November 17th, 2018: LIU at Saint Peter's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Saint Peter's started off strong and stayed well out in front of LIU in their 86-59 win. Zoe Pero had 19 points and 10 rebounds, leading five Peacocks in double digits. Kiara Bell had a team-high 16 points off the bench for LIU, with Brandy Thomas adding 13 points and 14 rebounds.

For freshmen, getting turned around, insistent terminology, epic fails, dodgeball, and a lack of experience, join your intrepid and perturbed blogger after the jump.

Road trip! It's not a very exotic road trip, but it's a road trip nevertheless, to the wilds, or at least the unfamiliars, of Jersey City, to cheer on LIU at Saint Peter's.

It's astonishing what better lighting and better bleacher placement can do to make a multi-use gym actually look like a place where basketball should be happening. Saint Peter's doesn't look like they have a terrible facility anymore. It looks bare-bones and minimalist, to be sure, but it doesn't look like unmitigated crap like St. Francis's gym does.

Just for the record, I still maintain that Saint Peter's should have kept Peahens for their women's teams, and I will continue to maintain this throughout any game notes that feature Saint Peter's. Also just for the record, the school seems to eschew the St. abbreviation for Saint, so I'll be doing my best to use their preferred style.

If this dude uses "ladies and gentlemen" to preface one more segment of the pregame announcements, I may blow a gasket.

There are a lot of people here in LIU gear. I know we have a few kids from Jersey, but on the other hand, almost everyone for Saint Peter's is from Jersey, so...?

I do like the pattern adidas is using for the background of the shooting shirts. Can't tell from here if it's tribal or feathers or camo or random, but it's cool. The shirts and the shorts don't quite match, though.

Tia Montagne is in a walking boot. I'm sad.

It should be taken for granted that I love the royal purple of Coach Del Preore's dress. Or maybe it shouldn't. I was about to say, "have you people met me?" but then I remembered most of you probably haven't, and given that my teams wear various shades of red, blue, maroon, black, and maize, you would have no idea that I gravitate towards purple like fouls gravitate towards post players.

Well. This is going about as well as I could have expected. It's 42-17 Saint Peter's at halftime, and frankly, it could even be worse. We are not good at basketball. Maybe this is a thing that will change at some point? It doesn't help that we have very, very little experience coming back, and a good part of it is already injured. I'm convinced Autumn Ashe is a figment of our collective imagination. Coach has already undone and redone her ponytail multiple times. For Saint Peter's, Briyanah Richardson has been a revelation, and she and D'Aviyon Magazine will be a heck of a one-two punch for the Peacocks for quite some time.

There are hairdos I have come to expect from cheerleaders, and lavender buzzcut is not one of them. I don't object, mind you. I'm a little amused that they just completely gave up on the giant white bow for her, though.

Free throws win ballgames. In the absence of an ability to win the ballgame, they do at least make you look like a D-I team, not a train wreck masquerading as one.

Well, that could have gone worse, I guess. I mean, I'm sure it could have gone better, but I can see ways where it could have gone worse. Saint Peter's has brought in a lot of talent, and while it might take some time for them all to mesh, they're not going to get beat up in the MAAC like last year. They have a lot of firepower. LIU's got a lot of freshmen, and they all look like they're scared of their own shadows, and anyone with experience is either injured, AWOL, or has regressed. It's going to be a long season in Fort Greene. Still my team, but doesn't mean I don't find them frustrating.

Kiara Bell was the one bright spot off the bench. She brings size that we sorely needed. She needs to work on her conditioning and extending her game ever so slightly, but she did an admirable job of finishing at the rim, especially with putbacks. I wish we'd been able to get more from Seneca Richards. And just to make it clear, by "more", I mean "anything other than an inexplicable refusal to either play her height or play the skill set she showed last year".

Ryan Weise got run later in each half and spent it either taking long threes or committing fouls. I don't think she's ready for prime time, but I think she was forced up in the rotation due to a lack of personnel. Shyla Sanford did a good job of getting in position to make defensive plays on the break, but I'm not sure about her on offense.

Ella Vaatanen shouldn't have to be taking the opening tip-off. She has a little bit of the height, but that's it. She's in over her head here, and I think it shows. Defensively, she had a world of trouble getting into position. Offensively, I don't know that she knew what she was supposed to be doing, posting up or launching jumpers. She got tasked with trying to guard Zoe Pero, who's a pure post, and it did not go well. At all. Brandy Thomas doesn't have the stamina she needs for the college game yet, but she's hard-nosed and gets the job done inside. I love her toughness. But she needs someone to complement her, and Ella is not that player.

Jeydah Johnson's shot was off. Way off. Side of the backboard off. Short of the rim off. She left the bench sometime in the second half with the trainer, holding her back, so maybe she's hurt- if I recall correctly, she's had back trouble before. But it's a problem when the person who's most willing to shoot- for much of the game, apparently the only person willing to shoot- is unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Camille Gray has quick hands on defense, when she's in position. But I'm honestly not sure who's more terrified on the floor, her or Tiya Misir. Tiya seemed paralyzed whenever she was running the offense, constantly looking back for the call. She's got to show some initiative at some point. I realize it's early. I'm sure she'll get better at this sort of thing, especially if Tia comes back to relieve some of the pressure. (Also, Tia and Tiya are homophones, so this could be a confusing few years.)

I honestly thought Jordyn Hawthorne got more time than she did. Maybe it was just time elapsed; she tended to finish quarters, and her minutes bridged the quarter break. Big body, but she didn't see a lot of use. Phylina Holmes got into the game late and made her biggest impression crashing out of bounds going for a loose ball. She's another big body Coach Mitchell needs to get refined, but she'll be good for them by the time Pero graduates.

Anna Maguire has a ridiculously quick shot. The word "snap" comes to mind. Instant offense, though I can see her going cold for stretches and shooting her team out of games just as easily as she shoots them in. Sammy Lochner also provided solid offense off the bench. Tyara McQueen had quick hands, which served her well when she got the steals, but not so well when she got called for the hand-check. She'll have to learn to restrain herself in that regard. But she's good.

I love Cinnamon Dockery's hustle. She made a lot of plays happen on the offensive glass and on defense. Her ball-hawking is on point. Briyanah Richardson puton a show, and I'm really excited about what she'll be able to do for the Peacocks in the next few years. She's already very well-rounded and poised for a freshman. She brings the driving game, and D'Aviyon Magazine brings the outside shooting. It's a deadly combination.

Zoe Pero killed us inside, and would have done a lot more if she'd been able to hold on to the ball consistently. She did a fantastic job of getting to the line and converting. Wil'lisha Jackson set screens and did the little things for the Peacocks.

I don't think we saw either coach at their best in this game- lots of sloppy mistakes from the plethora of freshmen for both teams. Officiating left something to be desired as well- at one point it looked like they were really going to go "no blood, no foul" rules- which is not going to work with two very passionate coaches.

(Speaking of which, Stephanie, you do know other people can hear you swearing, right?)

Long season up ahead. They're my team and I love them. It's just going to be a long year.

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January 28th, 2018: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Iona got off the schneid, breaking their 20-game losing streak with a 52-42 win over St. Peter's. Treyanna Clay and Alexis Lewis each had 12 points to lead a balanced Gael attack, with Lewis adding 10 rebounds. Zoe Pero led the Peacocks with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

For sweet release, being back in the New York groove, bad coaches, senior guards, and letting out one's inner Daniel Bryan, join your intrepid and relieved blogger after the jump.

How best to wash the taste of failure out of one's mouth than to head to a game where the two teams have four wins between them? And one team has all the wins? But always and forever, to heck with Patty Coyle. Iona should probably be able to beat St. Peter's. I certainly hope we are.

It's raining.

I swear St. Peter's actually changed the shade of their blue warm-ups between November and now.

I think that might be Talah Hughes in a boot for St. Peter's. Hey, we might actually have a chance.

I realize that we're the home team, but it still seems kind of rude to hop on the visiting team's bike to nowhere.

Tori Lesko is still in a boot for the Gaels. I'm sad.

It's halftime and we're leading and the world hasn't ended. It's only 25-23, so I should probably still be expecting us to screw it up somehow. Alexis Lewis has seven points and six boards to pace iona, while a whole flock of Peacocks have notched five points each. I'm worried about passing- theirs is better than ours. But I think we're shooting better. And if you put a gun to my head and told me I had to have either Billi Chambers or Patty Coyle as my team's coach, I'd take Chambers.

Pretty solid anthem. She hit her stride right at the end.

St. Peter's did not appear to realize there were two doors to enter the court from the locker room. The dance team did not appreciate having their tunnel crashed. It appears words may have been exchanged, and cheer seems unusually vindictive today. (I'm okay with that, especially the one cheerleader whose ululations drew a missed free throw from St. Peter's.) We're not sure if it was deliberate gamesmanship or if Coyle was in fact too stupid to realize there was another door. I'm a Liberty fan. I remember.

It's happening! It happened! We are no longer winless! Alert the media! Fire the party cannon! Release the hounds! Wait, don't release the hounds, that's a different meme.

I should not have been surprised that we beat a team coached by Coyle. Let's be honest, the nicest thing I can say about her is that she's had some phenomenal coaching support around her. She didn't quite ice her own shooter this time, but she was about two possessions late on doing the endgame things a coach should do, like timeout to advance the ball or foul to extend the game. (C'mon. It's 1.9 seconds left and you're down 10, make like Elsa and LET IT GO.)

