Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Flash of St. Francis University got off to a hot start and never looked back in their 85-54 win over LIU. Maya Wynn had 18 points to lead the Red Flash, who shot just over 55% from the field. Denisha Petty-Evans led LIU with 18 points, including five triples.
For moments of playing the wrong sport, loads of expired soda, Mario Karting, timidity, temerity, and crankiness, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
It's the Red Flash. It's the Blackbirds. It's basketball in Brooklyn. What's not to like?
I'm currently killing a little time before the game in a nearby Starbucks, it being the nearest place with both a place where I can charge my tablet and things I can drink but not eat (husband is buying dinner, it would be tacky to eat right before). Their taste in music is great, but these ladies need another person or two behind the counter. Possibly an octopus.
I guess tonight is BHA? LIU is wearing eye-searingly pink warm-up shirts, and Autumn Ashe has bright pink wraps on her crutches. Ugh, please don't tell me we're going to be watching the Pinkbirds or the Pink Flash.
I should pick up more LIU gear. Don't have nearly enough LIU shirts, so I've had to settle for dressing like a beatnik and wearing a silly hat.
There are way too many people in St. Francis gear here. I mean, I know one of their kids is from Brooklyn, and I know they travel, but c'mon, man. We're going to need Denisha's family in force.
St. Francis has their numbers on their shorts. I'm not sure what to think about this, other than that it's unusual. At least these are their actual uniforms. No one seems to be wearing excessive amounts of pink. Small mercies. Maybe BHA was Saturday?
At halftime, it's 42-23 St. Francis, and quite frankly, things could be worse. Our offense is offensive and we can't hold on to the ball for love nor money. The graduate students are dueling; Denisha Petty-Evans has 14 for LIU, while Ace Harrison has 11 for the Red Flash. Only difference is that Jessica Kovatch and Maya Wynn each have seven in support of Harrison, while only two other Blackbirds have scored, period.
Most teams have players come out one by one for intros and do whatever rituals they've chosen with the team's hype person, for lack of a better word. (It's Shavonte Zellous for the Liberty, for example, and Tamesha Alexander for the Red Storm.) St. Francis walked out with the five starters arm in arm.
One of the refs (Aldrich, I think?) got distracted by a small child before the game. It was cute.
Our halftime entertainment is Girl Scouts playing Knockout. *throws up Scout salute*
Well, I guess it could have been worse. At least we didn't have to play UConn, I guess. And if the defensive game plan was to shut down Jessica Kovatch, then that's the part of the plan that worked. It's just that we didn't manage to shut down anyone else.
Look, PA guy, the answer to my complaints about inconsistent announcing of the opposing subs is not to stop announcing them at all. When the other team doesn't wear names on their jerseys, I need a trained professional to indicate when new people without names on their jerseys have entered the game.
Jenna Mastellone is not ready for prime time. That's about the nicest way I can put it. I realize she's a freshman, and buried so deep on SFU's bench that she might even be a walk-on. But her ballhandling is bad and her defensive positioning is bad, and we're just going to pretend that the free throw that whispered against the very bottom of the net didn't happen. Caitlin Carroll sneaked in a three-pointer near the end of the game, and I can't begrudge her that, though I can certainly question the excessive celebration from her teammates for going up 30+. Karson Swogger has an interesting curve/spin to her three-point shot that got it to curl back towards the basket. (I am also probably a terrible person for thinking her name sounds like a position one plays in Calvinball.) Leah Morrow comes at you like a cannonball, which occasionally meant turnovers and at least one charge. But it also results in steals and fast breaks for the Red Flash, and given how much they like to run, that does a lot for them.
So many tall, skinny people. Cannot cope. Can't shake feelings of mild jealousy. I'm trying to remember who had the nifty turn over her shoulder for a basket. I think that was Courtney Zezza, who did a nice job of finishing near the rim and taking advantage of being overlooked. Jill Falvey made some stops on the defensive end. Haley Thomas was the last post off the bench, and she seems to have embraced the Red Flash's offensive strategy of "shoot ALL the threes", though she hasn't quite mastered the art of where or when.
