Preview:
No. 3 Baylor (Massey ratings) comes to Maples on Saturday. Baylor is led by 6'7" Kalani Brown, who is averaging 16 points at 65% from inside. But Baylor has a second tower in 6'4" Lauren Cox who is a more versatile scorer. To complement these twin towers Baylor has Juicy Landrum, a 5'8" guard making 44% of her treys. Their point guard, Chloe Jackson, has a great 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, and scores on 55% of her shots, but has not attempted a single three point shot this year. The closest anyone has come to controlling Baylor was ASU, who fronted Kalani Brown to deny her the ball and pulled the Baylor defense out by keeping all five on offense mostly beyond the perimeter. If we have a chance, it will be with Alanna and Nadia hitting treys to pull Brown and Cox outside, and Williams, Carrington, and others then getting behind the Baylor bigs with open lanes to the basket. The Baylor bigs are also slow, so if our defense can force Baylor to miss some long range shots, we should be able to collect some fast break points. Alanna is key to this game: keeping out of foul trouble while defending bigger players, and hitting her three point shots at the other end. We will also see how effective Williams and Carrington can be one-on-one with Juicy Landrum and Chloe Jackson--I've had my doubts about our perimeter defense and this will be a good test.
Overview:
Very strong inside defense held Baylor's vaunted twin towers to 7 points, and we got enough treys after cold first quarter shooting to keep the lead from midway through the first quarter to the end. We shot only 43% of our free throws, leaving 12 points at the line, our offense stalled in the 4th quarter, and we were once again grossly out rebounded--but hitting 13 treys to Baylor's 3 made up for a lot of problems.
Flow of the game:
This was the most fun I've had watching a game at Maples in a long time. It was no sellout, but it was a bigger crowd than we have had recently, and it was vocal. It helped that the team gave us the lead the whole game and made many spectacular plays along the way--leading to half a dozen standing ovations. The refs also made a few bad calls, leading to some lusty booing. For the first half the football team was in attendance--and they seemed to get into it.
The first quarter was a defensive slugfest. From the start I was surprised that we defended Kalani Brown straight up--not fronting her--although help would sag in on her. Baylor's offense was completely flummoxed. On the other hand, we were shooting cold and points did not come easily for us. Kiana finally gave us the lead at 3:27 on a trey, then Nadia and Lacey got into the act, and we closed out a tough, physical first quarter 17-13.
The second quarter was both our best offensive and defensive quarter of the game. Baylor's offensive woes continued and they scored only 11 points. I think we have learned that our defense is much superior inside than it is outside, and Baylor could not take advantage of our perimeter defense in the same way that Gonzaga did. Furthermore, Kalani Brown sat much of the quarter with 2 fouls, Baylor turned the ball over on errant throws, misses, and fouls, and we finally got hot from three, with Alanna hitting three treys and Kiana 2 in the quarter. We went into the half ahead 41-24, and we were all wondering if we could maintain a 17 point lead for a second half.
The third quarter went well, and we did maintain our lead. Our defense was not quite so sharp, but Shannon Coffee proved to be an able defender on Kalani Brown and hit two treys, forcing Brown out to the perimeter just as we hoped. Smith hit a trey and Carrington also, and finished the quarter up 58-42. What could go wrong?
The fourth quarter was a near collapse, but we traded just enough time for points to finally put the game away. Baylor did to us what we did to Gonzaga--a furious fourth quarter rally that fell short in the end. Baylor did it by calling on non-stars to make mid range jumpers. Tara's scouting report defense shut down Kalani Brown, Cox had disappeared from the game--injury? Juicy Landrum was held in check. But point guard Chloe Jackson and bench player NaLyssa Smith started to hit jumpers each time Baylor came down the floor, and the lead shrank to 10. Juicy cut it to 7, but it took nearly 3 minutes for Baylor to score again and when two free throws cut the lead to 5, there were only 7 seconds left and we ran out the clock. Over the last several minutes Kiana looked tired--she missed several shots, turned the ball over, committed a foul. She had played her heart out for almost every minute of the game, and we are lucky that we limped across the finish line.