You could tell it was "I'm frustrated, time to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks" time near the end of the third quarter when Coyle abruptly went to Anna Maguire and Precious Featherston. Featherston got tagged with a foul on a rebound. Maguire needs to either bulk up or tone up. One of those. She's very skinny. Samantha Meier brought physicality in her brief minutes, and I might have used her more if I were St. Peter's. She's reasonably good at setting screens, so maybe she could have done something to set up one of their shooters.

Much as I don't always understand the logic of bringing Alexis Lewis off the bench, I really do not understand the logic of bringing Sajanna Bethea off the bench. Does this mean St. Peter's has written off this season and is just trying to see what the freshmen have? Or is this some strategy I am just not elite enough to see? Her passing eye has gotten sharper- she seems to be looking for angles for her teammates more than for herself. Her shot seems to have somehow gotten slower, or the MAAC's gotten faster around her. A lot of things are possible. I think she was not well used in this game, though I don't think that's the only reason we won. Sammy Lochner does not believe the opponent should be accorded personal space, especially around the midline, although KK does it better. Haley Dalonzo was aggressive driving the lane, sometimes to her detriment- there was a very late charge call against her that helped seal the deal for the Gaels. She did not take well to being called for fouls, even less than most players do. She's got potential, though.

Zoe Pero has some nice moves inside, but someone has to teach her how to use the backboard more consistently. She had more weird bounces off the inside of the rim, both in her favor and not, than anyone I've ever seen. She did a great jbo cleaning up both her misses and her teammates' misses close to the rim. With some coaching, she could be very good. But, well. She picked St. Peter's, didn't she? Maybe Phyllis can step in. I think Daijah Martin might be being groomed to replace Bethea, at least positionally, but she's not nearly as good, or as assertive. She's got the body type to do some damage inside, but couldn't get going.

Brianna Tarabocchia got a lot of cheers when she was introduced and there was a lot of heat from the corner behind the St. Peter's bench when she fouled out during the foul derby, so I think her family came over from Jersey. She's not afraid to take them from deep- maybe a little too deep sometimes. Aggressive on defense, too. She's a nice piece for the Peacocks. Alyssa Velles started the game on fire, and I thought that was going to be how we got blackjacked, since we weren't able to find her out on the wing. But she cooled off and the defense tightened up, and once you take away her shot, she's not all that useful. D'Aviyon Magazine looked to penetrate and found few openings. Most of her shots were contested and off.

Someone really needs to get St. Peter's a shooting coach. With just a little fine-tuning, they'd probably average another eight to ten points a game. Then again, I'm okay with them being a mess of a team as long as I have a team in their conference.

Amelia Motz drove the lane for two quick points, then picked up two quick fouls and that was the last we saw of her for this game. Gotta be smarter than that, Amelia. Kristin Mahoney had one of the most confident games I've ever seen out of her and I'm just so proud of her right now! It turns out all along her bread and butter shot wasn't the three-pointer, like we were trying to make happen- it's the finger roll down the lane from the left side. If after three and a half years, either Kristin or Coach Chambers has figured out that she's not a pure distributor- well, I'm just glad she's finally finding her footing. Alexis Lewis, sporting brighter, bigger hair, was all over the glass. She plays bigger than she is sometimes, using every inch of her build (possibly including the hair) to get boards. This time, she was able to rein in some of her ballhog tendencies and not just chuck the first shot that came to mind.

Adrienne DiGioia wasn't quite ready for this. I feel like this is not the first time I've said this this season. She has her days when she looks like a good distributor, but she's not reacting fast enough to even mediocre college defenses. Fortunately for us, today Kristin was up to the challenge. Toyosi Abiola still has to work on her ball control, and on her accuracy. These are not new complaints. But she dove all out into the passing lanes (I think she was the one who ended up draped over the scorer's table at one point- she and Alexis both wear a lot of leggings and were diving into the passing lanes) and was disruptive on defense.

Rebekah Justice was not nearly as effective as she could have been on the inside. She's got to use her body more. I swear to the sweet hypothetical baby Jesus, if she launches one more three with that awful release, I may have to make her change her name. We have standards here in the sisterhood. She had chances to back down Pero- who's tall and not a twig but a lot smaller than Rebekah- and couldn't get through her. I have a problem with this from a 6-5 player. I understand why she didn't get a lot of minutes. Treyanna Clay took a lot of contested shots in the lane, and for some reason thought a straightaway three from the top of the key was a brilliant plan. No one asked you to unleash the dragon, Trey. Jayden Eggleston seemed to get stronger on the glass as the game went on, pulling down huge offensive rebounds to extend our possessions. I think I could live with this being the role she plays for us. She's got to be a little more accurate on her shot, especially since most of her shots are coming fairly close to the basket, but that should come with time.

I also can't say enough about the positive energy the crew on the bench has been bringing. Olivia Owens may already be on the all-time list of great dancers my teams have ever had, to the point where if you told me she won the rights to #14 off Damika Martinez in a dance-off, I might actually believe you. (And then demand video footage, for great justice, or at least lulz.) She and Shayla Middlebrooks have kept the mood light through stoppages and way up during big runs. And Tori Lesko's been continuing to be a leader in the huddle. I love Tori and I'm really bummed she's been hurt for so long.

Officiating wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. I thought we got the benefit of a couple of dodgy calls, but on the other hand, I don't think Coyle even got warned for being out of the box when she was up to the midcourt line, so there's that. They were unusually attentive to three-second calls.

Our PA guy got a little enthusiastic about a couple of long jumpers and thought they were threes when they were actually twos. I mean, really, Rich. Kristin was practically in the key.

Dance team did some pretty ambitious routines, and I couldn't help but wonder how St. John's would have pulled them off.

Shoutout to cheer and band for bringing the noise. We did what we could. I should probably pop a cough drop at some point.

Oh, and the rain had stopped by the time we got out of the arena.

We did it! We did it! We did it! Now let's do it again!

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November 14th, 2017: St. Peter's at LIU

Just the Facts, Ma’am: The Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn held St. Peter’s to under 28% shooting from the floor to come away with a defensive 57-46 win in their home opener. Denisha Petty-Evans led all scorers with 18 points. Talah Hughes put up a double-double for St. Peter’s with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but she was the only Peacock in double figures.

For unrequested fashion critiques, offensive struggles, defensive poise, new friends, making some noise in this joint, and the rough patches, join your intrepid and possibly sick blogger after the jump.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! We must always remember that basketball never stops. I think I have to hold on to that rather harder than usual right now. It’s opening night for the Blackbirds of LIU, as they take on the Peacocks of St. Peter’s. (Should be Peahens.)

The schools really seems to be emphasizing its academic colors in the stands- cheer has pastel blue shirts and the accents on everything seem to be blue.

I like LIU’s new warm-ups shirts, especially with the design on the back.

Coach Del Preore’s three-inch leopard-print heels are a bold choice. (She’s also cuter with kids than I expected, since she was dancing with a kidlet who I guess belongs to one of her assistants.)

At this point, should I just be assuming Paris Jones will never dress?

Band anthem! I always appreciate when the band gets to play the anthem instead of going to a recording.

At halftime, LIU is up 30-28 on St. Peter’s. Drew Winter is showing off her stepback jumper. Talah Hughes of St. Peter’s is having herself a day down low. I think she heard the years of hype and accolades for Sajanna Bethea and decided that this was going to be her year instead

The PA guy can miss me with this “Lady Blackbirds” nonsense. We’re Blackbirds.

Does no one give the PA guy a pronunciation guide? This dude mispronounced Sajanna, and she gave him a double-take like you wouldn’t believe.

I like the gradient effect on the Peacocks’ uniforms.

The tickets got misprinted as being for the NEC championship, and somehow I was the first person checking in at will call to notice this.

Foam fingers! Blue ones! See, I told you LIU was emphasizing the academic colors more. I’m not sure how I feel about this when the team name is the Blackbirds.

I still do not have enough rhythm to keep up with the spirit squad.

Going to LIU games is going to be a lot of fun this year if Denisha Petty-Evans’s family shows up as loud as they did tonight. At least I’m assuming they’re her family; they were loudest when she was announced and when she did things, though they were also pretty enthusiastic for Drew Winter.

Sitting in front of a bunch of St. Peter’s fans was awkward, but survivable. We just had to be louder than they were, and the scratchiness of my throat suggests that we pulled it off.

Can cheer and pep squad please coordinate their chants? I suppose the cacophony has a strategic use, but as a fan, I need to know what I’m supposed to be yelling.

Samantha Meier has a big body, and I get the sense she knows how to use it. I also get the sense that she would like to use it more often. Brianna Tarabocchia was mostly in at the end of quarters. I don’t have any clear recollection of what she did on the floor. Precious Featherson got her time in the second half, unless her substitution in the first half wasn’t announced. She was pretty solid in the paint. Had a good look down low that didn’t go down.

Zoe Pero managed to get called for all the fouls that I thought were on Talah Hughes (seriously, on all three of her second-half fouls, I had the pen poised over Hughes’s foul count, and then I had to dart back down). She showed some range, but she had a tendency to shoot into contact. It did not serve the Peacocks well. (I do have to ask my Noona for some good Greek insults for the next time one of my teams plays them, though. I should get in touch with my roots, after all. Nothing too heinous, just enough to be distracting.) D’Aviyon Magazine got most of the guard minutes off the bench, showing some speed, a nice-looking shot, and perhaps less of an inclination to listen to her coach than is wise in a college freshman. I mean, okay, if Patty Coyle were my coach, I might not be listening either, but that is from my painful experience as a Liberty fan, not any sort of experience as a college athlete.

