03-16-2018, 02:31 PM
Preview:
Last time Gonzaga came to Maples was early last season, and many of their key players are back. Why is that so important? Because they beat us. Jill Barta was 8/10 and 3/3 from long distance for 26 points. McPhee had 22 and McCall 17 but it was not enough. We were a woeful 3/18 from three point range while they were 8/13, and that was enought to beat us 68-63, for one of our worst losses last season. The Zags are therefore NOT going to be at all intimidated. This year they are 27-5, beating Western Illinois days after Western Illinois beat us, for this year's worst loss. They've also beaten Washington State and they beat USF by 30--a much bigger margin than our win. They are here because they won their conference. In short, this is far, far from a typical first round game for us. I think we need to build a big lead by the end of the 3rd quarter or risk feeding their confidence.
Overview:
Great team rebounding and good shooting by Smith and Williams (the team shot 51%) overcame some sloppy turnovers (18) and swamped a skillful Gonzaga team. Particularly impressive was our 11/22 three point shooting.
Flow of the game:
This was not a back-and-forth game. Stanford led from the middle of the first quarter until the end of the game. That is not to say there were no ups and downs. The refs figured prominently in this game, and with so many calls Gonzaga benefited from 90% free throw shooting while we struggled with an appalling 55%. The constant fouls also slowed down the flow of the game and disrupted offensive continuity.
The first quarter started sloppily with a flurry of turnovers. Alanna seemed to be struggling with her decision making. She was destined to be our top scorer for the game, but she was not effective in the first quarter. Within the first minutes she had several turnovers but also a couple of steals. Others stepped up, however, most especially Kianna Williams and the first quarter ended Stanford 22 Gonzaga 18.Â
Our offense was clicking even without Smith, but her shooting touch came alive a few minutes into the second quarter when she drained a trey, and her whole game seemed to turn around. Our offense put up 25 in that quarter but our defense continued to look a little suspect and surrendered another 18 points. Gonzaga star Jill Barta was mainly defended by Alanna Smith, and she scored 11 points on 4/9 shooting which seemed as if she had been contained. But Jessie Loera came from the bench and went 5/5 for 12 to keep the game close. Meanwhile, Sniezek and Johnson had to sit with foul trouble and the half ended Stanford 47 Gonzaga 36.
The third quarter was much better defensively as we held Gonzaga to 12. Offensively, we score 18 mainly on the strength of treys by Smith and Williams and Fingall. I hoped that we could add to that lead early in the 4th so as to get some others players into the game, but this was not to be. Gonzaga fought very hard and squeezed some points out of Barta and Stockton and Stach before going to the intentional fouling game, which prolonged the inevitable and sent Marta flying to the floor. In desperation they went to a full court press but we broke it just often enough and closed the game out 82/68.
Performances:
As a team we outscored the Zags in the paint 38-20, outrebounded them 42-27, and outshot them 51% to 41%. We had 18 turnovers to their 14, but we also had 8 blocks to their 1.
Kiana Williams led our scorers with 21, with 5/8 three point attempts. She also had a couple of steals and a couple of assists, and shows real signs of maturing and becoming a steadying presence, making baskets at opportune moments when everyone else had gone cold.
Alanna Smith played very well after her tough first quarter, scoring 20 points including 3/6 from three point range. Her defense of Barta was important and she kept her from going completely off the charts. Smith was efficient, hitting 8/13 shots. She grabbed 6 rebounds and had 4 whopping rebounds. On the other hand, she accumulated 4 fouls and 7 turnovers.
McPhee was not an offensive juggernaut as she become the focus of attention for each opposing team. She scored 11 on 4/12 shooting but had 11 rebounds, 6 assists (leading the team) and 2 steals--so she had a double/double. She was very effective without scoring as much as usual. I did think there was room for her to slash to the basket more than she did.
Carrington came from the bench to score 11 on 4/8 shooting. She also had 3 fouls and 3 turnovers in 19 minutes, but played (as always) with hustle and had a block, a steal, and a couple of assists.
Sniezek scored 7 points--mainly on free throws--and had 4 assists to 0 turnovers. She was held to 24 minutes--picking up 2 fouls in the first half--but also sat during parts of the second even though she was not in foul trouble.
Kaylee Johnson was the victim of the weird officiating and fouled out late in the game. She was an efficient 3/4 shooting and benefited from some excellent interior assists. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal helped round out her stat line.
Fingall and Jerome also played for about 10 minutes each. Fingall picked up 3 fouls in that short time. Jerome looked poised and made a three from the corner at a critical juncture.Â
Conclusion:
The offense seemed to be clicking--but shooting 11/22 treys certainly helped. I'm a little concerned about defense. Florida Gulf Coast has excellent perimeter shooting as well as the ability to drive to the basket--and keeping in front of people has not always been our forte. Still, I think today was a very solid win over a good team, and this bodes well for our ability to overcome a second mid-major program on Monday.
