[bl82]

Just wow.  70% three point shooting, in volume--14 of 20.  At one point we were at 80%.  I've never seen that.  Absolutely phenomenal shooting for the second game in a row.  Is this sustainable?

Washington State was not playing bad defense.  We had to work to get most of those three point shots off.

Players continue to show improvement.  Clardy deserves praise as others have noted.  Heal too.  It does seem as if she was not getting the benefit of fouls when she drove into contact under the basket--she is used to getting those calls as she was 4th in the nation last year in manufacturing fouls, but at this level of play it seems the refs are letting a lot more go.  That left her 4/4 from three point range and 1/4 on her drives.

Agara is proving to be a very capable and dependable scorer at several levels. 

But tonight was in some ways Bosgana's night.  She led with 19 points, was 9/10 from the free throw line, meaning she was the player manufacturing her own scoring when all else failed.  Add to that 5 rebounds and 3 steals and you get an impressive all around stat line.  In short, her experience shows.

The players seemed to be playing with joy, and there were many fewer mistakes than I remember on last year's talented team. A total of 9 turnovers in the entire game--it just looked like clean play.

I submit that any night we shoot that well and keep turnovers low will be a very good night.  Let's hope we see many more.  We will have a major test with Gonzaga on Sunday.  I'll restrain my optimism until then, but so far, so (very) good.

Speaking of Bosgana and joy, Bosgana was very fired up and in a celebratory mood tonight, but she never seemed to know how to celebrate. I saw two chest bumps that were air balls of sorts and another attempted hug that was essentially deflected out of bounds. Elena needs a signature fist bump or something and she needs more practice to make it happen smoothly and without startling her teammates.

That said, I love watching her play and am delighted that her three ball is finally matching her driving ability, which only makes her that much more effective going to the rim. She continues to rebound extremely well for her position and is disruptive on defense. What I notice a lot more this year -- apart from being more unselfish -- is that her passing has definitely improved. Instead of being a black hole at times on offense, you can now run our offense through her.

[bl82]

Just wow.  70% three point shooting, in volume--14 of 20.  At one point we were at 80%.  I've never seen that.  Absolutely phenomenal shooting for the second game in a row.  Is this sustainable?

Washington State was not playing bad defense.  We had to work to get most of those three point shots off.

Players continue to show improvement.  Clardy deserves praise as others have noted.  Heal too.  It does seem as if she was not getting the benefit of fouls when she drove into contact under the basket--she is used to getting those calls as she was 4th in the nation last year in manufacturing fouls, but at this level of play it seems the refs are letting a lot more go.  That left her 4/4 from three point range and 1/4 on her drives.

Agara is proving to be a very capable and dependable scorer at several levels. 

But tonight was in some ways Bosgana's night.  She led with 19 points, was 9/10 from the free throw line, meaning she was the player manufacturing her own scoring when all else failed.  Add to that 5 rebounds and 3 steals and you get an impressive all around stat line.  In short, her experience shows.

The players seemed to be playing with joy, and there were many fewer mistakes than I remember on last year's talented team. A total of 9 turnovers in the entire game--it just looked like clean play.

I submit that any night we shoot that well and keep turnovers low will be a very good night.  Let's hope we see many more.  We will have a major test with Gonzaga on Sunday.  I'll restrain my optimism until then, but so far, so (very) good.

Speaking of Bosgana and joy, Bosgana was very fired up and in a celebratory mood tonight, but she never seemed to know how to celebrate. I saw two chest bumps that were air balls of sorts and another attempted hug that was essentially deflected out of bounds. Elena needs a signature fist bump or something and she needs more practice to make it happen smoothly and without startling her teammates.

That said, I love watching her play and am delighted that her three ball is finally matching her driving ability, which only makes her that much more effective going to the rim. She continues to rebound extremely well for her position and is disruptive on defense. What I notice a lot more this year -- apart from being more unselfish -- is that her passing has definitely improved. Instead of being a black hole at times on offense, you can now run our offense through her.