I am starting to take a bit of a dislike to Jessica Kovatch. It's not the one born of reluctant respect, either. It's the one born of a player complaining to the ref at every single call she doesn't like, except for the times when her teammates get to her first and wrap her up before she can say or do anything. The most generous reading would suggest that she was frustrated at the defensive pressure she faced and the shots she couldn't hit. But we lost by 30, so I'm not exactly inclined to be generous. She's got game, but I don't believe the hype. The Red Flash got really good minutes out of Caitlin Kroll, who did a lot of everything. She was at her best taking advantage of LIU's mistakes, hitting the deck for loose balls and disrupting the ballhandler- SFU threw a press at us that we were not equipped to handle with a freshman point guard. But she did everything for the Red Flash. I think we overlooked her a bit.
It's somewhat less explicable how we managed to overlook Ace Harrison, because she's very tall, very strong, and at least in this game was wearing bright green sneakers. She hit back to back threes to open the game, and was a nightmare match-up for us all night because of her perimeter game. We tried to match her with DeAngelique Waithe, but Angel is not at her best as a perimeter defender, to put it lightly. So that didn't go well. Harrison defends like a guard and is built like a forward, and these are not good things for us. Maya Wynn still has one of the best names in women's basketball. Her game is a strange hybrid at times. She took over in the second quarter with seven points, going deep and driving the lane with equal skill. Kyasia Duling got into foul trouble in the first quarter, and I think it says a lot about her and the trust her coach has in her that she played most of the first half, even when she picked up the third foul late in the second quarter. I do think that the foul trouble took away from her ability to defend inside- there were possessions later in the game where LIU was able to get a little leverage close to the basket, and I think she was one of the defenders in those scenarios.
Life comes at you fast, and so does St. Francis. They like to run on offense and press on defense, and it's not easy to prepare for that onslaught, especially since they send in so many players that their squad is usually fresh.
I get the feeling it's going to be an interesting year next year with Destoni Willock as our primary low post player. She's fantastically disruptive to the other team's offense... it's just that she's almost as disruptive to her own team's offense as well. She deflected a lot of passes and chased down a lot of loose balls, but she had trouble holding on to the ball and minding her footwork. Ella Vaatanen's shot is improving, though I don't know if that step forward is legal or not. I'm glad she's worked on her strength in that regard. She showed some good hustle today.
The player who surprised me in a good way in this game was Seneca Richards. I figured she'd be a good match-up against St. Francis, since she's a tall player with perimeter skills, and thus some comfort on the perimeter defensively. She was very aggressive and very disruptive, going after the ballhandler with wild abandon. I think it affected her offense, but I'll take the defense in that situation. Paris Jones needs to not foul the damn shooter- she did that twice, including on a three at the end of the first quarter that really did a number on the game's momentum. She knows how to use her lack of size to her advantage, getting low to steal rebounds and get loose balls, but there are times when I just want to dope slap her.
I don't know why Jeydah Johnson couldn't hold on to the ball, but it was bad. She played like she had turned her hands to stone and then smeared butter all over them. It looked like she was overshooting the ball, too; her shots were way too strong, going over the basket instead of at it or in it. Not her night, to put it mildly. DeAngelique Waithe did what she could on the boards and in the paint, but the St. Francis defense collapsed on her when she started to drive, and there's only so much you can do when two or three tall people are coming at you at once. And while she's a solid defender in the post, she's at a loss on the perimeter, which led to Harrison opening the scoring with two triples. Stylz Sanders chased down rebounds, but as undersized as she is, she was outmatched and outgunned.
Denisha Petty-Evans lit it up from beyond the arc, but sometimes it seemed like she was the only Blackbird on the floor who was actually willing to shoot the ball. If this is going to be as defensive-minded a squad as I think Coach Del Preore wants it to be, it still needs someone who's going to be a shooter. Nish fills that, er, niche, for this year, but what about next year? Near the end of the game, there were moments where she looked like she was super frustrated, and I can't say I blame her. Tia Montagne played like a scared freshman, especially when the Red Flash's defense pressured her. There was a play where she had to inbound the ball, couldn't find anyone, couldn't get a look, and clearly panicked by throwing it at DeAngelique Waithe right before the five-second violation would have kicked in. Attempting to lob a weak pass over Ace Harrison is a terrible plan. Tia spent most of the night looking like she was in over her head. This was not a game we could have afforded to be without Drew Winter for (and I have no idea what's up with her, though to be fair we weren't winning that game even with a full roster).
Someone other than Nish needs to be willing to shoot. And everyone needs to get them to a shooting coach. This, perhaps, cuts to the quick of what LIU's problems are. I love this team, but sometimes they play way too scared.
