.
Please note that I'm a bit punchy, and thus these game notes might be less coherent and a bit more ridiculous than usual. Considering my penchant for off-kilter remarks, that's a disturbing thought. But onward, ever onward.
Going to this game might have been one of the least sensible things I've ever done, but if I had chosen the Cal game over this one, I'd probably be kicking myself right about now. What a trip. What an absolute trip. I love my team- but oh, how I love my arena so much more. Hauling ass from Queens takes a lot of hauling- train to train to shuttle bus and almost get run over- but I still made it to my seat before opening tip- to the rest of row H, I apologize for not being able to get to my seat any other way but across all of you.
Maryland is good. No, seriously. Sweet Sixteen, I said in my thread? This was more of an Elite Eight game, much more on the line than anyone would ever guess, pride and passion and a clash of opposites that, in many ways, turn out to be similar, much like mirror images of one another. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Maryland and Rutgers have similar color schemes, or at this point, maybe I'm pulling stuff out of my ass. Whatever the case may be, Maryland brought it to the RAC and brought it well. Except for the free throws at the end, Marissa Coleman impressed me like you wouldn't believe. I wouldn't go so far as to say she can play any position, but she's got a nice combination of power and finesse that ought to make a lot of teams take a look at her come April. Kristi Toliver also played well- but if she's going to make it in the WNBA, either she's going to have to admit that she's actually a shooting guard or she's going to have to lay off the shooting a bit and learn to stop carrying the ball. That being said, girl is money, no lie. I wasn't as impressed with the starting posts for Maryland- neither Langhorne nor Harper did anything that especially piqued my interest. Truth be told, I thought the most effective post player for Maryland was Jade Perry, and I was very surprised to see Maryland not bring her in once in the second half- I think she could have been very effective against Junaid in the second half, with the amount of time Junaid had to log. Strickland… she hit one shot early in the first half and that's the last I remember of her doing anything notable until she fouled late in the second. I'm sure she did other things in the middle, but they weren't very memorable. What really impressed me about Maryland as a whole was their athleticism and their hustle. Loose balls that Rutgers seemed accustomed to not fighting for became all-out scrums and/or Maryland rebounds. They're fast and they're quick, and they fear pretty much nothing. With Duke on a downswing and Carolina inconsistent as all hell, Maryland may well run away with the ACC. Of course, in conference play, one never knows what will happen.
Would whoever stole the real Kia Vaughn give her back? This pod person sucks. Yes, she got her rebounds, and she got a couple of the key ones late. Yes, she got called for a couple of bullshit fouls. But you cannot be a starting center for a top-notch team in a major conference and miss as many easy shots as Kia did. Ironically, the only shot she hit was a jumper outside the paint. I'm optimistically inclined to believe that she and Rashidat teamed up to neutralize Harper and contain Langhorne, but this is based on me hoping and praying that Kia did something positive in the game. Midway through the first half I was about ready to go down there and smack both Ajavon and Prince upside the head for the stupid shots they were taking, but in the second half, Epiphanny found her shot and fueled the key run that Matee capped with her three. That does not excuse the boneheaded foul in the last thirty seconds- no, do NOT foul a three-point shooter, I don't care if God Almighty Himself comes down from Heaven and proclaims that the Eleventh Commandment is Thou Shalt Befoul The Shot Attempt Of The Offensive Player; Yea, And Thou Shalt Send Them To The Line For The Throws That Are Free; And Lo, Thou Shalt Hear The Lamentations From Thy People, you do not foul a jump shooter and this goes double for a three-point shooter. Essence was… Essence, though she had a couple of defensive lapses that surprised me mightily. Love to watch her work, although she and Matee also both need to watch it with the hand under the ball. I love Heather Zurich's hustle- poor girl's face still looks like nightmare fuel under the mask, but she's still fighting and scrapping inside. One of the guys in my section was hollering at her to look for her shot, but honestly, the woman is playing with a serious handicap in the vision department here, and the last I heard, shooting really requires good eyesight, so leave her be. Honestly, I think the difference-maker in the game was Rashidat. She stepped up where Kia failed, hitting her shots in the lane with a beautiful soft touch and bodying up almost as hard on defense. If Kia's not careful over the next couple of games, she may well be benched, and I can't argue she wouldn't deserve it. I still wish Coach Stringer had a little more faith in the bench, because our three starting guards are going to wear down from overuse, and Myia and Brittany can both bring good things to the table. No, Brittany, those things do not include three-point shots. No.
