December 30th, 2015: Vanderbilt at Fordham (Fordham Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: In an offensively challenged game, Vanderbilt came away with the 53-40 win over Fordham to win the Fordham Holiday Classic. Minta Spears had 11 points to lead the Commodores, with Rebekah Dahlman adding 10 off the bench. Samantha Clark and Hannah Missry each had 11 to pace the Rams.

For all kinds of ugly, penance, bad shots, bad beats, questionable passes, a lack of field goals, and bleeding from the eyes, join your intrepid and penitent blogger after the jump.


Now that we're done with the undercard, it's on to the title fight. Vanderbilt's wearing their road black with the champagne gold trim, the Vanderbilt star on each leg of the shorts. Fordham, of course, wears their home white, trimmed in maroon.

I have no idea who she is, but Rayte'a Long has my new favorite Twitter handle: @Fine_N_Vandy. I approve of puns and school pride.

More people are drifting in now. It only makes sense that the home team draws the most fans, but I wish people had come for the first game for the sake of seeing free basketball.

Entire sections and rows free, and y'all really have to come sit in front of me? Like, really?

Fordham concessions, how do you manage to screw up Diet Coke? Bottled Diet Coke?

Much friendliness between Stephanie Gaitley and Melanie Balcomb in pre-game handshakes.

At halftime, the score is 27-14, Vanderbilt. The second quarter was 6-3, and the three for Fordham came with something like five seconds left. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! Vanderbilt is committing procedural turnovers and could be committing more; Fordham can't hit water falling out of a boat. Rayte'a Long leads all scorers. With 7. I have not had enough vodka for this game.

The scoring picked up somewhat in the second half, but if it had managed to drop, there would be a giant crater in the splintered hardwood of Rose Hill Gymnasium.

Kendall Shaw played briefly in the first half, when Marqu'es Webb was taken out for repeated three-second violations and her refusal to not shoot directly into the body of Samantha Clark. Shaw promptly committed the same violation, and I'm not terribly surprised we didn't see her again. Kristen Gaffney got a little grabby down low- not to the extent that the Fordham faithful thought she did, but a fair amount. Marqu'es Webb filled up space in the paint on both ends of the floor, setting screens and getting boards.

Morgan Batey's baskets came at timely moments for the Commodores. Rebekah Dahlman has a really pretty stroke, but when she first came into the game, she made her mark on defense, playing strong on the ball. She's somebody I'd like to see come into her own.

Minta Spears set the tone early for Vanderbilt with two threes to open the scoring. She roamed the perimeter on both ends of the floor. Rachel Bell was more active in the second half than the first, getting her points in the third quarter but also committing her fouls. There's something I like about Jasmine Jenkins- maybe it's just that she plays bigger than she is, that she plays fearlessly.

Christa Reed was kind of a tweener (which, to be fair, is something like half of Vanderbilt's schtick) but was able to hassle the Fordham guards effectively with her long arms. Rayte'a Long got comfortable in the lane (though, again, she wasn't in there as long as the Fordham faithful thought she was) and made some moves. She was just as good facilitating things by setting screens and running the offense as she was going to the hoop. I don't think I'd call it a point-forward offense per se- Spears seemed to have the traditional point guard role- but Long came off as the leader.

I really liked how communicative Vanderbilt was, both on the floor and on the bench. Lots of encouragement, lots of reminders. (Can I be petty about Balcomb's fashion sense, though? That jacket did not fit. I don't know if it ever did.)

Lauren Holden shows the promise of someday being a very good point guard. But that day was not today. Today was the day where she looked like a freshman who couldn't handle the pressure. Vanderbilt's defense came at her, and she wasn't ready. Danielle Padovano was at least willing to shoot, and she passed the ball well. She did a little of everything.

If you're wondering why I didn't do my usual split-out of the bench into guards and forwards, Fordham only played two bench players today. I don't necessarily agree with this decision.

Samantha Clark would be a WNBA prospect if she could just finish at the rim, I swear. She has the strength, and she has the build, but she just doesn't use it as much as she should. Drives me nuts when I see her make a power move and then blow the shot. She had some nice blocks, though. Danielle Burns rebounded well and bore down on defense. G'mrice Davis was a disappointment- she had such a strong freshman season, I was hoping to see her build on it. But so far, about midway through sophomore year, she looks like she's relying too much on her physical gifts and not enough on whatever basketball she's learned.

Asnate Fomina did a good job playing with four fouls after picking up the fourth foul in the third quarter. I was worried about her aggression, but she was able to back off in time. I like her poise. (Now, why she was playing extended minutes in the third and early fourth quarters with four fouls, you'll have to ask Stephanie Gaitley.) Hannah Missry looks like a shell of the shooter she once was; I think she's lost a lot of her confidence. She hesitates more than she used to. She's made her offensive game a little more flexible, but if she's not scoring, and scoring efficiently, she's not helping her team elsewhere on the floor.

The passing was very sloppy. A lot of balls went where players were supposed to be instead of where they were, or where they were going. They were careless with the ball, and no one was attempting to help the ballhandler when the Commodores swarmed on defense.

The officials didn't help either side- there was a lot of contact not getting called, and that's with a fair amount of whistles being blown. I thought the call that got reviewed for the out-of-bounds at 1:39 left of the fourth was actually off Davis, so Fordham caught a break there.

Why would you even cheat in a dizzy bat contest? All three of you suck for not spinning the appropriate number of times, and none of you should have gotten prizes.

I don't think either of these programs have adjusted to the new rules. I think Vanderbilt's in a better position to survive despite them.

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December 28th, 2014: Georgia at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Tabatha Richardson-Smith poured in 17 of her 25 points in the second half, and Seton Hall answered a second half Georgia run with their own surge to defeat the Bulldogs 70-51. Richardson-Smith led four Pirates in double figures. Ka-Deidre Simmons had 17 points, 15 in the first half, to go with six steals; Tiffany Jones and Daisha Simmons each had 10, with Simmons adding six assists. Tiaria Griffin led Georgia with 16 points, while Krista Donald notched 13 boards.

For thrills, chills, live wires, wild thangs, and pride, join your intrepid and sassy blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, everyone! We're coming to you from our post-holiday food coma at Walsh Gymnasium, where Seton Hall faces the Bulldogs of Georgia. This is the big one, kids. Time to prove that we are who we think we are.

There are a few Georgia fans across the court from us, but not many. We'll see how that develops at game time, though, since it's half an hour before tip.

Newark is very depressing. Lots of gates down, for-rent and for-sale signs abounding. It forces an examination of white privilege when traveling. Probably a little too heavy for game notes.

I think Aleesha Powell is taking advantage of her inactive status to look as much like a pirate as she can. The broad headband and the hoop earrings remind me a little of the old Hampton women's logo. (One of the few female-specific references I appreciated.)

Val Ackerman in the house! Come on, Pirates, get it done!

Andy Landers's hair is even shinier up close.

At halftime, Seton Hall is up 33-25. Ka-Deidre Simmons has 15 points, because Didi is a constant and a balm on wounded spirits. Daisha Simmons is, like, 0 for a billion. I love watching Bra'Shey Ali rebound. It's been intense and physical here. Seton Hall has to finish their shots. They've been getting a lot of looks right at the basket.

Georgia made a run to start the second half, and fatalist that I am, my reaction was okay, here we go, here's where Georgia proves why they've been relevant for decades and we prove why we're a joke. And then Tabatha Richardson-Smith popped open a can of you-know-what, and the Pirate ship was duly righted.

Georgia didn't necessarily go deep into their bench, but they got very good minutes when they did. Pachis Roberts was very efficient in her time, hitting midrange jumpers and most of her free throws (the one she missed had a really weird hitch in it). She was tough on defense, too, so you can imagine that we were relieved when she fouled out. Erika Ford was a late-in-the-half offensive specialist who fired up a lot of jumpers that either just missed or missed badly. No in-between. Mackenzie Engram showed promise, using her size decently well for a freshman and taking advantage of height mismatches. Haley Clark's judgment was not particularly sound. Halle Washington was a body inside, but not much more.

Shacobia Barbee got into early foul trouble, and I think that and the Seton Hall defense really took her out of her rhythm. The Pirates threw a couple of different defensive looks at her, going quicker in the first half and bigger in the second half. Tiaria Griffin got more looks because of this, and was able to take advantage. She took a lot of shots, both early and late, including a three-plus-1 (though I think she missed the free throw). I was actually most impressed with Merritt Hempe, who rebounded well, making a lot of plays on the inside and using her body to create space. She made some great defensive moves, too, including at least one resounding block. Krista Donald picked up a lot of rebounds on the inside, taking advantage of her teammates' height advantage to pick up tips and taps. Marjorie Butler ran th epoint, but there didn't seem to be a lot of organization to the Bulldogs' offense.

I think Georgia expected to have more of a size and speed advantage than they did. And they showed some of it in the early going of both halves, going hard after the ball and forcing turnovers. But they had no discipline and couldn't stay with Seton Hall on offense.

