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It's been a long time since I've gotten this into a game, or at least since I've allowed myself to get this rowdy. But there were so many Virginia Tech fans there, and they came on a Focus on the Family bus, and they brought signs, and the little kids from the CYO were annoying the living daylights out of us because they spread out over two sections, and it was healthier than swearing at everyone and their mother.
I have no idea why Sky Lindsay's mom and sister parked behind the Virginia Tech bench for the first half- I know they know whose bench is whose, but there didn't seem to be any trouble stemming from it, so no harm, no foul.
Abby Redick, I don't like you. I mean, I respect that she's a woman isn't afraid to use her broad frame to hit someone, but there's a difference between hitting someone and "how did you not foul out in the first half". Nikki Davis has a knack for the pretty play- she set up Porshcia Hadley on one shot that was simply gorgeous. We got to see Taylor Ayers for the first time, another of Virginia Tech's sizeable players. Dunkenberger went pretty deep into her bench, which makes sense in a holiday tournament, but I wonder if she should have done that in the first day.
Brittany Gordon, who had me worrying and fussing all of yesterday because of her build, hardly played, though she started. I don't think her coach was happy with her, and I can't say there's no reason for it. Alyssa Fenyn was a little rougher than yesterday, and to less effect. Lindsay Biggs got her shots off, and deserved to be named to the all-tournament team. Utahya Drye started to crank up that knack for getting to the line in the second half, but it wasn't enough for Virginia Tech to get going. Harrison really didn't do much other than turn the ball over.
Jennifer Blanding is going to kill me with laughter one of these days. She drives me nuts on the court, but when she's not on the court, she's full of laughter. The first big one was during the game- she was yelling encouragement to Coco, hollering, "Yeah, Centhya!" (Coco's full name). There was a beat, then we heard, "...I'm sorry." Then, when the all-tournament team was announced, and the official photographer was taking pictures, Jennifer bolted off the bench and snapped a picture with her own little camera.
Sorry, sidetracked. Small cameos by Buzz and Jennifer. Not a great game by Coco, although she worked pretty hard on the boards. Eugeneia hit the deck hard a couple of times chasing loose balls. Good instincts. I approve. Kelly appears to be trying to play defense, which is a refreshing change, but one I wish she'd tried earlier in her career.
Have I mentioned lately that I adore Joy? I love her rebounding, her hustle, her tenacity, and her ability to put the ball in the basket, even if she missed her first free throws of the season today. Sky's sneaking back to her old ballhogging ways, which I do not approve of at all. Too many plays are coming down to her taking the shot. Nadirah continues to be the best point guard we have, though some of her passes today were to absent receivers. I don't blame her for people's lack of zigging. Shenneika... I don't know what to make with her, not that there's anything wrong with that. When she looks good, she's so good and so unstoppable. When she looks bad, she looks like Inspector Gadget shorted out. Da'Shena played well, though her free throw shooting needs work.
It's not that we played fabulously today, though there were a lot of great plays at the endline and baseline that showed our unwillingness to give up. It's more that we played very tough defense and managed to keep Virginia Tech from scoring well and using their size inside. We outrebounded a team we had no right to outrebound, which bodes well for the conference season. Never give up. Never surrender.
And never challenge fans. Virginia Tech showed up in numbers and our band didn't appear. It seemed meet that someone make noise in their stead. So we took it upon ourselves to get involved, screaming at every possession, chanting along, disconcerting the shooter, heckling the refs, all quite loudly. My throat hurts and my clipboard is cracked down the middle, but it was more than worth it to get to use the cadence we learned from the Auburn band.
All-tournament team: from UT-Arlington, Meghan Nelson, who was a pretty good choice (though I might have taken Martin); from UAB, Amanda Peterson, who I totally agreed with; from Virginia Tech, Lindsay Biggs (yup) and Alyssa Fenyn (a qualified yup); from St. John's, Da'Shena Stevens (yup) and Shenneika Smith (yup). And MVP? Joy McCorvey. It's nice to know people appreciate what she does.
Reasons why I love my team captain, number 32567: so they had the team captains, Joy and Kelly, accept the trophy for winning the tournament. Joy was a step ahead of Kelly, but let Kelly go ahead of her so Kelly got to hold the trophy for the picture. Such a class act.