She was wearing black, not blue, but does it count as a real live Mario Kart moment if a Maryland alumna shoots an offensive player out of the air?
Refs missed at least one out of bounds call and a few fouls, but all things considered, it's hard to get too upset at them. They're not why we lost the game.
If nothing else, this game showed us the difference between the top of the conference and everyone else. In a one-bid conference, sometimes being the most balanced team on the floor is enough to seize the day.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
February 12th, 2018: St. Francis PA at LIU
Thursday, February 9, 2017
February 6th, 2017: St. Francis at St. Francis
Just the Facts, Ma'am: After a slow start, the Red Flash of St. Francis University found their three-point shooting groove and put away the Terriers of St. Francis College, 75-59. Katie Reese, with six treys among her 19 points, led five Red Flash players in double figures. Maria Palarino led the Terriers with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
For so very many threes, careful phrasing, alliances, and brevity, join your intrepid and snowed in blogger after the jump.
Weeknight games are not unusual for your intrepid blogger, but they aren’t usually at teams she loathes. But St. Francis of Pennsylvania is one of the schools we follow somewhat more loosely than our core six, and we can’t see them at LIU because LIU is one of our core six, and we can’t see them at Wagner because I am tired of climbing that ridiculous hill. Therefore, if we want to go see the high scoring Red Flash, we have to do it at St. Francis College. (I refuse to refer to them as St. Francis of Brooklyn. They don’t represent Brooklyn.)
It’s already been a heck of a day. I realized I forgot to give my mom back her keys yesterday (no, I don’t want to talk about the Super Bowl, thanks for asking); fortunately, mom lives fairly close to both my job and St. Francis. The transfers were tighter than football pants, though. I’m all sweaty and I didn’t get a chance to bring dinner.
I don’t applaud recorded anthems. Or recorded anything, unless there’s a performer pretending they’re singing it.
The Red Flash got off to a slow start, but the three-point shooting came on big in the second quarter to power them to a 39-31 halftime lead over the Terriers. Katie Reese is channeling her inner Katie Smith with 15 points on five threes.
Jessica Kovatch is that masked woman, but the mask doesn’t seem to be working for her. She looks super uncomfortable in it.
That awkward moment when the gym is so small, and you’re so close, and you’re so loud, that when you yell at the ref about a detail in the rules, the coach turns around and asks you the same question about the rules.
There’s a halftime free throw shooting contest going on, and the kid in the UConn sweatshirt had the worst performance. There’s a joke in here, but I’m too tired to find it. You do it.
I apologize in advance for any oddity about the notes. I’ve had to borrow my husband’s computer for game notes, since the hinge on Jocelyn is no longer working. I’m saving my notes on the most awesome flash drive (no pun intended).
Lost Michigan fan is lost, but I think she’s aligned with us, so I’m cool with this.
I get the feeling that being a full-time Red Flash fan is a fabulous and frustrating experience, one laden with the highest of highs and the lowest of “WHY DID YOU DO THAT STOP DOING THAT” moments, and the ratio of those moments is the difference in the game.
(Side note and somewhat shameless plug: we’re taking a late dinner at Hill Country’s lower-end chicken joint, and that is some good chicken, with some nicely complex biscuits and crispy fries. Brooklyn is definitely winning the post-game eats war.)
Coach Haigh got to put his deep reserves in at the end of the game, so we got to applaud for Jillian Scott and Sam Marino (seriously, she looks like she needs ID to see a PG-13 movie). Taylor Allison got spot minutes, but she impressed me more on the bench than on the floor. That’s not an insult or to say anything about how she played- that’s more a commentary on how sharp she was in supporting her team even when she wasn’t playing. She was the one who reminded everyone about the ten-second possibility (this is the play where we and Coach Haigh both wondered about the application of the ten-second backcourt violation) and she was encouraging and helping her teammates on the bench. That’s the sign of a leader.
Jill Falvey was scrappy out there, but not much of a threat offensively, which made her somewhat of an anomaly among the fire-at-will shooters the Red Flash sent out there. Courtney Zezza brought the thunder down low, with plenty of blocks inside. She had a rough start to the game, being the victim of that inbounds play where the inbounder throws it off the defender's back and gets an easy lay-up, but she recovered defensively. I'm not sure I like her as an offensive threat, but it's fun to watch her blast opponents' shots out of the air. Ace Harrison turned it up in the fourth quarter, laying the boom down on a shot and slashing through the lane. She was big, both in the important sense and in the physical sense.