This was my first time seeing Tiffany Jones, and I was very impressed. She moves well and has both inside and outside game. Her offense was a big part of the push Seton Hall made in the second half. Chizoba Ekedigwe, other than the foul on Griffin's three-pointer, played solid defense, sealing well on the inside. Jordan Mosley spelled pretty much everyone in the backcourt. She was better in the second half than the first- she missed some makeable lay-ups in the first half. Lubirdia Gordon gave good minutes in the post- she had a couple of bad fumbles, but also came up with big boards and stole one right away from Georgia. Gotta hit your free throws, though. Kathleen Egan came in for some defensive minutes late in the first half; she might list as a guard/forward, but on defense she's a pure four and a tough one. Tara Inman and Teresa Kucera were both subs at the end of the game, when the outcome had pretty much been decided (though Tara, bless her heart, almost got us a tech for too many players on the court, mistiming her entrance- she was coming in for Daisha Simmons, who was on the free throw line).

Ka-Deidre Simmons is really the pulse of this team. She's steady and she's usually pretty calm. She took over the offense in the first half, driving the lane and getting fouled. In the second half, Georgia was able to force her into some bad shots, but that was when her teammates were able to step up around her. There's something reassuring about her having the ball in her hand; she makes good decisions and good things happen around her. Daisha Simmons started off shooting really, really badly, getting easy looks and missing them short; we were starting to wonder if her Alabama days were getting to her, convincing her that there was no way of beating Georgia. But she shook it off in the second half- once her first jumper went down, she seemed more confident and focused on the court. Bra'Shey Ali rebounds all the things and I love watching her rebound all the things. I don't like when she does cockamamie things like take threes, though. Janee Johnson's minutes were more limited than usual- this was not a good match-up for her. But she pulled down a couple of big rebounds at the end of the game when her team needed her. Tabatha Richardson-Smith is a firestarter, only you don't know when her fuse is going to go off. It went off early in the second half, and from there Georgia was doomed. She's kind of a "no, no, no, YES!" player- she'll shoot it from halfway across New Jersey if you give her a moment, and then it'll go down. And once she starts hitting her shot, then everything falls into place for her- she roves more quickly on defense, she rebounds harder, she moves more confidently.

It would have been easy for Seton Hall to fold the tents after Georgia took the lead back in the second half, and maybe a year or two ago they would have. But they regrouped and then some, tightening up on defense and forcing bad shots.

Officiating was uneven. You could almost tell when the whistles were going to start and stop on each team based on the number of fouls each team had, not by the actual flow of play.

The crowd was fantastic. There was a little student section, and the band was into it, and our usual band of merry miscreants made plenty of noise.

I'm trying to think of the last time I was this proud of a team, and it might well have been the day Shenneika Smith hit a corner three at Gampel. This is a big win for Seton Hall, and a big win for the Big East.

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December 21st, 2014: Auburn at SMU (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Auburn withstood a second-half surge from SMU to come away with a 56-43 win. Khady Dieng led the Tigers with 14 points, while Kiani Parker added 11. Alicia Froling had 14 points to lead SMU; Destynee Hives-McCray notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

For chariot races, deathly quiet, skipping the cadence, displeasure, a taste of one's own medicine, jostling, and rebounds, join your intrepid and uninspired blogger after the jump.


Hello again, faithful readers! We come to you in stereophonic sound from beautiful Carnesecca Arena, where Auburn and SMU face off in the consolation game of the Chartwells Holiday Classic.

The teams have switched colors from yesterday. Auburn is in their home whites, trimmed in navy and orange, with orange shoes that are unfortunately more of a Volunteer hue. SMU has kept their two-tone blue Nikes and gone to their road blues, with a red stripe down the side and along the cuffs of the shorts. And I will stop channeling John Sterling now.

I like the Auburn-colored tiger-striped scarf the woman across from me is wearing.

At halftime, the halftime clock has not started and it's 35-18 Auburn. SMU has not looked good, and Auburn has gone pretty deep into their bench. Both teams have a lot of energy and are very vocal.

Kiani Parker took out the SMU radio guy. That's how badly SMU is getting beat- even the radio guy is getting his butt kicked.

We're still working out some kinks in the sound system. /crackle crackle squawk

Because Kiani Parker is apparently the source of all face-palm moments today: she blew a defensive assignment, and from somewhere on the Auburn bench there was a call of "Kiani, NO!"

Auburn's defense has forced SMU into two timeouts on the sideline. (Up to four at the end of the game. Rhonda Rompola has no faith in her team.)

No, seriously, it is stunning how little faith SMU's coach appears to have in her players. After they laid that egg in the first half, the Mustangs came out with five reserves to start the second half. Gabrielle Wilkins really rubbed me the wrong way- her on-court attitude was really obnoxious. Cocky on offense, disinterested on defense- this is a combination that is not going to make you any friends. Taylor Brame had a nifty basket on the inside in the first half, but she was most memorable for whirling the red rally towel whenever any of her teammates scored. She wasn't ready for it in the second half, when the starters were back in and Alicia Froling scored SMU's first second-half basket- she had to run to the scorer's table, get a towel, run back to her seat, and whip it around before sitting back down. Stephanie Collins never looked comfortable on the floor- she missed some easy shots down low and let herself get moved around despite her superior size. The freshmen guards, Mikayla Reese and Aurmani DeGar, were unremarkable. Raven Short saw extended time in the second half and seemed to be steadier than her teammates.

I really don't like Alicia Froling. She has some nice moves on the inside, but I'm not a fan of instigators, and she baited Tra'Cee Tanner right out of the game. She bothered me yesterday, and now I know why. Morgan Bolton didn't get a lot of time, or if she did, she didn't do much with it. Keely Froling stepped up after her sister fouled out, but was a late re-entrant into the game in the second half. Destynee Hives-McCray was a little more effective in this game than she was yesterday, getting inside and getting good looks, but she's got to hit those shots on the inside if SMU is going to rely on her. Kiara Perry came up with a couple of big shots, but was kind of all over the place on defense.

I don't know what happened in the SMU locker room at halftime. I don't know if I want to know. But there was some bad body language on that bench in the early going. And I don't think Rompola trusts her freshmen, and I don't know if the upperclassmen trust the underclassmen, or what the story is.

Small thing about SMU that bothered me: their small guards rarely crashed the glass, to the point where I was wondering if they were being told to hang back for the long rebound. Someone needs to tell them that those aren't guaranteed.

Auburn went deep into their bench in the first half and still played the high rotation in the second half. Starters were in where it counted, but the bench did a good job of holding down the fort. Cabriana Capers played briefly in the first half, and I don't know if she was ready- by the end of her run, she was pulling at her jersey. Big body, but not quite sure what to do with it. Asia Robeson had a couple of freshman fumbles out there, but looked good in the post. I love her potential. Hasina Muhammad has an awkward-looking shot, but was very disruptive on defense and rebounded well. I suspect her biggest concern is that she's too much of a tweener, size-wise. Jessica Jones played extensive minutes, including some alongside her twin, and while she was prone to freshman fouls, she was pretty solid. Neydja Petithomme ran the offense decently for long stretches, though I questioned some of her shot selection. Katie Frerking came up with a couple of good hustle plays in the second half, and I was amazed that her heave to beat the shot clock actually caught rim- it was better than her next shot!

Kiani Parker, as mentioned above, was the source of a lot of face-palms for her team. Top prize in that regard was getting into the game and immediately committing a foul on defense. She's a bit of a wild thang out there, not so much as a shooter but in general impetuosity. Khady Dieng played intense defense, sometimes too intense. She committed a lot of dumb reach-in fouls. That's something she's going to have to work on. I like her game, though. Brandy Montgomery was kind of up and down all through the game, making good plays and making bad plays. She got a lot of encouragement from her teammates. Jazmine Jones was unremarkable, though she kept getting hit in the head with the ball, once by her own sister during a scrum. Tra'Cee Tanner was solid on the inside, though she missed some makeable shots, and ultimately let herself get het up by Alicia Froling for the flagrant 1 that DQ'd her from the game.

Auburn's defense was solid, but they don't like being at the other end of the backcourt trap and the press.

So here's how it looked like it went down between Tanner and Froling: they were going at it in the post, and I remember thinking that the jersey pull by Froling would have been a ticky-tack fifth foul, but a foul nonetheless. Going back up the court to SMU's end, they were jostling each other- the usual kind of post tactics: shoulder blocks, hip checks, coming up against each other like the chariots in Ben-Hur as they came back to Auburn's side of the floor. I didn't see what Froling did, but she knocked Tanner enough off balance that Tanner flipped her lid and delivered a two-hand shove to Froling's back for the flagrant 1 and the fifth foul. Froling eventually fouled out as well, so I was somewhat relieved, but I felt like Froling should have been called for instigation, or whatever the basketball equivalent to that hockey term is.

Auburn has a lot of complementary pieces, but I'm still not sure that they have a go-to player to complement.

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December 20th, 2014: Auburn at St. John's (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Behind 22 points from Aliyyah Handford and 19 from Danaejah Grant, the Red Storm came away with a 56-49 win over Auburn. Khady Dieng and Tra'Cee Tanner each had 12 to pace the Tigers, with Tanner adding 10 rebounds.

For traps, questionable coaching decisions, subtle touches, literary references, mistaken identities, presents, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand twins, join your intrepid and sugared-up blogger after the jump.



