Just the Facts, Ma'am: In a low-scoring affair, Seton Hall prevailed over Saint Joseph's, 55-39. Desiree Elmore had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Pirates. No Hawk cracked double figures in scoring, with Claire Melia's seven leading the way.
For unaccustomed seating arrangements, terrible shooting, some height issues, and details lost to the fo of time, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon, fellow travelers! We come to you from an unaccustomed spot at Rose Hill Gymnasium, as Seton Hall plays St. Joseph's in an A-10/Big East double-header. Since St. Joe's is an A-10 team, they have been extended the courtesy of the home bench, which means we, as Seton Hall fans, are behind the road bench. It's weird. I don't think I like it.
I do, however, want that Mad Magazine jacket one of the Fordham staffers is rocking. I want it very much.
Seton Hall is short-handed today; in addition to the players already injured, Shadeen Samuels tweaked her hamstring in their last game, and is in sweats. This is another thing I'm not thrilled with.
15-10 SHU end Q1, but it should be more. We're missing shots we should be hitting.
37-22 SHU at halftime, thanks to a deep three from Alexis Lewis at the buzzer and St. Joe's forgetting how time works. They went into their offense way too early with 27 seconds left in the half, ceding last shot to Seton Hall. Now, I'm not exactly thrilled with the way SHU ran that possession either- I thought Lauren Park-Lane ran too much time off the clock and Lexi was forced to take that shot too deep, but in this case, it worked.
Fordham is not running stats for this game, so I must rely on my trusty clipboard. It tells me that Lauren Park-Lane is leading the pirates with 10 points, while Claire Melia's six off the bench are a team high for the Hawks.
St. Joe's has size, but not finesse. They're not finishing at the rim, and they don't seem to have outside shooting to complement their bigs.
Yes, the Hawk traveled. Yes, she's flapping her wings. Yes, I know she's female because it was in their game notes. (Said game notes also felt the need to clarify that it's Saint Joseph's or St. Joe's, but you can't abbreviate only one part. I'm now tempted to refer to them as St. Joseph's the entire time, because I'm that kind of petty.)
You know a ref has done a lot of MAAC games when Alexis Lewis commits a foul and the signal goes up as 20. (Lexi wears 10 at SHU, but she wore 20 at Iona.)
Starting lineup shenanigans: so we see the lineup tweeted out as Barbara Johnson, Lauren Park-Lane, Mya Jackson, Alexis Lewis, and Whitney Howell. Everything goes as expected until the last player, at which point Barb gets off the bench and the PA guy announces Desiree Elmore. There is a small discussion among Coach Bozzella and the officials, after which Barb is called back to the bench and Des takes the floor. Since Barb proceeded to come in for Whit about a minute in, it became moot.
45-33 SHU end Q3. The refs seem to think we missed hearing from them.
It's final here at Rose Hill, 55-39 Seton Hall, in a game that probably featured terrible shooting percentages. There were certainly lots of rebound opportunities.
I see why Cindy Griffin is happy with her young posts. They still need some work, especially Gabby Smalls, whose shooting form is... uh... not good, and I say this as someone who loves her some post players with dubious shooting mechanics. She had success with spins and lay-ups, and she thinks she has a hook shot, but her jumper is not there right now. Claire Melia got off to a strong start for the Hawks, which I think is why she started the second half. She's got good touch inside and out and pretty good range and power. She's got to be better with her footwork, but as a freshman, she's starting off with a good toolbox. Katie Mayock started the game and moved to the bench for the second half. She's got size, and she sets good screens, but her teammates need to be better at using them.
On the other hand, their guards are a work in progress. Devyne Newman got run in both halves, second more than the first, I think. She and Lauren Ross did not impress terribly much.
I liked Mary Sheehan's hustle- she notched a couple of blocks and some good loose ball recoveries. Nailah Delinois used her bulk to push defenders around and get into the paint. Katie Jekot drove the lane and couldn't hit. Lula Roig got into foul trouble which took her out of rhythm and never allowed her to get started. I think that helped us get on top of them early and stay on top. There was a definite lack of discipline with St. Joe's that got them rung up for charges on a regular basis, usually at the most inconvenient times.
I love Selena Philoxy dearly, but one of these days you're going to find me in a corner with concussion symptoms and heavy bruising on my forehead, and this will be because I have facepalmed at her too hard. I love her energy. I love her hustle. I love when she's able to safely bring the ball in to her teammates. But she commits a ridiculous number of fouls and half the time when she grabs the ball on the glass she ends up tipping it out of bounds instead. Jasmine Smith extended the offense, but unsuccessfully. Victoria Keenan will get her basket someday. Alexia Allesch is tall. I think I'd like to see more of Kailah Harris to see if she can produce.
