October 26th, 2019: Rutgers at Fordham

Basketball sort of happens, '80s music is referenced, fans travel, and your intrepid blogger beats the buzzer, more or less.

Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, genderqueer peeps, non-binary folk, and everyone else I might have forgotten! It's a beautiful fall day in New York City, the kind that you take pictures of the campus for admission packets on. So of course, we're in Rose Hill, preparing for Fordham and Rutgers in a previously closed scrimmage. We gave our ten bucks for admission. Clearly the Rutgers folks were used to a more technological setup, because they had to have a sign out indicating that they didn't take credit cards and providing the location of the nearest ATM. Conversely, the young ladies manning the register seemed pleasantly surprised that we not only had cash, we had exact change.

A contingent of Cagers, about 20 strong, has made the trip to the Bronx. They, uh. They might outnumber the Fordham fans, but on the flip side, it's half an hour before tip. We're still ready to get as loud as we need to get.

Vilisi Tavui is in sweats next to Isis Young. We know from the open practice that Ice is hurt, so I'm assuming Vilisi is being held out for the same reason. I hope it's only precautionary. I would like to see her stop being hurt at some point.

Rutgers's practice jerseys are hideous. The font is terrible and the two-tone numbers are worse. I also feel like there should be more red, but this is an ongoing argument i have with teams that have colors in their names.

Really, Cagers? Before a scrimmage on the road, you're singing the fight song? Before a scrimmage? On the road?

18-10 Rutgers end Q1, although it looks like the scores are being reset at the end of each quarter. If the purpose has been to put a winning team on the floor, this ain't it. If the purpose is to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, and to accustom the team to obnoxious traveling fans in advance of the Notre Dame game, then this sort of makes sense.

15-13 Rutgers end Q2. The physicality has picked up. I don't like it. Also, we need to hit free throws. This is a thing that is independent of the quality of our opponent, and we're something like 2-6 for the day. My eye was on the ball, so I idn't see how Maori Davenport got hit in the stomach, but it was bad. I thought she was going to throw up on the court.

Oh, now the PA guy wants to get going.

16-12 Fordham end Q3. Although now the scoreboard reads 51-all, and that's not accurate. If they're picking up the running score, it's 46-39 Rutgers. Tekia Mack's protestations of innocence and horror that she hasn't gotten the call amuse me.

Rutgers won the fourth quarter 27-18. So the final score was either 78-69 or 73-57 in favor of Rutgers. Your mileage may vary.

I was not happy with Rutgers's physicality in the second and third quarters. I understand that part of the goal of a scrimmage like this is to prepare you for the regular season, and we're going to be facing some very tough competition very quickly. But some of it felt unnecessary, and some of it felt retaliatory for plays that were not intentional.

Danielle Migliore brought a little bit of attempted shooting touch, but it often did not go well. She still looks like she's trying to fit into the Rutgers system as a transfer. I don't know if she's anything but a zone-buster off the bench, but maybe that's all they need her to be. Maori Davenport looks... for some reason unfinished is the word that comes to mind. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I swear they look younger every year. Between the nonsense she had to go through with the high school federation and the two bad tumbles she took in this game, I have to wonder what she did or who she angered in her past life. I hope she's okay. They were the only two players who were consistent in coming off the bench in both "halves".

Tekia Mack is probably going to earn herself a lot of fans at Rutgers, not just because of her way to slither into small spaces and hit shots at impossible angles or draw contact, but because she has a very expressive on-court personality- her body language and demeanor remind me a little of Courtney Williams. She's probably also going to make herself fairly unpopular among Big Ten fans and possibly officials, because at least in this scrimmage she was demanding every call in her favor and complaining about every call that went against her (and at least one against Mael Gilles). She's an interesting player, and she's fun to watch. She gave us fits with her height. I just get the feeling that if I were still a Rutgers fan, I'd spend Mack's entire career yelling "TEKIA, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THAT CALL!" She and Khadaizha Sanders got the start in the first half, but not the second half. Sanders got off a couple of nice shots, but I don't think Stringer was happy with her fouls in the third quarter- they were mostly cheap reach-in fouls, and a grad transfer should know better than that. Conversely, Noga Pelag Pelc and Joiya Maddox got the second half start but not the first half start. Neither was particularly impressive, although Maddox might be good for them in a couple of years when she really internalizes the system.

Most times I look at college players' listed heights and think, There's no way she's that tall. I looked at Arella Guirantes and thought, There's no way she's only 5-11. Maybe her hair is throwing me off, or maybe it's her build- I could think of no other description for her but "she thick", possibly even "thicc". She plays like a guard but can bang like a forward. She's not as well conditioned as I'd expect a Stringer player to be, though. There was one sequence where she was pulling on her jersey. I'd need a box score to look at minute counts, but she did seem to spend a lot of time on the court. Jordan Wallace got into foul trouble early, but Stringer chose to let her play through the three first-quarter fouls. She seemed more effective in the early going, although I'm not sure if that was because of the fouls or because Guirantes and Mack were carrying the load for the Scarlet Knights. She did do a good job of setting screens for her teammates. Mael Gilles has very quick hands. She deflected a lot of balls, and she's absolutely lethal as part of the infamous press. Her deflection skills did not serve her as well on offense.

Rutgers has a lot more size in the backcourt than I was expecting. Their reserves are kind of small, but I don't know how much they're going to get used. The press is as terrifying as it ever was- they forced at least two 10-second violations out of us, and while I know Coach Gaitley likes to run the shot clock deep even on a good day, I think they had us struggling at the end of the clock more than I'd like.

I like Sarah Karpell's heart. She's very clearly a freshman, though. She needs to work on her defense, but I recognize that attempting to criticize a college freshman on her defense before her first real game of the season is just mean. I'm not a complete jerk, and I think she has the potential to develop the way we need her to develop. Catherine Polisano doesn't seem to have changed much from the spot player she was last year. I'll need to see her in actual game action to have a better idea of who she might be for us this year. I like the height that Eden Johnson brings off the bench, and I think with time she'll know where her teammates are going to be on the glass enough that they all don't get tangled up with each other.

I was, however, disappointed in our returning reserves, and that's a wee tiny bit of a problem when we're relying on them to play the bulk of the minutes off the bench. Zara Jillings, heady as she was calling plays and relaying signals, couldn't keep her hands on the ball. She got deflections on defense that should have been steals and deflections on offense that should have been clean catches. I know Rutgers's defense is a lot tougher than anything we would normally face on this level, but she's got to be better than that. Megan Jonassen really needed to step her game up. She was okay, but not great- there seemed to be stretches where she was missing rebounds and defensive stops she has made in the past. She needs to be more than she was, and she was less.

Speaking of which, oh, dear, Kaitlyn Downey. Of all the returning players we have, she's the one who arguably has the biggest leap to take in her role, and in that scrimmage, she not only did not step up, she took a step back. Her shot's always been a little streaky, but it was especially bad in this scrimmage. She was slow on defense and she was not in position to make the hustle plays she was doing so well last year. She basically has to be Mary Goulding now that Mary's graduated, and this scrimmage made me less certain that she's up to the task. Admittedly, her role in the starting lineup will probably change when we have Vilisi back at center. 6-4 in the middle helps with a lot of things. We ended up more or less running a four-guard set, and while Kendell Heremaia is adorable, I'm not sure the "point guard defending power forwards" thing is a good plan going forward. She's feisty, and of all our top guards she has the most size, but still. I know switching match-ups between offense and defense is a thing, but not quite to this extent. I was pleasantly surprised by how well she's adapted to running the offense; so much of it went through Lauren Holden last year that I wasn't expecting Kene to step into the signal-calling role so smoothly.

I like Katie McLoughlin's hustle on the offensive glass. I don't know what else she has to offer, but I do like that about her. We'll have to see if she develops, or if she stagnates (it's not like we haven't had players stagnate on this team). Bre Cavanaugh finds ways to make offense happen, and she had one or two really nifty drives in the lane, but she was the focus of Rutgers's defense, and I don't think I need to tell anyone what kind of not-fun that is. Against bigger teams, I think she has to rely more on her jumper than on her driving ability, and I don't know if she can make that flip back and forth on a regular basis. Anna DeWolfe had herself a heck of a game, with solid three-point shooting and good court vision. She's certainly picked the right number if she's that kind of player. Also, it looks like I'm going to have Duran Duran stuck in my head for the next four years, and that means you're going to have Duran Duran stuck in your head for the next four years. You're welcome, fam.