Good morning! Well, I'm not a morning person, so any morning where I'm not in bed is not a good morning; on the other hand, any morning where I get to see my team is a good morning, so it's a wash. Anyway. We're at Carnesecca Arena for the first half of the Chartwells Holiday Classic, featuring the host St. John's and the Auburn Tigers out of the SEC.

I like the War Eagle on the back of Auburn's jackets. Small, subtle, but intrinsic to who they are. Oh! It's also on the sleeve of the long-sleeved warm-up tops, near the right cuff.

Not that we got in early, but the scorecards aren't out and SMU was doing their walkthrough. It was a little confusing to walk into Carnesecca and see the scoreboard done up SMU style.

This box-out drill Auburn is running is pretty intense, and I like the concept. Why do other teams always run more interesting drills than my teams do?

St. John's holiday sweater shirt. Not sure if want, but it's pretty cool.

Amber's mom is doing this whole Madame Defarge knitting at the guillotine thing, and it's a little disconcerting. That might be the point, though.

We have Buffalo! I don't know why we have Buffalo, but we have Buffalo. As in, the women's basketball team of the State University of New York at Buffalo is in the next section over. Oh, please don't let this end up like St. Francis did, we don't have a MAC team in the city and I don't want to deal with any more hugging. (No, this time I can't find the degree of separation link. Help me, Kevin Bacon!)

At halftime, it's 32-22 St. John's, in a first half full of runs. Auburn got a 6-0 hole shot, then St. John's ripped off a 21-4 stretch, and then the lack of guard substitutions started to get to us. That, and some really bad clock management. Aaliyah Lewis appears to have forgotten about the 10-second rule.

We've got a few Johnnies around- a couple of the men are here, and so is class of 2014 Briana Brown (she of the three-pointer to beat USC) (among many other things, oh our captain). I kind of wonder if the kid in the 12 jersey realizes she's sitting three seats down from its former owner, but I think she and her sister (?) in the 20 jersey do. D'awwwwwwwww. (Also spotted Nadirah McKenith and classmate Jennifer Blanding in the crowd. Big Love said I could keep her Pink Zone jersey that I bought at the rummage sale!)

I'm not comfortable with how we managed it, but we pulled it out. Joe's got to stop running the starters into the ground and have a little more faith in the bench. It's going to backfire one of these days. This was not that day.

Auburn did their homework on us, and I don't think it was all because Williams-Flournoy knows us well from her Georgetown days. Their defense was strong, and they knew to be ready for Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant on the break. There were a lot of block/charge calls because of that.

I'm not sure if Auburn has a one-Jones-on-the-floor rule, but I think the only time Jessica Jones came into the game, her sister came out. I mean, you could argue that twins who play the same position are redundant, but it still seems kind of strange, especially in contrast to the Froling twins for SMU in the second game. Asia Robeson had an impact in the relatively few minutes that she played- a big post with a nice touch around the basket and good instincts. Katie Frerking appears to be the designated three-point shooter, and we kept leaving her open, and eventually she hit one. I was starting to worry that that would be the start of a hot streak for her, but she missed the next one (pretty badly, if I recall correctly). Hasina Muhammad took a lot of questionable shots, but was a match-up nightmare, playing against our backcourt players with her height. She was better defensively than offensively, and I can see why she killed us last year. Neydja Petithomme played a few minutes in the first half, and was unmemorable.

I was very impressed with Tra'Cee Tanner down low. She was having her way with Amber Thompson, which is not a thing that happens very often, both taking shots and getting rebounds. That is a lot of woman in the middle, and she uses that build well. I thought Jazmine Jones played more than she did, even factoring in the inevitable confusion of twins. Brandy Montgomery's baskets came at key times for the Tigers, but so did her misses. Kiani Parker was solid all-around- I like her for Auburn. Khady Dieng appears to be the designated "someone still has not gotten the memo about hand-checks" player that every team has. (Ours is usually Jade Walker, but Sandie Udobi is also guilty of this when she's active.) She hit some very nice jumpers and was active on defense.

I don't know if Auburn has the offensive firepower to be a strong contender in the SEC. I don't know if they have a go-to player for when the chips are down and the clichés are out. But their defense, especially their press and their backcourt trap, is on point. They'll make a lot of teams' lives miserable at that end of the floor.

Selina Archer got a lot of minutes off the bench because of the foul trouble for Amber Thompson. I like how vocal she is on both ends of the floor, but I cannot get past her inability and/or unwillingness to grab a rebound. It makes me furious. Kyra Dunn was more of the same, except with even less effort. She relieved Selina a couple of times, and went back out just about as quickly for lectures. Tonoia Wade got some minutes at the end of both halves just to give someone some relief, and did nothing of note. Crystal Simmons saw time in the second half when Aliyyah Handford finally got to sit down, which was a decision I was screaming for in the first half- I thought Crystal would give us a better shot of escaping the trap. She looked a little scared of it, but she seemed to handle the pressure better than Aaliyah Lewis.

Amber Thompson didn't look 100% out there- she wasn't going as hard or as strong for rebounds as she usually does, and near the end of the game she looked like she was about to be sick on the court (sadly, this is a thing I have seen in my life). I suspect some of the rebounds she was credited with were... generous. Aaliyah Lewis should not have been playing the full 40 minutes on whatever foot injury had her wearing a boot halfway up her calf after the game. She had a lot of trouble seeing around the taller Auburn defenders in the backcourt, and I lived in fear of a ten-second violation- we came close a few times. Jade Walker came up big early on offense and pulled down some good boards in the second half. She brought it today, and we needed her. Danaejah Grant was an outside threat and a tough rebounder (well, when Kyra let her be- part of why Kyra got benched was because she kept impeding Danaejah, and don't impede Danaejah). And Aliyyah Handford continues to be awesome, though she's lost a step on defense from the beginning of the year, which is what happens when you overburden your starters.

Officiating was so-so, but I'm used to it.

In addition to the subtle touches of War Eagle on different parts of the uniform, Auburn has amazing letter jackets with a retro Aubie on the sleeve. We wished them luck and urged them to beat Alabama. (Which is probably overkill in that rivalry, but seriously, Alabama can go kick rocks with no shoes.)

I hope we're sufficiently rested for tomorrow, and that Joe shows a bit more willingness to work the freshmen into the rotation.

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November 20th: Florida at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Florida made up all of a 14-point halftime deficit, but the one-two punch of Danaejah Grant and Aliyyah Handford was enough for St. John's to prevail 72-66. Handford finished with 27 points and Grant with 26. Carlie Needles led Florida with 16 points, adding eight rebounds.

For worrying trends, mass transportation woes, the possibility of getting into a cab with a stranger, conditioning issues, proper hydration, lack of focus, and repurposed ducks, join your intrepid and unfocused blogger after the jump.


I hate my job. I do not necessarily hate my job because of what it is and what I do, but because I work in the industrial armpit of Queens, which means that if a truck stalls out on either the Grand Avenue Bridge or the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, I end up waiting 40 minutes in the cold for a bus and thus missing most of the first half of the St. John's game.

At halftime, it's 40-26 St. John's over Florida. That's the good news for the Johnnies. The bad news is that it's the Danaejah Grant/Aliyyah Handford show, which is not sustainable in the long run. Aliyyah has 17 and Danaejah has 16. That leaves seven points scored by other players. That's not sustainable in the long run. From what I've seen, we've been moving very quickly on both ends of the floor.

It's Military Appreciation Night at St. John's, so we got swearing-in ceremonies at halftime and the team has "We Support Our Troops" shirts.

I did not enjoy the sloppiness and lackadaisical play in the second half that allowed Florida to come back and take brief leads, and I'm still not comfortable with everything being about two players, but the season is still young, younger than most of our roster.

I'm really not feeling the black road jerseys for Florida, though I'm not sure what they should be wearing instead. Maybe blue?

There was a fairly large contingent of Florida fans- maybe two rows' worth- behind the bench. Why in the name of all that is sweet and holy would you come to New York from Florida in mid-November? It's cold up here! I know it's been cold in Florida, but it is way colder up here, are you people crazy? In any case, they were loud, and one of our fraternities did work trying to drown them out.

January Miller moves pretty well for a guard of her build. She was all up in everyone's business on defense. I keep meaning to check whether Haley Lorenzen is any relation to Jared Lorenzen. One of those random connections my brain throws up sometimes. I feel like I should be remembering more of the bench, but I think they played the bulk of their minutes in the first half, when I wasn't there to see them; it felt like the starters were the key players in the second half.

Carlie Needles has a really obnoxious habit of yelling out assignments while on the lane for free throws. It's to the point where it's legitimately disconcerting to the shooter, and I'm surprised that none of the refs got on her case for it. She seems to run that team. Cassie Peoples launched threes from all over the floor and showed a fair amount of hustle. Ronni Williams took a nasty spill in the second half and twisted her ankle- she came off limping, but was well enough to come back and come up with some big plays late in the game. Antoinette Bannister pressured the ballhandler, and when someone less sure than Aaliyah Lewis had the ball, it did not end well for St. John's. Kayla Lewis mixed it up down low, aggressive for a player with a relatively slimb uild for her height. She was impressive. I could have done without some of the forearm shivers, though.