Come to think of it, I might just have rolled with Whitney Howell as a starter and seen what she could do against the Hawks' posts. In the worst case scenario, you'd bench her and proceed with the plan Seton Hall eventually went with. She managed a couple of rebounds in her brief minutes. Barbara Johnson got physical and got tough. She set up Desiree Elmore on a play beautifully. Des had herself a day. She plays so much longer than her height. I don't know if it's vertical or long arms or what, but she gets way more rebounds than it seems she should.
I love Alexis Lewis, but sometimes I forget just how streaky she can be, and how determined she is to live by the adage that "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". When she's on, she's a one-woman wrecking crew, but when she's off, she just keeps on going. She was off in this one, and it was painful to watch. Mya Jackson had a nifty steal that she turned into a fast break lay-up. Lauren Park-Lane's passing vision continues to amaze me for her age. I know she's from Delaware, but if you told me she was kin to either Didi or Daisha Simmons, I would absolutely believe it. I know those are names one does not bandy about lightly at Seton Hall.
This was an offensively challenged game, to say the least, perhaps even in honor of our hosts. It's hard to find a lot to say about it, especially at this point. Our execution needs to be better, but at least our defense did enough to keep St. Joe's from scoring. We also need reliable size, because Alexis Lewis, Center At Not Particularly Large, does not spark joy. Yes, I know Shadeen Samuels was out, and that does terrible things to our post play, but we still need some height.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
November 17th: Seton Hall at Saint Joseph's (at Fordham)
Monday, January 18, 2016
January 17th, 2016: St. Joseph's at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham jumped out to a big lead and held on for a 47-40 win against St. Joseph's. Danielle Burns had 13 points to lead all scorers, while Samantha Clark and G'mrice Davis each had 12 rebounds for Fordham. Ciara Andrews, Amanda Fioravanti, and Chelsea Woods each had 8 to lead St. Joseph's.
For travel connections, things on fire that are not shooting, questionable decisions, loud signs, and delays, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! We're at historic Rose Hill Gymnasium today, as the Rams of Fordham host the undying Hawks of St. Joseph's. If you hear loud noises coming from behind the Fordham bench, that would be us. We're here and we're ready to cheer.
Place is filling up pretty nicely. I think they called in all their youth group and CYO chips to make the place look good.
The Hawk is here. I think the suit's starting to wear a little bit.
At halftime, Fordham is up 32-19, after turning a 20-2 lead into a close game. G'mrice Davis and Danielle Burns each have 10 points for the Rams, with Davis adding eight boards. Fordham got up big and then got sloppy, and St. Joseph's was willing to take advantage.
That was not a great game to watch. Neither of these teams is very good, nor is either of them very organized. Neither style meshes well with the new rules. If this weren't a rivalry game, it would have had no place being televised.
The Hawks basically went two deep on their bench. Michala Clay and Sarah Veilleux played briefly in the first half, but when it came down to crunch time, the two reserves they went with were forward Amanda Fioravanti and guard Chelsea Woods. Fioravanti was solid all around, especially strong in the paint. She plays the angles well. Woods came up with baskets at the rim and drove the lane well.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick is super fast, and uses that speed well on defense. She made life miserable for Lauren Holden bringing the ball up, including picking up a really nifty steal in the third quarter when Holden was sure she had a break. If her puck luck had been better, St. Joe's might have had a chance. She had a lot of shots rim out or otherwise juuuuuuuust miss. Man, I like her defense, though. Alyssa Monaghan came on stronger in the second half, although perhaps feistier might be a better word; she showed a lot more of the scrappiness you usually see out of smaller players at higher levels. Ciara Andrews was quiet for most of the game, but came up with baskets very late- there was one I thought they were reviewing to see if it was a three.
Adashia Franklyn (which I'm pretty sure is not actually pronounced Asia) showed flashes of solid physical play, but she got into a little bit of foul trouble. I think the first, very early, foul, took her out of the game mentally. G'mrice Davis certainly didn't help. Sarah Fairbanks hit physically improbable shots, getting in the general vicinity of the lane and using the glass. She missed quite a few of those shots as well, and when she missed, they were ugly. I like her toughness.
Fordham really didn't dig deep into their bench. It didn't help that Asnate Fomina, the starting point guard, didn't play, and thus the sparkplug off the bench had to be the starter. Alexia Douglas stepped into the role of backup point guard, and she did tolerably well at it, at least as well as her fellow freshman. She looked a little lost, but I'm not surprised. I don't know what Danielle Padovano was supposed to bring off the bench, but whatever it was, she wasn't doing it. She showed no hustle, no effort, nothing but an ill-advised three-point attempt.