I understand that Jessica Kovatch is rocking the mask, and that since this is college, it is a generic mask with quite a lot of padding shoved into it, not one that's designed to fit her face. I understand that her vision is compromised. But her shot was way off today. So was her passing. She seemed surprised when rebounds came into her general vicinity. And let's not talk about her defense, because there's nothing there to talk about. So I came in hearing the hype and came out provisionally not believing the hype. Fortunately, the Red Flash have a lot of shooters, and her teammates stepped up around her. Maya Wynn, which is probably one of the best names going in women's basketball right now, was shooting from the general vicinity of Altoona and hitting them, and she disrupted a lot of passes. Samiah Bethel was also very active on defense, bringing the energy and keeping the energy up.
Katie Reese's shot left the building at halftime, but made a quick, triumphant return in the fourth quarter, to the point where my scorecard indicated she was going to need to share the wealth. Strangely, the moments I remember of Halee Adams were not good ones- dubious shots, the one sequence where she didn't seem to know where she was supposed to be on defense- but she hit threes late when Reese and Kovatch faltered slightly. Her teammates did a great job setting her up- Kovatch and Harrison each had flashy passes to hit her for threes.
It's not the most complicated offense to explain- everyone cuts, everyone passes, and the person with the best three-point shot takes it. Like Villanova, there are one or two players whose specialty is not the three, just to keep the defense honest, and to penetrate for the kickout. Unlike Villanova, the offense moves at a pace not comparable to glaciers. The pressing defense was fantastic to watch- getting two consecutive ten-second calls will fire up any team.
This is not a shameless plug, because regular readers of the GNoD know that coaching one of my teams, providing me with tickets, or sending t-shirts does nothing to keep me from saying how I feel about a coach. (See: "why does Coach Tartamella yell at people who aren't playing?", "why doesn't Coach Bozzella switch to decaf?", "is it at all possible for Coach Oliver to turn off the sarcasm?", and other such questions.) But I like watching Coach Haigh work with his team- he has a knack for teaching, and for keeping his cool.
I'm really starting to wonder if John Thurston has a rotation, or has any idea who his players are, or where he's going and why he's in this handbasket. Every game he seems to be trying something different. This makes it even more difficult to write about the Terriers. You're expecting me to differentiate among nine white girls with ponytails who have no names on their jerseys, are playing wildly inconsistent minutes, and are being shuttled in and out.
At least Meg Crupi wears braids. It makes her easier to spot among the ponytails when she hits threes or goes inside for rebounds. I understand why Thurston's cooled on Olivia Levey- her conditioning isn't where it should be. She's a load in the paint, and she plays physical, but I don't know how long she can sustain it, and she doesn't really finish on the other end. Samantha Keltos did a nice job cleaning up in the paint on some of the Terriers' misses, and probably should have gotten more minutes than she did.
I'm really not exaggerating. I had a lot of trouble telling apart Mia Ehling and Etta Andersen- similar builds, single-digit numbers, scattered minutes, and the PA announcer's tendency to not announce when either of them came into the game. They were there, and they were in motion, but it's hard to place what impact either of them had on the game. Tori Wagner got in really, really briefly at the end of the first (I think) half. Dana DiRenzo got in briefly in the second half after being DNP in the first half, which I thought was strange because I was used to seeing her get more playing time.
Rachel Iozzia's three-point shot annoys me, but that is because I root for teams that she plays against, so I don't like when she does things. She has pretty good range. Kat Phipps looks to have gotten a little heavier since the Battle of Brooklyn (or I didn't get a good angle; either way, probably not my business). She drove well in the lane.
Alex Delaney did not get up to the shenanigans in this game that she did against LIU, for which I was grateful. She was good at setting screens. Maria Palarino was a favorite of the PA announcer (about whom more later), and used her height to create mismatches inside and on the perimeter. Lorraine Hickman did a good job on the boards- she was a pleasant surprise, since I hadn't seen much of her before.
I really don't know what to say about St. Francis College. They seemed disorganized- their defense looked good for stretches, but they weren't able to adjust when the Red Flash started hitting their shots. The offense looked like they were trying to run similar things to the Red Flash, but with less success (but slightly more paint play).
Other than the play where Maya Wynn got knocked down with no call, then got called for the foul for being on the floor, and the ten-seconds that should have been, the officiating was up to the usual standard for NEC WBB.