It is not a good idea to leave Alyssa Velles open for three. St. Peter’s was able to take advantage of some bad defensive switching by LIU to get her looks, and I think we’re fortunate more of them didn’t go down. I think she’s the one who tripped Drew Winter, so I’m not charitably inclined towards her. Daijah Martin had a really nice rebound on a second-half shot where her timing struck me as exceptional. Looking back, I think I should be surprised she didn’t play more; on the other hand, Pero was doing what St. Peter’s needed defensively, and also I should never be surprised at Pat Coyle’s substitution patterns. Sammy Lochner brought speed, but not much else.

Sajanna Bethea had an emphatic block on DeAngelique Waithe, and I keep forgetting that she can, in fact, step out and hit the three occasionally. She was hassled, and occasionally doubled, and couldn’t keep hold of the ball on the baseline. This was not her night. Perhaps having her name messed up during intros messed with her head, or maybe our defense was just that tight. Talah Hughes took advantage of some serious size mismatches to score in the paint and tear down a boatload of offensive rebounds. Such a fantastic game. I think she might just come into her own this year, and while that might be a little later than St. Peter’s might hve been hoping for, it’s still pretty awesome.

Someone needs to get Coach Coyle in touch with Mangina’s tailor. Phyllis’s suit looked spectacular.

I’m not a fan of the rolled-up shorts look that Jeydah Johnson and Destoni Willock are rocking. You do you, but I feel like y’all would be more comfortable if y’all just got shorts that fit right.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Destoni’s ready for primetime yet. It’s her second game, I’m not terribly surprised. Seneca Richards got some good minutes, mostly in the second half, including a big block on Bethea that I wasn’t eexpecting from her (I’m sort of used to Seneca being a three-point specialist). I love the defensive hustle that Ella Vaatanen brought to the floor. Her head wasn’t always in the play (during one sequence it was in fact her shoulder that was in the play, on a deflection she should have been paying more attention to), but she was disruptive, in the best of ways. Tia Montaigne has a ridiculously, gloriously high-arcing shot. I’d like to see it go in a little more often, but I’ll be satisfied just looking at it. She still needs to figure out her spots on the floor, but she’s a freshman, so I can deal with that.

Denisha Petty-Evans ran point well, I thought. She drove the lane and took contact willingly. I don’t know if she and Coach are fully on the same page of the playbook yet, but it’s always a learning experience when you bring in a new point guard. She definitely runs the game faster than Drew Winter does. I’m not saying that as anything against Drew, mind you. Everyone’s got a different style. Denisha drives; Drew’s clearly been working on her crossover and her stepback. Her floater, maybe not so much.

I love DeAngelique Waithe’s defense to itty-bitty pieces. I love how she defends the inbounds like a demented spider. She rebounds like crazy and throws in a wicked blocked shot or two. But goddamn if her offense isn’t a dumpster fire that has been further set on fire sometimes. You’d think no one had ever told her to aim at the square on the backboard when she throws up those putbacks at the rim. I can understand why Coach got frustrated with her so much last year. Stylz Sanders did her some work on the offensive glass, and she and Drew both got stuck with some rough mismatches on the defensive end, dealing with Hughes down low. This is not a good plan, especially as it concerns Drew. Stylz also has trouble finishing at the rim, but I can’t fault her hustle. I really like what Jeydah Johnson has brought to the floor. She’s got a nice three-point shot, but she’s not afraid to throw her weight around down low, either. I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops over the next couple of years.

I love LIU’s team defense. The biggest problem I’m seeing right now is that we can make the first play on defense- the rebound, the block, the deflection, the forced miss- but we can’t always recover to make the second. Our reaction times need to be better. Yes, I realize we’re talking the NEC here, and there are probably reasons why I shouldn’t be expecting them to react as quickly as I’d like. On the other hand, we were playing a MAAC team that historically hasn’t been very good, so I feel like we should at least have been faster on the uptake than they were.

Officiating was very focused on travels in the early part of the game. There was a lot of contact they were letting go. Drew got a forearm to the throat, and play was stopped briefly after DeAngelique was hit in the face. Given the back and forth between DeAngelique and Bethea, I really thought this game was going to end with one or both of them getting a technical- there were a lot of little elbows, shoves, and other such post player shenanigans going on all night.

Despite the usual array of commentary, the GNoD are not a fashion blog. However, I’m going to question Coach Del Preore’s choice of the black sheath for a game day, only because she spends a lot of time stalking the sideline, and it rode up on her more than once. (Yes, Steph, I saw you having to pull the dress back down. I see almost everything.)

LIU may not be very good, but they’re fun to watch. They’ve got the defense down- the end of game press was awesome. The offense is the more difficult part. In other words, the story of my life as a basketball fan.

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February 22nd, 2017: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma’am: Marina Lizarazu’s driving lay-up with 3.4 seconds left was the deciding basket in Iona’s 51-50 comeback win over St. Peter’s. Lizarazu finished with 17 points and five assists. The Gaels were led by Alexis Lewis, who had 25 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, to go with 10 rebounds and six steals. St. Peter’s got strong performances from Sajanna Bethea (19 points, nine rebounds) and Zoe Pero (18 points, nine rebounds) in the loss.

For crutches, swag, hashtags, accepting small children, trains (but not planes or automobiles), last-second shots, and just a soupçon of fear, join your intrepid and introspective blogger after the jump.

Today’s not Senior Day for Iona, but it’s still the last home game of the regular season. The day off was already scheduled, so here I am on an uptown 6 train, working my way towards Pelham Bay Park and the 45 bus that will take me to New Rochelle.

Going to games alone is a quieter, but still thrilling experience. There’s not as much pressure to be loud, but at the same time there’s more freedom.

I am not okay with this stop and go on the 6 line. I have a bus to catch, y’all. What is with this holding us for no good reason?

Made the bus. Spent a good part of the afternoon in New Rochelle just chilling and catching Pokemon. The taco grill near Iona is pretty good.

Fun fact: Barnes and Noble gift cards can be used at collegiate bookstores if those bookstores are run through BN College. Fun fact: friends and family who don’t know what to get me get me Barnes and Noble gift cards. Swaaaaaaaaaaaag.

This is not of the good: starting forward Treyanna Clay is on crutches, with her right foot in a boot. Tilasha Okey-Williams is out of the sling she was in last game, but she doesn’t appear to8e active either. St. Peter’s is not good, but one of their star players just happens to be a bruising post, Sajanna Bethea. I’m not real thrilled about this turn of events.

I like Iona’s new warm-up shirts with the #MindOn2 hashtag.

Tilasha, don’t play with your saran wrap.

At halftime, it is 26-23 St. Peter’s, and I am not here for this. There’s a hotshot freshman for St. Peter’s, Zoe Pero, who has 11 for the Peacocks to power them ot this lead. The rebounding has been hot mess for Iona. I am not amused.

I am, however, completely and totally here for Marina Lizarazu hitting game-winning shots. (Yes, she traveled. Yes, she pretty much just pretended she was playing running back. Given how bad these refs were most of the night, I will take it and you will like it.)

Imani Martinez played very briefly near the end of the third quarter, as another big body to throw at Iona. They were not impactful seconds. Samantha Meier brought physicality on the glass. I’m surprised they don’t use her more, but then again, that means fewer minutes for Pero and Bethea, and that might not be good for the Peacocks’ future. Alyssa Velles is very offensive-minded- she’s in the game to chew gum and shoot threes, and I think she just ran out of gum. She tries on defense, but for the most part, she was the offensive side of offense-defense substitutions. Something about the way Janelle Mullen reminds me of a cat- maybe it’s her eyes, maybe it’s the way she holds her hands out. I don’t know. But she’s quick and she sees the angles. If she could finish at the rim, we’d be talking about St. Peter’s breaking their losing streak, and these notes would be much angrier. I’m not sure what year she is, but I know she’s not a senior, so she has time to work on finishing through contact (and without contact- there was no excuse for two of her early misses).

Pat Coyle apparently believes the children are her future, because she started three freshmen, and I don’t know if I’d start Lochner or Tarabocchia over Mullen based on what I saw tonight. Brianna Tarabocchia brings effort on defense, which is a good sign out of a freshman, and she was the one to come out of the scrum with rebounds time and time again. Sammy Lochner was unmemorable. Talah Hughes seemed to caught between positions, unsure whether she should be taking jumpers or going inside. I’ve always thought of her as a forward, but St. Peter’s lists her as a guard. I’m not sure if that’s new, though.

Zoe Pero made one heck of a first impression, scoring inside and out to the free throw line. I don’t know if she’s that good or if she just wasn’t on the scouting report and we left her open. She did a decent enough job of hitting contested shots that I’d like to believe she’s just that good. I mean, this is St. Peter’s, and this is Pat Coyle’s team, which means if she’s good she’s going to get buried on the bench in the very near future. Sajanna Bethea has a nicer midrange jumper than I remembered, and still brings the physicality inside. She can be reckless when she drives- her first two fouls were both offensive, for running over Iona defenders. Getting run over by Sajanna Bethea is probably even less fun than getting run over by your average offensive player.

It’s late in the year to say St. Peter’s is a team in transition, but maybe they’re getting a head start on 2017-18. Pero is promising, and she and Bethea will be a very dangerous frontcourt next year if the Peacocks can get out of their own way. (Which is not guaranteed with a team coached by Pat Coyle. Me? Bitter Liberty fan? Naaaaaawwwwww.)