Lauren Holden is nice as a spark off the bench, but she's not ready for primetime yet. She looked lost, especially against the bigger and faster Fitzpatrick, and had a lot of trouble setting up the offense. She made poor decisions with the ball, whether it was jacking up a three after three of her teammates had hit one, or passing the ball directly to Fitzpatrick cutting into the passing lane. Hannah Missry was hot in the second quarter from three, and when she's feeling her three-pointer, she's more confident from the rest of the floor- she had a nice drive that she followed on the miss. In the second half, her shooting cooled off, and late in the game she and G'mrice Davis both crashed into the courtside seats (with some help from St. Joe's). She looked a little woozy when she got up, but she stayed in the game after the timeout. That worried me.
Danielle Burns was hot early, both beyond the arc and in the lane. I like her versatility. I don't like her tendency to shoot for the foul instead of attempting to hit the shot. G'mrice Davis was strong in the paint, especially in the early going. She's really good, and she's really stifled in this system. It doesn't play to her strengths. Samantha Clark came up with boards throughout most of the game (though she and her teammates had trouble hanging on to rebounds as the game progressed) and hit her free throws late. I know she's got range, and I know much of Fordham's offense is predicated on the long ball, but I do like her better when she's posting up. The way she moves her feet and makes herself a target, I'm always surprised that we don't see more post offense from her.
Things I do not understand: why does Fordham persist on inbounding into the backcourt? Some team that pressures even more than St. Joe's does will take advantage of that and do terrible things to the Fordham offense. Things even more terrible than the Fordham offense does to itself, I mean. Also, why does no one move without the ball? The little Xs and Os are not permanent locations!
I think the game may have left these two coaches behind a bit. It's hard to win if you only have four players scoring. It's harder to win if you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
November 29th, 2014: St. Joseph's at St. Francis (Seton Hall Thanksgiving Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Joseph's pulled away in the second half with size and strength, claiming a 64-42 win over St. Francis of Brooklyn. Natasha Cloud led the Hawks with 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Adashia Franklyn added 11 rebounds off the bench, helping the Hawks to a 46-25 rebounding edge. Eilidh Simpson led St. Francis with 12 points.
For family affairs, torturous Christmas music, magic feathers, taunting, the vagaries of fate, all the colors, and uncomfortable implications, join your intrepid and numb blogger after the jump.
On to game 2, and we've decided that we're rooting for whichever team has Seton Hall's bench. It's easier than moving. Early indications suggest that we've ended up rooting for St. Francis, which I'm okay with. I know it's probably better for Seton Hall's RPI, SOS, and other TLAs that they play St. Joseph's tomorrow, but sometimes I get tired of considering the big picture and just want to cheer for a team.
Pretty much everyone who's not here for the second two teams has cleared out. Seton Hall men are at the Prudential Center at 4 and volleyball is going for the Big East title at 5, so the Pirate people have mostly left. A couple of the usual suspects are still here, though. And there are Simmonses(eseseseses) everywhere. They will not relinquish Daisha and Ka-Deidre.
St. Joseph's brought a Hawk. Because, as we all know, the Hawk will never die. Unfortunately, the head doesn't fit tightly and the shade of maroon is a little off, so it looks like they brought their own turkey. This is a comment on the quality of this specific costume, not on the idea of the Hawk in general, please don't shoot me.
A couple of latecomers just sat next to me, not realizing that the start times had been swapped and Seton Hall had played at noon. And that, ladies and germs, is why you always come for both games of a doubleheader. Why wouldn't you? Free basketball is free! (And just to make my point, once they realized that Seton Hall had already played, they left. Why? WHY?!)
I should probably be disconcerted that a team from Brooklyn has no New Yorkers on it, right? Or that a team from Brooklyn has precisely one black player? I'm not crazy to be bothered by that, right?
At halftime, St. Joseph's is up 33-28. It's been sloppy for both teams. Eilidh Simpson is keeping St. Francis in it with 10 points, while the load is more balanced for St. Joseph's.
What is with the Christmas music, SHU? Stoppitomg.
It's okay, y'all. I can take the loneliness. Leave me here alone in these impossibly hard bleachers. That's all right. Just leave me here. You can all go. Just leave me here alone.
Signs your bleachers might be uncomfortable: your coach and his family would rather perch on a wooden box than sit in the bleachers.
This is going to sound weird and maybe a little unfortunate, but St. Joseph's looked much more like a Division I basketball team than St. Francis did, especially down the stretch. Their conditioning was way better, as was their form.
