03-18-2018, 02:37 PM
Preview:
We have actually played the FGCU Eagles once before--a Chiney led team beat them during the Puerta Vallarta tournament in November 2013. It was Tara's 900th win. But everyone but the coaches on both teams has changed, and FGCU is an exceptionally dangerous, unorthodox team. The slogan on their T-shirts is "raining threes" and it is not bluster. Kiana Williams is our most prolific three point shooter with 69, and no one else has half that many. FGCU has players who have made 88, 71, 59, 52, and 50 treys. They have several players shooting them above 40%, and they average [i]36% as a team! So it is obvious that perimeter defense is critical. But that is what Missouri thought, and Missouri got burned. It will be a very difficult defensive challenge for us. Meanwhile, FGCU pinned their defense on disrupting passes and blocking out. Despite the humongous height disadvantage they rebounded nearly as well as Missouri.Â
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Overview:
Rebounding rebounding! We had 55 and they had 19. +34 rebounds will make up for a multitude of ills, such as our 18 turnovers. A sagging man defense that deliberately left the Eagle's only poor three point shooter open, and Alanna Smith's strongest game in months, helped us beat the best three point shooting team in the nation.
Flow of the Game:
A decent crowd turned out for Britt and Kaylee's last game at Maples, and the dueling bands, two sets of cheerleaders, and the Dollies kept us entertained when the ball was not bouncing. The officiating had a few strange calls and provoked some lusty booing, but it did not seem to be manifestly unfair in one direction or the other. The tension though was very high, and the fact that we got off to a fast start really helped to calm nerves and settle us in to a business-like game.
One of the best first quarters we have played all year--perhaps in several years--was followed by a dreadful second quarter. In the first quarter we scored 33 points on astronomically high percentage shooting. We began with an Alanna midrange jumper, a FGCU miss and an Alanna rebound, then a Kaylee layup +1. After an exchange of misses Alana made another jumper for a 7-0 lead and FGCU called a timeout as the crowd roared its approval. FGCU then made three treys in rapid succession to tie the score at 9, and the crowd began to realize what kind of team we were up against. But virtually every shot we threw up went in--including free throws by Marta, treys by DiJonai and Kiana, a putback by Maya, and on and on. I looked up at the scoreboard and we were somehow ahead 33-17 after finishing on an 8-0 run.
The second quarter was bad, but fortunately not quite as bad as the first quarter was good. FGCU did not really do better with its offense, but our offense stalled and scored only 10 points--less than 1/3 what we scored in the first quarter. Meanwhile FGCU continued with its rain of threes, making 4 of them in a modest span, and also a couple of layups and some free throws and cut into our margin. We were up 43-35 at the half and the game certainly seemed in doubt. At the half I thought another quarter like the first and we will win the game, but an another quarter like the second and we will lose it.
The third quarter, fortunately, went much better than the 2nd. We continued to hound the boards, giving FGCU almost no second chances, while giving ourselves plenty of them. FGCU played Missouri almost even on the boards, but we had the biggest rebounding margin I think I have ever seen us accumulare, +34. Britt, who had been quiet offensively, began to make layups, and Alanna, who had been making layups began to stroke her treys. Marta also unloaded a trey. FGCU also began to get more and more players into foul trouble. It seems their effective defense in the 2nd quarter was costly to them in terms of fouls. The quarter ended after DiJonai made a nice trey on an assist from Kaylee, and we led 66-48.Â
The fourth quarter saw China Dow drain four treys in her last college game, and FGCU fought hard until the end. But Alanna made another trey and then nearly everyone on the floor made at least one layup--FCGU looked like they had been run ragged by the Princeton and were beginning to become unable to keep up, and we scored 24 to close out the game 90-70.
Performances:
Tara showed her genius once again with her defensive strategy. We did not go small--Kaylee and Alanna were on the floor most of the time and they would come to the perimeter and use their length to disrupt three point shots. Our smaller guards played most of the FGCU players as closely as they could, but sometimes when they got stuck on screens they left open shots. Kiana got burned on a couple of them, fouled a screener once as she tried to push through, and sometimes got victimized as her mark just shot over her head. But if we were guarding the perimeter so closely, why didn't FGCU drive on us the way they did against Missouri? Because we always sagged off of one FGCU player to keep someone closer to the basket for help. The player we deliberately left open was mostly #42 who shoots 23% of her threes. When she got the ball on the perimeter you could see our players backing away from her and practically daring her to shoot it. It seems to have worked. #42 was 0/5 for the night, 0/4 from three point range, and more importantly her defender was available to shut down driving lanes.