It’s good to see Philecia Atkins-Gilmore back on the floor, bringing the energy. I admit, she’s even fun to watch on the bench, cheering her teammates on. Phee’s going to be a coach someday, mark my words. Kristin Mahoney was surprisingly solid. I’m wondering if she’s made the quantum leap. She seemed confident running the point when the Gaels were forced to go small. If she’s found her confidence instead of looking like a deer in the headlights, I’m thrilled for her. Tori Lesko brought the hustle, scrapping for loose balls on the floor and disrupting plays. I love her heart, even if I don’t love her pass catching abilities.

Amelia Motz has shoulders that make me need to go to the gym. It’s not that they’re crazy over-built like Loree Moore’s, but the definition is eye-catching. I’d like to see her be more assertive, but that will probably come with time (and perhaps with Lexi not chucking as many shots). Treyanna Clay showed us her heart today- I suspect she had no business playing in this game, and she gave us 33 minutes of defense. She had trouble hanging on to the ball, and she seemed more tentative on offense. All things considered, I don’t care. Get well soon, Trey. Karynda DuPree, for three quarters, regressed back to her sophomoric self. She was missing bunnies and letting them get into her head. She was softer on the glass than she should have been. But in the fourth quarter Karynda was all business. She found her groove on the inside. She rebounded harder. She shut down Janelle Mullen with a tough, tough block late in the game to help seal it.

Alexis Lewis is as capable of shooting us out of a game (like she did in the first half) as she is of shooting us back into it (like she did with three threes in the fourth quarter). What makes the difference for her, and why she’s so critical to have in the game whether she’s hitting or not, is her ferocious rebounding. Lexi doesn’t care whether you have the ball. She’s going to make sure you don’t have it anymore. She taps. She pokes. She deflects. She makes the plays in the air that either she or one of her teammates can finish on the ground. She’s enigmatic sometimes, and frustrating sometimes, and glorious so much of the time. Marina Lizarazu carried the load for most of the game. I think she was frustrated at the contact that wasn’t being called on St. Peter’s. We’re going to miss her when she’s gone, but let’s enjoy her while we have her.

Something that struck me tonight that I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to see from Iona often- their ballhandling on the ground was phenomenal. There were three sequences- one from Tori, one from Lexi, one from Marina- where the Iona player was on the ground and still maintained her dribble. Given how much fun the officials were having with the definition of travels tonight, that was critical to curtailing the turnovers any further.

I didn’t see how Trey went down. I saw her sort of halfway down and not able to get up. She tried to put weight on her legs- you could see them trembling, though. She was walked off to the locker room with support from some of the bench staff. She came back to the bench for the end of the game, but she had the crutches again. Trey :(

Officials. Oy gevalt. All I ask for is consistency. If you call the light touch on Iona, call it on St. Peter’s. If you’re not going to call St. Peter’s for forcing the infraction, don’t call it on us.

Free throws win ball games! Both teams missed more than their fair share.

The kids behind me were annoying to start out with, but once they got into the game, the extra noise ammo was appreciated. And they played a decent biddy game. (Go into the paint, though.)

I think, though I’m not sure, this is the first time I’ve ever heard a pep band attempt to play “Everybody Dance Now (Gonna Make You Sweat)”. If it was, it was surprisingly awesome, or awesomely surprising, one of those.

So in the end, it turned out to be worth the day off, and the sleep that will be short when I get home, and the staggering array of public transit vehicles I have taken today. (Two buses, three trains going up; one bus and two trains going back.) It was a worthy farewell to the Hynes for the season.

See you in the fall, Gaels. Keep fighting the good fight.

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February 21st, 2016: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A strong start gave the Iona Gaels the cushion they needed to beat St. Peter's, 64-50. Joy Adams had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Iona, with Alexis Lewis contributing 19 and seven off the bench. Hala Mostafa and Sajanna Bethea each had 13 to pace the Peacocks.

For travels, mild pink rage, defiant pins, brilliant crazy plans, defensive tip drills, personnel mistakes, heat-checks, multi-colored Sharpies, and accidentally firing someone else's coach, join your intrepid and somewhat charitable blogger after the jump.


Hey, y'all! How y'all doin' on Daytona Day? Well, for your intrepid blogger, it's not Daytona Day, it's Iona Day. We're at the Hynes Athletic Center for my last Iona game of the season. (Possibly ours, but definitely mine. I had a crazy idea, so my honey may be doing a cannonball run next week.) The Gaels host St. Peter's, giving us another opportunity to vent our spleen upon Patty Coyle.

It's PinkZone at Iona, and they're offering free admission if you wear pink. I haven't seen anything for donations yet, so I'm a bit irked, but maybe they're just not set up yet. We had a miscommunication with our ticket supplier, so I ended up in pink, which also annoys me. (I don't believe in "raising awareness", I believe in raising money. Pink shirts mean nothing without support for research and treatment.)

Iona's struck up a deal with ESPN, so everything's on ESPN3, which means they had to adjust the lighting. (It's about time.)

I see the milestone ball for Aaliyah Robinson's 1000th point. Iona does a good commemorative ball.

I don't know what happened, but they just replaced the net in front of the road bench.

At halftime, Iona is up 36-22. Alexis Lewis and Joy Adams each have 10 for the Gaels; Sajanna Bethea has eight for the Peahenscocks.

I forgot my wi-fi card today and Iona's guest network isn't letting me sign on, so I am a very frustrated Johnnie. And a very frustrated Pirate. And a very frustrated Ram.

They honored a trio of breast cancer survivors at half, and they're selling shirts with the proceeds going to breast cancer research, but apparently they got, er, shirty with my husband for wanting to donate without buying a shirt.

The biddy game went a smidge overtime, and the Peacocks looked like they were about ready to start clearing the kids off the court themselves.

Woo-hoo! Autograph day! And a win! That's the best combination. We got our scorecard signed- Iona uses the variety pack of Sharpies, so we have all kinds of colors. (Treyanna Clay knows: purple Sharpie is best Sharpie.) They didn't quite have enough tables, so by the end you had all the seniors clustered with Alexis Lewis and Philecia Gilmore at the last table. I mean, I was okay with that because, hey, that's the cool kids' table.

You get the feeling St. Peter's might be a better team if they had a better coach. At least I do, but I've had misgivings about Patty Coyle since she took over the Liberty. I know I'm biased. But there were personnel decisions she made that affected her team and were questionable at best.

Breana Spencer came off the bench late and had a nice and-1 on Kristin Mahoney. She might have potential if she's able to turn those long limbs into a defensive asset. Marcia Senatus played in the first half, had one spectacular steal, and then never got in the game in the second half. Alyssa Velles put in the last basket for the Peacocks, a free throw line jumper, but never got the ball in position to fire up a three. Bridget Whitfield mostly seemed to be frustrated. Imani Martinez has a big body, but no touch.

Samantha Meier started the game, got two quick fouls in the first quarter, then fell into the Bermuda Triangle and was never seen again. Hala Mostafa got the second-half start and went to work. Every game, she'll pull out one beaut of a hook shot, usually late in the game. She's not my idea of the ideal ballhandler, but she did the job well enough, even against the Iona pressure. She positions herself well on the boards, too. Sajanna Bethea will be brilliant if she finds a coach and learns to handle herself down low on defense without fouling. She's got some pretty, pretty offensive moves, and no fear. I love to be frustrated when she gets open for the midrange jumper.

Rebecca Sparks slashed through the lane for pretty much all her moves. That started to work against St. Peter's in the fourth quarter- Iona's defense had toughened back up, and the Gaels got two offensive fouls against her (one charge, one push-off, I think, but it might have been two charges). I don't know how thoroughly her head was in the game, though; there was a sequence where it looked like Bethea had to talk her down, and it seemed like an odd dynamic to have the sophomore talking the senior back into the game. Talah Hughes tried to get going in the second half, but when she got more aggressive, she started getting called for fouls. We'll talk a little more about the refs later.

Kristin Mahoney is kind of adorable. Still wet behind the ears, but adorable nevertheless. Casey Wortley went back and forth between not setting the screen strongly enough (thus letting the defender get around her with ease) and trying to set it too hard (which led to the offensive foul on the moving screen). Iida Ahvenainen really needs to hit the weight room, or do whatever is necessary to get more oomph on her shot- all her shots fell short. She still looks lost out there, but you can see the effort. Treyanna Clay was very active on the boards, even if she didn't come down with a lot of them. I think she needs to get a little more experience working with her teammates in order to be the screener and setup person she needs to be. Alexis Lewis was fantastic. I love watching her shoot. I love watching her rebound. She's a game-changer, and she could be something special one of these days.

Marina Lizarazu was not making good decisions with the ball today. She had some good passes, but her shot selection was really bad, and if the officials had been paying more attention, she would have gotten dinged for a boatload of turnovers. She and Aaliyah Robinson rocked the backcourt pressure. A-Rob was solid on defense and hit a three early. She'll always make at least one heady play on the ball that makes me love her. Philecia Gilmore brought the offense in the second half and helped bring the ball up. Sometimes she got a little shot happy- she and Lexi both have a tendency to heat-check themselves and come up lacking. I'll never fault Fee's passion, though.

Karynda DuPree was back to being passive today, soft on defense and tentative on offense. She had a pretty sweet block on a Sparks drive, though. At least she wasn't throwing up three-pointers, which is what used to happen when she was playing like that, so that's an improvement. And I've learned that we're getting her for another year, so that's big. I never thought we'd miss her, but she's grown on me. Joy Adams came on strong as the game went on. She's at her best when she's driving, using the jumper to shake things up, instead of relying on the jumper and then driving. At least that's my opinion. She's phenomenally athletic, and if she could shoot straight she'd be a sure-fire draft prospect.