I hope Jordan Strode is all right after taking that hit to her braced right knee. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. Adashia Franklyn made some noise down low, going hard after offensive rebounds and blocking shots. I was very impressed with her. Chelsea Woods played a lot of the guard minutes off the bench in the second half with the absence of Strode, and comported herself well. Jessica Pongonis filled space in the middle.
Ashley Robinson (no, not that one) was all up on the offensie boards, following her shot. She definitely had some moments that were reminiscent of the professional Ashley Robinson. Kathleen Fitzpatrick sunk the dagger late in the second half with a long, high, arcing three that splashed through the net from somewhere in the vicinity of Cherry Hill. Her teammates occasionally had trouble spotting her. That might be because she's tiny. Sarah Fairbanks took advantage of the baseline all night- baseline and more height. She made a difference down low for the Hawks. Natasha Cloud did pretty much all the things, whether it was finding her teammates at the right time with the ball, pulling down long rebounds, or hitting shots from the outside. Ciara Andrews did a lot of her scoring in the second half.
I thought it was smart of Coach Griffin to conserve Cloud for a long stretch of the second half. They're going to need her tomorrow, and they didn't need her against St. Francis. (Also, if they go to stall ball, and she's holding it, does that mean the Hawks are utilizing Cloud storage?)
(...I'll show myself out.)
The Terriers' bench is very inexperienced. I think all of them are freshmen, and they showed it. Alex Delaney shows promise, but I don't know if I'd have a player with her build hanging out around the three-point arc as much as she does. Cassidy Derda looked a little lost out there, though she made some decent plays setting screens for her teammates. Blair Arthur is just adorably tiny. In general, though, they were not a memorable bunch. I hope they develop- you know how much I like seeing good basketball in the city. (Though see above caveat regarding the makeup of a team- if they aren't representing my city, they can't count as a city team.)
Jaymee Veney missed one ill-advised three pointer badly, and the St. Joe's fan section never let her live it down- the "airball, airball" chant came up every time she touched the ball. I think it got into her head, too. She didn't hit a shot afterwards, and she seemed disconcerted whenever they started up. That might also have been the defense, because they keyed on her pretty quickly. Leah Fechko had her moments of hustle, but then there was the play where she lost her balance and decided to literally sit the play out. Eilidh Simpson scored the first seven for the Terriers, but wasn't able to get the ball afterwards, as St. Joe's was able to adjust and change the passing lanes. I like the leadership of Katie Fox, both on and off the floor. She made a lot of good, smart plays. I think I expected more out of Sarah Benedetti, and she had moments where she looked like a solid senior, but she looked overmatched for most of the game, more than most of her teammates.
The St. Francis bench kept yelling to their players to box out. I don't think it really hit them that as hard as they were trying, St. Joseph's was bigger, stronger, and taller than they were, and no matter how much St. Francis threw their bodies in front of players, they weren't going to successfully keep St. Joseph's off the boards.
Officiating was unmemorable, so mediocre but otherwise survivable.
It took us a while to get out after the game, so we got to see one of the Hawks (I think Fairbanks, but don't hold me to this) use a volleyball to play soccer with a small child. D'awww.
Also, the Hawk will never die, but it will sometimes shed. I now have a Hawk feather in my coat pocket, because why not?
Props to the St. Joe's students who kept the noise up all through the game. I may not have been rooting for their team, and I may not root for their team tomorrow, but making the trip for women's basketball makes you a star in my book.
Odd note about this game- both teams wore their colors, St. Francis in bright blue, St. Joseph's in maroon. Hopefully either St. Francis or St. Peter's brought white.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
March 16th, 2013: St. Joseph's at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Joseph's overcame an eight-point halftime deficit, turning up the defense and heating up the offense to take the Atlantic-10 title over Fordham, 47-45. Natasha Cloud had 15 points and six assists for the Hawks, and Chatilla van Grinsven had eight points and 10 rebounds. Marah Strickland had 16 to pace the Rams.
For tight squeezes, forgotten souvenirs, horned helmets, hard picks, and pivotal moments, join your intrepid and congested blogger after the jump.
Good evening, everyone! We're coming to you on tape delay from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, host of the A-10 tournament final between Fordham and St. Joseph's.
The A-10 did a pretty good job turning around as fast as they did between the men's semis and the women's final- the men's semis ended about forty minutes before the scheduled tip of the women's game. I think they're encouraging people to stay to make the crowd look bigger- we've already been asked once if we wanted to move down. No, thank you, I like being able to see the big screen and to see the plays as they develop.
So far Fordham's showing great support, which doesn't surprise me, since all you have to do to get here is get on the D and keep going. And I like the arena. There's an abruptness to it that's very New York- once you're through the lines, BANG, the court's right there, so you can get caught up as soon as you walk in the building (though I'm sure that security is a touch more thorough at Nets games).