Announcer dude, please go back to the '90s. I say this as someone who does her earnest best to imitate the MSG announcer, so you know it has to be pretty egregious. This dude was annoying, and totally gnarly about it. He had the vocal mannerisms of a particularly obnoxious surfer bro, which is kind of strange for a program in the heart of Brooklyn. We're not even near Rockaway Beach, dude.
Not much of a crowd. They got into it a little bit early on, but as the Red Flash poured on the threes, they fell out of it.
It's a confusing layout, but the cafeteria's nice.
I'm not allowed to adopt any more teams. Six is enough. Six is more than enough, and I don't need any more teams that share conferences with someone who got there first. But if I could, I would totally adopt the Red Flash.
Monday, January 27, 2014
January 27th, 2014: St. Francis at LIU
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Red Flash recovered from shaky defense and a slow start to come away with a road win at LIU, 84-76. Aisha Brock had 24 points, 17 in the second half, to lead St. Francis, while Alli Williams had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Cleandra Roberts had 23 points to lead LIU; Fanny Cavallo had 17, and Letava Whippy had a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 11 points.
For weak signal, tackling, free hugs, color coordination, leaving the back door open, and stupid rules, join your intrepid and sisterly blogger after the jump.
So you remember the part of the SJU-Georgetown notes where I mentioned we were sitting with half a dozen St. Francis players because one of them was Selina Archer's sister? I sort of kinda maybe a little got shanghaied into going to their game tonight against LIU, which is a little awkward because I tend to prefer to root for New York teams, but I made a promise (and Selina could probably stomp my face in if I broke it).
It's also awkward because the MTA is the devil itself and it's taken me half an hour just to get to the place where I can pick up the bus. HATE. Haaaaaaaaaate.
Of course this is the one night LIU decides they care about people carrying food in. My eyes, they are rolling.
At halftime, St. Francis is up one on LIU, and I'm seriously wondering why I passed up Big Monday for this. Well, no, I'm not, because Selina's across the court and we're going to have enough issues on February 1st without me breaking promises. Ali Williams is trying to do everything for the Red Flash, but they're missing a lot of makeable shots and throwing really, really, really dumb passes. Guys. How many times does Letava Whippy have to cut across the passing lane like Antonio Cromartie wishes he could to come away with the ball? St. Francis has also not been able to shut the back door- Cleandra Roberts and Fanny Cavallo have both been scoring pretty much at will back there. St. Francis is living and dying by the three, and that's probably going to come back and bite them in the end. All that said, I love their press- it's driving LIU up the wall, though not quite into a 10-second call yet.
St. Francis took their time coming out of the locker room. Also, for some reason I have the devil's own time getting a signal here, and it's upstairs. Logic? (No Iowa jokes, please.)
So that turned out to be more fun than I expected, though I suspect that ND-Maryland was a much more interesting game. There were big shots late, and big defensive plays. There were solid performances, and moments of facepalm. And hugs! More on that later, though.
Hope Phillips gave decent minutes, mostly in the first half. Bridget Murphy came off the bench with a lot of firepower, providing jumpers and a beautiful defensive disruption in the first half. Erin Blaine came in fairly late in the rotation in both halves- fought hard underneath and came up with a big bucket down low in the second half. Rebecca Keegan had a very nice sequence in the first half where she came up with a big block, then was the recipient of the pass for the lay-in as a result of the play. She's a good shot blocker, but she's what Board Junkies used to call a big oafy girl: tall, wide, broad-shouldered, not terribly mobile, and slouches badly (or at least looks like she's slouching). (For some reason, they used to end up at Oregon a lot. Think Jenny Mowe or Cathrine Kraayeveld early in her career, before Kraay decided that she was actually Erin Thorn.) She started the second half, a move I'm not sure I would have made, but I admit my bias in this matter. Shaqeia Stokes got a little run in the first and less in the second- got to the line once.
