Just the Facts, Ma'am: UT Arlington took the lead early and fended off San Diego State the rest of the way in their 64-58 win at Seton Hall's Thanksgiving Classic. Christina Devers and Rebekah VanDijk each had 14 points to pace UTA. Kymberly Ellison led SDSU with 13.
For team pride, Halloween color schemes, questionable sartorial choices, sceens, hand-checks, and launching threes, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Good morning from historic Walsh Gymnasium on the campus of Seton Hall University! We're in the house, along with a dozen of our closest friends (so far), for the first game of Seton Hall's holiday tournament, featuring San Diego State and UT Arlington.
Not that SHU can be a bit parochial at times, but the tickets only even mention Seton Hall's game at 2:30. This may be because last time they listed it differently and people ended up missing the Seton Hall part of the show. But I do love some free basketball and I've never seen the Aztecs before.
#34 for SDSU has her shorts rolled up so far that she looks like she's wearing a volleyball uniform. It's not a good look.
The Mavericks' orange is very orange. It's like they took the UT Austin orange and nuked it a couple of times.
We're on the same side as the reserved seating for UT Arlington, so it looks like that's who we'll be rooting for in this game (though SDSU would probably be more of an RPI boost for the Hall).
Guys, y'all should not be playing uncensored Eminem. If I can't use "motherf*cking" at a game, neither can you.
At halftime, it's 36-27 UTA, the current margin being provided by a last-second basket by Aysia Evans that was initially ruled no good, then correctly counted. UT Arlington has really been bringing the pressure defense; basically, the Aztecs have only been able to score either when they beat the pressure on the fast break or when they get fouled and go to the line.
Country anthem- perhaps too country. She seemed to be trying too hard.
Protip: if you're going to advertise the concession stand, you should make sure the concession stand is open.
Well, that game got a good bit more dramatic than it really needed to at the end, but it was tough and scrappy all the way through. Lots of hustle by both teams, but especially UTA. Bodies hit the floor all over the place, for both teams. Love it.
I found myself wondering for stretches whether Monique Terry was related to Stacie Terry- not just because of the surname, but they do look similar around the eyes. She had a really solid game off the bench, I thought, and has a lot of potential to get even better. She's already got a good knack for knowing where to be on rebounds. Arantxa Gomez Ferrer started off pretty strong, and her teammates were really hyped when she hit the free throws and made the big defensive stop. Naomi Ekwedike is still raw, especially offensively- a whole lot of woman, but no offensive skill whatsoever. I'm impressed with the sheer determination, or possibly just epic failing a spot check, that led to her playing without a sneaker for two minutes- something like four or five possessions went by before a stoppage.
I thought Geena Gomez did a pretty good job of running the offense- if she had a team with more defined offensive options, I think she would be better off, but with the personnel the Aztecs currently have, the point guard has to call her own number as much as she's dishing the ball, so yeah. Cheyenne Greenhouse has one of the most ridiculously California names I've ever heard, and a very basketball-suited build.
Literally five seconds into the game, Ariell Bostick announced her presence with a deflection into the SDSU bench. She brings speed and feistiness to the floor- she was very expressive and emotional. Near the end of the game, she was doing everything she could to drag the Aztecs back into the game by herself. Kymberly Ellison was the designated three-point shooter, though she was more active as such in the first three quarters- she got stepped on in the fourth quarter, and she seemed to lose some mobility after that. She tried to tough it out, but you could tell she was reduced to spot shooting. McKynzie Fort was the most assertive player on offense, who seemed to be calling for the ball more than the rest of her teammates. Her foul trouble really put a wrench in the Aztecs' offense- they very often looked like they didn't know who to go to.
For a starter, Lexi Thorderson didn't play a lot- SDSU was getting pretty good minutes from Terry and Gomez Ferrer. I suspect her skill set is more perimeter oriented and less post-oriented than was needed in this game. Baylee Vanderdoes, she of the questionable sartorial choices, threw her weight around down low, though her coach was riding her pretty hard about setting solid screens- we could hear her calling from the bench even from the other side of the arena. I like that attention to detail.
I don't know if I'd call SDSU's coach a good coach, per se, but she seems to have a good eye for what young players need to do to improve. I don't follow SDSU, or the Mountain West, closely enough to determine whether she and her staff can help them follow through with that.
Aysia Evans was solid in her minutes, showing athleticism and a nice shot. Greta Kairyte showed that she wasn't ready for prime time- very slow reaction time, no offensive polish. Allyson Te'o set hard screens, and got called for offensive fouls on them late (on a couple of those calls, I disagreed strenuously).