Oh, Kyra Dunn. I can already tell that you're going to be that player who makes me want to tear my hair out. I love her shot blocking, and we do need height, but height is not particularly effective if it runs away from anything and everything in sight. It also distresses me that she's not terribly fast for her size. Usually it's the big posts who lumber, but despite looking kind of like a stick insect, Kyra does not move very quickly. She was in and out as necessary. Imani Littleton played in spurts, but when she made freshman mistakes, she was sent back to the bench, same with Tonoia Wade. Tonoia's gotta hit shots on the break like that. More oomph is required. Minutes were brief for most of the bench players, which worries me for the rest of the season. We need a blowout so they can get extensive minutes so we can determine who they are and what they can do.

Amber Thompson remains a strong defensive force and a tough rebounder. I don't know if she's looking ofr her offense and not finding it, or if she's been told not to shoot, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with her only getting two shots. If she's not a credible threat, then there's more defense on Aliyyah and Danaejah. Jade Walker came up with big baskets down the stretch, and it's absolutely amazing that she didn't foul out of the game, since there were three calls after her fourth foul that I thought were going to be on her and were instead passed. At least she's trying. I'm not sure I like the outside jumpers, but as long as they're falling, I shouldn't complain. Aaliyah Lewis is growing into her own as a point guard- still a little unsure of herself, but growing in confidence both with her teammates and within herself. I just wish she weren't so tiny! Aliyyah Handford was hot in the first half, but cooled somewhat in the second, though I think Florida intensified the defense on her. She went down late in the game and scared the living daylights out of most of the people in the arena. She got back up, though. I think she came up with a steal right after that. Danaejah Grant was fantastic in the first half and again at the end of the second half. I think she was letting some of the foul calls get into her head- I'm not sure she was completely engaged. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm a little wiped out.

We got frustrated with the officiating, as always. But if they'd called everything we had seen, I'm pretty sure Amber would have fouled out, so there's something to be said for non-calls. I guess.

We got our first look at the new student section for St. John's, the 6th Man. I certainly hope they're involved for longer stretches of the game than this during men's games. Three rows of standees at center court are not going to be very popular if all they're doing is standing, not cheering. The guys from the baseball team, on the other hand, were pretty cool. (Yes, I'm demanding when it comes to fan participation.)

I'm not worried about Binghamton or Wagner. But I'm starting to worry about Auburn and Seton Hall.

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December 22nd, 2013: Texas A&M at St. John's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Aliyyah Handford's driving lay-up with two seconds left clinched a big win for the St. John's Red Storm over the Aggies of Texas A&M. Handford finished with a game-high 27 points, adding five rebounds. Eugeneia McPherson chipped in 14 points, 12 in the second half. Karla Gilbert led Texas A&M with 15 points, 13 in the second half.

For relief, newcomers, leading cheers, shivering, chess moves, and exhilaration, join your intrepid and hassled blogger after the jump.

Good morning, from the new shiny Madison Square Garden, where St. John's and Texas A&M will be starting in about ten minutes. The scoreboard is very, very shiny. Lots of things are shiny. The Red Storm's red warmups look especially bright under the lights. Selina Archer and Danaejah Grant are dressed for the first time. (Look, autocorrect, if the Selina spelling is good enough for Catwoman, it's good enough for our center. Put your sunglasses on and deal with it.)

Unsurprisingly, the attendance is sparse so far. I can't say I'm surprised. Neither of these teams is going to draw for 11AM, and UConn fans aren't going to come in the morning for two teams they don't care about.

Lots of Liberty giveaways in the seats. Nice cross-marketing.

What did I do in my last life to end up next to an Ohio State fan in a game that involves no players from the state of Ohio? There are maybe twenty people in the damn section and I've got a Buckeye fan on my right hip. Why me? Did I make a practice of kicking puppies last time around? (I really don't like Ohio State. Long story. Not for public consumption.)

My team is so far away. I'm not used to this. :(

Not the usual Garden announcer either. Now how can I be sure I'm pronouncing Danaejah properly?

At halftime, the Johnnies are up three, 33-30. Aliyyah Handford is back on form, with 18 of the 33. Texas A&M has had flashes of excellent passing, but the Red Storm's defense has held firm down low, firmer than I was expecting.

Beautiful anthem, as is tradition. I shouldn't be surprised that Texas A&M has excellent flag etiquette, with their strong military influence. St. John's went with the twee arm-linking.

I think the people around us are miffed that we're cheering. In case y'all didn't notice, we're wearing St. John's gear, we're going to be a little passionate about this game. We'll be quieter for UConn and Cal (though not as quiet as all that; your intrepid blogger is quite fond of those Golden Bears, and your dashing reporter has family ties to the University of California at Berkeley).

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THANK YOU LORD BABY JESUS AND ALIYYAH HANDFORD. I'm trying hard to be coherent about this, but it's hard. Texas A&M may not be as good as they usually are, but that's still a name, and beating a name means a lot in women's basketball.

Texas A&M had spurts of excellent play. I take nothing away from the Aggies. They were fast, aggressive, and tough. They played the passing lanes well and played very tough defense. Gary Blair's one of the best in the business, and no one exploits the fine print of the rules of basketball better than he does. Love to watch him work- glad we could beat him.

Curtyce Knox was incredibly fast- had a couple of breaks for steals, though one of those may have belonged to Tori Scott. Whoever it was, she was moving too fast for me to get more than an impression of a number starting with 1 and long hair. Tori Scott gave good minutes off the bench- she got the second half start to protect Courtney Williams, who had three fouls. She was very quick, especially on defense. Tavarsha Scott-Williams did well cutting along the baseline for baskets- I think she was one of their better offensive rebounders. They had a few bench players in and out, but Scott, Scott-Williams, and Knox gave them the bulk of their reserve play.

Karla Gilbert was much more of a factor in the second half than the first- the Aggies were able to adjust to the Red Storm's lack of height and go high to the big girl. They seemed more focused on working with the speed of their forwards than taking advantage of the height advantage, though. I think that backfired in the end- had they been able to draw more fouls on St. John's, especially the way the game was called in the third quarter, they might have forced Joe Tartamella to make different personal decisions in the final five minutes. Achiri Ade seemed to be more of a defensive player than an offensive player- they were very careful to manage her fouls, especially in the latter stages of the game. Courtney Walker was harassed all day and really couldn’t get into a rhythm, though she made up for it a little bit at the free throw line in the second half (but we'll get to that later). Courtney Williams started the second half on the bench, as mentioned above, because of the foul issues. For all the points she put up, she really didn't leave much of an impression. Jordan Jones drew what we felt was an utterly nonsensical charge on Eugeneia McPherson and also made a superb hustle play in the second half to save an Aggie possession.

From where we were, and from my admitted lack of familiarity with this incarnation of Texas A&M, a lot of the players looked very similar- tall, lanky, athletic forwards who crashed the boards hard and harassed the passing lanes. So I apologize for not being able to differentiate them as well as I would have liked. They're a good team that's going to make plenty of noise in the SEC.

Mallory Jones played briefly in the first half, just long enough for us to be sure that Joe had completely lost his mind. At which point Texas A&M went on a 5-0 run and Mallory went back to the bench. (I like her taste in music, and she seems like a nice kid, but she's mostly been fail this year.) Jade Walker gave good defensive minutes, especially in the first half- she held her ground a lot more strongly than I would have expected from a freshman in her first Garden game. Keylantra Langley came off the bench in this one, and as usual, her field goals both came when the shot clock was about to expire (though she airballed a three in the same situation; apparently Key only gets so much of the magic per game). Selina Archer saw her first minutes in red and white, and while she's got height, I wasn't pleased with her lack of hustle on the boards. In the Big East, it's not enough to just be tall. Danaejah Grant put up a couple of jumpers from the free throw line and showed flashes of what we've all been looking forward to from her, but also showed that this was her first game for St. John's with really bad passing. Perhaps having the person who's in her first game take the inbounds is a bad plan, Joe. Aaliyah Lewis was pesky on defense, but didn't play much past the first half. This was not the kind of game where having a tiny guard pestering the ballhandler was going to be very effective. She was good at what she could do, but she was too much of a liability to use much.

Briana Brown drew some unenviable assignments (there was a point where the "5-8" guard was attempting to defend 6-5 Karla Gilbert, and this is not a good idea. She didn't play a lot, because she was off her game (I'm thinking of a specific floater). Points to Joe for having the guts to not go with the starter, especially when that starter is a senior captain. Sandra Udobi got the start, likely in an attempt to counter Texas A&M's size, and she played well, especially in the first half. I suspect her knee started acting up, which was why her minutes were reduced, but she made some good defensive stands down low and hit a few midrange jumpers. Eugeneia McPherson played a capable point guard- not inspired, because she didn't seem to know how to react when the play broke down, but she can run plays with the best of them. She came up with clutch threes and free throws in the second half to help seal the game. Amber Thompson didn't have much of an offensive impact, but she played excellent straight-up, physical defense down low. She rebounded well and made a huge impact in the paint. And then there was Aliyyah Handford, and a week off did wonders for her explosiveness. Her first step was quick as a blink, and she even hit a couple of jumpers from the free throw line, which is one of the signs of the apocalypse, just after the four horsemen riding out, but before the angel with the flaming sword. She came up big when we needed her, most obviously at the very end.

