Just the Facts, Ma'am: Prairie View threatened but never followed through, and Drexel came away with a 53-45 win at the St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic. Rachel Pearson led the Dragons with 14 points and nine rebounds. Jeanette Jackson of Prairie View led all scorers with 23 points, 18 in the second half.
For imbalance, emptiness, metaphysics, avians, cookies, and one lucky duck, join your intrepid and sick blogger after the jump.
Good morning, or afternoon, or evening, or timeless abyss in the depths of the howling void, wherever you may be reading Swish Appeal! It's day two of the Chartwells Holiday classic, this time featuring Drexel versus Prairie View. Looks like Prairie View gets to be the home team today, as Drexel is rocking their navy blue again (seriously, you are Dragons, with all the draconic colors available to you, why are you boring navy blue?). Unsurprisingly, a lot of people are not here, as St. John's fans only tend to show up for their own games. Guys, it's free. Enjoy the freeness of its freeness!
Prairie View's been putting up a good fight in this one. They're down 13 at the half, which is better than yesterday against James Madison. Their offense is still questionable, running down the clock constantly, but their defense has improved. Drexel is doing a nice job closing on Jeanette Jackson, similar to the way they swarmed Aliyyah Handford yesterday. This time, Prairie View has been able to get a little offense from Gabrielle Scott to make up for it. Fouls are still a little bit of a problem for Drexel, but there isn't quite as much rending of garments and tearing of hair as there was yesterday at the officials.
Prairie View started the game in their road purple, with Drexel wearing their road blues. Apparently the officials did not approve, because the Panthers just ran out here in their home whites. They seem a little cranky about it. I wonder if the female ref had to watch them to make sure they did it or something.
Good fight by Prairie View. Their pressure in the latter parts of the game discombobulated Drexel, and while it wasn't enough to pull out the win, they made it very, very respectable.
As a woman of Greek heritage (it's my mom's side) I get thrown off when someone decides to name their daughter Pandora. Yes, it means "all gifts", but it also means "stupid woman who opened the box of sins and unleashed all evil upon the world, what were you even thinking?" So it was a little hard for me to focus on Pandora Wilson doing things on the court. She seemed to rely more on her width than any skill in getting position. Carrie Alexander brought decent energy off the bench, but had a couple of dumb plays. Jackie Schluth did well in the middle on both ends of the floor, but kept committing fouls while lying down. On one hand, that's hard luck; on the other hand, roll out of the way! Don't foul out tripping someone because you can't dodge. Tory Thierolf was again primarily a defensive player- I get the feeling offense is not her strong point.
Alexis Smith had remarkable speed, and unusually for a freshman, seems to have picked up the knack for running backwards. On the other hand, she played more defense with her hands than with her feet. (Then again, freshman. We have a freshman with the same problem. She can learn.) Meghan Creighton again brought the unnecessary fouls. It's not necessary to trip an opponent and then try to claim that you were fouled. That, and it's tacky. Rachel Pearson made sure that as close as Prairie View got, Drexel would always stay ahead, coming up with big shots late. Fiona Flanagan got into early foul trouble, and Coach Dillon was very conservative about fouls for most of the game- once Flanagan picked up the second in the first half, she was gone for most of the game. I think they were expecting to use her as more of a rebounder. Sarah Curran did just enough of the scoring in the first half to make sure that Drexel had a lead.
The defensive pressure was heavily team-based- I think everyone contributed, whether it was the forwards clogging the middle or Smith making flashy steals like she thought she was playing for the Eagles or something.
Alexus Parker made it very clear why she thought she was on the floor- she wears 3 and she shoots threes. She spent most of the game dancing around the arc with her hands out, looking for the shot. I don't think she knew what to do when she didn't have a shot opportunity. Shaneece Stephens at least knew when she made bad mistakes, and also had a gorgeous steal in the second half where she rose up and intercepted a pass. Tonisha Lacey was the only post off the bench who got minutes, which surprises me- Shamiya Brooks wasn't great yesterday, but neither was Lacey, and it's becoming clear that Asha Hampton-Finch needs a break more often than her coach will give it to her. It's not a good sign when you can see a player laboring on the floor.
Jeanette Jackson found her rhythm, and a little space, in the second half, and once that happened, she came alive, sniping threes and driving fearlessly to the lane. Several of her free throws did come after the game aws once more out of reach, but she got them back into it pretty much by sheer force of will. Gabrielle Scott drove us nuts in the first half with four or five shots that had a foot on the line. Then she took the step back and promptly buried the shot. The lesson, alas, didn't stick. She seemed really out of rhythm and out of place. Larissa Scott got her rebounding on, especially on the offensive end. LaReahn Washington is still hard to get a handle on. I'm not sure if she's a playmaker, or if she just gets the ball up, or if she's a streaky scorer that I just haven't seen on a good streak. But she didn't bring anything that I could determine. Asha Hampton-Finch boxes out well, but her rebounding and especially her ability to get a hand on the ball leave much to be desired.
Prairie View just generally seemed hesitant on offense. They relied heavily on Jackson, and too many possessions involved them passing the ball around and around and around until someone either chucked up a desperation shot or there was a shot clock violation. No clock management skills whatsoever. Also, way, way too many high passes. Panthers don't fly, unless zoology has tragically lied to me. Lots of yelling from the sideline, but I don't know how much listening was getting done. And even with a solid player like Jackson, I can't see a scenario where having half your points come from one player is a good thing for this team. They showed a lot more heart and fight than they did yesterday, but I don't think they're built for success.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
December 15th, 2013: Drexel at Prairie View (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Saturday, December 14, 2013
December 14th, 2013: Prairie View at James Madison (Chartwells Holiday Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: James Madison surged out to a big lead early and never let Prairie View back in in their 79-50 win. Lauren Okafor and Kirby Buckholder each had 16 to lead the Dukes, with Okafor adding 10 rebounds. Jeanette Jackson of Prairie View led all scorers with 20 points, but no other Panther had more than nine points.
For brevity, dancing, abandonment, mommy issues, the awkward cell phone wave, and lots of purple sneakers, join your intrepid and water-logged blogger after the jump.
On to game two, the battle of teams what wear purple- the Dukes of James Madison and the Panthers of Prairie View. James Madison has led the entire way, and comfortably so for most of the game. Lauren Okafor leads the Dukes with nine off the bench, but it's been a very balanced scoring effort. Unsurprisingly, most folks have left, though a few have stayed. The Johnnies were around for a while, but most of them have left as well. Scouting, you're doing it wrong. James Madison has had good ball movement, though they don't react well to broken plays, and the folks behind us are bemoaning the slowness of Kenny Brooks's offense.
This was not so much a game as it was a blowout. Prairie View was never in it, and the biggest takeaway I got fro it for the Panthers is that they really miss Toyelle Wilson. I was not impressed with Dawn Brown's player management. It's one thing to have no faith in your bench, it's another to end up with a player with three fouls barely into the second quarter because you decide you're going to leave her in after she picks up her second foul four minutes into the game. I consider it a minor miracle that Asha Hampton-Finch didn't foul out, and am unsurprised that two other Panthers did. I also have to question the wisdom of rolling the ball with six minutes left in a thirty-point game. Some of us wanted to go home at that point, you know. No matter how much fun it was to watch Briana Brown in the end court bleachers doing her "I R SRS KEPTIN, THIS R SRS SKOWT" face.
Precious Roberts got a little bit of time in the second half and committed quick fouls. Taylor Overshown was the random bench guard of choice in the first half. Shamiya Brooks threw her weight around underneath with mixed results- couldn't get her shots to fall and fouled out fairly quickly, but seemed okay on the boards. Tonisha Lacey didn't seem to have her coach's confidence. I don't know why. Shaneece Stephens rocked the pompadour a la Janelle Monaé, and seemed to be good at making bad decisions.
Part of Prairie View's problem may be that they're not sure who's running the offense. Is it LaReahn Washington, or is it Jeanette Jackson? The offense seemed to move better when the ball was in Jackson's hands, but I'm not sure whether that was as the playmaker or as the scorer. Her fluffy ponytail made her stand out, as did her ability to get her to the line. Larissa Scott mixed it up on the boards, and set surprisingly strong screens for a woman of her slim build. Asha Hampton-Finch looked like she was trying to rock the Brittney Griner look with the leggings and 'do, but she didn't seem confident in her ability to play defense once she had fouls- and to be honest, she should have fouled out at hands to the face- there were a couple of plays where fouls were passed from her, one of which ended up helping foul out Washington. I feel lke I should remember more of what Washington did, but I can't, other than a general sense of not-good things for Prairie View. Yes, this is the kind of insightful analysis you slog through long paragraphs of Game Notes of Doom for. "Not-good things".
James Madison really got to empty their bench in the latter portion of the game. Amani Tatum was fast, but seemed a little lost. Da'Lishia Griffin went hard after rebounds. Crystal Ross got into the middle of a lot of plays- she's not afraid to get up in anyone's business. Destiny Jones is another big girl. You might detect a trend here. I disapprove very strongly of her shorts, though. In home whites, rolling shorts up like that makes them look like Depends, which is such a not-good look. Lauren Okafor went to work down low, using her build to muscle up on the slimmer posts of Prairie View and making solid defensive plays. Angela Mickens provided god offense off the bench, especially in the second half- she had a really pretty and-1 in the lane late in the game.
Nikki Newman's got a pretty stroke- it didn't go down a lot today, but I get the feeling it usually does. Precious Hall got herself into foul trouble and eventually out of the game, and seemed very frustrated about it. Jazmon Gwathmey has distractingly intense eyebrows. She spent a lot of time directing traffic late in the game- I think she was the last of the starters to come out. Kirby Buckholder was a big favorite among the James Madison fans behind us, for her shooting and her defense. Toia Giggetts was aggressive on the inside, sometimes to her detriment- she took an arm to the facemask, which is never fun.
Crowning moment of funny, first half: Lauren Okafor not quite being read for the pass and having it bounce spectacularly off her... chest… as if airbags had been successfully deployed.
Crowning moment of funny, second half: Toia Giggetts may have been the only person in the room who liked the DJ, because she was getting her groove on during one of the timeouts. There was serious hip-swaying going on. One of the assistants put a hand on her back as if to restrain her, and for a moment she stopped... but then the swaying began again, and by the time she went back to her chair on the bench, there was full-on shimmying occurring. Don't ever let them stop your groove.
It's a bad sign when there are game management calls being made in the first half.
