Overview:
A highly promising start against an overmatched team. Smith and Williams are as good as ever, Fingall seems to have improved, especially on rebounding, both Hulls look ready to start, and Anna Wilson seemed to be back on track as a promising second point guard. Jenna Brown practiced but did not play for some reason.
Flow of the Game:
Tara started Fingall, Smith, Lexie Hull, DiJonai Carrington, and Kiana Williams, and came back to the same group to start the second half. The first players off the bench were Wilson for Williams at point, then Jerome for Carrington, Dodson for Smith, and Lacie for Lexie.
The first quarter our defense was suffocating the much shorter and slower Vanguard team, allowing only 4 points. Our offense was good at times but not always clicking, and we scored 20. In the second quarter it became clear that Kianna has the same terrific form that she showed at the end of last season--bombing treys, secure ball handling, excellent defense. We were struggling just a bit under the basket, where we had a massive rebounding advantage but missed too many putbacks from underneath. Fingall was showing great rebounding skill but none of the bigs were putting back the bunnies as easily as we would have liked to see.
The second half showed Tara experimenting with multiple lineups. I was most surprised at the number of tallish lineups she used. Quite often she would have just one true guard on the floor running point and have two bigs and two wings. Lacey Hull and Estella Moschkau, for example, seemed to play the 2 part of the time, with Lexie or Alyssa at the 3 and Nadia, Dodson, Smith, and Coffee occupying the 4 and 5. With this long, tall lineup we played quite a bit of 2-3 zone--shocking for a Tara team except it seemed to be very effective with our long, tall defenders.
The team also hustled on offense to get down the court fast, and while we had only 6 fast break points, there were many near breaks. We also got back on defense quickly and were never really caught out of position on D.
By the end of the game every player but Sniezek, who is injured, and Brown, played. Every one but Brewer scored.
Performances:
I won't try to analyze them all--I was watching the frosh and sophomores most carefully. As I told a friend before the game, the development of Maya Dodson will determine how far we go this year--we have many other outstanding pieces in this chess set, and Maya has the talent to be an elite forward which would elevate the whole team. She tantalized us tonight. She scored 10 points, collected 6 rebounds and swatted 3 blocks in only 13 minutes, but she also racked up 4 personal fouls. She seemed much more confident than last season but needs to show that same aggression and confidence against good teams while controlling her fouls. It remains to be seen if she can--but if she accomplishes that then I feel this team can get back to the top of the Pac 12.
I had high hopes for the Hull twins, but frankly was shocked by what I saw--in a good way. It has been a very long time since we have had frosh who could come in and play at a high level in their first year, let along their first game. Lexie just filled up a stat line, with a team leading 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a team leading 5 assists! Lacie got fewer minutes but also seemed to be a "glue" player. I watched them carefully and their defense was excellent--they each provoked deflections, turnovers, and steals.
Also high on my pleasant surprise list was Anna Wilson, who was 3/3 shooting, including two treys but also a terrific move to the basket. She had 1 assist to 1 turnover--I suspect that the way the Princeton is working that wings are getting more assists than the point, since the point turns the ball over so quickly to start the offense. But after her prolonged shooting slump last year and all the injury issues, it was awfully nice to see her playing with confidence and having success.
Alyssa Jerome looked much stronger to me. I believe in an interview over the summer I saw a coach talking about how her international play had made her stronger--and I would agree. It is easier to see her battling more inside this year and being part of that inner rotation. She had a good stat line, going 3/6, snagging 7 rebounds, dishing 4 assists, and limiting it to 1 foul. She may be getting more time than Dodson if the foul tendencies continue.
I don't really have concerns about the play tonight of any of our players--although acknowledging that we were playing a decidedly overmatched team. Our free throw shooting was still not great--6/10. Rebounding was ridiculous, we had 60 to their 34. This was a major point of emphasis over the summer, and we will need to keep an eye on whether the rebounding stays so positive when we meet up with teams more our equals. We shot 37% of our three pointers, which was a delight to behold, and 8 different players made at least 1. Our point guards made 5/9 treys which will radically improve our offense and loosen opposing defenses compared with last year--if we sustain it.
Conclusion:
This was a fabulous start to what feels like it could be our best season in many years. A lot will depend upon continuing these positive trends into games with more equal opposition. I am still eager to see Jenna Brown play, since I hope that she can become a contributor this season--and her contribution, the startling play of the Hulls, and the development of Fingall, Dodson, and Jerome--could propel us past the likes of Oregon and deeper into the NCAAs. That is, of course, the dream, and it is not an unreasonable one.
