1) An all-too-exciting game to watch. If you recall, I said I was not so worried about stopping Crooks, I was worried about Iowa State's perimeter shooting. Well, I was right to be confident about defending Crooks, and right to be worried about the perimeter.
1a) Against Maryland Crooks was 18/20. Against Stanford she was 3/21. I'd say we solved that problem.
1b) Iowa State has a LOT of excellent three point shooters. But tonight it was Brown at 4/5 and of course a career best 36 points for senior Emily Ryan in the last game of her career. Ryan proved to be much more than a three point shooter, though, and she nearly beat us by herself. I think putting Agara on her was a good adjustment, although it only slowed and did not stop the bleeding.
2) A somewhat sad way for Brink to finish her last game at Maples. Several of us wondered whether she was ill again. Even before Crooks bulldozed her she seemed to have low energy. But by now other teams realize that if they push her and beat her up early in the game, it throws off her rhythm and gets in her head. She gets so emotionally distraught by the bad calls--but she would play better if she would just develop instant amnesia. On the other hand, she probably would have fouled out in the first half if the refs called the game tightly. Once she realized how badly she was being hacked, she responded in kind and got away with a lot of it. Hopefully she has a few brilliant games for Stanford in her future. But whether she does or doesn't, I have been so very grateful to have watched her develop over the last four years.
3) Jump came over to the sideline for the radio interview with Jeanette and she (Jump) was in tears. She recovered quickly but was clearly very emotional about playing her last game in Maples. As our second leading scorer and only other double digit scorer besides Iriafen, I think she went out of Maples on a good note. She played all 45 minutes. She and Brink are our only links to the national championship now. She has given us so much pleasure. After the interview, on her way to the locker room, the diminished crowd roared its approval, and she waved, smiling now. I remember the same kind of wave and smile after Chiney's last game. Bittersweet.
4) For most of the game, I wondered if Demetre was even going to take a shot. I'm not sure she did until she made those two critical treys. She does seem to perform better under pressure. I can think of several other close games when she sank treys at critical junctures. That is a rare quality that does not show up on the stat sheets--critical baskets when they count the most. I just wish she would be making threes like that all game long so as to avoid the "critical juncture" altogether.
5) I thought Agara was clutch at both ends, and I can imagine her getting a lot more time both going forward and especially next year.
6) Lepolo has, I am sure, been hobbled by her knee, but she fought hard. In the end, she was 2/5 from three point range, although the 3 misses looked ugly. But did anyone notice she had 7 assists to 1 turnover? Whatever we say about other aspects of her game, she certainly delivers on the passes.
7) And last but certainly not least. Iriafen with a career night just moved into a tie for 6th place all-time at Stanford with her 41 points, edging ahead of Kate Starbird's 40 point performance against USC and tying Candice Wiggin's 41 points against Maryland. Jayne, Candice, Nneka, Kate, and Jeane Ruark Hoff (pre-Tara) have the top 5 performances. I sure am glad we get Kiki back next year!
1a) Against Maryland Crooks was 18/20. Against Stanford she was 3/21. I'd say we solved that problem.
1b) Iowa State has a LOT of excellent three point shooters. But tonight it was Brown at 4/5 and of course a career best 36 points for senior Emily Ryan in the last game of her career. Ryan proved to be much more than a three point shooter, though, and she nearly beat us by herself. I think putting Agara on her was a good adjustment, although it only slowed and did not stop the bleeding.
2) A somewhat sad way for Brink to finish her last game at Maples. Several of us wondered whether she was ill again. Even before Crooks bulldozed her she seemed to have low energy. But by now other teams realize that if they push her and beat her up early in the game, it throws off her rhythm and gets in her head. She gets so emotionally distraught by the bad calls--but she would play better if she would just develop instant amnesia. On the other hand, she probably would have fouled out in the first half if the refs called the game tightly. Once she realized how badly she was being hacked, she responded in kind and got away with a lot of it. Hopefully she has a few brilliant games for Stanford in her future. But whether she does or doesn't, I have been so very grateful to have watched her develop over the last four years.
3) Jump came over to the sideline for the radio interview with Jeanette and she (Jump) was in tears. She recovered quickly but was clearly very emotional about playing her last game in Maples. As our second leading scorer and only other double digit scorer besides Iriafen, I think she went out of Maples on a good note. She played all 45 minutes. She and Brink are our only links to the national championship now. She has given us so much pleasure. After the interview, on her way to the locker room, the diminished crowd roared its approval, and she waved, smiling now. I remember the same kind of wave and smile after Chiney's last game. Bittersweet.
4) For most of the game, I wondered if Demetre was even going to take a shot. I'm not sure she did until she made those two critical treys. She does seem to perform better under pressure. I can think of several other close games when she sank treys at critical junctures. That is a rare quality that does not show up on the stat sheets--critical baskets when they count the most. I just wish she would be making threes like that all game long so as to avoid the "critical juncture" altogether.
5) I thought Agara was clutch at both ends, and I can imagine her getting a lot more time both going forward and especially next year.
6) Lepolo has, I am sure, been hobbled by her knee, but she fought hard. In the end, she was 2/5 from three point range, although the 3 misses looked ugly. But did anyone notice she had 7 assists to 1 turnover? Whatever we say about other aspects of her game, she certainly delivers on the passes.
7) And last but certainly not least. Iriafen with a career night just moved into a tie for 6th place all-time at Stanford with her 41 points, edging ahead of Kate Starbird's 40 point performance against USC and tying Candice Wiggin's 41 points against Maryland. Jayne, Candice, Nneka, Kate, and Jeane Ruark Hoff (pre-Tara) have the top 5 performances. I sure am glad we get Kiki back next year!