Fordham lost a lot with graduation. We've still got Bre Cavanaugh, and that's a very good weapon to have in your arsenal. But our depth took a hit, and I don't know how well it's going to recover. And something tells me that getting cheesed by Notre Dame is not going to answer this question.

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December 7th, 2016: Rutgers at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Rutgers scored the first basket of the game, but St. John's answered with a 20-0 run and never looked back in their 65-39 win. Akina Wellere had 19 points, 12 in the first quarter, to lead St. John's. Kandiss Barber had 11 points to lead Rutgers.

For fail fonts, defensive pressure, seeing all the players, indifference from the top, Cagers, and keeping the pressure on, join your intrepid and slightly confused blogger after the jump.
Once upon a time this was my Awkward Bowl, back in the days of Essence Carson and Joy McCorvey, of Kia Vaughn and Kia Wright. Rutgers was my first college team, for my dad and for Suuuuuuue, and every so often I get a little sentimental about them.

This usually wears off around the first time I spot Coach Stringer and the absolute lack of give-a-damn she's been evincing lately.

Moment of silence before the anthem in memoriam of Pearl Harbor. It still lives in infamy.

At halftime, St. John's is up 42-17, and we were 54 seconds from holding the Scarlet Knights without a field goal in the second quarter. Akina Wellere got the party started with four threes in the first quarter, and the Red Storm have kept the pressure on. Rutgers does not look like a Big Ten team right now. To be honest, they don't look like a Big East team, either.

The Cagers brought a group; about two dozen RU boosters are in the section behind the visiting bench. One may hope that their bus ride was without incident. They are... displeased with the state of Rutgers women's basketball, and well they should be. I think there were points in that game where we as St. John's fans cared more about the success of RU than the woman who's paid seven figures to work with them.

Victoria Harris was physical, and reckless, and that's why she managed to foul out before the end of the third quarter. Jordan Wallace was also very physical- there was a point in the fourth quarter where Maya Singleton was talking to the ref about something, and it might have been Wallace's relentless use of wild forearms. She mixed it up down low but couldn't hit the bunnies in the lane. Jazlynd Rollins was called upon to sub for Aliyah Jeune whenever Jeune was in foul trouble, and gave off the impression of great speed. She had a nice steal that led to a fast break lay-up. It looked like they were trying to set up Alex Alfano for shots, and she wasn't taking them.

Aliyah Jeune seemed to be on the shortest leash of all the sstarters, and not just because of foul trouble. I don't know if Coach Stringer just doesn't have faith in her, or if she's the less talented half of a package deal (no, seriously, I know nothing about her, this is what happens when RU goes to the Big Ten), or if this wasn't her night, but she never really found her groove. Shrita Parker seems to have regressed since the last time I saw Rutgers- she had a nice defensie play in the second quarter, but any semblance of fundamentals had long since left the building. No handle, no head for the game, no judgment. Khadaizha Sanders was okay defensively- my goodness, but Coach Stringer seems to have gone in for the tiny guards. (Part of me is also grateful I didn't have to hunt down RU's pronunciation guide for her first name- she goes by KK.) (I feel like I've been harping on pronunciation guides lately, but if I'm presented with unfamiliar names, and I'm not 100% sure of what vowel sound I should be applying, I would like further information. It's only polite to get someone's name right.)

Desiree Keeling is powerful at the basket, but dear Lord, the woman cannot shoot. 1-11 from the field is completely unacceptable from a center. She had multiple chances on multiple occasions, and came away empty. Given a little bit of time, she can turn into a big solid pivot in the middle for RU the way Ariel Butts or Kia Vaughn was- the person who brought the pain so everyone else could score around her. But someone has to work with her. Kandiss Barber was unafraid to shoot, and I liked that about her. Something about her sinewy build reminds me of Kahleah Copper, but she has no speed- she was getting beaten consistently on defense, not able to move around with the rotations.

I don't normally call out opposing coaches with this level of vigor, and I think it's because Rutgers was my entrée into WCBB. But if you had told a complete stranger that a Hall of Famer was coaching one of these teams, that complete stranger would have probably asked you where to procure the unquestionably excellent illicit substances you had been ingesting. Rutgers was sloppy. They were careless. They were technically and fundamentally unsound. My impression was that Coach Stringer prided herself on being a teacher- if that's the case, then why does it seem like she's given up on teaching this group? She looked like she had fallen asleep on the bench at one point. I'm not even a Rutgers fan anymore and I'm embarrassed by their performance.

So on to the Johnnies, who all got to play, yay! I'm glad Jordan Agustus is back with the team- she was AWOL last game, or at least hiding. She's got the power dribble down to an art, but she's got to work on ball security. I'm surprised she only got tagged with two turnovers, but I think there were a couple of possessions where she got down on the ground and she or one of her teammates saved the ball for St. John's. Shamachya Duncan brought hustle and defensive pressure. I get the feeling she's going to step right into Aaliyah's shoes in the "awwww, adorable small guard!" role that warms mothers' hearts. Kendyl Nunn looked like she was out there to have fun, and she definitely did that with the little behind the back flip to Sox. She's got a good head for the game; I'm sorry we only get her for one year. Tamesha Alexander was scrappy, and got herself a little bucket in the lane, which is always nice.

Quietly, Sandra Udobi had herself a nice little game. She doesn't have ups, or her rebounding numbers would probably have doubled, if not more. She was very active inside, deflecting rebounds and finishing on the other end, but she couldn't get up to finish plays and pull down those boards. I'm still thrilled to see her looking like her old self, and I hope that's a sign for the future. In some hypothetical alternate universe, somewhere nearby, Maya Singleton is on a collegiate wrestling team and succeeding admirably at it. She got down for loose balls and she fought hard. She did not commit the smartest fouls, and there comes a point when you have to realize that you committed a stupid foul and accept it. Andrayah Adams still needs work, but I'm starting to see that it's a matter of time with her- she seems like the kind of player who can break out her junior year, once she's gotten all the rough edges smoothed out and worked on her shot a little bit more. And now I understand the deal with the devil that Crystal Simmons made for that three-pointer to be so sweet- her free throws are atrocious. I'm kind of tempted to ask if she trained at a Pop-a-Shot machine at an arcade. She was great defensively and ran offense on the fast break well.

(Tangential thought: are there free throw drills out there that more accurately reflect game action? Are there coaches who have their players practice FTs with visual and audio distraction? If not, why?)

I don't know if someone on RU said something about Akina Wellere's mother, or if someone from the staff blew her off during recruiting, or if RU's defense wasn't prepared for the three pointer, or she just found their uniforms personally offensive, but she went off like a firecracker in the first quarter, dropping threes like she'd been OD'ing on Golden State game tape. She finished the first and the third in style. She put in a lot of work. Aaliyah Lewis broke out the ankle-breakers, getting her trick dribbling on in style. I think she might even have been talking trash. It was nice to see her get some rest- Joe has a tendency to run her into the ground. It looked like she had free rein to get things going and rack up the score in the first quarter, then ratchet it down in the second quarter.

Alisha Kebbe read the boards really well. She went hard to the basket, but her shot selection when she got into the paint was questionable. Just because you're getting the calls, that's no reason to chuck random crap at the basket. Jade Walker saw vulnerability inside the defense and attacked it- she took a lot of contact, but they weren't the worst shots in the world. That being said, I may lose my temper if she continues to jack straight-away threes. Those are not good shots for her; if she's working on them in practice, I commend her, but she's got to know when it's game-ready and when it's not. Imani Littleton continues to impress me with her movement on defense. She needs a little more vertical to pull down those rebounds she and Sandy were tipping around, but she was really assertive inside. I love it. I feel like she's starting to come into her own, both as a player and as a person, and the second part is just as important as the first.

The best thing: Imani and Crystal trapping in the backcourt, with Aaliyah in coverage downfield and whoever else is on the floor denying as appropriate by their position on the floor. Rutgers looked like they never saw a defense before.