Our gigantic rebounding advantage showed up in points--we had 19 second chance points to their 3. We also had 40 points in the paint to their 12. I think that answers the question as to whether we could shut down the lanes. We had 7 blocks to their 1--several of those coming when FGCU did try to drive to the rim. We shot treys at a higher percentage than they did--a whopping 53% to their 37%. But 37% is very high and they made 17 treys against us--they deserved their reputation.
In Kaylee Johnson's last game at Maples she turned in a fine performance, with 6 points, her trademark 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.
In Brittany McPhee's last game at Maples she turned in a fine performance, with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.Â
Alanna Smith was the point leader with 28 points on 11/21 shooting and a wonderful 4/7 from three, along with 12 rebounds for a double double. This was the best we have seen her play in months.Â
Dijonai Carrington had 14 points off the bench and 2/2 from long range, and excellent defense, to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals in only 20 minutes.
Kiana Williams was also in double digits with 12 points and a team leading 6 assists to 1 turnover.
Marta Sniezek made 5/6 of her free throws and contribute 8 points and 4 assists.
Maya Dodson got into the game and impressively snagged 3 O-boards, put one back, and blocked 2 shots. Not bad for 11 minutes.
Conclusion:
I lingered a bit after the game, though I usually rush home to get the write-up done. These last home games are always bittersweet. The players begin to feel like family--falsely of course, since we know them only in their public personas. But fans do feel an emotional bond, though it is one-way, and the normal cycle of college breaks that bond once a year as several young women graduate and move ahead with their lives. We will see Brittany McPhee and Kaylee Johnson on television for at least one more game, but never again as players in Maples. They have each contributed to our pleasure as fans, and I wish them very well. Of course, nothing would please me more than to see them win a few more games, but if they do it will be far away from here.
We have actually played the FGCU Eagles once before--a Chiney led team beat them during the Puerta Vallarta tournament in November 2013. It was Tara's 900th win. But everyone but the coaches on both teams has changed, and FGCU is an exceptionally dangerous, unorthodox team. The slogan on their T-shirts is "raining threes" and it is not bluster. Kiana Williams is our most prolific three point shooter with 69, and no one else has half that many. FGCU has players who have made 88, 71, 59, 52, and 50 treys. They have several players shooting them above 40%, and they average [i]36% as a team! So it is obvious that perimeter defense is critical. But that is what Missouri thought, and Missouri got burned. It will be a very difficult defensive challenge for us. Meanwhile, FGCU pinned their defense on disrupting passes and blocking out. Despite the humongous height disadvantage they rebounded nearly as well as Missouri.Â
[/i]
Overview:
Rebounding rebounding! We had 55 and they had 19. +34 rebounds will make up for a multitude of ills, such as our 18 turnovers. A sagging man defense that deliberately left the Eagle's only poor three point shooter open, and Alanna Smith's strongest game in months, helped us beat the best three point shooting team in the nation.
Flow of the Game:
A decent crowd turned out for Britt and Kaylee's last game at Maples, and the dueling bands, two sets of cheerleaders, and the Dollies kept us entertained when the ball was not bouncing. The officiating had a few strange calls and provoked some lusty booing, but it did not seem to be manifestly unfair in one direction or the other. The tension though was very high, and the fact that we got off to a fast start really helped to calm nerves and settle us in to a business-like game.
One of the best first quarters we have played all year--perhaps in several years--was followed by a dreadful second quarter. In the first quarter we scored 33 points on astronomically high percentage shooting. We began with an Alanna midrange jumper, a FGCU miss and an Alanna rebound, then a Kaylee layup +1. After an exchange of misses Alana made another jumper for a 7-0 lead and FGCU called a timeout as the crowd roared its approval. FGCU then made three treys in rapid succession to tie the score at 9, and the crowd began to realize what kind of team we were up against. But virtually every shot we threw up went in--including free throws by Marta, treys by DiJonai and Kiana, a putback by Maya, and on and on. I looked up at the scoreboard and we were somehow ahead 33-17 after finishing on an 8-0 run.