I had the pleasure of sitting with a batch of season ticketholders, and they were my kind of fans- people who know the game and love the game, are passionate about the game but can analyze it at the same time, who give the refs shit for bad calls but can admit when the bad call is in our favor and/or the no-call is in our favor. The extra four bucks was definitely worth it for their company. Great crowd. Not as many people as there should be for a 5 versus 3 game, but on a Monday night with a start time that does not jive with the NJ Transit/Rutgers shuttle schedule, I can sort of understand it. Not that it really matters in the RAC, though, because even a small crowd combined with the band echoes and reverberates. When you've got a very decent crowd, on the other hand… by the second half, the place was rocking. My heels still hurt. How I'm going to get to work tomorrow, I have no idea. It's been a long time since I've been in the middle of anything that compares to a RAC crowd in a close game. And I loved every second of it. Okay, maybe not the seconds when we were down ten, but other htan those I was pleased.
Referees. Oyyyyyyyy. What else is new, right? I'm writing this without having looked at the game thread, so I don't know who's bitched about what, but I can think of four crap calls in Maryland's favor off the top of my head: Kia's third, Matee's fourth (which would set her up to foul out on the dumbass foul against Coleman), and the last two out of bounds calls. Also, counting above two seemed to be a bit of a challenge for them, as I recall one play where a Terrapin was parked in the paint for six seconds with no call. Come on, Bonita. You and me, we go way back. We've been at so many of the same games. Is a good call too much to ask? Look, I know the Scarlet Knights are no angels, and we like it that way. But how is it that the foul differential gets racked up so quickly? Are we playing our out of conference schedule against the Celestial League or something? Look past the name on the front of the jersey, guys, please?
In the crowd: Mike Thibault and at least one of his sidekicks. Patty Coyle, both her sidekicks, and Loree Moore. Former Rutgers player Mariota Theodoris, or at least someone who stole her warm-ups. At least three Board Junkies.
Next up, Army. I'm pretty sure that Coach Stringer will keep the score down in this one. I mean, more than usual. It'll be nice to be back at the Garden, though.
November 11th, 2007: Stanford at Rutgers
Stanford Cardinal 60, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58
It's good to be back at the RAC, but Epiphanny Prince needs a smack upside the head and Stanford is pretty good.
There is something to be said for home openers, no matter the result of them. It's good to be home again, even if the RAC is at best a third home for me (after the Garden and Carnesecca Arena). It definitely helped that it was a competitive matchup. And there's definitely something to be said for the new banner hanging over the offices.
That being said, even a day later, I still want to give Epiphanny Prince a good smack upside the head. Actually, several good smacks upside the head.
We had general admission tickets and got there at 7:30 or thereabouts. We were still able to get decent seats- row M, approximately center court. Good crowd, though; a lot of people must have gotten snarled in some of the same traffic we did. More to the point, I liked the people around us: to one side, there was a very nice, if quiet, lady; to the other side, there was a guy who spent his timeouts reading; behind us was a guy who sounded like he knew his shit; in front of us were a pair of very loud, very enthusiastic guys, one of whom had clearly been following the women's game for a while when he declared to the world after another Stanford sub, "Who are they going to bring in next, Kate Starbird?" We did, however, find his lack of faith in the WNBA disturbing.
Anthem was done by the president of the Cagers Club- I suppose, as this was my first RU home opener, I should ask whether this is a tradition or not. I certainly hope it was, because otherwise there was no excuse for letting him near a microphone. Good power, I'll give him that, and he held the last notes beautifully, but he didn't have the range, and some of his phrasing was odd, to say the least.