We turned down the volume slightly at a 30-point margin, but never really let up where we were. Whether RU takes it seriously or not, we take this rivalry seriously, for local bragging rights. I broke a pen in the first quarter, before we broke out the 20-0 run.

But at the same time, I have to be realistic about one thing: we got the benefit of the doubt from the officials. We got away with travels and push-offs, and Akina committed an over-and-back that was missed. If Rutgers was upset about the officiating, they had a right to be- but I don't think it exactly made a difference.

I love that our reserves all got a healthy share of minutes, and I love that we were able to execute on defense. I'm almost sad for Rutgers, because I know what they were and what they can be.

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March 21st, 2015: Seton Hall at Rutgers (NCAA tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kahleah Copper and Tyler Scaife each had 21 points to power 8th-seeded Rutgers past 9th-seeded Seton Hall. Betnijah Laney added 17 points (including 4-6 3-point shooting) and 12 rebounds to seal the deal. Tabatha Richardson-Smith had 18 to lead Seton Hall, getting 17 points and seven rebounds in support from Tiffany Jones off the bench.

For a sea of blue (but not that sea of blue), road tripping, bad calls, well-aimed kicks, an uncharacteristic lack of poise, and Moooose, join your intrepid and peripatetic blogger after the jump.


Hello, loyal readers! Your intrepid blogger is currently coming to you live and in stereophonic sound from the lobby of Walsh Gymnasium, where the Seton Hall faithful are starting to gather for the bus that will take us to Gampel Pavilion, on a collision course with the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.

You won't be getting in-game notes from me, as Gampel frowns upon both backpacks and laptops. (Moose, however, are strongly encouraged, so Moooose is in the bag with our Seton Hall gear.) At most, if Gampel has wi-fi, you'll get tweets.

I'm rather enjoying the evisceration of C. Vivian Stringer that our boosters are engaging in. Apparently she tried to bar the SHU band from the WNIT game last year, and the WNIT was all, uh, no, you can't do that.

This was not how the story was supposed to end for Daisha and JJ and Chiz and Didi. This is not how it was supposed to go. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, and all I can bring myself to do at the moment is rail at the heavens, because this is not fair and it's not right, and yes, we partially brought it upon ourselves, but not entirely. And as hard as these seniors have fought to be in this place at this time, to have it taken away not entirely by their own hand is heartbreaking.

Gampel Pavilion's security is ridiculously strict. I brought a totebag to carry my clipboard, Moooose, and a few small things. They told me no. It's maybe 14" x 12" x 4". In front of them, we took everything out of the bag, stowed the small things in our pockets, picked up Moooose and the clipboard, and rolled the bag into a tube the size of a tossed t-shirt. Seriously, guys, you need a hobby.

(Also, I don't want to say that the "no flag" policy was strict, but the SHU cheerleader who normally does the flag run had to use an imaginary flag.)

Kathleen Egan gave a few spot minutes at the 4. Jordan Mosley was the sub for Ka-Deidre Simmons when Didi got in foul trouble, and showed guts going after a Rachel Hollivay shot. (She got her hand on it and it still went in.) Lubirdia Gordon brought size down low, primarily in the first half, but seemed a little tentative. Then again, so were most of the Pirates. Tiffany Jones was one of the few people not afraid to attack the basket. I think early on she thought she was going to be more effective from beyond the arc, but someone knocked sense into her, and she went more towards the basket as the game went on. Tara Inman showed spunk, but not always common sense.

Chizoba Ekedigwe was stiff in the middle, and not in the stalwart kind of way. I think she actually played a minority of the critical minutes. She's normally a defensive stopper, but she just couldn't seem to get moving. Daisha Simmons was solid, though she did a lot of unnecessary passing. Janee Johnson was hot from outside. I think she knew what this game meant and wanted it worse than anyone else in a blue jersey. Tabatha Richardson-Smith was solid offensively and made a couple of great, aggressive defensive plays. I could do without the shots from somewhere in the vicinity of Metuchen, though. I've said before that as goes Ka-Deidre Simmons, so goes Seton Hall. And tonight Didi didn't have it. I don't know what was wrong with her. Maybe we'll never know. Maybe it was simply the doubles and triples Rutgers was constantly throwing at her, grinding her down. But she showed only flashes of the fearlessness that has been her trademark, constantly passing when she had interior looks, throwing up bad shots out of desperation, losing the vision that marked her as a point guard to be feared. This was not the Didi who led us to the top of the table.

Accidental funny but shouldn't be funny but funny anyway: Tab chased a loose ball into the Rutgers bench and landed hard on Coach Stringer, and may have gotten a foot to her gut. Later, she would fall into referee Tiara Cruse with the aid of momentum. I am positive Tab meant no harm, but it was a bit cathartic.

Rachel Hollivay came off the bench, though I think she might have started the second half. The PA guy wasn't really clear on announcing subs. She was strong, but her motion seemed limited. Cynthia Hernandez fired off two quick makes in the first half, and thereafter we were forced to devote somewhat more defensive attention to her. She doesn't look like your prototypical three-point specialist, but she's got a nice shot. Christa Evans played brief minutes when both Butts and Hollivay had picked up quick fouls. Shrita Parker has a lot of speed. I'm not sure how much common sense she has on the floor, but she has speed and she has guts.

Betnijah Laney has clearly heard the aspersions cast on her professional prospects due to her lack of a perimeter game at her size. She'll never be asked to participate in a WNBA three-point contest, but she was stroking them today. I'm not completely certain how many of them were fully behind the line, and she needs to get that extra foot or so in the next couple of years. She cleaned up the boards that extra step away from the basket- not necessarily the ones directly at the rim, but a little ways off. Tyler Scaife brought the pretty, pretty offense in the second half, hitting jumpers and getting looks. I can tell from the box score that Briyona Canty did things, but I don't remember her doing things. Kahleah Copper was a matchup nightmare- she ate our backcourt alive. She was too big for either of the Simmonae to handle and too fast for Tab. She's so athletic. Ariel Butts boxed out well, but didn't really make an impact.

I am not a trained official, but my impression has always been that if a player is touching the ball while her feet are in contact with the floor out of bounds, then she and the ball are out of bounds and it's a turnover. This crew managed to mess that up twice in the first half. Unless there is some new rule I have not been made aware of, and the painted area on the far side of the baseline is now part of the floor, this is a load of hooey. The officiating seemed to deteriorate further in the second half, though honesty compels me to question whether the officiating changed, Seton Hall changed, or my perception changed.

Seton Hall brought about two busloads, more or less. Rutgers may have brought more. There were even a few brave St. Francis fans there to bear witness to the carnage to come. The UConn fans seemed friendly enough.

The ice cream stall was extremely popular. What is wrong with you, Connecticut, there's still snow on the ground!

Damika Martinez of Iona decided, 'you know what, I'm going to the tournament, even if my teammates don't come with me'. We saw her walking the concourse at halftime.

We played our hearts out. It wasn't enough. And I grieve for our seniors, that they had only this night on the big stage. I wanted so much for them. I wanted them to exact satisfaction on Rutgers for last year and for the slights this year, and then who knows? The sky would have been the limit. Why not Seton Hall?

But that's the question for next year now. Why not Seton Hall? Why not Tab and the Pirates?

For this year, though, I'm left saying words I thought I'd never say. Go UConn. Destroy Rutgers. I'm petty, what can I say?

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January 7th, 2015: Michigan at Rutgers

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.

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November 30th, 2013: Rutgers at Texas Tech (Barclays Invitational)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Rutgers raced out to a big first half lead and held on against Texas Tech to win the consolation game fo the Barclays Women's Invitational, 61-52. Tyler Scaife had 18 points to lead the Scarlet Knights, with Kahleah Copper adding 14 and nine rebounds. Audrisa Harrison and Jasmine Caston each had 11 for Texas Tech.

For mottos, rebounding, sweet fast breaks, winces of pain, and the never ending Rutgers fight song, join your intrepid and impatient blogger after the jump.


Basketball never stops, and neither does your intrepid blogger. It's only six or seven blocks from LIU to the Barclays Center, so after sandwiches and cheesecake at Junior's, we walked from the Turkey Classic to the Barclays Invitational, pleasantly surprised to find out that our tickets were in fact ready during the Texas Tech-Rutgers game. We missed the very beginning, but at halftime it's 36-25 Rutgers. Tyler Scaife has 12; no Lady Raider has more than four.