James Madison looks ready to take the Colonial back. Then again, they weren't exactly playing tough competition out there.
December 14th, 2013: Drexel at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Poor shooting doomed St. John's in their first game of the Chartwells Holiday Classic, as the Red Storm fell to Drexel 62-55. Rachel Pearson led the Dragons with 15 points, 12 in the second half, and 10 rebounds; Sarah Curran added 14 points, 11 of those in the second half. Keylantra Langley led St. John's with 15 points.
For ennui, exhaustion, drifting snow, hoarseness, small dancing children, and t-shirts that don't fit, join your intrepid and chapped blogger after the jump.
Good morning, everyone! We're coming to you from the snow- well, it's not snowing in the arena, but it's snowing in Queens, which will probably depress attendance for the Chartwells Holiday Classic. Shame; Drexel and James Madison are both good, solid teams.
The good news is that Eugeneia McPherson is back in uniform for the first time in, like, ever. However, the walk-ons have both been deactivated and we seem to have misplaced Ashley Perez. I mean, Ashley hasn't had a great season so far, but it always makes me sad when a player leaves, and she's a nice kid.
The band is here, and in Christmas costumes. We have an elf. Be afraid of us, Drexel.
Former Johnnie Sky Lindsay is in the house- I originally thought she was doing some scouting for Hofstra, given that they have two conference foes in this tournament, but it looks like she's working for ESPN now. Doesn't surprise me. She's very telegenic.
Again with the guest DJ. The same lousy guest DJ we had last time. No. Stop. We have a band. We have a good band that has fun. Stop playing music instead of letting the band do their thing.
I don't think Kevin was happy with the trumpets during the anthem. I know I wasn't.
At half time, St. John's is up 31-23, but less due to their own efforts on offense than their defense and a late surge. The rim has been unkind to both teams, and we've been much hampered by a lot of fouls on both teams- I think there were twenty-five fouls called in the first half. Briana Brown leads all scorers with 10 points, including a three just as the shot clock expired that should have broken Drexel's back.
Young lady in the Penn State soccer shirt, you appear to be slightly lost,but as Penn State soccer is a very solid program that had nothing to do with Rene Portland's nonsense, I'll let it slide.
Okay, this is not promising, the trainer is running a rolling pin over the back of Aliyyah Handford's leg. This is really not reassuring, guys.
It's probably a good thing that I have to keep these notes G-rated for the sake of Swish Appeal's readership, because otherwise there would be a lot of swearing. I don't know what the deal with St. John's was today- maybe the dorms had a holiday party that ran late, maybe whatever happened to Ashley was emotionally traumatizing to the whole dang team, maybe the invasion of the body snatchers has begun- but they looked lethargic out there. It's like they had no idea what to do when their security blanket turned out to be more of a security lace doily. Everyone who wasn't a senior seemed to panic and not know what to do on offense.
Aleixs Smith was a quick offensive spark for the Dragons in the first half, hitting back to back shots. We staye a little closer on her in the second half, and I think that frustrated her a little bit, as she ended up with more fouls. Jackie Schluth was physical on defense; she reminded me weirdly of a former Johnnie (just in the build and the hair, she doesn't play like Buzz at all). Tory Thierolf seemed to be the defensive sub, judging from when she was in and out of the game in the waning minutes. She committed a couple of dumb fouls- in a game where everyone involved has been screaming at the refs, you can tell a call is bad when the coach starts screaming at the player for a change. Carrie Alexander didn't quite understand how screens work- they're not like screen doors, you can't just shove them out of the way and have the way open for you.
I'm really having trouble picking out anyone from Drexel to focus on. I blame the relatively drab colors. Really, you go with a name like Dragons, and the colors you go with are blue and yellow? At least UAB went with green. (I think I was also busy wanting to say highly inappropriate things in a tone of utter despair about St. John's. The perils of writing about the team that you love- when they get you down, they get you way down.)
Meghan Creighton had a knack for getting herself to the line and getting contact from St. John's players- I'm not going to say drawing contact, because she initiated as much as she took. Fiona Flanagan seemed more comfortable from the outside than on the inside. Rachel Pearson had a lot of trouble getting her bunnies to fall in the frist half, but heated up in the second half. So did Sarah Curran- she came up big later in the game. Abby Redick threw her weight around a little on the wing, but I'm not sure if she has a position.
Drexel held their composure well, and their shooting impreoved markedly in the second half, but I can't point to anything they did particularly well to get the win. I guess they did a decent job of clogging the paint, where St. John's likes to cut, but I'm not sure whether the epic fail that occurred under the Red Storm basket was more on Drexel's defense or the Red Storm's offensive offense.
Really happy to see Eugeneia McPherson back in uniform and on the floor. She seemed a little rusty- her back started seizing up in the second half, and they had to give her a few hard pounds to get her back on the floor. She brought hustle and defense, though her shot still leaves a fair amount to be desired. I don't know if she has confidence yet in her knee, because it looked like there wasn't as much lift on her shot as it should have been. I do like the unhurried way in which she moves- not slow, but completely in control. I don't like the hitting the floor quite so much, if only because I worry about her. Mallory Jones was willing to shoot- sometimes a little too willing. If you're the de facto center in a lineup because the other four players are all guards, you can't decide you're going to jack a three. There will be no one there to rebound it, and the other team will have the ball at a very critical point of the game. That makes us all sad. Jade Walker hustled well for rebounds, but couldn't hang on to them. Hands like stone. She's got to keep her hands up more on defense, and she has to know that if she calls that loudly for the ball, everyone on the floor will know that she considers herself open, including her defender. Aaaaand that's it for the bench play, since Sandra Udobi didn't play- I don't think she was ready, judging from her street clothes after the game. (That, and if she had been healthy, Joe would have had to put her in the game, the way Jade and Amber were playing.)
Aaliyah Lewis, what are you even doing? Tiny Aaliyah was really off her game today. Her clock management was lousy, and she launched pure panic shots in the second half. I don't think I could count the airballs- it seemed like she was just throwing the ball in the general vicinity of the basket without being concerned with the trajectory. Those are the shots we used to harp on Gina for, but they were just really, really bad. Aliyyah Handford was way off her game, too. I think her leg was bothering her- see above regarding the rolling pin being applied to her calf- but once her first few shots missed, her head fell completely out of the game. Nothing was coming easily, and for the most part she didn't seem inclined to make an effort to go for it. Too many times during the second half, she shuffled around the free throw line with her hands out, expecting to receive the ball despite the defenders who swarmed around her. Keylantra Langley came up with big shots and solid defense, in the starting spot that I suspect she's always considered rightfully hers. Amber Thompson was disgustingly passive today. She got an early foul, and I wonder if it got into her head, because she provided nothing. She's got to hit her bunnies. She's got to rebound. I'd be satisfied with at least one resounding block, the kind she can usually provide. Briana Brown was solid, and the way she's matured as a leader in her senior year is beautiful to watch. Today, however, I think she needed to be more of a fiery leader. Someone needed to yell at the team other than Joe.
Generally, the entire team looked like they were playing in quicksand. There was no sense of urgency, no movement on offense, minimal effort on defense. They didn't seem to take any pride in being up 13, they didn't seem to care about being down eight. I don't know what was wrong with them, but they need to fix it. Now. Or swearing will occur.
There was no rhythm and no flow to the game, and some of that came from the plethora of fouls that were called in the first half, compared to the amount that were called in the second half. I'm not saying the refs screwed us- if anything, Drexel got the worst of the calls. (Jade, stop holding. Seriously.) But it's hard to get a sense of where you're going if it's stop and go like rush hour on the LIE.
Is it really fair to two small children to spread presents over eighty feet of basketball court and then expect them to scoop everything up in thirty seconds? That's just mean, Santa.
I really thought we had it after Briana beat the shot clock, but we had no pep in the second half. There was nothing. A great howling void of rampant indifference. An emptiness that yearned to be filled and instead grew emptier. Or it's ark and I'm feeling existential. In either case, they can't lie down in the second half against James Madison. We're better than the CAA- let's prove it.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
December 7th, 2013: UMass Lowell at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Strong team play, a 66-37 rebounding edge, and 50.7% shooting allowed the Seton Hall Pirates to get past 33 turnovers in a 97-68 thrashing of UMass-Lowell. Tabatha Richardson-Smith led all scorers with 27 points, 18 in the first half, also adding 12 rebounds. Chizoba Ekedigwe had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Ka-Deidre Simmons had 15 points and 12 assists for the Pirates. Shannon Samuels had 18 points to lead the Riverhawks; Lindsey Doucette added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
For lots of big numbers, yet another injured Pirate, having to have blue hair, willing spirit, two minutes for embellishment, and priests praying overtime, join your intrepid and cognitively dissonant blogger after the jump.
After that epic weekend of basketball last week when your intrepid blogger pretty much took over Swish Appeal for a while, we needed to recharge, so it's been a whole week. But we're back in the swing of things at Seton Hall, getting our first ever look at the Riverhawks of UMass-Lowell.
Almost died of squee from Alexis Brown and Bra'Shey Ali playing with one of the kidlets. Something about Bra'Shey using her dreads as a toy for the kid was just too adorable for words.
At halftime it's 56-37 Seton Hall, but Coach Bozzella is still cranky enough to stomp so loudly that the ref on the other side of the court came over to give him a warning. When Seton Hall has been able to maintain possession of the ball, they've been very good. But UMass-Lowell plays a very tough press, and it's become painfully clear that Seton Hall only has one ballhandler that they trust, Ka-Deidre Simmons. Tabatha Richardson-Smith has 18, 10 of which came in something like the first five minutes of the game, before the Riverhawks got their press really well established.
I don't know what the context was, but Coach Bozzella got into a very intense discussion with the Riverhawks' coach before the game. It went on for several minutes. Granted, pretty much any conversation is going to be animated if Coach Bozzella is involved, but he did not seem happy. Until I hear anything real, I'm going to assume they were having a fierce debate about the merits of Rainbow Dash versus those of Twilight Sparkle.