Strange personnel decisions on both sides. I understand Iona going deeper into their bench earlier on, given the opponent, but I wasn't expecting to see Iida or Casey in the first half. As for St. Peter's... Senatus plays passing lanes well. You'd think that would be useful when Iona's ball movement amongst the forwards was sharp. So of course she didn't play the second half. And then there was the Bethea foul situation: with 3:25 to go in the second half, Coyle put Bethea back in with two fouls. On the next possession, six seconds of game time later, Bethea picks up the third foul. Why, why, why, why would you put your top scorer back into the game in that situation? (And why would you not drive at her in the second half after she picked up the fourth, Iona?)

Iona got the benefit of most of the whistles today. There were a couple of sketchy out of bounds calls, but Denise Brooks says those are the hardest calls in the game, and I'll believe her. But on travels, on fouls, on contact, Iona was getting the calls. I'll take it. I won't be happy about it, but I'll take it.

Buzzer beaters are in the air. Even tiny children can hit them now.

For some reason, the PA announcer kept including Jenny Palmateer on the St. Peter's coaching staff. Who has been at Monmouth for five years. Who has never been affiliated with St. Peter's in any way, shape, or form, from what I can tell from her bio. Pat Coyle's WTF face was utterly priceless. And then they issued a correction. That still included Palmateer.

Iona did what they needed to do, and Lexi's going to be a star. I hope. She's streaky, but I think she just might be okay.

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December 20th, 2015: St. Peter's at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: After a slow first quarter, Seton Hall took control and defeated St. Peter's 81-65. Aleesha Powell led all scorers with 17, one of four Pirates in double figures. Tabatha Richardson-Smith added 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Shakena Richardson had 15 points and eight assists. Talah Hughes had a team-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench for St. Peter's.

For mild inaccuracies, big hair, disconcerting the shooter, hissy fits, finding the big girls, backaches, shooting contests, bad shot selection, and escaping, join your intrepid and festive blogger after the jump.


Hello and welcome to one of the holiday editions of the Game Notes of Doom! Your intrepid blogger is up entirely too early and on the way to Seton Hall for a noon tip against St. Peter's. So far, knock on wood, public transit hasn't messed us up yet, but we've got two more transit authorities to interact with, so one never knows.

And PATH didn't disappoint in that regard, lagging for close to fifteen minutes due to unannounced single-track operation.

Seton Hall is not good at early games. The first quarter was a tie, and the Pirates are up eight at the half, 44-36. Aleesha Powell has 15, Shakena Richardson 11. It's been a sloppy game by both sides, with a lot of passes to nowhere and a lot of missed shots..

The refs are already under fire after not bothering to review a foul during which Aleesha Powell's head hit the stanchion. There was a legitimate chance to look at it as a flagrant, but they didn't even review.

Tab, I really do want to like you, but on days when you play like crap and you act like nothing is your fault, we're going to have problems.

I really wish Patty Coyle weren't the head coach at St. Peter's, because I think I could get to like some of their players. But I can't get past their coach and the failure she was as the Liberty coach. I hold grudges. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Janae Mayfield came in right at the end of the game. Alyssa Velles saw minimal time at the end of both halves, launching a deep three that had no chance of doing anything. Rebecca Sparks ran point when Marcia Senatus was in foul trouble- she had one nice pass to one of the posts (I want to say Bethea) but was otherwise unremarkable. Janelle Mullen shows promise, but I feel like she's trying to play shorter than she is- she gets low to the ground and it looks uncomfortable for her. She's got some really slick moves, and I think she just needs to get comfortable in her skin. She's going to be something special for them, though.

Talah Hughes came off the bench first in the first half and really provided a spark for St. Peter's. She's fearless inside and has a good nose for the ball. Plus, let the record show I'm always a sucker for a player who can rock an Afro, even if it's just a mini-fro. I was less happy with her after the play where Aleesha went head-first into the stanchion on a hard foul, but I wasn't quite as convinced as everyone else that it was a flagrant. (But you still have to review, Aldrich, and the words "doesn't mean anything" should not come out of your mouth at any point during the conversation.) Neechelle Ingram poured in the points late and was solid in the middle. I think she was the one with the big fan group behind the Peahens'cocks' bench, because they got pretty loud when she was putting in buckets in the last two minutes.

Bridget Whitfield is vocal, and not always to her team's advantage- she barked the refs after a couple of out-of-bounds plays. I really like Marcia Senatus- she has a nifty knack for hesitation moves, getting her defender in the air, and creating space for herself.

Sajanna Bethea has no fear in the lane. She's not always accurate, but she uses her build well and gets the job done. Seton Hall did a better job in the second half of denying her the ball, and that helped power the second half for them. Hala Mostafa seemed less involved in the offense than the last time I saw St. Peter's, but that might just be the change in personnel and the emergence of Bethea and Hughes. Her shot is still very strange-looking. Samantha Meier showed off a midrange jumper, but her primary purpose in the offense seemed to be to set screens and picks to get their shooters open- she had a beautiful one to get Senatus free for a three.

I love when the deep bench players get to see some time. Claire Lundberg came in in the last couple of minutes and actually took a shot that was not a three! Do your thing, Claire! Martha Kuderer wasn't able to follow up her last good game with a strong performance here- she got lost on defense a lot. Taylor Byrne showed her nose for the ball, but for the most part, she was a step behind on getting to the glass. Jordan Molyneaux came in once Lubirdia Gordon got two fouls and proceeded to commit two of the quickest fouls I've ever seen in my life. She was back on the bench in short order, only returning when the game was in hand.

Jordan Mosley needs to learn when not to shoot, but other than being a bit of a ballhog near the end, she gave good minutes. LaTecia Smith flaunted her speed, especially her closing speed, disrupting the ballhandler from behind a few times with it and getting flashy steals. Her clock management is getting better, too. She drives the lane without fear. I love it.

Tabatha Richardson-Smith got out of her funk somewhat in the second half, but that might have been the worst 14-point performance I've ever seen in my life. She took ill-advised shots, both outside and in the lane. She rebounded well, but a lot of those were rebounds tipped to her by her teammates. Her defense was sorely lacking. I know I'm being hard on her, but I expect a lot from her- it's the only way I'm going to see her come summertime, and I believe that she could be there if she puts her mind to it. Tiffany Jones had an off game with some flashy plays, and I think she knew it was a bad game- she seemed pretty frustrated when she went to the bench for the last time. Lubirdia Gordon showed how useful she can be when she's on her game- all of our tiny guards were able to find her under the basket for easy lay-ups, and she blocked shots like there was no tomorrow.

Shakena Richardson picked us up early when we needed her. She used her speed to get the offense going on one end and keep the St. Peter's offense off balance at the other- there was one sequence where she disrupted the ballhandler to the point where Tiffany (I think) ended up with the steal. She didn't get credit for the steal, but she made it happen. Aleesha Powell went in with floaters and fearlessness. She was the catalyst, and not just because everyone wanted to get revenge for her.

Momentum-swinger: the oft-mentioned hit on Aleesha by Hughes. Aleesha came back to hit the free throws, and Seton hall found their offensive groove.

Best sequence of the game: Talah Hughes attempting a shot, having it blocked acrobatically by a flying Tab, not taking the hint from the universe, grabbing the loose ball, attempting to drive in the paint, and having the second shot rejected with authority by Bird.

I like the part where Coyle wigged out over Seton Hall calling timeout to maintain possession of a loose ball. She completely lost it. I just shook my head and laughed.

The band honored this weekend's big event by playing both the opening theme and the Imperial March from Star Wars.

The band also played "Uptown Funk". I see you dancing, JaQuan. Have fun.

We need to be crisper. We need to play smarter. We need to not be looking past St. Peter's to the Big East season. Because it's time for the BEasties to come out and play, and a game like this isn't going to cut it in the BEast. We can't keep jacking threes, we can't keep committing stupid fouls, we can't keep passing to the bench and the band, and most importantly, we can't keep not listening to the coach when he says things. (Unless "motion" is actually a codeword for "Tiffany, take a three with 23 seconds left on the shot clock.")

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January 11th, 2015: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Iona started strong and never trailed in a 77-43 thrashing of St. Peter's. Damika Martinez had 14 points to lead the Gaels, joined in double figures by Aaliyah Robinson and Marina Lizarazu with 13 and Karynda DuPree with 12. Sajanna Bethea and Talah Hughes each had 12 to lead St. Peter's.

For give and go, superheroines, hard bleachers, Gaels running the world, cruising on a Sunday afternoon, a lack of rebounding, and ALL the winning, join your intrepid and pained blogger after the jump.



For a change of pace, we're coming to you in stereophonic sound from the Hynes Athletic Center on the campus of Iona College, where the Gaels play host to the Peahens Peacocks of St. Peter's University, which used to be biologically accurate, which makes me sad. Then again, they brought in coaches who are good at burning things to the ground, so I'm okay with them doing other things that make me angry.

Damika Martinez has approximately a roll of bandage wrapped around her. I understand why- it's not easy to pretty much carry a team all by yourself. (She and Aliyyah Handford might want to start a support group.)

I think I'm starting to like Katy Perry. What's wrong with me?

I didn't think there were this many St. Peter's fans when we were at St. Peter's. Honestly. Do fans just materialize on the road? Do they not go to home games? This is a general question about WBB fans.