Another game of bad shooting, in which the urge to shout "guns up, UR DOIN IT RONG" grew ever stronger with every blown offensive rebound. Rutgers does that to teams, but they really need to not do it to themselves. On the other hand, Rutgers fans should really be used to it by now. Coach Stringer's been there for how many years? Brought in how many defensive-minded athletes who can't or won't shoot to save their lives? Relied too much on a single player to do all the scoring while everyone else passed the ball around? I used to be a Rutgers fan. I know what I'm talking about.

Syessence Davis sparkled off the bench. Her hands were very active on defense, and she hit some big shots in the second half. She rebounded well as well. Precious Person has somehow, inexplicably, along with Essence Carson's number, inherited Essence's inability to recognize the longer three-point line, despite the fact that Essence only figured this out in her W days wearing a different number. I didn't say it was logical. Christa Evans gave some minutes when Rachel Hollivay got in foul trouble, and with an offensive foul proved why she hasn't been getting minutes. Ariel Butts was solid in the middle, setting picks and screens for her teammates to get around and pass the ball to each other through.

Kahleah Copper took the worst of a hard collision with Amber Battle and came up holding her back, walking as if she wasn't sure how the whole walking thing should be working. She got back into the game and proceeded to continue hitting shots, so it wasn't as bad as it looked. (Either that, or she's made of iron, not Copper.) Rachel Hollivay earned the eternal rage of the people behind us for repeatedly missing chippies- she didn't have a field goal in the second half until something like the last two minutes of the game. She made up for it with her resounding blocks down low. Betnijah Laney rebounded well, but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. The red sleeves make her stick out (yes, I know they have to be the same color as the rest of the uniform, but they become more noticeable when they're red). Briyona Canty couldn't get her shot to fall, but made a couple of nice defensive plays. Tyler Scaife looked fantastic. I think she got the start, but I'm not completely certain. Her passes were slick and quick, and she drove the lane well. In the first half, she looked like the only Rutgers player who wanted to score, which makes sense, given that she's a freshman and therefore hasn't had the idea of offense being anathema drummed into her head yet.

Whittaker changed things up a little bit with the posts, going more with the Schneiders (even before the injury to Shauntal Nobles). Haley Schneider missed entirely too many shots that a woman of her height has no excuse for missing. Ivonne Cook Taylor got into the game and immediately launched a shot. I'm starting to think this is her game. Diamond Lockhart's speed seemed to get away from her- she was a little out of control. Jasmine Caston brought the offense in the second half, firing up threes to keep Texas Tech close.

Shauntal Nobles was rebounding well on the inside before a stray forearm caught her in the face and left her holding a towel over the vast majority of her face as she came off the court after being stuck in an awkward kneeling position for quite some time. It looked like she suffered a badly broken nose, but she was back on the bench (in a new jersey) by the end of the game, though she never went back in. She wasn't able to get her shot to go down, but she corralled a lot of offensive rebounds. Audrisa Harrison was a master of drawing contact and getting to the line. She didn't end up with a lot of shot attempts, but that was because she ended up at the line so often. Minta Spears went inside more than she did in the Michigan game, but that might have been because her threes weren't falling. She took a hard tumble into a couple of the flimsy chairs in the first row. They went down like dominoes. She was the one who insisted on fouling when Texas Tech was down double digits with thirty seconds to go, and those us in maize and blue were just waiting for the game to be over so we could get on with our late tip. Amber Battle's shot wasn't falling, though she was able to get decent shots off, but she rebounded well and got into defensive position. Marina Lizarazu was still taking too many risks, but had her game more under control than the other day.

Rutgers will always make a team play out of control, make them freak out, make them hesitate at the wrong times and hurry things up at the wrong times. Texas Tech fell right into that trap. Only the three-point shooting kept them in the game, and when those didn't fall, they were doomed.

I wasn't thrilled with the officials, but not to the extent that the Rutgers fans were. Of course, they're never happy with officials.

That was a good bounceback game for the Scarlet Knights. They needed a good game, and I think they also needed Scaife to assert herself more for the team's future. She's a talented, creative guard, and she needs to stay that way.

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November 29th, 2013: LSU at Rutgers (Barclays Invitational)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: It wasn't pretty, but LSU came away with the 69-65 win over Rutgers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Raigyne Moncrief led LSU with 27 points, including 15-20 from the line, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Rutgers was led by the 16 points of Kahleah Copper. The teams combined for 51 fouls and 51 turnovers.

For ugliness, purple hair, point guard leadership, emphatic fashion statements, and a pass whizzing by your head, join your intrepid and inexplicably hungry blogger after the jump. Why do I want jammy dodgers?

ALL THE BASKETBALL.

On to game 2, LSU and Rutgers. To be fair to the Rutgers fans, a fair amount of them got here for the first game. Lots more of them arrived in the middle. It's confusing to see lots of people in red for a team I no longer cheer for.

There were entrance videos for both teams, but no stats. I'll take that as a fair exchange, because I was starting to get a very strong feeling of having been an afterthought, and if you're going to schedule a tournament double-header, it's uncouth to make one game seem like the undercard.

Essence Carson is in the house, in an extremely dashing black longcoat.

Oh, hey, we have stats now. So Michigan and Texas Tech get entrance videos tomorrow, right?

This was not a pretty game, to put it mildly. Entirely too many turnovers, many of them unforced passes to the third row or fumbles (I'm pretty sure Kahleah Copper committed a buttfumble, but with her own butt, not her teammate's). A distinct lack of court awareness from both teams.

Jasmine Rhodes impressed me off the bench for LSU. For a guard of her size, she's not afraid to drive the lane and hit the boards. She had a good eye for going after her teammates' missed shots (and dear lord were there a lot of missed shots). Derreyal Youngblood was plenty happy to throw her weight around down low- she got lucky she didn't get called for an elbow on one play. She could stand to trim down a bit, but she's tough. Shanece McKinney came in to clean up lots of missed shots and get rebounds late in the game, as part of the offense/defense substitution. Anne Pedersen, I think, was supposed to be a shooter, but that didn't go well. She looked out of place on a lot of the plays.

Jeanne Kenney has no fear of anything. I think she hit the deck hard four times and got up ready for more. If the ball was loose, she tracked it down, even if it was in the third row. She's a steady hand, both with the ball and with her teammates. There was a point late in the game where Raigyne Moncrief had missed two crucial free throws and looked like the pressure of the Rutgers fans and the closeness of the game were getting to her. As soon as she was on her way back from missing the second free throw, Kenney came over and talked to her, as if to tell her to brush it off (at least I assume that was the meaning of the hand across the headband). Theresa Plaisance missed entirely too many easy shots for a player of her size. A 6-5 post player should not be throwing hooks over the basket. When she got her shot, it was beautiful, and she had spectacular speed on her first step spin move. But she needs to be consistent if she's going to be a serious prospect. (Really, though the daughter of a coach should know better than to bring the ball down when there are guards around.) Rina Hill got point guard duties a lot, and I don't know if she's ready yet. Maybe there was some miscommunication on the plays, but her passes were not going where they were supposed to be going.) Sheila Boykin either didn't play a lot or was really unmemorable when she did. I think Caldwell felt she needed to bring more size with McKinney and Youngblood against the big Rutgers posts. Raigyne Moncrief put on a show. She's still very raw and needs some mechanics on her jump shot (as in, any, at all, in some variety, because oh my God she looks like a spider when she leaps on the jumper) but she moves like someone took Allison Hightower and plugged Marie Ferdinand's speed into her. Her vertical is spectacular, her reflexes like lightning. She slices to the lane beautifully- if she can get a mechanically sound, or at least reliable, jumper, she'll be unstoppable. She'll need to bulk up a little if she wants to survive in the pro game, though. And yes, the fact that I'm saying this about a freshman this far ahead says a lot.