Samiah Bethel is really kinda fast- almost too fast for her own good, because much like Jessica Bibby or Sherill Baker, the speed does not come with brakes. She can keep up with any ball-handler out there, but the second that ball-handler decides they're going to stop, she's three steps out of position. She committed some dumb fouls out there, but you know how it is. Freshmen gonna freshman. Aisha Brock also committed fouls that she regretted later, but she regretted them much faster, and more than made up for them with hot shooting in the second half. She was feeling it, both inside and outside the arc, with sweet jumpers, including a three that glanced high off the glass before dropping. Alexa Hayward also came up big in the second half, making defensive stops and slamming the door with free throws down the stretch. Corissa Archer could do with some work on her rebounding, but I like a player who listens to her coach as intently as she seems to do on the floor, and she works hard out there. She'll always find a way to be open, and everyone in the room will know it by her scream. Ali Williams could have done with being more efficient, but she was hard-nosed in the paint and determined to catch every miss. I don't know if I would have had her doing as much ball-handling as she was, but this is around the time of year that every forward who would be a tweener on the next level really starts honing their ball-handling skills.
Demi Tomlinson did not dress for LIU. That might actually have been an advantage- that's not to take away from her, but given how often they were getting the baseline, having an additional three-point shooter as an option might have encouraged them to kick out to her more often instead of going back to the well.
Genise Presley came in for defensive purposes late in the game, but didn't do anything of note. Likewise, Brianna Farris, though she almost got called for a foul while she was sitting on the bench (people were mixing up 2 and 22 all night). Sophie Bhasin seems to have toned down her shooting instincts- I think she only hoisted a couple of shots all night. She seemed more involved defensively. Shanovia Dove had a big game off the bench, with a three late in the game that kept LIU competitive. She picked up the two fouls quickly, but played good defense otherwise. Courtney Sullivan was in and did things, but I think they were mostly defensive and missed threes. I know she was there, but I don't have a box score in front of me and I can't remember her doing anything, which is a very frustrating feeling for someone who wants to present an accurate picture of the game.
Kelly Robinson has a lot of flash and flair to her game. She blew into the lane for lay-ups that had no business going down. Of course, a fair number of those were shots that had no business being taken, even the ones that went down. She also had some gorgeous assists down low, helping the bigs get their baskets. I don't think I've ever seen Fanny Cavallo score that many field goals in a game, but I guess she figured that if the Red Flash were going to let her have that kind of space, she was going to take every advantage of it that she could. She set a lot of screens and picks as well, though with a certain lack of grace, much like a small bulldozer. Cleandra Roberts was very much in her element with the baseline exposed. I don't know how many easy shots right at the basket she had with a couple of simple cuts and a quick first step. She rebounded decently, but the key was her scoring. Aleisha Myers showed off a pretty jumper and some tough defense- she and Sullivan always seemed on the ball. Letava Whippy was on fire today, even if the offensive stats don't show it. She fought for every rebound, sneaking at least two of them out of the arms of larger St. Francis posts. She made cross-court passes an unspeakably bad idea. She ran down loose balls, and I think she put the brakes on a Red Flash fast break by catching up to the play. She was fierce and very impressive.
I think these refs were watching Illinois-Purdue. They weren't watching our game, that's for sure. I've never seen so many block/charge calls finessed by calling them travels. In fact, they were paying so little attention that Archer almost sweet-talked them into letting her inbound on an LIU possession. I LOLed. No one was happy with these guys by the end.
My favorite play of the game: St. Francis inbounding on the sideline, Archer with the ball. She and Ali Williams decide they're not going to wait for everyone to set, and while the other eight players are running around like headless chickens, Archer rifles a pass to Williams streaking to the basket for two.
St. Francis really likes when you keep your promises, apparently. As soon as the game was over and the hands were shaken, Alexa Hayward came through the tensile barrier, up into the stands, and thanked me for coming with a hug. Three of her teammates followed suit. I'm sorry that I'm bad with names, or I would thank you all individually. My team doesn't hug me for showing up. :( It's sweet. A little weird, yes, but sweet.
So I think I have another tertiary team to keep track of now. Great. I just felt so bad and and wrong rooting against LIU. I'm a New Yorker, damn it! I cheer for New York teams!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
March 14th, 2010: St. Francis (PA) at Long Island (NEC championship)
Comments on this post are closed; please direct any comments to the mirror post on Swish Appeal.
The last time I went to a conference championship game, I was in college and it was the CUNYAC title game, and my alma mater won the game on two free throws after Staten Island threw the inbounds pass straight out of bounds. It wasn't half as exciting as this.
