Attendance at 2810 was not as horrible as I expected. There were even a few dozen at the chalk talk, where we learned that Emma-Nnopu would not dress due to concussion protocol, but would be back reasonably soon. And today was apparently Brink's 21st birthday! A nice present for her!
Let's give a little credit to Arizona State, playing with 9 players. And a shout-out to their Tyi Skinner, the 5'5" (generously) transfer who came in with the new coach. Lepolo was all over her and even so she scored 20 points and was 4/8 from three. Those makes were usually well defended--she knew how to shoot with a hand in her face. Quite amazing for someone that short.
And let's also give credit to Lepolo! Not only did she have the main defensive assignment, she scored 10 points of her own to go along with 4 assists and 2 turnovers. Just an outstanding game for her.
Jump was 6/10 from three point range, so a ways off of her record which is 8 or the Stanford record which is 9. I think what was impressive about tonight, though, was the confidence and quickness of those shots. She played 23 minutes and if she had been in the full 40 the record would have fallen.
Brink with only 1 personal foul. Brilliant! In the chalk-talk we were told that ASU leads the country in getting fouls called on its opponents, and it was a point of emphasis in practice. It worked. If she can keep this form for the rest of the year, then the sky is the limit.
Jones continues to play with joy and when she does, many good things happen.
Betts showed us what she can do. An old-school center--you are not going to see her taking treys, but if she gets the ball close to the basket, it is close to automatic. 5/7. Depending on match ups, I think we can expect to see her more and more as the year goes on.
Iriafen--she had a bit of foul trouble and uncharacteristically missed a lot of free throws, and those things dampened her performance. I am still a big fan--but she did not really get into the flow of the game tonight.
Nivar's 18 minutes was the most minutes I think for her this year? When she first came in she repeated exactly the same mistake she made last game--trying too hard to make something happen and generating an instant turnover. And a couple of her drives seemed also as if she was trying too hard. But she settled in and began to show off her skill set which is considerable. She is very fast, she made 4/5 free throws, and she will continue to improve as she gets more minutes, settles down into the system, and gains confidence.
All in all, a really good offensive game, but I agree with Chimera that the defense was not consistent. There have been years in which we have been a superb defensive team and merely a good offensive team. This is not that kind of team. We can be superb offensively, but there is some room for improvement on defense. In the meantime, this kind of team is far more fun to watch!
Let's give a little credit to Arizona State, playing with 9 players. And a shout-out to their Tyi Skinner, the 5'5" (generously) transfer who came in with the new coach. Lepolo was all over her and even so she scored 20 points and was 4/8 from three. Those makes were usually well defended--she knew how to shoot with a hand in her face. Quite amazing for someone that short.
And let's also give credit to Lepolo! Not only did she have the main defensive assignment, she scored 10 points of her own to go along with 4 assists and 2 turnovers. Just an outstanding game for her.
Jump was 6/10 from three point range, so a ways off of her record which is 8 or the Stanford record which is 9. I think what was impressive about tonight, though, was the confidence and quickness of those shots. She played 23 minutes and if she had been in the full 40 the record would have fallen.
Brink with only 1 personal foul. Brilliant! In the chalk-talk we were told that ASU leads the country in getting fouls called on its opponents, and it was a point of emphasis in practice. It worked. If she can keep this form for the rest of the year, then the sky is the limit.
Jones continues to play with joy and when she does, many good things happen.
Betts showed us what she can do. An old-school center--you are not going to see her taking treys, but if she gets the ball close to the basket, it is close to automatic. 5/7. Depending on match ups, I think we can expect to see her more and more as the year goes on.
Iriafen--she had a bit of foul trouble and uncharacteristically missed a lot of free throws, and those things dampened her performance. I am still a big fan--but she did not really get into the flow of the game tonight.
Nivar's 18 minutes was the most minutes I think for her this year? When she first came in she repeated exactly the same mistake she made last game--trying too hard to make something happen and generating an instant turnover. And a couple of her drives seemed also as if she was trying too hard. But she settled in and began to show off her skill set which is considerable. She is very fast, she made 4/5 free throws, and she will continue to improve as she gets more minutes, settles down into the system, and gains confidence.
All in all, a really good offensive game, but I agree with Chimera that the defense was not consistent. There have been years in which we have been a superb defensive team and merely a good offensive team. This is not that kind of team. We can be superb offensively, but there is some room for improvement on defense. In the meantime, this kind of team is far more fun to watch!