In case it wasn't obvious UMass-Lowell is a hockey school, the Riverhawks come at you in waves, to the point where even Seton Hall's PA announcer was referring to their substitutions as line changes. Their coach backed off the full-five substitutions after a while, but I don't think fewer than three Lowell players ever came in at a time. So it's kind of hard to keep everyone straight unless they really stood out. Ten players came off the bench for the Riverhawks, so yeah you're not getting detailed breakdowns on everyone. Kenya Stewart is going to be a very nice player one of these days, in my opinion. She's still raw- she miscalculated the length of the court two or three times. But she's got a lot of athleticism and a pretty little turnaround jumper, and she gets in the lane well. Brittany Lomanno showed off a little bit of stroke and made a couple of good defensive plays late. Olufemi Hamilton, who was not wearing the number expected on the roster, worked the wings well. Jennifer Gonsalves had a pretty steal very late in the game.
Shannon Samuels impressed me a lot. You know how they say players can get to the basket in an eyeblink? This is the first time I've ever literally seen it. I blinked, and in that blink her first step was complete and she was to the basket for the lay-up. She's fast, and she has a knack for getting to the line. Lindsey Doucette has a pretty little quick turnaround from the free throw line, and her threes get some serious arc on them. She got into foul trouble early in the second half, but that turned out to be nothing. Jasmine McRoy popped a couple of quick threes in the first half- in general, the Riverhawks relied heavily on the three. Nicole Hayner got in foul trouble early, and because of all the subs, didn't see much of the floor after that. She left no impression. Neither did Lauren Fiola.
UMass-Lowell pressed and trapped pretty much constantly. I think that's the advantage of always having fresh players in. Once the press was broken, they looked disoriented, and when defense impeded their ball movement, they were very out of sync.
We all thought Kathleen Egan was going to redshirt this season. Surprise! She got a couple of stretches, and while the spirit was willing, she was in over her head. Teresa Kucera had her chances to score, but missed everything she took and committed a couple of stupid fouls. Tara Inman did a nice job on the boards and picked up some cheap points on free throws near the end of the game. Breanna Jones played briefly in the first half, but disappeared for most of the second half- not in the sense of not playing well, but in the sense of "where did she go, she's not on the bench". She only came back out when Brittany Webb twisted her ankle. I suspect she was just under the weather, and they didn't want to play her in a thirty-point game unless they really had to. Jasmine McCall seems to like her shot a lot. It was good to get to see everyone get some time. Brittany Webb was tough inside, with some resounding blocks, but went out very near the end of the game with a badly twisted ankle. I'm really tired of Pirates getting hurt, you know.
Sidney Cook was an absolute monster on the boards. If the Riverhawks put a shot up, she was pulling it down. Ka-Deidre Simmons had a lot of responsibility, with her teammates unable to advance the ball without trying to get it to her. She had a couple of gorgeous drives in the second half, drawing contact and getting to the line. She did well finding her teammates, as well. Chizoba Ekedigwe was everywhere on the offensive boards, but missed a couple of sequences of chippies that had her teammates even more frustrated than they had us. She came up big in the second half. Janee Johnson came up with a lot of big plays in small ways- she was one of the few players who was at least willing to try to get the ball across without immediately panicking and trying to give the ball to Ka-Deidre. She's a strange hybrid type player, neither guard nor forward, but she works in this system. Tabatha Richardson-Smith started the game on fire- cooled down a little bit later on, but found her stroke again in the equivalent of the third quarter. I think she was a little too interested in scoring as opposed to playing a complete game- she didn't tend to leave her hands up on defense, and her rebounding was inconsistent- she got on the boards a fair amount, but in streaks. It was funny when she rebounded two straight shots that didn't actually go up, though.
The officiating was woefully inconsistent, and it damaged both teams. Seton Hall got the words of it in the first half, by far- I thought Coach Bozzella was going to pop a vein when Tabatha got called for a carry on the same play where blood somehow magically ended up on her jersey. He spent a lot of time being angry. In the second half, more of the fouls went against UMass-Lowell, and some of the calls looked as dicey as the ones against Seton Hall from the first half. I don't mind, necessarily, if officials are unable to make a specific type of call, or if they emphasize one kind of foul or violation over another- so long as that is applied consistently. It was not applied consistently, and that's dangerous to everyone on the floor.
Duck! Beware flying forwards! Tabatha went flying out of bounds and cleared a photographer. (We thought there was a collision. The photographer in question assured us later that she was fine, after she gave us a lift back to the city.)
It annoys me that the band only got into the game when the Pirates were up 25 and more. Show some fight earlier, guys.
It was good to get a win like this, but I think the more valuable takeaway is the glaring weakness in the backcourt. We'll see how that develops with the eventual return of Alexis Brown and the possible development of Tara Inman, but right now, a good press will utterly destroy Seton Hall. Now that they know that, how will they combat it?
Sunday, December 1, 2013
December 1st, 2013: Harvard at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A crucial Crimson injury led to a big St. John's run, and the Red Storm came away with the 81-76 win over Harvard. Aliyyah Handford led all scorers with 25; Aaliyah Lewis added 19 points, five assists, and five steals. Temi Fagbenle notched 20 points and eight rebounds for Harvard.
For big plays, big games, unexpected boons, drama, and potential heartbreak, join your intrepid and distressingly hungry blogger after the jump.
We're serious about basketball never stopping. That's why, thirteen hours or so after our last game, we're back in the saddle, home again at Carnesecca Arena for the Red Storm's home match against the Crimson of Harvard (though they're wearing black, so it's currently a bit of a misnomer).
I really like Selina's shirt, or at least the shade of it. A closer look at the cut makes it less my style, because we all know everything's about me. At least the team's practicing free throws this time. I got tired of seeing them come off the rim.
There's a small group here supporting Sandra, which is nice. She's a good kid.
The band is really on their game today. Solid anthem, and a great band arrangement of "Let It Rock" (the Kevin Rudolf song).
Would that I could say the same for my Johnnies. Harvard's up 36-30. Fouls have been an issue- the differential was 12-8, and that's with a couple of late ones called on the Crimson. Elise Gordon has made her presence felt in the middle with 11 points for Harvard. Aliyyah Handford has 13 hard ones for St. John's, with Aaliyah Lewis contributing seven.
That shouldn't have had to be as dramatic a game as it was, and I feel a little bad for Harvard because of it- I think losing Christine Clark was a blow that they couldn't completely get over, though they put together a good run after St. John's surged out to an eight-point lead.
Elise Gordon was tough in the middle, throwing her weight around without fear. She saw less time in the second half, but was effective when she played. Jasmine Evans went hard to the basket, drawing fouls on her drives. Shilpa Tummala came on late with her shooting, though she seems to have a fondness for the fadeaway that doesn't suit her. She went out late after a rough collision with a St. John's defender- we thought it was an ankle injury, but the ice was closer to her knee. She ended up having to prop her foot on a redshirt's lap because they ran out of room on the bench. AnnMarie Healy canned a quick three, but I don't remember anything else she did.
Christine Clark really is the heart, soul, and captain of her team. She rebounded well inside for a guard. She was a key scorer for them in the first half. She makes them go. When she went out with the foot injury, it was like the team collapsed without her. And it was a bad foot injury. The shoe came off and stayed off, and feet should not be that red. I wish her all the best. Temi Fagbenle moved with a smooth grace on the inside, setting picks in the high post and putting soft shots in the basket. She stepped it up in the second half when her team needed someone. Melissa Mullins had a resounding block in the first half, and always seemed to be in the way of rebounds. Erin McDonnell showed off a little outside touch, which she might have been able to make more use of against a team like St. John's- our posts aren't used to stepping outside and dealing with forwards who can take the three. Hand-checks and picks got to her in the second half. Ali Curtis seemed to be the designated fouler when the foul derby began. She also had a pretty little shot in the lane.
I never thought I'd say this, but Mallory Jones was a huge part of why we won this game. She hit outside shots to open up the paint that Harvard was clogging, and with her build, she was able to make space on the inside. Watching her run a fast break is still somewhat of an oxymoron, but she came through with the skills we needed from her. Sandra Udobi was outmatched in the post. She tried hard, but it was clear that she was in over her head. Jade Walker gave some good minutes off the bench, but she too looked like she was in over her head with Harvard's forwards. Keylantra Langley only hit her shots when it counted, which is what I keep telling people- she only hits shot when the clock is running down, that should be the only time she's allowed to shoot. She was good defensively, too, called upon to counter the Crimson's outside attack.
Ashley Perez looked scared out of her mind out there. Does she not think she's ready for the responsibility? We needed her in the second half, and whether she was injured or just off her game, we couldn't bring her in. Amber Thompson was strong inside, though she had issues finishing, and two of her fouls were ill-considered (though the fifth was cheap- legit, but cheap). She got the crowd roaring early on with a resounding, emphatic leaping block of a three-pointer. Briana Brown had to deal with foul trouble, but she's still the captain, and she came up with a big three late in the game to stretch the lead. Aliyyah Handford had a little more trouble than usual getting into the lane in the first half, but was more successful in finding the seams in the second half, also turning steals into offense. I kind of wish she'd find a jump shot, but she's only a sophomore, I'm sure that'll come in time. Today was Aaliyah Lewis's coming out party. She saw that Aliyyah was having trouble getting going in the first half and became more assertive about looking for her shot. She backed off it a little bit in the second half, but at that point she started to use her quick hands and blazing speed to hit fast break lay-ups. She looked good.
A lot of contact under the basket went uncalled. We were unamused. The fouls didn't seem evenly distributed; then again, I was wondering whether Briana Brown was going to get called for her fifth.
Appropriate that one of the Chuck-a-Duck prize winners today was a guy in a BC cap (given that the proceeds go to a Boston College alumna's care).
Good crowd for a non-conference game. Hope they keep coming back.
On to Auburn- let's hope we have better luck with this SEC foe.
November 30th, 2013: Rutgers at Texas Tech (Barclays Invitational)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Rutgers raced out to a big first half lead and held on against Texas Tech to win the consolation game fo the Barclays Women's Invitational, 61-52. Tyler Scaife had 18 points to lead the Scarlet Knights, with Kahleah Copper adding 14 and nine rebounds. Audrisa Harrison and Jasmine Caston each had 11 for Texas Tech.
For mottos, rebounding, sweet fast breaks, winces of pain, and the never ending Rutgers fight song, join your intrepid and impatient blogger after the jump.
Basketball never stops, and neither does your intrepid blogger. It's only six or seven blocks from LIU to the Barclays Center, so after sandwiches and cheesecake at Junior's, we walked from the Turkey Classic to the Barclays Invitational, pleasantly surprised to find out that our tickets were in fact ready during the Texas Tech-Rutgers game. We missed the very beginning, but at halftime it's 36-25 Rutgers. Tyler Scaife has 12; no Lady Raider has more than four.