We got to the box office around 1:30 to make sure we were able to get tickets, and we started the line. The ticket office was a little disorganized, because I don't think they were ready for this many people to show up to a women's game. I was a little disconcerted when I saw so many people from St. Francis come by in their red, white, and black, especially as they guided people to various sections depending on their affiliation. They just kept coming... and coming... and coming... and then the LIU fans started arriving. It got crowded in a hurry. My legs are still cramped.
Much love and thanks to the young lady handing out LIU t-shirts at the entrance. I'd been dying for some swag, and that saved us a good thirty bucks, which we'll most likely use in the WNIT somewhere. (Or the NCAA. Oh, please, Almighty Committee, give St. John's Norfolk to Memphis or Dayton.)
I do wish the anthem singer hadn't been the same guy I'd heard in three different arenas, who gets worse every time I see and hear him.
If the Red Flash went deeper than three into their bench, then the LIU announcer didn't bother to mention who they were. Shené Fleming played briefly in the second half when foul trouble became a factor for one of St. Francis's starting guards. Brittany Lilley brought major offense off the bench, especially in the second half. Allison Smith went scoreless, but she played a good bit, so she must have been doing something right.
Brittney Hodges. Brittney Hodges. Holy crap, Brittney Hodges. I figured she was going to be the one to watch when the ESPN cameraman was following her closer than her own shadow during shootaround, but she went OFF in the first half. At one point, SFU had 23- and she had 14. LIU got on her better in the second half, but that opened up the lane and the midrange jumper for Samantha Leach, who made the most of her opportunities. Quinessa Johnson was in foul trouble for a chunk of the second half, and I don't recall her being much of a factor. Daly also got loose in the second half, with a little help from her friends. Janie Killian was a difference-maker with her length and size- she's 6-4, and LIU had no way to deal with her. That didn't keep them from trying alley-oop passes over the top.
I really like Krystal Wells, and not just because she thanked us for coming to one of their games earlier this season. She's a firestarter on the defensive end, with a reservoir of energy that never seems to run out, and her hustle made a lot of good things happen for the Blackbirds. Justine Stevenson was just not there today. I mean, she was physically present, but except for one rebound, I can't remember one good thing she did- and the pass after the rebound was stolen! Tamika Guz played briefly, proved that she couldn't shoot for love nor money, and was sat back down on the bench.
Paging Connie James. Her head was just not in this game. Too many sloppy passes, too much bad ballhandling- I think she let the pressure get to her a little. Heidi Mothershead showed up for the game and played well on defense- one brilliant sequence that forced an over-and-back comes to mind- but her shot didn't join the party. Shame. That might have been useful. Chelsi Johnson, while I applaud your confidence in your jump shot, it's a little overstated. Don't stand there and watch. Follow your shot. She went after everyone else's shots hard, though. Ashley Palmer... I always go "I'm not impressed" when I watch her play, but then she puts up 20 points and I don't know how many rebounds, and I just go wow. Kiara Evans, while she got a little too intense sometimes, did a good job of knowing that she needed to make with the offense because Mothershead wasn't hitting and they weren't getting much from the bench.
Refs. WTF, man? An elbow to the chin isn't a foul but a reach is? Iím not blaming the refs for the loss- I think LIU managed to screw up homecourt advantage all by themselves thanks to missed free throws and a couple of players not showing up. But I don't want players to get hurt, and it got close to that line. Put it this way: sometime after Janie Killian's elbow introduced itself to Ashley Palmer's chin, Palmer ended up on the floor. When Killian offered her a hand up, Palmer rolled away and got to her feet by herself.
I feel sort of like I cheated on St. John's today. I got more into this game than I have any other, because LIU needed the support and it was a conference championship, with a chance to Dance on the line. Don't get me wrong: when St. John's makes a conference championship game, you'll hear me across the state line, I'll be so loud. But LIU is my second favorite team and I wanted them in SO badly. I may have bruised my thigh. If anyone from the Red Storm reads this, it was just warm-up for if I can get to the tournament with you guys next week. :D
Originally, when it was announced that the halftime show was a cheerleading squad from PS 307, I threw up a little in my mouth, because elementary school cheerleaders are made of EW. But these kids were really, really good. They were doing pyramids and lifts that the team at St. John's doesn't even try. (So yes, when the SFU cheerleaders were a bit less than crisp with their routine, our response was "Our fifth graders are better than you!")
As frustrating as it was, I do have to give props to the SFU crowd for traveling. That was a long haul to make.
I really hope LIU makes the WNIT. They deserve at least a look. And this team needs that kind of post-season experience.