Performances:
I thought this game would turn on Alanna, and did it ever. She led with 21 points including 5/9 three pointers, and while she picked up 4 fouls, she did manage to stay on the floor for 28 minutes. Interesting that Tara tried to keep her from guarding Kalani Brown--giving that task to Nadia, or Maya, or Shannon. Alanna also had 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist for an impressive line.
Kianna played all 40 minutes and had 13 points on 5/16 shooting. Although she was only 3/10 from three point range, one of the threes was from 8 feet beyond the arc and was a momentum changer that seemed to rattle Baylor. She also had a respectable 5 assists to 2 turnovers and a couple of steals.
Carrington played 27 minutes and her hustle was indispensable. She scored 10 points on 3/6 shooting, collected 6 rebounds--sometimes in the midst of Baylor's towers--and had a couple of assists, a block, and a steal.
Maya Dodson, Nadia Fingall, and Shannon Coffee seemed to tag-team on Kalani Brown. Maya got the most minutes and scored 9 points, and had a couple of brilliant under the basket moves. Shannon proved very successful, making 3/4 three point attempts and forcing Brown out of the paint.
Lacie Hull played 22 minutes and tenacious defense, although she was just 1/6 shooting. Brown, Jerome, and Wilson each got into the game but for less than double digit minutes.
As a team we still have some serious weaknesses. 9/21 free throw shooting could easily have cost us the game. Again we were outrebounded 30-43. But we also did some good things--turning the ball over only 10 times, and shooting 43% from three point range (higher than our free throw percentage!)
Conclusion:
This team has enormous potential. Tara is a master teacher who knows how to get a team to improve over the season, and as impressive as this win was, we need to get better if we are going to retake the Pac 12 crown. I think our younger players needed a confidence boost after the Gonzaga debacle, and this might be just what the doctor ordered.
No. 3 Baylor (Massey ratings) comes to Maples on Saturday. Baylor is led by 6'7" Kalani Brown, who is averaging 16 points at 65% from inside. But Baylor has a second tower in 6'4" Lauren Cox who is a more versatile scorer. To complement these twin towers Baylor has Juicy Landrum, a 5'8" guard making 44% of her treys. Their point guard, Chloe Jackson, has a great 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, and scores on 55% of her shots, but has not attempted a single three point shot this year. The closest anyone has come to controlling Baylor was ASU, who fronted Kalani Brown to deny her the ball and pulled the Baylor defense out by keeping all five on offense mostly beyond the perimeter. If we have a chance, it will be with Alanna and Nadia hitting treys to pull Brown and Cox outside, and Williams, Carrington, and others then getting behind the Baylor bigs with open lanes to the basket. The Baylor bigs are also slow, so if our defense can force Baylor to miss some long range shots, we should be able to collect some fast break points. Alanna is key to this game: keeping out of foul trouble while defending bigger players, and hitting her three point shots at the other end. We will also see how effective Williams and Carrington can be one-on-one with Juicy Landrum and Chloe Jackson--I've had my doubts about our perimeter defense and this will be a good test.
Overview:
Very strong inside defense held Baylor's vaunted twin towers to 7 points, and we got enough treys after cold first quarter shooting to keep the lead from midway through the first quarter to the end. We shot only 43% of our free throws, leaving 12 points at the line, our offense stalled in the 4th quarter, and we were once again grossly out rebounded--but hitting 13 treys to Baylor's 3 made up for a lot of problems.
Flow of the game:
This was the most fun I've had watching a game at Maples in a long time. It was no sellout, but it was a bigger crowd than we have had recently, and it was vocal. It helped that the team gave us the lead the whole game and made many spectacular plays along the way--leading to half a dozen standing ovations. The refs also made a few bad calls, leading to some lusty booing. For the first half the football team was in attendance--and they seemed to get into it.