Ericka Mattingly brought a lot of hustle and scrappiness, especially in the second half- she came up with a couple of great hustle baskets and boards that kept the pressure on the Aztecs. Lauren Billie opened up the floor with her shooting- she seemed to be everywhere at once in the third quarter. Shelby Richards had a really nice offensive rebound that led to a bucket. I love offensive rebounds.
I get the feeling UTA's coach has had to give some variation of the "cute is for the team picture!" lecture a few times, especially to Christina Devers, who felt the need to pull up for early threes when the Mavericks were trying to run clock in the fourth quarter and thus opened the door for SDSU to attempt a comeback. I have no doubt that she's fun to watch when the game's decided, but I question her clock management skills. Miranda LeJune was a competent floor general, but not much more. I think her family was over in the next section; at least, the dashing gentleman with the camera was at his most snap-happy when she was bringing the ball up the floor. Breck Clark reminds me of someone, and I can't for the life of me put my finger on it. She tried really hard, but I'm not sure she had it today.
Cierra Johnson seemed to be everywhere defensively in the fourth quarter. She throws her whole body into defending the inbounds pass, much like one of my favorites at LIU, DeAngelique Waithe. I think she had two kicked balls on inbounds in a minute. Super athletic and super intense. Rebekah VanDijk was solid down low- she got herself in position for her teammates to find her, and she finished at the rim. She's not the most graceful center, and she's not the best rebounder, but that's not her role. When she was out of the game with four fouls in the third quarter, the Mavericks' offense had to shift to a more perimeter-oriented scheme. What helped was that they're ready for that, with Johnson and Devers.
Lots of ticky-tack foul calls in this one. Questionable screens, reaches and phantom reaches- not fun. The game got very choppy in spots.
I wasn't expecting quite so many fans from either Texas or California. I guess there were more tourists than I thought there would be.
In Pokémon Go news, the gyms at Seton Hall are appropriately blue. (And as of Sunday night, the Vaporeon I left over at the gym by the entrance is still there. Bless your pixelated heart, Madison.)
Sunday, November 27, 2016
November 26th, 2016: San Diego State at UT Arlington (Seton Hall Thanksgiving Classic)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 20th, 2009: UAB at UT-Arlington (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
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That was an ugly game. That was so obviously a consolation, "you were brought here to lose and you did an excellent job of it yesterday", "no one here actually cares about you guys except maybe the fifteen people you brought with you" game. But damn it all, it was part of what we paid for, and no snowstorm was going to keep us away.
The arena wasn't really into the second day of the tournament. The men's tournament started today over at the Garden, so the band, the mascot, and half the dance team were all over there. I wish they'd taken all the dancing girls and left us the band, though we made use of that section later.
Anthem performance was a pre-recorded orchestral version. I can't say I objected.
I can't say enough about the clutch nature of UAB's bench. No one ever had a lot of plays, but everyone had one or two clutch plays. Nakia McDaniel hit a couple of big threes to stretch the lead. Khalilah Watson was in for key moments down the stretch. Erica Simpson hit a couple of contested shots. Everyone chipped in somehow. I like that in a team.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Amanda Peterson. There was a point in the first half where the score was UTA 19, Amanda Peterson 11. She ended with 17, 14 of them in the first half and the last three as the last shot for the Blazers. Jala Harris took a while to get started, but once she got started, she added back a dimension to UAB's offense that made them much more dangerous. Amber Jones got into some foul trouble and didn't get started. Miteka Truehart didn't play much in the first half, but made good defensive stands in the second half. Tamika Dukes went strong to the basket on both ends of the floor, and had a great finish on a pass from Jones.
I'll give Arlington credit for being balanced. Of course, that's not saying very much when they totaled 46 points. They really seemed to be throwing things at the wall to see what would work. Tamara Simmons worked, unlike yesterday, when she was so bad she didn't seem to be on the floor. Just so many turnovers, so many traveling calls and dumb plays. There were a lot of points in the game where we wondered if anyone actually wanted to win, that's how bad things were.
All-tournament teamer Meghan Nelson was the only bright spot for the Mavericks, and the only player to get into double figures for them. Shalyn Martin couldn't get much started- I think they were calling her for travels on the moves she was getting away with yesterday, because there was an inordinate amount of traveling being called. The quiet allowed us to hear Kiarra Shofner directing traffic, which is something I like to hear from a player. Kiara Parker got the start for this game and got into a lot of foul trouble. Same for Veronica Mergerson, who was pretty effective yesterday.
I really wasn't sure what those refs were doing, but I kinda liked that I recognized one of them from yesterday's game because she showed up in street clothes. Doing your homework- brilliant!