The refs irked me greatly when the foul differential was 7-0 sometime early in the second half. Fortunately, they got over it in a hurry. I would have liked to see the zero tolerance actually be zero tolerance, but at the same time, St. John's got away with a couple of fouls, so I'll take it.

By the end of the game, the people around us might have thought we were crazy, but they were also getting into the game. We did try to lead the cheerleaders, as we usually do, but sixteen rows above the court level, it's a bit difficult to do so. At least we got our section cheering.

I really thought we were going to blow the endgame somehow. Joe's not great in endgame situations, but I'll give him credit for making excellent personnel decisions today. He played the hot hands, rotated defensive and offensive players, and generally worked the chess game exceptionally well against one of the best in the business.

This is the kind of game where we fold, usually. Today? Today we did not fold. We bent but did not break, and I love this team so much. So, so much. So proud of them.

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November 30th, 2013: Michigan at LSU (Barclays Invitational)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Danielle Ballard's lay-up in the lane gave LSU the lead in the final minute, and Siera Thompson's halfcourt heave came late and short as LSU withstood a valiant Michigan comeback and claimed a 64-62 win. Shanece McKinney and Raigyne Moncrief each had 13 to pace the Tigers, with McKinney adding eight rebounds and Moncrief tallying four steals. Siera Thompson and Madison Ristovski each had 13 for the Wolverines, who came back from down ten to go up eight before LSU surged back.

For hustle, threes, steals, doing things backwards, pride, and a little more cowbell, join your intrepid and utterly drained blogger after the jump.


There's no such thing as too much basketball, though I'm starting to hit my limit. It's 9:30 and we're 12 minutes away from the tip of Michigan and LSU. The benches are switched from yesterday, which caused a bit of confusion among a pocket of LSU fans in the corner. They figured it out, though.

I feel vaguely insulted that wristbands for the seats directly behind the bench only seem to have been given out for the Rutgers game, so even if you're VIP for Michigan-LSU, they won't let you sit there. Though they seem to have chased off Michelle Edwards too, so maybe that's just them asserting their authority.

The free throw shooting contest tonight seems to be along team lines this time. Yesterday, it was more random- now they're actively looking for people in team gear.

At halftime, LSU is up 29-22, and frankly, it could be more. They've forced a lot of turnovers and controlled the pace of both offenses. But Michigan has come up with a couple of big threes- a three-pointer by Madison Ristovski, a three-point play from Nicole Elmblad- to keep it close. Shanece McKinney has eight for the Lady Tigers, Madison Ristovski 10 for the Wolverines.

Nicole's family is possibly crazier than we are, and I mean that as a compliment. Michigan's lucky to have them. A New York-based alumna with a cowbell came up and joined us in the second half, and then things got really loud. My hands and legs still hurt from that last stand in the final two minutes, but we had to stand our ground and show the late-shouting LSU fans that we weren't going to let them take over.

Rebecca Lyttle gave decent minutes at forward. Kendra Seto played briefly, only as a breather. Danielle Williams also made a brief appearance, when Siera Thompson got in foul trouble in the first half. Paige Rakers rocked the three-point line in the second half, pulling Michigan back into the game almost single-handedly. She needs to be a bit more consistent about following her shot, though. We needed her to come up huge, and she did, and yes, I'm aware that I just used the first-person for Michigan, I like these kids.

Siera Thompson's shot was non-existent in the first half, and it looked like she had lost confidence in her game, both as a shooter and as a point guard, as she had to do a lot of the ballhandling with Shannon Smith sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury. (Can you sprain a shoulder? Can I fit any more S's into this sentence?) She found more space, and her rhythm, in the second half, coming up with the game-tying three before the final basket. Nicole Elmblad seemed curiously hesitant to shoot, though I might have been hesitant in her place, given the way Coach was reacting to her attempt at a long two. Then again, that's pretty much how I react to a player taking shots from just in front of the line- you might as well take the extra step and try to add the extra point. I think she let the speed of the game and the physicality of LSU's forwards get to her. Cyesha Goree went strong to the basket, especially in the second half. She got a little overexcited late in the game- at least two of her shots were a bit too strong. Val Driscoll got the start in Smith's place, and though her offense was nothing to write home about, she was a rock defensively, coming up with big boards and massive blocks- she had a gorgeous one in the second half that got spiked to Thompson to start an attempt at a Michigan break. I think that was one we got tentative on, though- I think that was the one where the player under the basket irrationally decided to pass the ball back and it all ended in turnovers. She misjudged a few rebounds, but I'm willing to give her the willingness to go for them. Madison Ristovski was the big offensive threat in the first half, but she cooled down in the second- I think part of it was having to take over more of the ballhandling duties when Thompson got in foul trouble, because there was no other option.

I'll admit it- with everything I'd seen from Kim Barnes Arico in the past, I was expecting a lot more deep bench freshmen in the second half and a lot less comeback. They held it together much better than I thought they would, and when they weren't passing the ball to Raigyne Moncrief, the ball movement was crisp- a little hurried because of LSU's constant trapping, but when they were able to keep their heads, they played well.

Derreyal Youngblood played a little in the first half, but most of her minutes were taken up by Nikki Caldwell's smaller lineup and the hot play of Shanece McKinney. DaShawn Harden fired up the defense, ball-hawking and being a huge part of the traps. Danielle Ballard came up with the game-winner and was great cutting to the lane. She kept getting tangled up with Elmblad; unsurprisingly, the Elmblads sitting behind us did not approve of this. Jasmine Rhodes was quick getting to the paint- she came up with a fairly big shot late in the game. I don't know what Anne Pedersen was supposed to bring to the game, unless it was a matchup problem, but whatever it was, she didn't seem to be providing it. Shanece McKinney did a spectacular job of cleaning up on the boards- I think three of her makes were putbacks on offensive rebounds, and a couple of her misses were too. Her bulk inside turned the tide in LSU's favor.

I'm assuming that Theresa Plaisance was injured in some way, shape, or form, because she came out of the game very quickly early on and was not the same. She looked very soft, unwilling to take contact or to make the extra move to get her shots to go down. One of the Michigan folks thought they saw her crying on the bench, but I'm not certain of this. Still, it lends credence to the "injured but playing" theory. Jeanne Kenney is a gamer. She wasn't looking for her shot in the first half. In the second half, we left her open and she hit three after three. She also took a big dive into some rather flimsy chairs in the first row (the same ones that Minta Spears wiped out in the first game) and there was a bit of a delay as she dealt with soda on her shoes and on the court. Raigyne Moncrief looked more interested in getting her teammates involved, and sacrificing some of her shots to do it. She jumped the passing lanes beautifully. Sheila Boykin barely did anything worth remembering. I think that was part of why Caldwell went to a smaller, faster, more guard-oriented lineup. Rina Hill looked a little less in over her head than she was in the first game, but she was mostly the second body in the roving traps set by Moncrief, Harden, and Ballard. Those were merciless.

LSU seemed to rely too heavily on their defense. I mean, it worked for them in this game, and if they can convert their opponents' turnovers to points on a regular basis, they'll be dangerous. And Caldwell seemed to adapt her personnel well to the style of play and who was the hot hand. But they're going to need Plaisance to be more consistent and healthy. Those big posts don't have the stamina to go a full 40.

We were not pleased with the refs, but the people we were sitting with took it to levels usually only seen in Rutgers-land. It's not a delay of game if the court really does need to be cleaned, guys.

Devotion to duty: Paige Rakers took a cut to the forehead, held the pad in place, and scooted over to rejoin the huddle as the trainer continued to tend to her.

I'm proud of the Wolverines, and proud of the fans who answered the (cow)bell to support them. We out-yelled the LSU fans until the last two minutes, when the LSU fans decided to join the party. It was an almost-perfect ending to a day full of basketball.

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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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April 1st, 2013: Kentucky at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: It was a close game for nine minutes, then UConn outscored Kentucky 61-30 and won 83-53. Breanna Stewart led four Huskies in double figures with 21 points, and the Huskies forced 21 turnovers out of Kentucky. A'dia Mathies had 14 points for the Wildcats.

For blues, goosebumps, drives, fundamental flaws, and the shame of leaving early, join your intrepid and chilled blogger after the jump.


Don't worry, you've only got three more games of me after this, then you'll get a six-week break from long blocks of text, irrelevant parenthetical asides, and occasionally inaccurate analysis.

All things considered, there are a fair amount of people here so far, given that it's 6:19 and tip is around 7:30. The band and cheerleaders are getting ready to go- we're at UConn's end, which makes me a bit frustrated, but what can you do? Maybe we'll get enough elevation to see over the band pits.

This game was tied at 22. Heck, Kentucky had a 23-22 lead. And then UConn remembered that one of their other staples is stifling defense, and a UConn game broke out. Kentucky got scared, as if they'd suddenly forgotten how to play offense against stifling in-your-face defense, even though you'd think they practice against it every day. UConn broke loose down the lane. At least maybe I'll make the 9:38 train back to NY.