Tyler Scaife has the fancy moves- the wraparound pass to Briyona Canty for the lay-up was a thing of beauty- but I don't know if she has her coach's confidence yet.. I mean, she's only a freshman and it's only November, so maybe that'll come with a little more time, but it still seems odd that someone else is bringing the ball up if she's on the floor. Precious Person gave decent minutes in the first half, though she didn't play much in the second, part of a questionable series of coaching decisions by Coach Stringer. Christa Evans got first half minutes as well, picking up a basket and some picks. Ariel Butts is very, very loud. I think she's the only person in the arena who actually screams louder than my dashing reporter. She most definitely did not approve of her fouls. Alexis Burke missed two free throws, was pulled, and that was the last that was ever seen of her.

Betnijah Laney rebounds spectacularly well, which is probably why she's listed as a forward, but her shot is all kinds of funky. I like her hustle, but shes' got to work on her aim. Rachel Hollivay brought some resounding blocks, especially in the second half, but Coach Stringer seems to be riding herd on her by pulling back her minutes when she gets fouls- I think she sat the entire rest of the first half after picking up her second foul. Kahleah Copper has one reliable move in he paint, and she'll keep going to it as long as she can. It worked very well today- it seemed like she was always heading for the offensive glass. Briyona Canty seemed to be the focus of much of the offense- it looked like more plays were designed for her than for Copper, though Copper ended up with as many shots. Syessence Davis was very active on defense, even for a Scarlet Knight (and you know that's saying a lot with Rutgers's defense and ability to generate steals). Quick hands and fast feet- she made a lot of LSU turnovers happen.

Offensively, this game was a clunker, even in the second half when things loosened up a little and people actually started hitting lay-ups. It wasn't just good defense, except in the most abstract sense. There were a lot of bad passes and bad mechanics- I don't think more than half the players in that game had proper form on their jump shots. If you want to blame the bad offense on the good defense in the sense that both teams were in each other's heads and therefore they were rushing everything to get the ball up before someone else got their hands on it, that's a fair argument, but I think it's more likely that these are two defensive-minded teams that don't place a high priority on offensive flow. Not quite North Carolina, but right up there. Down there. Whatever.

Neither team was happy with the officials, and given the number of fouls called in this game, I can't say I'm surprised. It got very physical out there. I can't be sure any of those fouls were unearned, to be honest.

Rutgers fans were very loud. They didn't even wait for musical cues before starting the fight song. At least we waited.

Points to Nikki Caldwell for not going the obvious route in wearing team colors- her dress was tiger-striped. Also, points to Coach Stringer for her imposing longcoat- not quite as impressive as Essence's, but still extremely cool.

For the sake of everyone who has to watch basketball tomorrow, I hope both teams got the ugly out of their systems today.

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February 23rd: Rutgers at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's completed the season sweep of Rutgers in dominating fashion, never trailing in a 61-48 win. Nadirah McKenith led all scorers with 21 points, joined in double figures by Briana Brown with 13 and Aliyyah Handford with 12. Erica Wheeler led Rutgers with 11 points, while Betnijah Laney had eight points and 10 rebounds.

For embarrassing parents, self-satisfaction, dancing in inappropriate areas, conquest of the tri-state area, color coordination, and Nadirah McKenith being awesome, join your intrepid and tussis-ridden blogger after the jump.


So this is how it starts to wind down: a dwindling pile of tickets, marks on a calendar, the realization that this is the last walk for a month (Senior Night means I come from work). It's just getting good- I don't want it to end this soon!

The Cagers' bus appears to have been driven by someone more competent than last year, which is good. I don't like people being potentially in car accidents, especially in a steady driving rain. They did try to get some of the RU chants going, which we did not take kindly to, but after the last push by St. John's, they mostly quieted down. Most of them didn't seem to be jerks, which is refreshing.

Solid anthem. Band was on point most of the day, though our drummer was a bit more absent-minded than usual. He's still awesome, though.

I suspect that one of the lessons that Our Lady of Hope's coach will impart after that halftime game is "don't dance the Cha-Cha Slide while playing basketball". Yes, one of the kids was trying to do the dance move in basketball rhythm. It didn't go so well for her.

Kaleah Copper showed all the potential she has, being in the right place at the right time for rebounds. We got lucky that she got rim and nothing more on some of her shots. Christa Evans got minutes in the first half, and I think she was more effective than usual because we weren't considering her to be of any importance. Which, after her first basket, she really wasn't, although she used her big frame to make space for her teammates. Ariel Butts played just long enough to get a putback on an offensive rebound, then disappeared into the ether. I don't get that choice either, but that might have had something to do with Rachel Hollivay's play in the second half. Hollivay is an impressively talented player, and she has the potential to be a star with her physicality and her touch around the basket. She's got a bit of a hot head, though, and she got into it with Mary Nwachukwu a couple of times, to the point where Mary got a technical after getting tangled up with her. She's not the kind of player I normally expect from a Stringer team, in terms of personality. Precious Person showed flashes of her potential, but just briefly. With a name like that (and a number like that- Essence Carson was one of my favorite Scarlet Knights) she'd better pan out as something special.

Monique Oliver played well in the time that she had, but she didn't play a lot for whatever reason- she didn't look hurt, and there didn't seem to be foul trouble, but maybe it was the Hollivay factor again. She's a big scary post, and if Rutgers wants to at least go to the WNIT, they should feed her more. Of course, since I don't think they care about the WNIT, I understand getting Hollivay and Butts into the game. Shakena Richardson is adorable, especially when she's arguing a foul call that she clearly committed. And she did commit some boneheaded fouls. Syessence Davis looked good, with some nice plays on defense. Erica Wheeler was inconsistent- she demonstrated some fantastic, ballet-level footwork on defense and the chase for loose balls, but she seems to have had her three-point shot scared out of her somehow. She got a little hot in the second half, but that was also when she blew a fast break lay-up off the corner of the backboard. She still looks like the closest thing they have to a leader. Betnijah Laney continues to demonstrate a remarkable ability to miss makeable shots. She rebounded well, but I'm not sure if she's Big East, or Big Ten, talent. (I also don't envy her adventures with Big Ten fans in her senior year.)

Not to say that Rutgers was getting physical when they were getting frustrated, but they even shoved each other a couple of times after the play. Somehow, Laney always seemed to be in the middle of the contact; take that for what it's worth.

Ashley Perez buried a three near the end of the first half to get us all excited for her. Cedrica Gibson came into the game at the very end to keep a steady hand on the offense. I do like travel-size point guards- they're adorable! Amber Thompson had a good defensive game, but I would have liked to see more offense out of her, both because I want to see her do well and because her very enthusiastic mother was sitting a couple of rows down from us. Keylantra Langley didn't have her end-of-the-shot-clock magic, but was solid defensively.

Aliyyah Handford either has a hard head or a lot of luck- she went down hard at one point and hit her head, then while she was on the floor, got an accidental heel to the forehead from Erica Wheeler. She went out of the game, had the concussion test administered, and was cleared to come back in, and she looked pretty much normal. She drove the lane like a madwoman today, and got a lot of free throws out of the deal. Shenneika Smith couldn't find the bottom of the basket, and her ballhandling was off. Way off. "Did you just do the show-the-ball trick?" off. (For those of you unversed in the ways of the New York Liberty: Tari Phillips used to have a habit of holding the ball out directly in front of her, either as a badly telegraphed hand-off or a brazen challenge to the other team to steal the ball; the other team usually took the challenge gladly.) It might be time to retire the PinkZone kicks, or something. Her move to force the three-shot foul with one second left on the shot clock was dramatic genius, however. Briana Brown continues to be the most improved player in the Big East, with the biggest metaphorical cojones you will find. She was feeling it from the corner, and on the backdoor, and she played solid defense. Nadirah McKenith continues to corner the market on game-controlling awesomeness, driving the lane, finding her teammates, and even blocking shots. She was amazing. Mary Nwachukwu played like someone had lit a fire under her, tough on defense and even hitting the first shot of the game. Rutgers's posts are very physical, and she played them tough. She got a lot of elbows and forearms in uncomfortable places, and somehow she ended up being the only player teched when she and Hollivay got tangled up.

And then the St. John's crowd rallied behind her with an angry roar at the refs, which may have helped silence the Rutgers people. (And no, I never expected to type that the St. John's crowd rallied behind Mary Nwachukwu.) The officiating was sketchy in the second half, and we had the competent Enterline. Rutgers was doing a lot of reaching without getting called, and I'm pretty sure Nadirah could have called "BAD TOUCH!" on one of those reaches. After the tech, the refs got stricter on their calls and kept it from degenerating into anything worse.