Poor UAB. I don't think anyone came up to support them. I guess the depression hit Alabama worse than Texas. We rooted for them, though, because fire-breathing dragons are very cool.
It was such an ugly game that we had more fun trying to figure out descriptions for how ugly it was than watching the game itself. But if we hadn't been there, we might not have been in the mood for the second game...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19th, 2009: UT-Arlington at St. John's (Chartwell Holiday Classic)
Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.
I have an inordinate fondness for cute little holiday tournaments, as at least one team is someone I'm interested in seeing and most teams are ones I've never seen before, especially in the New York area. My home team's tournament is certainly no exception.
Since the Columbia game pretty much established that Sky is not a morning person, someone obviously decided to make up the difference with espresso, Pixie Stix, or some other artificial and unhealthy stimulant. She was dancing and strutting like nobody's business during shootaround and warm-ups. Shame it didn't last... but we'll get to that.
The anthem singer was unimpressive, though I'm glad that she didn't perform "God Bless America" as well as the anthem, because I've always thought that was overkill and her voice was too dramatic anyway.
UT-Arlington traveled very well. Lots of folks. They weren't very loud, but there was a long stretch before the game where there were more of them than there were St. John's supporters, and they stayed longer than most of the Red Storm folks into the second game. Shame their colors are so... not necessarily ugly, but badly put together. The uniforms are pretty heinous, though.
The Mavericks went pretty deep into their bench, which I guess you can do when you're down 45-18 at the half. The unfortunately surnamed Donna Dike (say it aloud... does she have to throw herself out of games for slurs if she curses at herself?) was their first sub, but didn't contribute much beyond foul trouble. It really seemed like UT-Arlington was trying all sorts of combinations to see if someone could light a spark. We saw a lot of Kiara Parker and LaTosha Duffey, and at least Duffey provided a little offense.
I want to like Shalyn Martin, because at least she has the nerve to go for the shots that her team needs, but she plays obnoxiously up-close, in-your-face defense- right near the start of the game, she almost kicked Da'Shena in the gut because she raised both her hands and her foot on defense. Despite all that, she was one of the few Arlington players who was in for heavy minutes who didn't get into bad foul trouble- the fouls really mounted up in the second half for both teams. Meghan Nelson stepped up offensively in the second half, driving the lane for the Mavericks when the Red Storm defense softened a bit. They were really up a creek, though- Martin and Nelson were the only ones really scoring for them, and you're not going to get very far with only two scorers. They were committing a lot of errors, and getting rattled into a lot of unforced errors as well. They played like a team that knew they were there to play two games, take fourth place, and enjoy the sights and sounds of New York City.
I think Kelly's found her shot. I could be wrong, but five of six from beyond the arc tells me otherwise. A couple of them were pretty deep, too. Coco was on the boards, though she had one of her Moments of Epic Fail on the endline and wasn't doing much scoring. Good thing we didn't need it. Eugenia tested her range more than I would have liked, even if she did hit one. She hit the deck a lot too. I swear they were marking her. We had brief bursts of Buzz, who swatted a shot, and Jennifer, who was exceptionally passive, even for her. Girrrrrrrl. You're built like Kia Vaughn. Start playing like her already, would you?
I love to watch Shenneika move. She's so slick. And if sticking her finger in the electrical socket helps get her game going, then she can do it whenever she wants as far as I'm concerned. Great defensive work by Nadirah, who notched four blocks on the shorter, slimmer Maverick guards. While she was credited with a lot of turnovers, I still like the way she runs our offense. Sky. Please actually play defense. It's bad enough when your teammates have to remind you of where you're supposed to be, but when you're not actually doing anything while you're there, that's even worse. Time and time again she was out of position or slow on the move, and we probably would have won by 40 if she'd been on her defensive game. Da'Shena started the game hot, and used her body well against the smaller UT-Arlington players. Joy snaked her way into the paint for boards, and had one block that left Nelson sitting on the court from the momentum.
As much grief as I give Jennifer Blanding, I'll say this: when she's on the bench, she's one of the loudest and most involved players on the team. She and Joy both talk a lot.
I wasn't thrilled with the officiating, but I liked how one of the refs- Dillard, I think- managed the game: he was very organized and very clear with his calls, even if I didn't always agree with them. I think it's a very good idea for a referee to call a game clearly and authoritatively.
I think Coach Barnes Arico might be pregnant again. She's wearing loose-fitting tops, and the last time she did that, little Emma came along a few months later. I'm a little worried. Her focus has historically and rightfully been elsewhere when she's in the family way.
A satisfying win. We slacked off a little near the end, and I'm disappointed in Sky's defense, but overall a good thing.