At halftime, as one might have expected, Iona is all up in the Peacocks' business, leading 39-14. Damika Martinez has eight to lead the way, but it's been a pretty balanced scoring effort. This is, to be frank, expected from a St. Peter's squad that has won a total of one game by a total of one point.

Iona needed a game like this, where they could just cut loose, make things happen, and take some questionable shots without fear of a comeback. Sometimes you just need a jabronie.

It might be a little dishonest of you to have the Mirage Diner in your featurette on communications when you forced them out to build a dorm, Iona College.

That "Welcome To New York" song by Taylor Swift is really annoying, and she is not ambassador of any kind of New York I represent. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

So, St. Peter's. Oddly enough, or perhaps not oddly because this is Pat Coyle we're talking about here, most of their best players came off the bench. Hala Mostafa found her shot, awkward and fundamentally unsound as it is, late in the game- it never looked good, except when it was nothing but net. Her height was disruptive on defense. Teresa Corchado was called upon to run point and was unspectacular. She seemed hesitant on offense. Antonia Smith drove down the lane and threw up wild shots. Sometimes they even went in. I really like Talah Hughes, which, since this is Pat Coyle's team we're talking about, means that either she'll run away screaming, get catastrophically injured (which I shouldn't joke about, I read about Janee Thompson), or never develop an iota more. But in all seriousness, I like her touch around the basket, I like the way she moves on defense, and I like how she hits the boards. Neechelle Ingram came in to make space in the lane, pull down rebounds, and chew bubblegum, and apparently she was all out of bubblegum. She throws her body around without fear.

I have no honest idea why some of these Peacocks started, but this is Pat Coyle we're talking about. Alyssa Velles got looks from outside and missed most of them badly, but at least her performance at Seton Hall allows me to understand why she might be starting. Rebecca Sparks looked good very early on, but didn't play much in the second half. I think she was running the point, but honestly, I don't know if St. Peter's was even sure what they were doing. I can't even remember Samantha Meier other than being kind of tall and generally not useful. Bridget Whitfield played a little bit of defense. Sajanna Bethea bodied up to get free throws, and despite a slightly unorthodox motion, she hit them. She made sure that if a rebound came her way, she was going to get it.

The Peacocks did a good job taking advantage of Iona's bailing out on rebounds. When they went to Hughes, good things generally happened. But there was a lot of ugly and a lot of bad, bad shots. But I think we've established this is not a good team, nor do they have a staff that will make them better players.

Kristin Mahoney still has that deer-in-the-headlights look whenever she's on the floor, but I'm starting to wonder if that's her default game face and I'm just misinterpreting her facial expression. She went hard on the floor for a couple of loose balls, and we were all thrilled when she finally hit her shot after a couple of looks. Philecia Gilmore has all the confidence Kristin doesn't, and enough extra that I wish she could bottle it and give it to Kristin. She has that point guard mentality of "my team, my offense, I run this", but she seemed a little quick to call her own number. Cassidee Ranger set screens and hit threes, as is her wont. Sometimes her teammates forgot to use the screens, no matter how well she set them. Aurellia Cammock brought the rebounding, but misjudged her timing often. She's only a sophomore, she'll figure that out.

For once, Damika Martinez did not have to be the whole show on offense, and that's good, because she was overshooting pretty much everything she threw up. She made a lot of extra passes that she didn't necessarily have to make, passing up easy shots to get her teammates involved. I mean, I shouldn't complain about the desire, but at the same time, I want to see Damika hit 2467. Joy Adams had at least three of her shots bounce off the inside of the rim and out, so I'll give her a pass on percentage. I do love the way she occasionally goes all Matrix in the lane. Marina Lizarazu brought out the fancy passes today, whipping the ball behind her back twice to teammates for lay-ups. She was hitting her lay-ups early, too, with both hands, but became more of a distributor later. Karynda DuPree, for once, did not instill in me the urge to thwap her with my clipboard. She was actually hitting those threes that she insists on taking, and she was getting on the boards (even if she maintains the reprehensible habit of bringing the ball down to guard level), and she blocked shots. I'd like to see her take more shots that are not threes, in addition to fewer shots that are threes, but if she's hitting them, I guess I can't complain. Aaliyah Robinson did a little bit of everything- well, actually, she did a lot bit of everything. When she's playing well, she plays tall- she stretches for rebounds against bigger posts to get a hand on them, she gets her hands in the passing lanes, she elevates. She cleared boards, she hit threes, she ran breaks- Aaliyah is fun to watch when she's playing well.

The one thing that bothered me, and los Martinez in front of me, was the consistent lack of rebounding from Iona. St. Peter's actually out-rebounded us in the end, and that might have been because they had more shots to rebound than we did, but also because we backed off everything. It's very frustrating. 10-20 from three is also not sustainable, and I hope they're not expecting it to be.

There's no reason to complain about the officiating, so I won't. I think there were some game management calls made, but Iona has a tendency to get in their own way, and also, 34-point game.

You knew it was going to be bad for St. Peter's when Pat Coyle called two timeouts before the first media timeout. And then she called one late, as if searching for a 37-point play.

The best kind of give-and-take: on one break, Marina Lizarazu flips the behind the back pass to Aaliyah Robinson for the lay-up. Next possession, Aaliyah pushes the break and slips the pass to Marina for the lay-up.

LOL of the day: Damika fires a three from the corner straight and true- and wedges it between the rim and the backboard. Joy leaps up, twines the fingers of one hand into the net, and punches out the ball with the other. At which point our posse starts in, "Spider-Joy, Spider-Joy, does whatever a player can..."

So that was fun. Today was a good day.

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November 29th, 2014: St. Peter's at Seton Hall

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall dominated start to finish against St. Peter's in a 75-45 win. Daisha Simmons led all scorers with 30 points on 12-19 shooting, adding four steals. Bra'Shey Ali notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds; Janee Johnson was scoreless, but had the game-high with 11 rebounds. Alyssa Velles led St. Peter's off the bench with 17 points; no other Peacock had more than six.

For drab colors, old hatreds, a lack of pressure, brain farts, forgotten post players, free throw issues, and multitasking, join your intrepid and fortunate blogger after the jump.

It's entirely too early for this, though part of it has to do with the amount of transit time required. Part two of your intrepid blogger's "weekend? What weekend?" basketball extravaganza is the first day of the Seton Hall Thanksgiving tournament, otherwise known as the Seton Hall coaching alumni reunion. Seton Hall goes up against St. Peter's (with former Pirate coach Phyllis Mangina and favored GNoD target Pat Coyle), while St. Francis (with Pirate alum John Thurston at the helm) faces off with St. Joseph's (not sure how they ended up on board the Pirate ship, though).

It's cold. That hill is even longer when it's cold.

It's taking every ounce of strength I have not to tell Mangina off right now. "Gosh, it's fun watching Seton Hall recover from the ashes you burned it down to," or words to that effect. I think I should be applauded for my remarkable restraint there, given that I remember how much talent she managed to squander in those years. (How Noteisha Womack never ended up on someone's radar is beyond me.)

At halftime, Seton Hall is up 34-18 against a really, really bad St. Peter's team. I mean, really bad. I mean, come on, guys. Daisha Simmons has 16 for the Hall, punctuated with a spinning scoop to end the half. Bra'Shey Ali has 10 and what feels like all the rebounds. She's been reading the peculiarities of the road-side rim well. Alyssa Velles has nine of the Peacocks' 18 points on some late shooting.

Your early contender for brain fart of the day: Bra'Shey Ali inbounding the ball to the ref. Ref's response: "I'm not on your team."

The intensity was not what the coaching staff was looking for, but it's kind of hard to be intense when your opponent is that far below you in skill. We got to see some extended minutes for the reserves, which is always my favorite part of a blowout.

Alyssa Velles supplied most of the scoring for St. Peter's, shooting sweet jumpers whenever she was given space- and she was given space too frequently for my liking. I know the scouting report probably focused on Mostafa and Bethea, but still. Sajanna Bethea has some potential, but right now she plays like someone who's accustomed to having a huge size advantage on everyone and hasn't learned how to play with anything that resembles finesse. She's big and reckless and has all the shooting skill of a CYO fifth grader. Teresa Corchado threw her body at a block and was very easily rattled when Seton Hall threw the press at her. Talah Hughes boxed out inside well enough, but I admit to being distracted by how fluffy her hair was. Fluffy! I was pleasantly surprised at how well Marcia Senatus ran the offense off the bench- nothing flashy, but she didn't make too many mistakes, either. Neechelle Ingram made a couple of plays in the middle- I'm surprised she fell to the back of the rotation. Or I would be if I hadn't suffered through years of Pat Coyle.

Hala Mostafa has really developed since her freshman year. Her shot is still a little weird, but not as awkward as it was early in her career, and she's developed a nice little spin move and quick first step. She had a couple of resounding blocks. Bridget Whitfield looked to have a little bit of a temper on her- got away with spiking the ball after she was called for a double dribble. Antonia Smith was quieter than I had expected- I thought she was going to be more of an offensive threat, but she was one of many Peacocks (I still want to call them Peahens, because biological accuracy was for the win!) taking really bad shots. So was Rebecca Sparks, which disappoints me because I always like to see Rebeccas do well. I'm an egoist, what can I say? Samantha Meier was a big body down low, but not an accurate shooter.

St. Peter's focused most of their defensive energy on clogging the lane- a Pirate, usually a Simmons, would drive and find herself covered in navy blue jerseys. They couldn't keep it up.