Many ducks have been chucked and donations made, and today Clare Droesch's parents were presented with a check for $3,758 to help crush her cancer. I wish her good luck with that.

We keep doing what we have to do. That's all I can ask. That's all we can do.

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December 9th, 2012: Louisiana Tech at Rutgers

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Monique Oliver's 14 points led the way for Rutgers, which shot 61.5% from the field in taking down Louisiana Tech 73-46. The Lady Techsters only shot 25% from the field, and were led by the 16 points and nine rebounds of Brittany Lewis.

For diving, awkward moments, a mass of Cagers, Bill Laimbeer blocking your view, and an angry Spoon, join your intrepid and snarled blogger after the jump.

Ah, the Maggie Dixon Classic. This is a good tradition, and I’m happy to be part of it.

Any oddities during the next week or so may be blamed on the computer I’m using while my baby is in the shop- this is my mom’s eeePC, and it’s ridiculously tiny. Very portable, with a battery life that would make the Energizer Bunny blush, but with all the speed of Kara Braxton running full court. It has its uses, though. I think I can fit it in my clipboard!

It was pleasant and relaxed coming in, and it was nice seeing all the usual suspects again.

Kym Hampton’s voice is going. It’s getting painful. Can we please kiss and make up with Tari Phillips already?

Sue Wicks was also at the game, and it’s very wrong of me to notice that she still fills out a pair of blue jeans quite well, despite being forty-mumble. That’s got to be an awkward situation, stuck between your alma mater and a dear friend, and MSG didn’t help by putting her on the spot on camera.

It’s 36-22 at the half in favor of Rutgers, and Rutgers is shooting really well. It’s terrifying and somewhat abnormal. I’m surprised Stringer hasn’t let her team hear it for showing such offensive potency. Unfortunately, Louisiana Tech’s most noticeable skill has been flopping with a prowess that would make Mery Andrade blush and DeMya Walker give approval. C’mon, guys. You’re better than this. Right? The whistles have also been pretty wild.

I was very disappointed in Louisiana Tech. I would have expected them to be more in Spoon’s mold, but about the only thing they have in common with her as a player is intense stubbornness and a distinct lack of shooting ability. I don’t know if she’s not getting the recruits, or if she’s just not getting through to these kids, but something’s not right here.

There was a point where I thought Courtney Hayes was a dead woman. She attempted badly to defend a three-pointer, where defense was defined as standing several feet away from the shooter and bouncing once like she was on a pogo stick. The shot went in. Hayes brought the ball up. Spoon called timeout, slapped the ball out of Hayes’s hands, and started ripping her several new orifices. Tavasha Anderson was the first player in off the bench, if my scribbled math is correct, but other than one good defensive stand against Monique Oliver, I don’t remember what she did. Kelia Shelton came off the bench to drive the lane, and she did a good job of exploiting RU’s foul issues to get to the line- all but three of her points were from the line. Jelena Vucinic came into the game late and proceeded to prove why she didn’t come into the game until late- she was extremely wild on her drives, and she did look lie she was trying to Force Choke one of the Rutgers players. Savanna Langston was the last Lady Techster in, and she seemed obsessed with shooting the elbow jumper. Seriously, hon, you’re 6-2, that doesn’t have to be your only shot.

Whitney Frazier’s shot was badly off in the first half, and even after she finally got one to fall early in the second half, she was still fairly wild, and I think she lost confidence in her shot by the end of the game. Lulu Perry brought it on defense- she’s mighty quick. Got caught up in a couple of quick fouls in the second half, though. Janay Borum kept going for long shots, out by the NBA line. She hit some closer, especially in the second half. Jasmine Bryant was unremarkable. We were very impressed with Brittany Lewis, who hit the boards on both ends of the floor and had one resounding block. She did a little bit of everything. I think my favorite was the offensive rebound and putback that bounced hiiiiiigh off the rim, then fell softly and sweetly through.

Seriously, though, La Tech. Y U NO BETTER?

Everyone played for Rutgers, I think. No, seriously, everyone, including Brittany Lapidus, who I refuse to believe is a senior. I would have issues believing you if you told me she was a senior in high school. Anyone and everyone affiliated with Rutgers in the building, and possibly a few other people in a few other places, was rooting for her to hit one of the shots she took, and it was clear that everyone wanted her to score when one of the posts (Butts, I think) gave up an easy shot in the lane to flip it over her shoulder to Lapidus. Shakena Richardson has an incredible knack for the flashy play, whether it was a dramatic steal off the inbounds or a flip over her shoulder to go in the basket. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t able to finish either of the and-1s. I’d say she’s adorable, but I think she’d hurt me. Ariel Butts showed nice moves in the lane, but committed the sorts of fouls one finds in freshman posts. Very popular with her teammates, though; they were screaming and cheering whenever she scored. Rachel Hollivay looked good, but was prone to defensive lapses and careless mistakes. I can see why she was such a highly rated recruit. Chelsey Lee was first off the bench and came on strong in the second half. She and the other posts really did a good job of finding each other. Kahleach Copper played a bit in the second half and had one block that must have impressed me at the time. Precious Person played well, but to be honest and horribly wrong, I was too distracted by her name to take much note of her play. Surname as a noun/given name as an adjective is a very distracting combination. I’m sorry. She really does look like a good player, but I’m going to have to do a lot of growing up to take her seriously.

Look, I told you everyone played for Rutgers, so the bench paragraph is going to be long.

Christa Evans started the game, and did a lot of scrappy work underneath, setting screens to get her teammates free. Near as I could tell, that was her job. Monique Oliver took a little bit to get started, but when they gave her the ball, stuff pretty much got done. She’s a load down there. She’s a little scary. Betnijah Laney kept trying to get long shots, and I don’t know if that’s her forte or not. I don’t think she’s as comfortable in the Stringer system as she thought she would be. But I could be wrong. That happens to me a lot. Erica Wheeler got into foul trouble early in the first half, and never really let the refs get out of her head. I don’t know why Syessence Davis got the start, but I don’t remember anything major that she did. I guess she did that sneaky point guard thing where she dished out assists without me noticing.

Late in the second half, Rutgers showed flashes of why I used to like them- the defense created offense, and offense that was crisp in its passing. Richardson had a steal that led to a rapid-fire four-pass sequence ending in a lay-up.

I think the officials got bored with Louisiana Tech's flopping, because the calls were not as favorable to them in the second half. It was a rough game by the end; the defensive styles of both teams lend themselves to rough play.

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March 4th, 2012: Rutgers at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis nailed five threes in the first half for 15 of her 17 points, and the UConn Huskies paced Rutgers to a 49-34 win. Stefanie Dolson added 10 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks for UConn. Erica Wheeler led the Scarlet Knights with 13 points, while Khadijah Rushdan had 10 points and seven rebounds.

For a lack of pants, climbing Knights, public relations epic fail, swatted shots, and a turning point, join your intrepid and zombie-like blogger after the jump.

UConn and Rutgers finished off the night, and this was the game most folks in the arena were waiting to see. Obviously the UConn fans were out in force, and the Cagers made their presence felt across from their bench.

The bands had it going for a good while, and the rivalry was definitely evident in timing and style. They're both excellent bands and both very involved in the game. I like UConn's whiteboard to cue their members.

Geno's fun to watch. I couldn't hear him most of the time, which was a shame. I've always wanted to learn how to curse in Italian.

We got to sit next to Kim Barnes Arico for part of the first half, and that was cool. We wished our team well, though we still have not located Keylantra Langley's pants. Warm-up pants. You perverts.

Shout out to the two patient, knowledgeable, respectful, passionate UConn fans who moved behind us for the second half and chatted with us for much of the game. I didn't think UConn fans who were all of the above existed- who could chant and cheer and then turn around and chat pleasantly with non-UConn fans. (Especially ones who don't shut up.)