Great anthem to open things up. The crowd has been loud for both teams. Great atmosphere. Fordham got a 12-0 hole shot on the Hawks, and they're up 24-16 at the half, but I'm worried about the way they ended the half, and the way they've been running the clock down over and over again- Griffin is a good enough coach that I can see her team taking advantage of that in the second half.
Ilze Gotfrida got physical in the post. Surprising from a Euro. I don't remember much of Mireia Vila did other than the one foul.. Cindy Griffin really relied on her starters.
Ashley Robinson started the second half; I don't remember if she started the first half. She was a long-armed defensive presence who flicked away rebounds and affected shots. I wasn't terribly surprised when the one foul she committed was a stupid one; it does sort of come with the territory of the name. Erin Shields's shots looked good coming off her hands all the time, but she didn’t always get the roll, though sometimes she did. She reminds me a lot of her sister around the face. I think Ashley Prim let the one bad foul call early in the game get into her head a little bit. She still stayed active on defense, though. Chatilla van Grinsven got stopped up by Fordham switches, but on the other end she was a defensive mis-match for pretty much anyone she was up against- they had her on Erin Rooney or Arielle Collins, and you could tell that the extra height was affecting the Rams' view of the court. She's good. She's probably kicking herself about the missed free throws, though. Natasha Cloud ran the offense well, finding her teammates and going for loose balls.
St. Joe's adapted very well in the second half. I think in the first half they remembered they were no longer playing on their home floor and were in fact playing in New York. In the second half, they held it together and made the big plays that their team needed.
Charlotte Stoddart was great on the boards. I like her hustle. I don't know if she was the player on the bench who was getting the defense chant started, but if she was, then I like her even more, because the Fordham bench was really loud. The Rams leaned heavily on their starters- I think Christina Gaskin and Emily Tapio only came in when Arielle Collins and Samantha Clark fouled out.
Erin Rooney had some very good drives that didn't end the way they should have- one rolled off the rim, one got blocked- either of those could have been the difference. I like her instincts but I'm not sure if she's an A-10 player. I really like Samantha Clark, though; she's only a freshman, but there's something in her build and her style of play that reminds me of Erin Buescher. She needs to hit her chippies and stop thinking so much about the three-point line, but it's rare to see a mid-major player be as physical as she is; usually a big player like her ends up at a mid-major because she won't bang. Arielle Collins and Abigail Corning were both very active on defense, with Collins also drawing the duty of pounding the ball for fifteen seconds until Fordham started their offense. Marah Strickland started the game off hot, then drew a lot more defensive attention and started taking some bad shots.
I really don't know what to think about Fordham's offense. It reminds me unpleasantly of Villanova's offense, except that they don't have the three-point shooters that Villanova has. It reminds me just as unpleasantly of Rutgers's offense, but they don't have players who can create their own shots like Rutgers once did. Time of possession does matter in basketball, but not if you don't do anything with the ball after you control it.
The officiating in this game was decidedly interesting. When it starts out with the kind of arm hooking that would make Plenette Pierson blush and ends with an offensive foul called off the ball from across the court, that's the only word I can think of. Both coaches yelled at the refs a bit, and I don't blame them.
People around us kept running away for some reason. Look, I know I'm not in Fordham gear, and I know I'm loud, but I'm going to go hard for my city. Ne York has to represent, especially when dealing with Philadelphia.
A-10 legends honored at halftime, which was cool, followed by Drums of Thunder, which was very cool. I miss those kids.
Got to meet some Butler fans and welcome them to the Big East; should have done the same to the guy in the Xavier cap.
I still don't know what the offensive foul call was on Samantha Clark, but it essentially decided the game, especially when Fordham hesitated on the intentional foul. How you make the call from the other side of the floor, I will never know.
We're watching the awards ceremony now. St. Joe's is running around with their hats and shirts. All-championship team includes a kid from Temple, Rooney and Strickland from Fordham, and van Grinsven and Cloud from St. Joe's. Rooney looks like she wants no part whatsoever of her little trophy. Cloud is MOP of the A-10 tournament. That is a really shiny championship trophy. They announce each member of the winning team, then get their rings. Huh, I didn't think rings were that soon.
Okay, that's the one classy thing the St. Joe's band and students have done all day- they're chanting Cindy Griffin's name as she gets her ring.
And there goes the net, to a chant of "The Hawk Will Never Die!" I think the students are going to chant each player's name as she gets her cut. But we didn't stay for the whole thing, because the first person to go up didn't quite know how to cut the net- she started from the bottom and tried to cut vertically as her team shrieked directions at her.