Last home game of the calendar year for St. John's, and there may be a post in that for Swish Appeal. We'll see. But I'm a happy, hoarse Johnnie.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 20th, 2009: Virginia Tech at St. John's (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 19th, 2009: UAB at Virginia Tech (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
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Shame on the people who left the doubleheader early. Even by five-thirty, it wasn't snowing hard enough to be a hazard, but more of the UT-Arlington fans stuck around than did the St. John's people (as few of them as there were). Much respect for the Virginia Tech fans who made it up in this weather, though. I know a bunch of them were there for one of the Hokies who's from New York, but still.
Because my mother ran into a friend of one of the Blazers at the bus stop and brought her over to sit with us, we were rooting for UAB in that game. Their coach is very... intense. And tall. And I don't know if she intended for her sharp skirtsuit to be in Virginia Tech maroon, but it was, and it was beautiful.
There was a bit of roster fail with the cards that St. John's gave out; #25, Erica Simpson, was not listed, which was inconvenient when she picked up two fouls and a field goal in the second half. Khalilah Watson played a lot in the second half and overtime. Shelly Breaux had a well-timed lay-up. LaKenya Lowe had a good putback. TaRonda Randall needs to learn how to control her body, because she can be a lot more effective that way. Unfortunately, the player who had us rooting for UAB, Meagan Brown, didn't get in the game. I feel vaguely cheated. It's okay, though; the lady we sat with was very cool. One thing that impressed me about UAB's bench was their ability to make big plays down the stretch.
Wow, Amanda Peterson's shooting. She was taking threes from deeper than NBA range- and some of them were going in. She's the kind of player who goes to the floor for hustle plays, too. I'd love to see her go up against another redheaded firecracker, Mickel Picco from BC. Jala Harris hit some ridiculous shots, and took some ridiculous shots; there was one point where I found myself yelling, "You're not Mark Jackson! I know it's easy to get confused here, but you're not Mark Jackson!" I like Amber Jones's feistiness, though she has the strangest shot I believe I've ever seen, and that's impressive, because I've seen a lot of shooters. Big block for Tamika Dukes, who really upped her game in the second half and the overtime and helped the Blazers come back from a five-point halftime deficit. If they'd been able to hit their free throws late, they might have pulled this game off.
Virginia Tech has a lot of sweet strokes, and they brought a lot of players with size, which worries me for tomorrow. Nikki Davis impressed me off the bench late in the game- she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it was to get her shot in or get a steal or a rebound. Shani Grey was really good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, in contrast to Davis. Abby Redick's a bruiser- I think Coco's going to need an ice bath tomorrow.
Senior Lindsay Biggs might get a look by pro scouts (or who at least should get a look from scouts), because she's a strong guard with a pretty shot. IMO, she's worth at least a camp look. Utahya Drye has a way of getting to the line that doesn't bode well for tomorrow. Shanel Harrison was handicapped by foul trouble, so she didn't get to do much. Brittany Gordon worried me, but she doesn't impress me. She should be taking more shots than she is- there were two occasions that I can think of off the top of my head where she had the ball in good offensive position, close enough to the basket for a good shot, with the defense too far away to do anything about it, and she passed off instead. Brittany, you're six-four and broad-shouldered. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE. (But not until Monday.) The player who really impressed me for Virginia Tech is just a freshman, Alyssa Fenyn, the New York kid who brought family, even if I don't know where Newark, NY is. (I know where Newark is in Joisey, and I think I could find it in Delaware, but Newark, NY is a new one for me.) She's strong, she's tough, and she gets things done. She's still a rookie in some ways, up to the technical she got when she got tangled up with Khalilah Watson. Great potential, though.
Another unevenly reffed game, but I think after they gave the techs, things settled down.
The Blazers never gave up. Whatever Coach Smith said in the locker room at the half, they started rebounding and following their shots much better than they were in the first. A lot of tenacity, a lot of toughness. They just don't have the height or the gas to go the full forty... or forty-five, as the case may be.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's games, even if they start an hour earlier and we'll be tromping through the snow to get to the arena. Just remind me to bring my umbrella.