Nice to see Teresa Kucera on the floor again. She fell to the back of the rotation with the newcomers. Claire Lundberg had herself a nice little stretch in garbage time, though she seemed to be backing off her three-point shot. I'll take a pretty finger roll, though. Kat Egan was tough defensively. Love her hustle. She got tasked with guarding Mostafa for stretches in the second half, with mixed results- she had a lot of trouble hanging on the swift change in direction. Tara Inman brought the hustle. She shook a lot of balls loose on the ground. Lubirdia Gordon still can't catch a pass to save her life, but she's getting better at corralling rebounds and setting screens. Jordan Mosley ran a steady offense off the bench, but had some bad luck with the rim. We were rooting for her to get that basket.

Bra'Shey Ali grabs all the rebounds. I know I just said the same thing about Amber Thompson yesterday, but it's true. I love watching the way Shey reads an odd hop and scoops it up like a vacuum cleaner. She was fierce and tough and I love watching her work. Janee Johnson was much sneakier with her rebounding. I had no idea until I grabbed the final stats that she had the game-high. I was mostly caught up in the dumb mistakes she was making. I ride Janee on dumb mistakes harder than I do most players because if you have the brains for Duke, you should not be making quite so many dumb mistakes. It's a bass-ackwards form of respect. (I <3 Janee and her hustle.) Ka-Deidre Simmons didn't make much of an impact on the score, but she was making life miserable for the ballhandler and finding her teammates with the ball. (Except for that one time her assignment fired up a three while she was fixing her hair.) Tabatha Richardson-Smith found her offense in the second half, not so much her defense, but that's Tab. She'll give you all the offense in the world, but not so much the defense. She's tall and she can get in the way, but she's not going to hang defensively. It seems unfair to be harping on her after this game, but it means I'll lay off her later. Daisha Simmons put on a show, and seemed to be trying to put on a show- she had fancy moves on offense, she poke checked like she'd been hanging out at Devils games, and she made sure she had every shot she could get. I thought it was a little ridiculous that she was shooting when Seton Hall was up big and she was already at 25 points with scoreless players on the floor, but maybe she had her reasons for going for 30. Hitting people in the face is apparently no longer a foul, but other than that the officiating was fairly solid. Travels were mostly being allowed to slide, but I'll chalk that up to game management, given that it took almost nine minutes for St. Peter's to score and another three for them to get a field goal. Overall, it's hard not to be satisfied with a 30-point win, but at the same time, I feel like Seton Hall was aware of just how bad St. Peter's was and was willing to play down to them. They're not going to be able to do that against St. Joseph's. (Spoiler: St. Joseph's won the other semifinal.)

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December 31st, 2013: Iona at St. Peter's

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Coming back from a 10-point deficit, the Iona Gaels used 32 free throw attempts to claim a 65-61 win at St. Peter's. Iona was led by the 24 points of Damika Martinez, 18 in the second half. Joy Adams added 18 points and 11 reboudns for the Gaels. Kaydine Bent led the Peacocks with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

For dissatisfaction, pain, free throws, bad shot selection, back pain, and summation, join your intrepid and festive blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, everyone! Your intrepid blogger comes to you for the last time in the calendar year of 2013 from St. Peter's, where the Peacocks face Iona in a MAAC conference game.

If you think you've seen a lot more of me than you have in the past, you're not crazy. (Unless you're my mom. Hi, mom. If you're my mom, you're crazy, but you're not delusional, and I love you.) When I looked at the schedule and realized how many games I already had slotted in for the calendar year of 2013, I realized that I had the opportunity to set a personal record for gmaes attended in a single calendar year. I've been using the phrase "calendar year" a lot in this run-up to clarify a point. I back up everything to a Blogspot, and I tag with the fervor of a grocery store clerk- including with the year in which the game was attended. So, for example, the 2013 tag includes games from the end of the 2012-13 NCAA season, the 2013 WNBA season, and the beginning of the 2013-14 NCAA season. I'd have to do some other math to determine most games from a given season, but that's neither here nor there.

So when my husband and I sat down and did the math, we decided to do some crazy things to get to that personal best. Day-night doubleheaders, packing weekends with games, that insane double-tournament Saturday- all basketball, all the time. If I've done the math accurately, this should be my 79th game of the season (which is not to say 79th event of the season- lots of double-headers, y'know). The amazing part is that we expected to have a playoff game or two to work with; we had no idea that the Sun and the Liberty would be the ones outside looking in at the start of the season.

But that's neither here nor there either. "Here", at the moment, is an F train on the way to 34th Street to pick up the PATH to Jersey City. "There", presumably, will be St. Peter's University, which I still think of as St. Peter's College, and the Peacocks, which I still think of as the Peahens.

At approximately twenty-seven minutes before tip-off, I was the first person to actually hand someone money in exchange for a ticket. I think attendance is going to be sparse. There are approximately thirty people in the hall- it's not even a proper gym, it's a hall- and about fifteen of them are in some way related to the running of the game. The others are friends and family of players, I think. And then there's me. I've always got to be the odd duck out. (Well, no, if that were the case, I'd be an Oregon fan. /rimshot)

I think these bleachers may actually be older than I am. The wood is worn, the treads of the stairs black with grime. As at Iona, that first step is a doozy, and today I don't have an umbrella to help brace me. Why do I alwas forget I own seat cushions? Nifty seat cushions! From the Final Four!

Haley's still out. Makes sense, you don't get over the flu in two days.

At halftime it's 34-26 St. Peter's, and I'm flat-out embarrassed. Ashamed. Infuriated. Enraged. The defense has been a hot mess- how do you leave a player open when she's the opponent's leading scorer? That all being said, Kaydine Bent is actually leading the Peacocks right now with 12 points. Joy Adams has 10 for Iona, but only one field goal (out of seven total for Iona). I took a bus to a train to a train to a bus to a hike to get here. Get it together, Gaels. Show some effort. Show some pride. Look like you're doing more than marking time until New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Pat Coyle's jackets are still a little too tight around the shoulders and sleeves, for the Board Junkies reading along. I gave her a hearty boo. The woman still makes my blood boil, even years after the Liberty fired her.

The good news, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that Iona managed to pull this game out at the very end, though they seemed to be making a fair effort to mess it up there too. The bad news is that if Iona's going to play that badly down to their competition, they're going to get burned by a team that talent-wise has no right beating them.

Teresa Corchado gave St. Peter's good minutes on defense, staying low on the ball. Kylie Garrett seemed out of place in her few minutes, though I'm not sure if that was inexperience or just a bad day for her. Neechelle Ingram was solid on the inside, though I thought she raised her elbows a little too much on a couple of her rebounds. Kaycee DeVoogd had a pretty large cheering section that made a lot of noise when she hit her one shot, but she seemed to make more of an impact defensively. I remember a lot more of her than her minutes would seem to indicate, though that might be because of the cheering section.

Kaydine Bent just absolutely ripped us up inside. She used her big build to move everyone around down low. She's not necessarily tall, but she's solid- I'd use the word thick, but I'm aware that that has other connotations that I do not necessarily wish to connote at this time. She penetrated at will. Aziza May started the game off hot, driving to the lane, but got into a little foul trouble early. Antonia Smith- Toni, by the PA announcer- also got into early foul trouble, but it also boggles my mind how she didn't score more early in the first half- the defense kept leaving her wide open. Utterly ignoring her. I don't get it. Hala Mostafa has an uncomfortable, unorthodox-looking shot, but it went down for her near the end of the game, when her team was looking for a way to make it close. If she's going to play down low like it seemed she was early on, she's got to put some muscle on. Sabrina Jeridore's not exactly a bruiser, and she was manhandling Mostafa down low. Bridget Whitfield came up with timely buckets and some good defensive plays.

Aurelia Cammock came in only long enough for Sabrina Jeridore to get a tiny bit of a break and maybe get patched up. She hustled well, but seemed the victim of bad luck. Spencer Gray was good defensively, and ran point better than I expected. Aaliyah Robinson played good defense, came up with her usual big three, and seemed a rather calming presence on the floor. There's just something about Aaliyah that seems to settle everyone down, and I wonder if that's why she comes off the bench instead of starting in Haley's absence- someone's got to be the ballast. Cassidee Ranger was once more forgotten in the corners. There were two fast breaks in rapid succession where her teammates missed her open in the corner to take shots that ultimately failed. Then Joy Adams hit a lay-up on a fast break where she still should have found Cass. I'm starting to wonder if everyone's forgotten Cassidee can shoot- maybe even including Cassidee.

Christina Rubin seemed to rely too much on the distance of her three to get going. Something that also bothered me: Coach Godsey seemed to be much harder on her when it came to fouls than she was on anyone else; as soon as Christina got her second, she was out for the rest of the first half; as soon as she got her third, she was out for a good eight minutes of the second half. Aleesha Powell ran a decent offense, though her peripheral vision was sorely lacking; she didn't seem to see open players on either side of her, sticking to more straight-ahead passes. She made sure to draw plenty of contact. Sabrina Jeridore was dangerous defensively down low, swatting shots with abandon, but offense has never been her strong point, and there's no reason she should be taking more shots in a game than Aleesha. Damika Martinez was bombs away early and often- had a lot of trouble in the first half, but fired off five quick points to start the second half and started getting more of the rolls off the rim. Joy Adams went hard for rebounds, but there were a lot that that got tipped out or thrown off and around players. She has all the athleticism, but she's got to work on her footwork and her shooting touch.

It was just an ugly, ugly game, the kind of game that people outside the sport think all women's basketball looks like. Lots of bad passes, tipped balls, bad shots, that kind of thing.