The rolls in this game were truly bizarre for both teams. I guess you can expect that when two Jesuit schools play shortly after the selection of the first Jesuit pope. Shots were halfway down and went out, shots were all over the rim and in- it was crazy. And it was for both teams evenly, as if God wanted to prove that He didn't play favorites.
It wasn't the prettiest of games, but it was a solid game and worthy of a championship.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
March 8th, 2008: Atlantic 10 quarterfinals
The Atlantic 10's new slogan: We know where our towel is.
I don't want to say that I was psyched up for this road trip, but I was up at three in the morning the day we were scheduled to leave, and I haven't slept yet, except for the occasional catnap in the car. So if these notes are a little loopier, a little less coherent, and a little more oddly phrased than you're used to seeing from this prolific note-taker, there's a very good reason for it- I've been up for almost twenty-four hours straight. At least for the first three games of the fourplay. The balance are being written from the familiar confines of the 718.
Part of why I'm a little disoriented is because the quadruple-header tipped off almost two hours late because there was a leak in the roof that came down right over the lane in front of the high seed's bench, and a secondary leak near the scoreboard. Fun times for all as one brave gentleman went up on a cherry-picker several times to sort out what the problem was. He first attempted to hang a bucket from the rafters, but it didn't stick. Somehow, though, stretching a towel between two rafters seemed to do the trick without sagging into collapse for seven hours. I wish I knew what kind of material that thing was made of…
It was very hard to take the PA announcer seriously, because he sounded like a slightly higher-pitched Bullwinkle J. Moose. Same intonations.
Don't know how many teams sent representatives, but even from a distance, we recognized Catherine Proto and Nick DiPillo from the Liberty's coaching staff. Methinks they were scouting Beck; DiPillo was definitely taking more detailed notes in game 3 than he was the rest of the time.
First game was #1 Temple versus #8 Richmond. Richmond brought a fair contingent, and their mascot (who's revamped their costume and looks more like Jessica Drew than Peter Parker, if you follow what I mean) was very animated. The Temple fans were out in force, of course, what with this being Philadelphia and all. One of them brought a title belt emblazoned with the A-10 logo and they hollered "YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS!" when the Spiders came out for practice. Temple, like the other high seeds in the tournament, brought their band, as well as their mascot. Made for a nice loud crowd.
Richmond found themselves forcing shots against the tenacious and physical Temple defense- but I'm definitely not saying that Richmond was innocent in these matters. There was a lot of hitting by both sides. I got the distinct sense that neither team was particularly fond of the other. Unfortunately, the Spiders got the worst of a lot of the calls. Temple's extremely physical style… well, put it this way: if they weren't coached by a Philadelphia legend who's also an Olympian and a WNBA All-Star, I sincerely doubt the Owls would get the benefit of the doubt as often as they do. I was all set to cheer for Temple- home team of sorts and a Board Junkie on the bench- but I was so put off by the rough play that I threw in my lot with Richmond.
For Richmond, I loved me some Brittani Shells- nice aggressive shooter, filled the stat sheet decently. I also liked Christina Campion's all-around game. Most of the offense went through those two in the first half, and in much of the second half, although Joanna McKnight saw fit to make her presence felt in the second, scoring all ten of her points in the second half. I think Crystal Goring has potential if she can put a little meat on her frame and work on her footwork. Also, dear Spiders, please stop going over the top to people who can't catch passes. IT DOESN'T WORK.
Temple was rough, as I've mentioned; the ironically named Lady Comfort, along with the more normally named Shanea Cotton and Shenita Landry, were throwing their weight around freely. Cotton kept putting me in mind of a loaf of Easter bread with her thick plait of hair that kept coming undone, to the point where she actually had to be subbed out to retie her hair. I was impressed with Staley's careful balancing act in handling her post rotation, as Cotton and Comfort both picked up four fouls early in the second half, while Landry played with three fouls for most of the game. She managed to keep all three of them in play for most of the game until Cotton picked up her fifth on a really stupid attempted block. Ashley Morris, while I like the way she runs her team and fears nothing, is not 5'5". 5'3", maybe. On a good day. With Dawn Staley's stilettos on.
I knew Richmond was done for with about twelve minutes left in the second half, when they had four chances to tie or take the lead on this one possession (I don't remember the exact score at the time) and completely blew it. They would keep drawing closer, and then they would lose it. And they don't have time, because while Shells is only a freshman, Campion is a senior. I think Richmond will stay competitive in the conference, though, because they keep getting players and their coach does know how to use them- of course, a solid coach in the A-10 always has the chance to move up on the ladder, if you know what I mean.
