Preview:
BYU is 50th according to Massey, for comparison USC is 40 and Davis is now 72. BYU is 26-6 and is on a 9 game winning streak after defeating Auburn today. They rather handily beat Gonzaga for the WCC league championship--that is probably the scariest fact about them. They also beat Gonzaga two other times in close games during the regular season.
I watched BYU defeat Auburn today and felt they were a skilled team with three capable guards--and a fourth actually has better stats on the season than the three who scored double digits today. All three shoot between 34-36% of their treys, and while they are not as fast or quick as our players, they are skilled, and managed to get behind the more athletic Auburn players on fast breaks quite often. They also have a 6'7" center who is capable of making some layups, but very skinny and not that nimble. They played a lot of zone, and nearly blew their sizable lead at the end when Auburn turned them over, stole inbounds passes, and otherwise flustered them--as they also did in the 1st quarter.
In a lot of ways they seem a bit like Davis to me, except their center is not nearly as gifted offensively, but their guards are more versatile. One--Chase--is deceptively quick and got loose for 19 points today. On Monday, BYU won't have anyone who can remotely guard Alanna unless they consistently double her. We will need to guard 3 perimeter players and prevent them from getting open lanes to the basket or open three point shots. The Hulls promise to have a lot of defensive work to do.
Overview:
We overcame a stunningly bad 1/12 start to our three point shooting, appalling free throw shooting (8/19), and 6 gift points in a row near the end of the game--and still we managed to win relatively comfortably. We held BYU shooting ace Brenna Chase scoreless until deep in the second half, and then Alanna Smith who had been quiet all night finally started to connect and broke out for 19 of her 23 points.
Flow of the Game:
The game did not start well, when Smith turned it over and BYU got a fast break layup. Williams scored a trey and a layup, but as the first quarter developed the BYU zone flumoxed us. We seemed to have difficulties penetrating and getting the ball inside, and our three point shooting went cold. After that first three point shot by Williams, we missed the next 12 in a row before Carrington finally sank two. At the end of the first quarter we were behind 15-11 and our offense looked dreadful, with some of our misses not being close. Alanna was visibly upset with herself and I worried it would get inside her head.
The second quarter was considerably better with a 20-14 exchange that gave us a narrow 31-29 halftime lead. Carrington was the main reason the second quarter was not as dreadful as the first. She went 3/4 from three point range and aggressively attacked the basket and netted herself 4 free throw attempts. Unfortunately she missed 3 of them. Still she had 12 points while Smith was stuck on 4. Several of us in the stands speculated on what Tara would tell the team at halftime, but we knew that our team could not continue to shoot that badly indefinitely.
And yes, the third quarter dramatically turned the game around. We outscored them 22-9 in the quarter. After BYU took a 35-34 lead at the 7:50 mark, we went on a 16-0 run keyed by treys by Williams, Lexie Hull, and Smith and also including layups by Carrington and Smith. By the end of the third the game felt much different than it had up to that point.
The fourth quarter was subpar and we very nearly gave BYU a chance to get back in the game. Turnovers had been minimal all game, but BYU put in a press and pressured our inbounds passes and scored 6 points in less than 30 seconds after interceptions and steals. Tara called a time out and after than we closed the game out by shooting free throws (badly.)
Performances:
Carrington's first half and Smith's second half were impressive and kept us in the game offensively, and Kiana was steady as always. (Smith 23 points, 14 rebounds. Carrington 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. Williams 13 points 5 assists.) But I would single out Wilson and Williams for their defense of BYU shooting ace Brenna Chase, who had 0 points until 5:50 in the game. Shannon Coffee had 5 points and a crowd-pleasing trey in her final game at Maples.
On the other hand, we gave up 32 points to Shaylee Gonzalez, who was 4/4 from three point range and 4/4 for her free throws. I guess we picked our poison and she was it. BYU has a bright future with that freshman!
Here is a shocking stat: BYU 26 points in the paint. Stanford: 24. And another: Fast Break points: BYU 10 Stanford 2. Three point shooting: BYU 44% Stanford 34%. Points off turnovers: BYU 13, Stanford 7. Looking at those stats you would have thought we lost the game. There really isn't any single stat that favors Stanford so much you can say "that was it." We had one more made basket, we had a few more free throws, a couple more blocks, etc. The accumulation of a series of little advantages helped us overcome some glaring weaknesses.
Conclusion:
Let's all hope that this game was an aberration, since this level of play will get us quick tickets home, and soon. Both long range and free throw shooting absolutely must improve. Now it is on to Chicago for Missouri State, and if we get by them, the winner of Notre Dame vs. A&M.
Hard to believe we have seen the last of Alanna Smith and Shannon Coffee, and maybe Marta Sniezek at Maples. It seems like yesterday we were peering at Alanna's video from international play the summer before her freshman year. I think I said something like she had All-American potential. Never happier to be right!