The officiating didn't help anyone, and I think it helped St. Peter's less than it helped Iona. The zero-tolerance hand-check rule was very inconsistently applied, much to the frustration of both teams.

Things I did not like: after the game, Pat Coyle called her team into a huddle at center court and looked like she was giving them a very long lecture. Really? In public? Whether you're trying to perk them up or rip them a new one, that's what the locker room is for. I don't think St. Peter's is so cheap that they only have one locker room and they were letting Iona use it first. (I mean, the facility is pretty cheap. But I think that would be against NCAA rules.)

So that was not as fun as a win should be, and I'm still worried about this team. But as the saying goes, it is what it is. And we bring the 2013 edition of the Game Notes of Doom to a close. Headed out for New Year's Eve festivities now, but I won't get too crazy.

After all, Hofstra hosts Albany tomorrow, and I'm kind of curious about Megan Craig...

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January 20th, 2013: St. Peter's at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Twelve Gaels played and scored as Iona rolled over St. Peter's, 93-62. Damika Martinez led all scorers with 19 points, while Aleesha Powell filled the stat sheet with 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Kristal Edwards led the Peacocks with 15 points.

For conspiracy theories, late noises, shivering, discovering alternate routes, freshman mistakes, and complex rhythms, join your intrepid and phlegmatic blogger after the jump.



Good afternoon, everyone! We're coming to you on tape delay from the Hynes Athletic Center in beautiful New Rochelle, New York, where the Iona Gaels will be facing the Peahens of St. Peter's.

There's nothing quite like a cab ride with a conspiracy theorist who thinks corporate America is putting the flu enzyme into mixed bags of chips and makes up tales about winning shooting contests in the '70s. I wish I were making up this insanity. I'm impressed he didn't descend into birther nonsense.

My stat board is gone, and that makes me sad. One of the amenities I liked about Iona was being able to track some of the team stats. But the chairback seats and team-colored bleachers are still nice. Would have liked some sign of school spirit- band, cheerleaders, dancers, mascot, something- though. Ah, there go the cheerleaders now. I feel better. I mean, not that cheerleaders make me feel better, but it's the thought that counts.

Coach has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome, and I really appreciate that. (Joe? Your move.)

Being able to get an internet connection has its advantages. And its disadvantages. (My poor Johnnies.)

At halftime, it's 48-25 in favor of Iona, and it could easily be more. Iona's been kind of lazy in the last few minutes, going one and out on shots they don't necessarily need to be taking. More passing and less chucking would be recommended. St. Peter's could use a shooting coach to get them to stop taking shots with two hands in '50s style, but Kristal Edwards impresses me; her build reminds me a bit of Shenneika Smith. For the Gaels, Aleesha Powell is working on a double-double with 11 points and six boards. She's been everywhere. Personally, I'm glad Sabrina Jeridore learned from that tongue-lashing against Marist and went up strong on offensive rebounds. It pays!

Most "um, are you really sure this is a good plan?" moment: Emily Brown attempting to flip Jeridore over her back. Brown's a 5-9 guard; Jeridore's a 6-3 center with flashes of Noo Yawk attitude.

I'm not going to say anything rude about a ten-year-old girl singing the anthem- but if you're going to put her out in front of everyone, make sure she knows the words and can handle some of the ridiculous notes.

This was a little more like the Iona team I've been expecting to see all year, though there's still a bit of youth that needs to be filed off. Fortunately, they've got a bit of time- more now that Haley D'Angelo's petition for an extra year of eligibility has in fact been approved, and she's gone from senior to redshirt junior. (It's like magic!)

Stephanie DeWolff wasn't coaching this game- for whatever reason, Tiffany Jones was called upon to run the show in her purple blouse and sparkly purple heels. (I didn't see that they were in fact sparkly and purple until after the game. They looked good on her.) Honestly? I feel like this was probably better for St. Peter's than having DeWolff coaching. It seemed like they weren't making too many mistakes strategically, just the ones that end up being made by players who haven't gotten coaching in some of the fundamentals. There were way too many two-handed heaves even on lay-ups that did NOT look good. (Later reports- DeWolff is apparently on maternity leave. Can we place odds on whether the reason for her departure is "to spend more time with her family" instead of "her contract is up and holy cow are we bad"?) 

Teresa Corchado got pulled right after setting up a little trip, and I think her coach talked to her about that before sending her back into the game. Sherika Salmon was the next-to-last player off the bench, and her one shot came out of the right corner. Lovisa Hagberg at least tried to get in on the boards, even if she didn't manage to pull any down. The three she hit was actually deflected and still went in; we saw her shaking her hand out afterwards, as if she'd gotten hit. There's something I like about Neechelle Ingram, even though she didn't make a statistical impact. I just got the sense that she either can be a good player and just hasn't gotten it together yet, or that she just had a bad game. Donyelle Stuettey is a tank in the middle. The 55 on her jersey wasn't the only reason we were reminded of Vanessa Hayden. She liked to force people to back down with her size, and since pretty much everyone was smaller than she was, that worked out for her. But once she got close to the basket, she was just throwing the ball at the rim without much aim or intent. She didn't seem to know what to do if another defender came in, or if her defender didn't want to move. Emily Brown, other than that moment of first-half bravado/stupidity, didn't make much of an impression.

I really do like Kristal Edwards. She still seems a bit skittish and less aggressive than I would like out of a player of her build, but she really got her offense going in the second half. Jesika Holmes was effective, but a lot of that seemed to come from a forearm shiver that would impress Marshawn Lynch. I think my favorite part- as someone who was cheering for Iona- was when she shoved the defender off with the right arm, took a couple of extra steps, and proceeded to blow the lay-up. Aziza May scored pretty much everything in threes, and most of those threes came from Pelham Bay or thereabouts. She did a nice job finding her teammates, as well. I don't know if I'd have called her hit on Kadesia Johnson a flagrant, but it was a pretty hard hit. She argued it hard, but I think she was smart enough to realize that she wasn't going to get that overturned, and if she kept going, a technical would have been her fifth foul. Kaydine Bent cleared the boards well and often seemed to be in the right place at the right time. And I like her name. I also liked what I saw out of Hala ElShaarawy (who the announcer kept calling Hala Mostafa, but something didn't seem right about that). She's raw, but she's got some potential, and she's only a freshman. She'll learn the touch around the basket.

Jordan Henry looked so lost when she was in the game. I wasn't surprised, since this was the first time I'd seen her play in three games, and I didn't even know she was active, so I imagine she doesn't see a lot of playing time. Fortunately, she's only a freshman, so Coach will have time to teach her to follow her shot, go hard to the basket, and make sure she and her teammates are on the same page when passing on the baseline. Cassidee Ranger also needs to follow her shot. Nobody's perfect, no matter how pretty your shot is. Everyone was thrilled for Jiya Dorcas-Eya when she got extended minutes and got herself to the line- the whole bench was cheering for her. She acquitted herself well, though I'd like to see a bit more sturdiness from her on defense. Shonice Hawkins played a little bit of D, and I think her basket was on a fast break, but I'm not sure. Diana Hubbard did that thing where she gets the ball in the corner and nails a three. She did it a few times. I could have sworn she got in on the rebounding too, but the box score tells me not. Kadesia Johnson had herself a nice little game, crashing the glass and converting on her shots. Aleesha Powell went off in the first half- there was a point where her 10 points were almost equal to St. Peter's (they had 12). She cooled off in the second half, but by then, they didn't need her anymore. But that first half was reminiscent of the good days from a different Powell.

Joy Adams joined the party in the second half, going hard to the basket and converting on most of her free throws. She still needs to work on that. I do like her toughness, and she's going to be a force to be reckoned with by her senior year in the MAAC. Sabrina Jeridore looked more aggressive in the early going, but she got bloodied up and had to sit for an extended period while the trainer went over her and her jersey with the peroxide. After that, she seemed to back off a little bit. I think that might have been when St. Peter's made one of their runs to get it under 20. Haley D'Angelo ran a solid offense, making sure everyone was going the right way and in the right place. She passed up two open shots that I thought she should have taken, which is something that bothers me about her, but that's the kind of player that she is. Aaliyah Robinson got the start, but she didn't play much. I'm starting to think Coach Bozzella does that in order to have some offensive punch off the bench; either the three games I've seen have been very uncharacteristic, or I've finally found a coach who agrees with the idea of striking fear into an opponent with a strategic reserve. Damika Martinez was great- aggressive going to the basket, careful with the ball when she had to run offense, accurate and smart. She had a couple of dumb plays, but other than that, she was fantastic.

One strange thing that bothered me a little about Iona: the fans, the cheerleaders, and the graphics really didn't get started until the Gaels were up 20. I'm sitting there thinking, guys, maybe they needed you before they started turning on the afterburners?. But that's just me. Props to the lady behind us who tried to get going, even with her scratchy throat.

Officiating was mostly unremarkable. I think I only shrieked once or twice. I think the refs controlled the pace of play well. The only issue came when St. Peter's committed their ninth foul on a loose ball play and the refs tried to set up an inbounds. Coach was not amused. Shot clock also started late once, but it didn't impact play.

CYO kids overran the court at halftime. It's okay, they were supposed to do that. They were also running around behind the benches for much of the game, until they left early in the second half. Not sure if they were supposed to do that, but the kid hiding behind me was sort of adorable.

I don't know how much of a test St. Peter's is, given that every Gael who played got at least 10 minutes, but at least they got some much needed reps for the bench.

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