Another game of bad shooting, in which the urge to shout "guns up, UR DOIN IT RONG" grew ever stronger with every blown offensive rebound. Rutgers does that to teams, but they really need to not do it to themselves. On the other hand, Rutgers fans should really be used to it by now. Coach Stringer's been there for how many years? Brought in how many defensive-minded athletes who can't or won't shoot to save their lives? Relied too much on a single player to do all the scoring while everyone else passed the ball around? I used to be a Rutgers fan. I know what I'm talking about.
Syessence Davis sparkled off the bench. Her hands were very active on defense, and she hit some big shots in the second half. She rebounded well as well. Precious Person has somehow, inexplicably, along with Essence Carson's number, inherited Essence's inability to recognize the longer three-point line, despite the fact that Essence only figured this out in her W days wearing a different number. I didn't say it was logical. Christa Evans gave some minutes when Rachel Hollivay got in foul trouble, and with an offensive foul proved why she hasn't been getting minutes. Ariel Butts was solid in the middle, setting picks and screens for her teammates to get around and pass the ball to each other through.
Kahleah Copper took the worst of a hard collision with Amber Battle and came up holding her back, walking as if she wasn't sure how the whole walking thing should be working. She got back into the game and proceeded to continue hitting shots, so it wasn't as bad as it looked. (Either that, or she's made of iron, not Copper.) Rachel Hollivay earned the eternal rage of the people behind us for repeatedly missing chippies- she didn't have a field goal in the second half until something like the last two minutes of the game. She made up for it with her resounding blocks down low. Betnijah Laney rebounded well, but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. The red sleeves make her stick out (yes, I know they have to be the same color as the rest of the uniform, but they become more noticeable when they're red). Briyona Canty couldn't get her shot to fall, but made a couple of nice defensive plays. Tyler Scaife looked fantastic. I think she got the start, but I'm not completely certain. Her passes were slick and quick, and she drove the lane well. In the first half, she looked like the only Rutgers player who wanted to score, which makes sense, given that she's a freshman and therefore hasn't had the idea of offense being anathema drummed into her head yet.
Whittaker changed things up a little bit with the posts, going more with the Schneiders (even before the injury to Shauntal Nobles). Haley Schneider missed entirely too many shots that a woman of her height has no excuse for missing. Ivonne Cook Taylor got into the game and immediately launched a shot. I'm starting to think this is her game. Diamond Lockhart's speed seemed to get away from her- she was a little out of control. Jasmine Caston brought the offense in the second half, firing up threes to keep Texas Tech close.
Shauntal Nobles was rebounding well on the inside before a stray forearm caught her in the face and left her holding a towel over the vast majority of her face as she came off the court after being stuck in an awkward kneeling position for quite some time. It looked like she suffered a badly broken nose, but she was back on the bench (in a new jersey) by the end of the game, though she never went back in. She wasn't able to get her shot to go down, but she corralled a lot of offensive rebounds. Audrisa Harrison was a master of drawing contact and getting to the line. She didn't end up with a lot of shot attempts, but that was because she ended up at the line so often. Minta Spears went inside more than she did in the Michigan game, but that might have been because her threes weren't falling. She took a hard tumble into a couple of the flimsy chairs in the first row. They went down like dominoes. She was the one who insisted on fouling when Texas Tech was down double digits with thirty seconds to go, and those us in maize and blue were just waiting for the game to be over so we could get on with our late tip. Amber Battle's shot wasn't falling, though she was able to get decent shots off, but she rebounded well and got into defensive position. Marina Lizarazu was still taking too many risks, but had her game more under control than the other day.
Rutgers will always make a team play out of control, make them freak out, make them hesitate at the wrong times and hurry things up at the wrong times. Texas Tech fell right into that trap. Only the three-point shooting kept them in the game, and when those didn't fall, they were doomed.
I wasn't thrilled with the officials, but not to the extent that the Rutgers fans were. Of course, they're never happy with officials.
That was a good bounceback game for the Scarlet Knights. They needed a good game, and I think they also needed Scaife to assert herself more for the team's future. She's a talented, creative guard, and she needs to stay that way.
November 30th, 2013: Georgia Tech at McNeese State (Turkey Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Georgia Tech withstood a dogged McNeese State team and claimed the Turkey Classic title with a 69-60 win. Ty Marshall led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points off the bench, with Kaela Davis and Sydney Wallace each adding 13. Jayln Johnson led four Cowgirls in double figures with 14 points and eight assists.
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As the ticket booth clerk was so eager to remind me, this is a double-header, which means the championship game is up next, featuring the Cowgirls of McNeese State and the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. I'm going to be up-front about this- until I realized that Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett had graduated, I was actually more intrigued by McNeese than Georgia Tech. These are the perils of playing a full Division I fantasy league.
I'm actually hoping for a decent turnout- the Georgia Tech men are also in town, and there's a large Georgia Tech alumni contingent in the city for at least that game, as we ran into them at the Buffalo Wild Wings across from the Barclays Center yesterday.
Georgia Tech is wearing very yellow sneakers. They're a bit more florescent than the usual Georgia Tech gold, though. Their gear is all numbered, which will make it easy to identify them in the pregame. McNeese is working on ballhandling drills in a circle. Those are some strange stretches that Georgia Tech is doing.
Timing, Georgia Tech, you no haz it. Arena security was escorting a blind guy along the baseline, right when the Yellow Jackets were coming out. There are better ways of establishing yourself as the bad guy than running over a blind guy. They successfully dodged collisions, much to everyone's relief.
We've been seeing more of the Bonita Spence memorial patches, which I noticed yesterday but forgot to mention. Full name on the left breast of the uniform- yes, this is one of those times when using the initials is a bad idea. (Referees don't need to be labeled BS.)
At halftime, Georgia Tech is up 40-31 on McNeese State. McNeese has shown a lot of fight, but Georgia Tech has been too big and too fast for them most of the time. Sydney Wallace has 11 to lead the Yellow Jackets. Cecelia Okoye has eight for the Cowgirls. So far, I'm most intrigued by Shayla Bivens. Well-proportioned, athletic size with touch doesn't come along every day.
I don't know why Ty Marshall wasn't starting, but I'm presuming it was some sort of disciplinary action, since she didn't seem to be injured. She seemed to come up with all the big shots for the Yellow Jackets. Dawnn Maye was that player who missed the memo on points of emphasis, kept trying to put her hands on the opponent, and got called for the foul for it. Every team has one. Nariah Taylor was a big presence in the middle, a nice security blanket for when the guards weren't sure what to do with the shot clock running down, and a physical presence on the boards. Donnaizha Fountain had family at the game, or at least people who she was hugging during the LIU-Southern Utah game, and she came up with a big rebound in the second half.
Roddreka Rogers got her points on the inside, but I was more impressed with her movement off the ball, setting picks and screens for her teammates. I don't know if she's the regular starter, or who was starting instead of Marshall, but she's the kind of player you like to have on your team even when she's not putting up numbers. I'd have liked to have seen Shayla Bivens get more touches to see whether all the things she showed were things that she could do consistently, or whether they were all flukes. I don't think the blocks were flukes, though. One of them was so spectacular that you could probably have heard it at the Barclays Center, five blocks down Flatbush Avenue. Sydney Wallace seemed to get into her own head a lot, taking stupid shots that MaChelle Joseph did not approve of. She was stronger defensively in the second half, with a sweet steal leading to a lay-up for her only second-half points. Aaliyah Whiteside was quiet- I think Marshall took the starter's minutes at her position. Kaela Davis has the moves, and the shot, and the build, but I don't know if she has the attitude to succeed. She didn't seem to take well to being pulled early in the second half, and it didn't look like she wanted to listen to her coaches. That all being said, she put the game away for the Yellow Jackets with back to back buckets late in the second half, an athletic two in the lane and a sweet three from the right side. If she can get her head together, she'll be a legitimate player- but I need to be sure that she can get her head together.
Victoria Rachal was a fearless gunner, going to the lane no matter how big her opponents were (I think hers was the shot that Bivens so thoroughly swatted). She was cold in the first half, but caught fire in the second. Amber Donnes made some good defensive plays. Arianna James rebounded well.
Jayln Johnson impressed me a lot. In a sense, she reminded me of Leilani Mitchell, only on college scale- very small, very fast, runs a good offense, hits the three, and gives it all she's got on defense, but is a defensive liability because of her size. Allison Baggett has a very sweet shot, but hasn't learned how to defend without getting in foul trouble, and doesn't seem to know how to defend with four fouls. She's only a sophomore, and I think she'll learn. Cecelia Okoye rebounded powerfully, and her go-to move on the left wing fooled Georgia Tech more than once (which made it pretty funny during the second double-header, when Texas Tech tried to run the same play and botched it). She's not the most reliable shooter, but rebounding like that, she doesn't necessarily have to be. Alaina Verdin did a lot of small things, but none of the big things.. NeTanya Jones cleaned up under the basket, slipping behind the Yellow Jacket defense early and often.
I was very impressed with the Cowgirls. They looked to have mastered the element of surprise, and they know how to adapt. The threes weren't falling early when they were taking a lot of them, so the plays started to go to Okoye and Jones on the inside. Brooks Donald-Williams struck the right notes on the sideline, and I do like a coach who keeps her arguing with refs to a minimum.
Officials missed a couple of bad trips, which is impressive given the bright yellow sneakers on Georgia Tech, but I don't think they affected the game.
That was a much better game than I was expecting it to be, and I think McNeese has served notice to the Southland that they would very much like to be taken seriously.
November 30th, 2013: Southern Utah at LIU (Turkey Classic)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Southern Utah led start to finish in their 57-44 win over LIU-Brooklyn in the consolation of the LIU Turkey Classic. Andrea Jones and Marissa Robbins each had 11 for the Thunderbirds. Cleandra Roberts paced the Blackbirds with 10 points and seven rebounds.
For one irresistible pun, the beginning of a quest, cheesecake, stifled comebacks, and the All-Tournament Tchochke of Doom, join your intrepid and charged up blogger after the jump.
Another day, another game, another tournament to enjoy. This time we're kicking it mid-major style, at LIU's Wellness, Recreation, and Athletics Center, watching the consolation game of the LIU Turkey Classic, which pits LIU against Southern Utah in a game that you can say is for the birds. Most of the time I'd be inclined to take Thunderbirds over Blackbirds, but I'm wearing an LIU shirt, so that would be tacky. Sorry, Johnny, can't root for your cousins today.
