02-20-2020, 05:57 PM
Really really late to the party here, but finally got to see the Colorado game after a really busy weekend/week. Beyond pushing and shoving to get to the front of the Kiana Williams fan club, just a few things to add to all the great comments:
Unless I missed it, it has gone unremarked that in the entire last quarter of the game, players not named Kiana Williams made exactly one basket in the last 5 minutes (a Fingall hop shot in the paint off a rebound/pass from Lexie Hull as she attempted to abort a failing effort to drive to the basket). It concerns me a little bit that it felt a bit like everyone but Kiana was turtling down the stretch. Our defensive effort was still really strong, but we didn't seem to be playing with confidence on offense and I didn't even think their defense was that spectacular over the last few minutes, esp. with Sherrod off the floor for part of it.
Relatedly, I listened very closely for signs of homerism from the commentators given what everyone else had remarked upon. To be honest, I felt like it was less partisanship and more that Colorado was making almost every dynamic/exciting play over the last 8-9 minutes of the game. They absolutely were trying to hype up the possibility of an upset, and given the crowd enthusiasm, I'm sure they were naturally getting louder/more vocal off of Colorado plays that thrilled the crowd. But they still talking up how great Williams was right up to the buzzer-beater, and the only time it felt really, really homerish was the extended discussion about just how amazing Aubrey Knight was. That definitely felt beyond-neutral, but I can see how they might want to laud a bench player coming up big and who was returning from injuries.
Related to both points: I am getting a creeping worry that without Jones and Carrington, we are one bad night for Lexie or Kiana away from an upset in the tournament(s). I know it's hard to play @ CO and they took it to us earlier in the season, but that should not have been a close game, and if Lexie had gone something like 5-12, it wouldn't have been. Or if anyone else really stepped up down the stretch. If you look back over most of our tournament (and high-profile regular season) losses over the past decade, they often been games where we have one or maybe two clutch players (as Williams was vs. CO), but otherwise no other really significant and consistent offensive contributions.
Finally, here's a question I have re: Lexie and driving to the basket: I get the sense that both Hulls have picked up a little bit of a reputation for being overly aggressive, and they definitely get called for fouls at an above average rate for players their size/heft, in part because they have long arms and the use them very effectively. I wonder if the CO defenders felt like they could close in harder on Lexie because the refs might be less like to call a defensive foul and/or more likely to call a charge on Lexie? Recall that charge call against Lexie early on that the head ref overruled, for example. For a little while after that, CO wasn't quite as aggressive with Lexie under the hoop. But by the second half, they were really going hard at her, and it was noticeable to me how much more the CO defenders were closing in physically on Lexie than on Kiana. Yes, Kiana has some incredibly smooth moves and can change speed and direction almost on a dime. But she also fouls so rarely that I have to imagine a defender closing in on her has to think they won't get the benefit of the doubt in a way that I genuinely feel like, at time, opposing players have gotten versus the Hulls.
Just a few thoughts to throw out there.
Unless I missed it, it has gone unremarked that in the entire last quarter of the game, players not named Kiana Williams made exactly one basket in the last 5 minutes (a Fingall hop shot in the paint off a rebound/pass from Lexie Hull as she attempted to abort a failing effort to drive to the basket). It concerns me a little bit that it felt a bit like everyone but Kiana was turtling down the stretch. Our defensive effort was still really strong, but we didn't seem to be playing with confidence on offense and I didn't even think their defense was that spectacular over the last few minutes, esp. with Sherrod off the floor for part of it.
Relatedly, I listened very closely for signs of homerism from the commentators given what everyone else had remarked upon. To be honest, I felt like it was less partisanship and more that Colorado was making almost every dynamic/exciting play over the last 8-9 minutes of the game. They absolutely were trying to hype up the possibility of an upset, and given the crowd enthusiasm, I'm sure they were naturally getting louder/more vocal off of Colorado plays that thrilled the crowd. But they still talking up how great Williams was right up to the buzzer-beater, and the only time it felt really, really homerish was the extended discussion about just how amazing Aubrey Knight was. That definitely felt beyond-neutral, but I can see how they might want to laud a bench player coming up big and who was returning from injuries.
Related to both points: I am getting a creeping worry that without Jones and Carrington, we are one bad night for Lexie or Kiana away from an upset in the tournament(s). I know it's hard to play @ CO and they took it to us earlier in the season, but that should not have been a close game, and if Lexie had gone something like 5-12, it wouldn't have been. Or if anyone else really stepped up down the stretch. If you look back over most of our tournament (and high-profile regular season) losses over the past decade, they often been games where we have one or maybe two clutch players (as Williams was vs. CO), but otherwise no other really significant and consistent offensive contributions.
Finally, here's a question I have re: Lexie and driving to the basket: I get the sense that both Hulls have picked up a little bit of a reputation for being overly aggressive, and they definitely get called for fouls at an above average rate for players their size/heft, in part because they have long arms and the use them very effectively. I wonder if the CO defenders felt like they could close in harder on Lexie because the refs might be less like to call a defensive foul and/or more likely to call a charge on Lexie? Recall that charge call against Lexie early on that the head ref overruled, for example. For a little while after that, CO wasn't quite as aggressive with Lexie under the hoop. But by the second half, they were really going hard at her, and it was noticeable to me how much more the CO defenders were closing in physically on Lexie than on Kiana. Yes, Kiana has some incredibly smooth moves and can change speed and direction almost on a dime. But she also fouls so rarely that I have to imagine a defender closing in on her has to think they won't get the benefit of the doubt in a way that I genuinely feel like, at time, opposing players have gotten versus the Hulls.
Just a few thoughts to throw out there.