The second quarter was bad, but fortunately not quite as bad as the first quarter was good. FGCU did not really do better with its offense, but our offense stalled and scored only 10 points--less than 1/3 what we scored in the first quarter. Meanwhile FGCU continued with its rain of threes, making 4 of them in a modest span, and also a couple of layups and some free throws and cut into our margin. We were up 43-35 at the half and the game certainly seemed in doubt. At the half I thought another quarter like the first and we will win the game, but an another quarter like the second and we will lose it.
The third quarter, fortunately, went much better than the 2nd. We continued to hound the boards, giving FGCU almost no second chances, while giving ourselves plenty of them. FGCU played Missouri almost even on the boards, but we had the biggest rebounding margin I think I have ever seen us accumulare, +34. Britt, who had been quiet offensively, began to make layups, and Alanna, who had been making layups began to stroke her treys. Marta also unloaded a trey. FGCU also began to get more and more players into foul trouble. It seems their effective defense in the 2nd quarter was costly to them in terms of fouls. The quarter ended after DiJonai made a nice trey on an assist from Kaylee, and we led 66-48.Â
The fourth quarter saw China Dow drain four treys in her last college game, and FGCU fought hard until the end. But Alanna made another trey and then nearly everyone on the floor made at least one layup--FCGU looked like they had been run ragged by the Princeton and were beginning to become unable to keep up, and we scored 24 to close out the game 90-70.
Performances:
Tara showed her genius once again with her defensive strategy. We did not go small--Kaylee and Alanna were on the floor most of the time and they would come to the perimeter and use their length to disrupt three point shots. Our smaller guards played most of the FGCU players as closely as they could, but sometimes when they got stuck on screens they left open shots. Kiana got burned on a couple of them, fouled a screener once as she tried to push through, and sometimes got victimized as her mark just shot over her head. But if we were guarding the perimeter so closely, why didn't FGCU drive on us the way they did against Missouri? Because we always sagged off of one FGCU player to keep someone closer to the basket for help. The player we deliberately left open was mostly #42 who shoots 23% of her threes. When she got the ball on the perimeter you could see our players backing away from her and practically daring her to shoot it. It seems to have worked. #42 was 0/5 for the night, 0/4 from three point range, and more importantly her defender was available to shut down driving lanes.
Our gigantic rebounding advantage showed up in points--we had 19 second chance points to their 3. We also had 40 points in the paint to their 12. I think that answers the question as to whether we could shut down the lanes. We had 7 blocks to their 1--several of those coming when FGCU did try to drive to the rim. We shot treys at a higher percentage than they did--a whopping 53% to their 37%. But 37% is very high and they made 17 treys against us--they deserved their reputation.
In Kaylee Johnson's last game at Maples she turned in a fine performance, with 6 points, her trademark 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.
In Brittany McPhee's last game at Maples she turned in a fine performance, with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.Â
Alanna Smith was the point leader with 28 points on 11/21 shooting and a wonderful 4/7 from three, along with 12 rebounds for a double double. This was the best we have seen her play in months.Â
Dijonai Carrington had 14 points off the bench and 2/2 from long range, and excellent defense, to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals in only 20 minutes.
Kiana Williams was also in double digits with 12 points and a team leading 6 assists to 1 turnover.
Marta Sniezek made 5/6 of her free throws and contribute 8 points and 4 assists.
Maya Dodson got into the game and impressively snagged 3 O-boards, put one back, and blocked 2 shots. Not bad for 11 minutes.
Conclusion:
I lingered a bit after the game, though I usually rush home to get the write-up done. These last home games are always bittersweet. The players begin to feel like family--falsely of course, since we know them only in their public personas. But fans do feel an emotional bond, though it is one-way, and the normal cycle of college breaks that bond once a year as several young women graduate and move ahead with their lives. We will see Brittany McPhee and Kaylee Johnson on television for at least one more game, but never again as players in Maples. They have each contributed to our pleasure as fans, and I wish them very well. Of course, nothing would please me more than to see them win a few more games, but if they do it will be far away from here.