Dwalkfan did a superb job mopping up during a set of free throws when the towel dripped slightly. Excellent job camouflaging the Richmond-blue sweater with that jacket, chica.
Gulbeyan worked this game as crew chief, and I think that did affect the officiating in Temple's favor, as mentioned earlier. I'd love to take apart Temple's record and check out the foul differential in wins and losses, see whether that's one of the critical factors.
Game two of the fourplay was #5 Dayton versus #4 Charlotte. From a fashion standpoint, I almost wished Charlotte had been the lower seed, if only because their road uniforms are far more attractive than their home whites. But then they wouldn't have been able to bring their most excellent cheerleading squad and a band that could transpose "Iron Man" into something for marching band and still make it recognizable, so there's that to be said for tiebreakers.
This was a much faster-paced game than the first- it was one of the fastest of the four. Both teams liked to run it a lot. Made it more interesting. Unfortunately, the refs did their damnedest to make it less interesting as a game and more interesting in terms of tournament seeding. Not amusing.
Charlotte goes full throttle in everything they do. They brought a sizeable, if not very loud, fan base; their cheerleaders were the most athletic out there (and at one point, they proclaimed themselves to be fuckin' metal); their band was among the most enthusiastic; their team, until approximately the fourth quarter of their game, left it all on the court. Remind me again why the Sting couldn't draw in the same effing town? The 49ers, at least in the first half, went after every loose ball and played tough, sticky one-on-one defense. I loved senior forward Sabrina Gregory, who had a way of running her team and was the linchpin of their defense. Guard Shannon McCallum also impressed me; I liked the way she looked for her shot. In general, though, Charlotte played a very balanced game; everyone scored, and looking at the boxscore, everyone played at least ten minutes, so there's that to be said for their coach's style. On the other hand, Charlotte doesn't seem to know what to do when things go bad. They got a lot of crappy calls against them on the offensive end, and when Dayton started to pull away on the strength of free throws and three-pointers, they just wilted. You could almost see the intensity level drop. It was a sad, sad thing.
Dayton looked like they weren't quite sure what to do with prosperity. Even at the end of the game, when they were running away with it by damn near thirty, they were taking threes with time on the shot clock. This is not on, people. This is not on. Running up the score on Charlotte is not going to make Temple quake in their sneakers; it's going to make Lady Comfort flatten you against the stanchion. Dayton looked to be a "live by the three, die by the three" team, and they survived by the three. That being said, I loved sophomore forward Kendel Ross, who came alive in the second half on the offensive boards- she had two that spring to mind as fierce follows, and one amazing pass to Nikki Oakland that resulted in an assist. I think she recognized the urgency that her senior teammates were playing with, recognized that Dayton needed this game to be even seriously considered as a tournament at-large, and kicked it up a notch, and I like that in a player.
Sometime during the game, the refs just turned on Charlotte like the 49ers owed them money or something, and it got ugly fast. At one point, when the foul differential was something like 8 to 3 with a lot of time left in the second half, I caught Gregory looking at the scoreboard and shaking her head in frustration. That was about the time that Charlotte took it down a notch, and it's a crying shame to see a team brought that low that easily, though I'm sure the onus is as much on the coach as it is on the uneven calls.
The worst part about the way the first half of the fourplay shook out is that I don't want to root for Temple, I don't want to root for Dayton, and I can't even root for the flaming abyss, because I don't want to end up in the flaming abyss myself, and also, where would they play the second game? I like GW. I don't want them to end up in a flaming abyss.
Speaking of George Washington, game three pitted the #2 Colonials against #10 Rhode Island (who, fortunately for GW's sanity, knocked St. Bonaventure out in qualifiers). GW does things right, man. Their band has jerseys with their class number on them, and they rocked out pretty hard. A big loud fan base came down for the game- makes sense, because they were pretty certain that they'd be around for the whole weekend- but it's still pretty damn awesome. They brought their mascot, and while they didn't have their cheerleaders, they did have their dance team, and strangely enough, I can see parallels between the dance team and the basketball team: they go about their business competently and classily, they're very good at what they do, they work well with each other, and there is a minimum of wasted motion in everything they do.
Rhode Island was in over their heads, and I think they knew it, but that didn't keep them from trying to make it interesting, and I salute them for that. Definitely didn't help their cause that their leading scorer was held to 1-12 shooting and got into foul trouble early. That all being said, I loved LaQuanda Brandon, who decided in the second half that she was going to do her level best to make this a respectable game. She seemed to be everywhere. This is a good thing. They also got great shooting out of Amanda McGrew, although GW seemed to figure her out after her third three. I enjoyed the bench play from Rhode Island more than their starters, actually; Brandon, Sierra Cooper, and Ebony Evans brought a lot more intensity and passion than the starting five.