Last time Gonzaga came to Maples was early last season, and many of their key players are back. Why is that so important? Because they beat us. Jill Barta was 8/10 and 3/3 from long distance for 26 points. McPhee had 22 and McCall 17 but it was not enough. We were a woeful 3/18 from three point range while they were 8/13, and that was enought to beat us 68-63, for one of our worst losses last season. The Zags are therefore NOT going to be at all intimidated. This year they are 27-5, beating Western Illinois days after Western Illinois beat us, for this year's worst loss. They've also beaten Washington State and they beat USF by 30--a much bigger margin than our win. They are here because they won their conference. In short, this is far, far from a typical first round game for us. I think we need to build a big lead by the end of the 3rd quarter or risk feeding their confidence.
Overview:
Great team rebounding and good shooting by Smith and Williams (the team shot 51%) overcame some sloppy turnovers (18) and swamped a skillful Gonzaga team. Particularly impressive was our 11/22 three point shooting.
Flow of the game:
This was not a back-and-forth game. Stanford led from the middle of the first quarter until the end of the game. That is not to say there were no ups and downs. The refs figured prominently in this game, and with so many calls Gonzaga benefited from 90% free throw shooting while we struggled with an appalling 55%. The constant fouls also slowed down the flow of the game and disrupted offensive continuity.
The first quarter started sloppily with a flurry of turnovers. Alanna seemed to be struggling with her decision making. She was destined to be our top scorer for the game, but she was not effective in the first quarter. Within the first minutes she had several turnovers but also a couple of steals. Others stepped up, however, most especially Kianna Williams and the first quarter ended Stanford 22 Gonzaga 18.Â
Our offense was clicking even without Smith, but her shooting touch came alive a few minutes into the second quarter when she drained a trey, and her whole game seemed to turn around. Our offense put up 25 in that quarter but our defense continued to look a little suspect and surrendered another 18 points. Gonzaga star Jill Barta was mainly defended by Alanna Smith, and she scored 11 points on 4/9 shooting which seemed as if she had been contained. But Jessie Loera came from the bench and went 5/5 for 12 to keep the game close. Meanwhile, Sniezek and Johnson had to sit with foul trouble and the half ended Stanford 47 Gonzaga 36.
The third quarter was much better defensively as we held Gonzaga to 12. Offensively, we score 18 mainly on the strength of treys by Smith and Williams and Fingall. I hoped that we could add to that lead early in the 4th so as to get some others players into the game, but this was not to be. Gonzaga fought very hard and squeezed some points out of Barta and Stockton and Stach before going to the intentional fouling game, which prolonged the inevitable and sent Marta flying to the floor. In desperation they went to a full court press but we broke it just often enough and closed the game out 82/68.
Performances:
As a team we outscored the Zags in the paint 38-20, outrebounded them 42-27, and outshot them 51% to 41%. We had 18 turnovers to their 14, but we also had 8 blocks to their 1.
Kiana Williams led our scorers with 21, with 5/8 three point attempts. She also had a couple of steals and a couple of assists, and shows real signs of maturing and becoming a steadying presence, making baskets at opportune moments when everyone else had gone cold.
Alanna Smith played very well after her tough first quarter, scoring 20 points including 3/6 from three point range. Her defense of Barta was important and she kept her from going completely off the charts. Smith was efficient, hitting 8/13 shots. She grabbed 6 rebounds and had 4 whopping rebounds. On the other hand, she accumulated 4 fouls and 7 turnovers.
McPhee was not an offensive juggernaut as she become the focus of attention for each opposing team. She scored 11 on 4/12 shooting but had 11 rebounds, 6 assists (leading the team) and 2 steals--so she had a double/double. She was very effective without scoring as much as usual. I did think there was room for her to slash to the basket more than she did.
Carrington came from the bench to score 11 on 4/8 shooting. She also had 3 fouls and 3 turnovers in 19 minutes, but played (as always) with hustle and had a block, a steal, and a couple of assists.
Sniezek scored 7 points--mainly on free throws--and had 4 assists to 0 turnovers. She was held to 24 minutes--picking up 2 fouls in the first half--but also sat during parts of the second even though she was not in foul trouble.
Kaylee Johnson was the victim of the weird officiating and fouled out late in the game. She was an efficient 3/4 shooting and benefited from some excellent interior assists. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal helped round out her stat line.
Fingall and Jerome also played for about 10 minutes each. Fingall picked up 3 fouls in that short time. Jerome looked poised and made a three from the corner at a critical juncture.Â
Conclusion:
The offense seemed to be clicking--but shooting 11/22 treys certainly helped. I'm a little concerned about defense. Florida Gulf Coast has excellent perimeter shooting as well as the ability to drive to the basket--and keeping in front of people has not always been our forte. Still, I think today was a very solid win over a good team, and this bodes well for our ability to overcome a second mid-major program on Monday.