BYU is 50th according to Massey, for comparison USC is 40 and Davis is now 72. BYU is 26-6 and is on a 9 game winning streak after defeating Auburn today. They rather handily beat Gonzaga for the WCC league championship--that is probably the scariest fact about them. They also beat Gonzaga two other times in close games during the regular season.
I watched BYU defeat Auburn today and felt they were a skilled team with three capable guards--and a fourth actually has better stats on the season than the three who scored double digits today. All three shoot between 34-36% of their treys, and while they are not as fast or quick as our players, they are skilled, and managed to get behind the more athletic Auburn players on fast breaks quite often. They also have a 6'7" center who is capable of making some layups, but very skinny and not that nimble. They played a lot of zone, and nearly blew their sizable lead at the end when Auburn turned them over, stole inbounds passes, and otherwise flustered them--as they also did in the 1st quarter.
In a lot of ways they seem a bit like Davis to me, except their center is not nearly as gifted offensively, but their guards are more versatile. One--Chase--is deceptively quick and got loose for 19 points today. On Monday, BYU won't have anyone who can remotely guard Alanna unless they consistently double her. We will need to guard 3 perimeter players and prevent them from getting open lanes to the basket or open three point shots. The Hulls promise to have a lot of defensive work to do.
Overview:
We overcame a stunningly bad 1/12 start to our three point shooting, appalling free throw shooting (8/19), and 6 gift points in a row near the end of the game--and still we managed to win relatively comfortably. We held BYU shooting ace Brenna Chase scoreless until deep in the second half, and then Alanna Smith who had been quiet all night finally started to connect and broke out for 19 of her 23 points.
Flow of the Game:
The game did not start well, when Smith turned it over and BYU got a fast break layup. Williams scored a trey and a layup, but as the first quarter developed the BYU zone flumoxed us. We seemed to have difficulties penetrating and getting the ball inside, and our three point shooting went cold. After that first three point shot by Williams, we missed the next 12 in a row before Carrington finally sank two. At the end of the first quarter we were behind 15-11 and our offense looked dreadful, with some of our misses not being close. Alanna was visibly upset with herself and I worried it would get inside her head.
The second quarter was considerably better with a 20-14 exchange that gave us a narrow 31-29 halftime lead. Carrington was the main reason the second quarter was not as dreadful as the first. She went 3/4 from three point range and aggressively attacked the basket and netted herself 4 free throw attempts. Unfortunately she missed 3 of them. Still she had 12 points while Smith was stuck on 4. Several of us in the stands speculated on what Tara would tell the team at halftime, but we knew that our team could not continue to shoot that badly indefinitely.
And yes, the third quarter dramatically turned the game around. We outscored them 22-9 in the quarter. After BYU took a 35-34 lead at the 7:50 mark, we went on a 16-0 run keyed by treys by Williams, Lexie Hull, and Smith and also including layups by Carrington and Smith. By the end of the third the game felt much different than it had up to that point.
The fourth quarter was subpar and we very nearly gave BYU a chance to get back in the game. Turnovers had been minimal all game, but BYU put in a press and pressured our inbounds passes and scored 6 points in less than 30 seconds after interceptions and steals. Tara called a time out and after than we closed the game out by shooting free throws (badly.)
Performances:
Carrington's first half and Smith's second half were impressive and kept us in the game offensively, and Kiana was steady as always. (Smith 23 points, 14 rebounds. Carrington 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. Williams 13 points 5 assists.) But I would single out Wilson and Williams for their defense of BYU shooting ace Brenna Chase, who had 0 points until 5:50 in the game. Shannon Coffee had 5 points and a crowd-pleasing trey in her final game at Maples.
On the other hand, we gave up 32 points to Shaylee Gonzalez, who was 4/4 from three point range and 4/4 for her free throws. I guess we picked our poison and she was it. BYU has a bright future with that freshman!
Here is a shocking stat: BYU 26 points in the paint. Stanford: 24. And another: Fast Break points: BYU 10 Stanford 2. Three point shooting: BYU 44% Stanford 34%. Points off turnovers: BYU 13, Stanford 7. Looking at those stats you would have thought we lost the game. There really isn't any single stat that favors Stanford so much you can say "that was it." We had one more made basket, we had a few more free throws, a couple more blocks, etc. The accumulation of a series of little advantages helped us overcome some glaring weaknesses.
Conclusion:
Let's all hope that this game was an aberration, since this level of play will get us quick tickets home, and soon. Both long range and free throw shooting absolutely must improve. Now it is on to Chicago for Missouri State, and if we get by them, the winner of Notre Dame vs. A&M.
Hard to believe we have seen the last of Alanna Smith and Shannon Coffee, and maybe Marta Sniezek at Maples. It seems like yesterday we were peering at Alanna's video from international play the summer before her freshman year. I think I said something like she had All-American potential. Never happier to be right!