I decided I was making that 9:38 no matter what, so for the first time in close to five years, I left a game early. I don't enjoy doing that- I feel guilty, as if not getting my money's worth, but not getting my money's worth is not worth shivering my way through an hour on a Metro-North platform and getting home at 1 in the morning. It was the under-4 when I left, and I believe it was a 27-point game; the only frustrating part is that I don't have a personal complete box score.

Azia Bishop played briefly, but after a hard moving screen, she got sat down, and I don't think she went back. Mitchell didn't seem happy with her after that foul. Bria Goss got the same teaching moment treatment after a stupid foul. Though at least she was a little more effective in the first half. She got a lot of time because Kastine Evans was hesitating, Jennifer O'Neill was making some stupid mistakes, and A'dia Mathies was in foul trouble. Jelleah Sidney tried to get the defense on, but she got into foul trouble in the first half, and I don't think that helped Kentucky's cause. I know, understatement of the year, but I think that got into their heads a little too. I thought it was interesting she got more aggressive on offense- might be a good sign for them for the future. I don't remember Bernisha Pinkett doing anything of note other than committing a foul so egregious in the paint that even I could call it half-obscured by the stanchion. Janee Thompson gave decent minutes; they definitely could have been worse, all things considered.

The early fouls on A'dia Mathies could not have helped her confidence, but I think having to run around after Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis all night and having to be a key part of her team's offense didn't help. Kastine Evans wanted the ball, but as soon as she got it, she backed away from shots that she was taking against Delaware, even when she had space. You have to be aggressive against UConn. You can't let them get into your heads, or your shorts. You have to go at them like they're just another basketball team. They may not be, but you have to treat them as such. DeNesha Stallworth at least seemed interested in shooting the ball, though I do have to question some of her shot selection. I know she had decent luck with the midrange jumper, but I'm not sure if that was the best plan against UConn. They're pretty much okay with people shooting outside jumpers against them. Samarie Walker... I don't know if she wasn't looking for the ball or if she was defended too tightly to get the ball in her preferred spots, but 0-1 from the field and 2-2 from the line is not nearly sufficient when you want to knock out a team like UConn. She looked good on the boards, but she needed to be a bigger part of the game. Jennifer O'Neill's shot was on early, but she persisted in making stupid decisions with the ball- bad passes, over-dribbling, too much hesitation- and stagnated her team's offense.

Samarie... DeNesha... you are both fairly seasoned players starting at a top-notch SEC school. One of you came from UConn, the other from Cal, neither exactly what you would call bad or badly coached. Why am I seeing both of you have issues with taking and hitting lay-ups from the weak side?

Just in general, after Mathies hit the free throw that gave Kentucky the lead, and after UConn remembered that hey, they can play really good defense too, Kentucky seemed to forget how to play basketball, while UConn could smell blood in the water and brought everyone (well, except Heather Buck) to the feast.

I left the game before Buck got in, but I sincerely doubt she did anything. Morgan Tuck continues to impress me for a freshman, though I think the spirit of Tiffany Hayes possessed her through her jersey on that three-point shot. I like her build, and if the knee heels up so that she doesn't need the brace, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. And of course, you've got to love a big who can hit her free throws. Bria Hartley played a lot of minutes off the bench when KML had foul issues and for Caroline Doty in general, and she looked more like the player she once was, quick with her hands and breaking loose for lay-ups in transition. Moriah Jefferson put on the afterburners, and her block on Thompson had the crowd roaring in approval. She's adorable, yet terrifying in her ability to sneak under the dribble. Kiah Stokes got some good minutes; her lay-up in the paint got the crowd going.

Stefanie Dolson grabbed ALL the rebounds. Now, the placement of my seat meant that I couldn't see most of the action under the basket at either end, because the stanchion was in the way. But I remember seeing that big ol' 31 a lot. And then she bicycled her way to New Orleans- no, seriously, she was working the daylights out of that bike. Caroline Doty did pretty much the one or two things she's still capable of doing at a UConn level, then got out of the way. I didn't think she was able to go that fast anymore after all the knee injuries, but she had one zoom-zoom drive. Kelly Faris... if I have to have her on a New York team, can I draft her to the Jets instead? They need someone who can make interceptions in the open field and hard tackles like she did. She's a hard-nosed player, and I respect that, but I feel like I'm complaining about her tackling someone every time I see her play, and that's not necessarily a good thing. And she did not display that tendency not to make mistakes that so many people laud in her. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis continues to intrigue me with her increased willingness to be more than just a lethal three-point shooter- she's using that blocky build to get inside and body up on defenders. I'm starting to see a little Epiphanny Prince in her game- am I crazy in that regard? (I know better than to ask whether I'm crazy. I already know the answer to that one.) And then Breanna Stewart decided to be the player that everyone's been saying she could be, and it was kind of amazing. She made moves with both hands. She slapped the daylights out of shots. She went in. She went out. She did in fact shake it all about. She looked like she wanted to be the star.

UConn turned it up another gear. They made stupid mistakes (after one Faris pass, I thought Geno was going to flip out), but they didn't let those mistakes get to them. The difference between an Elite Eight team and a Final Four team, I guess.

Officiating could definitely have been worse, could definitely have been better, but though they let them play, it didn't go to the extremes we saw in Oklahoma City.

A rumor was going around the crowd that Kevin Ollie was in attendance, but I received no confirmation either way.

To the woman behind me, who complained twice that Kentucky wasn't letting UConn bring the ball up: that is, in fact, one of the core principles of their defense. You idiot.

I feel like I can't give a complete report, since I missed the last three minutes. On the other hand, we're on the third page of notes, so maybe I can.

See you in New Orleans, Huskies.

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March 30th, 2013: Delaware at Kentucky

Just the Facts, Ma'am: 33 points from Elena Delle Donne and a fierce second-half comeback weren't enough for Delaware to come from behind, as Kentucky claimed the victory 69-62. Jennifer O'Neill led the Wildcats with 19 points, and A'dia Mathies added 16.

For honor, stuffed birds, inconvenient tubas, drives, and shades of blue, join your intrepid and mildly embarrassed blogger after the jump.


Your intrepid blogger was bound and determined to go to Bridgeport, whether or not her team made the trip, so here we are three rows back in the endcourt behind where the bands will be, watching as the arena starts to fill up in shades of blue. Unsurprisingly, the dominant groups are UConn and Delaware. Delaware brought at least three buses, and it pleases me that they're genuine Delaware...ites. Ians. Ers. Whatever one calls a person from Delaware. I'm pretty sure a couple of folks from the men's basketball team are here, and I saw someone in a jersey that wasn't 11.

There appears to be some sort of strategic alliance between some of the Delaware fans and the Maryland fans. I find that fascinating. I guess regional loyalty beats out the mutual tie of Delle Donne.

If someone behind me doesn't stop spreading pistachio shells around the section like an ill-mannered health-conscious baseball player, I'm going to have to go Noo Yawk on them. Really, people.

My husband and I are the only people wearing St. John's gear, and yes, we've gotten some peculiar looks, but I don't actually care. I'm going to represent my team even if they're not here.

Delaware band is in front of us. Love the guy with the YouDee on his trumpet. Will have to acquire a foam YouDee at some point to add to the souvenir collection. They did a good anthem with a very colonial feel to it (which makes sense, since they have the Revolutionary-era name history).

It's 41-27 Kentucky at halftime, and so far only Elena Delle Donne and Danielle Parker have looked capable of playing at Kentucky's level. I'm impressed at Delle Donne's speed and ability to absorb contact, something which she seems to have improved upon. Parker is rebounding like crazy. These may be the worst officials I have ever seen- at the beginning, everything was a jump ball, then everything was against Kentucky, then everything was against Delaware- and by everything I mean leg whips and forearms to the face. We're lucky no one got seriously hurt.

Kelsey Buchanan really mixed it up on the inside with the Kentucky posts, and then acted surprised when she got called for a foul. Aww, that's cute. Jaquetta May came off the bench first in the first half, and from what I can glean from the box score and my obstructed view from around the stanchion, she worked loose a lot of offensive boards (I think two or three of the were on a play near the end of the game, when Delaware had four chances at the basket and couldn’t come away with a basket). Trumae Lucas was an offensive catalyst in the second half, and had some great defensive plays too. Stephanie Leon's minutes were near the end of the first half- I think she was just there to fill time.

I loved watching Danielle Parker rebound. Loved it. She was tough. Couldn't shoot (though the rim in front of the Kentucky/Maryland bench wasn't kind to anyone), but I loved her rebounding. Lauren Carra got in foul trouble early, and though her three at the end of the first half was cold-blooded and key to keeping the Blue Hens in it, she didn't wake up until the second half. I think I remember Kayla Miller bringing up the ball every so often, but also that she didn't seem to be bringing it up as often as one would expect from a point guard- the responsibility for that seemed to fall to everyone else on the floor (Parker, Delle Donne, Carra, etc.). I think Delaware would have needed her to be more of a factor to survive. Same for Akeema Richards. I think she was in for her defense, but I'm not sure.