A highly promising start against an overmatched team. Smith and Williams are as good as ever, Fingall seems to have improved, especially on rebounding, both Hulls look ready to start, and Anna Wilson seemed to be back on track as a promising second point guard. Jenna Brown practiced but did not play for some reason.
Flow of the Game:
Tara started Fingall, Smith, Lexie Hull, DiJonai Carrington, and Kiana Williams, and came back to the same group to start the second half. The first players off the bench were Wilson for Williams at point, then Jerome for Carrington, Dodson for Smith, and Lacie for Lexie.
The first quarter our defense was suffocating the much shorter and slower Vanguard team, allowing only 4 points. Our offense was good at times but not always clicking, and we scored 20. In the second quarter it became clear that Kianna has the same terrific form that she showed at the end of last season--bombing treys, secure ball handling, excellent defense. We were struggling just a bit under the basket, where we had a massive rebounding advantage but missed too many putbacks from underneath. Fingall was showing great rebounding skill but none of the bigs were putting back the bunnies as easily as we would have liked to see.
The second half showed Tara experimenting with multiple lineups. I was most surprised at the number of tallish lineups she used. Quite often she would have just one true guard on the floor running point and have two bigs and two wings. Lacey Hull and Estella Moschkau, for example, seemed to play the 2 part of the time, with Lexie or Alyssa at the 3 and Nadia, Dodson, Smith, and Coffee occupying the 4 and 5. With this long, tall lineup we played quite a bit of 2-3 zone--shocking for a Tara team except it seemed to be very effective with our long, tall defenders.
The team also hustled on offense to get down the court fast, and while we had only 6 fast break points, there were many near breaks. We also got back on defense quickly and were never really caught out of position on D.
By the end of the game every player but Sniezek, who is injured, and Brown, played. Every one but Brewer scored.
Performances:
I won't try to analyze them all--I was watching the frosh and sophomores most carefully. As I told a friend before the game, the development of Maya Dodson will determine how far we go this year--we have many other outstanding pieces in this chess set, and Maya has the talent to be an elite forward which would elevate the whole team. She tantalized us tonight. She scored 10 points, collected 6 rebounds and swatted 3 blocks in only 13 minutes, but she also racked up 4 personal fouls. She seemed much more confident than last season but needs to show that same aggression and confidence against good teams while controlling her fouls. It remains to be seen if she can--but if she accomplishes that then I feel this team can get back to the top of the Pac 12.
I had high hopes for the Hull twins, but frankly was shocked by what I saw--in a good way. It has been a very long time since we have had frosh who could come in and play at a high level in their first year, let along their first game. Lexie just filled up a stat line, with a team leading 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a team leading 5 assists! Lacie got fewer minutes but also seemed to be a "glue" player. I watched them carefully and their defense was excellent--they each provoked deflections, turnovers, and steals.
Also high on my pleasant surprise list was Anna Wilson, who was 3/3 shooting, including two treys but also a terrific move to the basket. She had 1 assist to 1 turnover--I suspect that the way the Princeton is working that wings are getting more assists than the point, since the point turns the ball over so quickly to start the offense. But after her prolonged shooting slump last year and all the injury issues, it was awfully nice to see her playing with confidence and having success.
Alyssa Jerome looked much stronger to me. I believe in an interview over the summer I saw a coach talking about how her international play had made her stronger--and I would agree. It is easier to see her battling more inside this year and being part of that inner rotation. She had a good stat line, going 3/6, snagging 7 rebounds, dishing 4 assists, and limiting it to 1 foul. She may be getting more time than Dodson if the foul tendencies continue.
I don't really have concerns about the play tonight of any of our players--although acknowledging that we were playing a decidedly overmatched team. Our free throw shooting was still not great--6/10. Rebounding was ridiculous, we had 60 to their 34. This was a major point of emphasis over the summer, and we will need to keep an eye on whether the rebounding stays so positive when we meet up with teams more our equals. We shot 37% of our three pointers, which was a delight to behold, and 8 different players made at least 1. Our point guards made 5/9 treys which will radically improve our offense and loosen opposing defenses compared with last year--if we sustain it.
Conclusion:
This was a fabulous start to what feels like it could be our best season in many years. A lot will depend upon continuing these positive trends into games with more equal opposition. I am still eager to see Jenna Brown play, since I hope that she can become a contributor this season--and her contribution, the startling play of the Hulls, and the development of Fingall, Dodson, and Jerome--could propel us past the likes of Oregon and deeper into the NCAAs. That is, of course, the dream, and it is not an unreasonable one.