What's up with Stanford wearing black uniforms? I'm pretty sure black doesn't appear anywhere in the Stanford color scheme, and I'd be inclined to think that they might want to emphasize the color that, oh, they're named after. I do like that they had names on, though. Made it easier to tell who was who. Jerseys with the name on seem to be a lost art, which is a shame.
I went in with the intent to keep an eye on two players: Candice Wiggins, because I devoutly hope I'll be seeing a lot of her at the Garden come May, and Jayne Appel, because one of my friends talks her up a lot. I came out impressed with both of them, but also with Kayla Pedersen. Stanford's got a damn good team this year. Wiggins- well, I'll say that the Ice nickname serves as more than a way to differentiate her from Parker. She doesn’t seem to fear anything. I wonder sometimes if she gets her calls on reputation (although we will get into the black hole of suck that was the refereeing later), but she works her ass off to get in position where a call can be made. I like the way she moves, too, although her footwork might give her some trouble in the W- she made a couple of really nice moves, but also got caught traveling a couple of times. Appel- damn, that is a big girl. I didn't even think Stanford recruited that kind of size. The way she worked on Kia Vaughn- who's no slouch herself- was damn impressive. She knows she's a big girl and she seems to be loving every second of it. Nice soft touch. Still a little awkward- late growth spurt?- but that'll work itself out in time, since she is only a freshman. Pedersen is fierce, and she's got a nice outside touch for someone her size. Gold-Onwude… I wasn't really impressed, although I got the impression that the Stanford offense ran more smoothly when she was in. West Coast folks might know better than I do- is she one of those point guards who doesn't appear to make an impact because she doesn't put up stats, but who runs her team well? For all that VanDerveer played the daylights out of her bench against Yale, she didn't give them that much run last night, and they didn't do much with the run they did get, which might have been why. I mean, Appel and Wiggins both went 40 minutes. I know VanDerveer prides herself on the conditioning of her teams (excuse me while I ponder Jennifer Azzi for a moment… okay, I'm back), but that might be asking a lot, especially from a big like Appel.
Speaking of 40-minute efforts, I think the only reason there were more bench minutes for RU than for Stanford was because Heather Zurich got her face rearranged and because Ajavon got herself in foul trouble with way the hell too much time to go. Essence and Epiphanny both went the full 40, and even with the four fouls, Ajavon played 32 minutes. I can almost understand it- it's not like we were playing a gimme, but have a little faith in your bench, you know? God, I sound like a broken record. I've been kvetching about the same thing for three different teams over the last five years. Anyway. Memo to Ajavon and Epiphanny: you see those people who are wearing clothes very similar to yours? It's okay to give them the ball. Good things will happen. Coach Stringer will not yell at you. Essence also had that problem a little bit, though less than either Ajavon or Epiphanny, who both showed a disturbing willingness to go into triple teams and try to throw up something that might have a prayer of drawing a foul (if, you know, this wasn't Rutgers). Find your shots. Take good shots. 8-13 is one thing, and Epiphanny did a great job on the break. 5-10, somewhat better. 6-18, less so, especially when the last of those shots was a three with too much time on the clock that gave Stanford a chance to have a decent possession. Kia was… some of those blocks were pure beauty, and Appel was giving her all she could handle. Still. As a St. John's fan and a Rutgers fan, I am perhaps more qualified than most to quote timber's mantra: "Give Kia the ball." I'd like to see what happens if Myia and Brittany are given a little more run, because though I can't put my finger on what I liked, I know that I liked having them on the floor. The problem is that we really don't have a lot of size, a lack that Stanford exploited rather glaringly. I'm really not looking forward to Sylvia Fowles's return to the RAC, and I may be thanking my lucky stars I'll be at St. John's that day when all is said and done. The intensity is still there- I doubt it will ever leave so long as Stringer is coaching there- but the teamwork seemed to be lacking. 12 assists on 23 field goals… that makes me a bit queasy. There's no excuse for it, either- all of these players played together last season.