The first quarter was a defensive slugfest. From the start I was surprised that we defended Kalani Brown straight up--not fronting her--although help would sag in on her. Baylor's offense was completely flummoxed. On the other hand, we were shooting cold and points did not come easily for us. Kiana finally gave us the lead at 3:27 on a trey, then Nadia and Lacey got into the act, and we closed out a tough, physical first quarter 17-13.
The second quarter was both our best offensive and defensive quarter of the game. Baylor's offensive woes continued and they scored only 11 points. I think we have learned that our defense is much superior inside than it is outside, and Baylor could not take advantage of our perimeter defense in the same way that Gonzaga did. Furthermore, Kalani Brown sat much of the quarter with 2 fouls, Baylor turned the ball over on errant throws, misses, and fouls, and we finally got hot from three, with Alanna hitting three treys and Kiana 2 in the quarter. We went into the half ahead 41-24, and we were all wondering if we could maintain a 17 point lead for a second half.
The third quarter went well, and we did maintain our lead. Our defense was not quite so sharp, but Shannon Coffee proved to be an able defender on Kalani Brown and hit two treys, forcing Brown out to the perimeter just as we hoped. Smith hit a trey and Carrington also, and finished the quarter up 58-42. What could go wrong?
The fourth quarter was a near collapse, but we traded just enough time for points to finally put the game away. Baylor did to us what we did to Gonzaga--a furious fourth quarter rally that fell short in the end. Baylor did it by calling on non-stars to make mid range jumpers. Tara's scouting report defense shut down Kalani Brown, Cox had disappeared from the game--injury? Juicy Landrum was held in check. But point guard Chloe Jackson and bench player NaLyssa Smith started to hit jumpers each time Baylor came down the floor, and the lead shrank to 10. Juicy cut it to 7, but it took nearly 3 minutes for Baylor to score again and when two free throws cut the lead to 5, there were only 7 seconds left and we ran out the clock. Over the last several minutes Kiana looked tired--she missed several shots, turned the ball over, committed a foul. She had played her heart out for almost every minute of the game, and we are lucky that we limped across the finish line.
Performances:
I thought this game would turn on Alanna, and did it ever. She led with 21 points including 5/9 three pointers, and while she picked up 4 fouls, she did manage to stay on the floor for 28 minutes. Interesting that Tara tried to keep her from guarding Kalani Brown--giving that task to Nadia, or Maya, or Shannon. Alanna also had 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist for an impressive line.
Kianna played all 40 minutes and had 13 points on 5/16 shooting. Although she was only 3/10 from three point range, one of the threes was from 8 feet beyond the arc and was a momentum changer that seemed to rattle Baylor. She also had a respectable 5 assists to 2 turnovers and a couple of steals.
Carrington played 27 minutes and her hustle was indispensable. She scored 10 points on 3/6 shooting, collected 6 rebounds--sometimes in the midst of Baylor's towers--and had a couple of assists, a block, and a steal.
Maya Dodson, Nadia Fingall, and Shannon Coffee seemed to tag-team on Kalani Brown. Maya got the most minutes and scored 9 points, and had a couple of brilliant under the basket moves. Shannon proved very successful, making 3/4 three point attempts and forcing Brown out of the paint.
Lacie Hull played 22 minutes and tenacious defense, although she was just 1/6 shooting. Brown, Jerome, and Wilson each got into the game but for less than double digit minutes.
As a team we still have some serious weaknesses. 9/21 free throw shooting could easily have cost us the game. Again we were outrebounded 30-43. But we also did some good things--turning the ball over only 10 times, and shooting 43% from three point range (higher than our free throw percentage!)
Conclusion:
This team has enormous potential. Tara is a master teacher who knows how to get a team to improve over the season, and as impressive as this win was, we need to get better if we are going to retake the Pac 12 crown. I think our younger players needed a confidence boost after the Gonzaga debacle, and this might be just what the doctor ordered.