Elena Delle Donne took over the game for Delaware, for both good and ill. She was spectacular, and she's been working on the parts of her game that were weaknesses when she was younger. She'll always be a step slow on defense, but she's been improving on the offensive end, and when she decides she's going to get aggressive, no power on this earth is going to get in her way. She deserved every moment of the standing ovation she received, and I wish her all the best. She seems like a really sweet kid.

Azia Bishop gave some good minutes in the lane. Brittany Henderson got on the boards, and even if she didn't pull the rebounds down, she made room for her teammates to get them. Bria Goss was solid, especially on defense. For me, the real defensive star was Jelleah Sidney, who drew the unenviable task of having to guard Elena Delle Donne when Plan A didn't work. She was also a constant presence on the boards, especially on the offensive end. I remember seeing her under the basket a lot. They also got good if unremarkable minutes from Janee Thompson.

A'dia Mathies seems to have decided that she needs to take over for her team. This is both good and bad- good because they need her not to have a game like she had against Navy, bad because her judgment is not necessarily the greatest. Jennifer O'Neill missed her first three shots badly, I started swearing, and then she started hitting everything in sight, so I shut up. She was a little careless with the ball, but she was the offensive catalyst they needed her to be. It was great to see Kastine Evans starting to look more like herself. Her three at the end of the first half was cold-blooded, and she hit a second big one in the second half as well. Love it when a player's moments are choice. DeNesha Stallworth spent most of the game on the bench because of early foul trouble. When she was in the game, she mostly stuck to turnaround moves with limited success. But the foul trouble really got to her. Samarie Walker was fierce on the boards. She really went after it, though she came up oddly short on some of her shots.

The referees were... oh, let's just call them interesting and decide that they hope to stay home for Monday's game. The Delaware fans were complaining that they were biased towards Kentucky, the Kentucky bench was screaming at the differential, and I was screaming that maybe they should figure out how to call something other than a jump ball.

Really liked YouDee's performance. So far, he's the best mascot I've seen in the
tournament and the redheaded guy who plays him is, like, way hot omg. Also seriously impressed by the biceps on the male cheerleaders for Delaware. Those three guys could probably in combination bench-press the team bus.

Lots of Delaware fans there, and I think most of them were actual-facts Delaware fans, not UConn fans flying false colors because OMG ELENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. And they got loud. And I hope to God they stay loud without Delle Donne.

I think every man in the SEC is required to slick back his hair with industrial-grade gel unless physically impossible. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

Very surprised that Kentucky's defense wasn't more frenetic. They seem to have been sitting back more. They're going to need to ratchet it up against UConn.

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March 26th, 2013: Dayton at Kentucky

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A'dia Mathies had 34 points, and Kentucky used a small first half run to take control of their second round NCAA tournament game, beating Dayton 84-70.

For MOAR hats, free drinks, bendy cheerleaders, redemption, and grabby hands, join your intrepid and clock-racing blogger after the jump.


Good evening, everyone! We're coming to you for the last time this season on the usual tape delay from Carnesecca Arena on the grounds of St. John's University, in some-yet-to-be-identified neighborhood of Queens, New York. Second-seeded Kentucky and seventh-seeded Dayton will be squaring off for the dubious pleasure of going to Bridgeport; on one hand, woo-hoo, it's the Sweet Sixteen, but on the other hand, it's Bridgeport. Hard to get excited about that city. (Sorry, Nutmeggers.)

The bands have officially opened battle. Dayton's band did "Crazy Train". Kentucky's band immediately followed up with "Crazy Train". The Dayton band did not look amused. Their version was better, anyway.

A fair amount of St. John's fans stuck around for this one. I'm impressed and pleased.

I also really want Ukari Figgs's shirt, but that's because I really like royal blue, though that is not why I am leaning towards Kentucky in this one.

At halftime, it's Kentucky, 40-31, and A'dia Mathies lives, with 15 points. They keep leaving her open in the corner, and she keeps hitting threes. Kentucky went on a huge run to bust open a14-all game, but Dayton's hanging tough. Andrea Hoover has 13 for the Flyers. Dayton is having a lot more trouble finding the open man than they did against us.

I think Kentucky missed the game tape from Dayton-St. John's on Sunday. They seemed inclined to let Dayton get back into it for a while, but then A'dia Mathies happened, as she did quite a bit that night.

Brittany Wilson played a little bit in the first half, but not again in the second, which surprised me; I would have thought Jabir would use her to bang with Stallworth and Walker a little bit and try to wear them out. Kelley Austria committed an exceptionally stupid foul and somehow missed the scouting report that getting trapped in the corner against Kentucky is a recipe for disaster. I did like the offensive rebound she sneaked out of the pack with on a Hoover miss, though. Olivia Applewhite at least brought good physical defense, even if she couldn't get her shots to fall. I like the way she plays, though she does have to work on her shooting.

Samantha MacKay, what are you even doing fouling a three-point shooter? This was not the greatest game she's ever played, to be polite about it. She was careless with the ball (which is never a good plan against Kentucky) and just threw up some very bad shots. Amber Deane looked like she was in a little over her head (which, since she's a freshman and Kentucky is kind of vicious, doesn't surprise me). She had one brilliant save on the baseline- she pulled off the "throw it off the opponent" move perfectly. Andrea Hoover did pretty much the same thing to Kentucky as she did to St. John's, only more inside the arc. Cassie Sant started off hot for Dayton, with midrange jumpers and moves on the baseline, but she got into a little bit of first half foul trouble, and I think that might have affected her confidence in the second half. Ally Malott was solid, but Dayton needed her to be more than solid if they wanted to spring the upset.

In general, Dayton looked rattled by the Kentucky defense, and hopeful when Kentucky overreached or slipped an assignment. Jabir was getting frustrated, too. "STOP FOULING!" he yelled at one point in the second half, when they went into the penalty.

Azia Bishop played very briefly, but I think she might have either gotten hurt during the game or been injured beforehand; she was holding her left arm tight against her body during the handshake line. Janee Thompson got minutes as part of the hockey-style line changes, but didn't make much of an impact. Jelleah Sidney mixed it up in the lane and got into a little bit of shoving with Dayton players. Brittany Henderson gave them some very good minutes off the bench as a tough, physical guard who boxed out well- if Pinkett had hit the three off that pretty pass she threw, the place would have gone off even more than it already was during that run. Bria Goss gave Kentucky the bulk of their bench minutes and was a spark on both ends of the floor.

We saw more frequent substitutions from Kentucky tonight, both in quantity and frequency. And Matt Insell is probably going to be gone in no more than two years. He did a lot of the yelling on the sideline, to the point where I thought the officials were going to remind him of his role and tell him to sit down.

Another questionable game from Kastine Evans, though she was better on the defensive end than she was against Navy. She still seemed to be the target of most of Matthew Mitchell's criticism, though we caught a couple of other Wildcats being hollered at. Samarie Walker drove the lane well- except that any top-10-team level starter should be able to hit a lay-up from the left side. She blew one shot by forcing herself to go right and take the shot with her right hand. But she's a tough rebounder, and I guess I can give her a little bit of a pass, given what I later heard was the reason she had to switch into a throwback #22. (We didn't see her barfing, which I'm okay with, since seeing players barf at two games is more than enough for my history.) Jennifer O'Neill's passing was not particularly crisp, and she did seem to enjoy taking shots from somewhere in the vicinity of the Whitestone Bridge, but I still like how she runs her team. I'm sort of a sucker for floor generals who run their team with unmistakable authority, I don't know if you've noticed. And she did come up with a couple of big plays in the second half. DeNesha Stallworth was a stalwart in the post, plus she brought her jumper to this game.

And then there was A'dia Mathies, who seemed to have taken the lousy game from Sunday to heart and roared back to life with a vengeance, going down the lane for lay-ups and hitting three after three from the corner. She looked like the first round pick she has been touted to be. (Oh, and Bill Laimbeer was in the audience...)

The people around me who were cheering for Kentucky- both the Kentucky fan base and the St. John's fans who returned for the second round- were extremely upset at the officials for what they perceived to be unfair calls. The fact of the matter is that, yeah, Kentucky holds and reaches a lot as part of their defense, and if they get the wrong crew, they're going to be in a lot of trouble. The refs let everyone play in the first half, then tightened up in the second. (Not that there weren't bad calls against Kentucky; O'Neill has a case.)

Dayton added another hat to the band collection, a flight cap. Also, the band director's jacket was red and blue striped, with sequins and flashing lights. Seriously, Kim Mulkey would have thought it was over the top and a touch ostentatious.

Great fan support for Kentucky and from the Dayton band. I am all in favor of stomping on the bleachers.

Thank you for the free Diet Coke, person who got busted at the gate. I took it home with me afterwards.

On to Bridgeport!

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March 24th, 2013: Navy at Kentucky

Just the Facts, Ma'am: DeNesha Stallworth had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help Kentucky win their first round game over Navy, 61-41. Jennifer O'Neill added 12 points, 9 in the second half, and five steals. Jade Geif and Alix Membreno each had 9 points for Navy.

For dancing, gyrations, dress uniforms, souvenirs, sloppiness, and many cerulean hues, join your intrepid and apologetic blogger after the jump.



Good morning, everyone! We're coming to you on tape delay from Carnesecca Arena on the campus of St. John's University in Queens, New York, for first-round NCAA tournament action between the Patriot League champion Navy Midshipmen and SEC powerhouse Kentucky.