If you're in the New York area, come check out LIU's arena sometime. It's nice, as long as you can deal with the stairs. I assume there's an elevator somewhere, but I haven't seen it. It's very small, and if you're looking for a lot of amenities, you're not going to find them. But it's well-kept and sparkling, and laid out well. I imagine it would be powerful homecourt advantage when full. I like the simple starkness of the black paint and black logo against the hardwood- only the volleyball lines are white.
Coaching staff looks like they've been working on more basic drills with this team, picks and screens instead of shooting.
At halftime, Southern Utah is up 32-21. This one reminds me a little of Rutgers-LSU, except with fewer dramatic steals and more traveling. And here I thought Basketball Travelers was the other tournament today. The announcer keeps eating the mic, so I'm not 100% certain of my basket attributions, but I think Andrea Jones is leading Southern Utah with seven and Courtney Sullivan is leading LIU with five. Neither team is shooting particularly well, and the officials have been letting a lot of contact slide.
Crowning moment of funny: Marquelle Funk's attempt at a flop. Blatant flop was blatant, complete with the head lolling to the side.
The dance and cheer teams are particularly intense and intricate today, and I hope we get to see an on-court performance from them by the end of the day. They don't even need us to be loud (which is good, because I spent part of the first quarter of the game being afraid I'd either cry or swear if I opened my mouth). As it turned out, we didn't, except for a generic t-shirt toss, and that makes me sad. Maybe they'll perform during the second game.
The desire is there for LIU, but not so much the talent. Granted, there's very, very little experience on this roster; most of the juniors and seniors came through junior college. If they can get some more seasoning and practice, they have a chance to do interesting things in the NEC next year or the year after that. They have a good class coming in, and as long as they resist the temptation to keep loading up on junior college upperclassmen, they can build something.
Marquelle Funk's flop, mentioned above, was pretty funny. She showed a little bit of offensive touch, and a little bit of defense. Jessica Richardson brought size, or at least relative size, on the inside- she had a nice defensive play during the second half LIU attempted comeback. Hailey Mandelko got all up in everyone's business on defense, tipping balls and making steals. Going low against her was a supremely bad idea. She also took really deep threes. Worked for her once. Didn't work for her the rest of the time. Maylinn Smith helped with the disruptive defense, in addition to putting down a couple of shots.
Desiree Jackson had a couple of quick baskets in the second half- I think they might even have been consecutive. Solid play- maybe shot a little too much in the first half. Andrea Jones ran a solid offense- not too many mistakes on her part. Southern Utah did a great job having their forwards cut to the baseline and get baskets- Carli Moreland, Marissa Robbins, and Lori Parkinson all got easy ones that way. Robbins seemed to come more alive in the second half, both on the scoreboard and on the glass, though she did have one big block in the first half. Moreland did more of her work in the first half. I was most impressed with sophomore Lori Parkinson, who made a lot of good defensive plays in the middle. She got her baskets, though she needs to work a little, or a lot, on her actual shooting. She always seemed to be getting the boards and finding the ball on defensive plays. My favorite kind of player- baskets are to be cherished and defense is to be prioritized.
Sophie Bhasin isn't afraid to shoot, or to run the fast break. She and Letava Whippy paired well on the break and the trap. Mercedes Harris gave good minutes on the glass. Shanovia Dove played very briefly in the first half, which might have been a variation of the spaghetti move, seeing what the freshman had to offer. (Spaghetti move: throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.) Aleisha Myers ball-hawked well and showed off her shot a little bit, and she has a lot of promise, but she's still very rough around the edges.
Courtney Sullivan seemed to give good senior leadership, or at least that's what her team was looking for out of her, though her shot wasn't going down. Kelly Robinson ran a solid offense, though I noticed that the team still seemed to be looking to Sullivan when the defense started to press. Letava Whippy was strong on the trap, and crashed the boards well for a guard of her build. She always seemed to be in the middle of the play, one way or another. Fanny Cavallo got into the paint well for rebounds, but couldn't hang on to a lot of them, and the lane violation that wiped out a made free throw was inexcusable for a senior. She missed a lot of easy shots in the first half, but got her shot somewhat more under control in the second half, picking her moments more carefully. Cleandra Roberts got some good boards, but couldn't hang on to the ball- a couple of passes went right through her hands. She had a flying lay-up near the end of the game that was a thing of beauty.
Officials were uneven early- missed a blatant kicked ball and more than a few travels- but managed to get their act together in the second half, and there weren't any blatant missed fouls that I can think of.
After the second game, we spotted most of Southern Utah at Junior's. Good choice for a postgame meal. Someone knows their stuff.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
November 30th, 2013: Michigan at LSU (Barclays Invitational)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Danielle Ballard's lay-up in the lane gave LSU the lead in the final minute, and Siera Thompson's halfcourt heave came late and short as LSU withstood a valiant Michigan comeback and claimed a 64-62 win. Shanece McKinney and Raigyne Moncrief each had 13 to pace the Tigers, with McKinney adding eight rebounds and Moncrief tallying four steals. Siera Thompson and Madison Ristovski each had 13 for the Wolverines, who came back from down ten to go up eight before LSU surged back.
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There's no such thing as too much basketball, though I'm starting to hit my limit. It's 9:30 and we're 12 minutes away from the tip of Michigan and LSU. The benches are switched from yesterday, which caused a bit of confusion among a pocket of LSU fans in the corner. They figured it out, though.
I feel vaguely insulted that wristbands for the seats directly behind the bench only seem to have been given out for the Rutgers game, so even if you're VIP for Michigan-LSU, they won't let you sit there. Though they seem to have chased off Michelle Edwards too, so maybe that's just them asserting their authority.
The free throw shooting contest tonight seems to be along team lines this time. Yesterday, it was more random- now they're actively looking for people in team gear.
At halftime, LSU is up 29-22, and frankly, it could be more. They've forced a lot of turnovers and controlled the pace of both offenses. But Michigan has come up with a couple of big threes- a three-pointer by Madison Ristovski, a three-point play from Nicole Elmblad- to keep it close. Shanece McKinney has eight for the Lady Tigers, Madison Ristovski 10 for the Wolverines.
Nicole's family is possibly crazier than we are, and I mean that as a compliment. Michigan's lucky to have them. A New York-based alumna with a cowbell came up and joined us in the second half, and then things got really loud. My hands and legs still hurt from that last stand in the final two minutes, but we had to stand our ground and show the late-shouting LSU fans that we weren't going to let them take over.
Rebecca Lyttle gave decent minutes at forward. Kendra Seto played briefly, only as a breather. Danielle Williams also made a brief appearance, when Siera Thompson got in foul trouble in the first half. Paige Rakers rocked the three-point line in the second half, pulling Michigan back into the game almost single-handedly. She needs to be a bit more consistent about following her shot, though. We needed her to come up huge, and she did, and yes, I'm aware that I just used the first-person for Michigan, I like these kids.
Siera Thompson's shot was non-existent in the first half, and it looked like she had lost confidence in her game, both as a shooter and as a point guard, as she had to do a lot of the ballhandling with Shannon Smith sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury. (Can you sprain a shoulder? Can I fit any more S's into this sentence?) She found more space, and her rhythm, in the second half, coming up with the game-tying three before the final basket. Nicole Elmblad seemed curiously hesitant to shoot, though I might have been hesitant in her place, given the way Coach was reacting to her attempt at a long two. Then again, that's pretty much how I react to a player taking shots from just in front of the line- you might as well take the extra step and try to add the extra point. I think she let the speed of the game and the physicality of LSU's forwards get to her. Cyesha Goree went strong to the basket, especially in the second half. She got a little overexcited late in the game- at least two of her shots were a bit too strong. Val Driscoll got the start in Smith's place, and though her offense was nothing to write home about, she was a rock defensively, coming up with big boards and massive blocks- she had a gorgeous one in the second half that got spiked to Thompson to start an attempt at a Michigan break. I think that was one we got tentative on, though- I think that was the one where the player under the basket irrationally decided to pass the ball back and it all ended in turnovers. She misjudged a few rebounds, but I'm willing to give her the willingness to go for them. Madison Ristovski was the big offensive threat in the first half, but she cooled down in the second- I think part of it was having to take over more of the ballhandling duties when Thompson got in foul trouble, because there was no other option.
I'll admit it- with everything I'd seen from Kim Barnes Arico in the past, I was expecting a lot more deep bench freshmen in the second half and a lot less comeback. They held it together much better than I thought they would, and when they weren't passing the ball to Raigyne Moncrief, the ball movement was crisp- a little hurried because of LSU's constant trapping, but when they were able to keep their heads, they played well.
Derreyal Youngblood played a little in the first half, but most of her minutes were taken up by Nikki Caldwell's smaller lineup and the hot play of Shanece McKinney. DaShawn Harden fired up the defense, ball-hawking and being a huge part of the traps. Danielle Ballard came up with the game-winner and was great cutting to the lane. She kept getting tangled up with Elmblad; unsurprisingly, the Elmblads sitting behind us did not approve of this. Jasmine Rhodes was quick getting to the paint- she came up with a fairly big shot late in the game. I don't know what Anne Pedersen was supposed to bring to the game, unless it was a matchup problem, but whatever it was, she didn't seem to be providing it. Shanece McKinney did a spectacular job of cleaning up on the boards- I think three of her makes were putbacks on offensive rebounds, and a couple of her misses were too. Her bulk inside turned the tide in LSU's favor.
I'm assuming that Theresa Plaisance was injured in some way, shape, or form, because she came out of the game very quickly early on and was not the same. She looked very soft, unwilling to take contact or to make the extra move to get her shots to go down. One of the Michigan folks thought they saw her crying on the bench, but I'm not certain of this. Still, it lends credence to the "injured but playing" theory. Jeanne Kenney is a gamer. She wasn't looking for her shot in the first half. In the second half, we left her open and she hit three after three. She also took a big dive into some rather flimsy chairs in the first row (the same ones that Minta Spears wiped out in the first game) and there was a bit of a delay as she dealt with soda on her shoes and on the court. Raigyne Moncrief looked more interested in getting her teammates involved, and sacrificing some of her shots to do it. She jumped the passing lanes beautifully. Sheila Boykin barely did anything worth remembering. I think that was part of why Caldwell went to a smaller, faster, more guard-oriented lineup. Rina Hill looked a little less in over her head than she was in the first game, but she was mostly the second body in the roving traps set by Moncrief, Harden, and Ballard. Those were merciless.