Referees, oh, wow, they were special. I've gotten used to the array of missed calls and phantom calls in women's ball- and I'm not disputing the last foul, just to let you know; my issue with it was the mind-boggling stupidity of charging the damn ball in the backcourt with that little time left- but last night's crew made me shake my head. There was one point where I saw one official call a carry even as the official turnover was a three-second call (which was something they didn't seem all that capable of calling most of the night, but I'm not so sure refs can count). There was a play where Ajavon went barreling into two Cardinal defenders and correctly had an offensive foul called on her- except that the signal the ref made indicated push off when it was a pretty clear charge. I'm not quite sure how you can commit a travel without moving your pivot foot- in fact, I'm fairly certain that's the definition of what a travel is NOT- and yet they called one on Kia. Je n'comprende. They got worse and worse as the game went on; truthfully, I think they could use a session of conditioning with either of the coaches, along with a good lecture.
I always worry about chemistry, and while this year will be fine, I really worry about next year. We might actually see Kia grab Epiphanny by the throat and yell "GIVE ME THE BALL!" in the middle of a game. Oh, and I'm really looking forward to the St. John's game on January 5th. Ajavon and Prince can go two-on-two with Monique McLean and Sky Lindsay while the Kias sit on the sidelines and kvetch about their teammates.
Can I say how much I'm loving the information added to the boxscore this year? Score notations include whether a shot was in the paint or on a fast break; foul notations include both how many the player has and how many the team has. I don't know how long this has been going on, but it rocks my socks.
Does anyone know what the hell happened to Dee Dee Jernigan? She seems to have disappeared again. Damn it, if she's left, we should get Tudy Reed back! ;)
On our way out, we saw a Queens private car parked in the lot, driver waiting. Either someone has a helluva lot of money to blow or someone's related to a driver who took the night off to see his kinswoman. In either case, I salute *you*, Mr. Private Cab Driver.
But, as the avatar says, I bleed red, come hell or high water. My next game is Maryland- I already bought my ticket.
Friday, February 29, 2008
January 5th, 2005: LSU at Rutgers
Rutgers 51, LSU 49
Neither rain nor snow nor fog nor gloom of night nor sleet nor freezing rain nor sudden overnight sore throat from the seventh circle of hell stopped these fans from making their round.
Put it this way: the only time I've ever had more fun at a basketball game, I was sitting with Kate and Ali and Dee the night Bethany hit the shot.
About two weeks ago, my boyfriend (a fellow board junkie/WNBATalker/passionate fan of the game) suggested that we see this game, being fairly certain he could score tickets. It was worth going all the way out to Jersey. Neither rain nor snow nor fog nor gloom of night nor sleet nor freezing rain nor sudden overnight sore throat from the seventh circle of hell stopped these fans from making their round.
I love the RAC. Can I take it home and keep it? I promise to take very good care of it. Talk about loud! Talk about passionate! Talk about Sue and Patty's bad 80's hair!
What a game. What a night. LSU played very well, and Seimone Augustus was incredible, but in the end, they learned the same thing that another team in purple and gold has learned: you can't rely on one player to save your team. I honestly think that if she had had a minute of rest in regulation, her shot with ~3 seconds left wouldn't have been short. She played all 45 minutes.
Does anyone else think Fowles is just an ill-omened name for a center? Say it out loud. The frosh ended with 4 fouls and missed some killer free throws.
Cappie, it's nice having you back. Now stop watching the Becky highlights and maybe make your move with 15 seconds on the clock, not 5? The Rutgers offense was killing me. KILLING me.
Shot of the night: Chelsea Newton (I think) had a free throw go off the top of the backboard and bounce in *swish*. Maybe that should have warned us that things wouldn't go as anticipated?
Fashion notes from the Token Straight Girl™ : Baby blue is not an intimidating color, even on Vivian Stringer. As for Suuuuuuuuue, it was a nice suit, but beige gave me the impression that despite being 6'3" and the most famous baller on campus, she was trying to blend into the background.
Patty and Marianne were both there; recognized Patty's hair and Marianne's blouse. Wonder who they were scouting? We all know that Cappie won't fall to the Liberty's pick, and if Augustus comes out neither will she.
Saw Ali and Dee off in section 10-whatever it was. Sorry I didn't get a chance to croak at you guys.
All in all, I'd have to say it was a pretty damn nice intro to the RAC.