Christa Evans, stop fouling. I know the game is over, but stop fouling anyway. She did nothing worth noting except commit stupid fouls. She was committing enough fouls that the refs tried to call her for one when she wasn't even on the floor. (It was later corrected to Sykes, I think. Definitely corrected, think it was Sykes.) Betnijah Laney was the only guard off the bench for the Scarlet Knights, and she played like a freshman. She was part of the defense, but that's it.

I thought Khadijah Rushdan was going to go postal on Kathleen Lynch after the second travel where Rushdan swore blind she didn't move her pivot foot. I couldn't see the second one, but I thought she had a fair case on the first one. She was hustling and trying to carry her team, but UConn was on to her. April Sykes was a real non-factor- if anything, one of the shots she missed in the second half was a momentum killer for Rutgers when they were trying to make a run. If I had to choose a Rutgers player to go all 40 minutes, it would probably not be Nikki Speed, whose decision-making was not sharp, both as a passer and as a defender. But Rushdan got hurt and had to sit out briefly- really, RU, if a player who's already had a concussion this season bangs her head in front of your bench, your trainer ought to be a little faster on the draw. But we'll go into a bit more detail on that later. Erica Wheeler's shot selection was... interesting; it looked like UConn was daring her to beat them from outside while they put a body on Monique Oliver late and kept Rushdan from putting the team on her shoulders one last time. It worked. Oliver had a brief surge, then got bodied by the UConn posts and wasn't effective.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was rolling from three in the first half, with a stroke so beautiful that it should have been caught on film and used to teach young shooters how to make that perfect splash. Five threes in the first half. It was incredible. Kiah Stokes made an impact on defense, with big blocks and taking up space in the lane. She forced Rutgers to change their game plan, except I'm not sure Rutgers knows how to change their game plan.

Caroline Doty was red hot in the first few minutes, with two quick long bombs, and then she got into foul trouble and that was more or less the last we saw of her. Either Geno wanted to rest her or some body part of another was giving her agita. Her knee brace is quite terrifying up close. It makes Rebecca Lobo's brace look small, both in scale and overall. Kelly Faris, other than one three point shot and entirely too much enthusiasm from the UConn faithful, didn't register. Bria Hartley took some good shots, and took some truly dumb shots. (I'm... starting to wonder about the shot selection at North Babylon, I really am.) And I'm sorry, but she's not a point guard, no matter what awards you nominate her for or what you try to force her into. Tiffany Hayes really didn't get involved until late, and the crowd was well-pleased when she finally hit a three. Rutgers was daring them to shoot from outside, and they hit a few, and they missed a bunch. Stefanie Dolson, while not as strong offensively as UConn would have liked- you can't miss easy shots in a low-scoring game- was a defensive presence and a rebounding presence for the Huskies. Mosqueda-Lewis's shooting is the story, but without Dolson that game gets a lot more interesting (and the semi gets a lot more winnable for the Red Storm, not that I have my preferences and biases or anything).

Rutgers spent a fair bit of time up in arms at the refs, but Rutgers fans do that. I see their case in a few cases, but I think UConn hd a better case to be mad at the refs in the first half, when it seemed like everyone for the Huskies was picking up fouls left, right, and center on seemingly ticky-tack calls. The officiating loosened up a bit in the second half. Maybe they got a little too loose, given the major clock issues that took place in the second half. One of the officials forgot to fix the shot clock when she fixed the game clock, and it was a hot mess. Geno was about ready to blow his top, but he was ready to blow his top often.

Rutgers is dead to me. As Red as I am, as much of a Johnnie as I've become, there's always been a little part of me that's still Scarlet, that's still the proud daughter of a Rutgers alum. There's always been that part of me that hears the R-U and wants to respond, or that wants to rip off a "RAH RAH RUTGERS RAH". But that part of me is gone. It's sitting on the XL Center floor, broken in little pieces where Erica Wheeler sat in agony while her coach walked off the court. If you have a player who can't get up- who tells people not to help her up- the correct response is to at least acknowledge her existence and maybe offer a little support. It's not to act like everything's under control and take your team off the floor. Preliminary reports are claiming just dehydration and cramps, which is more an indictment of not resting your players, but they did an awful lot of testing and probing and making sure she didn't put weight on the leg for my liking. When the opposing band goes quiet, when they choose not to play their alma mater after a win, because your player is sitting on the floor wincing with every breath, you might want to consider showing that you care. I've been off the Stringer bandwagon for some years, but this cemented it. I'm a St. John's fan, crossing myself and praying to a God I don't necessarily believe in, while your assistants and your trainer carry your player to a wheelchair because she can't walk, and you're... in the locker room? Really?

I'm going to stop myself here before I go into any more ranting before all the evidence is in. All I'm going to say now is that both UConn and St. John's need to play much better basketball if one wants to get past the other.

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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.

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January 17th, 2012: Rutgers at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Storm overcame a six-point halftime deficit and the heroic efforts of Khadijah Rushdan to knock off Rutgers 62-57. Eugeneia McPherson had 17 points to lead all scorers, with Nadirah McKenith chipping in 15 and Shenneika Smith adding 14 points and eight rebounds. Khadijah Rushdan led the Scarlet Knights with 16, eight in the last two minutes.

For fouls, wet spots, questionable fashion choices, never giving up, highlight reel plays, and awkward realizations, join your intrepid and high-pitched blogger after the jump.

I have this urge to run around and hug people, but the only person around is my husband, and I can hug him any time.

My sympathies to the Cagers who came on the A-1 bus that scraped up against the gate a few times like he was trying to shake off a nagging defender. Apparently that wasn't the only issue he had. The Rutgers fans were paler than they should have been after the game.

Anthem singer, you are not Whitney Houston and you do not have to blow out the sound system, okay? You have a mic, you don't have to project quite that much.

Sparkly C. Vivian Stringer was sparkly. Loved the rhinestones on the pockets and collar. Didn't see the scarf that I used to lust after when I was still a Rutgers fan- red silk with the block R- which is a shame, because it would have gone.

I don't know if Rutgers knows what to do with the freshmen. There are so very many of them and they all seem vaguely interchangeable. I'm not sure if that's being unsure due to not having seen them very much, to Stringer's recruiting, or to Stringer not knowing how to use any of them in specific roles yet. Shakeena Richardson had a nice little shot- may she be a better player and a classier person than that other #22 from Rutgers. Betnijah Laney looked less like a freshman than most of her classmates, using her solid build to get opportunities. Christa Evans strikes me as a more traditional RU center- someone who's just there to clean up the mess from the guards and make room in the lane.

Monique Oliver is a load in the lane. If Rutgers hits her every time out next year, they're going to be dangerous. Congrats to April Sykes for hitting 1000 (at least so I assume, from the fans' reactions when she hit her first basket). I was surprised they didn't try to get to her more- she's a matchup nightmare for us with her size and outside touch. (The only player we have with that skill set is not the world's greatest defender.) My heart was in my throat every time that Erica Wheeler got open with the ball, but we got on her when we needed to and harassed her as necessary. Briyona Canty got the start, but to be frank, I'm not sure why. I guess someone had to. Khadijah Rushdan has the heart of a champion. She was bound and determined not to lose that game at the end, and she tried to take the entire team on her shoulders. I reluctantly like her.

Briana Brown, thank you for the hustle, but thank you for also putting Rutgers back in range with that dumb foul. Amber Thompson came off the bench for this game after her sketchy performance against Marquette, and while she still looks like she's making friends with the freshman wall, she's scrapping and hustling, and showing that she'll make those plays when she's a sophomore or a junior. I'll take that. Tesia Harris made a brief cameo, demonstrated that her shot had not decided to join her this evening, and ended up back on the bench. Keylantra Langley brought the defense, and some but not all of her shot clock heroics.

Da'Shena Stevens took a lot of contact down low, and she had a couple of questionable foul calls. The numbers aren't going to show the kind of presence she had for us in the post and the kind of leadership she provided on the floor. They're not going to reflect her increased ballhandling ability and her willingness to bring the ball up the floor. Shenneika Smith had a solid all-around game- some boneheaded plays that had us screaming at her, but some dagger shots that wounded Rutgers. I have lingered repeatedly over the lack of rebounding that Mary Nwachukwu brings at the four- I'm sorry, but two consecutive games with no rebounds from a post is unacceptable. If Tesia Harris can get her own rebound in two minutes, I think one is not too much to ask. Mary's defense was also suspect in the second half- if you're going to foul a shooter, don't just ruffle their hair, make sure they don't hit the shot as well. Still, she had the pretty midrange jumper. I'd just like to see a little more from her inside. Eugeneia McPherson got the calls tonight. Well, most of the calls. She still hit the deck more than I would have liked, but tonight she got the calls and hit the free throws. I love when she gets that aggressive and drives that hard. Nadirah McKenith was the point guard at both ends of the floor, leading both offense and defense. She made the plays to force turnovers, and she hit the clutch free throws. I love her poise and her court vision.