I'm in a chair-back seat. It's kind of disconcerting. I'm usually in the bleachers across from the home bench- I like being across from the bench so I can see a team's interaction. But here I am four rows from center court, facing everything except the logo. I'm so confused. All the advertising is covered up, since the NCAA has all the ad rights, so there are black squares where the bright ad lights used to be, and ribbons on the court where the sponsor logo once was.

Kentucky is very, very blue. It's intensely colored. Navy has a strong base here already, though we're not sure who the guy in the Army cap is cheering for. Kentucky has names on their jackets. I like them already. I have some idea of who they are!

Not buying the swag. $25 for a hat? $10 for a program? Forget it. If I'm buying anything it's going to be in Ne Orleans.

Navy appears to have brought foam goats. I'm going to go make a trade if I can. (I had to lie and say I wanted my husband's bracket to bust to get one.)

Kentucky band is coming in. Bands have been moved to what's normally the student section instead of the angled corner next to it where they usually are.

Mystics coaching staff is in attendance- Marianne Stanley and both Thibaults.

At halftime, Navy is up one on Kentucky, 26-25, but I don't think it's sustainable. Navy's been letting themselves get rattled by Kentucky's pressure, making bad passes and completely losing clock awareness in the last ten seconds- first not calling time to avert the five-second call, then not getting off a shot when they got the ball back after a really bad shot by Kastine Evans. Alix Membreno is playing really well for the Mids, with seven points and some great hustle. Jade Geif is rebounding all the things and bringing the body. For Kentucky, DeNesha Stallworth has started to get hot with her jumper, and they're killing the offensive boards.

There is a... gentleman... in a UConn shirt objecting to our discussion of our brackets. Sir, you are in a UConn shirt. You are lost. Be thou silent or GTFO.

Kentucky band did the anthem. They did a great job of it, but I do wonder why they didn't let the Naval band do it.)

Kentucky and Jennifer O'Neill opened up a can at the start of the second half, and it was pretty much downhill from there for Navy.

M.L. Morrison brought a little bit of offense off the bench in the first half, along with a body on the Kentucky posts, especially DeNesha Stallworth. Erin Meador committed some really stupid fouls, especially her third and fourth ones. The rest of the bench mostly played spot minutes, not really much of a factor in the game.

Audrey Bauer, I am not sure why you persisted in shooting threes from somewhere in the vicinity of Annapolis, but after the third or so miss, you should have realized that this was not a good plan and gone away from it. It's okay to take another step towards the line, not a step back. Chloe Stapleton picked up two quick fouls and then a third one near the end of the first half, so whatever it is she usually does for Navy, she didn't have much of a chance to do it. Jade Geif killed the boards in the first half, and I love how she was able to body up on the Kentucky posts, but she has got to hit her chippies. She had a lot of shots right at the rim that rolled off. She has to go up with more authority, though she did a better job of that in the second half. Alix Membreno played out of her mind in the first half- hitting shots, going for steals- but I think she ran out of gas. Kara Pollinger wasn't much of a factor. I remember her hitting a three, but that's about it.

Kentucky brought in a wave of reserves all at once very early in the first half, but went back to a more traditional substitution pattern for most of the game. Jelleah Sidney got away with quite a bit of shoving that I felt was quite uncouth; I don't care if your sister was a Johnny- she was epic fail, anyway- you don't get to do that at Carnesecca. Azia Bishop is one heck of a big body in the middle- surprised they didn't use her more. She got more time in the second half, because Stallworth was starting to wear down, and I think she helped wear at Navy's confidence by wearing them out in turn. Bernisha Pinkett gave them good defensive minutes off the bench. I remember seeing a lot of the back of her jersey on traps. Same for Bria Goss.

A'dia Mathies had one of the most awful games I've ever seen from her. She kept leaving her shots either short or off the side of the rim, she couldn't get on the boards- I think Navy's gameplan hinged on doubling and tripling her because they could, and in that regard, they were victorious. Granted, it was the only regard in which they were victorious, and there are no moral advances in the NCAA tournament. DeNesha Stallworth showed off a surprisingly pretty jumper from all over the floor, but she slowed up in the second half. I think stamina was getting to her. Samarie Walker attacked the rim in the second half with verve and vigor, cutting through the lane and the defense. Jennifer O'Neill was fairly quiet in the first half, and then the second half started and she was a firecracker- her points came in a fast spurt, along with a couple of nifty steals. She propelled Kentucky on to get their act together. Kastine Evans didn't play well- Mitchell was not happy with her.

Kentucky fans turned out in force; it truly was a sea of blue. I salute the cheerleader who carried blue and white streamers in his megaphone to hand out to fans- love the ingenuity. And I knew gymnastics was serious business in the SEC, but wow, the Kentucky male cheerleaders were spectacular with their flips and the fast spelling out of C-A-T-S.

I forget what the Navy band was playing- something aquatic-themed ("Sea Cruise", maybe?)- but the Kentucky band proceeded to do The Swim to it. I think the Johnnies in the corner were ROBL (rolling on the bleachers laughing).

I love that the first half was competitive; I wish the second half had been just as fierce by Navy.

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December 11th, 2011: DePaul at Tennessee (Maggie Dixon Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Lady Vols of Tennessee induced 24 turnovers and 47 missed shots on their way to an 84-61 win over the Blue Demons of DePaul. Glory Johnson led Tennessee with 16 points, while Cierra Burdick and Alicia Manning both added double digits off the bench. Jasmine Penny led DePaul with 16 in reserve.

For exhaustion, wandering eyes, blurs of color, and a lot of orange, join your intrepid and sore blogger after the jump.

Tennessee is home for this game, so we're behind their bench with a lot of people in orange. I especially like the Tennessee-colored lei over in section 106. Tennessee is up 12 at the half, and it doesn't feel like it should be that much. DePaul's shooting well, though they'd be a lot better off if they could hit some of their bunnies. Tennessee's been rebounding well, and their defense is on point.

I love how John Whisenant talks about how there are WNBA prospects in all four games. Yes, maybe if you include the class of 2013, but I don't think a single senior played a significant role in the Baylor-St. John's game. I also don't think it's a good idea to talk draft strategy when the Seattle coaching staff is in attendance scouting (oh, and the Connecticut staff, too, though Thibault is a wee bit biased).

Kara Lawson is across from the Tennessee bench. There was a lady who looked a little bit like Loree Moore, but much girlier, so I don't think it was her.

Full disclosure: between looking for my team, gossiping with Ray, working on the Baylor-St. John's notes, and chatting with the people next to us, I found myself not paying as much attention to the game as I should, so these notes are not up to par, and I'm sorry.

Tennessee fans have some of the niftiest gear. They traveled in large groups, but the biggest group in orange... well, we spotted them during the first half, wearing the “We Back Pat” shirts. My husband went to talk to them at the half to see where we could get the shirt. Turns out the group in the “We Back Pat” shirts wasn't from Tennessee and weren't Tennessee fans. They were UConn fans who'd come for the doubleheader, basically to prove that UConn fans shouldn't be judged by the worst of their fanbase. We saw a couple of stray UConn fans, a lost UNC fan, a very lost South Carolina fan, and far too many Penn State fans.

Live by the three, die by the three, DePaul. Tennessee wasn't that much bigger than you are. Maureen Mulchrone (just a wild guess, what with the pale skin and the red hair and the name, she's of Irish descent) came in as a shooter off the bench. Jasmine Penny came in and played big minutes for the Blue Demons with Keisha Hampton and Katherine Harry both dealing with big foul trouble. I was impressed, though I wasn't thrilled with the way she knocked out Glory Johnson at one point. I don't remember much of anything else from the DePaul bench. My apologies.

Anna Martin looked like she was looking for shots she could get against the minor D-I teams of Chicagoland, but that she wasn't going to get against a team like Baylor. Brittany Hrynko couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but she always seemed to be in a good place on the other side of the ball. Keisha Hampton never seemed comfortable, though that might have been because of the foul trouble. I didn't even see most of the calls; I blinked and she was out of the game. Katherine Harry showed off a pretty hook shot, but I don't remember much else she did. And I don't even know who Kelsey Reynolds is. I'm sorry, Kelsey Reynolds.

Alicia Manning put on a show. She was in a lot of places, and I think she had the move of the game with her pretty spin move. Briana Bass is adorably tiny, but not much else. Cierra Burdick went on a run in the second half that helped bury DePaul for good. Not much time for Isabelle Harrison.

Vicki Baugh's knee, or shoulder, or whatever, must have been acting up, because Burdick and Manning shouldered the load for her. Glory Johnson was everywhere on the court. Taber Spani looked a little out of sorts, like she wasn't quite with the program. I'll admit that when watching Tennessee on television, I tend to mix up Shekinna Stricklen and Glory Johnson, and when not looking at a roster, it's possible to mix players up. You have to understand that my perception of the game was less detailed than usual, and fading hours later; I have impressions of fast-moving orange and blue missing shots.

DePaul fell apart in the second half, and that's uncharacteristic of a Doug Bruno team. I guess that says as much about Pat Summitt as it does about Doug Bruno, though.

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