LSU seemed to rely too heavily on their defense. I mean, it worked for them in this game, and if they can convert their opponents' turnovers to points on a regular basis, they'll be dangerous. And Caldwell seemed to adapt her personnel well to the style of play and who was the hot hand. But they're going to need Plaisance to be more consistent and healthy. Those big posts don't have the stamina to go a full 40.
We were not pleased with the refs, but the people we were sitting with took it to levels usually only seen in Rutgers-land. It's not a delay of game if the court really does need to be cleaned, guys.
Devotion to duty: Paige Rakers took a cut to the forehead, held the pad in place, and scooted over to rejoin the huddle as the trainer continued to tend to her.
I'm proud of the Wolverines, and proud of the fans who answered the (cow)bell to support them. We out-yelled the LSU fans until the last two minutes, when the LSU fans decided to join the party. It was an almost-perfect ending to a day full of basketball.
Friday, November 29, 2013
November 29th, 2013: LSU at Rutgers (Barclays Invitational)
Just the Facts, Ma'am: It wasn't pretty, but LSU came away with the 69-65 win over Rutgers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Raigyne Moncrief led LSU with 27 points, including 15-20 from the line, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Rutgers was led by the 16 points of Kahleah Copper. The teams combined for 51 fouls and 51 turnovers.
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ALL THE BASKETBALL.
On to game 2, LSU and Rutgers. To be fair to the Rutgers fans, a fair amount of them got here for the first game. Lots more of them arrived in the middle. It's confusing to see lots of people in red for a team I no longer cheer for.
There were entrance videos for both teams, but no stats. I'll take that as a fair exchange, because I was starting to get a very strong feeling of having been an afterthought, and if you're going to schedule a tournament double-header, it's uncouth to make one game seem like the undercard.
Essence Carson is in the house, in an extremely dashing black longcoat.
Oh, hey, we have stats now. So Michigan and Texas Tech get entrance videos tomorrow, right?
This was not a pretty game, to put it mildly. Entirely too many turnovers, many of them unforced passes to the third row or fumbles (I'm pretty sure Kahleah Copper committed a buttfumble, but with her own butt, not her teammate's). A distinct lack of court awareness from both teams.
Jasmine Rhodes impressed me off the bench for LSU. For a guard of her size, she's not afraid to drive the lane and hit the boards. She had a good eye for going after her teammates' missed shots (and dear lord were there a lot of missed shots). Derreyal Youngblood was plenty happy to throw her weight around down low- she got lucky she didn't get called for an elbow on one play. She could stand to trim down a bit, but she's tough. Shanece McKinney came in to clean up lots of missed shots and get rebounds late in the game, as part of the offense/defense substitution. Anne Pedersen, I think, was supposed to be a shooter, but that didn't go well. She looked out of place on a lot of the plays.
Jeanne Kenney has no fear of anything. I think she hit the deck hard four times and got up ready for more. If the ball was loose, she tracked it down, even if it was in the third row. She's a steady hand, both with the ball and with her teammates. There was a point late in the game where Raigyne Moncrief had missed two crucial free throws and looked like the pressure of the Rutgers fans and the closeness of the game were getting to her. As soon as she was on her way back from missing the second free throw, Kenney came over and talked to her, as if to tell her to brush it off (at least I assume that was the meaning of the hand across the headband). Theresa Plaisance missed entirely too many easy shots for a player of her size. A 6-5 post player should not be throwing hooks over the basket. When she got her shot, it was beautiful, and she had spectacular speed on her first step spin move. But she needs to be consistent if she's going to be a serious prospect. (Really, though the daughter of a coach should know better than to bring the ball down when there are guards around.) Rina Hill got point guard duties a lot, and I don't know if she's ready yet. Maybe there was some miscommunication on the plays, but her passes were not going where they were supposed to be going.) Sheila Boykin either didn't play a lot or was really unmemorable when she did. I think Caldwell felt she needed to bring more size with McKinney and Youngblood against the big Rutgers posts. Raigyne Moncrief put on a show. She's still very raw and needs some mechanics on her jump shot (as in, any, at all, in some variety, because oh my God she looks like a spider when she leaps on the jumper) but she moves like someone took Allison Hightower and plugged Marie Ferdinand's speed into her. Her vertical is spectacular, her reflexes like lightning. She slices to the lane beautifully- if she can get a mechanically sound, or at least reliable, jumper, she'll be unstoppable. She'll need to bulk up a little if she wants to survive in the pro game, though. And yes, the fact that I'm saying this about a freshman this far ahead says a lot.
Tyler Scaife has the fancy moves- the wraparound pass to Briyona Canty for the lay-up was a thing of beauty- but I don't know if she has her coach's confidence yet.. I mean, she's only a freshman and it's only November, so maybe that'll come with a little more time, but it still seems odd that someone else is bringing the ball up if she's on the floor. Precious Person gave decent minutes in the first half, though she didn't play much in the second, part of a questionable series of coaching decisions by Coach Stringer. Christa Evans got first half minutes as well, picking up a basket and some picks. Ariel Butts is very, very loud. I think she's the only person in the arena who actually screams louder than my dashing reporter. She most definitely did not approve of her fouls. Alexis Burke missed two free throws, was pulled, and that was the last that was ever seen of her.
Betnijah Laney rebounds spectacularly well, which is probably why she's listed as a forward, but her shot is all kinds of funky. I like her hustle, but shes' got to work on her aim. Rachel Hollivay brought some resounding blocks, especially in the second half, but Coach Stringer seems to be riding herd on her by pulling back her minutes when she gets fouls- I think she sat the entire rest of the first half after picking up her second foul. Kahleah Copper has one reliable move in he paint, and she'll keep going to it as long as she can. It worked very well today- it seemed like she was always heading for the offensive glass. Briyona Canty seemed to be the focus of much of the offense- it looked like more plays were designed for her than for Copper, though Copper ended up with as many shots. Syessence Davis was very active on defense, even for a Scarlet Knight (and you know that's saying a lot with Rutgers's defense and ability to generate steals). Quick hands and fast feet- she made a lot of LSU turnovers happen.
Offensively, this game was a clunker, even in the second half when things loosened up a little and people actually started hitting lay-ups. It wasn't just good defense, except in the most abstract sense. There were a lot of bad passes and bad mechanics- I don't think more than half the players in that game had proper form on their jump shots. If you want to blame the bad offense on the good defense in the sense that both teams were in each other's heads and therefore they were rushing everything to get the ball up before someone else got their hands on it, that's a fair argument, but I think it's more likely that these are two defensive-minded teams that don't place a high priority on offensive flow. Not quite North Carolina, but right up there. Down there. Whatever.
Neither team was happy with the officials, and given the number of fouls called in this game, I can't say I'm surprised. It got very physical out there. I can't be sure any of those fouls were unearned, to be honest.
Rutgers fans were very loud. They didn't even wait for musical cues before starting the fight song. At least we waited.
Points to Nikki Caldwell for not going the obvious route in wearing team colors- her dress was tiger-striped. Also, points to Coach Stringer for her imposing longcoat- not quite as impressive as Essence's, but still extremely cool.
For the sake of everyone who has to watch basketball tomorrow, I hope both teams got the ugly out of their systems today.
November 29th, 2013: Texas Tech at Michigan (Barclays Invitational)
Just The Facts, Ma'am: Michigan withstood an early challenge and a second-half run from the Lady Raiders of Texas Tech to come away the victors, 82-71. Siera Thompson led all scorers with 24 points, adding five assists. Amber Battle led Texas Tech with 23 points and seven rebounds.
For crankiness, free shirts, a lack of respect, mild confusion, and lots of family, join your intrepid and blue blogger after the jump.
Good morning, Internet! We're coming to you on our usual tape delay, this time bright and early from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the Barclays Women's Invitational.
We are not, however, coming to you quite as early as we would like, as the Barclays Center was not ready for us until 10 AM. Well, we're still not sure about that, given that we were told three different opening times before they finally let us in at 10. One security guard decided to take pity on us and try to let us in, but another one turned around and made us go out again. My legs are still cramped. Then they tried to tell me I couldn't use my laptop in the seating area, but a guest services person named Candice and I negotiated it down to not using it during game play (which, duh, my favorite Michigan women did not hook me up with tickets to stare at a computer during play). Still. Barclays does not seem thrilled at having to deal with fans this early in the morning. Fine, I'm not thrilled with dealing with power-tripping security staff this early in the morning. We're even, and you're not getting money from me.
Anne Donovan is here (so ha, my laptop wouldn't be the most view-obstructive object in the seating bowl anyway).
Excellent anthem. Was amused that the color guard was facing the completely empty side of the arena across from the benches.
Michigan is up 12 at the half, on a solid team effort. Siera Thompson has 13, Shannon Smith 11. Amber Battle has been very impressive for Texas Tech.
Funniest moment of the day so far: they played the Michigan fight song, your dashing reporter led a sing-along… and the security guard posted behind Michigan's bench said, "What the [firetruck] was that?" Poor Guest Services Candice... maybe that's why she rotated to another section. Note that the Texas Tech fans didn't reciprocate at the next timeout.
Something smells really good, but I'm still not giving these people money. Even if they do have the hardwood equivalent of a Zamboni. That gives my heart glee, but I'm still not giving them money.
The game got a little too interesting in the middle of the second half, but one good run helped Michigan regain control, and when it got close again it was because Michigan had gone to their reserves. Saw a couple of young players this time around that I didn't see at the Iona tournament.
The Schneiders (who I'm assuming are sisters) are awfully skinny. Everything might be bigger in Texas, but not necessarily thicker. Haley Schneider had a couple of nice defensive tips. Jasmine Caston got the second half start, coming off the bench in the first half, and provided a little boost of offense with both long-range shooting and moves in the lane. She's got pretty good speed. Audrisa Harrison played more in the second half, mostly committing fouls on defense- very handsy overall. Ivonne Cook-Taylor came in when the game was already decided and took a quick three.