Originally, the play of the game was going to be the sequence where Da'Shena had the block, which was recovered by St. John's, then got to Shenneika, who passed it to Keylantra for the jumper. And then Nadirah spun and threw it up over her shoulder and got the roll on the no-look and got the foul, and that was sort of freaking amazing. Why that's not an ESPN Top Ten play, I will never know.

Bryan Enterline. Amy Bonner. What did we ever do to deserve this? Lots of inexplicable calls that are still inexplicable as I watch the replay. Lots of travels. The floor did seem slippery tonight, judging from the sequence that had both Nadirah and Laney on the floor.

Credit to the students for coming out for this game. We did our best to get the word out, and they answered.

There was a time in my life when I would have yearned for the matching Rutgers earrings and necklace set. This is not that time in my life.

I sympathized with the guy who wanted to storm the floor, but we've beaten Rutgers before. Notre Dame might be the only one we storm this year if we pull it off.

What a game, what a night, what a team. We did what we had to do. Now we need to keep doing it.

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February 1st, 2011: Rutgers at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Nadirak McKenith's drive and hoop in the lane with nine seconds left turned out to be the game-winner for St. John's, allowing the Red Storm to hang on to a 51-48 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Rutgers had a chance to tie the game on their last possession, but a lane violation by April Sykes nullified Erica Wheeler's tying free throw. Monique Oliver of Rutgers led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Amanda Burakoski led St. John's off the bench with a career high 16 points.

For exhilaration, exhaustion, minor miracles, free t-shirts, loud fans, yipping, and bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, join your intrepid and belated blogger after the jump.
Well, this is a pretty bad sign. Tip is imminent and ain't nobody here, and there's no scorecards. I have a really bad feeling about this, especially as I see a chorus line up for the anthem.

No scorecards. I am not a happy blogger. Well, I wouldn't be a happy blogger if it weren't for this lovely 25-15 lead we've got at the half. Amanda Burakoski is going nuts out there- she's got three threes and a wicked block that helped force a shot clock violation. The Rutgers defense is giving us trouble, especially in the neutral zone (if you don't mind me borrowing a hockey term), but our man-to-man is making their lives hell. I've seen more people step on the endline this game than ever before in my life. Rutgers is committing a lot of offensive fouls. Stupid, preventable things. If Stringer adapts her strategy at the half and goes to the big girls Lee and Oliver more, we might have trouble, since we don't have a lot of solutions for them.

If there is any pause in these game notes, it's because I died of the cute when Debbie Antonelli brought Trevor Arico down to the “booth” and stuck a headset on him. That kid's got a knack for charming people. (And a shooting knack. An older gentleman who I presume is a proud relative was passing around an article about the national shooting competition he's in.) Oh, this is just too cute. I am so jealous of him right now, you have no idea.

I missed it because I was working on the first-half recap, but apparently one of the kids in the biddy game hit a three from beyond the men's line. Given how awful the bits of the game I saw were, I'm duly impressed.

Oh my gods, that was exhausting and exhilarating and cathartic and necessary and heartbreaking and heart-stopping and I'm sure the Rutgers fans are furious but I don't care because we needed that and we finally stepped up and took what we needed after almost giving it away and the state of my writing postgame as compared to halftime might be a hint as to the nature of the second half of the game.

Choral anthem. Weak start, strong middle, completely ruined in the end. Surprisingly, it was an allegory for the road team, not the home team.

It would appear that Daisha Simmons is the bench for Rutgers until they get Nikki Speed back. Or something. She played minutes at a lot of different positions. She got in on a lot of loose balls. Got slightly screwed by the refs, too; I really thought her fourth was Wheeler's third.

Monique Oliver started to annoy me in the second half, but in that “we are being overpowered by an opponent I respect” sense, not that “get this woman out of my arena because she's being unsportsmanlike” sense. She's a big girl who isn't afraid of it, and I respect that. She could have been more careful with her footwork, but that's a small nitpick for a player who already had a big game. I was less impressed with Chelsey Lee, who was willing to throw her body around, but wasn't as effective in actually doing anything with it. She looks like she's put on some weight since the last time I saw Rutgers, and it's not doing her any favors. Erica Wheeler went off in the second half. We sort of kept losing her while we were trying to put a lid on the bigs in the middle. I like that she's not afraid to go after loose balls and get down on the floor. Effort will always earn kudos from me. Khadijah Rushdan used her size advantage on some of our guards to really work the boards. I thought we did a great job of stopping up her offense. April Sykes... she's going to be the goat of this game, and I can't say she didn't completely earn it with her questionable shot selection and lousy footwork. She stepped out of bounds quite a few times, and of course there was the last play. I'll be honest, I didn't see the last play because I was too busy putting up a couple of prayers, so I have no opinion on whether the lane violation was a legitimate call or not. But I was not very impressed with her today. She didn't look all there.

They killed us on defense, plain and simple. I'll give them all the credit in the world for that. Their hands were everywhere, and all of them were willing to hit the floor for the ball.

Jennifer Blanding came in and committed a three-second violation. That was really her only contribution to the game. Eugeneia McPherson brought a good bit of her defense, though her offense was still missing in action. The story of the game, though, was Amanda Burakoski. Buzz went off. She was hitting her threes, she was going to the hole, she was hitting the boards (I have no idea how she didn't get credited with any rebounds), she was making defensive plays. That block in the first half was awesome. She looks like she's getting her confidence back, and if that's the case, the Big East better watch out.

Shenneika Smith's shot is still AWOL- she kept leaving what would normally be easy shots short, and I don't know whether it has to do with injuries or not wanting to go up against the bigs for Rutgers. Her ballhandling was not great, either; she kept trying to get fancy, which is a really bad idea against a team like Rutgers. She was cold-blooded at the line, though, and with the way we shoot free throws, and as close as this game was, we needed that. Nadirah McKenith had the same problem with fancy ballhandling, but she stayed tough on defense, and she did what I've been praying for her to do since we played Florida State: when it came down to the last, game-winning shot, she took it instead of passing off. It might be a small thing, but to me, it suggests a huge leap forward in her development as a leader and a point guard. Sky Lindsay was a non-factor, but she didn't have to be a factor, because we had Buzz off the bench. Coco Hart took a beating in the paint, and she wasn't able to get a lot of shots off, but she made up for it with hard boxing out despite giving up a lot of size to the Rutgers posts. Da'Shena Stevens had a little more luck going inside, and she put in some work on the boards. Her and-1 play was huge, even if she missed the free throw (it turned into a four-point play of sorts- she got a lay-up off the offensive rebound).

I don't know if it was just that everyone was particularly clumsy that day or what, but there were a lot of feet on the sidelines. I don't know what's up with that. I would have appreciated a foul called when Gina got checked into the Rutgers bench, but I can't complain too much about the officiating- after all, a judgment call gave us a chance to ice the game. It got very physical in the later stages of the game as things got a little more desperate.

Special attention must be given to the Rutgers fans who made it out to the game. On the one hand, I appreciate their passion and support for their team. On the other hand, I think it's a bit tacky to sing your fight song and disconcert the shooter on the road, in someone else's arena. Support your team on the road, sure. I've done that in four different states. But be positive. Don't go into someone else's house and treat it like your own. You'll just anger the home fans.

If you were watching the game on television and you heard what sounded like a yippy little dog barking, that was probably me. I swear on my honor as a former Girl Scout, I had no idea I was so high-pitched. I used to be an alto...

After the game, we concluded that St. John himself gave us a little help. Only reason I can think of for all those little mistakes that gave us the game. I'm glad to see the effort back again, and we better bring it with us to Marquette. We need this stretch.

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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.

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