Kimberly Beck. Mother of mercy. WANT. SO MUCH WANT. She could do with some muscle, especially on her toothpick legs, but WANT. She's one of those players who, as soon as she walks on the court with her team, owns the game and is clearly and totally in control of her team. Love her court vision. Love her defense. Love her shooting- she had one amazing clutch three as the shot clock was winding down, although I hesitate to use the word clutch when it comes to a game that was won by 27. Love her hustle. Love her intensity. I hope she's around with our second first-rounder. I think she'd be a great complement to Loree Moore. But George Washington brought a full team effort, and I think Whitney Allen may have played herself into the attention of WNBA scouts with her shooting and rebounding. Sarah-Jo Lawrence started off hot, but she got hurt in the second half and never came back in (though, granted, that might just have been because there was no reason to bring her back, but we'll know more about that during the semis). The Adairs are… well, the boy described them as a poor man's Paris twins, and I suppose that's true in a sense, but McKeown seems to have a rule that there must always be an Adair on the court, but almost never more than one; either that or he likes to screw around with PA announcers, because they were almost constantly in and out for each other. I think the better one came off the bench, but both of them seemed to be in the mold of big girls who are simply just big. I also don't think GW is going to lose as much as people think in terms of point guard play when Beck graduates, because I like Rivera; she just needs to get some of the rough edges smoothed out.
On to game four, Xavier versus St. Joseph's. If you're exhausted from reading these notes, don't worry; I was just as exhausted the day of the game, and by the time this matchup rolled around, there were kids asleep in the bleachers. This was a game that I thought St. Joseph's had a decent chance of stealing, since I wasn't sure how good Xavier was, and St. Joseph's has pulled interesting upsets on their home floor in the A-10 tournament before. The crowd wasn't as big as I would have expected it to be, but then again, there was that giant delay, and Hawk fans might have considered it a lost cause. Besides, a fair number of GW fans stuck around, so the arena looked halfway decent.
I really don't like the way these Musketeers handle themselves. I don't remember them having this kind of arrogance the last time I saw them, in the A-10 tournament two years ago. I'll admit that I'm a little biased because I don't like the way Xavier's been recruiting lately- the Purdue situation, the transfers from Rutgers- it all makes me uneasy about what McGuff is doing or promising. But they seem to carry themselves with a large chip on their shoulders. Honestly, if I were a Purdue fan and I saw this team, I'd be relieved that Ta'Shia Phillips wasn't on my team. She's nasty. Talented, don't get me wrong, but she plays dirty. She and Amber Harris seriously seemed to have it in for one of the Hawk forwards, and I don't understand why. Harris… she's freaky. She looked so out of place on the court because of her size that it was frightening. She reminded me a little of Garnett in her build. St. Joseph's had no answer for her, or for Phillips. Bear these words in mind. I liked the backcourt tandem of Taylor and Jennings, especially Taylor's shooting. On the other hand, while I enjoyed watching her on the court and the way she ran her team, I cannot take anyone named Special seriously. Yes. Special Jennings. I wish I were kidding.
Most of the Hawks had been wandering through the building throughout the elongated quadrupleheader, so I grew quickly fond of the tall, eccentric redhead who spent a lot of time shaking her booty to the music coming over the sound system. She turned out to be the hustling and oft-whacked freshman center Sarah Acker, who did her best against the bigger, stronger, and more aggressive Harris and Phillips. I'll say this for St. Joseph's: they embodied the essence of their school, the whole "The Hawk will never die" thing and the motto on all the banners around the campus- "The faith and strength to dare". They never gave up, even when Xavier was up big at the end of the game and showboating. Amy Wold's shooting and Loschiavo's playmaking impressed me- I think St. Joseph's, if they didn't have the rest of the Big Five to compete against in terms of recruiting, could do very well for themselves with the coach they have, if she doesn't decide to leave for a better position.
So after the second day, four teams were left to dance for the A-10 title: Temple, Dayton, George Washington, and Xavier.
Awards for the first day, from yours truly:
Best players: Ashley Morris, Temple; Kendel Ross, Dayton; Kimberly Beck, George Washington; Amber Harris, Xavier
Best coaching job: Dawn Staley, Temple
Best cheerleaders: Charlotte, by a mile- their squad was classy and athletic.
Best band: George Washington by a hair- the jerseys put them over the top. But all four top seeds brought great bands.
Best mascot: Richmond. Spidey actually worked with the Richmond cheerleaders on a couple of routines.
Best fan contingent: Close between Dayton and GW. Sorry, Philly fans, but you're going to have to do a lot more than you did to get the award.