[Viking_Guy]

Jacketree--

What I meant by turned was "enabled the decisive run."  The fact that we shot 2-17 from 3 point range, along with other offensive ineptitude, was one indicator of a deciding factor in the entire game.  But those three calls (and okay, the Nneka moving screen call was the most defensible of the three) created three extra possessions for Baylor, and that run in the middle of the second half was the decisive point.  Up until that point, Stanford was playing fairly cohesively, and though they were milking the clock, other players were involved, moving off the ball and really working together well.

After that run, I noticed more and more tentativeness on offense, MUCH more of a "wait for Nneka to do something" attitude from the other players.

The moving screen call on Chiney - well, perhaps, though Chiney has just as much of a right to be in that spot as Griner does.  But again, how often have you seen that call made?  By the referee 35 feet away rather than the baseline official under the basket?

You're right, 2-17 was never going to get it done, as I said (with Jos and Amber going a combined 2-16).  But I feel that there are key sequences in most games where decisive action takes place, where separation is achieved, and where the course of the game changes.  That run in this game, in my opinion, was enabled in part by those three calls.

Don't get me wrong, there were other problems.  We didn't turn the ball over too much, but the turnovers in the first half were absolute killers (and Lindy did it again - the completely telegraphed pass at the top of the offense that turned into a fast break layup).  Without those, the Cardinal might have been ahead.

And it really did seem we were satisfied with playing great defense, and didn't have nearly as much of a plan on offense.  Though the back cuts in the first half were great, and I'm not quite certain how that fell apart so completely.  But the plan also had no interior play at all - we simply ceded the interior to Griner far too much of the time.  I would've loved to have seen some sister-to-sister inside passing trying to get Griner turned around.

Ah, well.  It is what it is.

Thanks, Nneka.  You are a great player, and a better person.

VG

EDIT:

Not just my opinion.

From the ESPN reporting on the game:

TURNING POINT: With just more than 14 minutes left and Stanford down 34-31, Chiney Ogwumike was whistled for an offensive foul for warding off Griner from the basket. It negated a Toni Kokenis layup that would have made it a one-point game. Instead, the Cardinal didn't score a field goal for the next three minutes and Baylor scored eight of the next nine points to take a 10-point lead.

[Viking_Guy]

Jacketree--

What I meant by turned was "enabled the decisive run."  The fact that we shot 2-17 from 3 point range, along with other offensive ineptitude, was one indicator of a deciding factor in the entire game.  But those three calls (and okay, the Nneka moving screen call was the most defensible of the three) created three extra possessions for Baylor, and that run in the middle of the second half was the decisive point.  Up until that point, Stanford was playing fairly cohesively, and though they were milking the clock, other players were involved, moving off the ball and really working together well.

After that run, I noticed more and more tentativeness on offense, MUCH more of a "wait for Nneka to do something" attitude from the other players.

The moving screen call on Chiney - well, perhaps, though Chiney has just as much of a right to be in that spot as Griner does.  But again, how often have you seen that call made?  By the referee 35 feet away rather than the baseline official under the basket?

You're right, 2-17 was never going to get it done, as I said (with Jos and Amber going a combined 2-16).  But I feel that there are key sequences in most games where decisive action takes place, where separation is achieved, and where the course of the game changes.  That run in this game, in my opinion, was enabled in part by those three calls.

Don't get me wrong, there were other problems.  We didn't turn the ball over too much, but the turnovers in the first half were absolute killers (and Lindy did it again - the completely telegraphed pass at the top of the offense that turned into a fast break layup).  Without those, the Cardinal might have been ahead.

And it really did seem we were satisfied with playing great defense, and didn't have nearly as much of a plan on offense.  Though the back cuts in the first half were great, and I'm not quite certain how that fell apart so completely.  But the plan also had no interior play at all - we simply ceded the interior to Griner far too much of the time.  I would've loved to have seen some sister-to-sister inside passing trying to get Griner turned around.

Ah, well.  It is what it is.

Thanks, Nneka.  You are a great player, and a better person.

VG

EDIT:

Not just my opinion.

From the ESPN reporting on the game:

TURNING POINT: With just more than 14 minutes left and Stanford down 34-31, Chiney Ogwumike was whistled for an offensive foul for warding off Griner from the basket. It negated a Toni Kokenis layup that would have made it a one-point game. Instead, the Cardinal didn't score a field goal for the next three minutes and Baylor scored eight of the next nine points to take a 10-point lead.