Minta Spears started the game shooting well from beyond the arc, but she seemed to press her shot more in the second half- her followthrough was much more exaggerated, and I think it threw off her shot. The one time she attempted to slash to the basket was epic fail, compounded by a bad foul call. Tiny Diamond Lockhart showed a lot of fire and ran her team well. I think they were trying to run the offense through Marina Lizarazu early on, but she was in over her head- bad passes, unnecessary turnovers, poor judgement. Shauntal Nobles was a decent presence on the inside, but she didn't get a lot of shots up. I liked her rebounding. But the one Lady Raider who impressed me on both ends of the floor and drew almost all of my attention was Amber Battle. She went hard after rebounds, hit shots from all over the floor, and displayed impressive foot speed on defense. She pretty much kept Texas Tech in the game single-handedly. In build and playing style, she reminded me a little of a miniature DeWanna Bonner, but with somewhat more awareness of her shot.
Rebecca Lyttle got called for two quick fouls when she finally got in in the second half, the second of which I felt was completely uncalled for. There's something I like about her, and not just her name. Danielle Williams showed good hustle in her second half minutes, but again, got dinged for a foul that seemed to come out of the blue. Don’t break the underclassmen, officials, we're going to need them for tomorrow. Val Driscoll really needs to work on her footwork, but was solid defensively- she had a beautiful block/deflection that led to a Nicole Elmblad steal that I'm pretty sure led to a Michigan fast break. Kendra Seto played late, and was not memorable other than an ill-advised attempt at a trap on the sideline. Paige Rakers had her shot going off the bench, and mixed it up inside on the boards- a lot of the time, only the headband made it possible for us to tell her apart from Nicole Elmblad, who is at least nominally a forward. But Michigan can't rely on Rakers to be their entire bench, especially not wih the injury to Shannon Smith.
I'm starting to wonder if Madison Ristovski hit a late growth spurt and she's still trying to adjust to it. She dribbles like she expects to be about three inches shorter, and it sort of makes her look like a young horse, all arms and legs and falling over. She shot well in the second half, though. Shannon Smith shot really well, both from outside and in the lane. She left in the second half with an apparent shoulder injury after a collision landed her hard into Elmblad's leg. She was holding her right arm absolutely motionless when we saw her after the game, and that's going to be a problem for tomorrow, because she seesm to be the only player with the confidence to bring the ball up the court. Siera Thompson shot lights out, especially in the first half, and always seemed to come up with the big shot whenever Texas Tech made a run in the second half. Cyesha Goree had to deal with some very tough fouls (I'm really not sure what that fourth foul was, other than inaccurate) but seemed to take the right message from the refs getting into her head and took the ball strong to the basket once she got back into the game after the fourth foul. (It also amuses me that she seems to be in charge of carrying young Aricos; that job used to belong to Joy McCorvey at St. John's. I assume Joy gave her pointers on how not to drop Coach's kids.) Nicole Elmblad was solid all around- didn’t necessarily stand out, but didn't screw up.
There were a distressing number of times when Michigan seemed to ignore the play that had been called, ignoring open players and going one-on-one to the basket. Repeatedly ignoring the coach's play calling is not a good plan when that coach is Kim Barnes Arico. She tends to shriek. Use your teammates, guys. Good things happen when you use your teammates.
We were not impressed with the officiating crew. It got really tiresome whenever Whittaker started complaining about the officiating, given that Michigan usually started out in a deep hole, foul-wise. I'm pretty sure one of them was an Enterline, and it was funny when he photo-bombed someone in the front row, but referees aren't supposed to be funny, they're supposed to be ignorable.
Minimal timeout entertainment, so no real commentary on that.
Depth worries me for Michigan tomorrow. For Texas Tech against Rutgers, I'd be concerned about their shakiness at the point and how one-dimensional their offense seemed to be.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
November 20th, 2013: Quinnipiac at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Another sterling performance from Aliyyah Handford fueled the Red Storm in their 76-66 win over Quinnipiac. Handford posted game highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds. Briana Brown added 16 points for St. John's. Brittany mcQuain and Gillian Abshire each had 14 points for Quinnipiac.
For slashing, signs of the end of the world, distractions, miscounts, and revenge, join your intrepid and avenged blogger after the jump.
It's been two whole days since you've heard from me. You guys must be going through withdrawal or something. Tonight we're back at Carnesecca Arena for the revenge match, St. John's hosting Quinnipiac and hoping to explain to the former NEC team that they don't get to sweep them.
Decent crowd tonight, though part of it is because a lot of the student athletes are in the house. The men's basketball team, with their awesome letter jackets, sent several representatives, and I've also seen gear from track and field, baseball, volleyball, and golf.
Amazing anthem from a freshman. Almost had a country feel to it.
At halftime, St. John's is up 36-27, and Aliyyah Handford is doing what Aliyyah Handford does, with 15 points at the break. Quinnipiac really does seem to be a hockey school- Fabbri sends her players in in full waves, like a hockey line change. Calling them the collection of misfit toys sounds harsher than it should, but by that I mean "body types that do not fit neatly into a positional mold and therefore are not highly sought after, but are still talented". They play very well together, and coming in waves means that they're always fresh.
I think I was expecting St. John's to put up more of a fight, even in the win, but I was definitely expecting Quinnipiac to come with the kind of fight and ferocity they showed. Do not sleep on the Bobcats, because they will claw your face off if you do. I love the Gaels, don't get me wrong, but I suspect Quinnipiac and Marist will be the ones fighting for the MAAC title when you get right down to the real nitty-gritty.
Camryn Warner showed some moves in the paint, but seemed surprised that using her posterior to clear out space would be considered a foul. Nikoline Ostergaard got a bit grabby. Shaina Earle was part of the wave in the first half; Morgan Manz was part of it in the second half. I think I had a recollection of speed from Maria Napolitano. Adily Martucci picked up a nifty poke check on what would have been a fast break by Ashley Perez. The bench players in general worked together really well as a unit (which I guess is the point of that system) but it makes it hard to remember specific things about specific players.
Jasmine Martin went to the paint without fear for a guard of her size. Brittany McQuain used her build well on the inside- size is the wrong word, because she's not necessarily tall, but she's thick and broad-shouldered, and she's not afraid to barrel in after rebounds, on either end of the floor. Samantha Guastella showed off a little bit of range and a little bit of flair. She and Gillian Abshire both put up pretty floaters in the lane that were good. Abshire went in hard and often.
Quinnipiac crashed the boards exceptionally well. They were after everything. I think I would have liked that better about them if they weren't playing us.
Jade Walker does exist! Like many a freshman post, she needs to get into the weight room and do some conditioning, but I like what I've seen from her so far. She had a really nice block in the first half, and she got into position reasonably well on both ends of the floor. Sandra Udobi's knee has been bothering her, so I'm not surprised that she wasn't as effective as she could be. She wasn't chasing rebounds at all, and that makes me sad. Kelantra Langley did that thing where she hits the shot at the endo f the shot clock, because that's what Key does. She took some of the ballhandling pressure off the smaller guards late in the second half, too.
Amber Thompson started the game off like a house on fire, but cooled off later on. Looking at her, I sort of felt like I was looking at an incomplete jigsaw puzzle- you could see the picture forming, and where the pieces were missing, but it's hard to tell where the pieces were. Ashley Perez was a hot mess tonight. I like her, but she's either got to improve her ballhandling or her ability to handle pressure. Bad things happened when she tried o bring the ball up against pressure, and I think the frustration got to her all over the floor. Her shot wasn't falling, her passing was suspect, and she generally seemed irritated with all things related to the game. Coach had to take her aside during one of the timeouts for some one-on-one time. Aaliyah Lewis is so very tiny, and needs to put a little more oomph into some of her shots, but I like the way she runs the team. I think once she's got a little more seniority and confidence, she'll be even more solid. Briana Brown is sneaky. I can't quite get behind calling her "the captain" the way the St. John's Twitter does, even though she's team captain, because The Captain is either Derek Jeter or Mark Messier, depending on the season, but I love her composure and poise, and her defense, and her willingness to go up against anyone and anything, even players bigger than she is by a lot. And then there was Aliyyah Handford, who continues to slice through defenses like a hot knife through butter. She even hit a jumper, which is known far and wide as one of the signs of the apocalypse.
The only thing that worries me about Aliyyah continuing to be awesome is that most of her teammates seem to be looking to her to bail them out instead of shooting. Briana is immune, for the most part, because she's not afraid of anything. But as awesome as Aliyyah is, she can't do it alone.
The officials had both coaches hot under the collar, Fabbri because she wanted travels, Joe because he got sick of his players being called for charges. I don't think there was a single block called in the game. Everything was player control.
I am immensely jealous of the guys' letter jackets. Old-fashioned and awesome. I want one, but I know what I would have to do to get it, and I think my husband would object.
That being said, what do I have to do to get my hands on the skyline socks that come with the team uniform? Because they are awesome and New York and I love them.
There are no more easy ones. It's on the road to the SEC for two games with a Harvard game in between. Let's see what these kids can do. We're going to need everyone in the game, everyone with their eye on the ball, everyone looking to contribute.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
November 17th, 2013: Pacific at Fordham
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Fordham started strong and never looked back in their 84-63 win over Pacific. Erin Rooney's 23 points and 10 rebounds paced five Rams in double figures. KiKi Moore had 20 points and four steals to lead the Tigers.
For rain, buses, terror, weight class failures, bricks, and bright colors, join your intrepid and orange blogger after the jump.
The perils of a West Coast home and home is that those West Coast teams have to come back across the country at some point. Unfortunately for Fordham, their swing against San Francisco and Pacific brought them two teams that I don't need an excuse to cheer for. One of my closest basketball buddies has been a longtime Pacific supporter, and for years I've been hearing about his team in all kinds of detail. It's actually kind of strange to see a team in real life that I've been hearing about for so long. I've been cheering for them to do well and I have no idea what any of them look like. It's weird. Kind of creepy if you think about it too hard, but weird and fun all at the same time.
Instead of a student section today, there's a kids zone, with a bouncy cage and what appear to be slides and basketball hoops all tied up into one. I guess that says a lot about the crowd Fordham expects to get on a weekend versus on a weekday.
I don't know if I like the Nike striping on Pacific's shorts. It worked for Arizona, and it didn't work for Gonzaga when I saw them on TV, but I'm not sure if it works for Pacific- tiger stripes versus the sudden intrusion of white. I guess maybe they felt that black and orange would be biting Princeton's style too much?
Oooh, there's also an air hockey table! Maybe we can play at halftime. Yes, I'm a giant kid, shut up.
Pacific does a lot of shooting, running their drills extra long each time they're out there.
Nice touch playing "California Love", DJ.
Glee Club anthem, a cappella. Not necessarily the best I've ever heard, but there's something about an a cappella anthem at Rose Hill that creates a feeling of serenity. This really should be a church of basketball.
It's halftime as I type this, and Fordham is up 45-26. Erin Rooney is playing well, and Emily Tapio is contributing on offense for the first time that I've seen all season. Pacific is putting up stupid shots, (actually, to use Coach Roberts's phrasing, crappy shots) and they're not getting anything out of their stalwarts. (Of course, it doesn't help that Kendall Kenyon is about the size of Samantha Clark's thigh.) There is a particularly bad official running the crew today, and even though her biggest blooper has been in Pacific's favor, that kind of blatant incompetence really grinds my gears.
I was not expecting Pacific to be this discombobulated, and I was not expecting their stalwarts to be as underwhelming as they were today. This is a team that needs to get its act together if it even thinks it's going to think about being competitive in the West Coast Conference.
I was pleasantly surprised by Shanice Butler, who came off the bench fairly late in the first half. She attacked the rim well and kept a lot of rebounds alive. I think I'd like to see her be more comfortable on the weak side- a couple of her shots were made unnecessarily more difficult because she had to cross underneath the basket to put them up. Kristina Johnson is perhaps overly fond of the drive and dish- not that driving and dishing isn't a perfectly valid basketball play, but it's made much less effective when the defense realizes that you're not going to take the shot. They don't have to worry as much about covering you. I like the fearlessness of her driving- I'd just like to see her shoot a little more. Unique Coleman looked very freshman-y out there. Kind of lost and out of position. Marjorie Heard has some of the best "what do you mean I committed a foul/what do you mean I don't get free throws" expressions I've ever seen, and I've seen some good ones. She did a lot of falling down- mixed it up well enough on the inside, but always seemed to be expecting a call and annoyed that she wasn't getting one. I cannot remember anything that Hailie Eckles did other than get caught out of position a lot.
It actually worries me for Pacific's sake that the best player they had today was KiKi Moore, because she's only going to be there for this season. She plays beautiful defense. I was impressed with the constant movement of her hands on defense. She floated up a couple of shots that she could have taken a little more care with, but if they go down, they go down. Sam Pettinger's head was not in the game. For a senior point guard, she was making a lot of stupid plays, to the point where Moore was bringing the ball up more often than not. Erin Butler threw up bad shots, to the point where Coach Roberts actually blurted out "Erin, what was that?!" after a shot that fell particularly short into triple coverage. The three in the second half got her back on the right track, but only a little bit. She spent much of the game making bad decisions. (You will notice that as a bit of a trend here.) Madison Parrish was actually pretty solid, though she seemed a little bit gun-shy. I was very disappointed in Kendall Kenyon, who was a stalwart for my fantasy team last year (yes, some of us basketball obsessives run a college basketball fantasy league, no money and very little pride). She seemed utterly terrified of going up against Samantha Clark on either end of the floor. Rationally, I can't say that I blame her- there's a reason they call her Sticks and Samantha Clark puts me in mind of Cathrine Kraayeveld- but she made no effort until deep into the second half. When she did go to the basket, there was a sort of gawky grace to her movement. I'm not sure if the three is supposed to be a part of her game, because she didn't look comfortable taking the one that she did hit.
I continue to be amused at Mary Nwachukwu's slide down the Fordham rotation, but I willingly own my taste for schadenfreude pie. She's now behind two freshmen named Danielle. Danielle Padovano did the dirty work inside, and got called for the fouls for it. Danielle Burns seemed a little out of sorts on her shot, but kept up well with the Pacific ballhandlers. Khadijah Gibson played very briefly at the end of the game and showed why she was only playing at the end of the game- questionable court awareness.
Hannah Missry got her shot back. You know what happens when you don't stick to Hannah Missry and what happens when you give her even a moment of space? She fires up a three. She has one of the fastest releases I've seen in a long time. Maybe not Crystal Robinson fast, but right up there. Emily Tapio had an offensive explosion the likes of which I haven't seen from her this season, making moves under the basket and getting herself to the line. Abigail Corning was a little shaky on defense, or at least on sensible defense, but solid on offense, a steady hand for her team. Samantha Clark really needs more touches, which I'm going to keep saying whenever I see a Fordham game, because she has something closer to a miniature Big XII body than an A-10 body, and she can back down most players in the metro area. She showed off a little outside touch today, too. Erin Rooney sliced through the lane like a hot knife through butter, weaving around defenders and going to the basket without fear. I'm really starting to take a dislike to that Kiwi. Not because she can't play, but because she's good for a team that I don't like this year.
Questionable officiating, to put it mildly. As discussed in the halftime notes, the biggest blooper was in Pacific's favor, allowing a bucket that came well after the shot clock buzzer. One official seemed particularly zealous about the points of emphasis, while another appeared to have a distaste for tie-ups, blowing the whistle as soon as the second player dove in, giving them no opportunity to get possession. They were not popular with either coach. (Granted, Coach Roberts was probably too busy despairing at her team's inability to hit free throws to worry about earning the attempts. Doesn't matter if you get them when you can't hit them.)
Cheerleaders only got involved in the game when Fordham was up 20. That's cute. Not.
We never did get to the air hockey table.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
November 16th, 2013: St. Francis (NY) at St. John's
Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. Francis played a tough first half, but St. John's pulled away in the second half to notch a 66-56 win at home. Aliyyah Handford had 19 points and eight steals to lead the Red Storm; Amber Thompson had nine points and 12 rebounds. Leah Fechko led the Terriers with 15 points and eight rebounds.
For dramatic hairstyles, bad shooting, promise, adjustment, and the sheer concentrated awesome that is Aliyyah Handford, join your intrepid and colorful blogger after the jump.
It's a gorgeous autumn day outside, not quite Indian summer in New York but beautiful all the same, so it's a perfect day to walk the three-quarters of a mile or so to St. John's for their game against St. Francis College.
There's some kind of honoring veterans thing going on today, judging from the Wounded Warriors Project shirts that St. John's is wearing.
We have a lot of injuries or something right now. Gina McPherson still hasn't been cleared to play, the two transfers don't become eligible until next semester, and now Aaliyah Lewis is in street clothes along with Jade Walker. If it weren't for Cynthia, we wouldn't have any freshmen at all. I'm sad. I wanted to show Tiny Aaliyah's vertical off to my mom, who missed the Iona game. Joe's going to look like he has an entire entourage.
Good anthem, but she could use a little breathing work.
St. Francis doesn't have the talent yet, but they are the soundest team I've seen all year. Which, granted, isn't saying much in the second week of the season, but given how low the expectations were for the Terriers, I think that says a lot about what Thurston's been able to do with this team.
Tiny Jasmin Robinson cut to the lane like nobody's business- couldn't get a shot to fall but hit her free throws when she got to the line. She's pretty fierce, but I guess that comes with the territory of being a small guard in Division I basketball. I found myself wondering if she was St. Francis's token Brooklyn kid, the way UConn always has a token Connecticut kid. Sarah Benedetti gave them good shooting and key minutes when some of their guards were dealing with foul trouble. She hit a beautiful floater at the end of the shot clock in the first half, and I was all "okay, if you can hit that you can have it". I think I kept mixing up Olivia Levey with Jaymee Veney (it's the surname similarity and the numerical closeness, I think). Colette Hounshell mixed it up inside, not necessarily to her team's advantage.
Jaymee Veney was good on the inside and on the boards. Leah Fechko showed flair and range. I was expecting more from the Aussies, Eilidh Simpson and Jessica Kaufman. The shooting was just not there for them. Katie Fox was unmemorable.
These notes got briefer because as individual players, St. Francis wasn't necessarily memorable, but they worked well together as a team and remained as dogged as their name would suggest. They were stubborn, they were tough, they were sound except for their passing (and that was as much related to the Red Storm's ability to jump the passing lanes), and they never gave up. If they can get some talent in there, they can be a very dangerous team in the NEC and be one of those mid-majors that stuns a BCS school (kind of like Quinnipiac did last year).
So, yeah, as we were down to nine healthy bodies, two of those being very tiny walk-ons, there wasn't a lot of bench play. Mallory Jones had a realy, really bad first half, but seemed to get into more of a rhythm in the second half when her shot started falling. She still has a long way to go before she can be an effective player for the Red Storm. I don't know if she knows what her role or her position are, and that's not a good thing for a junior. I know she's been out of commission for a while, but I sort of expected her to be a little less lost once she finally saw action. Sandra Udobi seems to have missed some of the memos on points of emphasis- she went in strong, but she got called for a lot of fouls. Using your head in basketball does not involve letting the ball hit you in the face.
I don't know what was up with Ashley Perez's game today, but it makes me sad whens he does badly. Her shot showed up a bit in the second half, but her defense was sorely lacking and her passing was iffy. And swearing loudly in front of children is not a good idea, young lady. (started with f, ended with uck, wasn't firetruck). I understood her frustration at that point, but manners are important too. Briana Brown, our team captain and the most level-headed person on the team, was solid. She had a pretty floater to answer Benedetti's buzzer-beater. She took a lot of hits. Keylantra Langley demonstrated more range than we were used to from her, and got to the line in the second half, when things were getting uncomfortably tight. Amber Thompson rebounded well, and started the game of well on offense, but then her shot went to hell in a handbasket. She's our de facto center- missing shots close to the rim is unacceptable. She has the moves- the moves look perfect- and then the shot doesn't go in. So frustrating. But I like her anyway. Aliyyah Handford came back down to earth somewhat, which isn't saying a lot, given how incandescent she's been in the first two games. What she did instead was demonstrate a superb ability to jump the passing lanes. She gambles a lot on defense, and I don't know if that'll work as well against a more talented team, but she had three steals before the first media timeout, which was kind of awesome. I just wish she'd find a jumper somewhere. She can have Gina's, it's not like Gina's using it right now. If she had a jumper she'd be completely unstoppable and manage to make Da'shena Stevens not be the greatest #3 in St. John's basketball history.
The officials today seemed a little discombobulated. There were two block/charge overturned calls, one at each end of the floor, and a couple of mixups with who a foul was allocated to.
Band had to do double duty after an event in the morning, and they seemed kind of tired, but the music was much more energetic than usual.
I think St. John's overlooked St. Francis on their way to the revenge match against Quinnipiac. We pulled it off in the end, but we're going to need to give Aliyyah some support if we're going to beat anyone coming up. The rest of the schedule is not easy. Not by a long shot.